A Reaper's Philosophy-Chapter 65: Lesson

Gen then began to fly up towards the 50th floor. The tailed Lilith and I then immediately followed after him.

"How is it that we can fly in here, but not outside?" I asked Gen.

"Our Hardon Sect exists in a separate dimension. Restrictions like flight dont apply to us here." Gen said proudly.

We then flew up to the 50th floor and landed on a platform right in front of a door with the number 3 on it. We walked through the door and found a classroom beyond it. A lesson was currently in session. Theater like seats were arranged in a semi-circle all facing one person.

A woman, in a long silver robe, was standing at the very front speaking to a full classroom. She looked to only be in her 40s, but plenty of cultivators, young and old alike, listened attentively. The seats were not enough, so many of them had to stand on the sides, but each one of them listened with respect.

"So that’s Elder Mai?" I asked out loud as I walked in.

Multiple eyes in the room then glared at me after hearing what I said.

"Ssshhh!" Gen shushed me.

We then stood at the very back and listened the old woman talk. I was curious to see what was so special about this woman.

"As you all know, Exousia is the source of our power. Not everyone’s body is built for manipulating exousia so the Theós System doesn’t just pick anyone. Exousia is a power within every living thing and even Evnoia itself.

Those who can use it have a network of pathways within their bodies, that exousia passes through. Using our will, we can manipulate exousia through these pathways. With each level, the pathways become solid, solidifying your power more and more.

Although everything and everyone has exousia, they don’t all have the pathways to harness this energy. Exousia is connected to everything, and these pathways are like a bridge between exousia and everything else.

Those whose bodies are compatible with this power are called hosts. Once you have begun your journey as a host, there is no going back. As a host you also become a target. The only road a host can take is the road to more power.

Beasts are attracted to the energy that we hosts give off, and just like how we can get stronger by killing them, they too can get stronger by killing us and other beasts as well. Sooner or later, you will be hunted down, it is your responsibility to become stronger and survive living in this world as a host.

The Theós system will provide you with a significant amount of exousia for every beast you kill. This exousia is then used to expand your pathways. The stronger the beasts; the greater the rewards.

Within every beast is a Beast Core, located within the heart. You can either sell these beast cores or use them for crafting. However, the best use of a beast core for any host, is its energy. Hosts can absorb the exousia within a beast core. This is the life energy that will be needed for you to fill up the paths you choose and break through to the next level.

The amount of exousia that the Theós system provides for the beasts you kill does help to push you forward, but in most cases, it is simply not enough to breakthrough. Unless you are willing to kill more than the required amount of beasts, absorbing beast cores is the most efficient way to power.

The type of beast you kill matters as well and will determine your path as a host. If you were to kill, for example, beasts with an affinity for ice, you would then have a higher affinity for ice. Your pathways will then be connected to that element and your body will begin to develop around it.

Younger people these days are in too much of a rush to gain power and get to the next level, but it is actually those who are patient enough to develop their foundation, that will gain true power.

Power comes through a proper understanding of the world. This is how you will be able to develop your own techniques and forge a path that best suits you. The right combination in powers, with a little luck, can yield outstanding results. Knowledge is power!" Elder Mai spoke to the classroom full of hosts.

"What if you were to kill enough beasts to break through to the next level without absorbing beast cores?" I asked a question out loud.

Everybody in the room then turned and looked at me indifferently.

Elder Mai then sized me up and looked away in disappointment. Nonetheless, she didn’t fail to answer my question either way.

"Someone who would do that would be leagues above those of the same cultivation, but doing so would be suicidal and almost next to impossible. One would have to kill 3 times the required amount of beasts. One would have to do this all with the power of the realm lower than the beast they are to kill. This would just lead you to take unnecessary risks that will end up killing you. It is already difficult to kill the required amount of beasts on the same stage." Elder Mai said.

I then turned to the tailed Lilith and could only imagine what kind of level she was on right now as she broke through to the Ascended Realm without absorbing even one beast core.

’Wait a minute. All those beasts we killed on the way, we could have made a huge profit from those beast cores!’ I thought to myself disappointedly then continued to listen.

"Just like how cultivators are ranked from Ordinary Cultivator, Ascended Cultivator, Mythical Cultivator, Legendary Cultivator, Heavenly Cultivator, to Deities, beasts are ranked the same. With Ordinary Cultivators and Ordinary Beasts being the weakest.

There is no level comparable to deities for beasts, but there are-," Elder Mai continued to speak, but then got cut off by a loud gong.

(GONG!)

A loud gong sounded all around the room.

"Alright, your time here is up...Leave!" Elder Mai said bluntly to the hosts in the room and not one of them disagreed.

They all bowed and began to depart.

"We can come back another time." Gen said then began to walk away.

"We’re staying. She’s right there, there’s no reason for us to wait for another chance just because she said we should leave." I said to Gen.

"That’s the only reason we need to wait! When Elder Mai commands something, you do it! No exceptions! We have to go.... Come ooon, let’s go, before she notices!" Gen said urrgently to the point where he began to plead.

We were now the only ones left in the room with Elder Mai.

"You three, come here!" Elder Mai commanded.

We then began to approach her, but Gen was still feeling hesitant as his body went stiff.

"Gen I know of, but I have never seen the two of you before. What’s your business here?" Elder Mai asked giving us a sharp and stern look.

"Thank you Elder, I am flattered that you would know-..." Gen began to say respectfully but then got cut off.

