Samantha flinched away as the spearhead exploded in her right hand and an eruption of blood, shrapnel, and light blasted out towards her face. The force from the blast knocked her backwards off her feet and she fell to the ground in a heap. With her qi pool now fully depleted, the strength in her body seemed to leave her and all she could manage was curling up defensively and waiting to see if her death was imminent. She had played every last card in her hand, and if this insane gamble didn’t pan out then there was no doubt in her mind that she would be crushed to death any second by the Alpha Iron Boar. Several ragged breaths came and went, and the harsh ringing in her ears began to subside. When no sudden stomp ended her existence, she decided tentatively to open her eyes.

In front of her was the boar, once tall and mighty, still held captive by the trunk which his tusks pierced. Its body steamed with heat and lay slumped over, but largely intact. Shockingly, if it weren’t for the fact that he was so motionless and covered with gore, Samantha might have believed he was sleeping. For all the power that the explosion expended, there was not much external damage to the creature. There was no denying the fact of its death, however, as blood and chunks of brain matter flowed from every facial orifice – crimson streams dripping down from his slackened jaw, nostrils, ears, and burst eye socket. She didn’t linger on any feelings of relief though.

Knowing that time was short and that her spirit bond was in grave danger, she put the alpha out of her mind and extended her arms to try and push herself up. She toppled over immediately, the arm she used to deal the deadly blow not holding her weight as she expected it to. She looked down at the appendage and immediately understood why this was the case. There was nothing below the right elbow—a stump of mangled flesh all that remained of her dominant hand. She stared at the empty space dumbly. She couldn’t really have blown off her arm, could she? It didn’t hurt at all, and she could feel her hand there still, plain as day!

Clenching her fist to prove to herself that this was all some horrible nightmare, all that she received for her efforts was a fresh spray of lifeblood from the gaping injury. She vomited at the sight, the disbelieving part of her unwilling to accept this as reality, but the practical part of her knowing that she would die of blood loss soon if the shock didn’t kill her first. Taking the sash from her cultivator’s robes, she picked up a small branch that had fallen from one of the felled trees and used it to create a makeshift tourniquet as she had seen others do. She tied the sash around her arm and the branch, and then turned the wood until the fabric twisted enough to cut off circulation to the area.

Her immediate survival secured, she stood up unsteadily and made her way over to the spot where she felt her bond most strongly. His eyes were dull and unfocused as she approached, and her heart sank upon reaching him and seeing his condition. It was clear that his spine was snapped in two and he was on his last legs, virtually dead already. He squeaked pitifully at her between labored breaths, lacking the energy to communicate telepathically.

“I’m gonna fix you up,” Samantha promised, her voice breaking, “just… just hang on a bit longer for me, okay? I mean… I didn’t even give you a name yet!”

He gave no indication that he had heard or understood her, but she tried not to let worry cloud her already hindered abilities. With her good arm, she carefully scooped his limp body from the ground and carried him back over to the corpse of the boar as quickly as she could. She knew that from a medical standpoint, she shouldn’t have moved him at all, but she wasn’t going to risk him dying alone in the dirt. Her thoughts were fuzzy as she walked, and the dizziness she felt threatened to cause her to stumble with every step, but determination to keep her precious cargo safe kept her gait steady.

“Don’t you die on me,” she whispered to the unnaturally still animal, “I swear, if you live through this, I’ll give you a proper name. You’ll love it!”. Silence was her only response, and she choked back a sob while she quickened her pace.

The body of the beast was still warm when she returned, and once she was close enough she pressed her shoulder to the carcass to claim its core.

*Ding* Would you like to claim Rank 3 Beast Core – Low Quality (Alpha Iron Boar)? Y/N

She selected yes and a spirit pearl the size of a grape materialized in her waiting palm. She looked upon the valuable orb with a mix of desperation and hope, any excitement at the find snuffed out by her dire situation. No amount of healing salves would fix her ruined arm or her hare’s broken spine… but there was a possibility that cultivation would. A small one, but a possibility, nonetheless.

When breaking into the next stage or rank, there were several things that happened to a cultivator. On the physical side, the cultivator took one step further down the path of immortality, thus shedding a piece of their mortal body. In practice, this meant that there would be a small healing effect on any wounds they currently possessed as the flesh was somewhat replaced or enhanced by qi. On the spiritual side, the cultivator’s third eye would be open to the insight of the world during a breakthrough—this was something that Samantha had already experienced in all its terrifying wonder.

She knew that the healing effect wouldn’t be enough to restore her arm, nor would it directly mend her bond, but she might be able to glean some otherworldly knowledge when her third eye opened that could help. Her soul wasn’t strong enough to spend extended time looking beyond the veil, but the alternative was almost certainly death, so it was worth a shot. The Lunar Hare’s life force was weakening by the second, so Samantha didn’t delay further. She seated herself in the lotus position, placed the hare in her lap, and absorbed the core.

