The First In 10 Millennia - What A Joke
The time had finally come.
After a year of training his heart out, of finishing his education... of rebuilding his life, it was finally time to become an Aspirant. To begin his life as a legionnaire. And so he began his short journey to the Dawn Fortress. The Organ Meat Desert's beacon of civilization.
As he approached the fortress Victor couldn't help but marvel at the enormity of it. Not only in size, with its great walls of bronze and their towers that stretched into the sky, but in
presence as well. It felt unconquerable. As if heaven itself could strike it and the walls would hold.
His parent would have lived had they been stationed here.
He shook off those thoughts. It was time to focus on the present. Picking up the pace it only took him another hour to arrive. And as Victor finally entered the citadel he was once again frozen in shock. It was green.
Instead of the eternal ocean of sand Victor was used to, there was grass. The luscious green grass stretching as far as the eye could see. And that was only the beginning. The roads were paved from village to village. And they were
enchanted too! He could feel his steps quicken as he walked on them. It was amazing, beautiful, everything the clan wished the world could be like.
It was wasteful.
Seeing the vast plains around him he couldn't help but think of the cost. How much did they spend to keep the fortress looking like paradise? To maintain these roads that thousands march on each day? He couldn't even begin to imagine. And was it even necessary for
all of the land to be grass instead of just the land they were immediately using? How would things be if the clan had been just a little more efficient?
Would his parents be alive?
He shook the thought off once again. That wasn't fair. He knew that. He heard the stories. About the desperate struggles for survival, of the barbarians clamoring to break down their walls, of the countless challenges the clan had faced for thousands of years.
But it still felt wasteful. Even if only a little bit.
Ultimately, his musings would have to be left for another time as Victor finally reached the Mustering Ground. The center of the Dawn Fortress where all its roads converge. It was massive, large enough to hold every active duty cultivator of the Clan… and this was the place where the great Orientation would begin.
Finding a place within the middle of the crowd Victor eagerly waited for the event to start. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long as with the sound of a horn being blown, the legion
moved. Parting like sand to reveal an older man clad in black and silver. He stood hunched, with his hands clasped behind his back as he approached the Aspirants. Victor couldn't make out much detail from his distance but he could tell one thing.
The man felt like the fortress. Utterly unmovable.
Everyone was silent. His presence like a blanket over the crowd. And as he took his final step away from the legion the path closed behind him, as if it was never there in the first place.
And then he spoke, "Well met, Aspirants of the Clan." He spoke calmly, somehow transmitting his voice across the entirety of the Grounds. "Each and every one of you has been recognized as a figure of potential--be it through blood lineage, superior scores in your early examination, or other distinctions of merit." Victor smiled with pride. He was top of his class. Even if he would've ended up here due to his blood anyways. The man continued, "It is a start, and a fine one--but know that merely beginning a journey is not yet cause for celebration."
That doused Victor's good mood. The man was right. He couldn't be satisfied just yet. Not until he was strong enough. Strong enough to never lose anyone again.
"In the coming years, you will be taught in the rudiments of our Clan's arts. You will study spear and shield, you will drill in formation, you will learn of the lore expected of a Cultivator of our Golden Devil Clan. All the while, you will be tested to determine your own unique aptitudes, your talents, and most importantly of all, your breaking points." People shifted all around him but Victor only felt his resolve harden.
This is what he was here for after all.
"You all seem concerned about that last part, hmm?" He paused before continuing, "What we exercise is not merely the appearance of Defiance--our very blood and culture is rejected by the Will of Heaven--a weakness of character may be something that could be forgiven a Barbarian in the favor of the Celestial Machine, but we are held to a higher standard. To know one's weaknesses is to identify where the Will of Heaven will strike--and a blow predicted is one more readily parried. Rest assured, we will find yours, and you will know them before your training is considered complete."
This time, even Victor felt apprehensive. There was a… excitement in the man's voice that was missing before. Victor had no time to think about it as the man continued, "I am Grand Elder Konstantinos" the world seemed to darken for a moment as he said that. It happened so fast Victor wondered if he imagined it. "You are a fortunate batch of seedlings indeed, the Clan is currently in a state of prosperity. As such, much more resources will be made available in the coming years.
Of course, they will not be free. You will need to purchase them with Contribution Points. These may be acquired through completing tasks of note for the Clan--a number of assistant positions are presently available for scribes and runners, while housekeeping is and remains a reliable source of modest income for those willing to get their hands dirty.
