"Morning sunshine!"

Rowan groaned in response to the much-too-cheery sage in front of him. He was in no mood for this, considering what he had to deal with the night before.

"Is this how you treat visitors in this realm?" he spoke in an accusing tone, referring to how Jin had dropped him off in front of an inn without bothering to assist him with getting a room after they had finished eating at the Fish Market.

"Hm? What's up? Got up on the wrong side of bed?"

"You left me alone yesterday."

"Hey, you managed just fine didn't you? Knew you would!"

Of course, how was he to know about the city's apparent lack of currency? The fact that the "Moonlit Hotel" let him stay for free was so convenient it actually bothered him. Then, there was the issue of this realm's celestial bodies. Rowan had completely forgotten that the sun and moon were completely stationary here, which lent credence to the inn's name now that he thought about it. Since that part of the city was perpetually night, he had overslept, as he was expecting to be awoken by the first rays of sun peeking out over the horizon. Instead, he was startled awake by the sound of Jin speaking into his mind in seemingly the middle of the night. Rowan had a sneaking suspicion that this meant that he and his companions really were communicating discreetly between each other yesterday, though the presence of such telepathic magic was unsurprising.

This and that happened, and now he was meeting up with Jin on the outskirts of the city near the center of this realm, where both the sun and moon were there to greet him. He would really need to get used to that.

"...Never mind. If I may, what might you be teaching me today?"

"Well hey, you're probably gonna ask me about it eventually, so I'll get to giving you the general overview." He pointed in the direction of the four extremes. "See each of these places? You're gonna be learning one of the Fundamentals at each one.

"Now, typically," Jin started making strange gestures with his hands, which Rowan assumed was meant to aid in emphasizing his points. "We send new members off to the Fundamental they're most familiar with. Helps'em get motivated, y'know?

"As for you," he pointed with his thumb behind his shoulder. "You're gonna be headin' there first!"

Rowan looked at where he was directing his attention to. It was the biome within the sun's territory. Judging about how it was replete with them, it was clear that this was a land of warriors.

After the setting shifted from slightly chilly dawn to blistering noontime, he knew that Jin had just teleported them in front of the primary landmark within this sun-baked area.

"Mt. Fahren!" This mountain, which Jin just introduced in a dramatic fashion while flinging his arm back, was an active volcano about 4 km tall and 14 km wide.

There was a rustic town built beneath it, which was divided simply into residential, dining, and training areas. Some of the houses were made of clay or stone as opposed to the predominantly wooden constructions here. Paved roads consisting of limestone made up its streets. Civilians were seen carting around various materials, water barrels, and foodstuffs every which way. Such busy roads kept them clear of the sand which occasionally blew in from the nearby desert. While a bit hectic, Rowan could tell from the frequent acts of camaraderie between passersby that this was a tightly knit community.

"Lemme break it down for yah," he began. "This is the place where our more physically tough, and those who want to be, reside. Town you're in right now's where retired fighters take on the role of coaching and mentoring new ones. After these trainees are deemed ready, they move on to the next phase: climbing the mountain! Here's where things get spicy, heh.

"They get to pick between three methods of ascending. First one's the long, winding path, second one's the skinny stalagmites running up the middle here, and last one's the weighted gates on the side there. These're meant to test one of three important physical traits: endurance, agility, and strength.

"But that's not all! Running alongside this twisting road is a river of magma! The temperatures here make it so it's dangerous to stay for too long for initiates, so everybody's encouraged to make it to the end as quickly as possible. Fliers gotta dodge lava spouts and volcanic debris being spewed at them from this river, too. External help like equipment is banned, but other than that, it's a pretty straightforward trial!"

"Seems reasonable," said Rowan.

"Wait, what? Really? You have zero concern over their health and well-being?!"

"Well, the whole training regime makes sense to me."

A gloved hand went up to massage the perplexed sage's temple. "Man, they really are just..."

