sigh

Eat. Shit. Cultivate. Sleep.

Eat. Shit. Cultivate. Sleep.

Eat. Shit. Cultivate. Sleep.

Why does this feel familiar?

Boring. Boring boring borinnnnggggg! The same lonely existence every single day, and not a single form of social media to enable my doomscrolling self-destructive behaviour!

Someone really needs to invent the internet.

My days mostly repeat like this - between copious amounts of self-soothing in the form of picking my skin and crying myself to sleep.

It costs about 40 Ether to survive, and I can manage about 12 hours of cultivating every day before losing my mind. Sometimes, for a change of pace and when I’m having a good day, I go out to that cultivation plaza and I notice that people tend not to stay too long. I wonder if they struggle to focus? I do too - but there’s something about cultivation. It’s addictive. A truly unique experience, one that seems to flood me with dopamine as if I had just spent the last 4 hours stumbling around on wikis until eventually reading about all the different varieties of cheddar cheese.

Cultivating in bed, I can earn about 65 Ether every day, most of which I need to spend on rent and food. A steep price to pay, but it’s a level of expense that I’m not unfamiliar with from living alone in London. Alternatively if I go out to the plaza, I get about twice as much.

So that means between 25 and 90 Ether that I save every day. This assumes I store it in crystals, which seems to have a 30% efficiency, so by cultivating the Ether directly within myself, I can get about 3x as much!

That’s a huge difference, but I can’t spend that Ether, it just goes towards paying off my debt.

If we assume I can average about 100 Ether a day… we’ll have paid off my leech and we can then level up in… 202 days?

Two.

Hundred.

And.

Two.

Days.

Frak.

Maybe if I had something else to do that wouldn’t be so bad, but I’m basically spending all of my free time cultivating for… nothing, really. If I get out of bed and maximize my gains I could maybe double that, so a little over 3 months of just… surviving.

This is literal torture.

“UuuUuUUUuUgh!”

Then again… no societal expectations from holding down a job? A reward of endless growth? Super powers beyond my imagination? As many vacation days as I like?

Maybe I shouldn’t complain too much.

The days are flying by. As much as I dislike going to the cultivation area nearby, the gains are simply too hard to pass up - when I can manage it.

There’s something comforting about it in a way. The community aspect of having all of these different people with their own complex lives, sat in silence, for one purpose: making money.

It’s basically an office.

There are people that I’ve started noticing and recognise over time. A few smiles, a nod here and there. Silent introductions - an acknowledgement that says ‘Yes I see you. You are real, and so am I. We’re just people doing people things in this crazy world’.

Not that I would partake in this ritual naturally. Maybe it’s my skill, or maybe just habit from years of trying to fit in.

As I leave, I catch glimpses of their faces. Everyone absorbed in their own worlds. I wonder what their goals are. Are they struggling as much as me?

Heading back to the Prized Inn, I hear the usual rowdiness of a late evening echoing throughout the streets. The same rowdiness I’m subjected to living above the Inn's bar. Not an ideal choice by any means, but it's a familiar place with familiar food, and it's a routine I desperately need in my life right now.

“Evening, Telviv. The usual please.”

“Coming right up!”

I would prefer to eat alone and in my room if I could. Maybe I should ask, but I don't want to be an inconvenience. I would also add ‘in silence’ to that, but there wouldn’t be -

“Hey!” a feminine voice calls out. I’ve always found it odd how easily we're able to discern when people are speaking to us out of nowhere. It’s like having a sixth sense of my surroundings.

I turn towards the voice and after a few moments, I realise I recognise the face.

“Aren’t you the person that spends their entire day cultivating?” she continues once she has my attention.

Great. She thinks I’m weird already.

“Ah yeah! I’ve seen you around. Nice to meet you properly. I’m Lara!” I say with a polite smile on my face. One that hopefully says 'Please leave me alone'.

“Nice to meet you too! I’m Serapha, but you can just call me Sera”

Now, how do I make this conversation end before my food is ready? I really don't want to be bothered while -

“So how come you spend so much time cultivating? There aren’t many people that would be as dedicated as you.”

“Dedicated?" I say with a hint of confusion. "I’m just trying to earn some Ether. I’m new to the city and I started running low on funds - you know how it is.”

“Well with that kind of focus I’m sure you must be quite close to breaking through. It’s admirable. Not many people can do what you do. You’re always there when I arrive, and you're still there when I leave! Just how much time do you spend cultivating?”

“Breaking through?" What does that mean?