"After what you pulled, everybody in the sect knows of you!" Elder Mai said interrupting Gen.

The tailed Lilith then pulled out a small, blue, jade-like ball and gave it to Elder Mai. Elder Mai then took the ball and crushed it in her hand. A sticky blue liquid then got absorbed into her veins upon crushing the ball.

"Ravana sent you to me so I could have you join our Hardon Sect! She has never recommended anyone before. So, what’s so special about an Ordinary and Ascended Host?" Elder Mai said to us.

"Might be our charm." I said to her.

"You’re pretty confident with yourself, throwing jokes with me like that." Elder Mai said annoyed.

"I have the power to back my confidence." I responded with a smile.

"I’ll have you prove it then. Gen, are you confident with their abilities?" Elder Mai asked.

"Well... I don’t know about their abilities, but I’m confident with Ravana’s judgement." Gen replied.

"Hmm...go to Tempelis and have her give you Mission Z. If you complete this mission, I’ll take you in as my disciples. Gen, since you trust Ravana’s judgment, you will accompany them and give me a report." Elder Mai said.

"You two go on ahead. I need to speak with Gen alone." Elder Mai said to us.

Lilith and I then immediately left and headed over to Tempelis. There was nothing left to do. It was natural for her to want to test us first.

"Mai come on, I made a mistake. Isn’t Mission Z a bit too much of a punishment?" Gen said worryingly.

"First of all, that’s Elder Mai to you. Secondly, this is a good opportunity. People are still expecting me to kill you for what you’ve done.

You believe in Ravana’s judgement yeah? If so, then everything should be fine. I’ll trust your judgement as well in this, so keep a close eye on them and find out whatever you can. Nobody can walk into our Hardon Sect that confidently without a powerful backer." Elder Mai said.

Gen then left the classroom and went to Tempelis’ station as well. He found already there, chatting with Tempelis.

"Gen, I understand, but what did you guys do to piss off Elder Mai? If she didn’t want you here she would have just refused you instead of sending you on a suicide mission." Tempelis said levitating in the air.

"Some people act out when they meet with someone superior." I said to her.

"I see how you could piss her off now. Well it was nice knowing you..." Tempelis said lazily as she handed me a cylinder case.

"You should get some rest." I said to her as I received the case.

"I will, once I’ve mastered sleeping while levitating." Tempelis said.

"Why would you need to do that?" I asked her.

"I’m obviously trying to break through to a Legendary Host." She said like it was common knowledge.

"Enlighten me..." I said with a smile.

She gave me a long stare then proceeded to speak.

"I want my exousia absorption to be faster than my exousia consumption. Mythical Hosts have an exousia reserve 3 times that of an Ascended Host. Although our destructive power increases, we waste a lot more exousia. Our pathways are much wider and we must learn a different way of circulating exousia through the pathways.

There are 114 pathways. Commoners have no pathways whilst Ordinary Hosts only have access to 43 out of the 114. These pathways are connected to the most basic of elements: Water, fire, metal, air, earth, wood, etc. The rest are blocked and will need sufficient power to breakthrough.

Once one has broken through to an Ascended Host, they gain access to an additional 43 pathways. Your exousia reserves only increase slightly at this stage, but you gain a connection to a variety of powers.

These new pathways connect with the first 43 pathways and allow the host to change the properties of the basic elements. Water can become ice; fire can become lava; a piece of wood can transform into an entire garden. It all depends on the creativity of the host and their level of comprehension. As well as a little luck. If one was to combine the wrong pathways, it could outright destroy their body and even kill them." Tempelis began to say lazily, but with surprising detail.

She delve deep into the core of the subject. She was more detailed than even Elder Mai.

"As for Mythical Cultivators..." She continued to say. "Their power is like a sea. It is trippled from the previous realm and one gains access to an additional 21 pathways. These pathways are less than the ones gained in previous realms and are greatly connected to your emotions.

If you think you can’t do something, then it won’t happen. If you believe you can, then all you need is the power and comprehension to make it happen.

Although the power is immense, it is very easy to fracture your progress and harm others as well. It is possible to even burn someone alive from simply hating them. Which is why it is so important to gain control in this realm. This is debatably your most vulnerable realm as what you believe might come to pass.

Despite this, it is still the most important realm. It is at this realm that you can learn multiple techniques because of the increased exousia reserve. Your success in learning techniques is highly dependant on the body that you have and your level of comprehension. The pathways connect to the same things, but are arranged differently within the body for each person. Techniques require a lot of power to pull them off. At most, one can only learn one before the Mythical Realm.

Beyond the Mythical Realm, however, it is incredibly difficult to learn ordinary techniques. The 21 pathways become more solid and become your foundation. One must be certain of the path they choose and be prepared to stick to it.

Legendary Hosts gain an additional 7 pathways, what they connect to varies with different people depending on the path they chose to follow in previous realms.

Legendary Hosts naturally use exousia in the most efficent way their body can. Not only that, but they can draw in exousia from Evnoia itself to replenish their energy. The efficiency of this is what sets apart Legendary Hosts from the rest of the lower realms. If I can’t comprehend this, I will remain stuck in the same place." Tempelis concluded. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"That was a whole lesson you know, but I like how you don’t wait for handouts and are actually putting in the work. Good luck!" I said to her and gave her a thumbs up.

"Yeah, you too..." She said as she watched us leave.

"Interesting guy. Shame he is going to die...poor Gen..." Tempelis said to herself as we teleported out of the sect.