Re: Timeless Apocalypse-Chapter 123: Questions(III): Layers of Complexity

"I mean mechanically, why are Pioneers able to do this? And how is it any different from simply cultivating?"

"You need a lot of effort and resources to elevate the power of your Pioneer Scale, but so do you to cultivate and get stronger."

"The way I see it, it’s only really ever useful for weak cultivators getting hunted by much more powerful ones, no?"

"Why would I care if my Scale grants me the power of a God if I already am one? Sure, I’ll have the power of two Gods, but... then what? I’ll still lose to three of them."

"The logic is wonky but you get my point."

"There is also the question of investment and its returns. Yes, if my scale is high, I’m stronger than others, but I do not think cultivation has ever been about raw power."

"Why would it matter if I have the power of an S-Rank at the G-Rank if they have a plethora of talents, uniquenesses, and characteristics to counter me and bridge the gap?"

"It almost feels redundant. At that point, would I not be better off simply cultivating rather than focusing on my Scaling?"

Uriel was more talking to himself rather than asking his tool a question, yet it listened nonetheless, so attentively that it fueled his rambling more and more.

The points he brought up were very valid, though, and were among the most debated subjects between Pioneers of the wider universe.

"There’s also the question of limits. Just how strong can I get before it either becomes redundant or impossible to manage?"

"In the sense that, let’s say upon entering the B-Rank all awakened gain the ability to, I don’t know, nullify other people’s sparks, for example."

"If my scale is at the Third Step, what advantage do I realistically have? Yes, I can punch as hard as a Third Step, but now I suddenly don’t have the ability to use my spark against B-Rankers, so the gap between ranks still is ultimate."

"And if I then pivot and focus on my cultivation, by the time I reach the Third Step, I’ll probably realise I’d have reached the fifth or fourth step in the same time had I ignored my scaling."

"And all I got in return for that is the power of two Third Steps while at the Third Step, which is still infinitely weaker than a Fourth Step expert."

He continued to ramble for a long while, his voice echoing across the dark cave and his mind speeding across thousands of lanes of consideration.

Eventually, he mellowed out.

"It all feels very counterintuitive."

[It is only so if the line between the Pioneer Scale Limiters and regular Limiters is not drawn.]

[Regular Limiters work linearly and directly. If you have a B-Rank Limiter, then at any rank beneath the B-Rank, at most, you can display B-Rank power.] 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

[Usually, limiters also allude to a cultivator’s limit in terms of potential. A B-Rank limiter often means that’ll be as high as you go unless you spend years upon years meditating and finding divine resources.]

[But that is beside the point.]

[Pioneer Scale Limiters do not work in the same way. In fact, they work across three layers of complexity.]

[The first is the most simple and it is ’Limit’ as a concept in its entirety. Pioneers simply do not have the same limits as others.]

[It’s not that they break limits, though they do, but that their limits are simply higher. You shouldn’t see it as a Pioneer with the power of a God, but rather a Pioneer whose limit is that of a God.]

[It is quite nuanced. In the former, the Pioneer has power that only a God should have, while in the latter, by virtue of their own limits and standards, they possess said power.]

[It’s almost like a difference in quality. Your path is so pristine and perfect that to others you may as well be a God, and when you eventually become a God, to other Gods, you’ll be beyond imagination.]

[It’s a matter of relativity.]

[The second layer of complexity is the ability to break said limits through your Limiter itself. The Pioneer scale doesn’t work in ranks and steps like normal limiters.]

[And what that means is that you are able to explore the unknown. The highest of Pioneers have the power of the Gods, but what happens once they break past that limit?]

[The final layer is also linked to relativity and limits as a whole. Simply said, it evens out all playing fields you may step on and makes it so that your true enemies may only ever be Pioneers.]

[Say you began to be chased by a God and somehow survived long enough. If that God is not a Pioneer, over time, you will simply surpass that God by surviving.]

[Evidently, I bring up the word God a lot, but only a few may ever reach that boundary. Like you said, for most Pioneers, pushing their foundation to such a level has massively diminishing returns.]

[In a million Pioneers, you’d be hard pressed to find one with such a high boundary, but it serves as a good point of reference nonetheless.]

Uriel slicked his hair back and licked his lips, his gaze pensive.

"So, in other words, I create my own standards. I’ll be as strong as I can go in each realm, and over time, it all compounds."

"If from the G-Rank to the Ex-Rank I constantly break my limits as a Pioneer in each stage, it’ll inevitably compound into a perfect foundation?"

"But if in one stage I don’t take advantage of my Pioneer Scale, and I then break past that stage, I’ll forever have that stage as a flaw in my foundation unless I find a way to go back?"

[Yes.]

"And I’m guessing the resources and methods needed to break those limits are rare, even for Pioneers? No, I’m guessing most Pioneers have to create their own methods?"

[Yes.]

Uriel grinned.