The bathroom was filled with the sounds of rushed panting and small splashes of water. From the outside, the silvery glow of the moon shone through the window, illuminating the otherwise dark room.
Pant… pant…
Nova gasped for breath.
Although the pain had slightly subsided, enough to let him finally take a breather, every time his chest expanded, he felt a heaviness in his lungs, as if they were so exhausted that even the act of breathing weighed on them.
The rest of his body was also screaming in protest, treading the line of shutting down if its host didn’t listen to the many alarm bells it kept giving off.
The water in the bathtub had shifted from a dark green to a transparent, albeit murky, color, a testament to how completely he had absorbed the medicinal properties of the herbs, leaving nothing behind.
Sitting in the bathtub he was fighting hard to maintain consciousness and check the results of the hell he’d gone through, but only minutes later, the sound of soft snores reverberated through the bathroom.
Like that, the moon gave way to the sun.
It was early in the morning when Nova’s eyes shot wide open.
“Urgh.”
A groan escaped his lips as he tilted his gaze downward to check his body for any sign of injury, but there wasn’t any, making him sigh in relief.
By now, he didn’t feel any pain, only a lingering fatigue that made him feel as if he hadn’t moved his body in weeks.
After taking a short breath, he pushed himself up.
A few minutes later, he was sitting on a chair, fully dressed, his head tilted upward. A strand of black hair clouded his vision but it seemed as if he didn’t need to truly see. If one took a careful look, they would notice his eyes seemed lost.
But in his mind, the Status window hovered.
[Status]
Rank: 0
Name: Nova Grey
Species: Human
Affiliation: None
Level: 88 (500 / 5,000)
Mana:
-
Mana Core (Medium): 299,874,065 / 10,000,000,000
-
Nodes: ??? Spinal Node, ??? Perception Node, ??? Pulse Node, ??? Voice Node, ??? Vital Organs Node, ??? Power Node, ??? Stance Node, ??? Manipulation Node
Concepts: Death (0.002%)
Class: None
Titles:
Goblin Exterminator, King Slayer, Survivor, Spear Advanced, Troll Exterminator,
Orc Exterminator, Rune Novice, Mana Intermediate, Lord (Giants), Hunter, ???, Sword Novice, Throne Breaker, Novice Crafter
Stat Points: 2,130
Attributes:
-
Strength: 2247 (+105,913)
-
Vigor: 2220 (+104,868)
-
Dexterity: 2270 (+130,473)
-
Speed: 2230 (+127,214)
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
-
Intelligence: 2186 (+25,011)
-
Wisdom: 2230 (+25,511)
-
Will: 20
-
Luck: 10 (+10)
Skills
Active:
-
Spear Thrust (27) — 63,989,279,560 / 67,108,864,000
-
Spear Jab (27) — 2,546,651,125 / 67,108,864,000
-
Spear Sweep (27) — 1,806,120,569 / 67,108,864,000
-
Spear Lunge (27) — 47,199,108,631 / 67,108,864,000
-
Spear Overhead Strike (26) — 5,780,376,366 / 33,554,432,000
-
Sword Slash (15) — 1 / 16,384,000
-
Sword Stab (15) — 3 / 16,384,000
-
Sword Chop (15) — 1 / 16,384,000
-
Sword Sweep (15) — 0 / 16,384,000
-
Sword Parry (14) — 2,030,197 / 8,192,000
-
Sword Block (14) — 1,997,701 / 8,192,000
-
Crafting (0) — 0 / 10
Passive:
-
Regeneration (23) — 1,021,992 / 4,194,304,000
-
Keen Reflexes (14) — 6,202,997 / 8,192,000
-
Momentum Streak (18) — 107,459,699 / 131,072,000
-
One with the World (Spear) — MAX
-
One with the World (Footwork) — MAX
-
Aura — Fourth Stage
‘How did the Death concept increase by 0.001%? I haven’t been near any dead body, much less killed someone.’ He wondered, trying to understand what was happening.
