Chapter 69: A Thousand-Year Talent

Just then, another notification appeared before Arthur’s eyes.

?Riki Cultivation Advancement Detected?

?Congratulations, Player. Due to your increased Riki cultivation realm, you have unlocked access to Riki Telekinesis Arts.?

Arthur’s eyes widened.

"...So I can finally use my telekinesis skill now?"

His excitement immediately returned.

He looked at his hands, then clenched them.

Arthur couldn’t help but grin.

Before he could think about it any further, another notification appeared.

?Advancement Detected?

A look of shock appeared on Arthur’s face momentarily.

?Congratulations, Player. You have fulfilled the necessary conditions to establish a Riki commander network.?

?Fleet Management Interface Unlocked!?

Arthur froze.

A familiar-looking holographic interface appeared before him.

His eyes widened slightly as he stared at it.

"...Wait."

He knew this.

Arthur’s gaze moved across the interface.

?Fleet Overview?

?Fleet Personnel?

?Fleet Assets?

?Fleet Operations?

?Fleet Communications?

Arthur’s eyes slowly widened.

The layout.

The various tabs.

The fleet overview.

The command functions.

It was almost identical to the fleet management screen from the game.

Back when the game had still been nothing more than a PC game, this was where players could manage their fleets.

They could view their ships, organize their forces, assign commanders, send fleets on missions, manage their resources, and issue orders from a single interface.

Arthur stared at it with growing excitement.

So this is the Fleet Management Interface.

He had spent countless hours staring at something almost identical on a computer screen in his previous life.

But now...

It was actually in front of him.

Arthur’s eyes moved across the various command options.

He could already imagine everything he could potentially do with this.

Send his fleet on missions.

Assign objectives.

Move ships between locations.

Manage personnel.

Monitor operations.

It was essentially a command center condensed into a single interface.

But then another thought crossed his mind.

His expression became slightly more curious.

"...I wonder how automated it is."

In the game, the fleet could execute most orders automatically.

He could select a mission, assign a fleet, choose the objective, and let the system handle the rest.

But this wasn’t a game anymore.

The people operating those ships were real.

Would they simply receive the orders through the system?

Would Octoria receive them directly?

Or would Arthur actually have to communicate with his fleet personally?

Maybe he could issue an order through the interface and the personnel would receive it as a voice command.

Arthur’s curiosity grew.

He wanted to open the interface and find out exactly how it worked.

But before he could touch anything, another notification appeared.

?System Advancement Detected?

Arthur paused.

The Fleet Management Interface remained open in front of him.

Yet another notification appeared.

?Congratulations, Player. Due to your increased cultivation realm, your system-bound items have advanced.?

Arthur’s eyes widened.

"...My items advanced?"

Before he could investigate, another notification appeared.

?Genesis Level Increased?

?Genesis has reached Level 2.?

Arthur’s eyes immediately shifted toward Genesis.

Her small figure hovered beside him.

Then another notification appeared.

?Genesis Skill Unlocked?

?New Skill: Path of Ruin?

...Path of Ruin?

He stared at the notification.

That name sounded...

ominous.

Before he could ask Genesis about it, another notification appeared.

?Eclipsion Level Increased?

?Eclipsion has reached Level 2.?

The mechanical eye appeared beside Arthur, its star-shaped frame rotating slowly.

Then another notification appeared.

?Eclipsion Skill Unlocked?

?New Skill: Tactical Air Strike?

Arthur stared at the final notification.

...Tactical Air Strike?

His curiosity about the Fleet Management Interface was temporarily forgotten.

Arthur looked between Genesis and Eclipsion.

One had gained a skill called Path of Ruin.

The other had gained Tactical Air Strike.

For some reason, he wasn’t sure which one he should be more concerned about.

Mr. Veyron finally finished guiding Alexis and Rexi through their first attempts at controlling Riki.

He withdrew his hand from Alexis’s temple and slowly straightened.

"Good. Both of you keep practicing the circulation method I showed you. Don’t force the energy. Let it move naturally."

"Yes, sir," Alexis replied.

Rexi nodded.

"Understood."

Veyron turned around, intending to check on Arthur.

"Arthur, you..."

He stopped.

His artificial eyes suddenly widened.

"...What?"

Arthur was sitting quietly on the floor several meters away, his legs crossed and his eyes closed.

At first, Veyron thought he was simply meditating.

Then he felt it.

The Riki surrounding Arthur was no longer the same.

It had become denser.

And there was something else.

A small, incredibly stable concentration of Riki had formed within Arthur’s mind.

Veyron’s expression changed instantly.

His eyes widened.

His mouth opened slightly.

"Wait..."

He took a step forward.

Then another.

His artificial eyes immediately began scanning Arthur’s body.

"No..."

He stopped directly in front of Arthur.

Arthur slowly opened his eyes.

"Sir?"

Veyron stared at him.

Then his expression became one of complete disbelief.

"YOU BROKE THROUGH?!"

Arthur stared awkwardly.

"Yes, sir."

"YOU’RE ALREADY IN THE SECOND REALM?!"

His voice echoed throughout the training hall.

Rexi and Alexis both turned toward them in shock.

"You can’t be serious," Rexi said in shock.

Arthur nodded calmly.