Rowan was having difficulty discerning the issue Jin was having with his answer. Long, grueling training was a necessary process to drawing out the latent potential in a body, was it not? Exposure to life-and-death scenarios and other hard-to-overcome tests help separate the wheat from the chaff, as well.

"So you're telling me," started Jin. "That everyone being brought up and put through situations like this in your universe was expected to come out alive and well."

"Well, no not quite. The foolish would overstep their bounds and get themselves killed, while others would encounter strokes of misfortune like a monster gone berserk. Aside from these... our training methods for strengthening the weak are more or less just as demanding as yours." As Rowan finished his recount, he saw one of the trainees attempting the agility route make a bold decision to try and make a far off landing. Like a rehearsed scene in a theatrical performance, the trainee did not make the final stretch and began plummeting down towards the river. At the sight of this, he chose to stay his hand, not for lack of any form of compassion, but out of curiosity as to how they plan on handling this classic turn of events.

Right when the trainee was about to become a burn victim (or worse), the magma at the point of impact rapidly cooled, solidifying into volcanic rock near instantly. Shaken, but none the worse for wear, the rescued trekked back down to the base of the mountain, due to failing the trial.

"We make sure our new blood get the thrill of putting their lives on the line without actually endangering them. While it isn't exactly a secret, it doesn't affect the experience at all. I mean, how would you feel if you were in their place, standing on thin spikes surrounded by hot slag? Despite knowing you'll be rescued if you fell, your instincts screaming danger the whole time really wreaks havoc on your nerves.

"But hey, enough of that. We're here to train you, so let's get a move on!" And with that, Jin leapt over this beginner's testing area, bypassing it altogether. Rowan followed suit, a bit thankful that he could transport himself to a destination on his own power rather than anticipate when he would be teleported next. While the wind ruffled through his clothes, he had to contemplate their system for a moment. Though it would be ideal to have a superior lend their ever watchful eyes over aspiring characters to ensure their potential would not be snuffed out, the most notable figures in his realm were all reputed to have achieved great heights on their own merits. As they landed, he decided it must be simply a matter of choosing between quality or quantity and put the thought to rest.

They had arrived at the midpoint of the mountain, which had what looked like a small city built onto it. Most of the material seemed to have been procured from the volcano itself, as the primary composition consisted of grey basalt. With the sun beating down from overhead, he would not be surprised if an egg could be fried just by leaving it on the pavement.

Which was why he was surprised that the door-less stone building he was led to was so cool. Comparatively at least; he was sure that those of regular constitutions would still perspire excessively.

There was another being here, sitting cross-legged on a praying mat. This one was truly an enigma. In the blistering heat, occupants of the volcano tended to have breathable or sparingly few clothes in order to cope with it. In contrast, the individual meditating in front of him had not a single bit of skin exposed to the open air, having been completely covered head-to-toe in black and gold garments.

"Oh hey, you're here! Rowan, this guy's gonna be in charge of teaching you for now."

"Welcome, friend. My name is Ming Bu," the humanoid's golden three-by-three dotted embellishment gleamed on his tall hat as he bowed.

"Greetings, master. This one is named Rowan," he returned a bow of his own, though he noted that Ming Bu's gesture also involved covering a fist with his other hand and holding it out in front.

"No need for formalities, Rowan. Merely call me Ming."

"As you wish. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ming."

While an outsider could look on and view Rowan as gilding his words, there was at least some truth to them. Finally, a respectable being in this realm! was what went through his mind during the exchange.

"Please, have a seat. I will prepare some tea," Ming motioned them towards the sole table in this humble abode. 'Humble' was almost putting it lightly; there was nary a lavish piece of furniture nor decoration to be seen here. There were only two rooms, the first of which served as both the welcoming area and the living room, while the other that Ming disappeared into appeared to be the kitchen. No bed was present, but it was likely that Ming preferred to meditate on the mat he was sitting on earlier rather than sleep. It was also rather cramped, possibly only allowing ten adult humans to fit inside with enough wiggle room to get by.

