Chapter 41 - Sharing Secrets
Added 2025-01-26 12:48:01 +0000 UTCAlaric strode over and rejoined the group. It was still necessary to make some plans for what was to unfold tomorrow. I hope they can get along tomorrow. He shook his head. No, I'll have to ensure they realize what’s at stake here.
Therin and George were debating something animatedly while Rowan, Ruben, and Gareth interjected in between.
“Guys, I hope you all understand that this is not a personal issue anymore,” Alaric declared, meeting all their eyes, ”The fates of many children are intertwined with us now.” He gestured. “So, let’s try to set aside our personal squabbles for now, okay?”
All of the kids glanced at each other, considering his words. Rowan approached Alaric with a smile and clapped his back. “I agree with Alaric. If we can help apprehend the criminals, perhaps the authorities can trace back the abducted kids. Not to mention, we can prevent many kids from being kidnapped in the future as well.”
“I don’t really have a choice in this matter anymore,” said Therin. “And, if we fail to comply” He glared at Ruben, “perhaps we’ll face consequences for real.” Ruben concurred with a nod.
“Do you think the count will reward us if the plan succeeds?” commented Gareth. The kid is thinking about rewards. Alaric chuckled. Well, I cannot blame him. It is a nice motivator, after all.
“I think that is a possibility,” said Alaric. He turned to Therin and continued, “Who knows, perhaps you would even receive the peak-grade bone-forging pills that you wanted so much.”
Therin’s face broke into a smile but he quickly composed himself.
“A reward would be good,” said George. “We’d be risking our lives, after all.”
The discussion of potential rewards and the involvement of the fates of the abducted kids finally spurred them to collaborate, at least for now. Alaric scrutinized Rowan, George, and Gareth. The animosity they had towards Therin and Ruben seems to have diminished by a lot.
He nudged Rowan and whispered, “Let’s wrap this up here. I have some important things to discuss with you all.” He glanced at George and Gareth. Rowan nodded and replied, “Let’s head to your room then.” Alaric agreed.
With that, he pivoted and exited the training yard. Rowan signaled Gareth and George to follow him. Therin and Ruben departed from the group with a farewell.
***
“So, what’s with that grim look?” asked Gareth while munching on crispy potato fries. Alaric’s friends had realized that he wanted to share something important and confidential that couldn’t be discussed in a public setting. That’s why they were now in his room, snacking on food, drinks, and chips.
Alaric, however, was deliberating whether he should disclose what he discovered about the secret area of the Tutorial Rift and the invitations. I’ll have to let them know sooner or later. He released a sigh. Might as well do it now.
“How many zones of the Tutorial Rift did you manage to complete?” inquired Alaric.
George met Gareth’s gaze and shrugged, “I’ve progressed into the third zone - The Ember Plains but couldn’t finish it.”
“Me too.” Gareth furrowed his brows. “Those pesky flame hounds are a nightmare to handle.”
All of them turned toward Rowan. He scratched his cheeks and admitted, “I advanced into the fourth zone - The Howling Expanse.” He crossed his arms over his chest, contemplating. “I stopped exploring though. Cannot finish it without ascending to Tier 2.”
Alaric nodded, noting all of their responses.
“But why are you asking?” questioned Gareth.
“Well, have you ever encountered any special regions while exploring or heard of them?”
“What do you mean? I don’t get it?” said Gareth.
“I mean Ex*****ve zones that are Hid*n F*m the Re**?” Alaric heard a series of dings in his mind.
All of his friends looked at him weirdly.
“What gibberish are you saying?” commented George. He raised his eyebrows.
“Yeah, I didn’t catch any of it.” said Rowan.
Weird? Alaric paused to think. Hmm, wait is the system actively censoring the information that I’m trying to share?
He reviewed the system notifications.
Warning - You have attempted to share restricted information with unauthorized users. Repeated attempts to share such information will revoke access to - The Azure Ruin Arch.
Alaric was a bit surprised. Wow, I didn’t even mention the name of the hidden zone and it already censored the information. Alaric smirked.
Well so be it. He observed his friends who were all staring at him suspiciously. If the system considers them unauthorized users, I will make it recognize them as authorized users in a moment.
“Hey, what’s up with you?” Rowan waved a hand in front of Alaric.
