Sight & Severance

He trained. He was chosen to rise above, standing out among his peers through insight and brilliance. He was ready. Yet he failed.  Years have gone by since Karu’s ritual to open his first gate went awry. The seven gates of a cultivator and the corresponding power they provide should have been within his grasp, be it the strength of the heart gate, the mana potency of the breath gate or any of the other wonders of mana awakened inside him. Instead, the would-be cultivator has found himself lost and without purpose in a kingdom which strives - but sometimes fails - to find a place for everyone in their grand hierarchy. Cultivators are sorely needed to keep them safe after all, because the distorting haze of the Aberrance and its horrors surrounds them on all sides as monsters prowl the wilds.  However, the howls of unknown monsters herald a shift to Karu’s malaise as he discovers that there are more ways to cultivate than he had been taught, leaving him an opportunity to seize something unknown that is both exciting and terrifying in equal measures. Because even the world and the ways of cultivation are much more vast than he could even dream of. And now? It wasn’t in the way he expected, but now they are finally his to discover.  What to expect: - A cultivation story centered around mana. - A curious, creative and rather social MC with powers leaning much more towards spells than martial techniques. - An MC needing to seize what power he can and build upon it, be it in the heat of the moment or carefully planned. - A system that governs the magic of the world while staying mostly unobtrusive. - A story focusing on discovery, taking the time to explore the world, its mana and the many expressions thereof. What not to expect: - Many of the classic xianxia cultural and social tropes normally associated with cultivation  (not out of my dislike of them, but rather that they did not fit the story I imagined.) - A loner MC focusing only on personal power Cover art is made by Elinore, a.k.a. anotherillustrator (And a sad end-note due to bot scrapings: This is an original story written by Fivefold Hummingbird and posted on the site Royal Road. If you are reading this anywhere else, it has been illicitly posted there and should be reported)