Chapter 79: 79
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Ben left the victory monument without telling anyone he had made it and went to the keep to pick up Mythia. He purchased a pink athletic duffle bag, cotton leggings, a couple pairs of girl's running shorts, a few tank tops, a pink tracksuit, a water bottle and a pair of fingerless training gloves in her sizes.
Ben explained the pros and cons of the different pieces of clothing to Mythia and placed the workout clothes into her duffle bag. They left the keep together and Ben walked her over to the Gym once Mythia came out of the women's locker room wearing her new workout clothes Ben began to show her around.
First, he explained the different stack weight machines and free weights to her. Then they went into the backroom where the cardio machines were. Ben taught her how to program the exercise bike, stairmaster, and treadmills.
When Mythia seemed to understand Ben put her through a strength test on the different machines to find out how much weight he should have her use in each exercise.
Ben soon had a good idea on where to start with her and began writing down how much weight she would use for each of the exercises he had on her workout program. He also made sure to explain she had to follow the schedule if she overworked her muscles without giving them time to heal she would be doing more harm than good.
They had spent a few hours in the Gym and then went next door to the Public Bathhouse. They decided to meet back out front in fifteen minutes. When Ben emerged from the men's side and Mythia from the women's side of the bathhouse feeling clean and fresh from their workouts in the Gym they went together over to eat at the Restaurant.
They both had a nice meal and returned to the Keep. There was still a decent amount of unused space on the third floor so Ben designed a living room. He placed a few of the fancy sofas, reading chairs, end tables, coffee tables, and painting that he sold at the store from his inventory.
This would give Mythia and him a place to relax other than their bedrooms. Ben had thought about making a kitchen but it seemed like it would be a waste of money. He no longer ate that often and Mythia was too young to cook for herself. They also had the Restaurant nearby and the food was great there so why bother going through the trouble of making a mess and spending time cooking.
Mythia quickly fell asleep on one of the large comfortable sofas after having worked out at the Gym and eating a large meal while Ben sat quietly scrolling through his Build Menu. He had still not looked into the SECT section he had unlocked and was curious to see what it offered.
The new Sect Section held over twenty unique buildings that he could build now. As he read through the description of each of these new structures there were a couple of them that stood out. The first one on build list was the [Sect Headquarters]. It seemed to be a building designed to deal with the inner and outer workings of the sect and staff could be assigned here to deal with any new applicants.
It appeared to be an office building but there was one section which caught his eye in the description.
[Sect Headquarters]: A large building with a reception lobby, offices, meeting rooms,
a recruitment room, and a cultivation awakening halo room. This building is used to deal with any internal or external sect business and the applications of new sect members. [Costs; 2000g]
When he saw the cultivation awakening halo room he looked through the in-depth descriptions to find out what this room entailed. Near the bottom of the list, he found what he was curious about.
[Cultivation Awakening Halo]: A wearable Neural Circuitry Wiring halo-like device. It targets the areas of the brain which allows cultivation. This device will enhance the brain allowing the person wearing it to become a true cultivator.
This was what he was hoping for, a way he could turn average people into cultivators. It was possible for him to construct this building and have Mythia use this halo to enhance her brain. Mythia would have the ability to cultivate and she could learn cultivation techniques.
There were even a couple buildings which he was interested in for himself. On this list were two classic wuxia cultivation sect buildings that he wanted to help his own cultivation.
[Qi Gathering Chamber]: A small room which has a Qi gathering formation array located under the floor. Five times more Qi can be accumulated inside each chamber. The large amounts of Qi allow sect members to increase cultivation gains at an accelerated pace. [Costs; 500g]
[Gravity Chamber]: A small training room with adjustable degrees of gravity. Through the exertion of applied gravity sect members can build strength and stamina at an accelerated pace. [Costs; 500g]
If he had access to these two training rooms he could increase his cultivation speed and improve his physical condition.
There were many other options in this new Sect Section. There was a Treasure Vault, Pill House, Training Gymnasium, Library, Cafeteria, and other specialty buildings along with housing for outer sect members, inner sect members, Sect Elders, and The Sect Master.
Ben discussed the size of some of these Sect buildings with Athena and had to make a decision on where he would build the Sect. In light novels, a sect was often built on large beautiful picturesque mountains. The only problem with this was all of the mountains around the fortress were tall, steep, and rather bare of vegetation. The mountain chain to the north resembled a row of dragon teeth rather than a chain of habitable mountains.
These steep mountains made an ideal natural defense which blocked anyone from the northern coastline from entering his grasslands. The northern mountain chain and the southern Wayward Woodlands were the reason why this huge grasslands which Ben had claimed had remained undiscovered through the centuries.
This grassland may have even been discovered at one time in the far past but once the animals of this planet began to evolve into profound beasts it would have become inaccessible and forgotten.
