Chapter 16: Arrival

Chapter 16: Arrival

With a VR headset in hand and high spirits, Fria was about to enter Otherworld Prime. She still had two weeks of Summer vacation before college started, and had asked for time off work so she could play.

She jumped around excitedly, her silver hair swaying from side to side before sitting down.

She took a deep breath. A calm smile returned to her face as the headset was put over her head and the power button was pressed.

———

INITIALIZING...

...

...

RUNNING GAME...

...

...

WELCOME TO OTHERWORLD PRIME

...

...

-Please Enter Your Name:

"Fria."

-Welcome, Fria. Your character will be created based on your current appearance. Enter when ready.

———

Everything was as advertised, the next step was the most exciting.

"Enter."

-Player is advised of an epilepsy warning for the upcoming scene.

"Who is that beauty?" An Inner Disciple asked.

"Shh, can't you see she's walking with Elder Fan?"

"So?"

"So it means you have no chance!" the Disciple sneered. "I know every Inner Disciple, which means she was just recruited personally by Elder Fan!"

"You wanna fight?"

"Yeah let's go!"

The rumors of a new Inner Sect Disciple quickly spread throughout the Spirit Ascension Sect. Without knowing it, Fria had become a hot topic within the Sect in a matter of hours.

Elder Fan brought Fria into their Great Hall and led her to the Techniques section. There were dozens of rows of Techniques present, which described their effects.

"Take your time to pick any Cultivation Technique you want from here, but you can only take one." Elder Fan started, "Once you've decided, I'll take you to one of the Technique Elders, who will inscribe the Cultivation Technique you've selected to learn."

"Okay, thank you Elder. Is there anything you recommend?" Fria asked.

"You won't awaken any natural affinities until you've become a Cultivator unless you're a Manamatus, so it'll be hard to tell what suits you. I recommend finding a Technique that suits all Elements or has special effects to give you an edge in battle."

"Hmm, okay." Fria began looking through the manuals based on the Elder's words.

Fria spent nearly an hour in this section of the Great Hall and had narrowed down the number of Techniques to choose from to two.

The first had a method to draw Qi from the surroundings to cultivate, but also could convert the mana of different elements to the affinity of her choosing. The conversion rate was decreased for conflicting Elements but was still very useful.

The second could draw the surrounding Qi, but only absorb mana of one element at a time. The rate of absorption would be greatly increased if the user was in a suitable environment. For example, if she gained Fire Affinity, cultivating near lava or fire would speed up her growth significantly.

She took the two Techniques to Elder Fan, who recommended she use the second Technique as the Sect had plenty of resources, and future opportunities could allow her to come back for the second method later.

There was no limit to the number of Cultivation Techniques one could use, as a weaker starting Technique would not hinder the future growth of a Cultivator. This means there is no need to cripple oneself to restart Cultivation if they discover a stronger Technique.

The Technique was transferred to Fria by the Elder who knew the method, then she returned to her housing. Fria thanked Elder Fan profusely for his guidance before running inside with great excitement.

Hui Fan noticed that during the entire interaction, Fria was mostly unaffected by their aura. As Nascent Soul experts, the Elders' auras should have at least made her nervous, even if they weren't directing it at her.

"Something tells me that girl is going to be a powerhouse someday." Elder Fan shook his head and took his leave.

[1] A standard incense stick takes approximately 30 minutes to burn.