Soon after, a tray with three clay cups and a stout pitcher was brought out. The cups were assembled in front of the table's occupants and were poured a translucent light-brown liquid into. Rowan waited until he was given a sign by Ming to let him drink, lest he risk showing bad mannerisms. As expected, this foreign drink was a pleasantly new experience, being fragrant yet subtle in flavor.

Once he poured a second round, Ming elected to begin. "Before we proceed, I would like to inquire about your realm."

"What would you like to know?"

"To determine how quickly we should be training you, tell us of your world's inhabitants' expected lifespans. We would rather not keep your friends and family waiting until they are old."

Rowan nodded inwardly at his consideration. "Those who have not embarked on the path of warrior or magus are expected to live around a hundred years. Those who have and achieved great heights can live a little longer than a hundred-thousand, while the ones destined for obscurity have around ten-thousand years. All those close to me have reached the point where they will live at least ten-thousand years."

"Very good. To put your mind at ease, we expect to keep you here for only around... ten years."

His throat clenched upon hearing this. If he happened to be drinking tea at the time, it most certainly would have resulted in a humorous moment. "Er, I apologize for my presumptuous accusation, but surely you did not mean to say ten years?" Then again, he remembered that this realm likely did not have the same rotating day-night cycle as his did. Perhaps he had made an error in attempting to make a correction, and instead, should have asked how they kept track of time here.

"Yeah, he means it!" Jin suddenly butted in, which caught Rowan off guard. He had not expected someone of his caliber to be able to blend into the background so well. "Twenty-four hours, three sixty-five days a year. Or is it any different where you come from?"

"No, but... how?"

"Then it's settled! Time to make bets... hey Ming! I'm thinking eight years, how 'bout you?"

"Mm, I would rather not partake in such an activity."

Rowan was flabbergasted. These two were acting like such a short time frame for training was the most natural thing in the world!

Ming noticed his look of disbelief, prompting him to explain. "A large bulk of monotonous training falls squarely on your shoulders, certainly. It may take centuries to truly hone our teachings to the point at which you would consider an acceptable level. However, before then, you must learn how to proceed."

That made much more sense. They would teach him the 'how', and he would continue on his own.

"For discerning how long you will need to stay on Mount Fahren, tell us about your world's system for attaining power."

"There are two main disciplines in my world. Warriors make use of divine energy, while magi utilize mana. For both, there are multiple paths or ways they may embark on in order to ascend, such as the way of the spear, or the way of fire. Whichever path one chooses, their strength is measured by the level of power they have ascended to: Peon, Squire, Armati, Knight or Bishop, Exarch, Lesser Exalt, Greater Exalt, and finally, Arbiter. These tiers dictate the purity and amount of divine energy or mana one wields, though one must also take into account mastery over their chosen path as well as techniques and equipment when it comes to determining one's capabilities."

"How does one progress through these tiers?" questioned Ming.

"Unraveling the mysteries within one's chosen path allows this. Would you like a demonstration of what the path of the sword entails?"

"Please do."

Rowan began to casually expound on the way of the sword, though only up to a Knight's level of profundity. For any outsider to a path, if the material were too complex, they would only perceive that it was something far above their ability to comprehend. As such, it had become customary for experts in his realm to display the art of their craft at most two tiers above those who wished to dabble in other paths. After a short session of thirty minutes, he waited in anticipation for their assessment.

"That made... NO sense."

Jin's rude remark left him a little bit irritated, but mostly confused. Did he miscalculate how much they could handle?

"Ah, I see. As expected, what comes naturally to the natives of your realm simply has no place in ours," said Ming. "You may have noticed by now, but when you travel to foreign worlds, there are differences in how they affect their inhabitants compared to your own. One of the most common would be gravity, the name we have given to the force that pushes you downwards."

"I have noticed. Although... such a difference was never so drastic as to exclude the presence of divine energy."

"Indeed. However, that should be enough information. You will likely only require a day here at Mount Fahren. Two, if something goes awry."

