One day of rest, lots of thinking, and chatting together with 29 and her team had passed, and Aka's team finally arrived at the field. The Instructor took the team into a room and began a long talk.
"I'll keep adding a bit more culture to you," he said. "Don't forget what I'm about to tell you, because I'll start from the basics."
"Our world is made of five main continents. These are the Main Continent, the Flying Islands of the North, the Forests of the South, the Atlantis of the West, and the Desert of the East. And between these continents, there is a region we call the Void. The stronger you are, the harder it is to get through it. — and there are very powerful creatures there. Anyway, we are on the Main Continent, which is ruled by the Central State. The Central State is governed by the Royal Family and the Seven Great Families. One of these families is the Wudang Sect that we belong to. The others are the Huo Family, the Yao Family, the Dou Family, the Bing Family, the Xu Family, and finally the Du Family. There is no ranking between them — the only thing equal to them is the Royal Family."
"Anyway, I told you to think. Did you figure out what I showed you yesterday?"Aka spoke up on behalf of everyone."Instructor, we think you avoided our attacks and hit us harder by using the Physical Strength ability we saw in our talents."The Instructor agreed — then asked, "So how did I do it?"Aka spoke again."Teacher, maybe you spread that energy into the air, and that's why our attacks didn't hit you. And I also think you strengthened your punches by adding that energy.""Half right," the Instructor said, then began explaining again.
"First of all, that thing you thought was some kind of shield has nothing to do with energy. The rest is partly correct. Yes, I did use Physical Strength to strengthen my punches — but I didn't 'add' it to my fist. I strengthened my arm and muscles with Physical Strength, which made my punches stronger. To explain Physical Strength better: it's like blood. It constantly flows inside your body, comes from the world, and returns to it. There are many ways to fill it, but it also refills on its own."
"The reason I'm telling you all this is because there are various ways to awaken the Physical Strength inside you. What we'll do is send some of our own energy into you, and it will collide with the energy you already have, awakening it. However, nobody truly understands why, but the initial amount of Physical Strength everyone awakens with is always different."
Then he told them to get ready. They sat cross-legged on the floor, and he placed his hand warmly on their backs. At first it felt like a healer's treatment, but after a while it felt like the blood inside them was evaporating — the pain was intense. Nobody knew how long it lasted, but Aka woke up first, then 32, then 34, and lastly 33. When the Instructor told them how long it had really been, none of them believed him. What had felt like a lifetime to them… was only 15 minutes.
The Instructor then asked each of them to tell him their Physical Strength Levels.Aka = 12, 32 = 22, 33 = 18, and 34 = 20.When the Instructor heard the numbers, his eyes sparkled. He happily congratulated 32 and 34, then removed team leadership from Aka and gave it to 32. 32 refused and asked that Aka keep it, but the Instructor didn't accept and continued explaining.
"Average students are between 10 and 15. Good students are between 15 and 20. And those with exceptional potential are 20 and above. That's why I'm this happy — you are the only team with two exceptional talents."
He then told them to forget about leadership for now and just digest the information.
"From now on, you are truly one of us. So you've earned the right to perform your second ritual. But before that, I need to explain what the rituals are."
"According to ancient wisdom, our world works like a great machine. Through what we call Rituals, we can trade with the world itself. And the most important thing is that these trades are almost limitless. If you could somehow own the whole world, you might even obtain eternal life. We call this the Offering and Wish System — and now you probably understand why."
"One important thing about Offerings and Wishes is their ratio. Simply put:If your offering is greater than your wish, your wish is granted.If they are equal, your wish is still granted.If your offering is less than your wish, your wish is still granted — but the world will take a price from you as an offering instead. And nobody knows what that price will be. It may take your memories. Or it may erase your existence from someone you love. It may take away an achievement you once earned. It can be absolutely anything. That's why your wish should always stay small — and your offering should always stay large."
"There are a few more details. First, there are Altars — the place where rituals are performed. If your altar matches your wish, it may increase the value of your offering. For example, if someone wants a skill useful in battle, building an altar like a battlefield, with weapons stabbed into the ground, might increase the value."
"But don't misunderstand — the weapons stabbed into the altar only increase value because they match the theme. If you actually sacrificed the weapon itself as the offering, the value wouldn't necessarily increase — the world always decides the true value."
"Another important factor is Prayers. If your prayer matches your wish, your offering's value increases again. Sometimes words that suddenly come to your heart may count as a prayer — but because there is no certainty, we never recommend relying on that. Besides that, we have confirmed prayers that absolutely increase value for certain wish types."
"With these rituals, you can create almost any ability. Normally, a person can only perform one ritual per year — and the required offering must grow each time because the total value increases. But someone could also create an ability that the world favors… or one that lets them risk a second ritual in the same year without dying. The only rule is that your offering must match your wish."
"I know you're confused — so I'll let each of you ask one question."
He first gave the turn to 32."If I simply wish for an ability that just 'makes me stronger', what happens?"The Instructor replied, "If you don't describe it clearly, the world interprets it as something far stronger than you intended — and you will most likely die."
Then 34 asked, "Is there a way to see someone else's abilities?""Yes," the Instructor said. "For example, you can create an ability that lets you see the window your opponent sees — or another that lets you read your own interpretation of them. But there may be a price. If someone examined me with an ability like 'Show me who this man really is', that alone might kill them."
Then 33 asked, "What abilities would you recommend for changing identity?"The Instructor smiled proudly. "It's impressive that you're already thinking so ahead. Things like changing your face or voice are useful. Or you could create illusions that distort perception."
Finally, it was Aka's turn."What determines the value of an offering?"The Instructor didn't like the question — or the fact Aka asked it — but still answered."It's based on how much the world needs it."Then he ended the Q&A and continued.
"About abilities — whenever you choose one, be specific. The more uncertainty you leave, the more the world will demand from you. If you add restrictions — like an ability that only activates when someone attacks you — the cost becomes lower than one you can use at will."
"My biggest advice is this: create narrow, limited abilities. They're easier to master, and far safer during rituals."
"Now — let's finish with Physical Strength. As I said, it's like blood. You cannot force it out of your body — so you cannot strengthen your weapons with it, only your body. The key to mastery is knowing exactly what to strengthen. If you strengthen your entire arm, it's weaker than strengthening only one muscle group — and wastes far more energy."
"Think of your current number like a container. The refill speed varies, but don't worry about that. What matters is how to expand the container — and the way is simple. Hit rock-bottom. If you force yourself to continue using Physical Strength even after you're fully drained, your body will absorb strength from the world and expand your container. But your body will feel like it's being remade — and the pain will be maddening. Do this too often, and you might truly go insane."
"That's enough for today. Rest again, and let all this sink in. We'll continue tomorrow."
My Notes:Im so happy, everyone. I finally managed to share my concepts with you. I know my map looks very "inspired," but I already said that I was taking inspiration. As for my power system, you can think of it as a mix of the nen system, FMAB alchemy, and a few different cultivation systems. Honestly, I think it's very consistent and amazing. I can't really be humble about this because I truly believe I designed it well.
Also, thank you so much for letting me present the information like this. There were actually many more ways I could have explained everything. But I wanted to explain it as quickly as I could. Anyway, writing this section made me really happy.
So if you've read this, I want to thank you extra, extra much. If there really is someone who read all the way to here, I sincerely thank you. I'm really glad you exist, and I'm really glad you read it. Thank you so much. I wish everyone a great day — byeee!