He had felt a strong obligation to assist Farrell and a lesser obligation to assist Meredith. He hadn't changed his mind on that part, but now that he was here, he wasn't sure what to do. The child wasn't old enough to have access to the Network and thus spiritual energy. He could help him meditate, but by now he knew that he wasn't the best for that. For him, cultivation was like filling a cup with water. Sometimes the tap was on full blast, and other times it was a slow drizzle. Regardless, he made progress. That was not the case for everyone else, and he couldn't teach people to do better. All that was to explain why he sat back as Farrell swung a variety of weapons against the makeshift target dummy. He had started with the common ones. He was not interested in swords, axes, bows, and arrows, nor did he want to use his hands or become a spellcaster. Not that the route of a spellcaster was open to him. He was no teacher, but Farrell struck him as the type that needed something in his hands. He needed to move, to swing to feel the attack. Which was why he was on his current attempt. A weapon that was a cross between a spear and a sword. The polearm was a few inches taller than he was, which disrupted the boy's aim, but that didn't matter. His laughter filled the air as he swung at the dummy. He was no expert on fighting with weapons, but he was able to help with the small things. He let Farrell launch a few more attacks before he called for him to stop.

  "Come, let's meditate for a bit. Bring your weapon," Maximilian said as the boy jogged over. Maximilian wasn't sure, but he felt somewhat confident that there would be a dao related to the weapon. Or at least a dao-related blade. Either way, he figured it would be the best way forward for now. When he returned, Maximilian lifted the boy and carried him away. He had wanted to take him to his cultivation chamber, but the energy inside was too strong. He wasn't sure how bad it would be for him, but it wasn't worth the risk. Especially not when he couldn't absorb the energy properly. Right now, they needed a quiet place. Which led them to their current location. The top of an unused house.

  "Do we have to do this now? I want to keep practicing with my guan dao," Farrell complained.

  Maximilian shook his head with the barest hint of a smile on his face. He knew it wasn't the same, but he couldn't help but think of the times he used to play football with his father. He knew he wanted to have that experience with his own child one day, though now that the world had ended, he wasn't sure if that was possible. He took a breath and brought himself to the moment. "No. Meditation is as important as fighting. I will also look into finding a martial artist or someone with experience with weapons. For now, though, sit in the lotus position and focus on your weapon. Lay the blade across your lap. Focus on the weapon. How it feels, and the properties of the weapon." Maximilian wasn't sure if a weapon dao required you to think about the literal weapon or some metaphorical concept associated with it. So he decided to keep it vague. Once the boy had slipped into a trance, he took a seat next to him and did the same. He could tell he was closing in on advancing the dao of static, but it was more difficult. If he had to estimate it, he would say he needed 50% insight when compared to his previous advancement. Granted, he couldn't explain how insight was calculated. He wished that the Network had been more video game-like. A meter that could show his progress would be nice. He pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on his progress.

  All too soon, he felt movement to his right and then voices. Part of him wanted to scold him for not having the discipline to meditate for longer, but he couldn't. He wasn't his child for one, and for two, he couldn't be sure that it would help him. He wasn't sure if you could get a dao before the Network. He thought people couldn't use any powers until the Network. This made him wonder if there was another requirement. Of course, that requirement could just be spiritual energy. Either way, it was something to learn with time. He opened his eyes, rolled his shoulders, and stood up. A moment later, he turned his gaze to Farrell and Meredith, who stood together talking. He smiled, nodded, and then leaped off the building. He wasn't sure what relationship he wanted with the pair. They were fine, and so far, they hadn't caused any problems. Meredith had even gotten in on the merit system. Right now, the items inside weren't all that special. At least not to him. The mental, or more precisely, the soul crystals served as their most valuable resource. Considering most people didn't burn through mental energy as fast as he did mean they weren't that great. The new pills would help immensely. Their survivability alone would go through the roof.

