"Of course, I will have people restore the water flow. In the meantime, could you try to calm the forest down?" Luckes asked, genuine interest evident in his voice. "I hope your family has developed some abilities that might help now that mana is readily available." He had no clear idea what the Sonnenbergs could accomplish with their newfound opportunities, but he knew that his own family possessed several skills that were uncommon and, in some cases, might even be considered unique. The Great Houses had their own traditions and specialisations, yet he suspected that the Trade Families would develop in entirely different directions because their priorities and historical responsibilities were not the same.
"Sure, we will try, but do not get your hopes up," Arin replied as he rose to his feet. "The only reason I can even attempt something like this is that the forest allows us to establish a connection with it." He did not want Luckes to assume that the Sonnenbergs had somehow gained complete control over the forests around them, because their abilities were far more limited than that. Their breathing method had given them an unusual advantage, but establishing a connection was not the same as commanding the living environment or forcing it to obey their wishes. Arin could investigate the forest's condition and perhaps help it recover, yet the final outcome would depend on factors that he did not fully understand.
"Before I can do anything meaningful, however, the water problem needs to be fixed, so please go ahead and take care of that," Arin continued, making it clear that the immediate priority remained restoring the forest's water supply. "As for us, we will explore the forest a little more and see what we can learn. I will see you in two days." With that, he turned away from the representatives of the Great Houses and began walking into the dark woodland, disappearing between the trees as the rest of his family followed. None of them showed any particular desire to return to the filthy village, especially when the forest offered a far more useful environment for their cultivation.
During the time Arin had spent meditating, the others had also attempted to establish connections with the surrounding trees. Although their results had not approached the depth of Arin's connection, they had discovered something valuable about the process itself. The forest's current condition made it considerably more difficult to establish a connection, forcing them to work harder to maintain their awareness and regulate the flow of mana through their bodies. That resistance had given them a new perspective on their breathing method, revealing aspects of the technique that might have remained unnoticed under more comfortable circumstances. What had initially seemed like an obstacle had therefore become an unexpected training opportunity.
After travelling approximately five hundred metres from the road, Arin finally stopped and waited for the rest of his family to catch up. The surrounding trees provided enough cover to make the location suitable for cultivation, while the distance from the road ensured that they would not be disturbed by the activity around the mine. Once everyone had gathered, he looked around at his cousins, making sure they were paying attention before explaining his intentions. They had come here to investigate a problem, but there was no reason to waste the opportunity presented by such an unusual environment. If they could improve their cultivation while waiting for the water supply to be restored, the journey would have served more than one purpose.
"Right, as you have no doubt noticed, this forest is an excellent place to train your breathing method," Arin began, addressing the group with a serious expression. "That is particularly important because we already have experience with the inferior breathing method provided by the System." He reminded them that the System's original technique had not been particularly difficult to learn, but that its apparent simplicity did not mean it lacked depth. Those who had explored it thoroughly had discovered that considerable benefits could be gained by understanding how it worked and how its different stages affected the body. The same principle applied to their family's improved method, which offered even more opportunities for development.
"So, let us spend the next two days cultivating here," Arin concluded, glancing toward the direction of the village with open distaste. "I have absolutely no interest in returning to that filthy place unless we have a good reason." Having made his decision, he climbed into a suitable tree, settled among its branches, and began meditating. The Sonnenberg breathing method had been developed around his particular physique, meaning that he could cultivate faster and more effectively in a forest than most of his relatives. Consequently, the gains he could make in a single day under these conditions might exceed what he had achieved during the seven days spent travelling along the river. It was an opportunity he had no intention of wasting.
Arin was also genuinely interested in investigating the breathing method that his family and the System had developed. Although the System had provided the original technique, it had altered several aspects of the method when the Sonnenbergs developed their own version, leaving many details that still needed to be examined. Possessing the complete text did not automatically mean that a practitioner understood every principle contained within it, nor did it guarantee that the technique's full potential had already been realised. The same lesson had been demonstrated by the first breathing method the System distributed to humanity, which many people continued to practise even after learning that more advanced possibilities existed. Arin suspected that the Sonnenbergs' current method would also reveal new layers of complexity as their understanding improved.
The original breathing method remained particularly important because it was likely to form the foundation of humanity's cultivation systems for years to come. Arin knew of no faction that had not examined the System's first technique before attempting to develop a method of its own. Even groups with considerable resources and talented researchers had recognised that understanding the original principles was necessary before meaningful improvements could be made. The technique was not merely a simple set of breathing instructions that allowed someone to absorb mana; it was a carefully structured process that influenced how the body adapted to the energy entering it. Its apparent accessibility concealed a depth that became more obvious the further a practitioner progressed.
Scientists had developed a growing consensus that the Mortal Stage, designated as stage zero in the System's progression, primarily involved reshaping the human body so that it could withstand mana. Before reaching that point, a person's body remained insufficiently adapted to handle the deeper processes required for cultivation. The challenge was not simply absorbing more mana, because the energy also needed to be guided into the body, refined, and retained without causing problems. Even seemingly minor differences in breathing techniques could influence how efficiently that process occurred. The complexity of these changes helped explain why so few people had successfully reached the Mortal Stage despite the enormous number of humans attempting to cultivate.
