Chương 7: Study

CH 7 - Study

"BWAHAHAAAH! The silly human got scammed by an elf!" The dwarf was bent over his chair, holding his gut as he laughed at Grey's misfortune. How was I supposed to know I overpaid for almost everything I bought? Apparently, once the elf figured out Grey had deep pockets, he had charged him more than double for the book he picked out. The dwarf reeked liked alcohol and sweat. The little man had long red hair and a crazy nice beard. Grey just stood, awkwardly waiting for the dwarf to finish laughing.

I guess I might have deserved to get scammed. I shouldn't be so trusting.

"Alright, what do you need? And don't worry, I won't scam ya like those conniving elves, but my wares are quality. They aren't cheap!" The dwarf showed Grey into a room full of various gear. Most had mysterious inscriptions.

"What do the symbols do?" Grey asked, pointing to runes on a pair of gloves.

"Enchantments. Each have a magical effect." The dwarf gruffed. Grey's eyes lit up. This is just like a videogame... Grey's clothes were barely hanging on his body after his various encounters with death recently. He purchased an inscribed t-shirt and shorts that had a similar style to what he normally wore. The inscriptions apparently improved their durability and increased their defense marginally.

"Do you have an inventory pouch?" The dwarf asked. Grey's blank stare triggered another laughing fit from the blacksmith, and they came to a deal. A change of clothes and an inventory pouch for only 50 coins. That elf really did scam me… And so did that guy at the Starlight Sect! The inventory pouch was essential equipment for any adventurer. It was a bag enchanted with a spatial expansion spell. The size of the space on the inside was impressive compared to the pouch's tiny size.

On his way out of the merchant hall, Grey stopped by a general store and bought an inferior health potion, jerky, bread, bandages, a cheap sword, and an enchanted water flask that could hold a few gallons of water. This left Grey with 100 coins, which he decided to spend at the hostel. On his way there, he ran into Jim again.

"Hey buddy! I found a boxing gym! They gave me cultivation equipment!" Jim smiled ear to ear as he approached.

"That's great. I've got some good things too. I was thinking of spending the night here at the hostel?" Grey said. Jim shook his head slowly, with his huge grin still in place.

"I spent all my money."

"I'll cover you this time, but you owe me 50 coins." Grey said.

"Wow, that's his third plate", a guy with a metallic skintone whispered to a lady sitting next to him. As soon as Grey entered the inn, he chugged from a flagon of water at the entrance. Everyone there laughed a bit, as if they had a similar experience. Clean water would be a luxury now that the world turned upside down. Grey was famished. Using his ability was exhausting. He saw a few people he recognized who lived on the same block as him, there in the inn.

However, he didn't spend too much time downstairs and went straight to his room after eating. Jim did the same. When Grey arrived, he found a simple room with a small bed and a bucket of magically warm water for washing up. Staying the night here is a luxury. Most people only had enough points for gear before leaving, and the proof was the small amount of guests present. Grey spread out in his bed and closed his eyes. Tomorrow, he would focus on training. Clamoring downstairs woke Grey in the morning.

It was nice to be in clean sheets. I'm not sure when the next time I'll get a safe place to sleep will be… The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Breakfast came with the cost of the inn, so he enjoyed a few plates before heading to the meditation chambers. He ate with Jim, where they exchanged knowledge. For the most part, Jim learned as much as he did. He purchased. some manuals to follow as well as a pair of inscribed gloves.

Grey thought about asking others there for information, but from what he could overhear, most seemed about as clueless as he was. He sighed. I never thought I'd have to do this since I left college. It was time to study. Grey sat cross-legged on a meditation mat provided by the hostel. The gentle light and sharp incense was supposed to boost concentration. Without hesitation, he began reading. His (Starlight Body Tempering Manual) explained how to use Qi to harden his muscles, bones, skin, and organs.

The (Starlight Qi Sensing Technique) taught him a meditation method to look inside himself and sense Qi. It took Grey a few hours before he could finally sense strands of Qi trapped throughout his body. It was like the energy was clogged and mixed with a sludge which took away its purity. The starlight sect member wasn't lying, his base cultivationn was near non-existent. The Body Tempering Manual explained that these were impurities of a mortal body.