“Guys, I’m about to do something….quite strange.” He scratched his cheek. “Just letting you know so that you don’t get confused. Wait a minute.”
“What is it? Come on, tell me. I can’t wait,” remarked Gareth. George placed a hand over his mouth and said, “Give him a moment. He said to wait.” Rowan chuckled.
Alaric shook his head and smirked. That kid is too impatient. He thought of the tutorial rift invite tokens to the Azure Caverns and a window popped up in his view.
Would you like to use the Tutorial Rift Invite Tokens (Limited Access) for - Azure Caverns? Invite Tokens remaining - 3
Alaric mentally confirmed.
Invite Tokens used - Select your party members.
Alaric thought of his friends - Rowan, George, and Gareth and mentally selected them to join the party.
3 Invitations to the stage two of Tutorial Rift - Azure Caverns were sent. Invite Tokens remaining - 0
Suddenly, all of his friends gasped. Alaric chuckled. They must’ve received the invites. All of them stared blankly ahead for a while, reviewing the system notification they received.
Rowan was the first to break the silence. “Alaric...” He looked at him, scanned the notification once more, and locked eyes with him again, clearly astonished. “What is this?”
“Yes, how did you get an invite token for the Tutorial Rift?” commended Gareth.
Alaric shrugged. “Hey, I was just as surprised as you when I got it. Accept it so that I can disclose more information.”
“It’s saying this information is restricted and cannot be shared,” replied George.
“Perhaps that’s why we never hear about Tutorial Rift invites,” Rowan muttered. “Is it exclusive?”
Alaric heard a series of dings in his mind and checked the notifications.
Your friend Rowan has accepted your invitation to - The Azure Caverns. They are now a member of your party.
Your friend George has accepted your invitation to - The Azure Caverns. They are now a member of your party.
Your friend Gareth has accepted your invitation to - The Azure Caverns. They are now a member of your party.
“Okay, now spill it,” Gareth insisted. “How the hell did you get a Tutorial Rift invite?”
“Well…I acquired it when I discovered the Forbidden super-exclusive secret hidden zone,” Alaric said smugly.
Gareth scrunched his brows and smacked him in the thigh. “Come on, don’t joke around.”
Alaric raised his hands in mock surrender to halt him. “Okay, okay.” He grabbed a crispy potato wedge and popped it into his mouth. “It’s just a hidden zone called the Azure Ruin Arch that I discovered in the Azure Caverns.”
Gareth still wore an expression of doubt.
“Are you actually telling the truth? I’ve never come across any mention of hidden zones inside the Tutorial Rift either,” remarked George.
“Yes, I’m telling the truth. It’s also restricted information and it appears the system actively censors the spread of such information” He sipped some apple juice and continued. “That’s why my words sounded garbled when I attempted to share information about it easier”.
Alaric recounted his journey in the Azure Caverns, through Lake Gloom and how he ended up discovering the hidden zone.
“That is fascinating.” Rowan's face lit up. “I know adventurers occasionally discover hidden zones in high-level rifts and dungeons, but...” He shook his head. “I think my father tried to tell me about it once, but he couldn’t...”
He folded his arms across his chest. “But I think I can ask him about it now. The system probably wouldn’t censor his words anymore.”
“Does that mean we can delve into the Azure Caverns together, including that hidden zone - the Azure Arch Ruins?” asked George.
Rowan nodded. “I believe so, if this invite functions like every other invite.”
“So, should we delve in now or what?” said Gareth.
Everyone turned to Alaric. Apparently, they were all eagerly awaiting the chance to explore the hidden zone as a team.
“Give me a moment,” Alaric said with a grin. “I’ve yet to consolidate my gains from the last delve.”
Alaric checked his remaining experience points from defeating the Azure Golem and those leeches.
Remaining experience points - 2719
He distributed his experience points equally among all his attributes and checked his status sheet
Name - Alaric De Vermond.
