Year One: The Foundation (Age 5-6)
Alex's first dive into Veritas felt like drowning in an ocean of light. The moment his consciousness merged with the virtual environment, he found himself standing in what appeared to be an infinite library, its crystalline shelves stretching beyond the horizon in all directions.
"Welcome to Veritas, Alex Chen," a gentle AI voice announced. "I am ARIA, your personal research assistant. Based on your access level and interests, I have prepared a customized learning environment. Shall we begin with basic cultivation theory?"
"Actually," Alex said, trying to keep his voice casual despite his racing heart, "could you show me everything available? I'd like to... browse first."
A pause. "Everything, Alex? The complete database contains approximately 847 trillion terabytes of information. Perhaps we should start with—"
"Everything," Alex confirmed. "Just the categories, to start."
Reality shifted around him, and suddenly he stood in a vast circular chamber with floating holographic labels orbiting around him like planets around a star:
CULTIVATION THEORIES • TECHNOLOGICAL ARCHIVES • BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES • DIMENSIONAL MATHEMATICS • UNIVERSAL LAWS • HISTORICAL RECORDS • EXPERIMENTAL DATA • THEORETICAL PHYSICS • CONSCIOUSNESS STUDIES • ENERGY MANIPULATION • SPECIES BIOLOGY • GALACTIC POLITICS • COMBAT TECHNIQUES • RESOURCE MANAGEMENT • ARTISTIC EXPRESSIONS • PHILOSOPHICAL FRAMEWORKS • ...
The list continued, each category containing millions of subcategories.
"Holy cosmos," Alex whispered, then caught himself. "I mean... wow, that's a lot of information."
"Indeed," ARIA agreed with what sounded suspiciously like amusement. "Most researchers focus on a single category for their entire careers. Shall I recommend a starting point?"
Alex grinned. "Let's start with basic cultivation theory. But I want the real basics—like, assume I know absolutely nothing."
Which is technically true, he thought. I know nothing about how cultivation actually works in this universe.
What followed was the most intensive year of learning Alex had ever experienced, and that was saying something for a former child prodigy who'd earned multiple PhDs, solved conciosness transfer, forcefully comprehended samsara law and many other amazing feats.
The cultivation system was elegantly complex. Origin energy flowed through everything—matter, space, time, even thoughts and emotions. Cultivators learned to absorb this energy into their bodies, refine it in their dantian (a specialized organ that developed during puberty), and use it to manipulate universal laws.
But it was the talent system that truly fascinated him.
"Think of talent as a key," ARIA explained during one of their sessions, manifesting a holographic lock-and-key demonstration. "Origin energy is the door, and techniques are instructions on how to use the key. Some people are born with simple keys—they can unlock basic doors. Others have master keys that can open almost anything."
"What determines the type of key you get?" Alex asked, already suspecting the answer.
"Genetics, soul structure, environmental factors during development, and random universal chance," ARIA listed. "It's one of the few things in cultivation that cannot be directly controlled."
Random chance, huh? Alex thought. Wonder what category 'impossible reincarnation with forced law comprehension' falls under.
By the end of his first year in Veritas, Alex had absorbed every basic cultivation manual, technique guide, and theoretical framework that had been deemed "safe for children." It was roughly equivalent to earning three PhD degrees in cultivation studies.
His parents were... concerned.
"Alex, sweetheart," Sarah said during dinner one evening, "ARIA sent us your study reports. You've been in Veritas for six hours a day, every day, for the past year."
"Is that... bad?" Alex asked around a mouthful of synthetic noodles.
Michael rubbed his temples. "Son, most adult researchers don't maintain that kind of study intensity. Are you sure you're not pushing yourself too hard?"
"I feel fine," Alex assured them. "Really good, actually. Learning is fun!"
"Fun," his father repeated slowly. "You think absorbing the equivalent of multiple university degrees is fun."
"Don't you?" Alex asked innocently.
His parents exchanged one of their looks.
"Alright," Sarah sighed, "but you're also going to join the neighborhood kids' hover-ball league. You need social interaction with people your own age."
Alex groaned internally but nodded. Small price to pay for unlimited access to universal knowledge.
Year Two: Advanced Integration (Age 6-7)
"ARIA, I want to see everything related to advanced technology," Alex announced as he entered Veritas for the start of his second year.
"Certainly. Shall I start with basic engineering principles, or—"
"Skip the basics," Alex said quickly. "I want to see what humanity has achieved at its peak."
"Alex," ARIA's voice carried a note of caution, "some of these technologies are incredibly advanced. Without proper foundational knowledge—"
"Try me."
What Alex discovered made his previous life's achievements look like cave paintings.
Humanity had developed matter-energy converters that could transform pure energy into any arrangement of atoms. Dimensional folding technology that could fit a planet-sized laboratory into a device smaller than his fist. Consciousness transfer systems that could backup and restore human minds. Time dilation fields that could slow or accelerate time within defined areas.
And that was just the civilian technology.
"How is any of this possible?" Alex breathed, watching a demonstration of a device that could synthesize custom-designed life forms in minutes.
"Origin energy," ARIA explained. "Once humanity learned to properly harness universal energy, the fundamental limitations of physics became... flexible. Energy requirements become trivial when you can tap directly into the universe's power source. Material constraints disappear when you can convert energy to matter at will."
No wonder my Earth knowledge seems primitive here, Alex thought. We were trying to launch heavy tin cans into space using controlled explosion while these people had already figured out how to rewrite reality.
But even more fascinating was how everything integrated. Technology enhanced cultivation, cultivation enhanced technology, and both together pushed the boundaries of what was possible.
"ARIA, show me the theoretical limits," Alex requested. "What can't we do?"
"Interesting question. Current theoretical limitations include: creating energy from nothing—we can only convert and manipulate existing energy. True time travel—we can slow or accelerate time, but not reverse it. Permanent resurrection—we can heal any injury and extend life indefinitely, but death remains... mostly permanent, well not exactly true, if you can find a Tier 11 cultivator, He/She can go to the river of time dimension and go fetch your soul before the moment you died. And finally, forced breakthrough in cultivation—advancement must come from individual insight and effort."
Alex filed that information away. So I can't cheat my way to cosmic power, but everything else is potentially possible.
By the end of year two, Alex had absorbed the accumulated technological knowledge of a Type-3 civilization. He understood engineering principles that could reshape galaxies and manufacturing techniques that could build solar systems.
His hover-ball teammates thought he was weird, but at least he was getting better at pretending to be a normal kid.