Mistakes were Made.

I blink.

The screen blinks.

I blink harder.

The screen blinks harder.

I read it's text.

It reads my text.

Wait I have te- not important.

[ The Cultivation System (that everybody has(your not special)) ]

[ Name: ]

[ Age: 13 ]

[ Race: Human ]

[ Cultivation Path: --- ]

[ Cultivation Realm: --- ]

[ Attributes: ]

[ Might: 7 ]

[ Finesse: 8 ]

[ Endurance: 7 ]

[ Vitality: 7 ]

[ Will: 12 ]

[ Acuity: 9 ]

[ Intelligence: 10 ]

[ Wisdom: 5 ]

[ Points: 0 ]

This system is really insulting. And why is it that wisdom is my lowest attribute? Peh.

[ You have been granted a cultivation path, because you have none. ]

[ Cultivation Path: Path of the Dancing Gale (C)]

[ Path Type: Combat ]

[ Aspects: Air, Wind, Motion ]

[ Accept Path? Y/N ]

Yeah, I guess so. Accept.

There are several types of path. Combat - the type I have gains points for doing, well, combat. Crafting types gain points from crafting, and so on and so forth.

My status? Yeah, status, rewrites itself in front of me, revealing new information.

[ Name: Xiao Bai ]

[ Age: 13 ]

[ Race: Human ]

[ Cultivation Path: Path of the Dancing Gale ]

[ Cultivation Realm: Pre Mortal Initiate ]

[ 000/100 points to next Stage ]

[ Chi: 1.5/100, Rgn 0.5 per second ]

[ Attributes: ]

[ Might: 7 ]

[ Finesse: 8 ]

[ Endurance: 7 ]

[ Vitality: 7 ]

[ Will: 12 ]

[ Acuity: 9 ]

[ Intelligence: 10 ]

[ Wisdom: 5 ]

[ Points: 0 ]

Not much difference, is there? After waiting till thirteen to get it, it didn't seem as good as everyone said. But, I did only just get it, I haven't seen it all.

I stretch, and roll out of my bed, idly wondering if the Four ever slept. Probably not. I strip off my pajamas and step into some proper clothes. I then proceed to, like a normal person, make my bed, brush my teeth and eat my breakfast. I then grab my bag and make my way to school. I am thirteen, after all. I walk for a couple minutes, ignoring the traffic around me. I then takes two buses and another fifteen minute walk.

The buses are not traditional buses - they are made of gravitite, a metal that while incredibly heavy, when infused with chi, reverses its gravity. With a skilled operater adjusting the amount reversed and moving he buses forward, gravitite vehicles became mainstream. Speaking of gravitite, there are small vehicles, floatation devices or something, that allowed for fast transport. Now that I'm thirteen, I can use them. I peer into a shop window, looking at the prices. I sigh. The cheapest is still way out of my price range. 10,00 credits is a lot of money. Credits could be exchanged with the system for points, at a ratio of 1 point to 10 credits, or vice versa. I needed to save my meager amount of credits for my cultivation and living expenses. A quick check tells me that I only have 243 credits left.

At a prompt quarter to eight, I arrive at my school, though the word school is a bit of an understatement. It is a bustling hive of activity, schoolboys and schoolgirls chatting, thirteens boasting about the path they had, children of prestigious families bragging about the greatness of their family's cultivation path that they were all given, teachers marking submissions at the last minute, under thirteens gaping in awe at their older friends boasting, in short, a mess.

I slip through he crowd, and make my way into the school building, making my way to my period one class.

My first class is General Cultivation Theory. This is where we learn about cultivation and how it influences our culture, technology, and economics. It also includes the general theory behind cultivation.

I open the door and step into the room. It isn't big, but it isn't small either. Around half of the seats are already filled; the room is filled with noise, as the teacher isn't here yet.

I beeline towards my seat, avoiding Leroy McCoy's stuck out foot, plop my bag next to my seat and sit down.

The endless drivel continues, and I consider my options for the future. One, I could become a Hunter, culling the beast population around the city, making loads of money - but high chance of serious injury or death, at least while I am starting out. Two, become a city guard. Easier, and certainly safer than being a Hunter, but much more boring and much less money. Three, become a private guard/fighter. This would be where I would work for a private employer, guarding their properties and such, maybe raiding other properties. Sure, it is much more lucrative, but yeah, much higher standards, and high possibility of danger. Not my cup of tea, being an average underage citizen. Nevertheless, I get out my phone and begin searching for possible jobs as a private enforcer. Please note how I completely skimmed over non combat professions and he military. While hard to do, it is easy, at least for a pre stage to change path.

[ Looking for private enforcer, at least ten years of experience, at least Lord realm. Pays 56,000 credits per month. ]

Sigh. No luck. I scroll down further.