Once again, Rowan choked up upon listening to their estimates on his training.

"Now then," Ming continued. "This 'divine energy' of yours. Could you bring out a sample for us to see?"

He willed forth a tiny portion from his divine core, which contained a nearly boundless quantity of divine energy within. Such an impressively developed core was the result of millennia in training and fortuitous encounters, and he had developed a sense of pride from this aspect.

Jin and Ming leaned forward to have a closer look at the colorful energy floating in front of Rowan.

"Shiny."

"Ah, yes. A classic example of systemized martial energy. One which follows a set of rules that, while limiting its possibilities, grants it a focused form that allows users to achieve swift progress. In other words, this is the type of energy your realm produces from qi."

It was Rowan's turn to inspect a foreign energy. The 'qi' that was floating above Ming's outstretched hand was yellow in color. He felt it somewhat troubling that he could not sense the ball of energy in front of him, even though he could clearly see it with his own eyes.

"Do not misunderstand. Qi is not the pinnacle of martial energy. On the contrary, it is the most basic form of martial energy one can find.

"You may already have an idea as to what martial energy is. As opposed to mana, the energy which focuses on the mind, martial energy allows one to push past their physical limits. However, it has limits of its own. Mainly, it must be systemized with rules such as breakthrough levels in order for one to become more powerful rapidly. Typically, the more complex it is, the stronger one can become. And yet, to confine martial energy in such a way removes the defining strength to qi: limitless growth."

His ears perked up at this. It was true, he was so powerful that casual swings from his sword could rend the land for tens of thousands of kilometers, and all this had been achieved in the span of a couple thousand years! Yet, he could feel that the Arbiter level was the absolute highest ceiling. There was no further he could possibly go, even if he spent the remainder of his life training.

"Yes, limitless growth. You can probably imagine, then, what the training speed is like. Unlocking it is fast, but unless one's constitution has an affinity for qi, they would need to spend at minimum a hundred millennia to get to where you are right now, and an indefinite amount more for immortality."

Rowan blinked. And then he started to laugh. A type of energy cultivation that could never stagnate was already pushing it, but immortality? That had to be a joke! Back home, there were grand alchemists that were known to craft some of the most impossible of concoctions. Potions containing dragon fire that could swallow the land for thousands of kilometers in an instant, healing salves that could regenerate a person from just their severed heads, you name it. Immortality was one of the most sought after prizes, but after a long history of repeated attempts and failures, such an idea was no longer considered attainable.

Seeing the other two remain solemn, however, made him stuff his laughter back down the gullet. "Is... is such a thing possible? Do you truly have immortals here?"

"None of us have obtained it through qi cultivation, but we certainly have from the other Fundamentals."

Refuting Ming's claims would be quite silly, as Rowan remembered yesterday how his divine core had been sealed off so easily that it was unsettling.

But now... who would have thought, his luck with ending up in this realm had resulted in the chance of grasping immortality? To never die of old age... such a concept had never crossed his mind as a life goal.

"Yeah, immortality. It's nice and all, but... hey, do yourself one favor? Don't get bored." Jin surprised him with this melancholy statement as he got up from the table and vanished.

"You need not concern yourself with that, Jin is not one to brood over something for more than a moment. This particular incident just happened to coincide with an event he was planning on attending."

"Is that so?" Rowan did not actually care all that much for Jin, but he felt it prudent to at least extend courtesy by expressing interest in the matter. According to Ming, a friend of Jin's had grown tired of eternal life and chose to end it. He found it difficult for such a thing to occur when surrounded by immortal friends, but he kept a note on that in the back of his mind just in case. After all, he would not want his own companions to end up following the same fate, especially now that he learned after inquiring about it that he would be allowed to bring them here to obtain immortality as well.

They spent the next hour or so discussing various details pertaining to this realm. In contrast to his own world's power rankings, which had many layers but helped greatly in gauging how strong an opponent was, this world's was much more broadly sweeping: Baseline, basic, advanced, and ascendant.