With that said, there is much to do, and I will not take any further time from you all. This is a critical period in your future growth, where you set the foundation for everything you will do in the future. Work hard, Cultivate well, and perhaps one day, you may be able to address me as a peer."
And with that, he flew away.
Victor wondered how many more times he would be amazed before the day ended.
Turning his attention back to the ground he watched as multiple groups of
Centurions spread out. They were calling people's names. Looking around Victor once again felt that the Clan was being inefficient. Wouldn't it be better to have signs showing Aspirants where to go? With the sheer amount of people here, won't it take forever?
Or maybe he was just complaining.
Despite Victor's worries, it didn't take as long as he thought. Whether it was because he was higher on the list or the Clan being better at bureaucracy he didn't know. Following the
Centurian who called his name Victo's group were lead to a "small" pavilion. Small being relative to the rest of the fortress.
Once there the
Centurion spoke again, "Alright, let's make this quick. We're going to go through your current specialties and do a quick test of your receptiveness before placing you on an appropriate track. Leontinus Ducas, you're first."
The called upon Aspirant quickly stepped forward.
"Combat training?"
"Uh, yes. I trained with the city guard. But, uhm, no practical experience yet... sir."
The Centurion nodded, "Relax kid. Literacy?"
"I can read and write the Clan's language. And I can sorta speak the barbarians' language? Oh!"
"We'll fix that. Now, put your hand on the pedestal. It'll sting a little but please bear with it."
Doing as he was told Leontinus twitched a little as the blood was drawn from him. And as it was the glyph engraved into the pedestal glowed.
Calmly watching the Centurion eventually nodded and said, "Not bad. Your Blood of Bronze is a bit above average so you should manifest it at Heavenstage two. Your receptiveness is a bit weaker but it's not a big deal." Writing the details down in his ledger he continued, "Alright then I'll put you down for the legionnaire track, is that alright?"
Leontinus smiled, "Yes sir!"
The Centurion smiled, "Alright alright, now, next up is Victor Wulf."
Surprised at being called up so soon Victor practically stumbled forward. Catching his balance he awkwardly stood there, trying to ignore the quiet laughter behind him.
The examiner just shook his head in amusement and asked, "Combat training?"
Steeling his nerves again Victor took a deep breath, "Yes, I've trained under several retired legionnaires since I was six. I also have practical experience fighting in the desert against mortal beasts."
The Centurion whistled, "Really? That's quite impressive. And your literacy?
Standing a little straighter Victor said, "I speak and read both Clan and Barbarian. I've also completed tier one mathematics." He would've done history one mathematics two as well but he didn't want to dip too far into his inheritance funds.
"That's quite the accomplishment. You must've worked hard for that."
He nodded, "I did."
The Centurion smiled, "We need more people like you. Now, let's get this last part out of the way."
Head held high Victor placed his hand on the pedestal. Immediately, he felt a tiny pinprick on each of his fingers. And as the blood flowed into the glyph… nothing happened. Victor felt his stomach drop.
A second passed.
He couldn't believe it.
Then two.
Was he
crippled?
And on the third second, the glyph glowed.
A wave of relief passed over Victor as he saw that. At that moment he didn't care if his receptiveness was terrible, as long as he could cultivate at least he would have a
chance. Letting out a sigh of relief Victor looked towards the Centurion.
He was frowning.
Victor sighed, "...Is it that bad?"
"I'm… not sure? That wasn't supposed to happen. Your receptiveness
is low, but that shouldn't have delayed the glyph at all. My only guess is that you might have a bloodline. Your Bronze Blood is fairly thick... But other than that I don't know." He shook his head, "Alright everyone, wait here, I need to contact an Elder."
Stepping out of the pavilion the Centurion pulled out a piece of jade for a moment before coming back in. "Okay everyone, we'll be continuing in just a moment. But first." He signaled for me to follow. Chasing after him the Centurion led me to another, larger, pavilion.
"Alright kid, I'm going to need you to wait here for Elder Ypsilanti. I'd wait with you but I don't want to leave the other kids waiting. She shouldn't take long. Don't worry kid, she'll sort everything out."
Nodding, Victor watched as the Centurion ran off. And once the man was out of sight, Victor started to laugh. He had a bloodline! He couldn't believe it. But as the Centurion said, what else could explain it?
He had to have a bloodline. A
bloodline. Some of the greatest legends of the past century had come from people with bloodlines.
And now
he had a chance to stand with them too. To be strong enough to never lose anyone again.
Or he might be deluding himself.
