Soul of the Warrior

Chapter 194: A Sea of Possibilities

"It's not that difficult to combine Stamina and Mana together," Xudrid said. "The trick is getting it to stay like that."

Reivyn had continued his talks with Xudrid and Vyria. They spoke about the different exploits they had achieved in their respective adventures over the years. The secret realms kept by the sects weren't just residential zones, though they didn't have any authentic Dungeons inside of them. They were regularly stocked with captured beasts and monsters from people traveling the lower Regions to serves as training experiences and Experience for the younger disciples.

The talks had eventually led to the differences in their fundamental nature. Qi, being a combination of Stamina and Mana, was not able to be infused with an Affinity. As such, the disciples of the sects didn't pay nearly as much attention to their Affinity training as non-Cultivator Classers.

"You're a Tier 2 with a Tier 3 Class, so I don't know if you can even do it, but there's a reason why the 2nd Tier Class is called Qi Refining," Xudrid continued. "We literally gather the strands of Stamina and Mana inside of ourselves, weave them together, and then store them in a pool in our core.

"When Qi is formed, it is still ethereal, and it can dissipate. Once it is stored in the core, it becomes liquid and it is permanent. That means a permanent loss of Stamina and Mana, and a permanent gain of Qi. It's also not one-for-one. One Stamina plus one Mana is only one Qi."

"Is Qi more powerful than Stamina or Mana?" Reivyn asked.

Reivyn wasn't the only one present for their discussions, but he was typically the only one that engaged in the conversation. Refix stood to the side, watching and listening with rapt attention at something new he had never heard of before. Kefira sat next to Reivyn with Serilla standing behind, and she interjected from time to time as a participant.

Vyria was always with Xudrid, but she never spoke. That didn't mean she didn't communicate, though. It had taken a bit of time, but Reivyn had picked up on her body language, and her snorts and grunts were almost a fully formed language all on their own. Xudrid had been with her for years, so he was able to immediately pick up on her moods and what she wanted. Reivyn thought their interactions were fascinating, and Kefira shared his opinion on the matter, though Reivyn had to convince her not to try and come up with her own snort-grunt-language.

"It's not that Qi is more powerful," Xudrid explained. "You've seen the difference in power from different Mages using the same amount of Mana in their Spells. There are far too many variables to pin it on just one thing being stronger.

"The biggest difference is just that Qi can do different things. It's not just that it acts as Mana or Stamina as a situation dictates. It's very hard to explain without showing you, and then it's harder to grasp looking at it than using it for yourself.

"One quick example would be a Qi Shield. A Mana Shield blocks out Mana and physical attacks. One could also have a Class Skill that uses Stamina to do something similar. A Qi Shield, though, blocks, absorbs, disperses, and reflects, all at once. We don't need to learn separate Skills for it, nor infuse it with different Affinities to get the effect. It also allows us to breathe underwater, and it protects us from the Astral Wind in the atmosphere. It's an all-in-one Skill."

"That does sound amazing," Reivyn conceded. "What's the catch?"

"The biggest catch is that it expends Qi quickly, and getting struck by attacks accelerates it a lot. Everyone also has a lower Qi pool than one would have of a Mana or Stamina pool, too.

"That's only for in the lower Tiers, though. That problem is resolved at Tier 4, Golden Core."

"Oh yea, what's the difference? How does the problem get resolved?"

"In order to advance to Golden Core, at max Level in Tier 3, we have to put 100% of both Stamina and Mana into our cores, regardless of the balance, and hold it there while we Level up to Tier 4, Level 1. The Qi becomes solid, and then when it is extracted for use from our cores, it can be Stamina, Mana, or Qi at will."

"If you have to put 100% of your Stamina and Mana into your core, permanently sacrificing it, how do you survive?" Kefira asked.

