The first thing Lucian needed to address was his mortal state.
Everyone who reached the age of sixteen in the Dmitriv Realm should be able to begin their path of cultivation.
Lucian had turned sixteen just a few weeks ago and was more than ready to start.
The only thing holding him back was that he needed the necessary tools, which were supposed to be provided by his sect.
Cultivation in the Dmitriv Realm was simple in theory.
At the age of sixteen, a mortal would awaken their Magnus Core and bond with a Nature Artifact.
The process itself wasn't complex, but the difficult part was finding a good nature artifact.
A mortal would have to bind their core to the artifact through deep meditation, synchronizing with the artifact's unique energy.
The stronger the artifact, the harder the bonding process.
That's why a person's Magnus Core talent was tested first—it was of crucial importance.
Once someone successfully fused with the artifact, they would automatically advance to the stage of Claviary, allowing them to absorb the mana in the air.
The artifact would act as a conduit, and the core would store the mana's energy.
As a cultivator's bond with the artifact deepened, they could manifest aspects of the artifact in battle—projecting its power or even fusing their body with its form.
That said, the most challenging part of the process was finding a suitable Nature Artifact.
There were various types of nature artifacts, and each Magus was classified based on the type of artifact they fused with.
There were three main types of Magus.
The first and most common were the Elemental Magus—cultivators who fused with elemental-based artifacts like fire crystals, storm relics, or oceanic jewels.
They specialized in elemental magic such as fire, water, wind, and earth.
This was the group Lucian had initially planned to join!
He had intended to fuse with a Flaming Stone Artifact, which would allow him to control fire magic.
Fire was one of the most destructive and powerful elements in elemental magic, which was why Lucian had chosen it.
But now, with his sect destroyed, his hopes of obtaining such an artifact were shattered.
While one could buy a Nature Artifact, they were incredibly expensive.
And Lucian, who didn't even have a single coin to his name, had no hope of affording one.
This crushed his dreams of becoming a cultivator!
He had two choices: find a way to earn coins and buy a Nature Artifact, or give up on his hope of becoming a cultivator altogether.
If he wanted money, the only two ways Lucian could think of were either stealing—which was impossible for someone like him—or killing beasts to obtain their cores, which he could then exchange for coins.
But right now, Lucian was far too weak to hunt a beast, and meeting one would likely lead to his death.
That option was off the table.
In the end, everything seemed hopeless, and he felt a pounding headache forming.
Without becoming a cultivator, he couldn't kill beasts, which meant he couldn't earn coins, and without coins, he had no chance of improving his life.
"I need an artifact to fuse with... but where can I get one?" Lucian muttered, narrowing his brows as he finished the fruit in his hand and scratched his itchy neck.
That was when he felt a cold object in his palm.
With widened eyes, he took off the necklace around his neck, staring at the small dark stone that dangled from it.
"This stone... it's the reason why the other sects destroyed my sect. Just what is it?" Lucian asked aloud. "Could it be...?"
There was only one way to find out.
Immediately, Lucian dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the golden scroll he had carried with him.
The scroll was as long as his arm and thick, suggesting it contained a great deal of information.
Slowly, he unfurled it.
As soon as the scroll opened, a brilliant golden light flashed, momentarily blinding Lucian and nearly causing him to fall off the tree branch.
He instinctively wrapped his legs tightly around the branch, swinging upside down until the light faded.
Once the light subsided, Lucian righted himself, sitting properly on the branch once more.
He carefully examined the scroll again, only to find one glaring issue—it was blank.
"What the...? Is this a joke?" Lucian asked, disbelief etched on his face as he flipped the scroll over, searching the front and back, but finding nothing.
"My sect was destroyed for a blank scroll and a damn stone!?"
It had to be a joke.
"Tsk," Lucian muttered, tossing the scroll aside.
It landed near the stone necklace that had been resting on the branch.
That's when he noticed something peculiar—the scroll began to glow, light flashing over its surface.
Startled, Lucian quickly picked it up again, and this time, he was shocked to find a few words beginning to appear on the scroll.
"Could it be...?" he mused, narrowing his eyes. He picked up the dark stone and placed it on the scroll.
To his surprise, more words began appearing, quickly filling the first page of the scroll.
Bit after a few minutes, the words stopped and Lucian removed the stone and began reading the content.
As he read, his eyes widened with disbelief and also excitement.
What he was currently seeing was beyond anything he had expected!!