"Do your fucking job maybe?" Rambling on the way down the corridor, I don't see Jenna or Rick. "The hell they went to? That house they talked about? Whose was it?"

With some time left, I cultivate some more before jumping back into the training space.

The opponents past First Rate were all the same almost, with varying, but not incredible levels of strength. I would eat the pill yet not feel much of an improvement in pure martial proficiency. Cleaving the following, tenth level puppet with ease, it didn't even have enough time to draw its sword, maybe my former hesitation gone by now.

Popping the pill, another acupoint is opened after pointless suffering.

[Your Dantian Acupoint has finished its rudimentary opening. Your Dantian (DT) reserves have been expanded by 300%. Your Qi absorption rate has increased by 200%.]

It was great and all, but when looking at my DT, it was still the same. So I asked the system and got a very welcomed answer.

[Instead of altering your DT directly, you will expend 300% less Qi. However 300% more Qi will be needed to refill. If you wish to change this, please customize your DT.]

"This works." I would keep the proper measure of strength related to DT while still receiving this massive benefit. On top of that the double absorption rate of Qi itself was pretty insane. So I wasn't in the mood to change any of this for now. But who knows.

Now onto 'preparations twelve', I kept slaughtering puppets while not even looking at my status, I just wanted to get this done. And at last, when I entered the sixteenth 'preparations', against a level fifteen puppet, it finally changed.

"Martial Expert... well aren't you a tough one?" With stats nearing one in both areas, I also noticed its Magnitude Blast skill to have finally leveled up to six. But even so, my stats were just too high, so I one punched its head to smithereens.

Now I could finally read everything. "Before that let me just..." Eating the now rather upsetting pill, maybe due to trauma, I let it do its torture for a few minutes. After opening the history tab, I scrolled up without looking before slowly reading everything from the oldest message. I was having high hopes though, because that last pill did the trick on me. I finally got a baffling new worldview, except that it lacked something, not sure what yet.

[You have unlocked the first Boss fight.]

[You have received : Rank Boost Crystal (F) x3, Sensory Pill (F-) x5]

[Your Left Hand Acupoint has finished its rudimentary opening.]

[Your Right Hand Acupoint has finished its rudimentary opening.]

[Your Left Foot Acupoint has finished its rudimentary opening.]

[Your Right Foot Acupoint has finished its rudimentary opening.]

[Congratulations. Your martial proficiency reached the Half-Step Transcendent Realm.]

Looking over at the last one, the quest had been updated with new rewards.

Preparations

Preparations - 17 [+]

>Objective : Train while you can. Press the [+] symbol above when you have spare time.

>Time remaining : 678:23:00

>Difficulty : Fated

>Mission Difficulty : None

>Mission Failure Penalty : None.

>Managing to defeat level 20 before the time runs out will grant : Rank Boost Crystal (E), Refined Pill (F) x10, Lesser Mortal Healing Pill (F-) x3

Despite my stats not increasing, I did feel a lot more confident in said stats. I could probably exploit them much better. This in turn would make me stronger, even if it didn't show properly with numbers.

"Now, before I get to meet the Baron, I should at least be presentable." Smashing a Rank Boost Crystal, I almost pressed on the speed stat. I was curious to see how far I could push it. However I didn't want to attract unwanted attention with my current level. Who knows when I'll meet a busybody capable of seeing my stats. Having a high rank in speed doesn't mean I'm untouchable. If my strength isn't high enough, I can't make use of this reaction time. And if my endurance isn't high as well, this strength will injure me. "I have three, but I feel fine as is." In the end I decided to upgrade all three. I also wanted to increase mind, but that would be sort of pointless by now.

STR (F → E↑) : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

SPD (C → B↑) : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

END (F → E↑) : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Not only did my stats increase on this side, but strength and endurance went up to F, upgrading both HP and DT to fifteen instead of nearly eight. But my speed actually went up to E-! And that's not all! According to awakened standards, I am now unofficially a mid B-Rank! Even though it's not a great stat for B-level combat abilities, it's still very good. As long as I can rise up in strength and endurance, even if they only manage to get up to C or at worse D, I'll be good enough to fight lower leveled B-Rank opponents. By that point, destroying C-Rankers should be a breeze, skyrocketing my value and future prospects. On top of that I obtained another customization bit, to separate my current HP and DT from their base.