[ Private enforcer, requires Path of Fire, and at least Mortal Disciple, pays 32,010 credits per month. ]

More doable, no veteran requirements, but no.

To no avail, I search and search, but no suitable opportunities appear before the teacher enters the room.

"Stand." We stand. "Bow." We bow. "Sit." We sit. The teacher begins. "Today, we will be walking upon the topic of powerful cultivators and how they influence our culture, mainly focusing on the Four. Now, you are all familiar with the Four?" He scans the room, his steely grey eyes hardening at those who looked away. "For those who have deemed the Four unimportant and have neglected the subject, the Four are the four strongest cultivators. Individually, they are known as the Wandering Tortoise, the Silent Tiger, the Bleeding Phoenix and the Weeping Dragon. Their exact cultivation levels and paths are unknown." I survey the room, quietly sniggering at the others, who just received important information which seemed to baffle them. Yeah, right, they really were at the 'God' realm, with the paths of the Wandering Tortoise, the Silent Tiger, the Bleeding Phoenix and the Weeping Dragon, weren't they! Idiots.

The day blurs by, and before I realise it, I'm back in my apartment.

I check my phone, again and grin at the screen. My dream job.

[ Recruiting newly thirteens, minimum 5 in all attributes, no path or realm requirements, lodging paid for, gives free training and new path. ]

It looked shady, and there was no ID for he poster, but that didn't put me off. I hit yes as fast as I could, speed typing in my ID, address and cmail, as if it would disappear if I didn't take the chance immediately.

I beam at the screen. Brilliant! Ha! Dream job, accomplished! I do a little happy jig, before sitting down. Great! Yes! Hell yeah! I eat a quick snack and wait. The reason I accepted this is because formal training is hella expensive, and jobs like these granted privileges in the future. Who would you trust more? The warrior raised and trained by hand by you, or some shady veteran? Easily the first one. Raised warriors are valued greatly because of this, and other reasons.

I am still celebrating when the doorbell rings. It must be them! I brush the crumbs of my clothes and smooth them out, then hop to the door.

"Xiao Bai?" a deep, masculine voice asks.

"Yes, that's me!" I chirrup and unlock and open the door. I am knocked unconscious near instantaneously. Oh shit, I think, before he world fades to black.

*wooshyesthisismytransitionoitisnartymsisihtseyhsoow*

Huh? Where am I? I remember getting a really good job and then - shit.

"Xiao Bai is awake." A voice resounds across whatever manner of room I find myself trapped in. Blearily, I open both of my eyes. Bright light shines through the lids, anyway, so I open them. That's why. What am I doing? Oh yeah. Opening my eyes.

I'm lying on some sort of table, facing up to a pristine white ceiling and walls. There is some tube lighting above which was the reason my eyes seemed to ache.

A dark figure looms over me, obscured by the light shining down. Shiny. The siluete looks down at me and says: "Absorb this path stone. After getting rid of your current one. Drink." It hands me a bottle of white liquid. Was this the theme? White?

I gulp the liquid down, throat parched.

[ Path of the Dancing Gale has been removed. ]

I take the offered path stone. A notification materialises.

[ Absorb Path Stone: ??? Y/N ]

Yes, I think to it.

[ Path absorption commencing. ]

The path stone melts into my hand, burning my skin. I scream. Restraints come out of nowhere and pin me onto the table. More figures materialise.

"Commencing Operation. Path stone being absorbed. Binding artefact to subject: Xiao Bai." A monotonous female voice rings through the room, figures hurriedly performing operations on my body as I screamed on, oblivious because of the pain. At one point, a hand clamps down over my mouth, muffling my screams of agony. I pay it no heed.

Eventually, after what felt like days of torture, the pain stops. I am now alone. Only then do I realise the stupidity of what I did, and that I was probably under a mind altering affect after I woke up. I would have asked if the pah was a combat one first if I was of proper mind. I wouldn't want to be a maid for the rest of my life.

[ Path gained: ??? (M) ]

[ Path Type: Combat ]

[ Aspects: Transcendence, Spirit, Artefact ]

[ Awakened Artefact bound. +5 to all attributes. ]

I feel another presence in my body. I will it to my hand, and I see a formless black-green mass move up my arm, to my hand, and I notice that I am no longer restrained. I look at the mass, scrutinising and at the aspects of my path. It is quite clear that they are linked, somehow. The mass disperses back into the rest of my body when I stop focusing on it.

I try to call up the 'Awakened Artefact's' screens.

