The Phoenix [Cultivation, Reincarnation, Tower Climber]

People all across the lobby start lining up to enter the room. Vanessa, Jacob and I do the same, much to Trinity's dismay, as she's forced out of her seat on my lap. We get in line about halfway to the door, and as the people file in, I get a bit confused. The door that Ganyu entered is labeled "Lecture Hall", but based on where the room is placed, there's no way it has enough room for all 100 or so of us. We would have to be packed like sardines to even all fit in the room, and an environment like that would definitely not be conducive to learning.

Despite this, the flow into the room never stops or even slows, and it doesn't even take a minute for us to arrive. When I can finally see inside, my jaw drops. The interior is not small at all. In fact, it's big enough to put most university lecture halls to shame. The comfort is definitely enough to put them to shame. It's a large quarter circle with tiered seating like a normal lecture hall, but instead of those crappy chairs with the folding tables that always get stuck and cushions that don't look like they've been cleaned in 20 years, the steps are lined with recliners.

A few groups of people are already seated, stretching out in the chairs and chatting excitedly about how comfortable they are. Vanessa and Jacob seem to be excited by them as well, so I let them lead me down about halfway toward the front of the room. Jacob takes a seat right on the edge, which is where I wanted to sit, and Vanessa sits next to him, forcing me further into the middle. There's plenty of room to walk, so it's not as annoying as university seating where sitting in the middle means stepping on toes if I want to get in or out, but I'm still slightly peeved.

While the rest of the Batch files into the room, Ganyu leans on a wooden podium, trying to appear casual. He looks around the room, seemingly looking at each person in turn, but he keeps returning to me. He can probably sense my ki center. I try to ignore him.

After another minute, I notice someone else standing at the edge of our row staring at me. It's the homeless man, and while it looks like whatever drugs he was on have worn off–or been healed off by Organa–he still seems to be quite awkward.

"Yes?" asks Jacob politely, noticing him standing there.

"Ummmm," says the homeless man. "Can I…?"

He nods slightly in my direction as he trails off.

"You want to sit with us?" asks Vanessa.

The homeless man nods, and Vanessa turns to me with a questioning look on her face. I shrug in response. The ki around the man is still not stable, and I want to see what's up with that, if only to sate my own curiosity. Plus, he clearly took a shower and changed his clothes, so he shouldn't smell anymore.

"Sure, you can sit with us," she says.

"Th-thank you."

He walks past the three of us, his gait unsteady, then takes a nervous seat next to me. After sitting down, he stares at me.

"Yes?" I ask.

"M-my name is Timmy."

Timmy? He doesn't look like a Timmy. Well, maybe he does. Now that he's cleaned up a bit, he actually looks pretty young under all that beard.

"I'm Bella," I reply.

"Do you like plants?" he asks.

"I don't dislike them."

"I like plants."

"That's nice."

This man is autistic.

"Do you want to see a cool plant I found?"

"Sure," I say, shrugging.

He pulls out a small wooden box from a pocket in his robes, and when he opens it, my eyes widen. The box was perfectly sealed, holding in the ki and the scent inside, but as soon as it was open, both hit me like a slap to the face.

That's thousand-year ginseng. That's a treasure that could have caused a sect war on old Earth. That's something that can push a ki practitioner from third rate to peak in a single day. If handled by a trained physician, it could repair a shattered ki center. It can rejuvenate withered meridians, and cleanse turgid ki. It's a priceless treasure, and he's carrying it around in his pocket, calling it a "cool plant he found."

"Panax ginseng," he says happily. "But it's special. Like the annual meadow grass, but more. I think that-"

"Put it away," I say sternly.

Jacob, Katherine, Vanessa, and a few others around the room are all staring at him, their eyes filled with curiosity and greed.

"Oh," he says, closing the box. "Sorry."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

He looks very sad, and a little embarrassed.

"No, it's a good plant," I say. "A very good plant. But you could get in trouble if too many people know that you have it."

"Oh," he says, perking up. "Okay, I understand. By the way, did you know that panax ginseng gets its name from the Greek word panakes? It means all-healing. People used to think that ginseng could cure all illnesses and heal wounds!"

"That one actually could-" I start, but I'm cut off when Ganyu starts speaking.

"Quiet down, everyone," he says. "I will now begin the lesson."

He gestures toward the wall behind him, and it flashes with ki before brightening up and showing a screen-like display. On the screen is a diagram so simple that I have no idea what it is. It just looks like 3 vertical lines with the spaces between colored gray, green, and dark gray.

"Today's lesson will mostly be about common knowledge in the Tower," says Ganyu. "We won't cover everything, but this should at least give you an idea of the basics. And we'll start with the most basic of basics: the Tower itself.

"Before I start though, I must inform you that this is the standard teaching material curated by the Floor Lord, and I had no hand in choosing these diagrams. This one shows the different layers of the tower. We are here." He points to the green space in the middle. "This is known as the Inner Tower, and it is where Climbers spend their time.

