Wizard, Strange Element

Joe was thinking over his experiences and contemplating his morals when a man walked up to him. He had a friendly looking face and a thin build. He walked up to him and spoke somewhat nervously while scratching his head.

"You're... Joe, right?"

"Yes? Did you need me for something?"

The man's face seemed to have gained a sheen of confidence, as he replied to Joe with a certain tone.

"I'll be your guide for the time you'll be in the Nine Towers. My name is Arkan. Nice to meet you, Joe.

"How do you know my name?"

"Oh. Josh told me your name. He's the receptionist, and talked to the nice lady who told your name to us."

Joe lowered his head at that, and after a short bout of contemplation, he decided to follow Arkan. Joe replied in an uncertain tone as he agreed to follow Arkan.

"Alright! Let's get going then!"

Joe followed Arkan to what seemed to be an elevator. They walked in, and Arkan pushed some buttons. Joe watched as he pushed in what seemed to be some kind of weird passcode as the buttons lit up one by one.

"Curious aren't you? These are tough to remember. Of course, once you become a Great Mage like me, it's no problem remembering a simple combination like this!"

Arkan spoke to Joe with a good-natured smile. Joe returned his smile awkwardly.

An awkward silence began to rise, just as the elevator did, as the two stood side by side, completely silent.

"Ahem. So, Joe, any question for me? Like maybe where you are, or an explanation of the great powers around here?"

"I'll take an explanation."

"Alright then!"

Arkan seemed eager to rid the air of the awkward atmosphere was he began to speak excitedly.

"So! We live on the great Artificial Continent. It's called the Artificial Continent because the whole place is artificial! It's said the whole place was made by a great man as an attempt to build a land away from the Great War. The powers on the continent currently includ-"

"Wait, what's the Great War? I'd appreciate if I got some more context here."

"The Great War is something that I don't know much about. You can only really consult the old men on the elder council. Maybe some of them lived long enough to tell the tale? All I heard was that it was a Great War. Nothing else."

Ding!

The elevator had opened, giving way to a hallway, reminiscent of a hotel hallway, with rooms on each side. Once the two stepped out of the elevator, a drawn-out scream was heard, before being abruptly silenced.

"What was that?!"

"Hmm. I would say it was a Wizard failing to break through his bottleneck."

"What's that?"

"Well, you see, Wizards also have bottlenecks, just as many or maybe even more than Qi Cultivators. It all depends on the person. A bottleneck for us Wizards is when we completely assimilate the memories of others, or strengthen our element cores. Anyways, if you fail to completely assimilate those memories, they will run rampant, and conjure up a storm in your mind. It causes immense pain to us Wizards, which is likely why the method to kill oneself instantaneously is included in the very first volume of the Virginity Scripture, and is continually mentioned in other volumes."

"Wait, so you're telling me that the guy who screamed just now is dead? Is he really dead?"

"As dead as can be brother, his mind is gone, while is body is only an empty shell now. That was probably Ralph just now. He came in a week ago, saying something about having some grand revelation. Probably failed though, since he screamed like that. If he comes out the next morning, all will be fine though. If he doesn't, a cleaner will come in to get him."

Joe remained silent for the rest of the walk until they got to where he was supposed to stay. Arkan tried to make conversation several more times, but Joe only replied curtly.

"Well Joe, it looks like this is where we part. See you around, maybe. Here's your room key. It's only valid for a month though, before you gotta start doing some real work to stay around."

Joe accepted the key silently as he thanked Arkan. He walked inside the room, taking in the sight.

There was a fluffy bed, what seemed to be a TV, and a few brochures, for some reason. It was basically a regular hotel room. He walked over to the bed and laid on it. He began to mull over his journey so far, although it couldn't really be called a journey. He tried to before, but he was interrupted by Arkan. It was only a few minutes before he realized a crucial point.

He had forgotten Vol. 2 of the Virginity Scripture in the run down bookstore!

How could he have forgotten the most important part of his journey!

[Perhaps because the Host was so surprised by the currently deceased Rhad opening a space portal]

'Wait! Did you already copy the contents of the Scripture down? Can you show me?"

[The System can, but it will not be nearly as impactful as the real thing. The Host can only have this kind of impact once. Does the Host still wish to proceed?]

Upon hearing this, Joe hesitated. He could wait for a chance to go back to Earth and grab the Scripture, or he could take it now.

It was at this moment he heard a knock on the door. He lethargically walked over to open it. Right in his face was a slightly handsome young man, though his eyes showed deep wisdom.

"Who are you?"

"Me? You don't need to know who I am, just know that I am the one to give you compensation for luring out the Immoral Wizard known as Rhad."

A ring was tossed at Joe, who caught it out of instinct.

"That's got your compensation inside. Just think about opening it somehow, and things will just start popping out. You can also target things specifically if you try. I'm also here to describe your compensation, by the way."

Joe remained silent throughout as he focused his mind on the ring. He imagined it opening, and objects suddenly came spilling out. There was a little pamphlet, some fruits, as well as a weathered navy handkerchief.

"What's all this stuff?"

The young man smiled as he began to describe the objects.

"That little pamphlet is a description of the strong powers throughout the Artificial Continent. You'll likely need it in a few weeks, so we at the Nine Towers took the liberty to give it to you. Those fruits will help increase your Wisdom, which is what we call it around the Nine Towers, since it bears so much resemblance. They're all one time use though, so be aware. The handkerchief is a spatial tool belonging to Rhad. It will help you travel from Earth to the Artificial Continent. Although, if it were so valuable, we wouldn't give it to you. It's only one-time use for a two-way trip, and it can only transport one person."

Joe held his head as he began to comprehend the value of the objects he had just obtained.

"Uh, thanks. Can you leave now? I need to sort out my thoughts."

