Core Creation Rank
Name: Unknown
Rank: Core Creation
Tier: 1/9
*Cultivation*
Path 1: ------
Path 2: ------
Path 3: ------
Core Grade: Dragon
...
Skill: Basic Cultivation
Status: Requirements Met
Requirements: Have a Core of Core Grade Earth or above
Acquire Skill? Y or N
Vin was quite baffled by what was happening. He had just realized that he had formed his cores only to be asked about some system. Everything after that happened automatically; now he was being asked about skills.
Since he was not understanding what was happening, he opted for the safe route and simply thought, 'No.' A new screen popped up in his mind, and this had some really alarming information.
"Warning!!! If the Basic Cultivation Skill is not acquired, the host will not be able to cultivate.
Do you want to DECLINE THE SKILL? Y or N"
Reading through the contents of the new holographic screen in his mind, Vin Blake felt the blood drain out of his face. If what the system said was true, then he would not be able to become a cultivator.
After the initial shock, Vin calmed himself down and recollected his thoughts. His conclusion: the system was lying to him. Why would he not be able to cultivate when he had a core, not to mention his other two extra cores?
'What about my cores?' Vin thought with pride, having believed he had outsmarted the system.
"The Cores will be deactivated and left dormant.
Do you want to DECLINE THE SKILL? Y or N"
Vin felt cheated by the system's reply. He felt that the system gave him the option to mock him because if he declined, he would never become a cultivator. And in this world, that meant becoming completely powerless.
'Yes, I accept the skill.'
"Skill Acquired: Basic Cultivation"
"Analyzing the host body...."
"Alert: Core Grade is Dragon
New Skills Attained: Improved Cultivation, Hyper Cultivation"
"Skill: Improved Cultivation
Status: Requirements Met
Requirements: Have a Core Grade of Sky or above
Acquire Skill? Y or N"
"Skill: Hyper Cultivation
Status: Requirements Met
Requirements: Have a Core Grade of Dragon or above
Acquire Skill? Y or N"
Thinking that these skills were in line with the Basic Cultivation Skill, Vin accepted all of them.
"Skill Acquired: Improved Cultivation"
"Skill Acquired: Hyper Cultivation"
"Alert: Host can start cultivating
Do you want to be a cultivator? Y or N"
Vin stared at the holographic screen for a while as he thought about what was happening to him. He wondered what type of question this was, but knowing the system, if he said No, things could go bad. 'Yes'
"What is the cultivator's name?"
Vin subconsciously thought, 'Vin Blake.'
"Registering name..."
"Name registered: Vin Blake"
"Vin Blake, choose your paths of cultivation.
Path 1
Options: Beastial, Elementalist, Manifestor"
Vin was surprised that he had more than one option. Normally, cultivators chose one path of cultivation, and they never had the option to choose for themselves. Yet here he was, witnessing the impossible happening again.
Vin had finally made up his mind: he was not going to tell anyone about anything that had happened to him up to this point and anything else that might happen.
Among the three options, their strengths and weaknesses were determined by the situation. But the most common were the Elementalists. Finding people who took the other paths was not rare; it was just that the others were far fewer compared to the Elementalists.
Both his parents were Elementalists, and it would not be shocking if he turned out to be one as well. With all the information at hand, Vin decided to take the Path of the Elementalist. 'Elementalist'
"Elementalist chosen. Do you confirm? Y or N"
'Yes'
"Adopting Core 1..."
"Core 1 affiliated with elemental essence"
"Following a new path.
Path 1: Elementalist"
"Vin Blake, choose your paths of cultivation.
Path 2
Options: Beastial, Manifestor"
Vin looked at the holographic screen and refrained from being shocked. After everything that had happened up to now, of course, the system wanted him to take all the paths of cultivation. He did not even know how that was possible.
Sighing helplessly, Vin simply accepted the system's conditions.
...
"Adopting Core 2..."
"Core 2 affiliated with manifesting essence"
"Following a new path.
Path 2: Manifestor"
...
"Adopting Core 3..."
"Core 3 affiliated with beast essence"
"Following a new path.
Path 3: Beastial"
After everything was done, the holographic screens in his mind all disappeared. He was left in utter silence; the robotic voice had disappeared as well. This left him very curious, and he then tried to remember the name of the system. 'Primordial System'
He heard a click sound, and a holographic screen appeared in his mind. It looked like the first one he had seen, except it had more details.
"Name: Vin Blake
Rank: Core Creation
Tier: 1/9
*Cultivation*
Path 1: Elementalist
Path 2: Manifestor
Path 3: Beastial
Core Grade: Dragon
*Skills*
Cultivation: Basic Cultivation, Improved Cultivation, Hyper Cultivation"
Vin Blake looked at the screen with a complicated mix of emotions. He was happy he had advanced to the Core Creation Rank. But he did not know he was going to have three cores.
As he was breaking through, he got the Primordial System. If only the large man were here, he surely would have some answers about what was happening. He was now following all the paths of cultivation; he did not know how others were not going to find out.
He was also clueless about certain things, like core grade and what exactly these skills were. As if reading his mind, the system responded with holographic screens.
"Core Grade: a measure of the quality of a core in the host's body. The quality is assigned labels from the worst to the best: Earth, Sky, Dragon, Heavenly, and Perfect."
" *Skills*
Basic Cultivation (Passive): the core can refine essence from outside into the host's body.
Improved Cultivation (Passive): the core can refine essence from outside into the host's body at a rate faster than average.
Hyper Cultivation (Passive): the core can still refine essence into the host's body even in areas with moderately lower essence at a fast rate."
Slowly, Vin Blake opened his eyes and focused all his concentration on his surroundings, away from whatever was in his head. In front of him, he found his mother and father staring at him with a lot of worry.
When they saw him move, they rushed to help him get up.
He asked, "What happened?" Why were they acting like this?
"First, sit down on the chair." Vin proceeded to sit.
"You took longer than usual when breaking through. Normally people take two to three days. Rare cases are four days. But something different happened for you," his mother said.
"What happened? How long was I out?"
"Two."
"Two days?" Vin wondered why his parents were worried about him taking the minimum time.
"No, two weeks," his father replied. "Did you manage to break through?"
His parents looked at him expectantly.
"Yes. Yes, I did."
His answer sent his parents into immense joy; his mother even started tearing up.
But at this point in time, Vin Blake had his thoughts elsewhere.
'Two weeks. I had spent two weeks breaking through. What exactly happened to me while I was acquiring the system?'