[MA] 259. Puny System (Patreon)

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[A/N: Chapters this week: 2/3

Next release: Saturday]

Seventy percent of the human body was water. Unsurprisingly, it was the second set of Laws that Shen touched.

Shen used to use the Concept of Flow to control the smoothness of his movements and the currents of combat. Flow didn't stop; it was always in motion.

Shen's Flow was a Stream.

It was Water going from one place to another in a set path. A continuous flow, but more defined than Flow itself. More solid. It had an easily pictured physical representation and felt stronger than simple Flow. The progression was more simply understood than Arc Flash becoming Conductivity.

Just as before, his mind tried to reach for it beyond his impressions and sense of affinity with it but was stopped.

Then, Shen found himself with a new struggle. Keeping his connection to a single Law while doing something else was easy, but things got more complicated when a second one joined the fray. The strings pulling him into a grander truth didn't disappear or grow weaker. They were still there, pulling and demanding his attention. To let go of them was to lose his insight into them.

That pull made it harder for him to connect with Laws from different sets. His Path was being stretched—weakly as it may be—in different directions. He was mentally juggling insights into Lightning and Water simultaneously and would seek Spear and Wind. Shen was sure that without the Realization Impartation making his mind comparable to a C-rank, he might not connect with four Laws at once, which he needed to break through. Seven, which was safer, would be completely beyond him.

Had the cthulhu known that, or was it a coincidence?

Shen kept meditating. Focusing on the Law fragments had become more arduous, and glimpsing something from them rarer. He persisted. Time passed, hours coming and going.

Shen tensed.

He wanted to be done by the time his Path Idealization was complete. But if things kept going like this...

Shen inhaled deeply.

There was no use getting anxious about this. It was both counter-productive and contrary to what he sought in this breakthrough.

Shen calmed himself.

He would succeed or not, as any other cultivator before him and any other after. It was alright. Failing here might even better cement his self-identity than succeeding. He relaxed.

Shen exhaled softly...

...and connected with Wind.

Unlike the first two times, the Law didn't immediately become clear to him. The other Laws pulling him from it.

The Concept of Zephyr was one of gentleness. A soft wind barely capable of pushing a few strands of hair. A subtle touch that went around most obstructions rather than trying to force its way through. Shen used it to make micro-adjustments to his movements and feel enemies nearby.

It took him an entire extra hour to feel the touch of the Law of... Zephyr.

In hindsight, it had been stranger for Shen to find a Concept of Zephyr than for a Law of Zephyr to exist.

Laws were more about an element's identity and form than its function. Conductivity was linked to function but also the very definition of what Lightning was. Without Conductivity, how could Lightning even exist? On the other hand, Stream was a form Water could take, just as Zephyr was to Wind.

Sheen legitimately had no idea whether it was usual to find a Concept that was a narrow version of a Law. Theoretically, it sounded feasible—probable, even. Concepts were contracts between sets of Laws that defined how a Law interacted with another. A Concept had to bring part of the Law with it.

Unfortunately, the shared name didn't give Shen ungodly comprehension of the Law. He had mastered the Concept of Zephyr, yes, but only the Zephyr he had gotten insights into. Just like someone might connect with War and gain more—or exclusively—insights on information warfare than he, any other Concept could be approached differently.

The Law of Zephyr pulled him. It added to the pull of Conductivity and Stream, making the two require even more of his focus and take him further away from any other Law. Yet, it still wasn't enough to counter the weight of his four other Concepts.

Any Law was stronger than any Concept, but he had only established flimsy connections to those Laws. He couldn't use their strength, and his Path refused to evolve until it had no choice.

Shen turned back to the Law fragments.

Hours passed again, and things got more complicated for more reasons than the Laws' pull.

Lightning, Water, and Wind were part of human biology, making it much easier for Shen to find them in the Law fragments used in his reconstruction. However, while the Spear was found in his Idealized Path, and thus in his new body, his existence wasn't filled yet. Shen was preparing himself to Harmonize with the Ethereal, including with his Path, but he hadn't taken that step yet.

The Law fragments were there; they simply belonged to what his body and soul were becoming instead of what he had always been.

Liya's training, as much as it had saved Shen, now worked against him, too. He so firmly saw himself as a human holding a spear rather than both human and spear that the Law fragments felt harder to comprehend.

Shen laughed.

He was doing this now because he felt limited, and wasn't his difficulty precisely that? He had limited his self-identity out of fear. Just because he wasn't a Spear didn't mean he couldn't be a Spear to a certain extent.

And didn't he want a challenge? He was getting exactly what he asked for.

By now, a day had already passed from the moment he started being remade. Shen was about one-third his Path. Two days remained until he lost access to the stream of Law dust.

And it took him a full day to finally connect with the Spear.

The Concept of Sharpness was simple enough. Shen used it to cut down and pierce through his enemies with swings and thrusts. So, there was no secret or mystery when two different Laws called to him: Edge and Extremity.  He was offered a choice for the first time.

Edge was self-explanatory. Extremity, the very tip of the Spear, was crucial to what it was and what it was used for.