The memories of the boar flashed past, and she determinedly ignored each focusing only on the raging energies coming from the pearl. Pouring it into her dantian, she felt the pressure build within her and risk tearing her apart from within, but she wouldn’t let a little pain deter her from her goal. Condensing the energy, she packed it tighter until the qi vapors within her own core clumped together to form larger droplets. As soon as the droplets formed, the pressure vanished and the veil between the mortal world and all truths tore open before her gaze.

Once more, she felt herself stretch impossibly and join with the qi of the universe. She became one with everything, and nearly lost herself in the flows of fate. What had been so important before? What was this lingering sense of urgency she felt? She floated in the sea of infinite potential for a moment, disoriented and confused, when a tug of a miniscule qi string brought her back to her senses. Looking down the length of the flickering line, she saw the dim shape of a hare looking up at her from the depths. He looked different here than on the mortal plane, she thought. He was much larger, and had the most beautiful markings like tattoos along his fur… but why did he look so sad?

It all came rushing back at once. The fight, the injuries, and the mission that she had come here to achieve. She dove deeper into the waters, seeking a way to survive—a way to heal her bond. She swam so deep that light ceased to reach her, but her soul was not so limited as her body. She grabbed hold of spider’s webs representing timelines and possibilities, viewing marvels and horrors in equal measure but ignoring all that did not serve her purpose. Several times she felt herself becoming lost among the threads in the ocean, but the string of fate that tied her to her spirit bond kept her from floating away into eternity. She felt her mind fraying and her soul eroding as she was battered by waves, but she couldn’t stop yet. All she needed to find was… there!

She grabbed hold of the knowledge like a ravenous animal, desperately trying to internalize the insight so that it would not be lost as soon as she left. She burned it into her very soul, crying out in panic as she felt insanity trying to latch onto her and tearing at her frail psyche. She couldn’t stay any longer, and she knew it. Her time up, she closed her third eye and raced along the bonding thread to return to her body. Around half a second had passed in reality since her breakthrough.

Immediately, she began to put the new understanding into effect, fearing that the knowledge would fade away from her any second. She used the abundant remaining energy in the spirit to forge her first meridian faster than was probably safe, under normal circumstances.

Each person’s body has many meridians throughout it originating from the dantian, like veins and a heart, and these serve as internal qi pathways. Open meridians enhance the body surrounding them with qi, allowing for the increase of stats as well as access to Combat Arts that require specific meridians to be open to use them. Such power is not easily gained though. All meridians are blocked by impurities and require significant amounts of pressurized qi pushed from a cultivator’s dantian to clear it. Therefore, body cultivation cannot even begin until Mid Copper level is reached because the pressure that can be generated by a practitioner’s dantian is too weak at Low Copper to make any noticeable difference to the blockages. Even then, the process of opening a meridian can take months for some people. With Samantha’s recently condensed qi and the potency of a spirit pearl several stages above her own, however, opening a meridian could be forced to completion in minutes instead.

Her insight told her that the meridian she needed open at this time was a heart meridian, so she directed the powerful torrent of qi down the appropriate blocked pathway within her. Looking inwards, Samantha saw the detritus being washed rapidly away by the qi, but she also saw that at the current rate her bond would die before it was completed. Gritting her teeth, she opened the core further and focused the energy into a tight blast down the meridian. It still wasn’t fast enough.

She wasn’t experienced enough as a cultivator to be able to control this much qi without straining her core or the meridian she was opening, but she pushed on anyway as she felt her bond’s spirit begin to splutter out like a candle left in the rain. She screamed as burning agony rushed through her dantian and up the channel towards her heart. The qi seared her from within and burned away any remaining impurities that remained before crashing into her heart and causing it to seize. With hot tears streaming down her face, she transformed her cry of pain into one of defiance and bent the qi to her will. She twisted it around her body in the pattern that she saw in the spiritual plane and received the notifications she urgently needed. Minimizing the others to look at later, she viewed her new combat art.

*Ding* Combat Art Discovered: Flawless Regeneration

Meridian Requirements: Heart

Cost: Variable

Description: You have braved the Infinite Sea and wisely forsook all but that which you required, unlike many before you that succumbed to greed and became lost in the ocean depths. By cycling qi through your heart meridian and circulatory system, you can repair any physical wound your qi has access to! All regeneration will occur without scarring, incorrectly set bones, or misplaced organs, so crippling injuries are a thing of the past! Qi cost varies greatly based on severity of the damage and the speed at which you want the healing to occur.

Her fading insight told her that extending this skill to her spirit beast would only work because their souls were literally bound together, so with the last of the energy in the beast core, she pushed her qi along the spirit bond and activated the skill. She had no idea how much qi it would take to fix a broken spine, so she just used all of it. The hare’s eyes shot open in alarm, instantly losing their fogginess as the energy pushed into him. His spine snapped back into alignment and he squealed at the sensation, jumping away from Samantha instinctually to escape the pain. The core turned to dust in her hand shortly after, now useless, but all she felt in her heart was joy at seeing her bond suddenly so lively and hopping around frantically in the dark glade.

“I’m healed!” he shouted into her mind gleefully, “Thought I would die. Didn’t die. Look!”