[ Awakened Artefact ]

[ Mythic ]

[ Soulbound. Cannot be lost, stolen, or given. ]

[ Living: Grows with user. ]

[ Aspects: Transcendence, Spirit, Artefact ]

[ Energy: 100/100 ]

[ Offense: N/A (50% Transcendence, 50% Spirit) ]

[ Defence: N/A (50% Transcendence, 50% Spirit) ]

[ Durability: N/A ]

[ Forms: Unbound (Current) ]

[ Abilities: None ]

I stare, shocked. This artefact is worth more than the entire city! Sure, it's only one of the smaller ones, but it's still a city!

I quickly sit up. It dawns upon me that, my employers must be incredibly powerful, to have such an artefact. I reread its screens. It's an awakened artefact! An awakened one! I begin wondering how strong and influential my employers truly are. To have not only a living artefact, but an awakened living artefact, soulbound at that, and a mythic path? That's Four level material.

An unassuming man enters through a stainless steel door. A bit cheap of them, in my opinion, but not my place to question. He smiles at me. He has light brown hair and blue eyes, with skinny, nerdy features. I guess his age to be around thirty to forty. He says,

"Follow me, Xiao." I stand up, and walk towards him, albeit a bit unsteadily. "The procedure may be a bit tiring, but I assure you, it is quite necessary."

Yeah right. Bet y- I cut off hat train of thought, to be on the safe side. Who knows? They may have a mind reader. He steps out of the room, and I follow. The man takes us down a maze of corridors and passages, to an unknown destination. The man seems to know, though. We stop outside of a door, and he motions me through.

I open the door, briefly remembering the last time I did this. I do not hesitate, though, and enter. The new room, is not a room at all. It is a large and spacious garden, filled with a variety of plants I cannot identify. Another man is standing there, tall and proud, with sharp, regal features, high cheekbones, stormy grey eyes, and hair as black as pitch.

"Greetings," He rumbles, in a gravelly tone. "I see you have successfully bound with the artefact. May I see it? With your acuity, you should surely have figured it out by now."

"Y-yes sir," I stutter. I hold up my hand and will the artefact to it.

"Interesting." Nothing else? Meh. Stu- Stop! "You are under my employment," I notice that he wears a military uniform. Major, or higher. I'm not that hot on the military. "This means that I will train you, and make you strong. In exchange, you take my orders." He doesn't give me any time to respond. "You will be taken to your room, and then you will report for training in this room." I nod, hurriedly. "Go." He dismisses me.

I exit the garden chamber room thing and follow the man. I still don't have any of their names or affiliations.

*wooshyesthisismytransitionoitisnartymsisihtseyhsoow*

I survey my room. It is bare bones, only containing a bed, a dresser, a wardrobe, a branch of bathroom, an analogue clock on the wall and no windows. Everything has a bland white tone. Bare bones. I settle down, finding underclothes in the dresser and pajamas and a uniform in he wardrobe. They are all white and unadorned, excepting the uniform which is black, with white and gold panels, with violet trimmings. The uniform also has a pair of neat boots, in the same colourings. I check the time. 8:23. I don't know if it's AM or PM. I note that I'm in underclothes similar to the ones in my dresser. Bland, white, a sleeveless t-shirt and leggings. No socks. I sit, reflecting on my actions, and decide to practice on my artefact wielding.

I will it to my hand, and condense it there, forming a glove around my now closed fist. A notification dings. I ignore it. I walk up to the wall, and punch. Oddly, it doesn't hurt, though it's likely the artefacts doing. The wall just stands there, unaffected. I guess it would be kind of counterintuitive if I could just punch down all the walls immediately. To make sure it was the artefact, I release the artefact back into my body and punch. I cry out in pain and cradle my bruising hand to my chest. I had punched as hard as I could. I was Not A Good Idea™ like every other thing I do.

I wimper and check my noties, as I decided to call my notifications. Notification is too long a word.

[ New form available! Gauntlet. Artefact attributes while in this form:

Offense: 10 (50% Trnsc, 50% Spirit)

Defence: 10 (50% Trnsc, 50% Spirit) ]

I grin with glee. I check all my artefacts stats and pause when I realise that its energy went down.

[ Energy: 97/100 ]

It slowly ticks up, after more than two and a half minutes. That's some slow regeneration.

Even at my apparent fortune, I wish I had the foresight to consult with my parents before taking this job. I freeze. What parents? I-I don't know? I thought I have parents? Everybody has parents? I tremble. Almost mechanically, I coat my hand with the artefact and stomp on it.

[ Energy: 94/100 ]

Strange. That didn't hurt as much as I thought it would have.

*wooshyesthisismytransitionoitisnartymsisihtseyhsoow*

The clock ticks to 8:30. The door opens and a small thing made of metal whirs into the room, leaving food and water on the floor. I eat it and change into my pajamas, falling asleep in bed.