"I probably cultivate for about 8 hours” I say. It was actually around 12, but from the times I’ve noticed her leaving I would guess she cultivates for about 6 hours - and I’d rather not stand out too much. I’m a little embarrassed my cultivation has been so noticeable.

“That's wonderful! I admire that. I wish I could do the same but I find it so dull. I can't wait to reach Intermediate so I can waste less time on it. I much prefer baking!”

Oh, is that what she meant by breaking through? Increasing the grade of mana cultivation? It sounds like it can be increased just through effort rather than spending proficiency points. If I can get it higher I’m sure I’d increase my Ether generation and then I could pay off my debt and level up even faster!

“Baking? I love baking! What do you make?”

foodies!uwu!

> Skill Unlocked: [Ether Cultivation - Beginner Grade]. New traits available
> Ether Generation: 43.8 per hour

It took a few days, but finally I've got an upgrade! Now it's producing 20% more than before! Now then, what traits are available...

> [Enduring Harvest]
> Every hour of continuous cultivation increases the cultivation amount by 2%

> [Subconscious Harvest]
> Passively cultivate for one hour per day, while unconscious

> [Desert Harvest]
> Increase cultivation by 25% when in a desert biome

Woah! Some of these are game changers. I can earn money while sleeping? Hell yeah! Lazy mode unlocked.

I wonder if I should talk to Sera about my options. Is that taboo? She's so friendly, I'm sure she would be willing to help... but I don't want to offend her, either.

I could grab the stacking continuous improvement, that would technically be a 24% increase right now with my 12 hour days - or I could grab the desert one for a consistent 25% increase, but I don’t know if I’ll always be in a desert biome.

Gaining an hour of free cultivation per day though? How could I pass that up?

doitdoitdoitdoitdoit!

It’s worse in pure numbers with my current rate of cultivation, effectively an 8% increase if I cultivate for 12 hours a day, but it gives me more flexibility and that ratio changes when I cultivate less. For example, at 5 hours a day, it’s basically a 25% increase compared to the cumulative option. I enjoy cultivating, but I can't do this long term. I disliked my life on Earth, but I need to at least find out what happened to my friends and family. That means figuring out a way back, and that will take time.

And it's lazy. I like lazy.

> Ether Cultivation Trait [Passive] Unlocked!

It took a bit longer to break through for this one, but I haven’t been spending as much time on it.

> Skill Unlocked: [Ether Crystallisation - Beginner Grade]. New traits available
> Ether Crystallisation Rate: 17

Only 10% more than before? It seems way more efficient to focus on improving cultivation first, but I don’t have the luxury of an inheritance to live off of. I need to crystallise my Ether to survive.

The traits available to me are very similar to the ones from the cultivation proficiency. These seem to be really similar, the main difference being how quickly they grow and that one lets me manifest Ether in the world.

Let’s grab the subconscious version for this as well! For every hour spent cultivating, 5% of that Ether is automatically converted to its crystallised form.

Dogs. I hope I’m not going to be sweating Ether crystals because of this.

> Ether: -18,032/1,000

A ways to go still…

On a happier note, I finally managed to pay off that Ether Leech! It disappeared without me even noticing. I was expecting it to hurt, but I guess not.

Shame.

A couple of weeks ago, Captain Elinor, a large reptilian woman, was sat at her desk in a moderately decorated room, now interrupted from her usual task of reading the previous days reports.

"Loric." She says sternly, her yellow eyes hesitating to glance away from her work. Numerous information crystals line her desk, alongside stacks of black paper.

"Apologies, but I felt this couldn't wait. It's about a new arrival to the city." Loric replies hastily.

"Stop blabbering and get on with it."

Loric clears his throat.

"Right. Myself and Bryn were at our posts at Gate 7 when we had an unusual encounter. A woman going by the name of Lara came up to us and -"

"Just get to the point Loric", the Captain interrupts.

"Strange language. Strange clothes. No Ether. Solo traveller."

Elinor's eyes sharpen, fully focusing on Loric for the first time.

"Tell me everything."

As Captain Elinor grasps a crystal in her hand, it begins to glow slightly.

"We have a problem. I need all information about a planet known as Earth, and a scouting contingent to monitor a human woman within the city. We have an Ether Leech on her. Loric will fill you in on the rest."

She hesitates for a moment.

"And Fayron... listen to me for once. Whoever this is, they're either powerful, stupid, or both. Don't spook them. Also..." she drifts off, eyes shifting to Loric.

"Possibly divergent."