Or more so, cultivating time. I forgo most of my other trainings and focus on cultivation solely. I mine less than before, finding this place better than a hotel at this point. The hotel you have to pay for.
They wouldn't kick me out, right? Especially with the debt I grew thanks to fucker Jeremy.
I pile more days, slowly reducing the financial burden in my off time, as my main occupation remains sitting cross-legged on my new bed like a squatter. That's the life. Occasionally I go outside and take a little walk around. The place isn't very far from the plaza I was arrested at. In fact, the mine is pretty much inside the Dusk Baron's giant manor.
Still, this time I'm a bit worried about the next challenge. If it follows the pattern I've experienced, at the end of the thirty days I'll be thrown into another. In retrospect, getting back to my previous level shouldn't even take that long. I wasn't some grand adventurer or anything. Pretty much a random mob you'd find on the roadside. But that was still better than most.
But along the days of this training period, I realized that the higher the rank, the wider the gap. It makes sense, and I definitely felt it. I was also aware of it to some extent. Still, taking the time to think it through, it made me sort of more detached from Earth. Only slightly though.
I just can't help but think about the higher ranks of the other side. How strong is S-Rank for the Immortal version? Is the gap growing each rank as well? If so, how ridiculous can it get?
I didn't think I was a diehard fan of these stories. At least not to the degree I am now.
Each day I crave more. Each moment I want to cultivate more. Each second spent mining only feels more and more like a waste of my time.
One day births the spark. Awakening my Immortality, understanding and refining its concept.
Ten days build up the wind. Slowly accumulating strength out of spite, crawling to my former self.
A month turns me into an addict. Unable to stop training and cultivating, unwilling to miss this feeling of eternal growth.
Two months harvest my lunacy. In the last month I've been here, I have challenged the Stone King a handful of times. I have mined less than the first few days of my stay. The relaxation that metamorphoses into irresistible degeneracy. The sole yet unstoppable discomfort that yields nothing but blissful arrogance. I couldn't stop then, I cannot now.
Barely realizing, as the training progressed, Qi began to permeate my vessel in preparation of my future ascension. My mortal shell is being washed away each moment, the Qi I feel closer to than a lover, slowly carving the dirt away.
My skin becomes fairer.
My muscles are built stronger.
My bones are reformed sturdier.
My deeper blonde hair only claims more attention.
There is no exaggerated change. I don't pop like a balloon and rebuild myself out of nothing. I don't lit up in a blaze of glory. I don't bathe into the deepest Hell's inferno. I don't plunge myself into the artic pools of legends. I don't endure the hammering of stone giants.
I only let Qi soak my entire being, from top to bottom, exercising no resistance.
I no longer need anything. My muscles remain there, my strength doesn't dissipate despite the lack of training. They don't beg of me to try so hard.
Throughout my life I kept training in hopes of becoming stronger. Nothing was out of the question, even more so with my awakening. But nothing worked. Weighted ninety degree handstand pushups. I could do a hundred without problem. Hundreds of weighted pull ups? Not a bead of sweat.
This is the sad reality of awakening. We become much more, but lose the sensation of progress. No matter how hard anyone tries, the results will be minimal. This lack of purpose overshadows the jump of dimensions.
Everyone is happy to say the least. They are regular people, just like I once was, around H-Rank. We can do everything properly. There is no urgency. Yet, when we awaken, growing by leaps and bounds for some and a bit less for others, we find ourselves with degrading hope. 'I know it's impossible to get stronger.', 'Do you guys know how to get faster?', 'Is it possible to get tougher by eating this?', 'Guys, what if you jump from a bridge? Can your stats increase?'.
Each day. Be it on social media, on streaming platforms, and everything else. Be it me or my friends at the time. My neighbor or the delivery person. Each day, each single fucking day. We search and yearn for a way. Even in my prison time over there, three years secluded with chains around my ankles. Even there, not a single day was missed. Even there, where light doesn't shine, where hopes are lost, one remained. A withering, pathetic hope. We exchanged opinions and questions, theories and dreams. With chains to our ankles, we were still looking at the stars.