Shen had touched on the Concept of Sharpness because he used his spear to cut. However, he felt Extremity was more fitting now. He was widening his Path, and having a Law in its core that was all about pushing it into a single point sounded like an excellent idea.

The moment he connected with the Law of Extremity, a fourth string pulled his Path and would've managed to pull his mind into wherever it was trying to take him if he didn't force it to stay.

And so, Shen had to split his focus and use his willpower to stop the process.

That should've made progress even harder, but the remaining Concepts came from the Laws of the Spear, and  he was already connected with a Law of the Spear. The link to Extremity didn't try to pull him away from the Spear. Instead, it worked in his favor.

Shen didn't take another day to find the next Law. Extremity opened a door into the Spear, a long corridor; in there, War had a much easier time opening a window into the next Law. It only took him half a day.

The Concept of War had a lot to do with how the Spear was used but little with what it was or what form it could take. It was one of Shen's most conceptual Concepts. In fact, three of his Spear Concepts were. It was a paradox, but two of them being core Concepts—War and Combat—was likely one of the reasons he kept some psychological freedom to re-balance his Path now instead of single-mindedly pursuing a Path of conflict.

Shen had wondered not long ago how much his Path was already affecting his actions and perspective, and this more than answered that for him.

For Shen, War had started as a means to an end, a way to be more effective against multiple enemies. It had become strategy and large-scale battles.

Of all things the Spear had or was, one specific Law called to Shen based on his approach to War: Shaft.

The Law of Shaft didn't sound like much. However, any idiot could push a sharp object into someone they hated. The Shaft made the Spear different from other weapons, especially in how Shen used it.

The reach the Shaft gave the weapon was crucial to fight multiple foes. It demanded the wielder to plan further ahead to prevent the enemy from getting too close, forcing their mind to think more strategically. That, in turn, required extra awareness, which also spoke to strategy.

It wasn't as great a match to War as other Laws had been to other Concepts, but it was because War was such a broad Concept. Yet, what Shen already knew of War would remain with him. Moreover, he would also find the Concept of War in the other Laws that he would take into his Path.

In fact, it would even go beyond the Spear. How could any of his Laws be used for War? Shen would get many insights into it. He would keep improving.

The string linking Shen to Spear became twice as thick, and its pull became three times as strong. He wasn't sure if it was because two Laws came from the same set or because both were core Laws in his Path. He had to divert more of his willpower to stop his breakthrough. Little of his focus remained to meditate on the Law fragments. It completely erased the advantage he had gained on already touching a Law related to the Spear.

Shen only felt a Law connected to Combat another entire day later.

Shen always used Combat to win over direct strife, competition, and conflict. He physically fought his enemies with it. With it, he became the best warrior he could and exploited his foes' weaknesses.

Combat's varied usage made it part of multiple Laws of the Spear. Ultimately, it came down to a form the Spear took, which Shen used the most: a Killing Weapon.

Shen very rarely used his spear any other way. He had used it to train other people on very few occasions, but that was all. He always sought to make his Spear a better tool for killing his foes. That was the goal of his Combat.

He guessed most sets of Laws from weapons had a Law of Weapon and similar ones. Each would obviously be fine-tuned for the weapon they came from.

The strength of the pull of the Spear tripled again. Shen had to invest everything he was to stop his breakthrough. Little more than an ounce of his focus remained to pay attention to the Law fragments.

To make matters worse, Shen was almost completely rebuilt. The Law fragments would likely disappear when the process ended. He doubted Reality would let him keep a channel open to phase space to provide him endless energy.

As if that wasn't enough, the last Concept was Boundlessness. It had a unique place in his Path. It was the first Concept he touched on, but he later removed it as a core Concept. In his Image, it was also like no other. It was the most ethereal of all his Concepts, yet he now had to use it as a window into a Law of the Spear.

Shen was fighting against time, and he did his best. Whatever focus he could spare, he used on the Law fragments. Alas, it was almost nothing.

It was still better than nothing, though. If it weren't for the Realization Impartation, he wouldn't have enough willpower to prevent his breakthrough, much less that little focus remaining. Once more, it became crucial for his progression. It shouldn't be a coincidence, after all.

Soon, only Shen's eyes remained to be morphed into his Idealized self.

No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't find anything in the Law fragments that spoke of the Boundlessness of the Spear. It was a flimsy Concept, to begin with. A Spear was everywhere, and the Concept spoke of its Boundlessness in that aspect. It also spoke of how the Spear wouldn't be stopped and how Spear's Concepts had to touch all other Laws so Reality could simply exist.

Less than an hour later, only Shen's left eye remained to be changed.

Shen was confident that if he had heard Liya's explanation of Reality before touching his first Concept, he wouldn't have been able to touch the Boundlessness of Spear at all. It was another hidden danger of knowledge, he guessed. His perspective limited what he could accomplish in more ways than one.

His last eye was remade in his Image.

Shen's new body released a sonic boom. Everything around trembled, and he felt whole. He almost lost track of the Laws he had touched but managed to just keep the links from dissipating.