Ben left the fortress by himself and traveled to the hills just north of the fortress. All along the base of the steep mountain chain was a series of different sized hills. The plateau which Ben had chosen to build his fortress on was actually a part of this line of hills.
Ben activated Whirlwind Technique and his passive Acrobatics skill which allowed him to travel fast and agilely over the rugged terrain.
He had only traveled a mile before he found a promising location. Ben found a hill with a 45-degree incline and it had a large area to build on it. The top wasn't flat like his plateau but he had an idea on how to fix this.
From all the times Ben had used his Tunnel tool to make inclined ramps and underground rooms he had become skilled with using it for purposes it wasn't designed to be used for. The Tunneling Tool was described as a tool which allowed him to cut tunnels through hills and mountains but because it allowed him to make a tunnel any size, he could use it for many other options.
Ben went to the Tunneling Tool and began to place partially submerged tunnels into the top of the hill. The lower ten feet of each tunnel was placed into the soil and the upper tunnel section was above ground level.
By using the tool in this manner Ben shaved ten feet off the top of the hill. When he was done the hill looked as if a large sword had sliced the entire top off of it in one clean sweep. Ne now had a flat smooth area to build on.
Once again he started out by covering the entire flat dirt exposed area with grass. As the grass was being grown in Ben used the Wall Tool to design a wall that would enclose the entire top of the hill.
He made the wall with concrete and rebar like the one at the fortress. The wall was not as impressive as the fortress wall though it was to measure twenty feet high and six feet wide.
Ben placed a concrete and rebar gatehouse on the northern section of the round walls and made a concrete road which led from the bottom of the hill up through the Gatehouse and across the center of the hilltop.
When the new concrete road was built Ben went to the Sect Section and built the Sect Headquarters next to the new Gatehouse. This way any outsiders who came to visit or do business could be kept from wandering through the sect grounds.
[Sect Headquarters]: A large building with a reception lobby, offices, meeting rooms,
a recruitment room, and a cultivation awakening halo room. This building is used to deal with any internal or external sect business and the applications of new sect members. [Costs; 2000g]
The 2000g cost put a dent in his money from the store sales, but it was worth it to now have a building he could use to recruit cultivators or turn regular people into cultivators.
For now, this was as far as he planned to build up the Sect. It would still be some time before people would make this place their home.
Ben left through the sect gatehouse and closed it behind him. He walked down the new road to the bottom of the hill and opened the Build Menu Roads section again. By using the aerial menu view Ben drew out a straight road which leads from the sect road at the bottom of the hill to connect with the road that led to the cemetery on the western side of the fortress plateau.
When it was constructed it provided a smooth concrete road which wound up and down over the hills between the fortress and the new sect location.
He followed the new road back to the keep and found Mythia had woken up from her nap so he decided to surprise her. They left the fortress and he placed her on his back and shot off toward the sect with Whirlwind. With the close distance and the smooth road, they were able to reach the sect hill after running for a minute and a half.
Mythia was taken back at first by the speed they traveled at but she was all smiles when Ben placed her back down on her feet.
She so excited she wanted Ben to race her back to the fortress on his back again. She had assumed this was the surprise he told her about and wanted to try it again.
Ben chuckled and said he would give her another ride back but her surprise was inside the tall walls at the top of the hill.
The two of them climbed the steep road and went through the Gatehouse. Just on the other side of the Gatehouse, Mythia saw the only building located inside the walls. Because it was built in a traditional Asian architecture she could not prejudge what the building could be used for.
They went inside and after looking around on the lower floor they found a door plaque which read Cultivation Awakening Room.
"This is the room we want right here."
Ben opened the door and found a chair which reminded him of the system-link chairs in the classrooms. This chair did not have electrodes though there was a small table next to the chair that had a plastic white ring. The plastic white ring was the halo and it was wired to the chair.
"I know I said I wanted you to attend school and become stronger before you began to cultivate and I did not change my mind, but I don't see any problem with making you a cultivator right now."
Mythia looked up with saucer eyes at Ben when she heard he was going to make her a cultivator.
"This is a brand new machine and I have never used it on anyone but I know there will be nothing to worry about. All you have to do is lay on the chair and put this ring on your head and you will soon become a cultivator" Ben said with a reassuring smile as he pointed toward the halo.
Mythia was looking at the chair with a look of excitement and apprehension. Ben stroked her hair and told her not to worry. If she wanted to become strong this was the only way she would accomplish that goal.
With a determined nod, she climbed up onto the chair and Ben gently placed the Halo on her head and held it in place as she laid back into the chair. Mythia turned to look at Ben with a startled look and told him a woman was speaking in her head.
Ben chuckled. "Her name is Athena and she is a friend of mine. Just do whatever she asks, you can trust her."
