Chapter 49: Orange Scorching pool
"This is quite amazing…." Lucien muttered as he realized he could remember details concerning every single spell written in the grimoire so vividly, he felt like he was born with this knowledge.
He couldn't help but shiver at the advantages he had gotten thanks to the system and he even considered this as his only hope of survival. Based on his calculations, with the royal family protecting him, while he's still a student here, it concluded that at the rate of his improvement, he should be able to reach a level where he would be able to face protect himself against the Raizen clan when he graduates and with a few more years he should be able to surpass his grandfather.
[Don't be stupid] The system's voice echoed in his head cursing him to shiver.
[What you have now is knowledge, profound knowledge that I have… this will give you an advantage over your peers but that's all there is to it…. True strength here is decided by cultivation realms and as far as I am concerned, a level 1 human realm mage shouldn't get too cocky… You need to find ways to refine your body and spirit to help improve your cultivation realm quickly…. Only then will you be able to protect yourself] The system said.
Surprisingly, the system sounded a bit weak while it spoke and Lucien carefully guessed that this is the reason for its constant silence? Could there be an issue?
Thinking back on the possibilities, Lucien couldn't help but consider the possibility that the consciousness of the system's creator is getting weaker. Considering a few things, Lucien knew that the system has gone out of its way to keep him alive from time to time thereby draining a large chunk of its power.
[Lucien….] The system could read his thoughts and wanted to speak but it was interrupted by Lucien.
"You don't have to worry… rest however you must and regain your strength, I will be okay" Lucien answered horridly.
[…]
[Very well then…] The system responded after a short while and Lucien felt like a pair of eyes watching him from behalf had finally vanished. With the little he knew, the system is not going to stop working because the creator is asleep, things will go on normally but the only thing is that he will end up losing the voice that occasionally gave him some tips the system won't give.
"The last thing it said is to cultivate more and increase my realm and I believe he is right… we are still at the first level of the human realm and for that reason, our powers are greatly delayed subdued thanks to our weak bodies but if I can cultivate to a higher realm there will be more opportunities.
With the matter resolved Lucien wasted no time and dashed out of the room and took the teleportation pod to a place where he thought he wouldn't be going.
Xiu!
The teleportation pod in a certain room let out a bright light and from it, Lucien stepped out. His eyes shot across the room for a short while before returning to the man dressed in a silver kimono with the crashing wave design. Seeing this, Lucien felt the urge to ask him if this was the only cloth he had but his fear for Inspector Han are surpassed his curiosity.
"Why are you here?" Instructor Han asked impatiently.
"Don't give me that crappy cold attitude..." Lucien complained.
"Anyway I need spirit cultivation materials and body cultivation materials" Lucien added.
His request was quite odd, causing instructor Han to raise an eyebrow. Apparently, students during this period need to focus on the basics and not cultivation matters and that's why they are yet to bring it up in classes.
Now what Instructor Han failed to understand is how Lucien who should be finding it more difficult to cope yet he's here trying to cultivate ahead of others. In his opinion, there are only two possibilities. It's either Lucien's priority is misplaced or he has more secrets about the mysterious system he hasn't told them yet.
"Is there something you would love to tell me?" Instructor Han asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Maybe if you asked nicely from the start I would have gladly given you all the information you need" Lucien hissed.
"Well, you if refuse to speak then I don't think I can help you" Instructor Han retorted.
"I plan to use the final favor the emperor owes me… do you think you can stop me?" Lucien sneered but then a rare sinister smile appeared on Instructor Han's face, causing Lucien's smile to crumble instantly.
"To inform the emperor you have to go through me… if you keep making my life more difficult I will delay your request by a few months... Maybe a year or two" Instructor Han sneered.
With that, Lucien had no other choice but gave the details of everything that happened in the last we days to Instructor Han, purposefully omitting the part of transmuting the powers of the magic beast and people into his body. He chose to trust the system on that one and keep that information a secret to avoid unexpected issues.
"You learned everything in the grimoire just by touching it? Interesting!" Instructor Han frowned while he spoke.
In his own opinion, there must be a backlash for this much power Lucien is receiving. In this world, nothing comes free and in his opinion, Lucien is yet to find out the price for his power. With a sigh, Instructor Han concluded that the best he can do for Lucien is to help him strengthen himself so that he will be able to withstand the backlash.
"You don't have to use your final request on this… I will help you on this one but only on one condition…" Instructor Han said with a straight face.
"You will have to cultivate here… You are not allowed to undergo this process personally" Instructor Han added.
Hearing this request, Lucien was a bit confused. He didn't understand why instructor Han would ask something strange.
"Why?" Lucien couldn't help but ask.
"Cultivation is more dangerous than you think, especially for someone in your condition" Instructor Han said with a stern look on your face.
___________________________________________________________
After a few hours of preparation, Lucien was led to a secret chamber in Instructor Han's office. It was an empty room with a pool with boiling orange water. The temperature in the room was a bit warm yet cool at the same time, it was a strange feeling Lucien has never experienced.
"It's a body tempering chamber…" Instructor Han explained.
"Body tempering?" Lucien asked with a raised eyebrow.
The last time he checked Instructor Han was a mage who purely relied on magic and never cared about his physical prowess like most mages.
"After our battle with the invaders… After fighting Blink and seeing the difference in power, I realized what I was lacking" Instructor Han explained softly.
Hearing this, Lucien couldn't believe the stingy-faced Instructor Han would be willing to share something this precious with him.
"You saved my life back then… I owe you… we all do" Instructor Han said when he noticed Lucien's questioning gaze.
With that, both of them took off their clothes and proceeded to jump into the pool. The moment Lucien's body sank into the yellow liquid, he could feel a stinging pain all over his body. It felt like he was getting assaulted by a thousand needles! At first, it was just his skin but soon the pain invaded his body and even reached his bones. It wasn't enough to make him scream but just enough to make him uncomfortable and irritated.
"This is the orange scorch pool... It strengthens the body and enhances a person's magic circuits, allowing more flow of mana…" Instructor Han's voice echoed in his head but since Lucien was already use to this so he didn't panic.
"I know, I can feel it" Lucien replied as he shut his eyes and monitored everything going on within his body.
Not only did he feel his body strengthen but he also felt his magic circuits widen, allowing more inflow of mana. This is the perfect treatment one is meant to receive before cultivation!
DING!
DING!
DING
[Orange scorch pool identified]
[+2 strength]
[Stamina doubled]
[Mana reserves tripled]
[Health points doubled]
[Curse of the life God weakened, Cost of casting magic has been reduced… Magic cast speed increased slightly!]
[Host: Lucien Raizen]
[Race: Beast-man]
[Level: 6]
[Hp: 20/20]
[Strength: 9]
[Agility: 10]
[Stamina: 12]
[Charisma: 20]
[Mana: 30/30]
[Exp: 570/800]
[Condition: Dire]
[Host's strength is been suppressed by some godly power. Until this power is dispelled, hosts stats will be halved]
Taking note of his new stats Lucien was dazed for a while before turning his attention to Instructor. Seeing Instructor Han remained silent and kept absorbing the contents of the pool, he decided to ask later. The duo remained in the pool for close to thirty minutes, until the orange water lost its color, becoming transparent just like any other pool of water.