"It's not easy," Xudrid said, shaking his head. "Not everybody does. There's a washout at each Tier. A good rule to go by is to take the Tier one is in, multiply it by 10%, and that amount of people will fail to reach the next Cultivator Class. Golden Core is particularly difficult, as those that fail will die, and it's about 30%."

"Wow, I'm not sure I would have the guts to go down that path," Kefira said.

"Not even all of the Cultivators do, either," Xudrid said. "A significant portion of people in Tier 3, Foundation Building, simply don't try to form a Golden Core. They choose to keep their Stamina, Mana, and Qi pools how they've developed up to that point, and they switch to a non-Cultivator Class. It's not a big deal. Cultivator Classes are, like I said before, just Classes at the end of the day."

"So, the names of the Classes have to mean something," Refix spoke up. Everyone turned their heads to look at him. "You said Tier 3 is Foundation Building, so I'm guessing it's necessary to have these specific Classes in order to tread down this path? Someone like me, a Tier 5, wouldn't be able to suddenly switch over to a Cultivator Class?"

"That's exactly right," Xudrid confirmed. "You could form Qi from your Stamina and Mana. That's not hard. But because your meridian pathways have developed to such an extent, it is impossible to turn it into a liquid and permanently store it in your core. That means you also wouldn't be able to shove all of it into a Golden Core. I'm not sure you would want to try that anyway, as you would simply have way too much Stamina and Mana. If someone has tens of thousands of points, their Golden Core is likely to explode from the built-up pressure."

"Is that why you said you didn't know if I could do it or not?" Reivyn asked. "Because I have the meridian pathways of a Tier 3 Class?"

"Yes. You would have to try and form a Qi pool in your core to know. I've never heard of a non-Cultivator Tier 2 doing so, but that's mostly because they're too weak. They haven't built up enough Stamina and Mana reserves to accumulate enough Qi to qualify for the Tier 3 Foundation Building Class."

"What about someone with a sufficiently powerful Bloodline?" Reivyn asked.

"There typically aren't any powerful enough Bloodlines in the lower Regions to make up for it. You have to understand that the Cultivators have Bloodlines, too, and because of the nature of where the sects are located, even the lowest Bloodline is going to be superior to what can be found in the lower Regions.

"An imperial Bloodline in the lower Realms will be around twenty thresholds. Those are some of the strongest Bloodlines in the lower Regions. The weakest Bloodline that I've heard of in a Tier 7 sect has 30 thresholds. The Patriarchal family of our sect, one of the highest even among Tier 8 sects, has 70 thresholds. Finally, there are some unique constitutions among Bloodlines that give 80.

"Now, couple all of that with our Epic Rarity Tier 1 and 2 Classes, and the fact that 20% of those that make it to Qi Refining don't have enough Qi to qualify for the Tier 3 Cultivator Class, you can see how it would be difficult for someone from the lower Regions to accomplish it."

Reivyn had to try very hard to prevent himself from sharing a look with Kefira when Xudrid had mentioned the different thresholds of the Bloodlines. He saw her look at him with his Divine Sense, but he kept his focus on Xudrid.

If 80 thresholds is the pinnacle of someone with a superior Bloodline plus a unique constitution, then what does my 100 threshold Bloodline mean? Reivyn thought.

"Ok, so back to the nature of Qi," Reivyn said. "If you can't infuse an Affinity into the Qi, does that mean you can't use Elemental Skills or attacks?"

Xudrid held his hand out, and a flame popped up, hovering over his outstretched hand. Reivyn hadn't noticed any kind of Mana fluctuation prior, and he couldn't detect any Mana from the little flame, either. For that matter, he noticed that he couldn't see Qi with his Divine Sense or and of his Mana sensory Skills, either.

"It's not that we can't do it, it's just a bit complicated," Xudrid said. "If you decide to accumulate a pool of Qi, and you do it successfully, I'll explain it to you.

"I don't know the principles behind why Qi can't hold an Affinity, though. That's just how it has always been, and nobody questions it beyond doing some shallow experiments when we're young.