What else could it be?
Human greed.
We're all aware of it. But we're all shy of it. Pointing fingers, remaining hypocritical and ashamed.
These days, I cannot lie to myself anymore. I'm greedy. I am oh so greedy. I want more, I can't stand not getting more.
I need more!
I'm like a grown butterfly still stuck inside the cocoon. I felt a need to do more, but remained still.
Instead of following the greed, I must surpass it. Let alone embrace it.
Instead of cultivating, I was still mining. I was still socializing. I was still testing. I was still learning. I was occupied with mundane things.
When, during all of this, instead of wasting time with stupid antics, I should've cultivated. Why am I sleeping? I don't need to sleep if it makes me stronger! It's been two months almost, but I feel so far behind. I feel like I've wasted time. Way too much time.
So I take a deep breath. Slowly. It is deep, reaching for the depths of my lungs, before exhaling all my stress. Being relaxed does not mean feeling calm.
[Your greed has awakened.]
[Your mortality has cracked under a sudden epiphany. Follow the breath of Immortality and transform all sins into blessings. Otherwise, demons might infiltrate the grooves of your heart.]
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I haven't slept in weeks. I'm tired, but can't relent yet. There were some system messages I didn't read, but they're not important now. I pushed myself the entire month. Each day I cultivated more. I didn't train anything else. Qi filled my body, be it on the inside or the outside. I became a sponge, clinging onto each fraction of this energy like my life depended on it.
Status two.
Let's see, I haven't looked yet. I have put my everything and some more into this month. I won't accept mediocre results.
[Jack Heltros]
Age : 26
Immortal Cultivation : Qi Sensing Realm (Qi Assimilation)
Immortal Title : None
HP↑ | ⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿ | (7.99 / 7.99)
DT↑ | ⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿ | (7.99 / 7.99)
STR : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ F-
SPD : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ F↑
END : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ F-
SEN : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ E-
SOUL : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ F-
WISD : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ F
FATE : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ ?? (LOCKED)
Skills : Tech Eye - lv.2 [+], Crimson Arts - Lv.1 [+], Qi Manifestation - lv.7 [+]
"..."
"Haha..."
AHAHAHA!! This is it! This is what I wanted! Four times stronger! My speed even reached F! Obviously curious, I took a peek at the other one. "Yes... F-Rank for endurance and strength, E-Rank for speed! The boost crystal something is still working!"
I feel so happy. This progress is everything I was desperate for. Yet a question remains deep inside. Why did I stop? A month is nothing, I can still go on for much longer. Does it matter if my eyelids are heavy and my consciousness wavy?
It's like I'm forgetting something?
[Warning : Due to the host's sudden epiphany and boundless talent, the host has formed an uncontrollable Dao of Greed. The Dao of Greed's sprout has spread infected Qi. Your neurons are being corrupted by Qi.]
A message? I don't care. I should cultivate more. Yes, more. Until I reach a hundred for HP and DT. Yes... that's a good idea. A very good idea even.
[Warning : Your neurons are being corrupted by Qi.]
Why won't it shut up? I need to cultivate.
[Warning : Your neurons are being corrupted by Qi.]
[Warning : Qi emissions from your Dao of Greed have begun the rewiring process of your nervous system.]
Shut up!
[Warning : A Mental Demon has formed.]
[Warning : Your Mental Demon has grown tremendously. It has evolved into a Heart Demon.]
[Due to the host's current situation, a special intervention will proceed.]
[The system has begun the Heart Demon's suppression...]
[Dao of Peace - lv.1 utilized...]
[Dao of Peace - lv.2 utilized...]
[Suppression too slow... Life threatening danger found.]
[Administrator requested, please wait...]
[Dao of Peace - lv.3 utilized...]
[The host's condition has stabilized.]
Huh?
Huh???
What was I doing?
What happened?! How long till' the next challenge?
