The next day, Alexander woke up feeling refreshed. He still had a lingering fear about the death he had experienced again yesterday.
"Why the hell doesn't this book include any warnings about connecting your soul to the sun? It seemed only logical for me to do it. How many more genius cultivators are they going to doom with this book?" Alexander complained.
He took out the book to read it. "Sigh, might as well start my day with a '10,000 Words Read in a Day' task. I can't risk getting killed by this cultivation manual again," he thought, complaining.
The more he read, the more his face twitched. He realized how stupid he had been for skipping the pages with warnings and explanations. If only he hadn't been so lazy to skip them, the accident wouldn't have happened.
Upon reading, he also realized how great this cultivation method was. Although this wasn't some powerful offensive technique. It was a cultivation method that excelled in defense, stability, and cultivation speed.
In terms of defense, the star reflection on his soul can be used to block soul-type attacks. As the cultivator connects with more stars and creates additional star reflections, he can utilize some of the star diagram formations recorded in the manual. These formations are highly powerful defensive techniques that can make one's soul defense nearly impregnable.
In terms of stability, stellar natural energy is one of the purest forms of energy. As a result, cultivators almost never experience deviations caused by impure soul energy.
In terms of cultivation speed, once a cultivator has connected to more stars, the development of the soul would accelerate, thereby speeding up the overall cultivation process. Furthermore, according to the manual, both the Martial Path and Spirit Path would also benefit from the advancements in the Soul Path. Controlling natural energies becomes significantly easier as one's cultivation in the Soul Path increases.
However, this technique is somewhat lacking in offensive capabilities. Its only offensive benefit is the ability to incorporate a trace of star aura into your attacks, which seemed less impressive compared to its other advantages—or so he thought.
After reading the entire chapter for the Soul Tempering part. Alexander can only sigh, "Sigh, I was actually just too reckless yesterday, I should make sure to read an entire cultivation manual before actually practicing it next time".
After breakfast, Alexander did a set of 'Intense Workout' and 'Marathon Training' tasks. After that, he went to check his attributes. He was planning where to spend the three undistributed attribute points.
"I really can't decide yet, should I become a Martial Warrior or a Spirit Mage?" Alexander contemplated.
He wanted to pursue both the Martial Warrior and Spirit Mage paths, but it wasn't very feasible. Usually, a person would focus on one or two paths to maximize their time and resources. Although he had a system that could help increase all his attributes, it still wasn't the most optimal choice at the moment. His martial and spirit talents were still very low, so raising his Martial or Spirit Cultivation would require a lot of effort. Most importantly, he had a quest to be accepted to White Griffin, which meant he needed to focus on one path and improve his attributes in that area to increase his talents accordingly.
"If only White Griffin could consider my Soul Path talents as well," Alexander complained. "Unfortunately, they don't have a way to measure a person's soul talents, so they didn't include this in their assessments."
After pondering for a few minutes, he had made his decision. He would prioritize the Spirit Mage Path first and pursue the Martial Warrior Path later, once his attributes were sufficiently high.
His spirit talent was slightly ahead of his martial talent. Although in a one-on-one fight, a Martial Warrior would have the advantage over a Spirit Mage, he wasn't particularly interested in fighting. He disliked seeing blood or the sight of people getting hurt. He had no intention of becoming one of those lunatic main characters who would massacre an entire family over petty grievances.
Though his most important reason for choosing the Spirit Mage Path was that, once a Spirit Mage connects all twelve spirit pulses, they can use certain flight spells. Ever since he was young, he had dreamed of flying—his ultimate superpower. Yes, Martial Warriors are strong and fast, but can they fly? No, they can't; they can only rely on their legs to travel places. Someone as lazy as Alexander wasn't interested in that.
"Well, Spirit Mage it is then," Alexander said as he allocated the three undistributed attribute points he had gained from leveling up his User Level.
Physique: 8
Agility: 8
Vitality: 8
Spirit Root: 10
Spirit Capacity: 10
Spirit Power: 10
Soul Sense: 40
Soul Sea: 40
Soul Force: 40
Attribute Points: 0
He then proceeded to close the app, and he was also about to close the screen, when he noticed that there was a new app that wasn't grayed out.
"Did I gain access to a new app?" Alexander asked.
"Yes, Einstein. What other discoveries will you make today?" Sarah responded mockingly.
"Enough with your sarcasm. I'm not that stupid," Alexander said, annoyed.
"Says the guy who got himself killed the other day because he didn't know how to read," Sarah remarked sarcastically.
"Fine, fine. Just tell me how this Map and Navigator App works already," Alexander responded helplessly.
Sarah then proceeded to explain how the Map and Navigator Apps work. The app consists of two tabs.
