“‘Ascendant’ is the word for those who have reached the top of the Tower,” says Ganyu.
He waves his hand, and yet another simplistic diagram appears, though at least this time, it’s possible to tell what it’s supposed to be. On top of a simple rectangle stands a stick figure with a smiley face and a big, crudely-drawn star above its head.
“That means beyond the 128th Floor. They are among the strongest beings in the Tower, rivaling even the Floor Lords, which I will cover in more detail later on. As you heard when you entered, those who reach the top will find what they seek, or in other words, whatever it is that you desire or wish for, you will receive it at the top. However, in addition to this wish, you also receive other rewards. Reaching the top of the Tower indicates that you have transcended mortality, which the Tower rewards with immortality.”
There are multiple gasps, and a few people start whispering excitedly. I frown and raise my hand.
“Yes, Bella?” asks Ganyu.
“What do you mean by ‘immortality’?”
“Your body will be returned to its prime, and you will no longer age.”
“But you can still be killed?”
“Technically possible, but highly unlikely.”
“Thank you.”
That’s a relief. It would be awful if I wished for my next death to be my last, only for my next death to never come.
“There actually have been Ascendants who have died,” he continues. “Two known, and there are a few dozen Ascendants who have not been seen in many years and are rumored to be dead. Most notable of these are the Sword Emperor and the Ice Queen. They were rivals in climbing the Tower, reaching the top simultaneously. After their Ascendance, they challenged each other to a duel to the death in the far reaches of the 128th Floor. A wide swath of land was completely destroyed by their battle, and neither were ever seen again. However, since their bodies were never found, there are still many who believe they are still alive.
“In fact, one of the most famous books in the Tower, The Beauty and the Blade suggests that their entire rivalry was a ruse to hide their romance, and that their duel was the final step that allowed them to disappear from the world, living a quiet life together forever after. This story has absolutely no grounding in reality, but the book has been well-known for thousands of years, and you will find many who are unaware that it is but a reimagining of the truth.
“We’ve gotten a bit off-track though. As I was saying before, Ascendants are transcendent beings, and after reaching the top, many went on to become important figures in the Tower. We will go over them in greater detail in a future lecture, but for now, I will just give you a general overview.”
He waves his hand and the screen changes again. It now shows 9 poorly-drawn houses, 7 poorly drawn trees, 3 stick figures with angry faces, and one stick figure with a question mark on its face.
“There are currently 20 active Ascendants in the Tower,” he explains. “Nine of them serve as the heads of sects, represented by these houses. You may hear of them referred to as ‘The Great Sects’. Seven have amassed large families over the years, and they are known as ‘The Eternal Clans’. Organa, who you’ve already met, is a member of one, the Hatep family, which was founded by the first celestial to reach the top of the Tower, known creatively as ‘The Celestial Mother.'”
His sarcasm surprises me. It’s not quite at the level of open disdain, but it’s fairly clear that Ganyu lacks respect for this figure who he just explained was one of the most powerful people in the entire Tower.
“The Celestial Mother has since retired, leaving her great granddaughter, who is also an Ascendant. She inherited her grandmother’s naming sense, and calls herself ‘The Celestial Maiden.’
“Anyway, aside from the sects and families, there are also the three Supremes,” he says, pointing to the three angry stick figures. “They all have a bit of a following, and at least a few people working under them, but they have no interest in running large organizations. Instead, they seek absolute mastery of their chosen specialties. Many would argue that they have already achieved it, but they are all perfectionists to a fault, sometimes spending thousands of years in meditation, attempting to comprehend concepts beyond most of our imagination. They are generally considered the strongest in the Tower, as even after reaching the top, they never stopped progressing.
“Finally, there is the Wanderer.” He points to the final stick figure with the question mark on its face. “An enigmatic figure that no one knows much about. Their Climb was uncharacteristically unnoteworthy, and almost no records of their life before becoming an Ascendant exist. No one knows what they look like, but they are nevertheless an important figure in the Tower. They wander the Floors in disguise, sometimes granting boons to those they meet and like, and meting out punishment to those who slight them.
“It is rumored that they struck a deal with the Tower itself in order to travel more freely and avoid some of the typical restrictions imposed on powerful people visiting lower Floors. I have no idea if those rumors are true, but it is still good practice to be polite and kind to mysterious strangers. You never know if you might be talking to the Wanderer.”If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
For only a split second, his eyes make contact with mine, and in that split second, I catch just the barest hint of suspicion. Does he think that I’m the Wanderer? I guess it’s not the most unreasonable guess. I have no idea why the Wanderer might be pretending to be a new Climber, and even less why they would be doing such a bad job of hiding their abnormality. They must be mysterious indeed for Ganyu to be considering that a real possibility.
That aside, I can begin to see why Organa’s offer would be attractive. A faction important enough to be mentioned in the introductory lecture for new Climbers must be quite powerful. Without more details, I have no idea if they are really “the best among the major factions” but after hearing Ganyu’s commentary, I believe I have a good place to start with my information gathering. There’s no better place to learn about the dark side of an organization than from their detractors, of which Ganyu seems to be one. It might not be entirely accurate, but combined with the more positive sentiments I’ll probably hear from others, it will give me a good picture of the Hatep family as a whole.