The young man in the hall seemed accustomed to situations like these as he silently walked away.

Joe walked back into the room to sort out his thoughts. With the handkerchief, he could head back to obtain the Scripture, but what if there were more Scriptures on Earth? He could only return once with his current resources, so he decided to hold off on the decision before he got stronger. He wasn't so arrogant to believe he was the only Wizard on Earth, especially after the Rhad incident.

The fruits seemed useful, and from what he was told, they should be enough for him to break through to the Wizard level.

He then looked at the pamphlet. It showed a basic description of the basic powers. Basically, there was the Cultivator Union and the Wizard Assembly, with various powers underneath each one. The Cultivator Union and Wizard Assembly were founded by a Perfected Immortal and Saint respectively.

They each held great influence over the Artificial Continent, which was approximately 9 billion square kilometers in surface area, about 18 times the surface area of the Earth. Although the continent was monstrous in size, gravity was unaffected because, according to the pamphlet, the Great Creator decreed it so.

Joe quickly absorbed this essential information, as he organized his objects. He put the fruits and pamphlet back into the spatial ring and put the handkerchief on the bedside table. He decided to run his thoughts over with the system, since he couldn't quite figure out what to do himself.

'Hey, system. Should I go back using the handkerchief to get the real Scripture, or use your copy?'

[These things are all up to the host, however, the most recommended path would be to become a Wizard and come back to get the second volume]

Joe thought it over, and felt it a good decision. He plopped the fruits onto the bed from the spatial ring. He picked up a fruit that seemed like a combination of an apple and a strawberry and put it in his mouth.

It was surprisingly solid, and he sunk his teeth deeper inside. The fruit began to liquify and flowed down his throat.

Soon, Joe felt his forehead heating up, as though he had a fever. He suddenly entered a fever dream like state, as his mind wandered. Suddenly, as though he wasn't in control, his mind wandered over to the kitten's memories. There was some play-fighting memories, and milk suckling.

The visualization of his mind began to take apart the memories, swallowing them. In what seemed to be a few minutes, all the memories of the kittens were gone. All that remained was the visualization of his mind. It was stationary and growing.

Joe slowly felt his mind fading, as his avatar began to seem blurry. Upon blurring, it disappeared slowly.

It seemed like an eternity passed before the avatar disappeared completely.

…

Joe sat up from his bed in cold sweat. His forehead no longer felt hot, and his body felt more relaxed than ever. His mind however, was a different matter.

'What was that? The effect of the fruit?'

The experience wasn't all that pleasant, although the benefits seemed good. He decided to check if his status changed at all.

'Status'

[

Names/Aliases: Joe, Idiot, Massive Virgin

Mental State: Uneasy

Physicality: Average Earthling Male

Age: 19

Cultivation Technique: Vol. 1 of the Virginity Scripture

Spiritual Root: N/A

Wisdom: 29.6

]

It seemed his Wisdom hadn't changed at all, so what could that fruit have done? He then remembered what Arkan said earlier.

'A bottleneck for us Wizards is when we completely assimilate the memories of others.'

So that was a fruit meant to refine those memories and truly make them my own?

Upon this realization, Joe thought no more of the subject, and took out the next fruit. It looked like a banana-sized blueberry. Joe thought about how to fit it in his mouth, before shoving it all inside anyways.

This time, the fruit liquified the moment it came in contact with his saliva. It burrowed into his stomach before his forehead felt hot again. This time, instead of fever dreaming, his head suddenly felt full, as his hearing weakened. His head felt heavy and he could barely hear anything from the outside world.

Suddenly, he felt as though he had entered a whole new world. Blinking lights of varying colors surrounded him. The first volume had mentioned such a thing. Each color represented an element, and the first element he took in would gain a strong affinity with him. Of course, if the affinity with said element was already low, it would only be raised to an average affinity.

Joe nearly lost his way in the sea of colors, as he looked around, seeing blue, red, brown, black, and green. He stumbled around as his head felt heavy. He felt drowsy, but the Scripture said that if he fell asleep, he would fail to ascend.

Joe didn't want a basic element like fire, water, earth, or wind. He wanted a special element because he hoped to be unique inside.

Joe was in a deadlock. He didn't know which color to choose. He stayed like this, stumbling around for minutes on end, before the drowsiness got to him. Joe was an inherently indecisive person, and would only make a solid decision if the situation came to it. At this point, Joe couldn't care less about which element he absorbed.

He stumbled over to a color that seemed unique. It was a dark purple. He stumbled his way over before attempting to reach out and grab the color. It passed right through his hand.

Joe could no longer think straight from the drowsiness from the fruit. He lunged onto the purple particle and it sunk into his chest. Although his mind was drowsy, it could still drive his body to absorb the purple particle.

Joe passed out before he could remember what happened after.

…

When Joe woke up, the first thing he did was check himself. He thoroughly scanned his mind to check for abnormalities before not finding anything.

He suddenly remembered that he could just use the system to check his Wisdom.

'Wisdom!'

[Wisdom: 36]

Joe was ecstatic. He had become a Wizard! Now that that was confirmed, he checked what element he absorbed.

When a Wizard absorbed an element, it would reside in their hearts until death. A wizard increased their affinity by gathering more of an element within their hearts, making a kind of magnet for the elements. It could be continually refined to make a stronger magnet. Once a Wizard's heart was filled, their absorption rates were fixed.

Inside Joe's heart, he saw a single dark purple blot. If you weren't looking for it, you would have surely missed it. Upon seeing this, he tried to absorb some surrounding elements by activating the blot in his heart with his mental power.

There was little to no reaction. Joe frowned at this.

He continued activating it for about an hour, with no results. He looked around the room and managed to catch the handkerchief on the bedside table slightly waving. It was rather strange, as there was no wind in the room.