Part of himself wanted to lose itself in wonder at what he could feel he had become, but he focused on Boundlessness instead.

The qi particle remade his dantian next. The runes he had drawn on his dantian walls were recreated. His body started absorbing qi again, which immediately became the same as that singular qi particle, though without a connection to phase space.

The original particle wasn't done. It started pulsating with energy. It infused his body and improved his stats. F, E, D, D+.

Shen reached his peak—and beyond.

=

Warning: Stat Overflow

You're about to push three stats, strength, agility, and resistance, beyond the limits of your rank.

Should you continue:

- The Guardian System will automatically suppress them;

- They will be stronger than before but not as much as you're trying to make them become;

- After you rank up:

- - - They will automatically grow to their correct level;

- - - You'll have to pay a fine to further improve them.

=

Shen had no chance to refuse. His new existence, as defined by Reality itself, was more powerful than his previous one. It didn't care for the artificial limits of any puny System.

| Strength: D+ → D++

| Agility: D+ → D++

| Resistance: D+ → D++

The particle pulsed one last time then dissipated. As he had expected, the Law fragments were gone.

The qi in his dantian started filling his body, and once more, he was almost lost in wonder. But he resisted temptation and continued meditating.

Shen didn't mind his stats' growth. The extra cost would just be another challenge.

Moreover, the improvement perfectly fit Boundlessness. He was going beyond his limits. Growing stronger despite any limitations imposed on him.

It also made him feel more like a cultivator. He had improved those stats through cultivation instead of the system. And after reaching C-rank, he wouldn't be able to purchase stat-ups from the system anymore. He would have to go full cultivator.

Actually, wasn't that a Boundlessness, too? Shen was both cultivator and Guardian. He sought to restore his balance, which also meant not giving up on what he had already become. He was defined by multiple words and roles, and refusing to be only one thing was the same as not letting himself be thoroughly defined at all.

Drow and human.

Path and self.

Body and soul.

Mind and Law.

The Law fragments were gone, but he felt glad about not evolving his Boundlessness into a Law based on them. It would limit the Concept, and being limited was anathema to it. Its name was the most definition it accepted.

Shen frowned.

The Law of the Shaft didn't restrict the Concept of War but also wasn't War. Whatever Boundlessness became, it would cease being Boundless, which would be its end in that Concept case. Containing it into a Law was conceptually impossible.

Even if a Law of Boundlessness existed, it would be limited to the Spear. It was already limited to the Spear, so it wouldn't feel like an evolution—not for Boundlessness. It would just become more of the same.

Shen's core was the Spear, but in a way, Boundlessness had also evolved beyond his core when he made it secondary instead. So, Shen felt the way forward for that Concept was different.

It should be the endless spear striking his Image and the first and last point of a circle—which had no ends or beginnings.

The circle had started with Boundlessness. Then, he had pulled War, Combat, Sharpness, Zephyr, Flow, and Arc Flash into his Path. As the circle returned to itself, it evolved in the opposite order. Conductivity, Stream, Zephyr, Extremity, Killing Weapon, and Shaft. Then, Boundlessness again.

The next step in Shen's cultivation required Shen to touch on a Law for each of his Concepts...

...but what if his Boundlessness also refused to be limited by what was demanded of it?

Progress would be made, as required by Reality, but in a way unique to Boundlessness.

If the Laws of Reality could become the Expression of Energy, why couldn't Boundlessness also morph into something else?

If a particle of qi could have endless energy by reaching deep instead of outwards, why couldn't Boundlessness do the same, seeking that depth into everything Shen was?

Instead of exclusively advancing outwards, Boundlessness should also advance inwards.

Like the endless spear striking his Image, Boundless should become the bridge linking everything. Reality and Shen, outside and inside, future and past, what was and what wasn't. It already touched on every part of his Path and was the origin of it, the Concept that had first resonated with him.

It was the original spark and part of what he sought. He wanted power to be truly free. It was about going beyond being a cripple, beyond being powerless, and now, also beyond being limited by his very Path, of which Boundlessness was part.

Such Boundlessness would be less than a Law, true, but also much more than a Concept or his current Path could be.

Shen called it True Boundlessness.

Suddenly, the Concept of Boundlessness connected with the strings of all his Laws, with his body, mind, soul, emotions, past, present, and future.

It connected with everything he was and the intrinsic constructs of it. Laws, Energy, Change, Sentience, Time, Space, and WIll.

It connected with everything he wanted to be.

And then, it also pulled itself into something grander.

That was the phoenix feather that broke the qilin's back. All seven Concepts had evolved. Shen wouldn't have had the willpower to stop it even if he wanted, but why would he want that?

He had done it; it was time to break through.

His mind was pulled into seven different directions. His soul felt like he would be torn apart. He felt himself about to reach a state of enlightenment.

But before anything else could happen, Reality struck back.

The Harmonization Tribulation, Shen learned, was part of the breakthrough itself.

[A/N: Longer chapter than usual, but I wanted to be done with this part before the tribulation. I'll try to also make the tribulation only one chapter long, but if it grows too long, I might need to split it up. It won't take more than two, though.]

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