"Yes."

Veyron stared at him as if he had just witnessed something completely absurd.

"HOW?!"

Arthur tilted his head.

"I just cultivated."

"JUST CULTIVATED?!"

Veyron pointed at him incredulously.

"You awakened to Riki a few minutes ago!"

"I know."

"YOU WEREN’T EVEN SUPPOSED TO HAVE A CORE YET!"

Arthur glanced inward.

"But I do."

Veyron’s artificial eyes flickered rapidly.

He stepped closer and inspected Arthur again, almost as though he expected to find out that he had made a mistake.

Nothing changed.

The Riki core was real.

The Second Realm was real.

Veyron slowly stepped back.

"...This..."

He ran one mechanical hand through his hair.

"How the hell did you do it?"

Arthur shrugged, a smug expression on his face.

"I don’t know."

Veyron stared at him.

Then suddenly grabbed Arthur’s shoulder.

"Your cultivation potential."

Arthur blinked.

"My what?"

"Your cultivation potential!" Veyron demanded. "What is it?!"

Arthur hesitated for a moment. The instructor was being rather forceful.

"Transcendent."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Veyron froze.

Rexi froze.

Alexis froze.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

"...What?"

"Transcendent."

Veyron’s eyes widened again.

"TRANS-CENDENT?!"

Arthur nodded.

"Yes, sir."

Veyron stared at him.

Then he suddenly burst out laughing.

Not because it was funny.

Because he genuinely couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

"HA! No."

He shook his head.

"No, no, no. That’s not possible."

Arthur remained completely calm.

"I’m telling the truth."

"You’re telling me you have Transcendent cultivation potential?"

"Yes."

"THE SAME TRANSCENDENT POTENTIAL THAT HASN’T BEEN SEEN FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS?!"

Arthur nodded again.

"Yes."

Veyron stared at him for several seconds.

Then he pointed directly at Arthur.

"You’re lying to a superior officer?"

Arthur’s eyebrows rose, a smug smile appearing on his face.

"And why would I?"

"YOU HAVE TO BE!"

Veyron’s voice rose again.

"Do you have any idea how absurd that claim is?! Transcendent potential isn’t something you casually announce after breaking through to the Second Realm in the middle of your first lesson!"

Arthur looked at him.

"But I do have transcendent potential."

Veyron’s expression twitched.

He looked at Arthur.

Then at the Riki flowing through him.

Then back at Arthur.

His artificial eyes flickered rapidly as though he was desperately trying to find some explanation that made sense.

"...No."

He shook his head.

"Absolutely not."

He crouched down again and placed his palm against Arthur’s chest.

The mechanical components in his arm hummed softly as he examined Arthur’s Riki. Wanting to verify his claim, unlike normal people who required necessary equipment, a Riki cultivator can simply feel around the quality of the core of another Riki cultivator to tell their potential.

His expression became increasingly bewildered.

The core was very pure.

The energy was stable.

The breakthrough was genuine.

There was no mistake.

Veyron slowly removed his hand.

"...You’re actually telling the truth."

Arthur gave him a small nod.

"I did say I was."

Veyron stared at him.

His usual calm expression was completely gone.

For perhaps the first time since Arthur had met him, the instructor looked genuinely shaken.

"Transcendent potential..."

He placed his hand totally under his chin, seeming to gaze at the floor in bewilderment.

Then his eyes snapped back toward Arthur.

"And you reached the Second Realm in minutes..."

A smile appeared on his face.

"I’m impressed, and I mean very impressed."

For several seconds, neither Alexis nor Rexi said anything.

They simply stared at Arthur.

Then Rexi’s expression suddenly changed.

"Wait."

He looked at Veyron.

Then at Arthur.

Then back at Veyron.

"Hold on. You’re serious?"

Veyron didn’t answer.

Rexi’s eyes widened.

"You’re actually serious?!"

He immediately rushed over to Arthur and crouched down in front of him.

"You’re telling me you just awakened to Riki, happen to possess Transcendent potential, sat down for a couple of minutes, and somehow jumped to the Second Realm."

Arthur looked at him.

"That’s what happened."

Rexi stared at him in disbelief.

"That’s not normal!"

Arthur’s lips curled upward.

"I never said it was."

Rexi’s expression twitched.

"Oh, you’re enjoying this."

Arthur’s smile widened.

"Maybe a little."

"You’re unbelievable."

Rexi stood up and ran both hands through his hair.

"We spent all that time struggling just to feel the damn energy, and this guy sits down for five minutes and comes back with a Riki core!"

Alexis stepped closer, his eyes still fixed on Arthur.

"Wait. How did you even manage to stabilize it that quickly?"

Arthur shrugged.

"It wasn’t particularly difficult."

Alexis stared at him in disbelief.

"Not particularly..."

He slowly shook his head.

"Right."

Rexi pointed at Arthur.

"Don’t listen to him. He’s trying to act humble."

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Am I?"

"YES!"

Rexi threw his hands up.

"You’ve been smiling this entire time!"

Arthur paused.

"...Have I?"

"You absolutely have!"

Arthur’s grin only grew wider.

"Maybe I’m just happy."

Rexi groaned.

"Nah, he’s being smug about it."

Alexis actually laughed.

"He really is."