12 The Creation of a New Path!

As the night of eating and drinking came to a close, Daniel realized that he was a homeless man, without any money. The series of events, from arriving in the future, meeting the girls, and to entering the Tower, all happened so fast. He got so wrapped up in his future goals and plans, that he never thought about how he was going to survive in the present.

Daisy and Lily had invited him to continue staying at their home, but Daniel was never one to mooch off other people. He felt that it was important to earn his own way. Of course, he accepted their generosity, until he could find a place to live. He wasn't so stubborn that he would choose to live on the streets.

As Daniel sat in his guest bedroom, he went through his plans for tomorrow morning in his mind. It was going to be the time he created his own path of power. He knew that it would be difficult, but according to the soul programs simulations, there was a high chance of success.

With the plan set, he opened the Tower shop and spent his last 40 points on a storage ring. It was an object crafted with spatial magic, used to hold items in an inanimate state. The ring that Daniel bought had an interior space of 25x25 square feet.

He cut his finger and dropped a bit of blood onto the ring to bind it to himself. Now only he could put items in, or take them out. Then, Daniel told the Tower to transfer the items he previously purchased into his ring.

After purchasing an item from the Tower, it is able to store it until you request to use it. However, once you accept the item, the Tower will no longer store the item. Hence the reason for Daniels storage ring purchase.

Daniel took out the cheats he bought and started to slowly use them one at a time. The process of having the knowledge directly uploaded into his mind was a painful experience.

When he finished absorbing the 70th cheat, he stood up from the bed and stretched out his body. His mind was filled with different paths of cultivation. All were similar in that they granted the practitioner strength, but yet they all differed drastically. He felt that he could choose one of these paths and be successful. However, he had a feeling that if he chose to do this he would regret it later on.

Feeling slightly refreshed, Daniel decided to push on. He took out the skills he bought and absorbed those as well. He felt that skills were very intriguing, and looked forward to being able to practice them.

With everything set for tomorrow morning, Daniel crawled into bed, excited for a good nights rest.

While Daniel was sleeping, a meeting was taking place. Daisy, along with John and Laura Starfire, were sitting in front of a fireplace in the house's study. Compared to the fun and cheerful atmosphere at the party, this one was considerably dreary.

Daisy swirled the drink in her glass as she let out a sigh, "Only nine months remain. How are you managing John?"

Hearing Daisy's question, Laura gripped her husbands hand tighter, anxiety showing clearly on her face.

John stared into the flames of the fire. His usual arrogant demeanor was long gone. After a moment of silence her turned towards Daisy, "If I go I will most likely die."

A soft sob filled the room as Laura begged her husband, "Please don't participate! I can't lose you."

John pulled his wife into his embrace, "It isn't that I want to die. I want to spend my life with you. See my daughter grow up. But if I don't go then another person must take my place. This is a battle for our survival. I will do my duty as a human, even if that means I die."

Even as the fire blazed away, no warmth was felt that night. Only faint sobs could be heard, echoing throughout the house.

Daniel woke up the next morning feeling great. It was the start of a new day, and a the start of his future.

He took a quick shower, then went to the kitchen to eat breakfast. When he finished eating, he ran into the three girls. He greeted them, and let them know that he would be entering an extended period of isolation, to focus on his path.

This instantly made the girls panic, as they knew what path Daniel hoped to take. Daniel spent a few minutes to calm them down, reassuring them that he was confident in his success. After what felt like an eternity that relented, on the condition that he contact them the moment he was successful.

Daniel agreed with their request, and went back to his room. It made him happy that there were still people who cared about him. Maybe he wasn't so alone in this new world after all.

Daniel grabbed all the pillows from the bed and propped them on the ground, and against the wall. He wasn't going to be one of those people who sat on the floor meditating for hours, only to wake up with a sore butt.

He settled down onto his fortress of pillows and took out the 6 stones of energy that he bought from the Tower. He set all 6 stones on his lap, making sure each stone was making contact with his skin. With everything ready, he pulled up his soul program.

From his tutorial, he still had some unused energy from his kills, the Black Pearl Flower, and the energy that was in the dead body of the Level 4 Life Form.

Daniel took a deep breath, and exhaled. Though his soul program had run simulations, the chance of success was still only 85%. There were still many variables that couldn't be calculated.

It was now or never, 'Program initiate the Infinity Sequence'. With that command, the energy from the creatures he killed surged towards his brain. This energy rushed in to improve his IQ. It rushed from 180... 185....190....until it stopped at 200.

Next, the Black Pearl Flower's energy also went to the brain. This one enveloped the entirety of the brain. The Brain Development also started to skyrocket 16%...17%...20%...22% until it hit the 25% mark.

Finally, the huge amount of energy that was in the Level 4 Life form was released into the brain. The Neural Firing Speed, that had been always locked and non-upgradable, finally showed a change. Daniel's 'Normal' neural firing speed changed. It quickly flipped to 'Moderate'. However, that was not the only change but just the first. It next switched to 'Fast'. The 'Fast' on the Status screen started to blur, trying to evolve once again. It seemed that it was slightly lacking energy, so Daniel told his cells to absorb the stones in his lap. When the last stone was absorbed, the Neural Firing Speed switched again, 'Extreme'.

With all these changes, Daniel felt that his mind was evolving. If his thinking speed before was 1, now it was at 1000. He felt like he could alter reality with a thought. Of course this was impossible, but there was a clear difference with how he interpreted the world then before.

Daniel was ready. He took out the 'Creation Path Art', and initiated the absorption. He felt a small stream of energy make its way through his body. It wormed its way through every cell and even seemed to reach his genes. After mapping his physical body, it entered his mind. It started to absorb all of Daniel's knowledge, mixing it up into a knowledge soup. When the absorption stopped, the energy enveloped Daniel's brain. It suddenly took control of his processing power.

Instantaneously, billions of simulations occurred. Daniel felt as if his mind was hit by a nuclear bomb. He tried to scream in pain, but couldn't control his body, as his brain was no longer his own. Daniel felt that time was no longer moving, as this was only to take a minute at most, but he could swear he had been in pain for centuries.

He knew that he was about to die. Blood was flowing from his eyes and ears and he could no longer sense anything. All he knew was the paths flashing in his mind. Different ways to gain power, mixing and mashing together, to perfectly fit his body.

The simulation would build a path, then test its feasibility. When it ultimately failed, the process would start over once again. Over and over, the simulation failed to find a path for Daniel. As more simulations failed, the stress put on Daniel's brain increased.

There were paths that turned his body into a hive mind like creature. Others that focused on devouring the bloodlines of creatures. However, Ultimately these paths were not a perfect fit.

When it seemed that the process would fail, a sudden change occurred. Daniel, took control over the simulation. He realized that this is HIS path. Nothing would ever be perfect, unless he built it himself.

Daniel scanned through the different paths he knew. He took the strengths and aspects that matched his body. He had one skill that no one else could do. He could absorb any kind of energy and convert it into another. Knowing this fact, he started to build his cheat.

All this sounds as if it took hours, but in actuality it took only a minute for all that to happen.

When Daniel felt that everything was finally perfect, the energy enveloping his brain disappeared. Floating in its place was a book. It was grey in color and appeared to be old and tattered. From appearances alone, nobody would think it was anything special.

On the cover of the book, in small letters it spelled out, "The Nano Path: Take All as One Art"