Chapter 2: Level One Mage

The three realms are always interconnected. There are even myths that they were all split off from the same realm. It was rare for blips from one realm to the other to happen, but they were not entirely nonexistent. It was because of this connection that the cultivation of three energies seemed feasible to Eindgard, though no matter how long he lived, he had never seen anyone able to cultivate this power. He never shared the cultivation method, though he gave hints to promising cultivators, but none were able to make the cut so he put the matter to rest. Now, however, he had a chance to actually be that promising cultivator. He would not waste this chance.

He closed his eyes for a very long time, trying to sense the presence of divinity and demonic aura. He remained in that position for over three hours before getting a feel for the both. Mana was already all around him, so that was no problem. He controlled the three energies, intertwining and mixing them together in front of him and then finally when he was ready, he began the surgical process of expanding his meridians. He stacked the energies on each other so they would be thicker than the normal strand and began to force it through each and every meridian in his body.

The painful process took three days to complete, but that was just stage one of the expansion. So far, he could say he had expanded his meridians to about twice the normal size, and it would get harder from now.

He had to stop because he felt a pang in his stomach. "Hunger, huh? How long ago was the last time i felt this?" As one grows stronger by cultivating, their body adapts and begins to use their cultivation materials as supplements. Eventually, the body will no longer require food. At some point, even breathing would be unnecessary.

He got up and strode steadily to the town that was close by. With no money on him, he was forced to sell his expensive clothes and buy a cheap piece of rag with a hood, at least to hide his handsome face lest one of these lowly subjects recognize him. The leftover money was used to purchase supplies that would last him over a month, so he could go into seclusion.

He went back out into the woods and found his new favourite tree. He nested there and continued the process of expanding his meridians. To go all around through all his meridians took him six days this time around and after completion, he had thrice the size of a normal person's meridians. He went all round again and increased his meridians size to about four times the average after another twelve days. Taking a look at his supplies, he would not last through the next expansion, so he decided to hunt for some meat.

He set a few traps around for little animals, and luckily, in a few days, he had gotten enough to get him through the next phase. After another twenty four days, he completed his first requirement to cultivate three energies. Next was to heal the meridians.

"Ah, I am so lucky I remember everything from before this reincarnation, or else I would not even be able to handle this much." He recalled another scroll he had found that contained a simple and efficient method of restoring broken meridians. He had already procured the required materials when he got supplies in the town about a month ago. He proceeded to make it into a potion by following the recorded steps, and in the end got a dark red liquid. He immediately drank it and felt it flow deep into his body, reaching the nook and crannies, all the way into his bones and their marrows. The potion provided a certain relaxation effect that dulled his mind and caused him to quickly go into a deep sleep.

"Ughh..." A lethargic voice sounded in the midst of the darkness, breaking the silence of the still night, except for the occasional night sounds like the chirping of the cricket. "It seems I fell asleep. Let's see how much progress I made." Eindgard sits in a lotus position and observes his meridians.

"Perfect! They are utterly perfect." He screams with joy, prompting the growl of some nearby creature. "Shit, I forgot I was in the woods. I better take a little time to improve my cultivation now that I have completed the requirements."

He focused entirely on his surroundings and the energies flowing all around, taking care to extract just the right amount of each of the three types. He had been using the three energies in tandem for over a month now, so it would make sense that he was well versed in the control, plus he was basically a master of magic and it's arts.

He began to gather the three energies and store them around his heart, suppressing and pressuring the energies to merge and remain in position so it did not disperse until slowly and surely a limit was reached after hours of gathering. "Break!" Immediately, the energies that were trying to spread out began to converge into a spiral form like a whirlpool, drawing energy in waves and converging around the heart.

Divinity naturally takes the form of a golden hue, seeming somewhat like a holy light. Mana is light blue in color and demonic aura is dark purple with a slight hint of reddish hue to it. Anyone using any of these three energies would only have either of these colours converge around their heart depending on which energy they cultivate with. As the energies around Eindgard's heart began to converge, the strands that usually did not mix, began to directly collide with each other in the whirlpool and their color began to change. Soon after the energy solidified into the shape of an octahedron with a dark gray color closer to black.

"Huu... Finally, I am now a level one mage. After this, I will have to select an element to specialize in." Eindgard slowly, stood up from his lotus sitting position. "Wait... is it possible to... no, that would be going overboard. Hmm... but going overboard will certainly be useful in the future, especially if I need to fight someone on a whole other level from me."

"Its settled then, I will not choose a single element, rather I will utilize every single element available in nature as mine." Eindgard sits back down and tries to concentrate on his surroundings again to cultivate when there is a loud grumbling sound. "Ah, I really overdid it, huh? Guess. I need to go get a meal now."