Max lay flat on the floor. Blood from his nose and mouth dried on his skin and stopped; he didn't bother bandaging himself. He just stayed there on the floor, looking at the ceiling.
"Why am I even alive..." He asked himself. The question was unclear, and so was the answer, "Is this life even worth living...?"
Tears welled up in his eyes and dropped through his cheeks, the only warm sensation he could feel right now. He clenched his fist tight and punched the ground again and again.
"WHY THE FUCK AM I LIVING...AAArrrrrggghhhH!!!" He yelled until his throat bled again. His fist began to hurt, and he stopped punching. He wanted to cry and cry even more, but there were no tears left for his eyes to shed.
At some point, he stopped crying; he stopped cursing himself. Things were becoming clearer to him; Ray wasn't wrong. A dungeon appearing in one's home was nothing sort but a miracle.
He looked at the small crystal in the corner of the room, gleaming in a faint blue. Something he risked his life to get, "Is that thing even worth risking my life for?"
But then he remembered his status in the society. As soon as he turns 18, he will stop getting allowance from the government. Even if he wanted to join the military, he doubted that they would take him in, even as a slave.
"The thing I am living...is it even considered life?" Max was in a dilemma; for one moment, he wanted to risk everything and get stronger, and the next moment, he tried to give up. Max couldn't put his mind on one thing.
Max's brows furrowed in intense thinking; at least he was thankful for one thing, his two-story tall building was totally his. So, no matter what he does, no one will interfere with him.
Max took a deep breath; he had to make an essential decision for his life, "I've decided. I'd rather die getting strong than survive this patheticness being weak."
He got out of bed and looked at the small blue crystal. "First, I am going to learn a cultivation technique to absorb this crystal."
When it come to strength, the world was solely based on three categories. The first one was the cultivation technique, which he could use to absorb mana crystals and enhance his physique. The second one was fighting techniques, which could only be accumulated after reaching a certain level of cultivation. The third was beast or monster weapons, which were crafted from the core.
Max sat at his old, rugged computer and began to search for cultivation books, "The market is litterally flooded with cultivation techniques. But....what the fuck is wrong with prices??"
His eyes almost popped out of his sockets; even the lowest-grade cultivation techniques were listed for 10,000 nits. For comparison, Max monthly expenses were 4000 nits only.
'Slam!'
He slammed the table, and frustration was visible on his face, "If I don't have cultivation technique, I am back to ground zero."
He bit his nails, thinking of other ways around. No one would give him a loan, as he is underage, nor would anyone accept him for the job. Asking Ryan for this seemed too much, but then another thought crossed his mind.
"Dad also used to be a cultivator. Should I ask him for help?" He disregarded the thought instantly, "That old coot would rather ask me to give up."
Cultivation was the basis of increasing strength; a good cultivation technique helps in rapid growth, absorption, and a stronger foundation for the body. If he were to pick up some wrong cultivation, he could end up being paralyzed forever.
"No matter what path I choose, there is always some risk." Max was about to give up again and head to bed, but then he suddenly remembered something. He still had $20,000 saved up in his bank account for emergency purposes.
The amount he had saved up for survival after he turned 18 and the government stopped paying him allowances.
'It almost took me 3 years to save up this amount; should I waste it right now?' He thought, but then he answered himself, 'It's not a waste. This is the kind of situation I have been saving up for after all.'
He opened his computer again and began scrolling through the internet. If he was spending money, he'd rather go for something secure and good than something cheap. After a bit of research, one technique especially plagues his mind.
[ 7 Stage Heptagram ]
Every cultivation technique focused on a specific aspect of the body, with some emphasizing increased durability and others increasing speed. However, the 7-stage hectagram concentrates on the overall body, core functions, and senses; this was perfect for someone like Max, who hadn't been exposed to any kind of training before.
"This is almost 16000 nits," He bit his lips. The technique was good, but he felt he'd need to shift to a different one soon. Still, one thing he knew was that this technique was safe to use and had many positive reviews from top-ranked NSDR explorers.
It was a risky move, but Max was willing to do it anyway. He closed his eyes, took a breath, and made a transaction. It all took one click, and 17,000 nits were deducted from his account, leaving only 3,000.
Max sat back and continued researching crystals, their types, beasts, and dungeons. The dungeons were divided into open world and floor dungeons. But in either case, the 'EXPLORER,' upon entering the dungeon, was welcomed by some weak and easy-to-kill monsters.
Max was also searching for these types of monsters, particularly the thing he saw back in the Dark Dungeon—Yes, that's what he had come up with for the thing in his toilet pot.
"What in the actual fuck," Max was almost stunned. He filtered through more than 1500 types of monsters from floors 1 to 5, even the Red Dungeons, and none of them nearly matched the description of such a Beast or monster.
Max was taken aback the more he searched about that thing. Not only were there no such monsters, but the feat it performed was far above the normal monsters on the base floor. The strength, speed, and stealth. Its stats matched that of floor 15 monsters from regular green dungeons. And floors 4 to 5 of the Red Dungeon.
