"Right, it is a somewhat unpopular path in the multiverse. One that is both common and uncommon. First, I shall explain the concept of Karma. Our actions are not separate. Not truly. Our actions leave an imprint on ourselves and the world around us. If you kill or do other things in opposition to Heaven, you gain evil karma. If you protect or help others, you gain good or positive karma. It is the Heavens that decide which is which, though there are some ways to differentiate. Most of us are willing to leave it at that, but Karmic Cultivators are people who try to cultivate one or the other. I am sure you have some understanding of your luck attribute?" He nodded, and she continued. "Karmic Cultivation provides a similar boost. Though for the same reason, it's an unpopular path. Many a powerful cultivator has given up all they owned in pursuit of a slight to their karma, only to have nothing to show for it. Of course, more than a few have had strange powers that defied any known benefits."

  Maximilian's eye brightened as he thought about it. It sounded like doing the right thing could have some benefit. He also felt that thinking about it that way defeated the point of doing the right thing. Since it didn't count if you were doing it to benefit yourself. Of course, that was its own paradox. One he wasn't willing to get into. "I assume there is some negative to having bad karma?"

  "Yes. That one is well documented. If you do enough bad, the Heavens or the Network or both will hunt you down. Tribulations will be worse, and quests will be generated to kill you." She stated matter-of-factly.

  "Why on Earth would anyone do it, then?"

  "Power." She said simply. "You have been blessed more so than most could ever dream. Most would kill to have a high affinity in even one dao. For those people, what wouldn't they pay? What would it cost a Realm Master, trapped for a million years, to cleanse a couple of lesser planets? Would this minor boost improve his chances of a breakthrough? Despite what you may believe, neither the Heavens nor the Network is truly omniscient. There are ways to avoid it. Ways to hide until the stench of your karma fades."

  Maximilian deflated after that. He knew she was right, and he also understood. It wasn't that different from Earth before the Network. How many criminals did what they did to get a better life? At least that was how it started. Before long, they found themselves doing more and more evil in a never-ending spiral. He also knew that he had become a part of the privileged few. He hadn't done anything to gain his physique or his affinities. Yet he had them. He didn't need to hear any more to know that he would be a karmic cultivator to pay back the—

  "Stop." His train of thought was interrupted as Notopa spoke. "That way of thinking is dangerous, child. Intent has power. If you believe yourself to be in debt to someone or something, you will be. Belief has limited power over karma, but it does have some power. Especially at your level and with your emotions. You can do as you please to help people, but you do not want to make threads of karma between you and others carelessly. The dao of Karma is not to be underestimated."

  "Wait, what? There's a dao for it? Should I just get that?" He asked.

  "That would be up to you. It is one of the more esoteric daos, but a good one. If your affinity with it is higher than it could be, it could be a path. You would have to find a way to combine it with the others. Yet it isn't for what you are thinking. If your goal is to justify your actions or make the world better, then you don't need it. The Dao of Karma provides other powers. Ones that I am not aware of. The monks would be a better source of information."

  Maximilian considered asking who the "monks" were, but he got a feeling he wouldn't get an answer. That and in truth, he didn't care. He was never the biggest fan of religion, but he also realized it might not be that clear-cut. After all, it wasn't far-fetched that the Greek pantheon was real. Couldn't he be compared to Zeus or Jupiter now? He had just started his journey; who knew what he would be able to do in a year or three? Not that it was important. "What can you tell me about arrays and formations?"

  Notopa's eyes brightened a moment before her body flickered. For the first time, Maximilian noticed that she didn't look as solid as she had. As if she were fading away. Had her energy run out? Now that he paid attention to it the ambient energy had further reduced. It was a bit worse than his cultivation chamber. "Arrays are closed circuits of spiritual energy, not dissimilar from skill symbols. They are perhaps the most varied craft in the multiverse, with Alchemy being its only rival. It is also incredibly expensive. Requiring materials that could bankrupt a faction. Of course, what you gain in exchange is often more than worth it, as you no doubt understand." He nodded and prepared himself to leave. It wasn't hard to figure out that he had overstayed his welcome. Before he could leave, though, Notopa interrupted him. "Return here once you've broken through to Pillar Formation. I should have restored enough energy to reform, and you can take the next leg of my inheritance."