‘Is there some other kind of specific trigger to increase it, or am I missing something?’
He went over everything he knew up to this point, trying not to overlook a single detail, and soon arrived at the only reasonable answer.
‘I haven’t tried to understand Death at all since I got this thing in my Status, which means it must have been triggered by something else, and that must be what helped me learn it in the first place. Is it some kind of residual effect my body couldn’t process before, but after I refined my body further it finally could? Could I increase it more if I took another bath?’
Reaching that point, Nova shook his head slightly. ‘It sounds too good to be true and when something is too good to be true then…it most likely is.’
Despite not being able to see what had transpired within his body during the bath, his guess was very close to the truth.
He had no more black energy hidden within his skin. All of it had silently merged throughout his body during the tempering, now truly becoming a part of him.
That meant 0.002% Death was as far as his reserves could push him.
With no way to confirm or deny his guess, Nova pushed it to the back of his mind and noticed something else.
“I already noticed it back when I drank the bone tempering liquid but… why are my Stats still the same despite me feeling stronger?” Nova muttered out loud, clenching his hand, causing popping sounds to rang out across his arm.
He could immediately tell that his body was stronger than before. And he wasn’t only referring to his insides. His skin and bones had also improved, likely due to the large amount of medicinal properties he’d absorbed during the bath.
Now, his body felt whole again, at last with no glaring weaknesses.
Still, this question was one he had no answer to.
Every time he made progress, the Status would reflect it.
But when it came to his physical body, it seemed as if it simply couldn’t register the improvement.
That didn’t make sense.
The system came from the Universe itself, which granted a tiny speck of Its Will to aid new civilizations in advancing quickly.
How could the Universe be unable to take into account the body of such a weak lifeform like him?
He didn’t know what it was, but his instincts told him that something was off, he just couldn’t put his finger on what.
Knock. Knock.
“Are you sleeping? You aren’t, right? Open the door.”
Right then, he heard Jack’s voice coming from outside, the sound snapping him out of his reverie.
He pushed himself up and opened the door.
A smiling Jack stood in front of him.
“How come you’re here? I thought you had training in the morning,” Nova said calmly as he leaned on the door frame.
Jack didn’t answer. He pushed his way into the room, making his friend take a step back while giving him a stunned look.
“Stop staring. You didn’t even invite me in, and I only have a few minutes before I have to go,” Jack said as he plopped down on a nearby chair. He looked at Nova as if to ask, Aren’t you taking a seat?
Nova exhaled softly and closed the door before sitting down. He looked at Jack and asked, “Is it something important?”
“Mhm, very important,” Jack nodded. “You’re officially invited to the meeting tonight.”
“A meeting?” Nova echoed softly.
Jack nodded again. “Yeah. Come to my room in the evening, it’s very important.” Then his face turned solemn.
Nova thought his friend was about to tell him something extremely serious, so his own expression grew solemn as well.
“I heard your scream last night. You should try to keep your volume down, other people are trying to rest at that time.”
Nova was rendered speechless when he heard that, though the twitch of his lips said everything there was to say.
Jack’s face cracked when he saw it. His body trembled as he tried hard not to burst out laughing.
He could imagine what had made Nova scream like that, but that did nothing to stop him from poking fun at him.
“I haven’t talked with you in so long that I forgot this side of you,” Nova muttered as he shook his head. Despite the bitterness with which he said it, he genuinely felt happy inside.
It was true he hadn’t spent much time with his friend, but he had so many things to take care of that he’d forgotten.
Jack grinned, and the two talked for several more minutes before he stood up to leave. But before doing so, he turned one last time and said, “Don’t be late. I wasn’t joking when I said it was important.”
“Won’t you even tell me why?”
“Let’s just say… you need such meetings to stay sane.” Jack winked and left.
“To stay sane, huh?” Nova murmured.
He sighed quietly, then took out the mental defense book and calmly went through it.
After refining his body, it was time to protect his mind.
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