== BARRIER TIME ELAPSED: 8,378,880 DAYS... ==
Back on Earth, I usually wondered why authors would utilize time skips, and now I finally understood.
To the outside world, close to 1,091 years had passed. For me? Inside this accelerated spacetime in the cultivation dome I made...?
"10,910 years..." I muttered as I sat down on the cold ground of the now empty abode I was in.
After years of shaping my surroundings to not go insane from boredom when cultivating, I decided a plain and simple look sufficed. The physical enclosure was straightened out and polished, not only because I actually did so but because of the waves of power that radiated from me when I ranked up my cores.
Yes, cores... as in plural.
The once-elaborate crystalline chamber had been streamlined, refined to absolute minimalism. The walls were now perfectly smooth, polished to a mirror sheen that reflected light in ways that defied conventional optics. The floor beneath me was a single unbroken surface, its material neither stone nor metal nor crystal, but something else entirely—a substance created through my manipulation of matter at its most fundamental level.
Gone were the intricate formations of randomized studies, experiments and trial and error that had once decorated the space, the pools of primordial energy, the shifting chambers that adapted to my needs. They had served their purpose and were no longer necessary. What remained was essence—pure, uncluttered space, a blank canvas that would not interfere with what was to come.
Even the air had changed, becoming so perfectly calibrated to my existence that it seemed to disappear entirely—present enough to sustain me but imperceptible, offering no resistance, creating no distraction. The ambient temperature matched my body's exactly, eliminating even that subtle reminder of separation between self and environment.
It was a crazy couple of thousand years ago when I thought to myself... since I have a crazy amount of energy, which I came to realize increased in quantity exponentially and not linearly in the case of primordial mana, why not have sub-cores that are fed from my main reactor core but serve as dedicated control and distribution points for important processes within my body?
And thus, the experimentation began.
After trial and error, I identified the six main regions in my body that would be best suited to have their own and synchronized cores: my brain, my two lungs, my heart, and my two kidneys.
My brain because it'd help in thoughts and speed processing, which unlocked quite the uncanny ability of enhanced perception. In that mode, at the cost of increased energy consumption, I could exponentially increase my thought process, causing everything around me to slow down. Even moving my body felt like a drag once I tried this out.
The problem was the headache that hit me afterward and the literal steam coming out of my ears from my brain overheating. Sure, it did not burst with the infusion of such large amounts of my primordial mana and was able to handle the strain, but it still hurt like hell.
I decided on two for my lungs to increase the absorption rate of energy from the outside world to improve the rank of my mana. I came to realize that my current setup, where Codex was a necessary requirement for me to cultivate and grow stronger, was a hidden limitation. As such, I developed the two cores to accept energy of any kind, from the lowest of mana (normal mana) type to the highest (primordial mana), and convert it for my consumption and distribution to all my cores as well as my main reactor core when it needed to rank up.
In my heart, I needed this core to act as the controller for four sub-cores: the lung ones and the kidney ones, while also ensuring the provision of energy for my physique.
My kidneys each needed their own to ensure my blood (that had now turned literally golden and not the normal mortal blood) was always rich in energy as it coursed through every single part of my body, from my bones to organs to the inner pathways of veins and arteries as well as the nervous system.
In short, I had seven cores dedicated to their tasks and always in constant sync with each other as well as the main reactor core at my solar plexus region.
"Ten fucking thousand years, and I've finally gotten all my cores, main one included, to the EX rank standard," I said as I observed the clean surface sheen of the cultivation dome.
Being at the EX rank standard for normal mortals inside this mortal realm was one of the beings at the pinnacle of power, if we ignored the balance-breaking demigods.
For me, however, it was not even remotely close. I only say such a standard since I myself couldn't even bother creating my own ranking system—it was too bothersome. The only similarity I'd have was the rate of mana flow with a normal EX rank, which would then depict me as such. But in actual quantity and quality, I could withstand a few strikes from an actual god, let alone a tier 9 immortal couldn't even kill me. And this was when I was just standing there straight without doing anything.
Aside from no change to the formations supporting my protection as well as time flow, the cultivation dome was simply blank in preparation for my next step.
"My lord, I'm assuming your evolution stops here?" Codex asked inside my head, speaking directly to my thoughts.
"Yep, I've got the power... now I need to focus on the skills and techniques... where I'd be relying on you very, very much, Codex..." I said as I took a meditative pose from the straightened one I had.
I then delved into my mindscape, which had changed drastically.
The golden sky, dotted with clouds, was there... but now? They were both refined and more detailed. The sky itself was no longer merely golden but a living canvas of shifting light—sometimes deep amber like honey held to sunlight, sometimes pale as dawn gold, sometimes rich and burnished like ancient treasure. Within this celestial theater, auroras of pure knowledge danced and flowed, creating patterns that hinted at cosmic truths too vast to comprehend directly.