  Maximilian smiled and graciously accepted the offer. He wasn't sure how much energy she would need, but he would look into helping her. Even if he had no idea how to bring her out of this place, he could at least restore the energy she used. With that, they exchanged a few more pleasantries related to the nature of arrays and cultivation before he made his exit. By the time he had left her form was closer to that of a ghost than the spirit she began as. He had already said all he had wanted, so as soon as he left her chamber, he decided to review his progress. He pulled up his status screen and stumbled a step. When had he reached level 20?

  He ruefully shook his head as he chided himself. It wasn't hard to figure out where it came from. He had continued absorbing energy even while unconscious. Energy that had gone to leveling. Not that he was upset. There were two new entries on his sheet, and he decided to begin with the less interesting of the two. His new title.

  Voyager: Reach Level 20 Reward: Agility +1, Intelligence +1, Wisdom +1

  He had to admit the name was a bit dull. He wasn't sure if the Network used it to mean someone on a long journey or if it was a pop culture reference. He leaned toward the former. It felt more sci-fi. He was in a bit of a bind over where to place the points. Intelligence was obvious. He was a spellcaster, and being able to hit harder was always good. That being said, he couldn't claim that his attacks were weak. If he didn't count the giant octopus creature. He hadn't failed to kill anything he had wanted. No, the more he thought about it, the more he leaned toward shoring up his defense. Specifically, his mental defenses. He hadn't fought anything that could take advantage of his weaknesses yet, but that should change. He could imagine someone with a mental skill in the tutorial laying waste to people and monsters because people ignored Wisdom. There was also the chance that he would get a skill like that. Which could be interesting. Either way, it was tomorrow's concern. He shifted his focus to the oddest part of his status screen. He assumed "Profound Heaven Body" referred to his physique, yet it didn't say anything else. He tried to tap on it, focus on it, and even say it, but either the Network didn't want to show more information, or it couldn't. Either way, it didn't matter. The real question mark was on "Dormant." For a moment, he worried he had made a mistake. That he should've asked for something that would awaken his physique. He soon calmed himself down. Notopa hadn't mentioned it as an option. He didn't exactly consider the woman a friend, but he felt it was safe to assume she was interested in his body.

  Which should mean she would've mentioned it. That and he couldn't bring himself to complain about what he had picked. All of it was worth it as far as he could tell. On top of that, he wasn't sure he wanted to access his physique just yet. The memory of what happened in that other space had faded some, but not enough to dull the feeling. The power he felt, even the odd forced serenity. He would need to take the time to prepare for that. He wouldn't risk relying on one avenue of power. That was also something to worry about later. He continued his journey until he stepped through the large black doors. Now that he was outside, he turned his attention to what he needed to do. First, he had to set up his cultivation chamber. His new tree would be the first of many improvements. He took a breath, suppressed himself, and then set out. He would need to look into how his mother had fared as well as how long he had been gone. His walk was uneventful. He hadn't seen any monsters, nor had any tried to attack him. Which was much more annoying than he thought. He felt a bit like a spring. One that had been primed to pop, yet he had nothing to release the energy on. Not that it was too big a problem. He was confident that he would find something once he left. A short while later, he hopped out of the hole. He thought about it for a moment before he decided to push a piece of old equipment over the hole. He didn't want anyone to get themselves killed or more children lost going down there. From there, he made his way back into the settlement and teleported back to Nubia.

  He had stepped off the teleporter when he found Nezha waiting for him. The construct stood there stark still. For a moment, he wasn't sure if the construct was awake or if it had entered some hibernative state. A question that was dispelled when it spoke. "Good Day. I have been waiting for your return."

  Maximilian paused and cocked his head. He was going to ask how long he had just stood there, but he decided against it. Mostly because the answer might make him feel bad. Instead, he gestured for the construct to follow him. "Is something wrong?"

  "One of the harpies appeared two days ago. She requested permission to speak with you. I informed her that you were out of the settlement and that you would be notified upon your return."

  "Oh? Do they say why they needed me?" He asked as he took note of the people around them. The population had increased. He checked the count for his quest and found he was two-thirds of the way there. Something that had to have been due to his mother.

