"Two silver coins," Yulong counted. "It should be enough to get you an unranked meditation technique, but nothing fancy."
"There are ranks for them?"
"Of course," Yulong nodded. "Each rank has a different set of rules and techniques to consolidate desire into our bodies. An unranked technique would help you reach the Spark Rank, and a Spark technique would help you reach the Glimmer Rank."
"That means I would need a technique for each rank," Aiden said with a pondering expression. "I guess any higher-ranking techniques would be more expensive."
"And rare," Yulong added. "Spark Techniques, which could get you to the Glimmer Rank, are only possessed by the rich families of Argan and possibly the Seekers Guild."
"What about Glimmer Rank Techniques?"
"Those could only be found in the Midworld. If one does appear here for whatever reason, whoever has it will be invaded by the other free cities of the Fringes."
"A misfortune in disguise," Aiden muttered with a nod. "For now, I should focus on getting stronger. Can you get me the best technique these coins could get me?"
"Of course," Yulong said with a nod as he rose. He walked toward a painting hanging on the wall and pushed it aside, revealing a mirror. As he placed his palm on the mirror, he asked, "What technique are you looking for?"
"Just one that makes me stronger."
"I need you to be more specific," Yulong said as he began tapping on the mirror, which had a list of runes appearing on it. "Tell me what desire you want to focus on first, and I'll help you get it."
"Each desire needs a different technique?"
"Of course!" Yulong said with a raised brow. "How would you train your physique with the same technique you would train your mind?"
"I guess it makes sense… but I want a technique to raise them all."
Yulong paused and turned toward Aiden, looking at him with furrowed brows. He then looked at the ground and then raised his head back at Aiden.
"You are not from this world, are you?"
Aiden felt exposed. He tensed and prepared to leave.
"You don't need to look so worried. I met plenty of outworlders in the Midworld," Yulong said. "I can tell by their mannerisms and speech patterns."
"I have a speech pattern?"
"You speak like a machine, or simply an ancient being who learned the language by studying a dictionary," Yulong said before he sat down again. "If you are an outworlder, I'll be happy to explain more."
Aiden was silent before he nodded.
"A cultivation technique focuses on a single desire and attempts to raise the relevant attribute to the highest possible level," Yulong explained. "Once it gets you there, it forms a shard within you."
"Like a monster's shard?"
"More like a Hungerborn Shard," Yulong corrected. "That shard will make raising your other attributes easier. No one can rise to the next rank without reaching the maximum attributes of their rank."
"What difference would it make, then?" Aiden muttered.
"The difference is that cultivating your attribute will enhance the corresponding ability, and vice versa," Yulong explained. "If you cultivate different techniques, they would just hinder each other."
"The best practice would be to cultivate one, and then the others," Aiden muttered with a raised brow. "This will leave me full of weaknesses."
"It would, but that's why there are teams with a minimum of four—one for each desire specialist," Yulong added. "Furthermore, once you master a desire, you can specialize in it."
"Specialize?"
"That's for later, but desires have sub-desires. Rift has sub-desires like conquest, while Bond has devotion or legacy. Once someone reaches the threshold for a given desire, they could attempt to create more specialized forms of them."
"Wait a second," Aiden interrupted. "If everyone needs to raise their attributes to the max, there would be no need for teams—everyone is a master of all desires."
"That's where specialized abilities come into play," Yulong continued without skipping a beat. "An ability is a lifelong companion that you must keep investing into—not something you use and discard. Choosing these abilities would dictate your path of power."
"That means a rift-bound ability of strength would make one a warrior, while a rift-bound ability of speed could make one an archer or an assassin," Aiden muttered with understanding. "How do people awaken these abilities?"
"Intense training or awakening shards," Yulong answered. "The easiest and most reliable method is the shards. Each shard would grant a different type of ability, but no one can ever foretell what ability they might get."
"It's luck-dependent."
"The entire world is," Yulong said with a shrug.
At that moment, a knock came on the door. Yulong frowned and went outside, and came back looking like he had swallowed a fly.
"Although I'm enjoying this conversation, I'm afraid I need to leave," Yulong said. "If you want, I can give you a document with the techniques we have. You can decide later. Use my card when you visit."
"That would be best," Aiden nodded and rose. "Thanks for the help, Yulong."
"It was a pleasure," the chubby man said as he took out a pouch and handed it over to Aiden. "I do have one more question."
"I've been the one asking all along, so that's fair," Aiden said while pocketing the money. "What's up?"
"You still sold me the Hungerborn Shard even after I told you it has no consequences," Yulong said. "You could have grown stronger in an instant."
"I could have," Aiden said with a nod. "But I don't like the notion of someone else's desires infiltrating my mind and body. If I want, I'm going to use my own to grow stronger."
"…I've never heard anyone describe it this way," Yulong said with a pondering expression. Then, he offered a handshake. "Welcome to our world, um…"
"Call me Aiden."
[---]
After pocketing his coins and leaving The Grand Arcanum, Aiden felt overwhelmed by the choices that he needed to make. However, after returning to the inn and calming down, he remembered the one thing different about him than all the others.
"The Wishbound System is my greatest asset, and curse," Aiden muttered while in his room. "The rewards for wishes so far have been all desire points. If I can make use of them in my cultivation, how fast can I grow stronger?"