Calm Wanderer
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(MNIBP) Chapter 32 - The three cultivation Paths
🕑 Added 2023-12-25 19:20:11 +0000 UTCThe Highlands, New Jersey, USA.
Ben's P.O.V.
Everyone nodded at her question, prompting her to turn her body toward the opened hatch and put her left foot on the first step of the descending staircase. The following scene confirmed Ben's hunch as the group started descending the staircase two by two until they reached the bottom which was further than the man expected.
The ceiling should be around 10 feet (around 3 meters) from the ground while the room's height reached somewhere around 13 feet (around 4 meters) which was clearly not usual, but then again so was having an underground facility that caters to high-level SHIELD agents.
In any case, the group arrived in a sort of lobby with a similar 'wooden' theme as the house with a sofa, two chairs, and a few potted tropical plants. The place was pretty minimalist and despite being underground, it did not feel suffocating. There was a lack of windows, but that came with being underground.
Once the Parkers finished observing the room, Natalia resumed her role of tour guide and stated. “This is the lobby that's currently located below the first-floor bathroom. From here, you've got access to two different rooms, the 'office' and the 'training' room. The 'office' is below the garage and the 'training' room, due to the great need for space, is located under the rest of the house.”
“It's only now that I realize that you're truly working for a spy agency, darling. It feels a bit surreal.” May commented while grabbing his hand. Even Madeline who was previously silent shook her head and added. “It's as if we're in a movie.” Chuckling briefly at their reactions, Ben retorted.
“I've used plenty of safe houses during my missions as a Green Beret and many times I got my a... I mean, my life was saved thanks to the house having a hidden underground cellar. But I've got to admit that I never had one that seemed so beautiful.” With an amused smile on her face, the redhead replied.
“Wait till you see the other rooms. Follow me.” The woman then went to a wooden panel on one side of the room and put her hand on a seemingly random pattern on the frame, which suddenly moved backward slightly before moving to the side and letting the group see what was behind.
“Behold the office!” The redhead exclaimed in a joking tone. The place looked like those big tech companies' office space. It was open with a few desks here and there and a strange device on each of them. There was also a whiteboard on one side, but Ben had to admit that with the wooden theme going on in the entire house, it felt almost out of place.
“Let me show you how those devices work.” The female agent declared before walking toward one of the devices that Ben spotted on the desks earlier. She then put her palm on the top of the metallic object before taking it off as it was activated. As soon as she took off her hand, a holographic image appeared with the phrase 'Welcome, Ms. Romanov' written in bold letters.
Cocking his eyebrow, Ben asked. “Holographic technology?” Nodding her head, the tall woman replied. “Just like all the devices we're using, it's pretty new, so don't pay too much attention to how the hardware looks. It IS pretty powerful though.” “WOAH!!” Peter exclaimed along with MJ. Gayle was doing the same, but she clearly looked like she did it because Peter and MJ did and not because she understood the implication of that technology.
Natalia did not comment on the kids' reaction and instead continued. “It's much more powerful than standard computers, and it's sufficiently encrypted that only someone like Stark could hack it.” The helpless tone used for the last words brought a smile to Ben's face who asked with curiosity.
“Did he do it before?” Gazing at him with a frustrated expression, the woman replied. “He did. And not just once. He hacked SHIELD's network so many times that SHIELD had to hire many new IT people. Not that it really helped but...” She paused for a second before adding.
"And you know what he did every time? That as...*Cough* That man left a small message saying “Iron Man was here” with a smiley face. And he did not stop there. Oh no! At one point I had to play the secretary for him and, after he discovered that I was working for SHIELD, he spammed my ENCRYPTED phone with annoying Star Wars memes EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. I even had to beg Pepper Potts to make him stop.”
As if to remove her frustration, the redhead kept rubbing her face with a bitter look but was suddenly interrupted by May who asked curiously. “Which memes?” Noticing her interested look, Ben was reminded of the fact of his wife's love for some movie franchises, and among them, Star Wars was probably one of her favorites.
She did not explicitly tell him that, of course, but the fact that she made him watch the six movies more than ten times made it pretty clear. In any case, Natalia was a good sport and showed her the said memes. A few seconds of reading later May burst into laughter, greatly intriguing Ben who took the phone from her hand and checked it.
On the screen was the image of Obi-Wan Kenobi with the caption 'You were supposed to be a real secretary, not a SHIELD's spy!'. The next image was admiral Ackbar saying 'It's a spy!'. The next one was a picture of Anakin with Padme with the words 'I don't like spies. They're annoying, nosy, a bunch of liars and they get everywhere.'
The memes kept going but Ben decided to give the phone back to Natalia since he did not feel like scrolling through dozens of memes which all made fun of the female agent. It did make him chuckle though as he handed the phone back. Patting her shoulder, he declared with a 'sympathetic' voice. “I'm really glad I'm not in your shoes.”