  Now that he had some free time, he decided to head back to the library. He had two goals for his latest information dive. First, he wanted to make sure he was ready for his upcoming class selection. He wouldn't get any more dao, but if there were other things he could do, then he would. Second, he wanted to learn more about the lives of other cultivators. He found the culture to be interesting. At first, he would compare it to medieval China, but that wasn't completely true. At least not from the few glimpses he had seen. Reading the various accounts was like reading a fantasy novel, or rather several fantasy novels. Only they were real. It was all real. He could see some of those things, which only fascinated him more. Fortunately, he had entered a lull period. Nubia was doing fine. His mother was fine, which meant he could focus on himself for a few days.

  His peaceful existence lasted a week. He wished he could say that someone disturbed him or that duty forced him out of his seclusion, but that wasn't the case. He felt restless. Like he had to get up and do something. He knew better than to try and fight through the feeling, so he decided to do some hunting. He stocked up on several sets of healing pills and other important alchemical items before he made his way down the mountain. It was time to explore the desert. Now that he had anti-poison and toxin pills, he wanted to see what else the new world had to show. That being said, he wasn't going to be reckless. He waited until the warm sand was beneath his feet before he completely released himself. His killing intent and aura billowed out as he held up a hand against the harsh sunlight. He considered unleashing his dao fields as well to combat the temperature, but he resisted the urge. He doubted he would run out of mental energy, but it would be rather foolish to die because of air conditioning. He used the mountain as his reference point and headed North.

  Fortunately, he hadn't been left wanting for very long. Less than an hour after he had arrived, a scorpion the size of a Rottweiler leaped out of the sand. Its claws looked large enough to shatter steel columns, while its stinger was a dark black everywhere except the tip. That was a dark green that reminded him of poison. Maximilian was about to attack when the ground shook, and three more of the creatures dug themselves out. He wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed them beneath him, but he pushed that concern to the back of his head. He activated Prismatic Barrier, not wanting to take the chance that these creatures could catch him by surprise. As soon as his defensive skill was in place, the beasts came for him. His dao fields exploded to meet them. Wind, water, and electricity surged into the environment, and then the sand joined them. He became the eye of a storm that tore into his enemies. Despite his opening salvo, the scorpions weren't to be outdone. One impact after another landed like shotgun blasts. He knew his shield wouldn't withstand the impact forever, nor did he need it to. A moment later, the wind howled as he activated an imbued Severing Disc. Two buzz saws shot forward. The first claimed its target, bisecting the first scorpion that had attacked him. The second missed ever so slightly and severed the stinger of another.

  His danger sense warned him seconds before one of the remaining scorpions slammed their stinger into the barrier. A thick green slime spread from the impact site. His eyebrows raised as he lost connection to the defensive skill. He unleashed twin blasts of wind and launched himself through its remains and into the sky. He flipped through the air as he formed a rain of electrical darts. Darts that crashed into the hard exoskeletons of the massive insects. As soon as he touched down, his danger sense warned of another attack. A gout of pressurized water crashed into one scorpion, forcing it back almost ten feet while the second ran for him. Maximilian dodged another stinger strike as spiritual energy surged into Severing Disc. The scorpion closest to him was bisected while the last dove into the sand. Maximilian took a moment to gather himself. The beasts were decent power but had limited options. Which meant he had already won. As soon as he felt the ground tremble, he pushed spiritual energy into his feet. He leaped into the air seconds before his attacker leaped up at him. A moment later, the scorpion was pelted with a dozen offensive attacks. Even with the creature's durability, it didn't stand a chance. Maximilian took a moment to check himself over. He hadn't felt or seen anything make contact, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Once he confirmed he was good, he went around and collected the bodies. He remembered that people had eaten scorpions before, so he figured they should be able to do it again.

  He decided to spray the sand down with water, though he couldn't say it would help anything. He wasn't a tracker, but he knew that beasts were attracted to blood. That was enough to convince him to do it anyway. That and the battle had helped advance his comprehension of all three daos. Granted, those insights were drops in a rather impressive bucket. Same with the spiritual energy. He cracked his fingers and pushed onward. Maximilian was reminded of his general dislike for the heat. The heat and sand. The changes the Network had caused were great, but they did nothing for the sensation of being hot. It wasn't painful by any definition, just annoying. Same thing with the sand. His new shoes weren't the best defense against the coarse grains. On top of that, his battles had become worse. The scorpions kept coming, but they weren't much of a threat anymore. They were simple, and once you knew what to do, they weren't a threat. He had decided to only use the dao of Static. He had made the most progress with it, and it was his focus, so it was best to get the most benefits he could. All that brought him to his current problem. He needed somewhere to rest for the evening. As much as he enjoyed his dao, none of them were good for permanent structures. He had already conducted a few tests, and he could make a wind bubble. That bubble would disperse as soon as he stopped focusing on it. He wasn't sure if that was his weakness or a flaw of that dao. Either way, he needed to find shelter.

