After finishing his first 5 floors, Gorm tried to practice again. When his judgment was still partially clouded by his instincts, he didn’t think about this option and when he just woke up he didn’t have the time.

Gorm hoped to break past his limitation in mana regeneration as soon as possible. The need to do so got apparent to him after a conversation with Sek he had to think off every day. And although it took place almost two years ago, he could still remember every word of it.

“Gorm can you focus your attention on me please?” Sek had asked him.

As soon as the spirit felt his perception focus on him he continued, “I think you should be clear that it isn’t normal to have floors as huge as yours this early. Your first floor alone is as large as a normal dukedom. You are lucky that the formation is covering your mana upkeep. But my analysis gives me reason to believe that everything situated below your future 10th floor will not get that benefit. If that really is the case, you will have serious problems to provide enough mana to create and maintain new floors.”

At first, Gorm didn’t want to believe him. But after some contemplation, he realized that Sek was right. He understood that the entire mountain was covered with the formation and after focusing on this fact he had the feeling that it was like a border town. Inside he was safe and everything could be accomplished easily, but as soon as he stepped past the safety of the city wall he would have to fight for every little accomplishment.

Sek could somehow feel that he was in deep thoughts and waited before he continued to talk. “I don’t know how you can overcome this barrier, but I think you prioritize to increase your mana regeneration. It could help if you can find out how the formation works. I find it is quite complex. For example, have you ever thought about the mana that your floors should create? Where does it go? How does it disappear?”

What Sek had said still shook him as much as when he heard it for the first time. That he hadn’t thought about that himself bothered Gorm. He knew that he still was way more emotional than when he was still a human. And although he could think faster, more complex and could remember way better than before, he still missed something. Gorm couldn’t quite describe it. What was worse, was that since he discovered that he missed something he had as a human. He couldn’t focus on anything anymore. Neither cultivating nor investigating the formation.

Gorm knew he had to do something or he would stagnate for eternity. So he went in seclusion. When he was still human he had never done this and only knew about this practice from his talks with the few other people he met that were in the same realm of strength as him back then.

He took back all senses he could into his core. He couldn’t withdraw his entire perception, when he tried to remove it from an area, he felt like he was trying to cut off a limb. So he withdrew all he could without cutting it off completely.

Then he started to cultivate, Gorm hoped to calm his mind and rid himself of the weird obsession with the thing he lost but couldn’t pinpoint.

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Since he started to practice two years ago, he had run in few complications. The method his mother taught him still worked, which wasn’t that surprising as it trained the soul and mental strength. He even got a pleasant surprise when he discovered that his soul cultivation wasn’t wasted but only in hibernation and it took only minimal effort to reclaim it. It even seemed as if it had increased quite a bit. Most of the two years were spent reclaiming his soul cultivation and getting used to it after over 600 years.

Now that Gorm had part of his power back he felt much calmer and his thinking was getting faster and faster but he still felt as if he missed something. Because even his improved mental capacity couldn’t help him with that Gorm decided to seek Sek to discuss his new situation before he started to analyze the formation.

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Since Gorm went in seclusion, which was a weird thing to do for a dungeon core, Sek noticed the growth of tremendous power in the direction of the core room. He couldn’t understand how anyone or anything could gain power so fast.

When the might that radiated from the core room started to increase slower after one year Sek was already awed. He was so distracted, that he couldn’t concentrate on the formation anymore, he had been analyzing it until then. Just when he thought that it was finally over it continued to increase.

Now one more year later the increase finally stopped. Sek was already numb and wouldn’t be surprised if it started again.

A few minutes after the stop, Sek felt that the power started to disperse into the dungeon. A few seconds later he felt that Gorm had left his seclusion. He felt the bulk of Gorms perception arrive in his vicinity. It was countless times more formidable than before. Gorm felt mightier than most old dungeon cores. Sadly, it was only his soul cultivation that was mighty, without the mana to back it up it was only good to increase control and computing capacity.

Before Sek had the chance to think more about Gorms insane soul power, Gorm started talking. “Sek I’m here to ask for your advice.”

As usual, Gorm didn’t really greet him. But Sek was used to it and originally didn’t really care. “For what? I’ll try my best to answer.”

“I have the feeling that an integral part of me is missing. I thought that after I recover my soul cultivation I will recover it, but it is still missing. It is driving me insane.” This was the first time that Sek had the feeling that Gorm was agitated since he gained control over his urges.

“Calm down! If you want me to help you I need you to explain to me what you did and what you think is missing.” Sek tried to calm down Gorm first.

“I went into seclusion to calm my mind because I was agitated. After you told me about the fact that I won’t be able to build a 10th floor if I don’t overcome the mana regen issue.” Gorm explained in detail what he had done in seclusion. He also told him that he didn’t know what was missing.

Sek was surprised about Gorms strength before he became a core; he didn’t think that he had been one of the peak powerhouses in this part of the Endless Wilderness. He was also wondering how Gorms mother knew a soul cultivation technique.

It didn’t seem like whatever Gorm was searching for was connected to his soul cultivation, otherwise, it would have come back already. Sek needed more information to give qualified advice.

“I don’t think whatever was missing had anything to do with your soul cultivation. Could it be that you cultivated another technique when you were still human? Maybe you forgot to train it?”

After a short silence, Gorm answered, “I practiced a technique my father taught me, but I only practiced it when I was still young and before I achieved one with nature. I think it was vitality cultivation method, I didn’t achieve a high enough level to judge it.”

“Maybe it was that technique, if you are able to practice it again it could help you with your situation.” Sek didn’t believe that it would help and he even less believed that Gorm would be able to cultivate it again. A dungeon didn’t have a real body. Their body was the dungeon. How could it be possible to train something like that? And even if they only thought of the core as their body it was still unlikely to strengthen it with normal cultivation techniques.

Sek had heard of old and powerful cores that created cultivation techniques specifically for dungeon cores, but he was too young of a spirit and had explored too little of the continent to have met one of them.

But it seemed that his reply had satisfied Gorm or at least he did leave to reenter seclusion. Sek hoped he would be able to concentrate on exploring and analyzing the formation again. It deeply intrigued him. He had never seen this kind of formation before and had the feeling if he was able to decipher it, he would be able to advance further in his evolution, where ever it might take him.

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The talk with Sek was quite fruitful for Gorm. He remembered that he still had another cultivation method. He hoped that it would help him to get back what he was missing.

Gorm remembered how his father taught him this technique, back then he didn’t understand how imagining that his heart was the seed of a tree that germinated and grew would help him with anything. But after the talk with Sek, he realized that it was probably this that helped him to achieve one with nature when he was still in his early hundreds.

After calming his mind again, he started to cultivate, or he tried. He didn’t know where his heart was.

First, he tried to use the center of his core as the heart but it didn’t work. Then he used his entire core, as it had the same task as a human heart. It pumped mana to and from the entire body. But that also didn’t work.

The only thing that the two failed attempts gave him, was the feeling he would miss out on the chance of his life if he didn’t find a way to practice after his father’s method.