"The Outer Tower-" He points to the light gray section "-is where non-Climbers live. Aside from those from your planet, every single person you meet in the Tower, including myself, was born in the Outer Tower.

"This third section here is the Central Void, but you don't need to worry about that right now. If you wish to learn more, there are other instructors teaching classes on the Central Void. It is vital to the Tower's ecosystem, but it is not part of the curriculum I will be teaching."

He waves his hand and the screen changes, this time showing another diagram so simple I can't tell what it's supposed to be. It looks like a series of progressively longer rectangles stacked on top of each other in an inverted pyramid. A flash of exasperation crosses Ganyu's face before he starts speaking again.

"Now, as you've probably gathered, the Tower is split into Floors. Well, at least the Inner and Outer Tower are. You are on the first Floor." He points to the bottom rectangle, which is the smallest one. "As you can see, each subsequent floor is larger than the last. Based on the information I've received, the first Floor is approximately the size of a medium country in your world. I believe I heard the word "France" being used for comparison.

"The size of the Floors increases incrementally, but every tenth floor is about ten times as big as the one ten floors before it. So the eleventh Floor will be ten times the size of the first, and the twenty-first will be ten times the size of the eleventh and so on and so forth. I believe this makes it so that the thirty-first floor is approximately the size of your old planet.

"I can see some of you trying to do the math in your heads. The numbers are indeed enormous. However, the Tower is that size because it needs to be that size. On this Floor alone, you will all transcend the limit of what you thought to be humanly possible. Should you reach the 20th Floor, you will be powerful enough to single-handedly level one of your old world's cities. By the time you reach the 50th Floor, you could do the same with an accidental misstep. By the time you reach the 100th Floor, you will be able to destroy the planet itself without expending too much effort. So, as you can imagine, when attacks can destroy planets, the Floor needs to be large enough to handle planetary destruction without being majorly affected."

He pauses to let his words settle in, which I appreciate, because what he just said is absolutely ridiculous. Especially considering that he has already told me that he himself has reached the 100th Floor. He doesn't look like he's lying, and if he is, we'll be able to find out by talking to others, so for now it's safe to assume he's telling the truth.

In that case, that means that the bit of ki I sensed from him before– that bit that I thought far surpassed even my peak power– was him holding back. And not just by a little.

At my peak, could I have leveled a city? Yes, but it wouldn't be in a single move. I doubt anyone would be able to stop me, but an entire modern city? It would take at least a day. And that was me at the absolute peak of power. The absolute limit of what was possible on Earth. And Ganyu is saying that not even a quarter of the way up the Tower, the average Climber is already that strong?

At the very least, this proves my earlier theory that the ki density increases on higher floors. The main limiter for my cultivation back on Earth was simply lack of ki. There was not enough for me to progress further. It would have taken centuries of doing nothing but meditating, while cultivating ki increases lifespan, it wasn't to the point where I would actually be able to do that.

Here on the first Floor, it might be possible in a shorter amount of time. 50 years, maybe? For me, at least. Longer for people without the foundation I have. If people are reaching that level only a quarter of the way up the Tower though, I doubt they're spending centuries sitting around and absorbing ki. Therefore, the higher Floors, must be denser.

"While the Inner Tower grows exponentially, the Outer Tower does not. This seems nonsensical, and I have no good explanation for it. That's just how it works.

"Each Floor of the Outer Tower is made up from the 128 planets that came together to form the Tower originally. They range in size from slightly smaller than your planet to a few times larger, but none are nearly as large as the higher Floors of the Inner Tower. Over the years, as the Tower has expanded and integrated new worlds, the new worlds have also been integrated into the Outer Tower. Your planet will be part of the 27th Floor, and once you reach that Floor, you will be able to travel there freely."

A few people start whispering excitedly, but all stop at Ganyu's next words.

"Statistically, only one of you will actually reach that far. The rest will either die or give up. It is technically possible to reach your home world without climbing all the way to the 27th floor, but frankly, it would be even more difficult than just climbing. Traveling between Floors that you've never been to is prohibitively expensive, to the point that you would need to reach the 40th Floor to be able to afford it, or you would need a very generous sponsor. If you can reach the 40th Floor, then of course you don't need to pay, and if you have a sponsor generous enough to spend that much, then they have confidence that you will climb far, and will spend that money on equipment instead. In other words, most of you will never see your old homes again."

He pauses again to let those words sink in before he starts again.

"With that being said, you all were chosen by the Tower for a reason. The Tower does not make mistakes. While it is more lenient on its requirements for new worlds, if you were truly incapable of ever reaching the top, then you would not be here. It will take dedication and effort beyond what you have ever given, and you may decide that you would rather give up and retire than continue your Climb, but it is possible. And should you manage to reach all the way to the top… Well, that brings me to my next topic: Ascendants."