Choosing

"Every student's goal should be to transcend before the end of the first academic year. The most crucial part of transcendence is the preparation of the body before the transcendent transformation. There are as many different methods to prepare your mortal body as there are stars in the heavenly way. Remember to choose the right way, because how you prepare your body will determine how your transition will be." The old lady croaked.

"I am a mage." She continued. "I tempered my body by developing my body into a spell body. The process involves discovering a suitable spell that fuses my body and mind and prepares my transcendent form to be amenable for higher magic."

As she spoke, her stick struck the ground and a blanket of energetic orange aura enveloped her body like a lotus. "This was my body preparation magic spell. The Burning Lotus Head. I prepared a defensive spell, because I was interested in casting defensive fortifications in my career. You too should make careful considerations about how you want to prepare your mortal form."

A young girl seated on the first row raised her hand to express a doubt. The teacher nodded to permit her to speak.

"Professor, is magic the only way to prepare the body?" The girl asked. The old hag shook her head to indicate otherwise.

"No, young girl. Didn't you hear what I said earlier? You can forge the body through alchemy, through medicine, through forging, through tempering. There's all kinds of methods. You can find them in the library. What you choose has great ramifications for your future though, so choose wisely." The old hag was already tired of speaking.

Alex observed the others frantically discussing about their preferred mode of body preparation. Dean, who was sitting to Alex's left sighed.

"What method will you choose?" Dean asked Alex, who shrugged in response.

"I have no clue, honestly." Alex replied in a bewildered fashion.

"I'm preparing to become a flame transcendental!" A fatty sitting to Alex's right suddenly interjected. "My dad's an alchemist and he said it's the best form to continue the family business."

"This sounds like such a pain. How do you become a fire transcendental?" He asked the fatty.

"I have to dip myself in a bath of the hottest chilli concoctions every day. It's really painful, but I've got thick skin." The fatty proudly replied. Alex struggled to keep a poker face on. He turned towards Dean.

"I was practicing the path of energy condensation or qi absorption. However you want to put it. It is the tradition on which my family has practiced. It also has a diverse skillset post transcension." Dean explained.

"So like wuxia novels?" Alex asked in clarification. Dean nodded. "Something along those lines."

After class, Alex made his way to the library to check out what method he should choose. The library was large and intimidating. The sheer volume of books put the fear of God into Alex's mind. He spent a good half hour finding his way through the labyrinthine shelves until he found himself in front of a large wall just containing body preparation techniques stacked in volumes.after volumes of books and scrolls.

The sheer volume paralyzed Alex in confusion and doubt. The names on the books didn't help either. Flowing Tiger Tempering Art. Dragon Winds and Twelve Tigers Breath. Burning Fisting Fist. Hundred Elephants Twelve Mammoths Art. They all sounded intimidating and a pain to practice.

"Why does this feel like complicated exercises!" Alex grumbled as he looked through a book he grabbed at random. It contained detailed images about positions and breathing patterns. Another contained a complicated spell formation rune. He was still a complete illiterate when it came to runes as well and all he found was gibberish.

As he turned, he crashed into a girl who was going for a book, causing both to stumble backwards.

"I'm sorry!" Alex panicked and rushed to the girl's aid. "No it was my fault." She replied calmly. "I failed to observe my surroundings."

Alex looked at her and found that she was dressed pretty simply. Her eyes were calm and filled with solitude. Her face was expressionless and her black hair was long and reaching beyond her shoulders. He apologized again and turned towards the shelf in confusion.

"Are you looking for a body preparation method?" The girl asked before pausing and speaking again. "Where are my manners. My name is Melody. I'm a new student as well."

"I'm Alex. And yeah. I'm totally new to this stuff. I have no clue what to pick." Alex replied while staring at the various books.

"Oh, are you one of the mortals in our class? Must be nice, living in ignorance for so long." Melody said wistfully.

"I'm not sure I understand." Alex replied.

"There's a war brewing." Melody said sadly. "It's been brewing since a century and threatens to engulf the entire first sky. My parents already gave up their lives to stall this mess."

"...War?"

Melody nodded. "The human transcendentals are the faction we belong to. And we are in an existential war against the Shadow Race. If the humans lose, the first sky might be lost and with that, the mortal world will also be ripe for pickings."

Alex was stunned. The sudden influx of information paralyzed his brain. He didn't know how to react. "Is that why you want to become a transcendetal?" He asked Melody.

"I just want to be free of the shackles of society. Be free of this conflict. Be powerful enough that no one bothers me and my little sister anymore." Melody said with a sad sigh. "If you are confused about what to pick, you can try the most basic of the body preparation methods first. It's what we practice as kids as preparation to choose more complicated arts later."

Melody walked over to a corner and picked out a book that seemed relatively untouched. "Fundamental Body Tempering." These words were written on them in large runes.

"We use this to train children. It also helps us identify the cultivation talent as young children. Since you have no exposure at all, you can try this and find your niche based on your performance." Melody explained.

Alex browsed through the book and found that it had sixteen basic exercise forms that had to be replicated in tandem with a complicated breathing exercise. As he was about to turn the page, he stopped. A kernel of a memory from his childhood flashed in his mind's eye. His dad teaching him a tiresome exercise, telling him he would suck at basketball if he didn't complete it.

Alex wasn't an exercise manic. But he wasn't a complete lazybones either. He used to be in his high school's baskbetball team and a pretty quick kid. His above average height for his age, combined with his atheltic frame and speed made him standout in sports. However, when things came easy, they would often end up creating a lack of motivation. That was basically what happened to Alex.

Thinking about it, he decided to grab the book. He thanked Melody and left the library. Melody observed him walking away and shook her head. "How did an ignoramus like him enter Dantalian?" She wondered to herself. "Even mortals couldn't be so ignorant about our world?"