From there, Ganyu moves on to an explanation of the different sentient species within the Tower. The angel-like people like Organa are called Celestials, though Ganyu makes sure that we know that this name was chosen by the Celestial Mother herself, and is not indicative of any superior status. Ganyu himself is a Krovak, which he makes clear is entirely different from a Demon. It takes five full minutes for him to finish going over the differences, and while he tries to maintain some level of professionalism, he lets the occasional profanity slip through.
The elves with the really long ears are just called “elves”, and we are not under any circumstances to refer to them as “knife-ears” or anything like that. Similarly, the four-armed dwarves are just called “dwarves” and it is important that when interacting with them to never touch their lower set of arms. He doesn’t go into depth on the matter, but apparently for cultural reasons, touching the lower set of arms is usually only done by those in more intimate relationships.
He covers a few other species as well, but almost all of his information and advice falls under the general category of “how not to offend.” It seems he’s trying to load us up with enough information that when he releases us to go explore the campus, we don’t end up in a duel to the death over an accidental slight.
“Most people will be generally understanding that you are new to the Tower, and minor slip-ups won’t be punished, as long as they’re accidental,” he says. “But there are still some who will not, and if you make a mistake and get into trouble due to forgetting what you’ve learned here, you will be responsible for cleaning up your own mess.”
That ending part seems a bit hypocritical, considering he killed a man for calling him a demon earlier, but no one calls him out on it. I’m not sure if most of them notice. And any who do have the thought wiped from their mind when he moves on to his next topic: oum. This was the one that everyone was the most excited for. After all, who doesn’t want superpowers?
He starts with the basics, which are identical to what I already know. Oum is all around, it tends to concentrate near living things, you can gather it in your body, etc… It’s basic stuff, but to everyone else in the room, it’s like a holy textbook, and every single person in the room is hanging on to every word he says. He briefly goes over the process of forming a ki center– or “oum core,” as he calls it– before finally getting to the information I was looking forward to hearing.
“There are between 9 and 11 different levels when it comes to oum cultivation, depending on how you count them,” he explains. “You may find different names for them, but the most standard way to discuss cultivation levels is with stars. For example, 1 star, 2 star, 3 star, and so on. The standard 9 that everyone agrees on are 1 star through 9 star. There is also 0 star, which some argue shouldn’t be considered a cultivation level, because being 0 star means you do not cultivate oum, and there is 10 star, which no one can agree on a definition for. Some call it ‘transcendence’ while others call it ‘godhood’, and both of those schools of thought believe it shouldn’t be included in ordinary cultivation realms because it goes a step beyond.
“Right now, you all are 0-star cultivators, since you have never cultivated, and you have no oum core. Well, almost all of you are.” Multiple people look at me. “Once you form your oum cores, you will immediately advance to 1 star. You will likely not progress beyond 1 star before you leave this Floor. Very few do. Usually though, it’s only those from established families or sects who can manage it, and that is largely due to raw resources, not talent. They all start the same level as you, since those with oum cores cannot be chosen by the Tower, but many of them have had years of training prior to entering, and enough resources to give them a significant boost after entering.
“Luckily for you though, the Floor Lord has recognized this disadvantage, and has granted you an opportunity to make up for it.” He reaches under the podium and pulls out a crate, which he sets down next to him. “In here are purification pills and cultivation pills. They are a resource designed to cleanse you and increase the amount of internal oum you have to advance your cultivation. They will do nothing for your martial skill, but they will help lessen the gap when it comes to oum. There is one for each of you, and you will be allowed to come claim it as soon as you have formed your oum core.
“Now, after hearing all of that, I’m sure you all are eager to get started working.” Many people nod enthusiastically. “That is an excellent attitude to have, and fortunately for you, the practical portion of the lesson will begin shortly. For now though, we will be taking a fifteen minute break. I would advise moving around to stretch your legs, and going to the bathroom, since the practical portion will include a lot of sitting still. Now, go, but don’t be away for too long.”
Immediately, the room explodes in excited chatter. Most of the people in it get up and start walking around. Vanessa and Jacob both turn to me with big smiles on their faces, but I’m still lost in my own thoughts.
Unfortunately, Ganyu didn’t go into much detail about what separated each of the star levels. If I had to guess, the point where a 1 star cultivator becomes a 2 star cultivator is probably the same as the point where one would advance from a 1st rate to a peak level martial artist back on Earth. That is the point where the first major qualitative change occurs, at least.
It’s still mind-boggling to think about though. A 1st rate martial artist would have been among the upper echelons back on the old Earth. Not enough to do anything particularly noteworthy, but it would have been enough to at least make a name for yourself locally. Here though, that’s still within the absolute lowest realm. Peak being considered only 2 star probably means that what I once knew as the Transcendent and Unrestrained realms are in the same bracket, and the Life and Death realm, which I thought was the upper limit, is merely the beginning of 3 star.
“Bella,” calls Ganyu’s voice, breaking my train of thought.
The room quiets slightly as he calls my name.
“I’d like to have a word with you. Could you come down to the front of the classroom?”