The first step of body tempering was to expel as many impurities as possible. To do this, he needed to focus on the Qi in his body and circulate it through himself to push bits of impurities out of him piece by piece. Grey decided to risk injuring himself to speed up this process. Nothing risked, nothing gained. He set up his water flask, health potion, and bandages right next to him and got to work. He activated his shapeshifting ability and slowly tried to dissolve the impurities.

The sludge, which ruined his Qi, wouldn't dissipate when he tried dissolving it; instead, it just spread out and mixed further with his Qi. Grey frowned. How he expected Qi to work wasn't the reality. What even is reality in a world where wishes come true? I'll have to learn more about Qi in order to shapeshift it… The thought felt prolific, then left as soon as it came. He looked at the purple incense burning slowly in the room. The herbs burning here are good for cultivating too.

Grey focused on the channels he could feel through his body and tried to use his ability to encourage the flow of Qi. Meanwhile, he practiced the techniques in his manuals to expel as much impurities as possible. The result was… stinky. Black sludge leaked through Grey's pores: impurities. Sweat covered Grey's face as he tried to circulate as much as he could, but he could only last a few minutes before feeling utterly exhausted.

He was a bit upset he couldn't use his ability to cheat through cultivation faster, but he kept expelling impurities in his free time. Checking his stats, he seemed to gain a point in END from starting his cultivation. If I study more anatomy and cultivation manuals, I should be able to improve my cultivation potential further. Grey moved on to the book the greedy elf sold him. Elven Anatomy Manual (F). The Elven anatomy manual was very similar to the human anatomy manual he had gained as a quest reward.

The greedy elf scammed money out of him, but this manual should be worth as much as he paid him. It detailed the organ, bone, and tissue structure of elves. It touched on cellular structure and, most importantly, mana anatomy. Elves were much like humans, but evolved in mana-rich environments. Elven planets were full of mana, and so they slowly began adapting to utilize the energy. Mana veins were essentially what they sounded like: veins with mana in them.

They ran parallel to most blood veins and arteries and carried mana instead of blood throughout the body. Their mana organ was next to their intestines and turned extra energy into mana reserves. Higher-level elves had further evolutions to their anatomy as well, but the textbook had no further mention of them. If Qi is metaphysical, and mana is physical… I have a better chance of using shapeshifting to utilize mana for now.

At least until he understood how to manipulate metaphysical concepts of himself, he could only change physical attributes. Maybe this was a result of shapeshifting's (F) grade. He hoped it would upgrade so that he could adjust his internal energy potential. Sigh… Seems like my ability won't let me cheese the system too hard. He read through the manuals again and saw that the means to harden his muscles was to infuse Qi into the muscles to condense them. This gave Grey an idea.

His physique was already looking large due to extra calories being funneled into his muscles. Grey closed his eyes and tapped into his shapeshifting sense. He felt his muscles all around his body and brought them closer together. Combined them to make them thicker and more durable. Condensing all the muscles in his body immediately drew a lot of energy out of him. It wasn't as painful as ripping his skin apart, but it felt like he had a muscle cramp all over his body all at once.

I should have done this one muscle at a time… His body ached and burned as more and more muscles bound together and shrank. The pain increased as his muscles got tighter. He still had the same strength as before his transformation, but he was less bulky. Grey stood up and looked at himself in the mirror. Instead of a 200-pound bodybuilder, he looked more like a ripped surfer dude now. His muscles felt hard as stone, and he felt like he could move even better now.

He decided to check his stats to see if anything changed. Name: Grey Falsen Level: 5 [2/10] Race: Human (F) Class: n/a Abilities: Shapeshifting (F), Bone Manipulation (E) Passive: Regenerative Cells (F), Skills: Predator's Stare (F) STR: 10 DEX: 9 END: 14 WIS: 10 INT: 17 LUCK: 10 Titles: Beginnings of Aura, Noticed He gained a point in DEX and END from condensing his form. Grey flexed his muscles and reached into a deep stretch.

He was more agile now from his reduced size, and the hardness of his muscles acted as a layer of armor. He considered hardening more of his body, but stopped himself. With no more Wishing Coins or food, Grey wouldn't have enough energy to continue. He felt disappointed that his books weren't as useful as he had thought they would be. But he looked down at his six-pack and a smile rose on Grey's lips. Studying did something for me after all.

When he recovered from his evolution, he still was feeling not satisfied enough to leave the city. Grey explored more of the magical shops for more clues on how to unlock a new way to store energy.