NOVEL NEXT 29 - Self-Imposed Limitations
"I don't understand," I say. "How does limiting yourself increase your power?"
"It's one of the many mysterious aspects of oum," says Ganyu. "By setting a rule for yourself and cutting off some power, your other power is increased. The most famous example of this is the Patriarch of the Jin clan, Jin Hilon. He had great talent for oum in general, but he always preferred to get up close and personal when he fought. So, he set a condition for himself. By forgoing his ability to manipulate oum outside his body, his ability to manipulate it within and strengthen his own body became unmatched."
"He is said to be indestructible, and was able to traverse the Central Void with ease as a mere 5 star. Despite not being able to use oum outside his body, the mere wind pressure from his blows is enough to kill weaker opponents from a thousand miles away. Not once during his Climb was he ever seen injured, earning him the title of Bloodless Warrior, and even now, he is considered to be one of the strongest beings in the Tower in terms of combat power."
"So you can basically trade away some of your power to increase other power?"
"More or less," says Ganyu. "Another famous Ascendant with a well known self-imposed restriction is the Sun Knight whose power depends on the time of day. At night, he is weaker than some 8 star cultivators, but during the day, he is nigh unbeatable. Even the Bloodless Warrior never dared challenge him near noon."
Okay, that one just sounds dumb. Why would you do that to yourself? Either he got really lucky and had powerful people to watch his back at night, or he has some other tricks up his sleeve to make up for his downtime. Also, how does that even work in the Tower? Clearly there are some dimensional shenanigans going on, but we're still indoors. The sun is artificial, right? Is it not dependent on the actual sun, and instead just the user's perception of time?
"Something that might be more useful for you would be the Shin family matriarch's self-imposed restriction," continues Ganyu. "In exchange for not being able to heal others, her healing of herself was drastically increased. Her moniker is The Unkillable, and has been since she was only a 2 star Climber. There's also the Celestial Maiden, the current leader of the Hatep family, who went the opposite direction. In exchange for not being able to heal herself, her healing on others is increased.
"It's even possible to do more… unique restrictions. For example, I once met a man who was able to sacrifice his memories for power. He was very strong, but retired on the 53rd Floor because he got put in a corner and was forced to sacrifice some important memories that resulted in him forgetting why he wanted to climb the Tower in the first place.
"Not all restrictions need to be so drastic though. One common technique that many Climbers utilize are boosting restrictions. As an example, one that I utilize occasionally when needed is I will increase my oum output by a certain amount–let's say a quarter–and in exchange, however long I use this boost, my oum output will be reduced by that same amount for the same amount of time afterward."
At that, I make a connection. While the conditions were not so clearly defined, I've used similar techniques back on Earth. There were also many medicines that could accomplish similar things. Actually, as I think about it more, the more major self-imposed restrictions existed back on Earth too, though in a more primitive form, and we definitely didn't have any clear-cut definitions.
In the life where I was at my most powerful, there was that one man who called himself the Phantom Thief. As far as I know, he had no combat prowess whatsoever, but he was so good at infiltration and stealing that he was able to take jewelry from my bedroom while I was in it. I tried to catch him because I didn't think such a thing was possible, but I never found him, and never got the answer. However, it's very possible that he had some kind of self-imposed restriction that granted him extreme stealth abilities at the cost of his ability to fight. Maybe nothing as formal as what Ganyu described, but something similar could have happened.
It wasn't really a thing that most of us would have considered though. There was a culture of purity and self-mastery associated with ki. We were martial artists who generally took a very holistic view of ki utilization. Cutting out certain things to allow deeper focus on others was a core tenet of asceticism, but it never manifested quite so clearly as what Ganyu is saying. Maybe Earth just didn't have oum for long enough? It faded a long time ago, and it's possible we just hadn't discovered these things yet.
"I strongly encourage you not to dive too deeply into more permanent restrictions just yet," says Ganyu, pulling me out of my train of thought. "Things like what the Bloodless Warrior and the Unkillable do are not irreversible, but breaking your own restrictions comes with backlash, and the greater the restriction, the greater the backlash. Most Climbers wait until they are at least 3 star and they have settled on their own Path.
"Also, don't feel pressured to make such a restriction. There are plenty of Climbers and Ascendants who choose to avoid them entirely. For example, me. I do use temporary restrictive techniques, but I have no desire to permanently lose any part of my abilities."
"I see," I say.
I'm not even sure what kind of restriction might tempt me. The Unkillable sounds interesting. I would probably do well with that. But I'm not sure I want to give up my ability to heal others. Not because I plan on healing others all the time, but it's a good way to make a quick buck in times of need.
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There's not a chance I borrow the Bloodless Warrior's restriction. I rely on fire too much.
Definitely not copying the Sun Knight. I don't know why he would even think that was a good idea.
