Crossroads of destiny.

Before he could ponder the reason, he heard an explanation.

"You have been awakened, and in the process, your body expelled impurities."

He raised an eyebrow in bewilderment and extracted a card from his pocket. "Can you assist me by extending the time?"

The man accepted the card and looked at it quizzically. "You know this is a library card, right?"

Harry realized his mistake and quickly fumbled to find the correct card, muttering, "Wrong card. One sec."

After cleaning up, Harry emerged to find all the staff staring at him as if he were an alien. He looked down at his outfit and muttered, "Did I put my pants on backward again?"

Not in the frame of mind to pay much attention to his surroundings, Harry proceeded towards his workplace.

"What was all that about? Can you enlighten me?" Harry asked Krish in his mind.

After a fair amount of silence, Krish responded.

"It was nothing extraordinary. As that girl mentioned, there are individuals who can cultivate and grow stronger, but they reside in the Domain.

a place segregated from the normal world. You could say it's a part of Earth that ordinary humans can't access.

As for your awakening, that was an unexpected development even for me. With the rewards, you leaped over three stages in a single day. Currently, you are at Foundation Building Level 4," Krish elaborated, then continued his monologue.

"And remember, I told you that one day you would have to make a decision. Now that you know such a world exists, will you go there?"

Krish laughed at that point. "As if you have a choice. If you don't go within a certain time frame, someone will make you."

"What do you mean by 'make me go'?" Harry inquired.

After just one day, Harry had forgotten that Krish introduced himself as an AI feature. But he couldn't seem more real. Harry was conversing with him as if he were a normal human.

"They prefer to keep the two worlds separate. If a rogue cultivator like you remains here, you can cause complications for them. So they will force you to leave, and since you are weak, you won't be able to resist," Krish explained in his mischievous tone.

Harry wanted to explore the new world but disliked the notion of being coerced into going there.

However, he understood that far more powerful individuals existed, like Cia, Kate, or Python, who could wipe him from existence with a single swoop of their hand.

"Then it's settled. I will go to the Domain," Harry declared with conviction.

In response, Krish let out a hearty laugh.

Since Harry was returning home, he decided not to pay his overdue rent. He recalled Morvin's words and the complications he had faced. It was time to get compensated.

Sneaking into his room, he retrieved his backpack. There weren't many belongings. However, in his haste, he tripped over his own shoes and tumbled into a pile of laundry. Covered in socks, he muttered, "Ninja skills need work."

After traveling for 16 hours, he arrived at his home village. It was a typical tier-3 village, with people milling about, farm animals, and agricultural abundance.

As Harry arrived, an old neighbor waved and said, "Harry, back from saving the world?"

"Not quite, Mrs. Wilson. Just trying to find my shoes," Harry replied with a grin.

His mother was working at her grocery store.

As he stepped inside the store, someone grabbed him and pinned him to the floor. This was the second time in the past two days that he entered a place and was accosted.

"Who are you? Why did you come here?" a familiar voice demanded.

"Mom," was all he managed to say.

Upon hearing the word, "What? Harry! How did you awaken?" Samantha exclaimed.

Harry was taken aback by her reaction and words. "I need to discuss something important. Can we speak in private?" he requested.

Samantha still forcing him down, realised and moved his hands.

Although Samantha was curious, she understood the gravity of the situation and decided to close the shop.

They both sat on the ground, facing each other.

After a moment of silence, Harry asked, "Do you know about the Domain?"

Surprised by this unexpected question, Samantha replied honestly, "Yes, I do."

Then, looking up at the ceiling and making a decision, she said firmly, "I think it's time to tell you the truth."

"What truth?" Harry exclaimed, his face contorted with confusion.

"It was around 18 years ago when your father started getting stronger, more agile, and his senses sharpened. We thought it was a blessing from God, but after a week, a person came and informed us that Jason had to go with him."

"We were perplexed. That man explained about the Domain and why Jason couldn't live in the normal world. We discovered that Jason had already surpassed the Foundation Building realm without realizing it. The man was very polite and suggested we could also join Jason."

"You were very young, so we mutually decided that Jason would go there and assess the situation. After a month, Jason returned but wasn't certain if he should bring us there. According to him, it is a chaotic world where only the strong survive, though there were clear benefits. Ultimately, we didn't want you to grow up in such an environment."

"Seeing you, we decided that I would remain here in the normal world to care for you. If one day you somehow awakened, your dad would bring us there. He started visiting regularly, or if he couldn't, he always stayed in contact and supported us."

"But two years ago," Samantha paused, pain evident in her eyes.

Harry was unable to say or do anything. Everything seemed like a myth to him. His father was not a scum who left him and his mother on their own. But his heartbeat ramped up when Samantha halted.

Clearing her thoughts, Samantha managed to continue her story. "But for the last two years, Jason hadn't contacted me, and I received no news about him. I was worried and considered entering the Domain, but then I stopped because I couldn't risk your life," Samantha said, wiping tears from her face.

Harry had been in the dark about all this information concerning his parents. He always thought his dad was a villain. Now he understood that his dad was doing all this for him. From the last line, it seemed his father had not been in touch for the past two years.

"I don't know what you have decided, but I don't want to lose you. If you go there, I will accompany you," Samantha said, bringing Harry out of his deep thoughts.

"I understand everything you told me, but how did you know I awakened?" Harry asked.

"Umm... that... I am also at Foundation Building Level 5, but Jason gave me something to conceal my powers so no one could detect me. Additionally, Foundation Building cultivators have minimal energy. In Jason's case, he had already surpassed the Foundation Building realm. I realized you had awakened because I can see the energy surrounding you," Samantha explained.

That clarified everything.

Harry was conflicted about what to do because he didn't want to take his mom there. He didn't even know where the Domain was, how secure it was, or why his father hesitated to bring him there. There must be a reason, but how could he explain it to his mom?

-----

How was it? I'm trying to introduce the cultivation world as soon as possible. And please don't tell me you want an orphan protagonist.

Story will progress accordingly and Harry will explore the benefits of this system as he progresses.

Ah, I forgot to mention, please give me power stones. They fuel my writing.

Power stones...I want power stones...power stonnnn.