The clouds themselves had evolved from simple formations to intricate, multidimensional structures that defied conventional geometry. Each cloud was a universe unto itself, a repository of wisdom and experience that seemed to breathe and pulse with consciousness. I could see the contours of each cloud in perfect detail—swirling vortices of golden vapor that contained fractal patterns within patterns, each spiral housing the contents and knowledge of their respective variants of mine. Within each cloud, glimpses of other lives, other experiences, other knowledge flashed like lightning, precious data that would continue helping me for a very long time.
The small island I had back then, which was like a patch of land, had simply grown. At my current EX rank, it had expanded to be as large as Koladar, the ducal city I had awoken in. Unlike the barren representation it had once been, the island was now a paradise of my own creation, a reflection of my ideal environment shaped by both conscious design and subconscious desire.
Rolling hills of wavy grass covered the majority of the terrain, each blade a perfect shade of emerald that seemed to shimmer with inner light. The grass itself responded to my presence, bending slightly in patterns that radiated outward from where I walked, creating rippling waves like a sea of green.
The edges of the island were ringed with beaches of impossibly fine sand—not the coarse grains of ordinary shores but a substance as soft as powder yet somehow substantial enough to hold perfect footprints. The sand possessed a subtle iridescence, shifting between warm gold, pale ivory, and occasionally flashing with rainbow hues when caught in certain angles of light. The transition between grass and beach was a masterpiece of natural landscaping, with the verdant green gradually giving way to sand through a progression of smaller plants and ornamental grasses.
Palm trees of various species lined these beaches, their trunks curved in aesthetically perfect arcs, their fronds creating dappled shade that moved in hypnotic patterns with the gentle breeze that perpetually caressed the island. The trees themselves weren't merely decorative but produced fruits of every conceivable variety—some familiar from Earth, others unique to this mental realm, all perfect in flavor and nourishment.
At the center of this island paradise, rather than constructing a conventional structure, I had created an open-air living space that blended seamlessly with the natural environment. A collection of comfortable furniture—plush sofas and reclining chairs crafted from materials that seemed to adapt perfectly to whoever sat in them—formed a relaxed conversation area around a low table of polished wood that somehow maintained the living grain of the tree it came from.
Nearby stood a magnificent library desk of dark, rich wood, its surface inlaid with subtle patterns that hinted at cosmic maps and arcane symbols. The desk was positioned to catch perfect light at all times, with a high-backed chair of supple leather waiting before it. Behind and around this scholarly setup stood rows of elegantly designed cabinets, each one housing different pieces of knowledge from my variants, represented as books bound in materials that ranged from conventional leather to substances that seemed to shift and change as one looked at them, their titles inscribed in scripts both familiar and utterly alien.
The entire arrangement existed under the open sky, yet somehow remained perfectly protected from elements that never came—a perpetual sanctuary of comfort and knowledge, reflecting both my appreciation for natural beauty and my thirst for understanding.
And it was here now that I would delve into a new form of grind.
"Codex, from what I know and you've said, since I'm bound to you and you're a literal dictionary of existence, I'm allowed all-access to any info I need but limited to the value of my karma and causality, right?" I asked.
"That is indeed correct, my lord," Codex appeared before me inside my mindscape as the ever-multicolored ethereal cosmic being and nodded his head in confirmation.
"Great, then I need you to teach me two things: swordsmanship and the craft of being a magician. I don't want a combination but to learn them together to be a magic swordsman but separately," I instructed.
"May I ask why, my lord? With me and the knowledge and wisdom I possess, you can even be a jack of all trades to all possible professions in the multiverse... why these two?" Codex inquired, his form shifting slightly with curiosity, patterns of light within him rearranging to reflect his questioning state.
"Simple, being one ain't fun. Sure, I can, and I most definitely have the talent, considering I have my variants' experiences, and all of them had various professions, some even being monster-like, but one common thing is that despite having the talent for being a jack of all trades, they didn't opt for it and did what they thought was fun and interesting," I replied. "And for me, doing some cool sword moves in one fight and also beating the shit out of my enemies with unthinkable spells sounds amazing," I finished in absolute wonder drolling at the thought of such OP moments.
To that, Codex simply sighed in exasperation while shrugging in his humanoid form. The gesture was surprisingly human for a being of pure cosmic energy—one of the many small ways he'd adapted to interact with me over our millennia together.
