Chapter 7: Chapter 07 – Spirit Cultivator

An overwhelming majority of demons captured from Purgatory World possess an attunement to fire.

The reason is simple, really.

If one could not endure the everpresent flames of purgatory, the natural phenomena for which Purgatory World has earned its name, then they outright die.

Since Astaroth was brought from Purgatory World, it’s not strange for the demon warlock’s elemental affinity, or in this case, her inheritors’, to lean towards fire-path. Not for lack of trying, per the scholar herself; everything possessing fire attunement means everything is resistant to fire, so it’s equally common to branch away from it.

As a result, Mordred’s crystal ball was not only blazing fiery red with a tinge of crimson blood in color, but it was also overflowing to the point of making cracks, leaking its misty content to the outside world. The sign of being a grade-S talent in spirit is exactly that, having the crystal ball unable to contain the target’s latent spiritual force.

With the appearance of a grade-S spirit talent attuned to fire-path, the happiest one is not Sumire, but Sakuya. ‘It’s no wonder she acted the way she did, going as far as to make physical contact with me. She must’ve felt some type of compatibility earlier. Being in the dregs once again reminds me of how sharp even a rank 1’s senses are…’

“I can’t believe we found a fire-path future-Paragon.” Sakuya rubbed Mordred’s head, expressing genuine happiness. “You’ll have to take me for some extradimensional expedition in the future, okay? I have a dream to visit Purgatory World in the future.”

Mordred fixed his hair after having it scuffled. “Wh- what’s a Paragon?”

“Oh… Mortals, rank 0 ‘Apprentice’, rank 1 ‘Official’, rank 2 ‘Lord’, rank 3 ‘Legendary’ and rank 4 ‘Paragon’.” Sakuya touched her chin. “I am an Official ‘Warmage’, a rank 1 dual cultivator of both body and spirit, whereas our vice-captain here is an Official ‘Erudite Dominator’. As for our Alanis here, she’s a little complicated. Anyhow, they are similar to a title, a prefix or a badge of honor, but most wouldn’t bother using them until you reached the realm of Lords. Since you have a grade-S talent, it is guaranteed for you to reach the realm of Paragons before the age of 500, so long as you don’t play fast and loose with your newfound power, that is. Depending on your talent alone, you’ll be leaving us in the dust sooner or later. And so, you have to take care of us in the future, okay?”

“Really? T- then, can I ask your help on- for some matter?” Mordred asked after a bit of pondering. “If you grant my request, I will repay you, when I’m a, uh, Paragon.”

“Hahah.” Alanis chuckled. “Boy, just because you’re a future-Paragon doesn’t mean you will eventually become a Paragon. In terms of talent, you practically have a guarantee, but there’s also a matter of luck, resources, and effort. Even then, you might die on the way.”

Sumire tapped Alanis’ shoulder. “We should listen to his request first. I can’t imagine a soon-to-be rank 0 teenager asking for anything outside our abilities.”

“Oh, it’s a simple, if, eh, odd request…” Mordred’s face did not change from his flat expression before whispering barely enough for the rank 1 cultivators in this room to hear.

“Hmm, you weren’t kidding…” Sumire pondered as she traded glances with Sakuya and Alanis, shortly before the two girls nodded in agreement. “I think we need the Captain’s permission to do that.” Sumire explained.

“Is it… is it not possible?” Mordred inquired once more.

“It is within the realm of possibility, but our captain is specialized in that. If we don’t want to leave any trace that would bite us back in the future, she has to be the one who acts.” Sumire paused. “But even then…”

“I know.” Mordred nodded. “Therefore, if you report me as grade-A, it will draw less eyes, right? So please, this is unbelievably important to me. As long as it is within my reach, I’ll pay off the favor I owe you all. So long, at least, as I don’t have to harm my own foundation to do it…” He trailed off, feigning nervousness as his gaze abruptly became affixed to his bare feet.

Sakuya rubbed the youth’s hair with all the energy of a doting mother- or perhaps, more accurately, father. “Hehe, my boy! You are smarter than you look. Maybe you’re a reincarnator or something!” She joked, rapidly showering  Mordred with torrents of nonstop words of simultaneous praise and diminutization.

Watching the interactions between the two, Sumire reveals a wry smile. ‘Captain of Twin Helix… We’ve already sent word about your grade-S spirit talent, but I wonder when she’ll rendezvous with us, considering her strange obsession as of late...’

….

 

Far away from Mira village. 

