Chapter 1959: A New Cultivation Method
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Elayne continued reading through the Talents she had obtained, marveling at their remarkable and profound effects.
[Spirit Master (SSS)]
You command unparalleled affinity with all spiritual entities. Spirit summons answer your call with absolute loyalty and enhanced power. You can form contracts instantly, evolve spirits into higher forms, and fuse them with your own body or creations. Spirit Magic potency increases by 300%, and you may absorb ambient spirit energy to fuel any ability. Elemental and nature spirits treat you as their sovereign, obeying even complex commands without cost.
[Artist (A)]
Your creative soul resonates with the very act of creation. All artistic endeavors—painting, sculpting, music, and more—receive a 200% boost in quality, speed, and magical potency. Anything you create can temporarily or permanently gain spiritual or magical properties. You may infuse artworks with spirits, dreams, or divine energy, turning them into living creations, weapons, or domains. EXP is gained through artistic expression, and your creations can influence the emotions and minds of those who witness them, temporarily or permanently raising their stats and abilities.
[Dreaming Soul (B)]
Your soul is deeply attuned to the Plane of Dreams. You can perceive hidden truths, future possibilities, and lingering memories within the dream realm. Dream-related skills grow 100% faster, and you suffer no penalties from sleep deprivation or mental fatigue. Once per day, you may enter a brief "Lucid Dream State" where time perception slows dramatically, allowing perfect planning or swift recovery. Prolonged exposure to dreams strengthens this Talent over time.
"So that’s what they do..."
Elayne let out a soft, satisfied hum as she finished reading every description. A warm glow spread through her chest. Each Talent felt like another piece of her existence clicking into place, making her feel more real—more complete—than ever before.
"No wonder I felt so much stronger every time one appeared," she murmured. "These are basically permanent blessings upon my very soul." She flexed her fingers, watching faint golden and rainbow sparks dance around them. "With the Sword Goddess and Spirit Master alone, I already feel like I could carve through an entire army. And now with Spirit Painter on top of everything..."
She glanced at the paintbrush Dream Weapon floating beside her. It seemed to respond to her new Artist Talent and Spirit Painter Skills, pulsing with subtle energy. What had once looked like an ordinary paintbrush no longer seemed ordinary at all.
"Perhaps this is what it needed to activate its true power?" Elayne wondered. "It was absorbing so much Dream Essence while I hunted the monsters here..."
"See, Master? It is as I said!" Erebus Junior chimed in. "Weak Dream Weapons usually possess the greatest potential, though they must evolve first. However, your Heart is still Tier 1! You haven’t absorbed any more stones, Master? You’ve slain so many foes and yet you haven’t done the most basic thing!"
"I haven’t?" Elayne blinked. "Uh, okay, so I just absorb them directly?"
"Here." Erebus Junior generated a scroll of purple paper from his body. "This is the Cultivation Method I’ve created for you. Learn it, and it will facilitate the balanced circulation of Dream and Nightmare Essence across your Spirit Body, Spirit Soul, Spirit Core, and all the way to your Dual Dream Nightmare Heart."
Elayne examined the method and immediately understood its principles. Cultivation Methods were still a relatively new concept to her. From what she had gathered, they carried a certain "legacy" within them. Once learned, this knowledge functioned as a special ability or skill that enabled far easier growth for a Cultivator.
Cultivators were those who absorbed the essence of heaven and earth—and all other energies—to grow stronger and defy the limits of their lifespan. Elayne had mostly encountered the idea through Daoist stories from Earth, but it clearly applied across this world to anyone seeking to surpass human boundaries.
Even the Magus of the Clock Tower could be seen as Mana Cultivators who specialized in Magic Circuit creation, expansion, and refinement. She also knew that in Arcadia, before the System’s arrival, people had grown stronger through their own Cultivation Methods.
Naturally, as a fully magical world unlike Earth, Arcadia possessed hundreds of thousands—or perhaps millions—of years of accumulated knowledge. Their Cultivation Methods were simply superior. Elayne could tell at once that Magic Circle Creation far surpassed the Magic Circuit techniques used by Earth’s Magus.
At the same time, she could see how beautifully the two systems might complement each other, much like what her daughter and her friends had been doing. The girls had kept their Magic Circles and were now learning to merge them with the Magic Circuits from the Clock Tower, alongside all the new Spells they had acquired.
Beyond Magic Circles, Arcadia also practiced Physique Cultivation and Aura Cultivation, often combined into "Knight Cultivation Methods" among its warriors. Elayne had not yet learned much about those paths.
She knew they included Body Refinement Methods inspired by Buddhist approaches to endurance and impervious physiques, along with meditation techniques for expanding the mind and more.
Onmyōji, meanwhile, represented an advanced fusion of various disciplines. They cultivated spiritual energies and lifeforce while weaving intricate spells, allowing them to tame spirits and yokai or create powerful formations in mere seconds.
The Cultivation Method in her hands, however, was something entirely unique—something no mortal could have devised. It had been created by a fragment of a great being from the Nightmare Plane itself.
"Dual Dream Nightmare Heart Essence Circulation Method..." Elayne murmured as she began reading it in full. "I see... Um, so Cultivation Methods are essentially detailed instructions on how to control specific energies, combining them with materials or changes to our own bodies to create a special ’rhythm’ within ourselves. One that resonates naturally with the energies we cultivate. Techniques."
"It’s more than just techniques, but you’re correct," said Erebus Junior. Elayne felt Erebus Junior’s pride radiating through their link, like a smug little puffball of shadows congratulating itself for being right. She rolled her eyes fondly and continued reading.
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