But thinking about the remaining five pills granted, I debate myself as to whether or not I made a mistake.

Sensory Pill (F-)

>A small ethereal pill brimming with esoteric components. It can increase one's sensory ability over time by a small amount.

>Can be used by anyone.

The translucent pill didn't deter me from throwing it into my mouth. I munched on this soft pill before gulping it down. Frowning, my eyes narrowed as well, followed by a strange sensation. My eyes glimmer as a potent energy is felt all around. "Qi?" I don't waste much time, directly falling on my butt cross-legged. Despite the lack of direct help, I could still make some improvements by understanding how Qi flowed.

And said gains came fairly quickly. As I relaxed, Qi would be absorbed into my body, leaving a temporary void soon replenished as Qi spread to fill the gaps. Just like air in a sense. But because of this, as time went on, I could visibly see the difference in concentration. After only a couple hours and another pill, the Qi nearby was getting thinner and thinner. And as I waited without cultivating for another hour more, the density came back in full. "Interesting." It may not be important or even remotely useful for now, but later on... who knows what possibilities this could open.

Tomorrow comes, daytime probably as I get all the paperwork done by a guard I have yet to speak to.

"Well, I have a meeting to get to." Getting back up from my daytime cultivation, a third pill exhausted, I make my way to Jeremy, still on the chair half-asleep. "You can't spend one day without sleeping every waking moment, can you?" He doesn't even acknowledge me, nudging me to the side. "Get out and ask a guard at the front doors." I shrug and do as told.

It doesn't take me very long to climb the steepness back to the surface and get around the area. At last, it's still morning when I'm at the manor's entrance. There are two guards in metallic, full plated armor, spears in hand. One of them halts me before probing the reason for such an unannounced visit.

"I'm here to sell a weapon to the Baron." I show a paper the guard signed, soon led within.

The insides are as expected, fancy but very rustic. Dark wood and dark red along dimmed marble. The hall is not long nor wide, but very tall. Each side has a very thin but steep staircase leading up above. The curtains and flags along banners are all of this deep red color. The marble is clean and reflective, but maintains this coldness. One that clashes with the homey wood.

A young butler shows me up said stairs, knocking on doors right after. "Come in." A deep voice.

Without company, I take a few steps beyond those dark wooden doors. Past the arched, almost claustrophobic foyer despite it being a random room - luxury I suppose - I face a slightly larger area. Dark green colors on the arched ceiling this time much higher, a wall to my right as three large windows let some bits of morning dew peek inside. I was not expecting the Baron's desk to be facing quite a few benches one would often find in churches. Behind his desk resides a nearly perfectly clean chalkboard. "Welcome, please take a seat." I finally met him.

His slick grey hair and beard along a black single breasted suit somehow make him look like a butler instead of a high ranking awakened. As I peek past his slightly golden eyes, I'm drawn to his status.

Strong indeed, and definitely not an average B-Ranker as I would have imagined. No, this is a peak B-Rank at the very least.

[Richard Burin]

Age : 65

Class : Draconic Spearman

Titles : Dusk Baron, Draconic Spearman, Draconic Warrior, Dragon Descendant, Spear Technique Expert

HP | ⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿ | (88 721 / 88 721)

MP | ⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿ | (93 291 / 93 291)

STR (B) : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

SPD (B) : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

END (B) : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

MND (B) : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

LCK (C) : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

Skills : Tech Eye - lv.1 [+], Dragon Eyes - lv.3, Dragon Claws - lv.2, Golden Dragon Coating - lv.8, Intermediate Spear Technique - lv.7, ... [+]

Those are some pretty high stats. In terms of pure combat abilities, he's clearly a cut above the rest. Due to the ranking system, it wouldn't be surprising of the Dusk Baron to obliterate a lot of A or even S-Rank hunters in duel. This is how unpredictable it can get. But who can blame him? The luck required to get B on all four main stats is not C level. Getting one is already a blessing few could ever get. Two? That's insanely lucky. Three? This is getting ridiculous, on par with the strongest in this empire.

Four? That's where the term 'Peak' isn't wasted. Honestly, such balanced stats are borderline Immortal grade. At this point, his luck being C is only surprising because of how low it is compared to the probability of hitting four B-Ranks in a row.