Current estimates suggested that only about 0.01 percent of the world's population had reached that milestone. Such a small proportion was not necessarily evidence that the rest of humanity lacked talent, since cultivation depended on far more than an individual's natural potential. Those who had reached the Mortal Stage were often both talented and fortunate enough to possess the resources required to make consistent progress. Access to a mana vein equipped with a magic circle, for example, could allow practitioners to filter the available mana and provide them with the attribute most suitable for their development. Without such resources, even a determined individual might struggle to advance beyond the earliest stages.
The overwhelming majority of humanity had yet to progress beyond stage 0.5 in their race progression, according to the System panels Arin had seen and the estimates circulating among researchers. Many people lacked access to suitable training environments, reliable guidance, or others who could help them understand the principles behind cultivation. Others had to compete for limited resources, leaving them unable to practise as consistently as those supported by powerful families and organisations. These disadvantages created a substantial gap between people who possessed the necessary resources and those who had to make do with whatever opportunities they could find. Arin therefore suspected that the situation would remain largely unchanged until the next Trial began and provided humanity with another opportunity to advance.
In his estimation, it would probably take until that next Trial for the average human to reach the Mortal Stage in meaningful numbers. By then, more people might have access to the guidance and resources required to overcome the initial barriers to cultivation. Arin, however, expected to be considerably further ahead by that time, perhaps approaching the next stage or even having already surpassed it. His advantages were simply too significant to ignore, particularly given his family's resources, his specialised physique, and his ability to connect with the forest. While others struggled to establish the foundations of cultivation, he could focus on refining a method that already gave him an unusually strong starting position.
As he sat cultivating among the branches, Arin could feel nature mana gathering around him more readily than it had during his journey. His breathing method actively attracted the type of mana that suited his physique, allowing him to spend less time filtering out unsuitable attributes. This made the process considerably more efficient, since he could concentrate on refining nature mana rather than wasting energy dealing with types that offered him little benefit. Death mana, for example, was not what he needed for his current cultivation, and having to separate it from the energy he absorbed would only slow his progress. The forest therefore provided an environment that was particularly well suited to his needs, allowing him to make better use of every moment spent meditating.
The same could not necessarily be said for every member of his family, but the opportunity remained valuable for all of them. Each Sonnenberg could use the forest's resistance to examine the weaknesses in their breathing method and learn to maintain a connection under less favourable conditions. Even if their progress was slower than Arin's, the experience would help them understand the technique more thoroughly and prepare them for future situations in which their connection might be disrupted. They were not simply gathering mana to increase their strength; they were learning how to cultivate more reliably in an environment that refused to make the process easy. For a family whose abilities were so closely tied to the forest, that understanding could prove just as important as raw advancement.
Meanwhile, back in the village, Luckes and Alex were preparing to deal with the practical consequences of the crisis. The moment Arin and his relatives had left, the two representatives of the Great Houses began organising the miners and pushing the settlement's administration into action. They needed to restore the water supply at the mine, repair the damage caused by the former manager's decisions, and persuade workers to return to their duties. At the same time, they had to arrange for additional people to arrive, because the existing workforce was insufficient for the mining operation's ambitions. The task ahead was enormous, and neither man had any intention of allowing the village's current disorder to continue.
The first priority was to get the workers moving again, since the mining operation could not expand while half the town remained on strike. Luckes and Alex needed to give the miners a clear plan and ensure that they understood their efforts would no longer be wasted under incompetent management. Restoring the water flow would require manpower, while improving the mine's efficiency would demand additional workers and specialists. They also needed to attract more people to the settlement, because the existing population could not sustain the level of production expected by the Great Houses. Every delay made the situation more difficult, and the longer the mine remained inefficient, the longer the surrounding region would have to endure the consequences.
Beyond the immediate problems at the mine, the village itself needed considerable improvement. The conditions in which the workers were living were unacceptable, and the settlement was hardly suitable for the number of people the Great Houses hoped to bring in. Better accommodation, improved facilities, and more reliable services would all require money, labour, and careful organisation. Unfortunately, the town had been neglected for so long that these improvements could not be completed overnight, especially when the mining operation itself was struggling to function. The terrible living conditions had also contributed to the workers' dissatisfaction, making it even more important to show them that their circumstances would change.
For a long time, the lack of investment had been part of the reason the village had remained in such a miserable state. Without sufficient money, the local administration had been unable to improve the settlement or provide its inhabitants with better living conditions. That neglect had created a vicious cycle in which the town struggled to attract workers, the mine lacked the manpower it needed, and the resulting inefficiency made it harder to justify further improvements. Now, however, the situation had changed dramatically because the Great Houses had decided that expanding the production of mana stones was worth the necessary investment. Their priorities were no longer limited to keeping the existing operation running at a minimal level.
The patriarch of Luckes's family had made the new priorities particularly clear: money was not an issue, provided the mine could produce as many mana stones as possible. That directive gave Luckes and Alex considerably more freedom to address the problems that had previously held the operation back. They could recruit more workers, improve the settlement, repair the infrastructure, and investigate ways to increase production without being forced to justify every expense against the mine's immediate income. Of course, unlimited funding would not magically solve every difficulty, especially when the terrain and the forest imposed restrictions that money alone could not overcome. Nevertheless, with the Great Houses prepared to invest heavily and the Sonnenbergs working to restore the forest's balance, the mine finally had a chance to become the productive operation its owners expected.