He grimaced. A bloodline could be a great boon… or it could be
crippling. There was no guarantee on which he would end up being. He wanted to hope but-
-
his parents never came home.
No. He'd keep his expectations low. You can't be disappointed if you don't expect anything. Or so Victor keeps telling himself. Stewing in his own thoughts Victor failed to notice the older woman that had descended right in front of him.
She coughed.
Looking up in surprise Victor was shocked to see a woman who looked to be in her late twenties.
"Ah! Sorry. Miss…?"
She smiled, "I'm Elder Ypsilanti."
"Really?" His mouth spoke before his mind. "Sorry, I didn't- you just look so young."
She waved me off, "Don't worry, I take it as a compliment." Pulling out a large tome she asked, "Now, Trascallisseus tells me it took test glyph three seconds to active when you touched it, correct...?"
"Victor Wulf, and yes. Ma'am."
"I see… and your receptiveness is Bottom Low tier?"
His shoulder slumped, "...He just said low."
"Right right, those terms are only used in the records." She just shrugged and continued on, "And your Bronze Blood density was Lower High tier?"
"If that means 'fairly thick' yes."
"Right right. There's just one question left. Do you feel this?"
Victor tilted his head, "Feel what?"
"Just focus."
Concentrating Victor realized there was a force pressing down on him. "Is... it this weight?"
She nodded, "Does it hurt at all?"
"Not really."
"I see, I see. Then let's increase the intensity."
As soon as the Elder said those words Victor felt the pressure double. If before it was like wearing armor that was a bit too heavy now it was wearing heavy armor that was
too tight. He had to use all of his strength just to stay standing. Thankfully the pressure didn't last long.'
As soon as it went away Victor collapsed.
"Ah, sorry. I went a bit too far. But that was just so
interesting. You'd have to be 1st Heavenstage to resist that normally. And you did it as a mortal!"
Gasping Victor asked, "Did… did that at least help you figure out what going on with me? Is it a bloodline?"
"It is. It's an old one too. One that hasn't been seen in ten thousand years according to the records." Victor's eyes widened.
Ten thousand years?
"T-then… what is it?"
"It the Dull Bronze Bloodline. Apparently, it makes you highly resistant to qi. Which is how you resisted the attack from before. To the point, you
might have been able to survive me raising it to the 2nd Heavenstage!"
Victor frowned, "Please don't test that on me."
Elder Ypsilanti was barely paying attention, her face buried in her book. "Don't worry, don't worry, I'm not nearly as crazy as Destasia." Before he could ask who that was she continued. "Ooh, listen to this, 'one of the many benefits of the Dull Bronze Bloodline is that it does not lose out on any of the defensive or regenerative abilities of the original', isn't that great? You wouldn't believe the number of mutated bloodlines that lose that aspect."
"So it's good?"
"Yep! It even prevents things like curses and qi overload! That's rare!"
Victor let out a sigh of relief, "So there are no downsides?"
At that, the Elder froze, "Ah well… there is one."
He knew it was too good to be true. Preparing for the worst he asked, "And what is it?"
"Ironically, it's your resistance to qi. It's so high that it makes it harder for you to absorb or expel it. You won't be able to use any of the more energy-intensive techniques. And remember when I said your receptiveness was Bottom Low tier?" He nodded. 'That means you have the least possible receptiveness a cultivator possibly can."
Victor's face fell.
The least possible… He felt a soft but firm hand on his shoulder. Looking up he saw Elder Ypsilanti standing there. She looked a lot more serious. Her eyes reflecting solemn wisdom completely at odds with her youthful appearance.
"Listen to me, Victor. Receptiveness isn't talent." He snorted. "Do you know why we say that?" He stayed silent. "Because it's
true Victor. If we judged people by their receptiveness like the barbarians out there did do you know how many geniuses the Clan would have missed out on? How many Pillar Building experts we wouldn't have? How many arrays or formations wouldn't have been invented? Even one of our Core Formation Elders had low receptiveness! But they worked hard! They broke their backs to get where they are! You just have to do the same!"
He didn't look up. "...But did any of them have
Bottom Low tier."
The Elder let out a sigh, "Maybe not. But will you really let that stop you? I looked at your records. Top of your class, commendations from every one of your trainers. You worked so hard for this. Are you really going to give up before you even started?"
Victor didn't move.
"Then I guess that's it then." Turning around Elder Ypsilanti began to walk away. But as she did, she felt an energy fluctuation behind her. Spinning around all she saw was Victor. She waited for a moment. Then she felt it again.
