Chapter 10
Elijah was deep in a dreamless sleep when something sharp pricked at the edge of his consciousness.
[Wake up.]
He stirred, turning onto his side, pulling the blanket tighter.
[Host, Wake up.]
Elijah groaned. "Go away."
[You have tasks to complete before your run.]
His eyes opened. The room was dark, the moon hidden behind clouds, but the system screen glowed softly in the air above him. He squinted at the time in the corner.
2:03 AM.
"You're waking me up at two in the morning?" His voice was rough with sleep. "I have to run at five, I need sleep."
[The tasks are necessary for the path you chose. Would you like to abandon your choice?]
Elijah sat up, rubbing his face. "No, I don't want to abandon it. I want to sleep."
[The two are not compatible.]
He stared at the screen, then at the window, then back at the screen. Outside, the world was silent. There were no cars nor people. Just the occasional rustle of wind and the distant hum of the city sleeping.
"Why does waking me up at two in the morning help me become the person I want to be?"
[Because becoming requires doing. You spoke words yesterday. Words are easy. Doing is not, the tasks will teach you discipline, focus, and preparation. These are the foundations of the king you described.]
Before Elijah could respond, the screen shifted.
[Tasks for Today]
1. Meditate on the Eternal Ground Tree breathing technique
2. Clean your room
3. Clean your teeth
4. Read one book about history
5. Summarize everything you learned from the book
6. Go on a run with Kai
7. Workout
Elijah read the list. Then read it again.
"You want me to meditate on a breathing technique I've never heard of, clean my room, read a history book, summarize it, run with Kai, and workout? Before the sun comes up?"
[The tasks are sequential. Begin with the breathing technique.]
He lay back down, pulling the blanket over his head. "I'm going back to sleep."
The pain hit him like a needle in his chest. Not sharp enough to damage, but sharp enough to make him gasp, to make his eyes water, to make every nerve in his body scream that something was wrong.
He sat up immediately.
"Okay! Okay! I'm up!"
The pain vanished. The screen glowed patiently.
[Good. Begin.]
Elijah threw the blanket aside and stood up. His legs were unsteady, his mind still half-asleep, but he was standing. He walked to the window and pushed it open. Cold air rushed in, cutting through the warmth of his room.
He stepped onto the small balcony and sat cross-legged on the cold concrete.
"Where do I get this breathing technique? they're expensive you know. Like, ten thousand dollars expensive. I don't have that kind of money."
[The Eternal Ground Tree breathing technique was created by this system for you. No payment is required.]
Elijah blinked. "You can just... make breathing techniques?"
[Techniques like this for the host, yes. For others, no. The technique is bound to your soul. It cannot be taught or sold. If the host wishes the system to create additional techniques, system points are required.]
"How do I get system points?"
[By completing quests. Quests will be offered as you progress.]
Elijah sighed, Of course nothing was free. Even the thing inside his chest wanted something from him.
He opened the system interface, looking for anything that might help. There was an icon in the corner: [Inventory]. He pressed it.
The screen changed. Inside the inventory were two slots. One held the katana from his grandparents, resting diagonally in a digital space that somehow felt both empty and infinite.
His katana. The system had taken it.
"Why is my sword in there?"
[The katana was merged with the system upon activation. It can be summoned at will. Would you like to summon it?]
"No," Elijah said quickly. "Leave it."
The second slot was a small box with a label: [Eternal Ground Tree Breathing Technique - Level 1/???]
He opened it.
The information flooded into his mind like water into a cup. Not overwhelming, but complete. He understood, suddenly, what breathing techniques were. What they did.
All breathing techniques focused on the same thing: sensing and using the life force inside the body. The practitioners of this world called it Ki. It was the energy that animated everything living. The breath of the body, The root of strength, The foundation of power beyond normal human limits.
The Eternal Ground Tree technique was different from others. It didn't force Ki to move. It didn't push but waited, Like a tree, it taught the practitioner to sink roots into the earth, to draw stillness from below, to let strength grow from patience rather than effort.
Elijah closed his eyes and focused on his breathing.
In, Hold, Out.
The instructions were clear in his mind, but knowing and doing were different things. He tried to feel something. Anything. The Ki that was supposed to be flowing through him, the energy that was supposed to live in his chest, his stomach, his limbs.
Nothing.
He tried again, Slower this time, In through the nose. Hold for four counts. Out through the mouth.
Still nothing.
Minutes passed. The cold seeped into his legs. The wind picked up, carrying the smell of rain from somewhere far away. Elijah sat in the dark, breathing in patterns that felt unnatural, trying to sense something he wasn't sure existed.
He couldn't find the Ki nor feel it.
But he kept breathing.
The technique didn't require him to find it right away. That was the point, the tree didn't grow roots in a day. It grew them slowly, year after year, until it was anchored so deep that no storm could move it.
So Elijah breathed. In, Hold, Out.
He lost track of time. The darkness around him stopped feeling cold and started feeling neutral. His mind stopped racing and settled into something quiet. He wasn't meditating. Not really. But he was doing the work.
When he opened his eyes, an hour had passed.
[Task 1 complete. Breathing technique progress: 1%]
One percent. After an hour.
Elijah didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He stood up, his legs stiff from the cold, and walked back into his room.
The rest of the tasks went faster.
He cleaned his room in minutes—folding clothes, stacking books, making the bed. He moved through the house, cleaning the kitchen, the bathroom, the living room. His mother was coming back today, and Amy had school. They deserved to come home to something clean. He scrubbed the counters, swept the floors, took out the trash.
[Tasks 2 complete.]
[Tasks 3 complete.]
He brushed his teeth, then stood in front of the bookshelf in his room, looking for something to read. History, the system had said. He pulled down a book his grandfather had given him years ago: The Rise and Fall of the Tier System.
He sat at his desk and read.
Reading had always been easy for him. As a child, he would finish books in hours while other kids struggled through chapters. Now, with whatever the system had done to him, it was easier. The words flowed into his mind, organized themselves, and stayed.
He read about the collapse of the old world. About the rise of the Tier system, the way cities had been ranked by power, by wealth, by the strength of those who ruled them. He read about the Kings of Tier 1 cities—men and women who commanded armies, controlled economies, shaped the laws that governed millions.
He read about the Tier 4 cities like Blackridge. Forgotten, and Ignored. The places where the strong went to hide or the weak went to die.
When he finished, he closed the book and summarized everything in his head. The major events, the key figures. The patterns that repeated across centuries.
[Tasks 4 complete.]
[Tasks 5 complete.]
He looked at the clock. 4:58 AM.
Elijah changed into running clothes—old sweatpants, a worn hoodie, shoes that had seen better days. He stretched in the living room, his body stiff from sitting, his mind clearer than it had been in months.
A knock came at the gate.
He opened the door. Kai stood on the other side, dressed in dark running gear, a water bottle in each hand. He looked at Elijah, at the clean house visible behind him, at the fact that Elijah was already waiting.
"You're up," Kai said, surprised.
"You said 5am."
"I said 5am expecting to wait ten minutes while you dragged yourself out of bed."
Elijah took one of the water bottles. "I decided to be early."
Kai studied him for a moment, something unreadable in his eyes. Then he smiled.
"Good. Let's go."
They started down the street at a jog, the city still dark around them, the first hints of grey touching the horizon. Elijah's legs protested immediately. His lungs burned. But he kept moving.
[Tasks 6 in progress.]
He didn't need the system to tell him.