The wet muddy earth, the signature landscape of the Land of Autumn Rain, is frozen. Not metaphorically, as literal thick layers of pale ice shrouded the area within a kilometer’s circumference. Flower-like ice petals rose into the air, decorating the area like feathered wings of frost. Frozen beast corpses are stacked in heaps, as if a blizzard had passed through and wiped out the forests’ poorly-equipped denizens.

“Brrrr…” A young man with an exposed, muscular upper body decorated with copious amounts of black tattoos is currently shivering. His healthy wheat-colored tanned skin is matted by thick layers of frost as he looks at the surrounding icy landscape. “Boss, Ayame just received a message from Sumire. She said that they found someone with grade-S spirit talent, fire-path. Should we finish up whatever we’re doing here?”

In front of him were two figures who were scrutinizing a deep hole, melted into icy mud waters. The first figure is a power armor-clad woman, the black non-reflective armor itself reaching around 2.5 meter tall from top to bottom, protecting the wearer from the hostile, frigid environment. Up close, the exterior reveals itself as but a cover for a seemingly thrown-together, bulky, and perhaps even inefficient cacophony of what appears to be junk taken directly from the recycling bins of the general populace. The two weapons lodged behind her power armor are an oversized axe and a door-sized tower shield possessed of an unnatural thickness. 

As for the second figure, she’s an extremely pale woman, wearing a traditional Hartina Kingdom silver-black colored kimono dress that covered her busty twin peaks. The kimono has an… effect on passersby resulting from not accentuating her features, but instead obscuring them, giving the appearance of modesty while simultaneously rousing the imagination of any who see it. Her long, straight hair is constantly moving in the cold, snowy wind, but despite the weather, her silver hair is perpetually dry.

It was the pale busty woman who turned around, facing the topless man. Her silvery eyes did not betray her thoughts as she looked straight into the man’s black eyes. “Kenji, we are instructed to wait here, do not question her judgment.”

The man, Kenji, merely frowned. “You’re always following the boss’ instructions down to the very last detail, nitpicking every single mistake that I made, can you be flexible for once?”

The woman’s finger traced her ears, fixing her long hair which was swept away by the wind. “The Captain wished for a loyal dog that would do anything without question from me, and I intend to follow her until the very end.”

“Even if she were to order you to kill yourself?” Kenji replied.

“Do not insult me.” Her tone contains a trace of killing intent. “I, Kurakina Katyusha, will immediately give her my mind, body and soul if she desires so… my loyalty is unquestionable… unlike a certain someone.”

“Really, now? What an unflappable bitch.” Kenji shrugged before turning his head to the armored figure. “Anyway, boss, we genuinely should reply to Sumire, she said the grade-S boy requested something in exchange for a favor of a future-Paragon. Considering you like to plan far ahead, you might be interested in this.”

“You two can go.” There was a muffled, feminine voice from the power armor. “Sumire will be given the rights to command both of you as she sees fit until my return. In the meantime, Ayame will be supporting me.”

Kenji traded glances with Katyusha for a brief second. “You’re not going, boss?”

“Not right now. As it stands, I am busy.” 

Kenji scratched his chin. He glanced at the muddy hole, and then back to his boss, his entire being trying to decode what she was doing. Frost flaked off his body as that quickly became a literal expression, the glancing ensuing once more. Finally, he asks, after a moment’s pause, “You’re busy… looking at a muddy hole, is that what you want me to convey to Sumire?”

Thud! Katyusha slammed Kenji’s head with a bat composed entirely of ice, appearing in her hands out of nowhere. Of course, the ice broke into fine frost powder as it could not damage Kenji’s unnaturally hard skull, but the message was clear. Even so, she drove it in. “You shouldn’t doubt the captain. We should just do what we are told. The captain’s scheme is layers beyond our- your understanding.”

“Hmmm… yeah, but any other team would be bothered by our captain’s nonsensical behavior. She’s been dragging us on random missions for the last couple of our senior years, looking for something she won’t even speak a word about. We are on the brink of graduation from the Academy and there’s no sign to an end to her wild hunt. If not for her generosity, constantly sharing cultivation resources, and the cultivation food she makes, some of us would’ve just found another team!”

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“Just quit. We don’t need you… well, I honestly don’t need you spoiling my eyes with your rotten existence.” Katyusha venomously spat. “Your very existence is heaven’s mistake, the captain is probably suffering from arthritis, carrying a burden like you for all these years.”

