Cultivation Method.

Sitting crossed-legged in a dimly lit room was Liam, his eyes tightly shut, his silky black hair raised slightly as if to defy the laws of gravity. 

His tranquil expression displayed how deep he was in meditation.

The room had an ancient atmosphere surrounding it, the walls rough, seeming to have had multiple rocks combined without any form of arrangement.

The floor was rather smooth compared to the rough walls. It seemed to be made out of granulated rocks mixed with a liquid element to create its refined look.

There were few shelves wedged to the walls, with only a few books situated on them.

"Just breathe in deeply," said a frail voice from the opposite of Liam's seated position, directing him on what to do.

It was an old-looking man, with white hair at shoulder length, his long white beard almost reaching his chest region.

His wrinkled face tightened and relaxed as he watched Liam genuinely, observing every change that occurred in Liam's body; even the insignificant twitch of a muscle.

"The secret to 'meditation' is 'concentration'. If you can do these, then meditation would be child's play to you," he said confidently.

Liam, though trying to concentrate, could pick up the frail voice of his trainer, which brought him out of the defined meditation state, whenever he felt that the so-called meditation state was finally reachable.

*Twitch*

'What's wrong with him, why can't he let me concentrate.'

"The environment won't become quiet for you… so, you need a way to cut it out," the old man said solemnly, scrutinizing Liam's whole being.

'Did he hear me? Can he read minds now?' Liam thought in fear.

"Will… is another determining factor. If the whole environment becomes quiet and you don't have the 'will' to meditate, it's all for nothing," his frail voice echoed through the room, resounding in Liam's ear.

It was as if the voice was trying to convey something mysterious to Liam.

"Mmmh?" Liam hummed, opening his eyes to stare at the old man.

*Twitch*

"What are you doing?!" He said, his frail voice gaining a sharp edge.

"I… just wanted to ask a quick question!" Liam exclaimed in a rush, raising his hands.

"Y-you!" He stammered, rising from his seated position. "What are you doing?!" He yelled out, pointing his skinny finger at Liam.

"Mmmh? Ask…"

"How dare you! You can't act like this?" The old man yelled out, veins bulging on his forehead.

"I can explain…"

"Haa!" He sighed, cutting Liam off.

"It was a mistake…" he continued, his hands on his forehead, and a pained expression on his wrinkled face.

"What…"

"Don't bother asking… just know that Big Mom sacrificed a lot… for you," he said solemnly, his expression taking a dark turn.

"So it doesn't matter what you do… as long as you grab my teachings," he said, coming closer to Liam.

"I plan on doing that, it's…"

Reaching Liam before he could complete his statement, he grabbed his shoulders tightly. "I thought you needed power?"

"I do want power," Liam said, shaking his head.

"So why the mess ups?!" 

"I…"

"You don't have an excuse!" He yelled, tightening the grip on Liam's shoulder.

"I want it, just…" Liam said, his shoulder slumping in depression.

"Dreams without the will to fulfill them… end up becoming nothing," his frail voice sounding firm.

"I want it!!!!!"

"That's nice."

___________

Hours Later

An eerie silence could be felt in the room, which now had a board placed at one end, while Liam sat in the middle of the room, his posture showing how attentive he was to the current matter at hand.

"I would have preferred teaching meditation first, but…" the old man said, pausing to look at Liam. "It seems I'll have to amend my syllabus."

Twitch

"What I'm going to be teaching is 'Power source'," he said, using a pen-shaped device to write.

Looking at me he said. "What is a 'power source'?" 

"..."

"Power source is similar to a generator, or if it fits right, you can call it a producer," his frail voice sounded loud as he spoke with confidence.

"But for living beings, 'power source' is a whole different story… because it serves as a battery, one where we store all the energy we take into our system. And depending on the creature's level of mastery, it can produce energy using its 'power source'."

"...?"

"Power source can also be seen as a method of cultivation. So to make it easier for you, I'll be going with the 'cultivation method'."

Taking on a sheet of paper, Liam jotted down all points he considered important, leaving the ones he didn't consider useful, to fade away.

"There are three main cultivation methods," said the old man, stopping briefly to observe Liam. 

Intrigued by the old man's words, Liam decided to ask a question. "So there…"

"I've already been debriefed on your habits of asking questions… weird ones at that," he said, wagging his fingers.

"Ohh! I'm that famous?!" Liam exclaimed, his pride building up.

"Nah, circumstances," he replied, shunning Liam's idea.

"But…"

"Concentrate!… As I said, there are three main cultivation methods. And don't bother asking if there are others. As we go further down your storyline we'll discover them," said the old man, eyeing Liam.

"..."

"The three main cultivation methods are, body cultivation, soul cultivation, and essence cultivation," he said, using the writing material on hand to write down their names.

Body cultivation

Soul cultivation

Essence cultivation

"The 'Body cultivation' method involves the flesh, where the individuals practicing this method train their muscles, flesh, bones, organs, and every physical part of their being," he said, ruling out how it functions.

"Using this process, your body will have to become your 'power source', storing all the energy you absorb, and also the ones you might create."

"...?"

"The 'Soul cultivation' method involves the spiritual existence or form of a being. In this situation the soul(spiritual core) becomes the power source of your entire being, able to perform the same function of the aforementioned cultivation method," he said, as he illustrated a complex diagram on the board.

"...?"

"Now, the last but not the least, 'essence cultivation'."

"It involves the magical part of a being," he said excitedly.

"...?"

"It's…"

Cutting him short, Liam said. "Mmmh? Sir!"

Slowly turning, our eyes locked. As if in a state competition, we both stared at each order earnestly, not bothering to blink for a second.

"You need a better explanation, right?" He said, crossing his arms to the back.

"Yes!" Liam replied, nodding frantically.

"Okay… if you say so.

Every living being is born with a soul and physical body… though some rare exceptions exist.

Similar to the soul and physical body, a complete living being is born with an essence, which we decided to call magic since it is very similar to a witch's power," he added, giving me a Stern look.

'What is he trying to say?' Liam thought as his brows furrowed in confusion.

"I'm sure you've heard a little about 'Kosmos'," he moved closer to me. "You have, right?" He said, his creepiness freaking me out.

"..."

"I'm going to give you a little run-down story," he said in a whispering tone. "You can call it a spoiler."

"...!!!"

"There is a group of creatures called 'Witches'. They discovered the essence many centuries ago," he said, walking to Liam.

"They could utilize a strange energy called 'Mana'. 

According to the records. Every living being posses essence… the 'magical' part of their being," reaching Liam, he stopped at his front, hunching to match Liam's height.

"Which means anyone with essence can use that form of energy," Liam inquired curiously, intrigued by the topic.

"Nah, only witches," the old man replied, rising from his hunched position.

'What the fuck!' Liam thought, eyeing the old man strangely.

"If only witches can utilize this strange energy which is related to essence cultivation…" Liam said, pausing for a second to rethink the whole situation.

"It's rather simple," he said, moving to the board. "Witches discovered 'essence cultivation' through the energy they cultivated. Barbarians discovered 'Body cultivation'. And succubus demons discovered 'Soul cultivation'." He said in a solemn tone.

"Can I utilize all the cultivation methods?!" Liam inquired curiously.

{My cultivation methods may seem confusing! So if you need any further explanation, the comment section is free!}

Thanks!

50 PS= 1 extra chap.

100 PS= 2 extra chap.

150 PS= 3 extra chap.

200 PS= 4 extra chap.

5 GT= 1 extra chap.

10 GT= 2 extra chap.

For gifts, I will release chapters at the end of the week, depending on the situation.