Chapter 83: Comprehend Your Tier

Makun stared at the book, sweat dripping down his temple. He was ’scared’ of going to the book.

Skeptical of what might happen if he went to it.

Just what is this book? Why does it suck so much out of me? Makun asked himself.

He steadied himself, moved from the tree he used as support when he stumbled earlier and approached the book.

From a distance, he felt a sense of familiarity from it, as if it radiated his aura.

Makun reached the book and picked it up.

It felt heavier, heavier than ever before, and the color had changed to take on a red hue.

What is happening? Is it customized?

The time he had used the book near Hope Shelter, he had noticed it printing the content in real time but had thought nothing of it.

But now, now that even the colors of the book had changed, he had so many questions.

Was there a mechanism in the book that customized the content to match the user? That was the main question he had, because that was the only explanation for why his Ashe was absorbed.

If that was really the case, customized content, how did that work and what was the limit of it?

He set his thoughts aside and looked at the book.

Comprehend Your Tier

Mystics always wonder what type of comprehension they should pursue at a given moment, what is it they should understand as an Initiate, and what is it they should understand as an Apprentice. It varies infinitely, but there are some set patterns.

However, to go down one of those patterns, you must understand the tier you are at and what it asks of you, and to do that you must comprehend its name.

As an apprentice, you went through Tier 1, an Initiate.

Makun raised his eye when he read it. Had the book used his Ashe to comprehend he was an apprentice? How did that even work?

He shook his head and kept reading.

What does initiation mean? Easy right?

Initiation is introduction. It is the beginning. When reality recognizes you as a mystic, it grants you access to the mechanics of existence through your Route. You are given information: memories, formulas, instincts lodged directly into your mind by the Deep.

Makun nodded his head, the memories of everything related to warriors he had in his brain and the formula, he had deduced.

If he were to interpret initiation, it was like building a foundation, a foundation upon which you interpreted reality. And he felt like it was the easiest tier even though he had not yet advanced through every tier.

Is it supposed to be the easiest? Makun questioned himself.

In every domain, foundation was seen as the most important part of the process.

When building, a solid foundation prevented crashes. That was why skyscrapers never collapsed, be it in Tokyo, the USA, or Dubai.

At school, to perfectly advance, you needed a perfect foundation: how to understand numbers, letters, how to memorize easily. If you mastered the foundation, you were sure to succeed.

Is it different for mysticism? Makun asked himself.

He did not think so.

He knew practitioners relied on comprehension, and as such, the comprehension you relied on had to be solid, because you interpreted the world that way.

He was sure that Jorg as a Graviton Sovereign would find ways to incorporate weight, mass, and gravity in philosophical debates. That was how he viewed life.

This reminded Makun of Taoism, practiced in Asia, or the Dao he had read about online. If your Dao was weak, it was easy to get lost. As such, building a strong Dao was important, hence the importance of foundation.

The foundation shaped everything that came after. A weak foundation meant a weak path. A crooked foundation meant a crooked understanding of reality.

He had an illusion of choice when he had advanced. But in reality, he had no choice in the matter. His foundation had been laid the moment the Deep assigned him the Berserk sub-route.

But the basics were the same, be it his fast progression or a slower progression for someone like Mark. Initiation served as an introduction into mysticism, your route, the way you view life and how you were now meant to interpret reality.

He continued reading.

Your task as an Initiate is to assimilate this knowledge, to understand the mechanics your Route operates on, and to begin the process of imprinting your Will onto atoms through Ashe.

Initiation is discovery. You learn what you are.

If Initiation is introduction, what is apprenticeship? Easy right?

Apprenticeship is application. It is the stage where theory becomes practice, where knowledge becomes skill.

Makun nodded. It seemed mysticism followed common principles. He had been a fast food employee in the past and this was exactly the process they had followed.

The first few days, he had to be introduced to how it worked, the burgers, the sauces, cutting tomatoes etc. After introduction, he had to make them alone and you usually succeeded through practice.

This worked in a similar fashion. And could be applied to whatever field someone followed.

He sent his focus back on the book only to see a series of comparisons.

An Initiate is taught. An Apprentice must understand what it means to learn through doing.

An Initiate is shown the path. An Apprentice must walk it until the path becomes instinct.

An Initiate follows instructions. An Apprentice must question, refine, and make the teachings their own.

Makun read this, nodding. It was definitely interesting but he was confused. As a warrior what was he meant to do, fight?

That was comprehensible. The warrior route sought reconnection to the source through combat, understanding the body, understanding perseverance, discipline…

But he was a berserk, chaos and rage. How could he be an apprentice of such a route? Should he just create chaos everywhere? Kill? Destroy?

Was that what it meant to be a berserk warrior?

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