Start of the journey.

"What?"

"Basic energy gathering ( lightning ). It's a method of gathering the energy from the void dimension and storing it in your body before releasing it in an attack."

Mhm… Too simple! I was expecting a hard to cultivate technique that will grant me an unimaginable power. But this is just….

"Host, there is no need to be disappointed, the gathering technique is the most simple and effective technique a person can cultivate. There will be no need to make breakthroughs, but the rise of your strength will be a bit slower which can be offset with enough resources. There is also no limit to your growth making it extremely desirable technique because as long you live you will continue to grow in strength."

Mhm… too overpowered! I was expecting it to be easy to cultivate technique that will not grant you any…

Wait... I'm having a Deja vu…

Marcus sighed.

"I really have to stop assuming things… oh well… how do I cultivate it?"

"The manual is in the cultivation section, just think the name of the technique."

After finding the manual it turned out to be really simple… you just had to focus on the inside of your body, feel out the gate, draw out the energy, focus it in one point of the body and hold it until a membrane is formed. When the membrane is fully formed it then becomes a core. No complicated pathways you have to follow in your body, just grab it and hold it.

At this point Marcus realized that it was almost noon, he already missed his breakfast, which meant he wouldn't get anything to eat until dinner. And he still had work to do. So he quickly got up and left.

And the day just repeated itself, work, work, work, beating from his clansmen, and more work before he was finally able to return home.

Entering his hut again, he saw the blood from this morning. He cleaned his bed and looked the Basic energy gathering ( lightning ) manual again, and once he understood the concept behind the technique he began to feel out the gate, but to no anvil, after few hours he could only feel that there was something there, but not the exact location.

"Don't worry, I will guide you."

Out of nowhere, Es spoke up. Thinking about it Es is supposed to teach me, right? What the hell man I've been struggling here for hours.

"You learn the best through mistakes."

"Fine, so what I'm doing wrong?"

"Nothing, you are just looking for the wrong thing. There is no one gate in your body, your whole body is a gate. Finding the gate is more like feeling out the energy from beyond the gate. So focus on your whole body."

Ten minutes. It only took me ten minutes before I was able to 'find' the gate and touch upon the void energy. But before I begin with the next step… Es, it there is anything I need to know before?

"See? You learned something. Well getting back on topic, you have to choose a place where you will form your membrane, and because you can only have one, your choice must be good,your head and chest are the best candidates. The head is more defensive where as the chest is a more aggressive option. But the decision is up to you."

Marcus knew that this decision would determine his future development. If he places it in his chest, the path from it will be shorter; this means quicker attacks but it's less protected. If placed in his head the skull will give greater protection, but the path to the rest of the body will be longer meaning slower attacks. Even though the matter was of great importance, Marcus already knew his answer. An attack is the best defense! Grabbing the void energy from beyond the gate and pulling it he could feel its coldness. And as it passed through the gate, a great change occurred, and the void energy changed to blue. Marcus's body felt as if it was covered with ants from the inside, but he held on to it with all his might, dragging all the energy towards his chest and focusing it underneath his heart.

Soon he could feel the energy stabilizing, a membrane began forming around it and the formation of his core son reached copleation. After twenty or so minutes Marcus stopped pulling the energy and focused on his core. A very small point underneath his heart so small it wouldn't be visible to the naked eye. The core membrane was very thin but it still held all of the energy in the core firmly. With a small push, he could drag out the energy from the core and move it along with his hand. When it left his body, it immediately changed into a small lightning bolt jumping in between his fingers.

"Congratulations, you successfully formed a core."

Now with the core formed all Marcus needed was time to gather strength. Practice how to use his energy, and find ways to make it stronger! He could already see his future where he wins the yearly clan competition, then win the favor of some elders, eliminate opposing elders and take over the whole clan!

With determination in his eyes, he sat down and started to practice. Slowly drawing the energy from the void and amassing it in his core, then moving it to its walls and slowly enlarging them, and consequently the whole core and his power. The growth of the core was very slow and solely dependent on him delivering enough energy. If his focus waivered the whole process will st….

"Host, there is an issue I wish to address."

With his focus broken, and the supply of the energy from the void stopped, the core started to shrink back only to stop when it was half as big as it was before. This meant that Marcus succeeded! The membrane behaved like rubber, if you can't stretch it enough it will go to its original size, but if you succeed it will get longer but thinner, and what Marcus needed to do now is to use the energy to thicken the walls of his core and repeat the process. All of it was in the manual for Basic energy gathering ( lightning ).

"What is it Es?"

Because in the end, he succeeded there was no need to get angry.

"I, as you know, can hear your thoughts and as someone that was tasked to help you and take care of you, I think that your next step should be …. Leaving the clan behind and going out into the world."

Or maybe a little bit angry...