Rolling her eyes at the fake sympathy in his words, she simply decided not to comment and instead, she went on to explain how the 'computers' worked to everyone present. It was not too complicated as the semi-AI integrated into the device was incredibly helpful to guide them through everything.
Before they left for the training room, the female agent added. “Every cultivation technique and profession-based knowledge that SHIELD owns are in those computers, so feel free to consult them to get what you need. You can thank Ben's status as an Avenger for that by the way.” She of course briefly explained to the people present, besides Ben obviously, what she was talking about.
All of them were interested when they learned that by following those methods they would be able to become a Supe themselves. Even Gayle was very excited and wanted to start right away since, as she put it, she wanted to 'kick the bad guys' butt'. Her enthusiasm made the adults chuckle, after which Madeline explained to her that she needed to wait until the tour ended.
And thus the group went on to the training room in the same way they entered the office. Natalia set her hand on a particular shape somewhere on the wooden panel that covered the whole lobby. The panel then reacted similarly by going backward and then to the side, letting the group enter the sizable room.
That particular room, unlike the whole house, had walls, floor, and ceiling in a sort of gray-brown metal, giving the place a more futuristic feel than anywhere else. Of course, the area was not empty, as Ben could spot many devices here and there, with some that he could not even recognize the use of.
Of course, with the fact that the place was called 'Training' room, he could easily guess that they were there to help them train. In any case, it was better to ask Natalia instead of wasting his time. Before he could even voice his question, however, the woman started to explain how to use every single device and what they were for.
She also added that there was a holographic computer activated at all times in the room and they could use it to search for anything training-related. Once she was done with every device but one, she stopped in front of that very same device which was a metallic square object slightly resembling the numerous scanners used to lock the doors.
“What is that?” Ben asked, intrigued. “I was waiting for you to ask.” She exclaimed before responding. “This is an affinity scanner. It's still a prototype, like every technology in this house, but it works well enough for you guys to use it.” May swiftly questioned. “Affinity like for those cultivation techniques you were talking about earlier?”
Nodding her head, the redhead retorted. “Exactly. This device scans your body and can roughly tell a few of your affinity types.” That last information was a bit cryptic for everyone present, prompting Ben to ask. “Affinity types?” That question made the woman facepalm and answer. “That's right! I completely forgot to explain about the cultivation paths and the different elemental affinities.”
“Alright, I'll make it short! If you want to get more details, you can use the Holo-Computers. They've got everything.” After briefly clearing her throat, Natalia started her explanation. “In the Norse cultivation system, there are three main Paths. The three are Warrior, Mage, and Psychic. They're pretty self-explanatory. Warriors cultivate their body with Universal energy, Mages cultivate their Magic power and Psychics cultivate their Mental Power.”
Peter, the ever-bright mind, quickly asked. “So Uncle Ben is a warrior type, right?” Nodding her head, Natalia replied. “Exactly. But that doesn't mean he can only be a Warrior. Actually, most Norse cultivators are a mix of the three depending on their own affinity and opportunities. Or at least that's what the Asgardian's Prince explained to us, Avengers.”
“That means that this machine...” Peter pointed toward the scanner. “...will tell us which kind of cultivator we can be, correct?” "Yes, but that's only the Energy affinity. The second type is tied to the Mage Path, and it has to do with which Elements you're more attuned to. The five main Elements being Earth, Metal, Fire, Water, and Wood.”
The quantity of information was a bit overwhelming for the Parkers who, before the Chitauri attack on the city, were living a somewhat normal life. Now, however, they were thrown into a world that none of them were truly ready for. At the same time, they were greatly excited about the possibilities that following that path would bring them. At least, Ben was certain that both he and May were.
As for the others? The silver-eyed man could easily spot a similar emotion appearing in their eyes after Natalia finished with her explanation. The next few seconds were silent as everyone was lost in thought, while Ben was looking toward Natalia with the two sharing a smile at the scene before them.
A moment later, Ben broke the silence by asking another question. “You mentioned 'main' elements. Does that mean there are others?” That question came to him very quickly since, as someone who would have to deal with Supes very often, he needed to understand what he was supposed to expect. By expecting the unexpected, he would never be taken by surprise. Sounded good but it was difficult if not impossible to implement. Trying would not hurt, though.
“Right. There are other Elements called 'Special Elements' which are usually linked to the Main ones, like Ice. Just so you know, I've only started cultivating a few weeks ago so I don't know much more than that.” The woman answered. She paused for a second before adding. “As I said earlier, if you want more details, you should go check those computers. They've got a treasure trove of information.”
The group nodded before Ben questioned. “You've talked about affinities and Paths. But what about strength? I mean Level, Ranks, or whatever it's called?”
