The Forsaken-Grade Cultivator

Ying had a wide smile on his face as he read through the list of the items in his inventory.

He seemed to have obtained two scrolls that undoubtedly contained Cultivation techniques as well as a weapon. Unable to contain his excitement, Ying chose to ignore the weapon for the time being and summoned the other items into reality.

As expected, two long pieces of yellow parchment manifested right into his grasp. Why did he summon both scrolls at once?

Well, why not?

Delving deeper, Ying noticed that both pieces of ancient paper were covered with inscriptions and rough sketches of the human body connected by a patchwork of arrows in a wholesome fashion.

It resembled a human-oriented flowchart, akin to something that came straight out of a Da Vinci journal—though infinitely simpler.

As he studied the parchment, Ying soon realized that both scrolls contained detailed methods of breathing, indicating they were indeed Cultivation techniques.

He grinned.

Unable to contain his excitement, Ying quickly absorbed the information, committing it to memory. The task posed no challenge, as the system translated all languages automatically. Furthermore, the contents were easy to comprehend; the English was basic, and the instructions were very precise.

All things considered, anyone above twelve years of age should have been able to grasp it relatively easily.

'Hmm, a twelve year olds intellect? Oh no, I think that might be a tad daunting for a certain... acquaintance of mine.' Ying humoured himself with the thought.

As he chuckled, the two scrolls erupted into faint sparks of light and dissolved into nothingness, soon afterwards…

Ding!

[You have learned a new skill!]

[You have learned a new skill!]

Ying's smile broadened as he heard the system message. Not wanting to waste any more time, he quickly opened the system interface to confirm his latest acquisitions.

Indeed, two new entries had been made right under his <> stat.

A strange sense of elation filled Ying at the sudden change in his status window. It was a wholesome sort of happiness—perhaps a sense of fulfilment?

He couldn't tell.

Nevertheless, it was quite addictive. Ying continued and individually expanded both skills he had received.

[

Grade: Mortal

Requirements: None

Mastery: Novice

Description: A basic Qi Gathering Technique that may be practised by anyone. Depending on talent and mastery, allows user to gather up to a 100 Qi per minute.

Passive Gains: 10Qi per hour

Active Gains: 10Qi per minute

]

[

Grade: Mortal

Requirements: None

Mastery: Novice

Description: A basic Qi Absorption Technique. Depending on talent and Mastery, it allows the user to absorb a maximum of merely 70% of the total amount of Qi from saturated Qi mediums.

]

Ying's eye quickly swept through both panels, taking in the information. Truth be told, he was a bit disheartened by the descriptions of his new skill—seeing as their effects seemed quite basic—but he did not allow himself to dwell on that deprecating feeling for too long.

'Hmm… If the gathering technique allows me just about ten Qi per minute but a maximum of a hundred Qi within the same time frame, doesn't that mean I'm only using 10 percent of its latent potential?!' Ying inquired no one in particular, seemingly on to something.

'Is that just all I can accomplish with beginner-level mastery, or maybe it's that damned Forsaken-grade talent kicking in. Ugh, if it is, then I'm going to have to file a loooong complaint to the game devs… and what the heck are Qi mediums exactly?' Ying wondered pensively.

Honestly, he had way too little information about the game. The developers had blatantly refused to release a player manual, and the only way to obtain any sort of information prior was to possess connections.

Yet another thing Ying lacked severely.

"Tsk, those damned game developers... Sigh, whatever. Let's just cultivate." Ying decided to dismiss all of his dissatisfaction. After all, he had much more interesting things to tend to right now.

Looking around, he confirmed there was no apparent danger nearby, nor was there anything lurking in the shadows. He turned his head, and selected a small patch of comfortable-looking grass, seated himself in the lotus position as per the scroll's instructions, and closed his eyes.

Deciding that the was the only one he could use right now, he activated the skill with a thought command.

There was an awkward silence.

"…!!"

Nothing happened.

"Huh? What's this? I'm pretty sure I activated the skill just now." Ying was confused, and understandably so. Usually, in games, activating skills or techniques required only a thought; of course, that was AFTER factoring in the cost of whatever power unit was being used. So why was this any different?

Ying couldn't understand.

Trying the command a dozen more times to no avail, Ying grew slightly pissed, but also curious.

He wondered just what would be required of him to activate his own skills. Perhaps he needed to utilize this… Qi power?

'No, it wouldn't make sense to have to use Qi to quite literally gather Qi. If the game developers had any sense at all, which I honestly doubt they do, they wouldn't make such an inefficient mechanism.' Ying evaluated as he started pacing.

Time flew by, and Ying crossed more and more suggestions, due to their either being implausible, silly, or downright unrealistic.

'Perhaps I need some kind of treasure...? Or, maybe fulfil some unknown condition? Hmm...'

Suddenly, a thought crossed Ying's mind and he recalled a statement made by Trevor Lavender himself;

'Cultivation Climax, developed to be as realistic a game as possible…. '

And like clockwork, it all clicked.

''No way… could it be that when he said he made the game as realistic as possible, he was not only referring to the world itself but also the players' abilities… really?'' Ying stopped moving, eyes widened in realization.

No doubt, something like this had never actually happened before, at least, not in any of the games Ying had played before.

He wondered how somehow could be so… so, ingenious!

It checked out, the detailed design of the scrolls and the requirement to read and memorise them before unlocking the skill.

"Huuuu." Taking a deep breath, Ying decided to try something else.

Easily recalling the directions, he began following the instructions. Taking in and expelling air according to how was depicted in the scrolls.

It was not at all difficult to replicate actually, it seemed as though the skills' acquisition made the entire process of recollection and execution much easier.

'A game that actually requires manual labour? How exciting! Ahem, that still doesn't change my mind… Game devs are the worst; yes, they are.'

Ying tried to hide it with a cough, but his thrill was all too obvious.

From what Ying could tell, each breathing cycle took roughly six seconds; doing the math, it would take ten cycles to complete a full minute. It was a lot, but eventually, Ying managed to succeed.

[You have cultivated enough Qi for a breakthrough!]

[Congratulations player 'Ying!' You have broken through!]

[You have assimilated 10 Qi!]

[You have unlocked the 'Sect' status!]

[You have unlocked the 'Affiliations' status!]

[Your power grows!]

The moment that Ying heard the myriad of notifications, he instantly stopped cultivating and checked his status window. Indeed, something had changed.

[

<>

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<>

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<>

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<>

A strange omen follows you.

You are a very unlucky mortal with the absolute unheard of worst talent for cultivation, you will later on become the victim of countless failures and most likely eventually quit after accepting his fate. My evaluation is to give up while you still can.

]

Seeing the changes, Ying couldn't help but smirk awkwardly. Just like that, his first ever victory in this new world was recorded.