  Shelter arrived in the form of a slanted hole in the ground. One that he assumed had been dug by a creature of some kind. He hadn't seen any signs of the monster, which he hoped meant it was gone. Either way, he didn't have much of a choice. Deserts reversed during the night. He doubted the cold of that level would kill him, but it could hamper his abilities. He wanted to test his dao against nature, but not without a safety net. He sealed his aura and killing intent, not wanting to awaken the creature if his first assumption was wrong. Once he was confident, he made his way into his new home. His breath caught in his throat as the earthen walls surrounded him. He fought against the phantom fear of the wall sealing him inside. Of the ground falling in or any number of unlikely events. He knew that wasn't something to be afraid of, but fear didn't work like that. He couldn't rationalize his way through it. When he felt he had gone far enough, he formed several balls of electricity and water. He found the combination was better light than either of the two on their own. The light was much more stable and consistent.

  Part of him wondered if there was a dao of light. He assumed there was, though he wasn't sure how that would work with his current dao. He knew that the old rules of science weren't accurate, or at least not as accurate. He doubted that everything that made light would be considered under the dao of light. If that were the case, then everything would lead to the dao of light, or maybe life and death. Of course, from what he understood, that was kind of true. All dao converged at the "Grand Dao" or whatever that was. He hadn't been a fan of Daoism or Buddhism before, but now he was curious. Especially if Earth's versions were somehow the same as the rest of the multiverse. He hadn't placed significant faith in the stories of aliens and otherworldly visitors, but now he was beginning to believe. There were too many coincidences to ignore. Which left the question of why? Why hadn't they conquered the planet or created more cultivators? He shook his head to stop that train of thought. Instead, he turned his focus to his current situation. He hadn't found any monsters, nor was his danger sense warning him of anything. Which should mean he could focus on meditation. He had made sure to sleep before he set out since he wasn't about to be that defenseless.

  He summoned a few spirit stones and started up his cultivation technique. He sighed as energy surged into his dantian. It only took a few moments for him to regain what he had used. His dantian surged with energy as he approached his next level. All too soon, the spirit stones fell into dust, and he was left disappointed. He had enough stones to push himself up a level, but he wasn't sure he wanted to. Three new attribute points meant little. Yet it also meant he was getting closer to level 27. That he was getting closer to being the first person on the planet with a class. He went back and forth on it for several moments before he shook his head. There was no reason to rush. The power would come, and he was out here to fight. The stones could no doubt be more useful later. With that choice made, he turned his focus to the next area of his cultivation. He focused his mind on the dao of static. Especially the paralytic and shocking aspects of electricity. He didn't want it to focus too much on the paralysis, but he did see the value in it. Stunning his enemies, if only for a few seconds, was valuable. He also wanted to improve its offensive power. The lesser dao of Static was the most offensive of his dao by far.

  His memory flashed with instances of electricity, whether they were real, false, or imagined. He was getting so close. Yet he could tell that it wasn't enough. It was as if there was a door in front of him. A door that he was forcing open with consistent effort, but that was it. It was gradual. Part of him disliked his inability to control it. When compared to the last few advancements. Those had been much easier. Yet he couldn't complain. He was already far ahead of the rest of Earth, and complaining about it made him feel like a child. He ended his meditation and opened his eyes. He still didn't have a reliable way to tell time, but he could tell that several hours had passed. He wasn't sure if this situation could be considered a vacation, but it was close. He wouldn't have to worry about anything besides his own advancement for now. He summoned a bottle of water from his bag and drank half of it. He took a moment to stretch before he made his way back to the surface.