Ben was surprised Athena could speak with Mythia through the halo but he didn't want to worry her so he acted as if it were perfectly normal.
Mythia simply closed her eyes and began to take a few deep breaths. She laid back on the recliner chair again. For about twenty minutes she remained still and it appeared as if she was sleeping. Ben kept a vigilant watch over the immobile girl until her eyes began to flutter open and she sat up.
"Athena said everything went perfectly! She congratulated me for becoming a cultivator!" Mythia announced with excitement and wonder.
"Congratulations! You are on your way to becoming one of the strongest people on the continent! Now you have to study hard and train your strength. Once you do that I will build a Sect Library and you can learn cultivation techniques! For now, even without techniques, your strength will slightly improve just by simply eating the food at the Restaurant and. The Qi in the food will naturally aid you in your training from now on."
"Amazing! Will I run fast like you if I learn a technique?"
"You sure can. Once we have a Sect Library I can add my techniques to it and you can learn them from a chair like this one here." Ben explained while pointing at the system chair in the center of the room.
"Alright let's head back to the fortress before the sun sets on us." Ben said.
Outside of the Gatehouse, Ben had Mythia climb up on his back. While he held her legs he shot off toward the fortress. Mythia was squealing with delight as the wind whistled through her ears and blew her hair back behind her.
It was only a minute and a half ride but for her, it was like a high-speed rollercoaster ride as they raced up and down the hills at speeds of around sixty miles per hour.
Back at the keep, Ben explained he would make a trip to Goldcrest to check on how everything turned out in the morning. He wanted to see how the store was doing and he still wanted to purchase more property. He also thought about stopping by the throne room to see if there were any changes with the Trareniel Kingdom invasion.
He told Mythia she would need to begin to follow her weekly schedule even if he wasn't around. The sooner she began her schooling and training the sooner she could move on to cultivating, military training, and magic training.
When Ben went to his bedroom to lay down on his new bed. In the silence of his room, he began to recall the invasion again as the scenes from the battle and the fight in the small house where he found Mythia came back to him. Ben began to feel guilty again because he had left the bodies of Mythia's family behind.
As he was thinking of how he could get the King to send men down to her town he sat up and smacked himself on the forehead.
What the hell am I thinking about I have the Zoom spell! I can travel anywhere I have been to before, so what is stopping me from going to collect her deceased family?
Ben had only used his Zoom spell to travel between the forest and Goldcrest and had become so used to it he forgot it allowed him to travel anywhere he had gone to before!
He stood up and cast Zoom and was soon standing in the farmhouse once again. Nothing had changed inside the small crude home. Mythia's family were still lying on the bloody floor and the dead soldier's corpses were scattered around the room.
Ben walked over to Mythia's mother, father, and older sister and placed them into his inventory. As he was collecting their bodies Ben could hear people out on the streets. He walked to the window to look out between the wood shutters and see who was out there. He had thought the Trareniel Kingdom had sent more soldiers to reclaim the town but the soldiers outside were wearing the Aregard Kings crest on their tunics.
'It looks like the king sent his army down here to secure the town once they were assembled.'
He didn't bother to go outside and let them know he was here. Ben swallowed a few of his high-grade mana recovery pills and returned to keep. He unequipped his clothes laid down on his bed in his shorts and began to cultivate while thinking of how he should let Mythia know he had recovered the bodies of her family.
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Ben left the victory monument without telling anyone he had made it and went to the keep to pick up Mythia. He purchased a pink athletic duffle bag, cotton leggings, a couple pairs of girl's running shorts, a few tank tops, a pink tracksuit, a water bottle and a pair of fingerless training gloves in her sizes.
Ben explained the pros and cons of the different pieces of clothing to Mythia and placed the workout clothes into her duffle bag. They left the keep together and Ben walked her over to the Gym once Mythia came out of the women's locker room wearing her new workout clothes Ben began to show her around.
First, he explained the different stack weight machines and free weights to her. Then they went into the backroom where the cardio machines were. Ben taught her how to program the exercise bike, stairmaster, and treadmills.
When Mythia seemed to understand Ben put her through a strength test on the different machines to find out how much weight he should have her use in each exercise.
Ben soon had a good idea on where to start with her and began writing down how much weight she would use for each of the exercises he had on her workout program. He also made sure to explain she had to follow the schedule if she overworked her muscles without giving them time to heal she would be doing more harm than good.
They had spent a few hours in the Gym and then went next door to the Public Bathhouse. They decided to meet back out front in fifteen minutes. When Ben emerged from the men's side and Mythia from the women's side of the bathhouse feeling clean and fresh from their workouts in the Gym they went together over to eat at the Restaurant.
They both had a nice meal and returned to the Keep. There was still a decent amount of unused space on the third floor so Ben designed a living room. He placed a few of the fancy sofas, reading chairs, end tables, coffee tables, and painting that he sold at the store from his inventory.