"Well, alright, having the experience of other professions from your variants will at least allow you to know how to counter them..." Codex replied in resignation. "Then let's begin. Be prepared, my lord—even though you won't have actual experience, the simulations and teachings I will impart in you for a swordsman till the sword primordial level and a magician till a nova magician rank won't be easy. If anything, it will be instantaneous, and you only need to live through all of them as we now fine-tune your body to accomplish all of the skills and techniques you will have. Since your current body is such an optimal one for learning anything, at least we won't worry about you having no practice in order to have it get used to movements..." he finished and sat down on the ground of my island in my mindscape while gesturing me to follow.
I promptly followed excitedly, as this was now my favorite part, far from the boring and repetitive actions of cultivation, despite how insane of a powerhouse it turns you into.
Personally, in my opinion, a true powerhouse is usually measured by one thing.
And that's how great they can dominate the battlefield, no matter the odds.
== BARRIER TIME ELAPSED: 13,808,640 DAYS... ==
In the area where our protagonist was developing at an unbelievable pace, deep inside The Groove Canopy, there sat a man on the ground—silent, still, and frankly, he looked dead.
Even calling him a man was an understatement since it was, or rather looked like, the statue of a man. Surrounding said statue was the growth and development of plantae and fauna to an extreme degree.
The forest had reclaimed much of the area, weaving itself around and over the strange formation. Massive roots from the gargantuan trees had curved and twisted to avoid disturbing the statue, creating natural archways and tunnels that inadvertently directed the forest's inhabitants away from this sacred-seeming spot. Vines with eye-like nodules had grown thick around the perimeter, their unseeing gazes always turned outward, as if standing sentinel.
Fungi of impossible size and bizarre coloration formed circles around the statue, their caps pulsing with gentle bioluminescence that cast eerie, shifting shadows in the perpetual twilight beneath The Groove Canopy's dense foliage. Flowers that shouldn't exist—blooms with petals that moved of their own accord, blossoms that emitted sounds rather than scents—had found root in the enriched soil around the figure.
Small creatures darted through this unique ecosystem—six-legged rodents with crystalline fur, insects with wings that looked like fragments of stained glass, reptilian things with multiple heads that whispered to each other in voices almost low enough to miss. All maintained a respectful distance from the central figure, as if guided by instinct to avoid disturbing whatever slumbered there.
The physical dome of a cultivation that once protected said statue of the man had eroded with time and nature's normal actions, thus leaving only a glowing purple and gold barrier, which tried to camouflage itself in order to not attract attention.
The barrier was a masterpiece of magical engineering—not merely invisible but actively redirecting attention and interest elsewhere. It bent light around itself, distorted sound waves that passed through it, and even modified the very thoughts of creatures that came too close, implanting subtle suggestions to turn away, to find something more interesting elsewhere. To most eyes, the area appeared as nothing more than an unremarkable depression in the forest floor, perhaps the remnant of some ancient tree fall, now overgrown and uninteresting.
This action was futile, considering that even plants and creatures of varying strength and absurdity had passed by, completely ignoring the unremarkable piece of unmoving 'earth.'
A pack of the wolf-like Riven Stalkers had made their den not fifty meters away, their six-legged forms perfectly adapted to the forest's unique terrain. Their alpha, a scarred male with eyes that glowed like embers, would occasionally pause and stare toward the hidden barrier, hackles raised, before shaking its head as if clearing away an uncomfortable thought and continuing on its patrol.
Overhead, one of the massive Crystal Drakes that nested in the Shardspine Mountains sometimes circled, its crystalline body catching and fragmenting the light that filtered through the canopy. It never landed near the camouflaged barrier but would screech in frustration as if it had forgotten why it had come to this particular spot in the first place.
Even the sentient plant-beings that served as the forest's true guardians—ambulatory masses of vegetation with rudimentary intelligence and tremendous strength—would alter their patrol routes to avoid the area, though none could have explained why if asked.
Said statue had suddenly appeared out of nowhere hundreds of years ago outside the barrier, but it was just that—a statue to even the more intelligent creatures of The Groove Canopy.
If only they knew.
If only they knew they were passing by the most dangerous predator to exist, and his awakening was due any moment.
The statue sat in perfect meditative posture, legs folded beneath it, hands resting on its knees, head slightly bowed. Its features were classically handsome, carved with a precision and detail that no human sculptor could achieve—because no human sculptor had made it. The figure had crafted itself, molecule by molecule, atom by atom.
The surface of the statue gleamed with an unnatural perfection, neither stone nor metal nor flesh, but something else entirely. Occasionally, if one watched long enough (though none ever did), one might notice subtle shifts beneath the surface—movements like liquid under ice, patterns forming and dissolving just below the skin.
Beneath that still exterior, worlds of change were unfolding. Energies beyond comprehension cycled through systems too complex to name. Knowledge accumulated at rates that would shatter lesser minds. Powers condensed and refined themselves to points of infinite density.
And deep within, consciousness expanded, preparing for its return to a universe utterly unprepared for what it had become.