Chapter 27

Master Izzy smirked when I appeared in the gym again, less than two hours after I'd logged out. She spoke before I got a chance to say a word. "Let's go have some tea and talk. It's too soon to train again. Your body is still young and it isn't in a condition to handle it."

I didn't argue. I followed her into a small side room covered in tatami mats. The only piece of furniture was a small cabinet. When Master Izzy opened it, I expected her to pull out the accouterments for a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. She surprised me by pulling out a tray holding a Russian samovar tea set instead. The main piece—the samovar—looked like a gilded porcelain teapot resting on a gilded porcelain vase. The vase had a spigot on it to release hot water.

She winked at me as she gestured for me to sit anywhere on the floor, then set the tray down between us.

"That looks like something the Mad Hatter would use," I commented, pointing at the stacked samovar.

Master Izzy laughed and busied herself by making a cup of tea for each of us. "I suppose that's fitting since I'll be telling you a few things that'll make you think I'm crazy."

I groaned. "If you're about to tell me about cultivation and try to convince me to chase immortality, please save your breath. Even if such a thing was real, I'd have no interest in it."

"Really?" she asked. "Then why did you come back as soon as you realized what you do here can affect your body in the real world?"

"Because I realized what I do here can affect my body in the real world. And—" I emphasized the continuation of the statement. "And, if I'm going to continue using this app effectively, I realized I need to make my goals clear or else my trainer will likely continue with the idea I want to be an immortal cultivator. I'm okay with being mortal. People live and they die. From every story I've heard about cultivators, that doesn't change. They just die bloodier or it takes longer for their fate to reach them. I have no interest in taking such a miserable route in the future."

She handed me a teacup and said, "Then enlighten me. Why are you here if you're not interested in immortality?"

I sipped the tea she gave me and had to stop for a moment because the taste was delicious. I normally disliked tea because of the aftertaste it left behind, but this was very pleasant. It was also so foreign I couldn't name the flavor except to guess it was fruit-based.

"Jay?" she prodded.

I blinked and returned to our conversation. "I don't want to chase immortality, but I do want to learn. I enjoy learning new things a lot, which is one of the reasons I read so much. I'd like to know if there's some way we can meet in the middle? You said you can teach any subject available on planet Earth. That creates a very interesting possibility for me because it means I can broaden my horizons without paying through my nose for normal teachers. My family isn't rich."

Master Izzy took a slow, deep breath like she just realized something incredible. "You're a Sage."

I raised my eyebrow. "Yes, I'm a Sage. I'm still level zero, though. I need to train my Bardic Empathy to an acceptable level before I can take the level one test. Of course, that means I have to learn how to play an instrument first. Hopefully, you can help with that."

She didn't immediately respond. We drank tea in silence for a few minutes and she even refilled our cups.

"Let me make this clear," she said slowly. "You're okay with learning from me as long as I don't talk about cultivation or immortality."

"Of course. All I ask is for you to keep it real for me."

"And you won't complain about my lessons or teaching method. If I say you're going to study seemingly random things like flower arrangement, dancing, or farming, you'll do it."

"Why wouldn't I learn? Those sound interesting and learning them would make me more cultured. I love broadening my horizons. I do hope you'll be flexible if something happens in the real world and I need your advice, but otherwise, I'll be a very attentive student. It's not easy to find a mentor when you're not really interested in Mastering one subject, but you want to learn about many different things. We mortals only have a short time in this world. I want to learn as much as I can—not for a degree or a job, but simply because I can."

"What about Martial Arts?" she asked. "Will you suddenly quit if the training gets hard?"

I shook my head. "As long as I have a teacher, I won't quit. I've never considered myself to be athletic, but I'm discovering I have a lot more energy ever since I started working out every day. It might be fun to learn how to use different weapons, too. There isn't much use for it in the real world, but I do play Aetherscape."

We drank tea again while she digested my response. Eventually, she said, "I believe I can agree to your terms, but I feel I should explain a few things first. If you're willing to hear me out, I can train you for the next hundred years without mentioning immortal cultivation. Naturally, if you bring it up, I'll gladly speak of it, but I won't bring it up myself. Will that work?"

I didn't have anything better to do, so I nodded.

"To begin, I suppose I should go to the foundation of everything—Aether itself. I'm sure you've heard of Heaven-and-Earth energy? Aether is pure Heavenly energy. It exists outside of time and space. The universe itself was built using it as a foundation, so it's accessible from anywhere and everywhere. The place where Aether comes from is what your people call the Astral Plane. It's a place many mortals unknowingly visit in their dreams.

A long, long time ago, the strongest cultivators discovered how to reach the Astral Plane and they began exploring it. The strongest cultivators—those you might see as Gods—quickly realized they could shape the Aether with their Divine Will and create livable spaces. When these Gods reached the limits of their mortal bodies, many choose to abandon their mortal coil to take up residence in the Aetheric spaces. They turned them into personal worlds and called them Heavens.

As long as a God anchors their spirit in a Heaven, they aren't bound by the Universe's laws of conservation. That is, they don't have to worry about reincarnation. Building and ruling over a Heaven is the highest known pinnacle a cultivator can reach. It's a truly eternal existence.

Over time, some Gods get bored and choose to return to the Universe for whatever reason. The Heavens they leave behind become legacy spaces. These legacy spaces are what you are exploring in Aetherscape. It's an area of the Astral plane where the existing Gods have collected legacies suitable for mortals. You see, no matter how vast and eternal the Heavens are, it would stagnate without a constant influx of new immortals."

Her story was mildly interesting and I was willing to temporarily play along. "If what you're saying is true, then isn't it dangerous for us mortals to be exploring Aetherscape?"

"It would if you physically went there, but you're exploring with an Astral form made from Aether empowered by a thread of Divine Will controlled by a moderator. No matter how many times your Aetheric body is destroyed, it can easily be reformed."

"And these moderators do this for fun?"

Master Izzy shrugged. "It's like fishing for them, except they're not fishing for fish. They're fishing for souls they feel are worthy of joining the Heavens—souls like yours."

I nodded to say I understood. "Okay, please continue."

She was surprised by my easy acceptance. "Not even a blink? Shouldn't you be surprised that you've gained the interest of the Gods?"

I laughed. "Maybe if I believed any of this was real, but I still see this as part of the game. I'm sure you're programmed to make me feel like a protagonist. In reality, there's nothing interesting about me. I make good grades, but I'm not the top of any class. I have no major ambitions in life and I'll never be a socialite. If I ever were to become a cultivator, I'd probably be some hermit on a mountaintop, yelling at everyone to get off my grass."

"Precisely!" she exclaimed. "And that's what makes you interesting. You have the potential to be a Sage--a real one! And the Heavens love new Sages."

My expression grew dark. This wasn't how I expected the conversation to go. "What are you talking about?"