"Does it mean the Dark dungeon is above the red dungeon?" Max couldn't help but question, though soon, his attention was drawn to the constant ringing of his phone and the doorbell.
[ Parcel Reached !]
He read the alert on the phone. It was too fast, almost within 15 minutes; Max had never seen delivery so fast. He quickly rushed to open his gate, "I guess they are faster when the product is expensive."
As soon as he opened the door, he was welcomed by a hot gust of wind. Before him floated a table-sized, silver-colored drone holding a black box with numerous stickers.
[ Please scan the QR code to claim the parcel ]
Max did as instructed. The drone made a ding sound and slowly descended to the ground, dropping the black box. It played a thank-you message and flew back into the air.
"That's...something..." Max could only admire the futuristic tech, even he had seen for the first time. Without delay, he took the black box and headed inside. Max ignored the wounds on his body and opened the package like a curious child.
Inside the black box were two more boxes. Max smiled and picked up the box with book, ignoring the second one. It was a thin, green book with a simple print on it.
7 STAGE HEPTAGRAM (CORE)
Max's eyes flinched, "Core? Does that mean it has even more versions?"
Max opened the book, which was more accurately described as a booklet. It came with written materials, diagrams, and a USB drive containing tutorials. He was feeling frustrated, having spent $16,000 on a 100-page booklet. However, the manuals, instructions, and tutorial pen drive gave him confidence.
After all, this was what made this cultivation technique the best. It had 0 misprints, straightforward explanations, and tutorials from the author himself, which made it easy to use. Max didn't hurry this time. He calmed down and sat with his legs crossed, reading every word of the tutorial line by line.
Then, he watched the videos and reread the booklet and tutorial. Max wanted to ensure he wasn't making any mistakes that could cause him severe harm. Even if the technique seemed easy, he needed to ensure he was applying it ideally.
"Alright, it's the time," Max declared in confidence; after reading and watching multiple times, he was sure he could pull it off.
Max first cleaned his room, something he didn't prefer to do because it was useless anyway. After cleaning up, he placed a small yoga mat and sat down, crossing his legs in a meditation position, with the crystal held in both his hands and positioned before his naval point, exactly as suggested by the manual.
His breathing slowed, and mind focused; he was trying to feel the energy from the crystal. It was tough, almost like trying to see with eyes closed. The manual had instructed that it was tough to implement a cultivation technique for the first time, so Max just stayed there and concentrated.
Trying to find a thread of energy. He found it; his breathing fluctuated in excitement, and now it was gone. Max realized even the tiniest deviation of emotion could cause him to lose the connection. He tried again, failed and kept trying.
Controlling his emotions to the tiniest form was difficult. It took Max hundreds of attempts until he finally caught the thread. As soon as he saw one, the second appeared, and then the third.
He could sense it —the light, even with his eyes closed, was moving towards him, trying to enter his body. And this was the main trick. The energy was destructive in nature, just like a high-speed water jet. He needed to let it in, but smoothly enough so he didn't injure his meridians.
The energy flowed slowly, and the crystal shone a deeper blue. Max controlled and let it circulate inside him; it was almost like he had awakened a new sense. He continued to do so until the light from the crystal completely faded, and it turned into a normal grey stone.
Yet Max continued to sit there, as instructed by the manual, and had to completely take control of the energy within him.
Time flew like sand, and the evening and night passed like nothing. Max didn't know it was the next morning until a ray of sunlight from his window hit straight to his face.
Today, Max felt like the sun was extra warm and comforting. He opened his eyes to see the world around him. He felt like something was different, but he didn't know what it was. He looked around; everything was more detailed and precise, like upgrading a video from 360p to 720p.
"Is this what cultivation feels like?" Max asked; he could even hear himself more clearly. He tried to move, but he felt something sticky on his skin. His body was drenched in sweat or something similar.
Max stood up and looked at his injuries from the other day; they were still there, he could still feel the soreness.
"My bad luck, " Max nodded his head and headed straight to the shower.
The 7-stage heptagram was a unique in its own right. Unlike other techniques that focus on the physical aspects of the body, such as muscles and bones, as well as mental elements, 7SH (7-stage heptagram) takes an entirely different approach.
It was a cultivation technique focused on the 7 functions of the body.
Immunity, senses, blood flow, recovery, adaptiveness, balance, and control. The manual itself stated that by the end of the first stage of cultivation, the cultivator would gain 1.5 times enhanced senses, better immunity, improved blood flow, almost three times faster healing and recovery, and an overall better balance and mana control.
This was what made the technique one of the best suited for beginners. Though it wasn't very effective afterward, for this stage, Max needed it the most.
The shower water was mild, neither hot nor cold; it slowly washed away the tiredness and stiffness from Max's body. Each drop of water tickled his skin—a sign of sharp senses. But he still felt disappointed, "I was hoping I'd activate the healing part first..."