Adam's Simulator

"At this rate I think I could break through in less than a year."

And this news made him smile.

It meant that even with his meager talent, he wouldn't be lagging too far behind ordinary students.

According to Erwan's information, most second-year students were in the third rank of apprentice warriors.

For his part, he was bound to reach at least the stage of minor success in the body-forging technique.

He was already sure he could reach the third rank of apprentice warriors during the second year of high school, even if he didn't yet know how difficult it would be.

But his goal wasn't third, but rather fifth rank in his second year.

He wanted to be among the best in his high school.

"It's a pity that at the moment there's still a great distance to the high school geniuses."

Talent was like that, even if you gave your all in a discipline and quickly managed to reach a good level, you realized that what you considered a good level was the starting point for other people.

Adam wasn't unhappy about this, however; on the contrary, it enabled him to set himself ambitious goals.

Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded from the floor below.

"Adam, come and eat!"

It was his mother's voice, gentle but firm.

He sighed, muscles still aching, and slowly got to his feet.

"Coming!" he shouted in the direction of the door, while grabbing a towel to quickly wipe off his sweat.

When he reached the kitchen, the familiar smell of meat and spice stew enveloped him. His parents were already seated at the table.

His father looked at him curiously.

"You look exhausted, have you started training?" he asked, smiling wryly.

Clearly, his parents didn't want to revisit the subject of his aggression.

"Yes, progress is pretty good," he replied simply, taking a seat.

His mother placed a plate in front of him and patted him affectionately on the shoulder.

"That's good, but make sure you don't hurt yourself. The important thing with the body-forging technique is daily practice."

"There's no point in training longer one day, only to find yourself resting the next because your last workout imposed too heavy a burden on the body."

His father nodded as he cut a slice of bread.

"Your mother's right, it's that balance and perseverance that distinguishes good martial artists from mediocre ones."

Adam nodded, but his mind was elsewhere.

During the meal, his parents talked about everyday life: work, current bargains, and rumors of a tournament being organized in town.

"A tournament?" asked Adam, looking up from his plate.

"Yes, a big competition for those who have just awakened their talent and are therefore in their first year of high school. From what I've heard, those who achieve a good ranking could receive rich rewards." explained his father.

Adam felt a spark of excitement, but at the same time doubt.

For if he participated, he might attract too much unwanted attention, which might not be worth it.

A discreet development might be preferable.

"Are you going to take part big brother?" asked Leo with curious, admiring eyes.

It seemed that for him, if his big brother participated, he could win easily.

The parents looked at Adam with complicated eyes, knowing that with his talent he might not even qualify to join the tournament.

To Leo's disappointment, Adam shook his head.

"I don't know yet."

Eva and Eric looked at their son pensively, but chose to say nothing.

Because sometimes it was better to say nothing than to confront people with reality.

Although one person's reality could be totally different from another's.

For his part, Adam finished his meal in silence, an idea taking shape in his mind.

Back in his room and having taken another shower, he turned off the bedroom lights and got under the comforter, ready for bed.

Like an instinct, he was now able to display whatever he wanted as he wished.

[Technique: Kingdom of Kerya standard body forging method (input) (0/100)]

[Yxa points balance: 5]

The translucent blue windows seemed to illuminate his face, although if there was another person in the room, she wouldn't see a thing.

"What if I did another simulation?" wondered Adam, thinking that if he could do another one, he might still be able to improve his mastery of the body-forging method.

[It is currently impossible to run a second simulation due to the lack of energy accumulated by the system].

Adam was disappointed, but he'd expected it.

"When can I run a simulation again?"

[According to the system's calculations, it is necessary to wait a month between each simulation so that it can absorb enough energy present in the host's environment. However, if a solid energy source is found, this time can be drastically reduced].

"A solid energy source?"

Adam frowned before suddenly thinking of something.

Adam leapt out of bed, his face lit up with excitement. An idea had sprouted in his mind, clear and irresistible. He moved quickly to his desk, violently pulling out the bottom drawer.

There, among some small valuables, was a small, brilliant blue stone.

It was a spirit stone, a rare object his father had given him years ago, saying it might come in handy one day.

He didn't know what his father expected when he gave it to him, but it could be very useful right now.

He gripped the stone gingerly, feeling a slight pulsing warmth on contact with his skin.

The stone glowed faintly, as if reacting to his presence.

"This must be it... a solid energy source," he murmured.

Adam placed the stone in front of him, staring at the object with intense concentration. Then he mentally formulated his request.

"Simulator, can this stone be used to recharge the system?"

A translucent window immediately appeared in front of him.

[Analysis in progress...]

[Energy source detected: Low-ranking spiritual stone].

[Would you like to use it to recharge the system?]

[Yes / No]

"Yes!" replied Adam without hesitation.

As soon as he validated, a luminous halo enveloped the stone.

Adam watched, fascinated, as the stone's blue intensified, illuminating the dark room, and its light pulsed like a beating heart.

After a few seconds, an ethereal mist escaped from the stone and was sucked into an invisible vortex above his hand.

[Recharging in progress...]

[Energy absorbed: 10...40...70...100%.]

[Recharge complete. Simulator back in operation].

Simultaneously, the spirit stone disappeared completely, as if it had never existed.

"This is incredible... If I can use spirit stones to power the simulator, then the possibilities are endless."

He sat back down on his bed, activating the system with a mixture of nervousness and excitement.

[Simulation ready. Would you like to start a new session?]

[Yes / No]