The Lunar Hare jumped around her, playfully doing flips and corkscrews in the air while Samantha laughed softly. He stopped as he rounded her right side, taking in her missing limb for the first time.

“Your arm. It’s gone…” he said, sadness radiating from him. “My fault?”

“No, it wasn’t your fault. It was just the price I paid to win,” Samantha responded, gesturing to the downed boar, “and I don’t think it will be permanent either. I believe the skill I used to heal your spine can also regrow my arm. I just don’t know how long it’ll take.”

“Will protect while healing.” he declared seriously.

“Thank you, Silas.” Samantha replied warmly, grinning as a sort of pride filled her chest as she looked upon her companion. Remembering her arm, she realized that she felt much better than she had before her breakthrough. Looking down, she saw the end of her stump had scabbed over, and she no longer felt the negative affects of shock. Her reflection was interrupted by her bond’s curious reply.

“Silas?”

“Your name! I don’t know if you heard me earlier, but I promised to give you a proper name if you pulled through. Do you like it?”

“Strong name?”

“Yes, it’s based on the name of a Spirit Beast of legend here on the 1st floor, Silvus. Silvus was so strong that few could even approach without being crushed by the spiritual pressure he gave off, but he wasn’t a mindless animal for all that he had beastly strength. Some legends say he was smarter and more eloquent than most humans, and that he even had the ability to take on human form! So, I gave you the name in hopes that you could be as strong, or even stronger than Silvus himself.”

Silas grinned wickedly in her mind, “I like it! Just watch. I’ll be even stronger!”.

A notification dinged in her mind, and Samantha decided that now was as good a time as any to look over the messages that she had minimized earlier.

*Ding* Congratulations, you’ve broken through to Mid Copper!

Since unlocking your cultivation less than 3 months ago, you’ve made astonishing progress. Your consistent willingness to forgo the slow and steady, taking on risk and reward in equal measure, has catapulted you forward along your path. Your qi is now dense enough to begin your body cultivation by clearing one meridian. Think carefully, for the first meridian is often one of the most impactful.

For being bonded to a spirit beast at the time of your advancement, +1 Bond Ability Point.

*Ding* Congratulations, you’ve opened your heart meridian! +1 Endurance gained, +3 to Qi pool

Once again you laugh in the face of death and come out stronger for it. Rather than following the standard procedure spending days or weeks clearing your first meridian, you’ve managed the feat in minutes! Such a thing would normally kill the cultivator attempting it, causing their heart to stop or burst from the sudden influx of qi, but Lady Luck smiles down on you this day indeed.

*Ding* Congratulations, you’ve strengthened your spirit bond with Silas!

You and Silas have survived the crucible of combat against near impossible odds as a team. You have also survived extended time in the Infinite Sea and returned with life-saving knowledge by working as a team. By being willing to lay down your lives for the other rather than escaping alone, you have both proved your steadfast devotion. This, along with completing a naming ceremony for your spirit beast, has caused your already strong bond to deepen further.

+1 Bond Ability Point awarded for the combination of these feats!

A special Bond Ability has been unlocked for the combination of these feats!

Samantha’s eyes widened more and more as she read each progressive notification. Looking at everything laid out before her like this, she admitted she really had taken a lot of dangerous risks in the last couple of hours, but it had paid off in a big way. Breaking through, opening a meridian, gaining an awesome combat art, and getting an extra Bond Ability point and skill? Worth it. Even so, she didn’t feel too keen on taking gambles like this again. She laughed to herself as she read the phrase ‘naming ceremony’ in the final notification. Maybe giving Silas his name was even a bigger deal than she originally thought? Anticipation bubbling to the surface now that the crisis was over, she decided to look over the changes to her status page before finishing up with the boar and getting to safety.

Name: Samantha Cray

Age: 17

Cultivation Level: Mid Copper

Qi pool: 0/13 (+0.5 qi points/hour)

Body Cultivation: Heart Meridian (+1 Endurance)

Combat Arts:

Inspect (Base cost 1 qi)

Swift (Base cost 1 qi/second)

Flawless Regeneration (Variable cost)

Strength: 5

Agility: 8

Endurance: 7

Resilience: 5

Spirit Bonds: Lunar Hare (Rank 4 – Low)

Strength: 2

Agility: 12

Endurance: 5

Resilience: 3

Bond Ability Points: 2 remaining

Swift (Rank 2 – Cost 2 Points) - For every 1 qi point spent per second, you will gain +2 agility. After skill ends, effects will persist for 5 seconds, losing 1/5th of total value each second until original agility level reached. Herb Hunter – Like the Lunar Hare, you have an uncanny ability for finding the best quality herbs around Poison Connoisseur – Inherit the toxin processing abilities of your bond. You will more easily gain resistances to any poisons you encounter Translucence – For every 1 qi point spent, you will become partially transparent for 30 seconds. Remaining motionless while translucent will make you exceedingly difficult to spot As One [Special] – You and your bond share vitality. If one is wounded or healed, the effect is split between the two parties. You will rise or fall as one.