“I’ve been with the captain far longer than you, and she had never said a thing. You’re a just fucking bitch, what with how you constantly have a stick up your ass and boast as though the Captain put it there!” It was then that Kenji began bickering in earnest with Katyusha.

While the two exchanged insults that spanned from describing the opposition’s intellect in five letter words to the point of defining each other’s three generations’ past ancestors' sexual preferences, the captain did not make a single movement. It was only fifteen minutes later that she issued another instruction. “I’ve finally found the correct dimensional frequency. Alright, you two should rejoin Sumire’s group, I’ll catch up with Ayame later.” 

Splash! Her power armor that could weigh a few tonnes jumped into the icy mud water, leaving the pair alone.

“Oh, she’s gone now.” Kenji shifted his gaze from the water hole into Katyusha, and along with it, his expression from disgust to that of penance. “She found another minor inheritance in this place, how can we not have noticed a minor dimension was hiding here?”

“The captain’s methods are beyond our understanding.” She nodded, confirming that in her senses, the captain had disappeared as if she entered a different dimension. “We should return.”

…

 

“Awakening?” Mordred inquired, Mira Hiroshi had awoken beside him, listening to the explanation given by Sakuya and Alanis.

“Yes, the third stage of the Rite of Passage is less about inspecting your talent, but more towards kickstarting your cultivation journey.” Sakuya elaborated.

“Indeed.” Alanis confirmed. “Just possessing spirit talent does not necessarily make you a cultivator. There are countless cultivation techniques in the Boundless Astral Realm, so choosing the right one that fits your personality, aspiration, and purpose of gaining power is the most important step.”

“The most powerful spirit cultivator archetype are Mages, but becoming one is a heavy responsibility that requires more than dedication and talent. A mage’s cultivation path is extremely reliant on wealth, as each of their spells require spell catalysts. And yes, spell catalysts are not cheap. Even I, a rank 1 Warmage, couldn’t carry more than a few rank 1 spell catalysts at all times.” Sakuya elaborated. “Nevertheless, it couldn’t be denied that Mages are one of the most powerful archetypes in the Boundless Astral Plane.”

“Does that mean there are alternatives?” Hiroshi inquired.

“Correct. Mage is merely one variant of a spirit cultivator. In the eastern continent of our world, or better known as the Land of Sand and Fire, mages are heavily ostracized and hunted to near extinction but spirit cultivators are quite plentiful. Spirit cultivators of the far east possessed a cultivation system that mainly relies on technological tools or enslaved beasts, typically threading the path of techies or antimage.” Alanis pointed towards the metallic parts of Sakuya’s martial robe, showing a direct example. “Without telepathic connection to her Sea of Consciousness, wearing a magic machinery artifact will slow her down, it’s one of the signature methods of the antimage techies in the Land of Sand and Fire.”

“Enslavement-path, refinement-path, wisdom-path, and information-path, these four are typically chosen by most non-mage spirit cultivators as their primary path. Before you ask, yes, it’s not limited to these four, but you’ll have to visit the Hunter Academy’s library if you want to know more.” Sakuya added. “That being said, you’ll have to choose one eventually, so you need to choose wisely. It might be best to consider your path of cultivation from now on.”

“Mage, techies, beast master, runescribe, magic machinery operator, anti-mage... these are some of the archetypes of spirit cultivators, your future paths.” Alanis took out a tablet from thin air, showing multiple pictures that allowed unsophisticated country bumpkins to understand her explanation. “One thing that you need to understand about cultivation is… once you’ve made a wrong decision, it is extremely difficult, almost impossible to restart from scratch. Therefore you have to choose wisely on what you want to be.”

“I have heard stories about one of the fallen 4th Generation Brave, ‘Violetstorm Empress’ Murasaki Shizuku. What kind of archetype is she?” Hiroshi curiously raised a question.

“Murasaki Shizuku, huh…” Sakuya touched her chin, intrigued by the unexpected question. “The Braves are probably not the best example of these archetypes since they are the cream of the crop of a world or a civilization, but I will humor your curiosity. ‘Violetstorm Empress’ Murasaki Shizuku’s archetype is a magic machinery operator, the first in Morgen World.”

Hiroshi’s eyes glimmered in excitement. All throughout his life, he heard tales of the Braves who saved Morgen World from waves of otherworldly invaders, and one of the Braves originated from Hartina Kingdom was none other than Murasaki Shizuku. It wasn’t strange for Hartina Kingdom’s people to revere her with respect since she had become the Hero’s companion. 

