"Are all mana cloud cultivators that strong?"

This caused Malthael to start laughing at the irony.

"You boy, are the strong one! That was an elite tier mana pool construct." Malthael said.

After calming down he continued: "You'll be staying here till you've had enough training. To have a foothold in this world you need power. My name and Influence only go so far."

Eldrid had a questioning gaze at his last statement, as he claimed to be the ruler of the entire realm.

"My t.i.tle as ruler of the cosmo? While I was given the t.i.tle, it's honestly just a joke! It's more like Janitor of the realms, however at least they are keeping their promise to stop my enemy from ascending."

Eldrid was about to ask what this was all about but decided against it.

"Let's get you properly trained."

During the next month Eldrid trained nonstop. For an entire month, Malthael had him training 24-7 as he used his power to make 10 hours worth of sleep pa.s.s in a mere instant, and heal muscles to make him keep going.

The training regime was gruesome, even training maniacs back on earth would shrink back in fear at it, some ascendant realm cultivators would shrink back in fear(1).

During this time Eldrid let his hair grow a little bit longer, as it made him look like a bada.s.s.

"Tell Adrian to come see me when he gets the chance."

"Of course, here's a spatial ring with food and supplies, and a token that may help you on your way. Good luck on your journey boy."

"Thanks, I'll be seeing you in the Ascended realm!"

This caused a bout of hearty laughter to erupt from Malthael as he sent Eldrid off to the frontier.

Eldrid found himself in the forest, however he was on the outskirts and was able to see a town ahead. However (from the outside) the town looked more like a fortress, as it had 50 foot walls.

Eldrid walked across the road, which didn't have a single traveler on it other than Eldrid. As Eldrid was about to enter the city he was stopped by two guards.

"Entry will cost you 5 copper."

Eldrid took out the token Malthael gave him, and the guards suddenly knelt down.

"Forgive this lowly one for not recognizing a friend of the realm lord."

A startled Eldrid replied: "Get up, I have no desire to see people lower themselves before me."

The guards breathed sighs of relief, as some n.o.bles were petty and got revenge for even the slightest grievances.

Eldrid walked into town and looked for a place to earn some money, as he remembered from boy scouts (2) that it's best to be prepared.

He found the adventurers guild and entered.

"Welcome to the adventurers guild! How may I help you?" A chipper young receptionist asked.

"I'd like to inquire about some information about the guild to see if I want to join."

"Ask away!"

"Are there any other guilds?"

She replied giving him the information that there is only the adventurers guild, but there are 5 factions in it:

The Beast Spirit Faction

The Mage spirit Faction

The Body spirit Faction

The Weapon Faction

The Hybrid Faction

"Any more info on the factions?"

"The four single spirit factions had almost equal amounts of people, while the hybrid faction only had a mere fraction in comparison. However the Hybrid faction is considered the strongest due to their quality being much higher than the quant.i.ty."

"How are resources spread? Especially to how the hybrid faction distributes theirs."

"Each faction receives an equal amount of resources, and since the Hybrid faction has the fewest members they are able to groom all of their faction members much better, regardless of talent."

"What are a factions restrictions?"

"It varies, however the less freedom you have the more benefits you get."

"What If I want total freedom, or want to help for a few years then have total freedom afterwards?"

"You can have total freedom, but you will only receive basic rewards."

"What about missions?"

"The entire point of the guild is to take missions and earn rewards, joining a faction is only an option for the ambitious."

"How far does the guild's reach spread?"

"Across the entire cosmo."

"Now I'm curious why hasn't the guild taken over?"

"There are only 2 things keeping the guild from taking over the cosmo: Malthael and factional strife."

"What if I want to take over a faction?"

To this the girl laughed hysterically.

"Please, there are rules to prevent uprisings in the factions. To be honest a free spirited youth like you has no place in the factions. Only those that are tired of Adventuring, and power hungry join factions."

"Thanks! Now how do I register with the guild!"

"Drop your blood on this token, and swear on your spirit that you aren't a criminal."

Eldrid did so, and felt a connection to the token, which basically told the guild if he was alive or not.

'Now lets pick a task!'

[Mission: Take a quest]

[Rewards: Depend upon the difficulty of the quest taken.]

Eldrid noticed a quest on the board that caught his eye and made his blood boil in excitement.