He was cultivating.
The qi stone was so small she hadn't even noticed it. The kind of tiny thing that most cultivators could absorb by accident. Yet he struggled to pull it in manually. But he
was pulling it in. Despite his abysmal control and the little to no gains,
he was cultivating.
But how long would he go? Walking further away with loud, but not excessively so, steps the Elder rose into the air after getting far enough away. Flying to a spot out of Victor's line of sight she waited.
For an entire hour.
He cultivated for an entire hour without moving. He never shifted or looked up, he just cultivated. And when he finally stopped, it wasn't because he gave up,
it was because the stone was gone. Watching Victor stretch the Elder decided to end her stalking and flew down.
"Wha-"
Grinning at a surprised Victor the Elder said, "Well well, what a way to prove yourself!"
Baffled he tried to defend himself, "I wasn't trying to-"
"I know I know! You're just the kind of person who doesn't ask for help!"
"That's not true! I've gotten tons of help from my tutors!"
She laughed, "
Asked for help not
bought help. I bet you were planning on cultivating to some arbitrary level before looking for me again so you could show how much you grew too!"
"That's not true!"
But it was true. That is exactly what Victor was planning
"Hah! You're far too young to fool me!"
"And! So what!"
"You would've missed out on this great opportunity!"
The made him pause, "An opportunity?"
"Yes, one that might never appear again considering the person involved."
"Why tell me now and not before?"
She shook her head, "Because I thought you had given up. I'm not going to help a person who won't even take the first step. I'm not that kind."
He shuddered at the thought. "So what's the offer?"
The Elder cleared her throat, "In a few weeks, the Council Elder Destasia Duca will be conducting a 'modified mutant bronze blood enhancement ritual experiment'. Its name may be a bit of a mouthful but the actual details on it are
extremely scarce. All I can tell you for sure is that she wants to test something on different mutated bloodlines'.
There are only two requirements: be at least 1st Heveanstage and have a mutant bloodline. Technically there are three with the last one being the knowledge the secret experiment is going to happen."
Victor's eyebrows furrowed, "And you want me to be a part of this 'secret ritual'? I might not even get to 1st Heavenstage by then."
"You will."
The confidence in her voice surprised him. "How do you know?"
She smiled, "I just believe in you."
He was speechless.
"So will you do it?"
Finding his words again Victor asked, "Maybe… but what would I get out of it?"
She shrugged, "I don't know. Something bloodline related... probably." Victor stared at the shameless Elder. "Really really! You can never guess with that woman. I can only imagine it's something big with all the secrecy. Desrasia may be crazy, but she a real genius. The things she's made are world-changing. Or they would be if anyone could understand her notes, including her sometimes."
Victor took a deep breath "So you want me to be part of a shady experiment run by a mad genius for unspecified potential gains?"
She shuffled, "Well, when you say it like that-"
"I'll do it."
The Elder paused and noticed Victor's grin, "Meanie, don't play with a maiden's heart like that!"
Victor sputtered, "I- uh-"
Elder Ypsilanti started laughing, "The look on your face! I'm far too old to be a maiden kid!"
The brazenness just embarrassed Victor more.
"I- well, uh, the experiment?"
"Right right, don't worry about it. As long as you get to 1st Heavenstage I'll come to pick you up when it's time."
"Then I better get cultivating."
She nodded, "Yep, then I'll see you around kid!" As she began to walk away she heard Victor call after her.
"Elder…" She stopped. "What you said before. About reaching Pillar Building and Core Formation... do you really think I could make it that far?"
She smiled.
"And beyond kid."
She took off.
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occipitallobe
Omake Bonus: Impact Boost
Note: I got this finished
way faster than I expected. I normally struggled to write a chapter's worth of… anything. I'm honestly really happy with how it came out. I feel like I have a good grasp of who Victor is now that I've written him interacting with people. Elder Ypsilanti was a lot of fun to write. I'm not sure how she became a not-so-mad scientist but I like it. Some parts of the chapter really just took on a life of its own.
I even had to scrap a page's worth of Victor and Elder Ypsilanti interacting! It was the only way for me to get back in control of the chapter. I just love how they play off of each other. She's definitely going to be a mainstay from now on. The only thing I'm a bit iffy on was my display of Victor's issues. I wanted them to be fairly clear from the get-go but I might have overdone it? I'm not sure.
Oh, and about my omake bonus decision. I've actually decided to never go for the cultivation boost option. It's just thematic, y'know? Let the dice fall where they may.