It's almost like I opened my eyes after decades for the very first time. I'm tired and lost. The surroundings don't match my memories. Why is it all weird like this? A black void like a canvas, splatters of grey and white. Strokes of gold as if an unrestrained painter decided to cleave the world with their brush.
Finally, the system answers my confused pleas.
[Due to the host's situation, your Heart Demon has been temporarily suppressed. Instead of perishing, the host has been granted another chance.]
[You have received an exclusive quest!]
Heart Demon - Boundless Growth
Greed (Exclusive)
>Objective : Eliminate the opponent.
>Difficulty : Fated
>Mission Difficulty : Fated
>Mission Failure Penalty : ???
Scratching my head at the situation, I noticed something move ahead. There didn't seem to be much of a left or right in this place. It was very similar to the training spaces. Some areas were pure white, others either pure grey or pure black. The only big contrast coming from the couple giant lines of glittery yellow separating the sky. At my feet was a liquid, the same colors. Probably transparent, maybe it's simple plain water, letting me peer down below.
But for some reason I could stand on it, despite the obvious fact that it wasn't a puddle's depth. On the contrary, I couldn't find the end of it. Just like the sky.
My focus reverted back to the commotion ahead, the liquid forms a golden mess underneath. It looks to be a few dozens of meters away I believe, but with this place being so wacky, I can't grab onto any sort of scale.
"What is..." The golden mess starts to rise up, soon condensing into a perfect sphere. I believe something to reside within. "It said defeat the opponent or something like that, that's not it, right?" I knew already, what else was there? Would a portal open with some monstrous being eating the golden sphere as a snack? That could happen actually.
When it's at the top, freed from the liquid, floating atop of it, it bursts. The golden liquid splatters onto the transparent one, tainting its purity.
"Human?" Was it another puppet? I couldn't see it clearly with the distance that was now clearly much more than I thought. Does the status work from there? Has to be hundreds of meters I swear. Status two? However, the result was unexpected.
[Demonized Jack Heltros]
Age : 0
Immortal Cultivation : ???
Immortal Title : ???
HP | ⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿ | (??? / ???)
DT | ⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿ | (??? / ???)
STR : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ ??
SPD : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ ??
END : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ ??
SEN : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ D+
SOUL : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ D+
WISD : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ D-
FATE : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ ?? (LOCKED)
Skills : Tech Eye - lv.2 [+], Dao of Greed - lv.?, Crimson Arts - Lv.? [+], Qi Manifestation - lv.? [+]
"What? The fuck does it mean, 'Jack Heltros'? And what's with demonized? Shouldn't demonized mean black or red? It's golden, isn't that cliché angel stuff? Buddha at worst if we're reaching here."
"And what's it gonna do? I punch it and what? It drops coins?"
"How can I take it seriously when the stats are hidden? I'm fucked. I already know it."
"Like come on! The shown stats are D! Fucking D! What do you want me to do?! Retarded quest! How is that 'Fated' difficulty? It's unfair!"
[The Heart Demon has birthed unrest. Defeat it to clear your path.]
"Defeat it?? Are you crazy!? This?! Want me to jump off a dam and belly flop on concrete next? You know what? I'll bleach my eyes and fight the Stone King IRL! At least I'll have a chance, something I don't really have right now."
I whine but suddenly become frightened as a golden me is fading in extremely close. I can't hide the shock at the speed basically within the realm of teleportation, a golden fist ramming my stomach. "Euk!" With a pathetic sound I'm flung across dozens of meters, bouncing from the uneven liquid before slowing down.
Struggling to get up, I'm surprised by the lack of injuries. "It didn't actually hurt that ba- arh!" The golden demon is already hammering my head from top to bottom, sending my face down to the watery ground in an instant. "Fuck... the ground isn't soft at all!" You would expect a liquid to be gentle on the body. Perhaps it was due to the velocity, but it hurt like hell.
"Let me-" I'm interrupted once again as my hair's being grabbed. "Let go!" His golden fingers tug, pulling my limp body face to face. Through the squinting eyelids, my vision only trembles at the blurring flurry of punches coming my way. "Pl- Please..."