5 A new beginning, opened.

I was walking home now, holding a small carry kennel with the Null Squirrel inside. So my original plan was a bust, but fuck it! I never got a pet of my own in my last life. I'm going to do whatever I want, and I wanted a damn pet.

Getting home was rather uneventful, though I noticed a few people standing around near my house. They eyed me a bit, before I got inside my room. Weird, but whatever. I set the kennel on the floor, looking inside at the Null Squirrel, and smiled a bit.

"I can't believe I actually have a pet. Right, you need a name. Name, name, name... Charlie said you were a boy, so... Fluffy?" When I said that, I could swear I felt the judgement the squirrel gave off. "Okay, okay. Not Fluffy. Hm... Damn, why is it so tough to name things?"

[I have a suggestion.]

"Ah! Eris, don't just scare me like that. Anyway, what's your idea?"

[Ratatoskr. "Tat" for short.]

That... well, glad to know I'm not the only one with a strange naming sense. Whatever, it's a pretty cool name.

"Hey, your name is now Ratatoskr. I'm gonna nickname you Tat."

Oddly, the squirrel seemed to approve, as I felt a sudden change in the air. It felt like... Like we were now family. Our energies felt the same, now, like sharing a channel on two walkie-talkies. I instinctively knew I'd always know where he was, now.

"Huh. So that's what that book meant when it said 'Names are fundamental to life.'" I smiled, before opening up the cage and letting Tat free. He sniffed around a bit, before scurrying over to the wall and climbing up into the rafters. Guess he likes high places. Oh well, doesn't hurt nothing. I sat myself down to start cultivating, when I suddenly felt strange. I could... feel Tat's energy, and how it flowed through him. I could sense his dantian, or rather, I should say I sensed his dantians. Plural. It was crazy, since the manual for Mortal Body Forging and the Introduction to Cultivation book both said that to cultivate, you should only make one dantian, depending on the type of energy you intend to use.

Form it below the navel to generate Mortal Energy, or in the heart to generate Earthly Energy. There was a third one, that most wouldn't do until they reached a high enough stage to support it. You could form one inside your head, just between your eyebrows. This would generate Heavenly Energy.

But when I sensed Tat's energy, I felt all three. No wonder he was generating all three types of energy. Although there was almost nothing but a sliver being created, he did in fact possess three dantians. And then I looked closer. He was using each one to fuel the next. His lower dantian created Mortal Energy, which it fed to the center dantian to generate Earthly Energy by breathing. That Earthly Energy was then fed into his upper dantian, creating Heavenly Energy. What was most incredible though, is that each one still produced enough for him to use without trouble. Sure, it made his internal energy insane and chaotic, but... it was full of potential.

And then it occurred to me. That uncomfortable instinct I felt when I wanted to form my dantian. I think that was the void inside of me. Telling me that only the one dantian wouldn't be able to contain it. I mean, if it could, wouldn't it be too easy? I mean, I couldn't even sense void energy, and from what I could find, nobody knew such an energy even existed. Yet plenty of masters had two dantians. So maybe you just need three?

I started to cultivate at that moment, feeling out the flow, and starting to bend it. It hurt, as usual. Burned like white-hot fire. But I was slowly dividing my energy into the three locations. It was hard like you wouldn't believe. The energy was constantly fighting me, pulling and roaring and wanting to return to its stagnant pooling within my body. But I wouldn't let go. This is my one shot at a good, fulfilling life. And damn it, I'm NOT stopping.

An hour passed, then two. Then four. Half a day flew by, and I was still seated within my room, shirtless and sweating black sweat. I was almost done. I had wrestled the energy into the three spots. And I had begun to get them to form a shell to contain the energy, like I read. Once those shells were done, the energy needed to be put inside, and then I would be done. I would start to be able to properly absorb ambient energy.

And then, it happened. A violent energy ripped out of my body, throwing stuff around my room. A sign of a successful breakthrough. My body felt incredible, even if I was covering in tar-like sweat. Impurities, I think, being cast out of my body. I stared at my hands, before softly clenching them. I focused, and the energy left my lower dantian without fuss, entering my hands and making them warm up. No pain, this time. I finally had dominion over my own energy.

I smiled, and looked up to my ceiling, before whispering, "Stat Page."

[Stat Page]

[Cultivation Realm: Body Refinement.]

[Realm Stage: 1st Stage.]

[Internal Energy: Mortal, Earthly, Heavenly, Void.]

[Cultivation Technique: Wild Cultivation.]

[Martial Techniques: N/A.]

[Energy Techniques: N/A.]

[Innate Power: Warframe Arsenal.]

[Spiritual Beast: Unformed.]

[Spiritual Root: Unknown.]

[Inventory: ×1 Silver Lottery Voucher, ×1 Newbie World Guide.]

[Notice to Operator. Shop, Lottery, Achievement, and Pet pages are now available.]

Oh? Nice, new stuff. Hm... I don't yet have a Cultivation Technique. I don't think Mortal Body Forging is going to work for me... It is specific for Mortal Energy, not the other two. I guess... Eh, I'll just copy what Tat does for now. On the other hand, those new pages look real interesting. Guess I'll go in alphabetical order. Open the Achievements Page, Eris.

[Achievements Page]

[Cultivation Milestone: Body Refinement.]

(Achieved, Unclaimed.)

[Obtain a Support Pet.]

(Achieved, Unclaimed.)

[Obtain a Martial Technique.]

(Locked, Unclaimed.)

[Obtain an Energy Technique.]

(Locked, Unclaimed.)

[Win your first fight.]

(Locked, Unclaimed.)

[More will be added upon completion of four current objectives.]

Well damn. I immediately claimed the two achievements I had.

[×10 Exchange Points, ×1 Upgrade Voucher, ×5 Basic Recovery Pills gained.]

Those could be useful, I think. Two of those rewards are pretty strange, but... I can definitely make use of those pills. Especially since that last mission is... less than pleasant.

[Operator, do not worry. These missions are not required. If you simply do the other ones, you can ignore one.]

Huh. That's good. Uh... Next, show me the Lottery Page.

[Lottery Page]

[Bronze Lottery: 250 Points.]

[Silver Lottery: 2,500 Points.]

[Gold Lottery: 25,000 Points.]

[Purple Gold Lottery: 1,000,000 Points.]

[Note, you get one free draw of the Silver Lottery. It will consume your voucher.]

I assent in my head, and thousands of pale blue lights appear in my mind. Slowly, they started to shuffle around, gliding and spinning around the center. Unimaginable colors were swirling in each orb, and I started to get a migraine as I watched and waited. Eventually, the lights begin to close in on the center, gathering together. And after a moment more, they touched, and the lights vanished without fanfare. I suddenly felt a weight on my lap, and I looked down to see a small black book. A manual. I cracked the thing open, and read the title.

"Final Soldier Martial Style. Middle-Mortal grade."

As I flipped through the thin book, I started to memorize the contents. It was an interesting style, requiring no specific energy, but fueled by vitality instead. A style of extreme lethality, and impressive durability.

Oh, I was going to enjoy this.