This would give Mythia and him a place to relax other than their bedrooms. Ben had thought about making a kitchen but it seemed like it would be a waste of money. He no longer ate that often and Mythia was too young to cook for herself. They also had the Restaurant nearby and the food was great there so why bother going through the trouble of making a mess and spending time cooking.
Mythia quickly fell asleep on one of the large comfortable sofas after having worked out at the Gym and eating a large meal while Ben sat quietly scrolling through his Build Menu. He had still not looked into the SECT section he had unlocked and was curious to see what it offered.
The new Sect Section held over twenty unique buildings that he could build now. As he read through the description of each of these new structures there were a couple of them that stood out. The first one on build list was the [Sect Headquarters]. It seemed to be a building designed to deal with the inner and outer workings of the sect and staff could be assigned here to deal with any new applicants.
It appeared to be an office building but there was one section which caught his eye in the description.
[Sect Headquarters]: A large building with a reception lobby, offices, meeting rooms,
a recruitment room, and a cultivation awakening halo room. This building is used to deal with any internal or external sect business and the applications of new sect members. [Costs; 2000g]
When he saw the cultivation awakening halo room he looked through the in-depth descriptions to find out what this room entailed. Near the bottom of the list, he found what he was curious about.
[Cultivation Awakening Halo]: A wearable Neural Circuitry Wiring halo-like device. It targets the areas of the brain which allows cultivation. This device will enhance the brain allowing the person wearing it to become a true cultivator.
This was what he was hoping for, a way he could turn average people into cultivators. It was possible for him to construct this building and have Mythia use this halo to enhance her brain. Mythia would have the ability to cultivate and she could learn cultivation techniques.
There were even a couple buildings which he was interested in for himself. On this list were two classic wuxia cultivation sect buildings that he wanted to help his own cultivation.
[Qi Gathering Chamber]: A small room which has a Qi gathering formation array located under the floor. Five times more Qi can be accumulated inside each chamber. The large amounts of Qi allow sect members to increase cultivation gains at an accelerated pace. [Costs; 500g]
[Gravity Chamber]: A small training room with adjustable degrees of gravity. Through the exertion of applied gravity sect members can build strength and stamina at an accelerated pace. [Costs; 500g]
If he had access to these two training rooms he could increase his cultivation speed and improve his physical condition.
There were many other options in this new Sect Section. There was a Treasure Vault, Pill House, Training Gymnasium, Library, Cafeteria, and other specialty buildings along with housing for outer sect members, inner sect members, Sect Elders, and The Sect Master.
Ben discussed the size of some of these Sect buildings with Athena and had to make a decision on where he would build the Sect. In light novels, a sect was often built on large beautiful picturesque mountains. The only problem with this was all of the mountains around the fortress were tall, steep, and rather bare of vegetation. The mountain chain to the north resembled a row of dragon teeth rather than a chain of habitable mountains.
These steep mountains made an ideal natural defense which blocked anyone from the northern coastline from entering his grasslands. The northern mountain chain and the southern Wayward Woodlands were the reason why this huge grasslands which Ben had claimed had remained undiscovered through the centuries.
This grassland may have even been discovered at one time in the far past but once the animals of this planet began to evolve into profound beasts it would have become inaccessible and forgotten.
Ben left the fortress by himself and traveled to the hills just north of the fortress. All along the base of the steep mountain chain was a series of different sized hills. The plateau which Ben had chosen to build his fortress on was actually a part of this line of hills.
Ben activated Whirlwind Technique and his passive Acrobatics skill which allowed him to travel fast and agilely over the rugged terrain.
He had only traveled a mile before he found a promising location. Ben found a hill with a 45-degree incline and it had a large area to build on it. The top wasn't flat like his plateau but he had an idea on how to fix this.
From all the times Ben had used his Tunnel tool to make inclined ramps and underground rooms he had become skilled with using it for purposes it wasn't designed to be used for. The Tunneling Tool was described as a tool which allowed him to cut tunnels through hills and mountains but because it allowed him to make a tunnel any size, he could use it for many other options.
Ben went to the Tunneling Tool and began to place partially submerged tunnels into the top of the hill. The lower ten feet of each tunnel was placed into the soil and the upper tunnel section was above ground level.
By using the tool in this manner Ben shaved ten feet off the top of the hill. When he was done the hill looked as if a large sword had sliced the entire top off of it in one clean sweep. Ne now had a flat smooth area to build on.
Once again he started out by covering the entire flat dirt exposed area with grass. As the grass was being grown in Ben used the Wall Tool to design a wall that would enclose the entire top of the hill.
He made the wall with concrete and rebar like the one at the fortress. The wall was not as impressive as the fortress wall though it was to measure twenty feet high and six feet wide.