“Do you aspire to become a magic machinery operator like the Brave of our kingdom, the Violetstorm Empress?” Alanis asked Hiroshi.

“Yes!” the boy nodded vigorously like a child given a candy, ignoring the mature image he painstakingly wanted to build. “Along with the other Braves, the Violetstorm Empress fought the 4th Otherworldly Invader, Demon King Maximilian, while piloting a giant MEKA. I’ve always wanted to pilot a giant magic machinery armor to battle!”

“Hahah.” Alanis giggled, the aspiration of a young kid extremely pure. It’s too bad that he had been told strange things by his parents. But still, Alanis supported the boy by offering comforting words. “Then you’ll have to work hard! MEKA pilots require rigorous training of both spirit and body. If you want to become one, you’ll have to dual-cultivate, give more effort so that you can stand above tens of thousands of other youths who want to become a MEKA pilot like yourself!”

“You think I can become a MEKA pilot in the future?” The boy earnestly wanted to know his future prospects.

“You barely passed the grade-C spirit talent requirement, so becoming one is within the realm of possibilities.” Alanis did not try to sugarcoat it, but she was still supportive of him. “If you want, I can ask one of our team members, Ayame. She’s a certified MEKA pilot herself so she’s more than qualified to give you pointers on what you should be working on. Would you like that?”

“Yes, please!” The boy stood up and bowed ninety degrees. “Thank you so much for the assistance!”

Alanis waved her hand, “It’s fine. Your future lies in your own hands, you should grasp any opportunity that presents itself in front of you, I can only help you so much to achieve your dream.” She then glanced at Mordred. “Then, Satoru, what about you? Have you thought of what you wanted to be? There’s no rush, this decision is extremely important, there are predecessors that waited for a year before deciding.”

Mordred nodded. “I am unsure at the moment, but I am interested in following the Great Archmage’s steps.”

“Oh?” Both Sakuya and Alanis raised their eyebrows, fascinated. “What makes you interested in him?” The two complete each other’s words.

The current era is heavily influenced by the 4th Generation Braves, but every single one of the party members’ names carried different weight depending on one’s location. For example, the ‘Violetstorm Empress’ Murasaki Shizuku who had been slain during the battle with Demon King Maximilian is heavily revered in the Hartina Kingdom as a martyr, whereas the ‘Seven Spear’ Lamost Pendragon is borderline worshiped in the central continent. So on and so forth. 

As for the ‘Great Archmage’, er, ‘Devil King’ Mordred, due to the recent event of his ‘corruption’, his reputation is in a state of all-time-low. Those who still support him are facing universal ostracization from all sides.

“Isn’t he the one who refined the MEKA that the Violetstorm Empress piloted?” Mordred’s eyes glinted in excitement. He wasn’t aware how long time has passed since the ‘Great Archmage’s death, but he reckon that it should be common knowledge for everyone, even a nameless nobody like him should know. “I wanted to become a man who made things instead of the one who destroys. Him being branded as the Devil King does not invalidate his inventions and efforts to make the life of everyone in Morgen World easier. Besides, I heard that he’s one of the founding fathers of the Hunter Association. I feel like I am indebted to him for giving me, a nameless nobody, a chance to cultivate.”

The two women smiled after looking at each other’s eyes, jubilant at the fact that in this corner of the world, there’s still someone that treats their idol with respect. That does not mean they do not have some modicum of respect towards the Violetstorm Empress, the martyr of the Kingdom, but there’s a matter of preferences.

One way or another, almost all magic machinery artifacts that currently exist in Morgen World have some relation with the Great Archmage, either being one of his minor inheritances, public inheritance, or outright copies of his lesser-guarded works. Therefore, of the people who still side with the ‘Devil King’, many of them are magic machinery enthusiasts, of which the two Twin Helix members find themselves within their number.

“Very well. The Great Archmage’s archetype is obvious from his title, he’s an Archmage- an advanced variant of mage archetype that can only be achieved at the realm of a Paragon. Since you wanted to become a mage, then you should be prepared for the long and arduous journey.” She didn’t sugarcoat the trials for Mordred either- not that she had to, that is. 

“Since both of you are clear in which path you wanted to take, then we shall prepare for the third stage, awakening.” Sakuya nudged at Alanis.

“Alright.” Alanis nodded. “For now, take care of yourselves. We’ll see you two tomorrow.”