Age - 12
Stats:
Strength - 20 -> 22
Agility - 20 -> 22
Vitality - 16 -> 19
Mind - 23 -> 24
Soul - 29 -> 30
Skills:
Mana Solidification lvl 4
Vital Mana Flow lvl 3
Abilities:
Mana Manipulation lvl 3
Mana Core Stage:
Gaseous Core (Peak) - Thick Fog
Titles:
Ally of the System (Signature)
Progenitor of Chakra Cultivation (Unique)
Chakra Cultivation Progression:
Muladhara (Root Chakra): Purified (Partially Awakened)
Swadhisthana (Sacral Chakra): Purified (Dormant)
Manipura (Solar Plexus Chakra): Purified (Partially Awakened)
Anahata (Heart Chakra): Purified (Dormant)
Visuddha (Throat Chakra): Purified (Dormant)
Ajna (Third Eye Chakra): Purified (Dormant)
Sahasrara (Crown Chakra): Purified (Dormant)
Unused Experience Points: 0
System Rewards Granted:
Cultivation Sanctuary
Hmm...looks good for now. Alaric focused on the two partially awakened chakras and summoned their details to scrutinize them.
Muladhara (Root Chakra): Purified (Partially Awakened)
Passive Effect: The purified subtle energy of the Root Chakra continuously fortifies your physical body — enhancing the strength and resilience of your bones, blood, muscles, and tissues. It unlocks the full potential of your physical growth, ensuring your foundation remains unshakable.
Active Effect: By channeling the purified energy of the Root Chakra, you can temporarily gain a significant boost in physical prowess, best utilized during moments of critical need. Use this power wisely, as it demands energy reserves and can leave you fatigued if overused.
He reviewed the details of the Solar Plexus Chakra next.
Manipura (Solar Plexus Chakra): Purified (Partially Awakened)
Passive Effect: The purified subtle energy of the Solar Plexus Chakra constantly refines and amplifies your capacity to perceive, harness, and manipulate all forms of energy. This includes mana, aura, prana, dao, and even the elusive cosmic energies, unlocking the full potential of your energy manipulation abilities.
Active Effect: By channeling the purified energy of the Solar Plexus Chakra, you can temporarily gain improved mastery over energy manipulation, bending even the most volatile forces to your will with precision and authority.
Alaric released a sigh. This would have to do for now. Perhaps I’ll acquire some resources within the hidden zone to accelerate my progress.
“Okay, let’s dive in,” Alaric smiled. All of his friends buzzed with excitement to explore the Tutorial Rift together for the first time.
Comments
I personally enjoy the story as it has been and is. For me what I get out of this kind of story is the exploration of the power systems and how the character develops and grows with those systems. I don't need there to be a purpose beyond that and I definitely like some chill. I don't get why people think there needs to be any purpose for growth other than the growth itself that would be fun growing that power exploring it would be fun why wouldn't someone be into that. Don't always need horrible shit happening all the time to prod the character along. If I'm reading into other people's comments I don't intend to I'm just really bad for going off on messy tangents in attempts to get my point across. Also still super early in the story give ot chance to grow. I really enjoyed the power system in 1% life steal it was weird and fun but the story's all seem to go so dark I can't enjoy it there aren't enough chill moments and I don't think there ever will be a point where the mc is allowed to get to a good spot. That's just not for me not anymore I think. My messy point is write what you want how you want see if you enjoy it. Get views from comments sure but know they are all just different individuals personal preferences. You will get people falling off the story no matter what you do and new people will join once you've built up more content and they are more certain it's their kind of thing. I wouldn't bother replying to people's comments unless it's either something you want to engage with or a a direct question that you want to answer. Urgh I think if I continue this it will get messier so I'll stop. Like your stuff
deushadow
2025-01-28 03:47:27 +0000 UTCHe didn't take 17 years to reach the peak - it would have been only 12-14 years as he was stuck at the peak for several years - in his own words. Frankly, considering it has been 5 years on this world already, there is something wrong with the earlier mentioned pace. Because it would means he has to reach his former peak in less than a decade. Lets see if that really happens. As *dozens* of readers have pointed out - it doesn't make any sense.
lenkite
2025-01-27 08:21:21 +0000 UTCThe stuff about XP is explained in Chapter 42 :) Thank you
Subhojit Chakraborty
2025-01-27 06:13:07 +0000 UTCMy only guess is you can spend partial xp so his str isn't 22 but 22.3683 or something. Would be nice to have an actual formula, or at least I hope the author has one, doesn't necessarily need to be in the story.