Ben placed a concrete and rebar gatehouse on the northern section of the round walls and made a concrete road which led from the bottom of the hill up through the Gatehouse and across the center of the hilltop.
When the new concrete road was built Ben went to the Sect Section and built the Sect Headquarters next to the new Gatehouse. This way any outsiders who came to visit or do business could be kept from wandering through the sect grounds.
[Sect Headquarters]: A large building with a reception lobby, offices, meeting rooms,
a recruitment room, and a cultivation awakening halo room. This building is used to deal with any internal or external sect business and the applications of new sect members. [Costs; 2000g]
The 2000g cost put a dent in his money from the store sales, but it was worth it to now have a building he could use to recruit cultivators or turn regular people into cultivators.
For now, this was as far as he planned to build up the Sect. It would still be some time before people would make this place their home.
Ben left through the sect gatehouse and closed it behind him. He walked down the new road to the bottom of the hill and opened the Build Menu Roads section again. By using the aerial menu view Ben drew out a straight road which leads from the sect road at the bottom of the hill to connect with the road that led to the cemetery on the western side of the fortress plateau.
When it was constructed it provided a smooth concrete road which wound up and down over the hills between the fortress and the new sect location.
He followed the new road back to the keep and found Mythia had woken up from her nap so he decided to surprise her. They left the fortress and he placed her on his back and shot off toward the sect with Whirlwind. With the close distance and the smooth road, they were able to reach the sect hill after running for a minute and a half.
Mythia was taken back at first by the speed they traveled at but she was all smiles when Ben placed her back down on her feet.
She so excited she wanted Ben to race her back to the fortress on his back again. She had assumed this was the surprise he told her about and wanted to try it again.
Ben chuckled and said he would give her another ride back but her surprise was inside the tall walls at the top of the hill.
The two of them climbed the steep road and went through the Gatehouse. Just on the other side of the Gatehouse, Mythia saw the only building located inside the walls. Because it was built in a traditional Asian architecture she could not prejudge what the building could be used for.
They went inside and after looking around on the lower floor they found a door plaque which read Cultivation Awakening Room.
"This is the room we want right here."
Ben opened the door and found a chair which reminded him of the system-link chairs in the classrooms. This chair did not have electrodes though there was a small table next to the chair that had a plastic white ring. The plastic white ring was the halo and it was wired to the chair.
"I know I said I wanted you to attend school and become stronger before you began to cultivate and I did not change my mind, but I don't see any problem with making you a cultivator right now."
Mythia looked up with saucer eyes at Ben when she heard he was going to make her a cultivator.
"This is a brand new machine and I have never used it on anyone but I know there will be nothing to worry about. All you have to do is lay on the chair and put this ring on your head and you will soon become a cultivator" Ben said with a reassuring smile as he pointed toward the halo.
Mythia was looking at the chair with a look of excitement and apprehension. Ben stroked her hair and told her not to worry. If she wanted to become strong this was the only way she would accomplish that goal.
With a determined nod, she climbed up onto the chair and Ben gently placed the Halo on her head and held it in place as she laid back into the chair. Mythia turned to look at Ben with a startled look and told him a woman was speaking in her head.
Ben chuckled. "Her name is Athena and she is a friend of mine. Just do whatever she asks, you can trust her."
Ben was surprised Athena could speak with Mythia through the halo but he didn't want to worry her so he acted as if it were perfectly normal.
Mythia simply closed her eyes and began to take a few deep breaths. She laid back on the recliner chair again. For about twenty minutes she remained still and it appeared as if she was sleeping. Ben kept a vigilant watch over the immobile girl until her eyes began to flutter open and she sat up.
"Athena said everything went perfectly! She congratulated me for becoming a cultivator!" Mythia announced with excitement and wonder.
"Congratulations! You are on your way to becoming one of the strongest people on the continent! Now you have to study hard and train your strength. Once you do that I will build a Sect Library and you can learn cultivation techniques! For now, even without techniques, your strength will slightly improve just by simply eating the food at the Restaurant and. The Qi in the food will naturally aid you in your training from now on."
"Amazing! Will I run fast like you if I learn a technique?"
"You sure can. Once we have a Sect Library I can add my techniques to it and you can learn them from a chair like this one here." Ben explained while pointing at the system chair in the center of the room.
"Alright let's head back to the fortress before the sun sets on us." Ben said.
Outside of the Gatehouse, Ben had Mythia climb up on his back. While he held her legs he shot off toward the fortress. Mythia was squealing with delight as the wind whistled through her ears and blew her hair back behind her.
It was only a minute and a half ride but for her, it was like a high-speed rollercoaster ride as they raced up and down the hills at speeds of around sixty miles per hour.
Back at the keep, Ben explained he would make a trip to Goldcrest to check on how everything turned out in the morning. He wanted to see how the store was doing and he still wanted to purchase more property. He also thought about stopping by the throne room to see if there were any changes with the Trareniel Kingdom invasion.
