NOVEL WEB Chapter 7: Gains
When the teleportation faded, I was once again in the meeting square. I looked around for anyone I recognized but all the faces were different, foreign. After a few minutes, I was forced to give up. I said a silent prayer for Tyrone although I wasn't sure anyone was listening. I idly wondered how religious people were doing with all of this craziness. I was about to leave and check out my rewards when a familiar voice ended the silence. I turned around and found the volcano man standing with his arms folded.
"You all should have received your species pills." That answered a question I was curious about. We all received the same rewards or at least similar rewards. Which meant that the quality had to be different or else everything would be a waste. I was pulled out of my thoughts when he continued. "We will discuss the significance of the pills tomorrow." He hesitated for a moment as if deep in consideration. "I would recommend you take it in your bathroom."
Several people called out a variety of questions, but the man refused to answer any more questions. I raised an eyebrow but between the exhaustion from the conflict and the near-death experience I didn't care enough to ask. Once I was sure there was nothing else to say I made my way back to my apartment. I was about to take a seat when I found another pill bottle and a slip of paper waiting. I picked it up and raised an eyebrow. The rewards were pushed to the back of my mind as I opened the new bottle and swallowed the pill. It settled into my stomach and then a wave of pain spread through me. I groaned as muscles and bones began to repair themselves. I stumbled a step as I tried to deal with the changes.
It was like someone had run their nails along a chalkboard only the chalkboard was my bones. I let out another groan as my ribs popped back into place. I closed my eyes and pulled my focus to my dantian trying to distract my mind from the sensation. I wasn't sure how long it took but when it finished, I felt better than ever. I stood up and slowly rocked on my feet. Once I felt brave enough, I started bouncing on my heels. I then threw a storm of punches; my imagination came alive as I saw the metallic man again. I shadow-boxed with him for several minutes and I knew that my memory of him was nothing compared to his actual power.
After a few more minutes I ended my fun and took a seat. I would get a healing pill after every quest which meant that injuries weren't going to be a problem. The note implied that as long as I wasn't dead on arrival, I would get healed, but I had no interest in testing what that meant exactly. It was a relief to have some kind of safety net though which was about as much as I could expect. With that taken care of I turned my attention to my status screen. The changes were pretty impressive including the benefit from the fruit. Unlike what I had assumed, it boosted neither my Intelligence nor my Wisdom. Instead, it was a seven-point boost to my Luck attribute.
It was a bit annoying since Wisdom was the key to my power at the moment, but Luck was rarer. It also felt pretty good to get, as if it was a special reward for my hard work. I gained three more levels and nine more points. Which I was pretty sure was enough to maintain my lead on the rest of the group. I spent my points a bit reluctantly. I still wasn't sure if the single-focus route was ideal, but it should keep me alive during the tutorial. I reviewed the next part of my sheet and let out another laugh. I got a brand new title!
Overpowered: Solo kills enemy 15 levels or more above you. All stats +3.
It wasn't a percentage boost which made it less exciting but it was the equivalent of seven levels worth of points. Arguably a bit more than that since Luck couldn't be upgraded by regular levels regardless of that the title was a huge bonus on top of everything else. Part of me wanted to rush out and get some more fighting done but that was quickly snuffed out. I pulled up my status screen for a final review.
Name: Amari Jackson
Level 9
Species [1]Human
Affiliation Earth
Titles Big Game, Chosen, Leader of the Pack, Monstersbane, Overpowered, Prime Hunter
Limited Titles Tutorial-Quest 2
Agility 32
Constitution 26
Intelligence 37
Luck 36
Perception 24
Strength 26
Wisdom 56
Free Points 0
System Credits 00
With that finished I turned my attention to the last reward. It was called "Species Pill" which was mildly amusing. Based on the strong medicinal smell it was strong which only made me worry. That worker was hardly the most social of the trio which only made me wonder why he would bother warning us. After a second, I shrugged and made my way into the bathroom. If a man of few words takes the time and effort to give you advice then you had better listen. I removed the new robes not wanting to risk damaging them. I popped the pill into my mouth and swallowed it.
The pill sat in my stomach for a second before it began to dissolve. Unlike the healing pill, the energy from this one spread throughout my entire body. The expected pain didn't come, in its place was a stinging sensation. It felt a bit like being pricked by dozens of needles at once. I closed my eyes and let the sensation wash over me. I wasn't sure if this feeling or the pain was worse. After it had gone on for what felt like half an hour a new sensation began to spread. Weakness and muscle aches replaced the pain, and I knelt over my sink. My eyes widened as a black film began to drip out of my pores.
Panic fought with exhaustion as I tried to process what the hall was happening. I didn't feel any worse outside of the shakes my body felt great. Which helped me calm down. A stomach spasm made the moment worse and less than a second later black film erupted from my mouth. I groaned and said I silent prayer for the horrible sensation to end. Mercy was not one of the gifts from the System. The torture went on for what felt like an eternity before I was able to clean myself off.
I returned to the main room and was about to head to bed when I noticed something odd. My channels were thicker and wider. I pushed some energy through and let out a laugh. Not only could I push a bit more energy through them, but I could do it faster. I figured it was an increase of around ten percent which was amazing. I checked the section in my status screen but there was no change. "So is the upgrade not related to my actual species or is it not complete?" I wondered out loud.
I explored the changes for a few more minutes when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. It was a bit difficult to say for sure, but my appearance had improved a bit. My facial features seemed smoother and softer almost like I had professional makeup done which considering what had just dripped out of my pores made me feel even better. The questions I had only mounted but there was nothing more for me to do. I considered doing some cultivation, but I decided against it. I was exhausted, so I decided to get some sleep instead.