The first is the Map tab. The Map allows him to scan and create a 3D representation of the area around him. The range for the scanning function is currently a hundred times the range of his 'Soul Sense,' which is the distance he can detect things using his soul without any special techniques or methods. At the moment, his Soul Sense range is about 10 meters; the map has a hundred-times multiplier to it, so the Map's scan range is approximately 1,000 meters. This range will increase as his soul cultivation improves. Additionally, as he levels up, the hundred-times multiplier will also grow.
Another function of the map is to record the scanned area and save it. He can even incorporate physical maps and record their details into his digital map.
Then there was the Navigator tab. This functions as a smaller, 2D map. Its scanning range is just ten times his Soul Sense's range. However, the most important feature of the Navigator is its ability to display the positions of other living beings around him. He could even close the screen and keep the Navigator window active, allowing it to remain visible while he moves around.
These functions are very useful. First, he would always have knowledge of the terrain around him through the map. Second, with the Navigator, he could detect people moving nearby—an invaluable advantage if he were ever ambushed. As an added bonus, he didn't have to exert any effort to keep these functions active, unlike relying solely on his Soul Sense, which was very taxing to the soul.
After hearing Sarah's words, Alexander was elated. The Map and Navigator App provided him with an extra layer of safety. For someone as cowardly as he, this was very good news.
He decided to test the map function first. Opening the app and selecting the Maps tab, another light screen appeared in front of him. Unlike his usual system screen, this one hovered flat in the air like a table-sized hologram. A spherical light suddenly emerged, displaying a 3D representation of the area within a 1000-meter radius around him.
He could see a representation of Maplewood Manor within it. He could even see the chairs, tables, and other furniture inside the manor. It covered almost every detail except for colors and the living beings inside the manor. He was completely amazed by how detailed it was.
"Wow, it can even detect the basement underneath Father's study," Alexander said in amazement.
Next, he checked the Navigator function. The previous map screen closed, and a smaller screen opened, displaying a 2D map. It showed the living beings around him, with light dots on the 2D map indicating their positions.
He noticed that there were several colors and slightly varying sizes of the light dots. He asked Sarah, "Sarah, why are the light dots different in colors and sizes?"
"Different colors depict the difference in your overall power level. Beings stronger than you would appear yellow to red, then black, while beings with the same power level as you would be green, then people weaker than you would appear blue to violet, then white. You can adjust the color scheme in the settings. While the size of the light dot depicts the size of the being. You can adjust the scale on the settings." Sarah explained.
"Amazing," Alexander exclaimed.
He began examining it more closely, trying to identify who the light dots represented.
"This red-orange light dot should be Father in his study. He must be the strongest in this manor," Alexander muttered to himself. Then he noticed two orange light dots and wondered who they could be. "These two are close in strength to Father. If I had to guess, one would be the head guard, Lucas, and the other should be Sir George, the knight who keeps following my father. As one of Father's vice captains, he should be strong."
He then shifted his attention to some smaller blue light dots compared to his green one. "Damn, these must be the dogs and cats inside the manor. Only they could be weaker than me," Alexander said, feeling a bit dejected.
He told himself that he really needed to ramp up his EXP and attribute grinding. He also needed to start cultivating, as there were 'Achievements' unlockable with the rise of his cultivation levels, which would grant him additional attribute points.
He noticed a small yellow-orange light dot quickly approaching his room. He immediately closed the main screen but kept the navigator screen open. Soon, he heard excited footsteps, followed by a knock on his door. Without waiting for his reply, the door swung open to reveal a small figure.
It was none other than his little sister, Sylvia, to whom he had promised a day of playing together in the village.
"I really am surprised this is a noble's household. People here just seem to lack manners. Seriously, they keep barging into other people's rooms without permission. Well, at least this little girl had the decency to knock first," Alexander inwardly complained.
"Brother, why aren't you dressed yet? Did you forget about going with me to the village today? We can't miss the Harvest Festival," Sylvia complained angrily.
"I was just mulling over which outfit says 'responsible big brother' when you barged in," Alexander said, obviously lying to his teeth, having forgotten about the matter.
"Hurry, else the pastries and snacks will run out," Sylvia grumbled while walking out of the room.
After getting dressed, Alexander joined Sylvia in the hall, where a guard and a servant were ready to accompany them. Sylvia wore a fitted white tunic and trousers, quite different from what a noble young lady typically wore.
"Sylvia, why aren't you wearing a dress again?" Alexander asked.
She stuck her tongue out and said, "Wear them yourself if you like them so much."
Alexander recalled how she always complained about dresses, saying they were uncomfortable and prevented her from running around, which she loved to do.
He could only sigh in defeat on this matter.
They then departed from the manor to visit the nearby Maplewood Village on foot.