As one might expect, baseline mortals are the absolute weakest of them all, consisting of creatures like horses, rats, or insects. What it specifically entails, however, are beings that are not initiated in any of the Fundamentals, are completely at the mercy of nature's cycle, and have little hope of clawing themselves out except through happenstance.

Basic mortals begin to have an inkling of the Fundamentals, and only just start to defy the natural world. Perhaps a creature might be tougher than it looks. Or, it could have access to the elements, craft tools and weapons, etc. Civilizations are common at this stage.

Advanced mortals delve deeply into the Fundamentals, enough that the natural world is failing to hold them. Those that were not meant to fly, do. Ailments that spring up to wipe out entire continents, cured. Phenomena that would have been seen as miracles through the eyes of basic mortals are but a given. Many have failed to progress further, as this is the stage where destructive power has a tendency to substantially outweigh protective ability.

Ascendant mortals have all but wrested their freedom from nature's grasp. To cause their collective downfall at this point is extremely unlikely. Rowan's own realm is at this level, where the likes of Exarch warriors had the strength to move mountains. He could only imagine what feats the rest of the Fundamentals could perform.

Immortals should have been next, but for various reasons, Ming says that the proper term is ascendant immortal. As immortality is a trait that can be granted to even someone at the baseline level of power, if one wished to refer precisely to those that have attained it on their own merit without room for confusion, they would need to use 'ascendant immortal'. However, in an informal context, immortal is still able to be freely thrown around. Any further ratings on power level were deemed pointless, to Rowan's puzzlement.

They spoke at length on other inconsequential matters until they landed on the one Rowan was looking forward to the most.

"While I have no qualms conversing with you, I have other disciples that need teaching soon," said Ming as a fresh batch of successful trainees passed by on the street. "Let us move on to unlocking your control over qi, and any further questions you have for us may be answered once you leave the mountain. With that said, please relinquish all the divine energy you currently have."

Under normal circumstances, Rowan would have refused; what fool willingly drains his own energy to leave himself defenseless? These were anything but normal circumstances though, as he was dealing with individuals who, if they had wanted to torture or kill him, would have done so long ago. He carried out the task, dissipating whatever energy he had stored in his divine core. The stone hovel was momentarily filled with a harmless, rainbow-colored mist before returning to normal.

"There are still traces that you are subconsciously holding back. Allow me to take care of it."

Still? Nothing was left, he had made sure of that. Yet, Ming betrayed no hint of doubt as he covered his hand with a layer of qi, though it looked a bit harsher than the earlier demonstration. He got up from his seat and moved toward Rowan, telling him to turn around.

The palm struck his back, but failed to create even a ripple on his toughened skin. Of course, that was not its intended purpose, evidenced by the qi invading his body from the inside. It took a moment for Rowan to realize his constitution was rapidly diminishing, that Ming's qi was undoing thousands of years of divine energy imbuement. Throughout the procedure, he merely gritted his teeth, choosing to put faith in his decision as the process came to an end.

Alongside the feeling of weakness he had from being reduced to a baseline mortal, Rowan was experiencing a distinct prickling sensation all over.

"Martial energy imbued within our bodies also serves the purpose of nourishing them, increasing longevity as a result. You are thousands of years old and, by all accounts, should be dead by now. As a result, there is not much life left within you to keep your body from deteriorating.

"Left in such a dire state, your body will search for anything to help sustain itself. In a situation like this, it is much easier to absorb qi." Ming unleashed a wave of idle qi, enshrouding him in a radiant yellow cloak.

Eventually, he began to sense a warm energy flowing inside him. Similarly to how his own divine energy worked, it fed and imbued itself into his body. Excess qi gathered in his center, coagulating right beside his divine core. Gradually, he gained control over the qi, and felt it become his.

"How do you feel?"

"Astonished! It is very similar to divine energy, but then again, you have taught me that they are both forms of martial energy." Just like with his divine energy, his qi could be commanded almost like a muscle would. A detached, prehensile muscle.