The next day I was up before the morning hum. The injuries and pain of yesterday long since faded. I made my way out of the building and got a spot to sit as close to the stage as possible. I still couldn't get to the very front but it didn't matter and wasn't worth trying to force my way forward.
"Good Morning everyone. I am glad to see that you all are doing well. You should be proud to have made it so far. Today we will be discussing one of the pillars of your cultivation. Your species upgrade is one of the few requirements for you to reach the next realm. Your time in the tutorial will give you opportunities for you to earn more pills or medicinal baths. It would be in your best interests to complete your upgrade during your time here." Aina's words settled onto the crowd like a weight. I was just about to ask a question when someone called out.
"Why should we care about our species or the next realm?" Once again I looked around for the speaker but couldn't find them. Based on the voice I thought it was a young man. I looked to Aina for their response.
"I suppose the largest benefit would be the power of a cultivator but if that isn't enough to motivate you. I would say the increase in your lifespan would be the big one. You will likely live less than a century if you depend only on attributes and exercise. Once you enter the second realm that will increase to approximately five hundred years depending on other factors."
If people were paying attention before, now they were utterly devoted to Aina. It didn't require a genius to figure out what they were thinking. The idea of living for five hundred years sounded too good to be true but it was a whole new story when the person telling you could show off magic. Hell, we could already do magic that was in the realm of godhood before. The idea of living for hundreds of years was much more realistic.
"That is but one of the many benefits. Upon reaching the third realm you will gain the ability to fly and then your life span will be measured in millennia. Far longer than your species would have survived previously. More importantly, you will be able to leave a mark in the multiverse and create a legacy for your descendants. The benefits of cultivation are vast but you all must know what to expect. You have all taken the first steps to the advancement of your species but the process is not complete. The exact number of improvements you will need to make will be a bit different for each of you based on a variety of factors including the quality of the pills you have taken so far."
I chuckled to myself at the explanation. I couldn't be completely sure but I doubted the System couldn't make pills that would complete the process all at once. Which meant there had to be a secondary reason for all of this. I could mostly put it together. The first pill would cause people to freak and then Aina would come in with the explanation. People would get excited at living for centuries and throw themselves into the next quest with reckless abandon. The only thing I didn't get was the point of it all. Why did the System want a meat grinder like this?
"Aina, I have a question," I called out before they could move to the next topic.
"Yes? Ah, Amari right? You may ask."
"What does the System want? Surely there has to be a reason for it to go through all this trouble?"
"Ah yes well there are many origin stories for the System of which I am authorized to tell you none. I will share with you the most commonly accepted beliefs about the System's motivations. It wants to create the strongest cultivator possible."
I raised an eyebrow at that but didn't question it further. I didn't get the restrictions placed on what we could but I wasn't interested in upsetting the System over something like that. A few more questions went out but none of them were interesting. It turned out that a few people got a slightly more unique quest. They had to go hunt some kind of fox creature. They didn't do too well. Based on the crying and complaints nearly all of their group died and the people who survived refused to do anything else. Thankfully the System didn't arrive to blast them though I wasn't sure why. Either way, Aina went over a few more things before we were left to our own devices. I was about to head back to my apartment when I heard a familiar voice.
"Amari?"
I turned around just as Tyrone and another man stepped in between two people. When I saw him I laughed. He wore grey leather armor and had a new bow slung over one shoulder. The other man was a bit taller than him and had locs only slightly shorter than my own. He didn't have any weapons but based on the scars on his arms he had to be a hand-to-hand fighter. Either that or he used something I couldn't see. "Glad to see you survived," I said with a grin.
"When the battle ended I tried to gather some people to come and find you but the System started its teleportation before I could."
"No worries I wasn't exactly in the best shape at the end of the quest. The boss did a number on me but I got healed up thanks to the healing pill."
"So this one is the man you told me about?" The second man took an opportunity to speak up. He had a thick Jamaican accent that made it hard for me to follow what he said but I got most of it.
"Ah right, Amari this is Ajani. He wasn't in our quest but he is pretty strong and my older brother."
I smiled at Ajani before nodding my head. "Nice to meet you Ajani. I hope your quest went well."
"It wasn't too difficult though fighting a saber-tooth tiger barehanded wasn't a walk in the park."
I raised an eyebrow at that. "What level are you?"
"Seven though I think I will reach level eight sometime tomorrow. What's yours? I am told you were around level six before the quest."
"Level nine though I think it will be a while before I hit ten. I am not in a hurry to fight something as strong as that metal man again."
Ajani nodded and folded his arms. "If we all survive this I want you to find me back on earth. I think it's going to be important to have a few friends in this world." He turned to Tyrone and gestured for him to follow. They both gave a nod of their heads and then walked away. Once they were out of earshot I let out a sigh. My level lead wasn't as big as I thought it was but having some help would be nice. I looked around one last time before heading back to my room. A few minutes later I was seated in my room. I sat down and reviewed my spells. Psychic Blast had reached the Advanced stage while Psychic Aegis reached the Intermediate. I wasn't sure how I felt about the spells only improving in combat situations so I decided to examine the sigils.
I studied them for what felt like an hour but I didn't make any progress. I could tell there was something in the symbols but I couldn't understand what it was. I felt like the way they were designed held some sort of meaning to it but I couldn't figure it out. I figured that either Aina would explain or that I would find an information crystal on it. It did make me wonder if I could make my sigils at some point. The idea of personalized spells sounded amazing although I doubted anything truly unique could exist. After my attempt, I decided to turn in for the night. Tomorrow was a cultivation day which would be mostly stress-free.