  "They did not. Though she seemed highly agitated when I informed her. I believe that the issue was somewhat important."

  Maximilian faltered a step as he processed what Nezha had said. The harpy wasn't the largest issue, though he did feel bad. "How long had I been gone? Specifically, how long was it between now and the last time I was in the settlement?"

  "Four days, seven hours, and thirty-three minutes. I don't believe calculating it into any lesser unit would be efficient," Nezha replied.

  Once again, Maximilian was impressed and a bit worried about his assistant. It wasn't that the construct was bothering him, but that it would do exactly what he asked. He hadn't cared about the minutes or even the hours. It wasn't wrong, per se, but he would have to work on that with the construct. The last thing he needed was an errant mistake in phrasing to result in the construct doing something pointless for years. He would have to speak to his mother about that later. "Where is my mother? Has she returned?"

  "She left some time ago. She went to a meeting with the United World Government."

  Maximilian nodded. He would need to go and check on her later, but since she hadn't asked for him, he assumed she didn't need him. That and he didn't want to damage any positive relationships she had made. He had Nezha update him on the goings-on of Nubia and was pleasantly surprised. An unofficial army was forming. Well, to call it an army was a stretch. There were around thirty people who were neither guards nor civilians. They had started going down the mountain together. They weren't leveling anywhere near as fast as he was, but it was still nice. The group was led by the woman who had been chased up the mountain. He made a mental note to go and see what they were all about. He wasn't sure how armies worked anymore, but if he could manage it, he would. Not that he wanted to start a war anytime soon. If anything, he would prefer to deal with any violence himself. That way, he could limit the loss of life. After that, the construct descended into information he wasn't interested in. They had gotten a round of crops going and had separated a part of the mountain for experience grinding. An area that he wouldn't go to. The beasts were on the lower end of level 10 and wouldn't help him. He would have to slaughter everything to make good progress. With everything else handled, he left the construct and entered his home. He entered his cultivation room and cracked his fingers. The ambient energy had improved thanks to the gathering array, but it still paled in comparison to what he experienced. He pulled box after box out of his bag as he prepared to set things up.

  An hour later, Maximilian sat on his cultivation mat. He had set everything into place except the skill array. He hadn't even wanted to take it out of its box. It was a temporary thing, and he didn't want to risk wasting it by accident. Not that he was upset about it. His focus was on the tree on the back wall. The tree was three and a half feet tall and had three branches that led out from the trunk. The edges ended in bulbs that he was pretty sure would sprout into leaves of some kind. The whole thing was still two-dimensional and glowed with a soft, transparent light. Maximilian could feel the difference in the energy as soon as the tree was in place. He read the provided information stone and found that Notopa had not told him the truth. At least not the whole truth. The tree could be improved. He wasn't sure if the information was accurate or if it was just her musings, but the tree should gain more branches. The stone he had mentioned that there could be up to nine branches, but there was no proof. Either way, he would work toward it. He wasn't ashamed to say he enjoyed the finer things in life. Now that he had to earn them through his blood, sweat, and tears, he didn't have to feel bad about it. That being said, he still wasn't going to plunder other people's belongings or anything like that. He wasn't ready to turn into an asshole.

  He took a deep breath and let his mind wander for a moment. He hadn't come to any answers about the Dao. It wasn't wrong to say his original plan had been to do a whole storm theme. With water, wind, Lightning, and possibly ice, but now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure. Could he throw Earth or metal into the mix? Both should fit in fine. Lightning and metal should have some overlap through electromagnetism. Assuming that was a thing. Water and Metal could be corrosion? He wasn't completely sure on that one, to be honest, and then Wind and Metal. That was the one he couldn't square. He doubted it was impossible, but it would require some thought. The same for Earth. Wind, Water, and Earth fit the whole elemental theme, but lightning didn't. Not unless you counted the Japanese version. Since Aether could be considered lightning. He would then need to add fire to it. Which wasn't bad necessarily. Five Dao would also add a nice punch to his actual abilities. That didn't mean that his old road was wrong either. They were all just options, and he didn't need to pick now. He still had a class to earn on top of all the other resources. For now, he could advance one of his daos. The weakest of his trio.