"Good," said Ming. "Do note, that having one systemized form of martial energy causes it to reject all others. On the other hand, something as simple as qi will still be able to coexist with your divine energy. Speaking of which, let us restore you to peak capacity. Try sending some qi into your divine core."

When his qi touched his divine core, it immediately went to work greedily sucking in all the surrounding qi and converted them into divine energy. There was hardly enough, though.

"Here, try using this." A cylindrical metal storage bin about a meter tall appeared adjacent to Ming. Four thick glass windows allowed him to peer at the contents inside, which was a bright, amber, viscous substance that slowly shifted inside the container.

The seal at the top opened, giving him access. Using his knowledge of how divine energy worked, he deduced he could use qi to pinpoint other qi in the area, as well as extract them from objects for personal application. Rowan discovered faint signs of qi in the air, far too few to rejuvenate anyone but basic mortals. Compared to that, the bin full of golden-orange semi-liquid material was like a shining beacon.

He promptly began extracting the qi laden within, but did not expect such a low quantity to match up to the veritable ocean of divine energy that was his divine core at its maximum. Nevertheless, his expectations were shattered again, causing him to wonder if he should just give up on having any in the first place.

"Now that you have filled up both your reserves, you may attempt using qi in conjunction with your divine energy," Ming said as he whisked away the half-full vessel of concentrated energy.

First thing's first, he re-imbued his body with divine energy. Freed from the smothering heat, he started the process of imbuing his body with qi as well. Slow as it was, it would be wise to initiate the self-strengthening task earlier on.

However, it was... monumentally slow. Almost as if one were reinforcing an age old mountain with layers of dust. No matter what he tried, the rate of imbuement, as well as qi reserve expansion, refused to budge. Both these processes could be done without much thought however, so Rowan did not mind being able to passively work on it.

Control over qi was next. Willing it forth was simple enough, but he found it more efficient to 'throw' it out instead; flinging it through the arms and legs added extra force to exiting qi. Outside his body, he was able to manipulate his qi into different directions and shapes, with increasing difficulty based on proximity to himself. Formations appeared to be off limits, an unfortunate but not too unexpected outcome.

"It appears you are getting the hang of it. When you are ready, delve into the heart of the volcano and confront the last trial of Mount Fahren. You should have no issues completing it, but this is just for formality's sake. I must be on my way, good luck on a timely completion, Rowan."

"Thank you for having me, Ming." They both rose from their seats and bowed to one another. Ming took his leave, and Rowan took the time to further solidify his foundation with qi for the better part of an hour before he followed suit.

Logic told him that the sun should have repositioned during his learning session with Ming, so he felt off seeing the lighting and shadows in the city remain the same as it was a few hours ago. Once again reaffirming the need to adjust his perception of the local phenomena, he began flying to the peak of the mountain.

Strangely enough, the atmosphere changed dramatically upon exiting the the city. Clear blue skies transformed into foreboding red-orange ones covered with thick black smog. Rivers of flowing lava replaced magma. The surrounding temperature went from sweltering to searing hot, and the earlier stifling air became downright harmful from volcanic gases spewing out from fumaroles on the ground.

Down below, just beneath the rim of the volcano, was another small city. This one also had buildings comprised of volcanic material, though of a primarily black coloration using either rough basanite or slick obsidian. Unlike before, however, this place was somehow even more simplistic. The prior city at least had resting, dining, and importing areas, but this place had only residential and training areas. A quick scan of the mountain showed that the inhabitants all carved out their homes within it, and the buildings above served the express purpose of being sparring areas. Besides the large arena dominating the center of the city, it seemed as if sleeping and training were all the things that the citizens did here.

These things were of little consequence to Rowan, though. He made his way over to the volcano's lip, whose scorching surface was ductile enough to be sunk into by his feet. Staring into the liquid inferno, he could not help but begin to grow eager for whatever the final test had in store for him.