Maybe I could try something to make my flames stronger? Ganyu mentioned other elements being common among transmuters. Maybe I sacrifice my ability to transmute wind or something in exchange for empowered fire? Something to think about in the future for sure.
"Still, you should wait until at least the 13th Floor before you decide anything. Even if you're in an extreme rush to customize your abilities, you should still wait until you've finished the 13th Floor."
"Why?" I ask. "What's on the 13th Floor."
"The Tower enforces a strict rule of secrecy about the contents of many Floors, but none more than the 13th. I can't tell you anything. Though I think you in particular will find that Floor… enlightening."
"I assume you can't answer, but just in case, why me in particular?"
He thinks for a moment. "There's a volcano."
I press him a bit to elaborate on that, but it seems even that much was already a stretch. He looks a little bit sick. I think. It's hard to tell with the color of his skin and how sunken-in his cheeks are.
The conversation soon turns back to self-imposed restrictions and I ask a few more questions and get a few more answers. For example, while restrictions can't be removed without backlash, they can sometimes be altered. There was one Ascendant known as The Paladin, who swore an oath to use his power to uphold justice and peace on his home world, granting him additional power. Then, a powerful Climber destroyed his home world. With no world left for his oath to be tied to, he was able to switch that oath to one of vengeance without penalty. Later, when he killed that powerful Climber, his oath of vengeance was fulfilled, and he swore a new oath to uphold peace and justice throughout the entire Tower, and his force, the Paladins, were a well-known group with Climbers policing every Floor of the Outer Tower.
Oaths are apparently one of the main forms of self-imposed restrictions too. Sacrificing entire methods of using oum is more rare, and often, the people trying to imitate the Bloodless Warrior and the Immortal end up dying early in their Climbs. Instead, oaths to maintain a certain code of conduct are much more popular, as they're less restrictive, and usually less controversial, since most of them make the Tower a better place.
There are some strange rules around what kind of limitations are effective though. An oath to not kill children won't have much effect on someone who had no plans to kill children in the first place. An Augmenter giving up the ability to use certain Creator techniques won't gain as much power as a Creator doing the same.
It's difficult to determine exactly what is valuable and what isn't though. Some of it is objective, but a good portion is also subjective. Restricting yourself from things you enjoy is more powerful than restricting yourself from things you don't. An example Ganyu used is an oath of chastity. It is almost always strong, despite not actually being that important for most people who are simply seeking power.
All this puts a bit of a damper on my plan to sacrifice wind for stronger fire. It's not a terrible plan, since I'm a Transmuter, so giving up a Transmuter ability would be valuable, but at the same time, since I currently have no intention of transmuting wind, it won't be as effective as it otherwise could be. It's a bit of a catch 22. The best restrictions are on things that I like, but if I like it, why would I restrict myself from it?
I still think that sacrificing other kinds of transmutation could be an effective plan. After all, the Bloodless Warrior didn't enjoy ranged fights, and his self-imposed condition makes him arguably the strongest man in the Tower. However, it's not something I can decide after just a single conversation. I need to get a better feel for what exactly falls under transmutation before I start trying to eschew it.
About an hour after I entered the office, Ganyu decides it's time to start wrapping his lecture up. I'm fine with that, since he's told me a lot and given me a lot to think about. Before he lets me go though, he turns the conversation back to what we talked about in the beginning.
"Are you really going to keep that nickname?" he asks.
"Yes."
"If you really want to 'live up to the name,' I have a suggestion.'"
I nod for him to continue.
"Near the main coliseum, there are smaller arenas where you can spar against other Climbers. The spars have guaranteed safety through constructs created by the Floor Lord, so it's impossible to get severely injured or die unless you push yourself too hard or specifically remove the safety constraints. I recommend going there and accepting a few challenges. Making a big statement will clear away most of the rabble. If you do it before the Starter Quest, even better."
I look at him for a few seconds. That doesn't sound like a bad idea at all, but it once again raises the question of why he's bringing it up. He's not really going overboard on anything, but I am getting the distinct feeling that he's more invested in my Climb than he lets on.
"Thanks for the advice," I say.
"No problem. Have a good night."
I leave the office and take the lift back up to the top floor of the dorm. Trinity reappears as soon as I exit, having not shown herself the entire time I was with Ganyu. Her presence makes the journey take a bit longer than it should, since she keeps running off to investigate things, but I make it most of the way back without incident. Unfortunately, on the top floor, Vanessa waits for me in the common area.
She is alone on one of the couches, and she moment the lift door opens, she locks eyes with me with a serious expression on her face. She stands up and walks toward me as I go forward to meet her, bracing myself for an annoying conversation. When we meet in the center of the area, Vanessa glances around to make sure we're alone before saying something I had been half-expecting ever since I changed my nickname.
"You're reincarnated, aren't you."