"Every Cultivator, especially the ones with unique Classes, thinks they're the next ancestor of a new Cultivation method. It's just within grasp. We can see it, feel it, and everybody always thinks they're just on the verge of breakthrough... and then it slips through our fingers. We've all done it."

Reivyn glanced at Vyria and noticed her face blush and her body fidget a bit. Xudrid also glanced over, a small smile forming on his lips.

I'm guessing she went through a phase where she was convinced she was the "chosen one" or something, Reivyn mentally chuckled.

"Wait, does Vyria have a unique Class?" Kefira asked.

Reivyn looked at Kefira with raised eyebrows before looking back to Xudrid and Vyria. The question lingered in the air until Vyria coughed into her hand.

"She does," Xudrid replied.

Apparently, that cough was some sort of confirmation for him to answer.

"She's a Sword Cultivator. She was born with a unique constitution, and she has a six-soul talent. She's the biggest hope for achieving the Divine Class: Sword Immortal that's appeared in hundreds of thousands of years."

Refix gave out a low whistle as everyone else stared at Vyria in astonishment.

"Wait, Divine Class?" Reivyn asked. "I thought only an Ascended Being could grant a Divine Class to someone."

"You're 90% correct," Xudrid said. "The Class itself is Divine Rarity, but because we're in the lower Realms, it won't be powered by Divine Mana, thus it will be counted as a Pseudo-Divine Class. If she's able to achieve the Class and Ascend one day, it will get empowered by Divine Mana and it will automatically upgrade to fully Divine Rarity."

Reivyn's Divine Sense and Perfect Domain Skills flashed through his mind.

So it's not just Skills, but also entire Classes that can function under this rule. Interesting.

"I think I'm going to do it," Reivyn said. Everyone looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate. "I think I'm going to try and form a Qi pool. You never know, the System recognizes my Tier as still Tier 2, so maybe even though I have the pathways of a Tier 3 Class, I can still do it. I don't know if I'll be able to unlock the Foundation Building Class, and, frankly, I don't think I would take it anyway, but there's no harm in it. I have tons of Stamina and Mana to spare."

"Yeah, you're situation is unique," Xudrid said. "There are records of people achieving forced Class transitions in Tier 1 and Tier 2 in the ancient records, but I don't think any of them were as powerful as you are.

"But, if I may, why wouldn't you take the Foundation Building Class? It has so much potential for your future growth."

"You said Foundation Building is Epic Rarity?" Reivyn asked back. Xudrid nodded his head. "My current Class is a higher Rarity, already. I would be taking a step back if I went with it."

Xudrid, and even Vyria, stopped and stared at Reivyn for several seconds as they processed that information. It wasn't a secret, but it also wasn't widely publicized that Reivyn had a Mythic Class. The two Cultivators had assumed he had an upgraded Rare or Epic Rarity Class, not an upgraded Legendary one.

"I see..." Xudrid said, trailing off. Vyria once more coughed into her hand. Reivyn picked up a slight difference in the vibrations of the sound through his Divine Sense. "Yes, I think you're right. This has endless research possibilities."

Vyria got up from her position sitting next to Xudrid. She walked over and sat down directly in front of Reivyn and looked him in the eye.

"Reivyn, would it be possible for the two of us to continue to follow you for a time, even after this business with the Mercenary Company?" She asked. Her voice was very pleasant, and it reminded Reivyn of the tinkling of wind chimes.

Reivyn shared a look with Kefira and his father. They both nodded their heads. Refix was particularly enthusiastic.

"Oh, the training possibilities!" Refix shout-whispered, pumping his fist in excitement.

Kefira rolled her eyes and smirked at Reivyn. Reivyn just chuckled and shook his head.

"Certainly, that won't be a problem," Reivyn said. "I'm probably going to be messing with the Mercenary Company even after this particular military action is over, but you're welcome to leave the ranks and join us as friends at that time."