ShadeByTheSea
2025-01-26 20:17:26 +0000 UTCI also feel like the story's been a bit rushed with the way the timeskips were done
Thaabit Rivertree
2025-01-26 19:03:20 +0000 UTC>Remaining experience points - 2719 > He distributed his experience points equally among all his attributes > Unused Experience Points: 0 > Earlier 713 XP was assigned to 3 attributes and also left 0 unused XP. Makes little mathematical sense. I suggest not using XP points as a metric - only confuses the matter if you don't explain how they randomly map to attributes after he assigns them and always magically leaves 0 unused points behind.
lenkite
2025-01-26 16:26:27 +0000 UTCI think the problem I have, now after reading your thoughts, is that this story steps into the same trap as so many others: The uniqueness of the MC gets thrown away, or at least it seems like that. It's more a "group party" with a leader figure than a unique and strong MC. The earlier story and premise told us a story of a strong cultivator, who was fond of others but also strong himself. And no one else was as strong. That's why he was lonely. And now it's more a slice of life kind lf story with teenage drama, a flat background story and a "gotta catch them all" mindset to befriend as many little kids as possible. Even the invitation for this secret zone was so obviously willed by the author (sense of being, you, xD), that it's yet another thing that doesn't flow as well. The narrative is not smooth anymore. The reading flow is just very steady and there is no excitement. No push for power. Just inner Zen. If you would rewrite the introduction of the story and tag the story more for "slice of life" and slow burn, it would fit. Dunno, really. It's just not the same story as it was introduced in the beginning. Or it feels like that. I am also not a biiiiig fan of group stories. I like a MC I can follow and focus on, and most stories can't flesh out other characters well enough to focus more on them at the same time. The more characters you introduce, the more in depth they must have. Otherwise it's instantly subtracting from the overall quality of the novel, too . So many thoughts ^^
EsZeus
2025-01-26 16:14:20 +0000 UTCI just want to point out that some people feel like the story is progressing fine and there's no need for a teenager to face live and death struggles right and left, or to skip through the actual process of gaining skills. I can see some people thinking because he only took 17 years to reach near peak last time he should be further along. Those people forget he only got access to mana recently and os blazing through skills.
ShadeByTheSea
2025-01-26 16:13:59 +0000 UTCI get what you’re saying as I kind of feel the same. The chapters are probably a little short too as they seem to end before you can really get into the depths. In the beginning I honestly thought the progression would be a bit faster to a certain point. There is of course a need for character development, but I feel like his life was almost too peachy and the character a bit hollow. Too little struggle and rarely any higher stakes. Within 12 years he should be a lot stronger than his former self with an incredible bloodline to boot and the other advantages. He will be a „big fish“, but we weren’t even introduced to the wider world yet. Personally I believe he needs to face more of this worlds problems with real consequences to show his maturity and get some responsibility from his father. Their relationship is weird as the guy was already quite fond of his son years ago and this relationship hasn’t developed any further, despite him being literally a genius like no one has ever seen. Furthermore, hasn’t even interacted with the person that apparently hates him most, despite him being more talented, smarter and better suited for politics than her own children. Instead he has befriended more kids that literally can’t play a major role in the future as he will very soon go on adventures they will never be ready for. Many of the kids don’t have truly solidified characters that make them stand out or make them interesting (except maybe Rowan). I think the author will learn and grow with the story, but I think something needs to change a bit for people to stay interested for months or years. I wasn’t sure if I should even send this „little review“ as it seems quite harsh and I obviously skipped the parts I do enjoy. Still I think a honest if not particularly positive review here might be better compared to a review on RR. There is a lot of potential with the premise, the author probably just needs a little more experience that comes with time.
Philreads2
2025-01-26 16:02:50 +0000 UTCI'm sorry you feel that way. An exciting chapter coming in a few hours. Thank you for being patient.
Subhojit Chakraborty
2025-01-26 15:27:21 +0000 UTCWhat I think is kinda sad, is the lack of... Real purpose? Currently is more a cuddle teen novel with lot's of friendship and raindbows :) And at the same time I miss, kinda, real progress in the story. Maybe I am just not patient enough. Really not sure. Just not how I experienced the story at the beginning and how it is now. It's more boring currently, at least for me. Not even that interested in reading new chapters, when I get the notification on my phone. That's the thing that is making me thoughtful then. Cheers
EsZeus
2025-01-26 13:44:36 +0000 UTC