He told Mythia she would need to begin to follow her weekly schedule even if he wasn't around. The sooner she began her schooling and training the sooner she could move on to cultivating, military training, and magic training.
When Ben went to his bedroom to lay down on his new bed. In the silence of his room, he began to recall the invasion again as the scenes from the battle and the fight in the small house where he found Mythia came back to him. Ben began to feel guilty again because he had left the bodies of Mythia's family behind.
As he was thinking of how he could get the King to send men down to her town he sat up and smacked himself on the forehead.
What the hell am I thinking about I have the Zoom spell! I can travel anywhere I have been to before, so what is stopping me from going to collect her deceased family?
Ben had only used his Zoom spell to travel between the forest and Goldcrest and had become so used to it he forgot it allowed him to travel anywhere he had gone to before!
He stood up and cast Zoom and was soon standing in the farmhouse once again. Nothing had changed inside the small crude home. Mythia's family were still lying on the bloody floor and the dead soldier's corpses were scattered around the room.
Ben walked over to Mythia's mother, father, and older sister and placed them into his inventory. As he was collecting their bodies Ben could hear people out on the streets. He walked to the window to look out between the wood shutters and see who was out there. He had thought the Trareniel Kingdom had sent more soldiers to reclaim the town but the soldiers outside were wearing the Aregard Kings crest on their tunics.
'It looks like the king sent his army down here to secure the town once they were assembled.'
He didn't bother to go outside and let them know he was here. Ben swallowed a few of his high-grade mana recovery pills and returned to keep. He unequipped his clothes laid down on his bed in his shorts and began to cultivate while thinking of how he should let Mythia know he had recovered the bodies of her family.
Ben left the victory monument without telling anyone he had made it and went to the keep to pick up Mythia. He purchased a pink athletic duffle bag, cotton leggings, a couple pairs of girl's running shorts, a few tank tops, a pink tracksuit, a water bottle and a pair of fingerless training gloves in her sizes.Ben explained the pros and cons of the different pieces of clothing to Mythia and placed the workout clothes into her duffle bag. They left the keep together and Ben walked her over to the Gym once Mythia came out of the women's locker room wearing her new workout clothes Ben began to show her around.First, he explained the different stack weight machines and free weights to her. Then they went into the backroom where the cardio machines were. Ben taught her how to program the exercise bike, stairmaster, and treadmills.When Mythia seemed to understand Ben put her through a strength test on the different machines to find out how much weight he should have her use in each exercise.Ben soon had a good idea on where to start with her and began writing down how much weight she would use for each of the exercises he had on her workout program. He also made sure to explain she had to follow the schedule if she overworked her muscles without giving them time to heal she would be doing more harm than good.They had spent a few hours in the Gym and then went next door to the Public Bathhouse. They decided to meet back out front in fifteen minutes. When Ben emerged from the men's side and Mythia from the women's side of the bathhouse feeling clean and fresh from their workouts in the Gym they went together over to eat at the Restaurant.They both had a nice meal and returned to the Keep. There was still a decent amount of unused space on the third floor so Ben designed a living room. He placed a few of the fancy sofas, reading chairs, end tables, coffee tables, and painting that he sold at the store from his inventory.This would give Mythia and him a place to relax other than their bedrooms. Ben had thought about making a kitchen but it seemed like it would be a waste of money. He no longer ate that often and Mythia was too young to cook for herself. They also had the Restaurant nearby and the food was great there so why bother going through the trouble of making a mess and spending time cooking.Mythia quickly fell asleep on one of the large comfortable sofas after having worked out at the Gym and eating a large meal while Ben sat quietly scrolling through his Build Menu. He had still not looked into the SECT section he had unlocked and was curious to see what it offered.The new Sect Section held over twenty unique buildings that he could build now. As he read through the description of each of these new structures there were a couple of them that stood out. The first one on build list was the Sect Headquarters. It seemed to be a building designed to deal with the inner and outer workings of the sect and staff could be assigned here to deal with any new applicants.It appeared to be an office building but there was one section which caught his eye in the description.Sect Headquarters: A large building with a reception lobby, offices, meeting rooms,a recruitment room, and a cultivation awakening halo room. This building is used to deal with any internal or external sect business and the applications of new sect members. Costs; 2000gWhen he saw the cultivation awakening halo room he looked through the in-depth descriptions to find out what this room entailed. Near the bottom of the list, he found what he was curious about.Cultivation Awakening Halo: A wearable Neural Circuitry Wiring halo-like device. It targets the areas of the brain which allows cultivation. This device will enhance the brain allowing the person wearing it to become a true cultivator.This was what he was hoping for, a way he could turn average people into cultivators. It was possible for him to construct this building and have Mythia use this halo to enhance her brain. Mythia