章 16: Arrival

With a VR headset in hand and high spirits, Fria was about to enter Otherworld Prime. She still had two weeks of Summer vacation before college started, and had asked for time off work so she could play.

She jumped around excitedly, her silver hair swaying from side to side before sitting down.

She took a deep breath. A calm smile returned to her face as the headset was put over her head and the power button was pressed.

———

INITIALIZING...

...

RUNNING GAME...

...

WELCOME TO OTHERWORLD PRIME

...

-Please Enter Your Name:

"Fria."

-Welcome, Fria. Your character will be created based on your current appearance. Enter when ready.

———

Everything was as advertised, the next step was the most exciting.

"Enter."

-Player is advised of an epilepsy warning for the upcoming scene.

Fria felt her body become stiff, impossible to be moved, then a sucking force pulled her consciousness into a swirling vortex.

A multitude of lights flew by in Fria's mind, resembling hyperdrive scenes from a sci-fi movie. The effect was slightly dizzying, but the effects wore off quickly as Fria grew accustomed to the lights. Her eyes blinked in amazement at the different worlds that flickered in her view.

Massive planets with stormy skies, small planets covered in water, even a planet made entirely of diamonds.

Her figure eventually slowed upon reaching a large planet with many different environments. She flew to a location close to the center of the largest green region, then touched down softly in the middle of a courtyard.

The courtyard was filled with many other people who Fria assumed were also playing Otherworld Prime on opening day.

Control of Fria's body was returned to her by the game. She lifted her hand, which felt a little odd at first. When Fria tried to walk, she stumbled and nearly fell. No one laughed at her sudden movement as no one else had moved yet.

Three old men in light blue robes were conversing in a language none of the players would understand. When they saw Fria take her first steps, all of them were utterly dumbfounded.

"She can move already? It hasn't been more than a minute!" the first said.

"Is this a new record? I think the last interesting one took nearly 5 minutes. We will be lucky to see this group move before [1] half an incense stick burns." a second Elder stated.

"We must recruit her to the Sect! This one has extraordinary soul power if she can withstand the world's suppression so early!" the third Elder ordered.

Fria was still adjusting to the new environment when the three Elders flew down from the sky.

The first Elder spoke up, "Young Lady my name is Elder Hui Ye, would you like to join the Spirit Ascension Sect?"

Fria looked up at the old men in surprise, "What is the Spirit Ascension Sect?"

This time it was the second Elder's turn. "Young miss, my name is Hui Ja. The Spirit Ascension Sect was founded twelve thousand years ago and is one of the oldest Sects on the Continent. We focus mostly on soul-strengthening Techniques and other mystical arts.

We can tell that you have innate soul power and would be a perfect fit for our Sect. If you join, we will allow you to become an Inner Sect Disciple immediately. We don't normally go out of our way to invite someone, but if you haven't noticed, none of the others in this location can move yet."

Fria looked around at the others and noticed the Elders were right. She really was the only one moving. It couldn't just be by choice, were they still suppressed by the transportation?

Fria thought this was a good opportunity for her to get ahead of everyone else, "Alright, I will join you!"

"Great, follow us. We will sort out your uniform and housing." the last Elder, whose name was Hui Fan, spoke.

Fria had some knowledge of Cultivation games and already knew some basic mannerisms. She bowed upon arriving at the house provided to her and said, "Elders, thank you for your help! I wonder if you might know where I can find a Cultivation Technique?"

"As an Inner Sect Disciple, you naturally have the rights to learn a Cultivation Technique from our Great Library. I can take you there now if you'd like, but my companions here still have to oversee the others." Elder Hui Fan responded with a gentle smile. He was overjoyed at Fria's eagerness to Cultivate.

"Okay!" Fria followed the Elder towards the Great Hall while he showed her key places of the Sect.

"Who is that beauty?" An Inner Disciple asked.

"Shh, can't you see she's walking with Elder Fan?"

"So?"

"So it means you have no chance!" the Disciple sneered. "I know every Inner Disciple, which means she was just recruited personally by Elder Fan!"

"You wanna fight?"

"Yeah let's go!"

The rumors of a new Inner Sect Disciple quickly spread throughout the Spirit Ascension Sect. Without knowing it, Fria had become a hot topic within the Sect in a matter of hours.

Elder Fan brought Fria into their Great Hall and led her to the Techniques section. There were dozens of rows of Techniques present, which described their effects.

"Take your time to pick any Cultivation Technique you want from here, but you can only take one." Elder Fan started, "Once you've decided, I'll take you to one of the Technique Elders, who will inscribe the Cultivation Technique you've selected to learn."

"Okay, thank you Elder. Is there anything you recommend?" Fria asked.

"You won't awaken any natural affinities until you've become a Cultivator unless you're a Manamatus, so it'll be hard to tell what suits you. I recommend finding a Technique that suits all Elements or has special effects to give you an edge in battle."

"Hmm, okay." Fria began looking through the manuals based on the Elder's words.

Fria spent nearly an hour in this section of the Great Hall and had narrowed down the number of Techniques to choose from to two.

The first had a method to draw Qi from the surroundings to cultivate, but also could convert the mana of different elements to the affinity of her choosing. The conversion rate was decreased for conflicting Elements but was still very useful.

The second could draw the surrounding Qi, but only absorb mana of one element at a time. The rate of absorption would be greatly increased if the user was in a suitable environment. For example, if she gained Fire Affinity, cultivating near lava or fire would speed up her growth significantly.

She took the two Techniques to Elder Fan, who recommended she use the second Technique as the Sect had plenty of resources, and future opportunities could allow her to come back for the second method later.

There was no limit to the number of Cultivation Techniques one could use, as a weaker starting Technique would not hinder the future growth of a Cultivator. This means there is no need to cripple oneself to restart Cultivation if they discover a stronger Technique.

The Technique was transferred to Fria by the Elder who knew the method, then she returned to her housing. Fria thanked Elder Fan profusely for his guidance before running inside with great excitement.

Hui Fan noticed that during the entire interaction, Fria was mostly unaffected by their aura. As Nascent Soul experts, the Elders' auras should have at least made her nervous, even if they weren't directing it at her.

"Something tells me that girl is going to be a powerhouse someday." Elder Fan shook his head and took his leave.

[1] A standard incense stick takes approximately 30 minutes to burn.