Rosella was currently frowning heavily within her cottage in the Morningstar World, trying to concoct a new Legendary Rank Mystic Potion that could allow a witch to advance her Rank by one grade, regardless of experience accumulation.
She had been working on this particular formula since she was 10 years old, and nearly four years of work had not brought her any significant advancements toward its completion. Rosella did not have a panel yet as a Semi-Immortal Adventurer, so she could not advance her Tradeskills, which was her biggest limiter.
Despite this difficulty, she could craft anything below the Legendary Rank with relative ease. If she began accumulating experience after awakening her panel, only the heavens knew what kind of monstrous brews she would be making.
Of course, Rosella's crafting specialty for potions lay in the mystic type, not the general type. She definitely could not craft normal potions like Angel's Kiss and the like because those required the actual knowledge and application that the Tradeskill provided.
Eventually, the brew began to boil crazily, signaling an incoming cauldron explosion. Frustrated, Rosella casually pulled out her ladle and waved a hand to extinguish the mystic fire she used for the cauldron before walking out.
BOOM!
The cottage shook and expanded greatly, but a tide of mystic runes flashed on its surface, containing the explosion and preventing it from leveling the entire plane. The house soon shrunk back to normal, looking as pristine as it had been just a few moments ago.
Rosella, disappointed and somewhat disheartened, did not notice when she came upon a group of elders who were chatting about something while playing a board game together. Seeing that she had intruded, Rosella stopped and bowed in greeting before turning to leave.
"Hmm, Rosy lass, you look deeply perturbed. Why not come and sit with us old bones to relax?" Richmond offered as he stroked his beard.
Rosella paused and hesitated. "Esteemed Father holds you all in the highest regard; can I really occupy your time?"
Tianzi, the Dragon Ancestor, laughed. "My brat disciple is one thing, but you are another. Come, come, tell us about what worries you, girl."
Rosella eventually took a seat beside the four: Nakiu, Xue'er, Tianzi, and Richmond, who had become very docile during the ten-year period. Now, they hardly ventured out after becoming True Gods, mostly comprehending their laws or spending their time relaxed like this.
Occasionally, they assisted Jada and Jade in educating the multitude of children that Draco bore, whether it was in terms of life or their futures. Seeing that one of the pillar children was bothered, they naturally would not turn the other way.
Rosella sat down as if she were on pins and needles, not daring to show disrespect in the slightest. After all, these elders had been around for as long as she could remember, and Draco always treated them with respect in her presence, speaking fondly of them.
"My dear, do not feel worried. We are not going to eat you up; feel free to relax around us," Xue'er gently said as she rubbed Rosella on the back to calm her tense spirit.
Rosella released a deep breath and nodded. "Thank you, Elder Xue'er."
"Hmm. Now, why don't you tell us about what bothers you, dear?" Xue'er prompted as she made a move on the board.
"Well... I've been trying to make a breakthrough in my concoction ability for the past three years, but... I keep failing..." Rosella stated slowly, lowering her head slightly as she did.
Nakiu gently lifted her head with a smile while his other hand collected one of Richmond's pieces. "Chin up, Apprentice Niece. The path of the Dao is long and arduous, but only those with the perseverance to rise through the dragon gate can go from a mere carp to a soaring jiao!"
Tianzi and Xue'er had just been admitted into the Dragon Phoenix Palace of the Martial Spirit World and discovered to have Grade 12 Dragon and Phoenix martial spirits respectively, becoming the Young Ancestors of their era.
Richmond had been sporting a bruised face half of the time as his father beat him up since the old fellow kept trying to pass on his Subjective Magic, but the young Richmond would always run to the brothel and pay prostitutes to oink like pigs in the mud while he laughed uproariously.
None of them had the breadth of mind that Rosella did!
"What... should I do?" Rosella asked uncertainly.
Now that everything was out, she no longer had to rack her brains to think on her own and could rely on the wisdom of her elders for assistance.
"Hmm, Lad Draco has already told me to teach you Subjective Magic when you come of age and acquire your special traits as a progeny of an Immortal Adventurer, but nothing says we cannot start early," Richmond revealed after some thought.
"That's right; he also said we should perform a Martial Spirit Awakening for you, but we spoke with Brother Nakiu and decided to try and awaken true Spirit Roots for you to cultivate. That way, you can skip the body refinement layers and start from Qi Condensation right away," Tianzi also said as if just remembering.
Rosella was shocked. "Subjective magic and cultivation?! T-This..."
She had everything to be shocked because these two were things that had incredibly huge power behind them. Even her Esteemed Father deeply relied on Subjective Magic for all levels of difficulty he underwent, sometimes even in place of his bloodline, and he was only a Rank 5 practitioner in the field!
With Subjective Magic and Mystic Arts, Rosella could not even fathom how potent her magical capacity would be.
And then there was the tyrannical cultivation, which had the highest upper limit of all power systems. It could theoretically directly reach the peak of the Eternal Rank, as long as one had the requisite talent and resources, of course.
However, its huge demand for energy—and specialized energy in the form of spirit energy—was the biggest limiter of the art, not to mention the dangers of breakthroughs, the competition among fellow practitioners, and the restraint of natural-born talent as well as comprehension.
As Anubisetesh said, anyone could become an Eternal, and cultivation was one of the biggest reasons for this. This power system was like being a novel writer; anyone could enter it with the lowest qualifications, but if one wanted to stand out, they would need timing, luck, and hard work.
Cultivation was also generally seen as 'magic-oriented,' so it would perfectly harmonize with both Subjective Magic and the Mystic Arts. In fact, the synergy between the three could open whole new doors for Rosella that no one knew were possible.
Immediately, Rosella stood up and bowed solemnly. "Thank you for your care, Esteemed Elders! I won't let you down!"
The four nodded with a smile. "We know you won't; after talking with you, we have high hopes for you."
Rosella sat down and watched the elders play while listening to them chat about their experiences, lessons, and adventures from a young age. The young girl, whose heart was filled with impatience and sadness, began to lift as she found herself engrossed.
After all, when she was still a swaddling babe, her favorite thing was to lie in her Esteemed Father's arms while he talked about his adventures in the main plane or taught her things. Kuro and Loki usually would fall asleep and not listen, but she always listened to everything.
Maybe that was why she ended up desiring to live up to those grand tales.