would have the ability to cultivate and she could learn cultivation techniques.There were even a couple buildings which he was interested in for himself. On this list were two classic wuxia cultivation sect buildings that he wanted to help his own cultivation.Qi Gathering Chamber: A small room which has a Qi gathering formation array located under the floor. Five times more Qi can be accumulated inside each chamber. The large amounts of Qi allow sect members to increase cultivation gains at an accelerated pace. Costs; 500gGravity Chamber: A small training room with adjustable degrees of gravity. Through the exertion of applied gravity sect members can build strength and stamina at an accelerated pace. Costs; 500gIf he had access to these two training rooms he could increase his cultivation speed and improve his physical condition.There were many other options in this new Sect Section. There was a Treasure Vault, Pill House, Training Gymnasium, Library, Cafeteria, and other specialty buildings along with housing for outer sect members, inner sect members, Sect Elders, and The Sect Master.Ben discussed the size of some of these Sect buildings with Athena and had to make a decision on where he would build the Sect. In light novels, a sect was often built on large beautiful picturesque mountains. The only problem with this was all of the mountains around the fortress were tall, steep, and rather bare of vegetation. The mountain chain to the north resembled a row of dragon teeth rather than a chain of habitable mountains.These steep mountains made an ideal natural defense which blocked anyone from the northern coastline from entering his grasslands. The northern mountain chain and the southern Wayward Woodlands were the reason why this huge grasslands which Ben had claimed had remained undiscovered through the centuries.This grassland may have even been discovered at one time in the far past but once the animals of this planet began to evolve into profound beasts it would have become inaccessible and forgotten.Ben left the fortress by himself and traveled to the hills just north of the fortress. All along the base of the steep mountain chain was a series of different sized hills. The plateau which Ben had chosen to build his fortress on was actually a part of this line of hills.Ben activated Whirlwind Technique and his passive Acrobatics skill which allowed him to travel fast and agilely over the rugged terrain.He had only traveled a mile before he found a promising location. Ben found a hill with a 45-degree incline and it had a large area to build on it. The top wasn't flat like his plateau but he had an idea on how to fix this.From all the times Ben had used his Tunnel tool to make inclined ramps and underground rooms he had become skilled with using it for purposes it wasn't designed to be used for. The Tunneling Tool was described as a tool which allowed him to cut tunnels through hills and mountains but because it allowed him to make a tunnel any size, he could use it for many other options.Ben went to the Tunneling Tool and began to place partially submerged tunnels into the top of the hill. The lower ten feet of each tunnel was placed into the soil and the upper tunnel section was above ground level.By using the tool in this manner Ben shaved ten feet off the top of the hill. When he was done the hill looked as if a large sword had sliced the entire top off of it in one clean sweep. Ne now had a flat smooth area to build on.Once again he started out by covering the entire flat dirt exposed area with grass. As the grass was being grown in Ben used the Wall Tool to design a wall that would enclose the entire top of the hill.He made the wall with concrete and rebar like the one at the fortress. The wall was not as impressive as the fortress wall though it was to measure twenty feet high and six feet wide.Ben placed a concrete and rebar gatehouse on the northern section of the round walls and made a concrete road which led from the bottom of the hill up through the Gatehouse and across the center of the hilltop.When the new concrete road was built Ben went to the Sect Section and built the Sect Headquarters next to the new Gatehouse. This way any outsiders who came to visit or do business could be kept from wandering through the sect grounds.Sect Headquarters: A large building with a reception lobby, offices, meeting rooms,a recruitment room, and a cultivation awakening halo room. This building is used to deal with any internal or external sect business and the applications of new sect members. Costs; 2000gThe 2000g cost put a dent in his money from the store sales, but it was worth it to now have a building he could use to recruit cultivators or turn regular people into cultivators.For now, this was as far as he planned to build up the Sect. It would still be some time before people would make this place their home.Ben left through the sect gatehouse and closed it behind him. He walked down the new road to the bottom of the hill and opened the Build Menu Roads section again. By using the aerial menu view Ben drew out a straight road which leads from the sect road at the bottom of the hill to connect with the road that led to the cemetery on the western side of the fortress plateau.When it was constructed it provided a smooth concrete road which wound up and down over the hills between the fortress and the new sect location.He followed the new road back to the keep and found Mythia had woken up from her nap so he decided to surprise her. They left the fortress and he placed her on his back and shot off toward the sect with Whirlwind. With the close distance and the smooth road, they were able to reach the sect hill after running for a minute and a half.Mythia was taken back at first by the speed they traveled at but she was all smiles when Ben placed her back down on her feet.She so excited she wanted Ben to race her back to the fortress on his back again. She had assumed this was the surprise he told her about and wanted to try it again.Ben chuckled and said he would give her another ride back but her surprise was inside the tall walls at the top of the hill.The two of them climbed the steep road and went through the Gatehouse. Just on the other side of the Gatehouse, Mythia saw the only building located inside the walls. Because it was built in a traditional Asian architecture she could not prejudge what the building could be used for.They went inside and after looking around on the lower floor they found a door plaque which read Cultivation Awakening Room."This is the room we want right here."Ben opened the door and found a chair which reminded him of the system-link chairs in the classrooms. This chair did not have electrodes though there was a small table next to the chair that had a plastic white ring. The plastic white ring was the halo and it was wired to the chair."I know I said I wanted you to attend school and become stronger before you began to cultivate and I did not change my mind, but I don't see any problem with making you a cultivator right now."Mythia looked up with saucer eyes at Ben when she heard he was going to make her a cultivator."This is a brand new machine and I have never used it on anyone but I know there will be nothing to worry about. All you have to do is lay on the chair and put this ring on your head and you will soon become a cultivator" Ben said with a reassuring smile as he pointed toward the halo.Mythia was looking at the chair with a look of excitement and apprehension. Ben stroked her hair and told her not to worry. If she wanted to become strong this was the only way she would accomplish that goal.With a determined nod, she climbed up onto the chair and Ben gently placed the Halo on her head and held it in place as she laid back into the chair. Mythia turned to look at Ben with a startled look and told him a woman was speaking in her head.Ben chuckled. "Her name is Athena and she is a friend of mine. Just do whatever she asks, you can trust her."Ben was surprised Athena could speak with Mythia through the halo but he didn't want to worry her so he acted as if it were perfectly normal.Mythia simply closed her eyes and began to take a few deep breaths. She laid back on the recliner chair again. For about twenty minutes she remained still and it appeared as if she was sleeping. Ben kept a vigilant watch over the immobile girl until her eyes began to flutter open and she sat up."Athena said everything went perfectly! She congratulated me for becoming a cultivator!" Mythia announced with excitement and wonder."Congratulations! You are on your way to becoming one of the strongest people on the continent! Now you have to study hard and train your strength. Once you do that I will build a Sect Library and you can learn cultivation techniques! For now, even without techniques, your strength will slightly improve just by simply eating the food at the Restaurant and. The Qi in the food will naturally aid you in your training from now on.""Amazing! Will I run fast like you if I learn a technique?""You sure can. Once we have a Sect Library I can add my techniques to it and you can learn them from a chair like this one here." Ben explained while pointing at the system chair in the center of the room."Alright let's head back to the fortress before the sun sets on us." Ben said.Outside of the Gatehouse, Ben had Mythia climb up on his back. While he held her legs he shot off toward the fortress. Mythia was squealing with delight as the wind whistled through her ears and blew her hair back behind her.It was only a minute and a half ride but for her, it was like a high-speed rollercoaster ride as they raced up and down the hills at speeds of around sixty miles per hour.Back at the keep, Ben explained he would make a trip to Goldcrest to check on how everything turned out in the morning. He wanted to see how the store was doing and he still wanted to purchase more property. He also thought about stopping by the throne room to see if there were any changes with the Trareniel Kingdom invasion.He told Mythia she would need to begin to follow her weekly schedule even if he wasn't around. The sooner she began her schooling and training the sooner she could move on to cultivating, military training, and magic training.When Ben went to his bedroom to lay down on his new bed. In the silence of his room, he began to recall the invasion again as the scenes from the battle and the fight in the small house where he found Mythia came back to him. Ben began to feel guilty again because he had left the bodies of Mythia's family behind.As he was thinking of how he could get the King to send men down to her town he sat up and smacked himself on the forehead.What the hell am I thinking about I have the Zoom spell! I can travel anywhere I have been to before, so what is stopping me from going to collect her deceased family?Ben had only used his Zoom spell to travel between the forest and Goldcrest and had become so used to it he forgot it allowed him to travel anywhere he had gone to before!He stood up and cast Zoom and was soon standing in the farmhouse once again. Nothing had changed inside the small crude home. Mythia's family were still lying on the bloody floor and the dead soldier's corpses were scattered around the room.Ben walked over to Mythia's mother, father, and older sister and placed them into his inventory. As he was collecting their bodies Ben could hear people out on the streets. He walked to the window to look out between the wood shutters and see who was out there. He had thought the Trareniel Kingdom had sent more soldiers to reclaim the town but the soldiers outside were wearing the Aregard Kings crest on their tunics.'It looks like the king sent his army down here to secure the town once they were assembled.'He didn't bother to go outside and let them know he was here. Ben swallowed a few of his high-grade mana recovery pills and returned to keep. He unequipped his clothes laid down on his bed in his shorts and began to cultivate while thinking of how he should let Mythia know he had recovered the bodies of her family.
