“This is… not ideal,” Vidar mumbled to himself, grimacing at the obscenely large list of items he could materialize.

Conjuration Magic was just as overpowered as he thought it’d be.

=[Materials]

-Katchin Ingot [MP: 150]

-Medicinal Liquid [MP: 350]

=[Consumables]

-Nutrient Paste [MP: 1]

-Bottle of Water (1L) [MP: 0.5]

=[Tools]

-Dragonball Radar [MP: 175]

-Glass Dagger [MP: 3]

=[Apparel]

-Leather Cuirass [MP: 15]

-Weighted Clothing (25kg) [MP: 25]

But while Mundane Materialization opened up many doors, it revealed that 90% of those doors were locked. In other words, he didn't have the MP to do any of the hundreds of things he thought he'd be able to do with it.

However, when he thought about it a little, it only made sense.

Among magic practitioners, there were only a handful of mortals in the universe who could create matter on the same level as the Kaioshin. He obviously wouldn't be able to match even a common Namekian in creation ability on his first day.

Originally, he was intending to use his creation ability to isolate himself in the cave, slowly building up his power. With enough training, he'd take over and Harvest every worthwhile being on the planet.

Vidar let out a snort at his own plans, “It would take far too long to generate enough MP for even the basics.”

At the current rate he was generating MP, attempting to materialize something as simple as nourishment or training weights would be too much. And the only way to improve his Mana Core was a quest that was virtually impossible.

=[Quest: Mana Core (Upgrade)]

-Objective: Absorb ambient mana and consolidate the core into the liquid stage.

-Reward: [Mana Core - Rank D]

While he had no idea what the ‘liquid stage’ was, it didn’t really matter. Everyone who dealt with magic knew that the age of magic was pretty much over, as the ambient mana in the universe had been getting lower and lower for millions of years. It was a part of the reason why the only strong magic users were millenia old monsters.

If he tried to improve his mana core the natural way, it would take years before he saw an improvement.

Evidently, his plans had failed before they could even begin.

Ironically, it was his cautious nature that pushed him to this failure.

There were two main viable plans he thought were superior to the rest that bounced around in his mind. The first was the one he’d just tried. It was uncertain, as he hadn’t used magic at all in his past life and had no experience with it.

The other plan, while risky, would’ve been a more direct option he was familiar with.

In essence, it was based on the principle of ki. If he were to meditate and get a sense for his ki, he could use the Lesser Soul to immediately boost his Ki Control to D-Grade. That was the rank in which he’d be able to condense motes of raw energy into a highly lethal vaporizing blast.

With his low power level, even a singular blast would exhaust him into sleep, but it was worth it. If he used it right, he could take advantage of the sheer firepower of ki and gain even more Lesser Souls.

But of course, without thinking too deeply, he did the first plan.

If it weren’t for the fact he had previous combat experience, the jackalope from earlier would’ve killed him without a chance to retaliate. That fact scared him, as much as he didn’t like to admit it, and he hastily went for the safe option.

“How… cowardly,” Vidar growled to himself, ashamed of his own actions. “A bit of a power imbalance and I lose my wits.”

He could argue and rationalize to himself that if the smallest animal was stronger than him, then anything bigger wouldn’t even give him a second to react. There were a hundred logical reasons he could’ve brought up to himself to justify his own actions.

But he didn’t.

There was no excuse for foolishness. This wasn’t a game, and he couldn’t just try again if he died here.

So while he couldn't isolate himself fully as he planned to, he needed to use his limited resources in the most efficient manner possible. One slip up and it might be the cause of his end.

Vidar inhaled deeply, steeling his nerves and calming his mind, before exhaling with a long sigh. I need a new plan.

With that thought, Vidar closed his eyes in deep contemplation.

He sat in the darkness of the cave’s entrance, the only light filtering in from the distant moon above, casting faint shadows across the rough stone walls. The silence enveloped him like a thick fog, broken only by the occasional drip of water echoing in his cold chamber.

Vidar focused on his breathing, the sound of each inhale and exhale a steady rhythm in his stillness. The musty scent of damp earth filled his nostrils, mingling with the faint hint of something metallic that lingered in the air.

He listened peacefully to the subtle symphony of the night, letting each sound wash over him like waves.

It was peaceful. It was calm.

He hated it.

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His eyes snapped open as he settled on an idea, the buzzing of his ki following his thoughts. It hated the calmness as well, following his will perfectly, eager to raze the world to the ground.

It wanted to move. To grow strong and war. To rip and sunder its enemies, obliterating them piece by piece. So when it urged him to use it, to command it to be pulled to the surface, Vidar didn’t resist.

He, too, had the same desires.

=[Category: Skill]

=[Name: Ki Control]

=[Grade: F]

-F: Reveals the [Energy] attribute on the status page. This attribute represents the amount of internal ki the user has available. It grows in response to a need, not a desire.

The last line of the system message was vague, but it was easily understood if one thought about the functional applications of ki. Like a muscle, it grows in response to stress. Therefore, it grows in response to a need, you can’t just get angry and increase your ki like some people.

Even if he directly focused on increasing his Ki Control and became a bit stronger, his power level would still stagnate due to his lack of a strong physique. Ki was a multiplier, enhancing the body rather than being a substitute.

This was the main reason why Saiyans were so feared in the first place. While their Oozaru forms were potent, it wasn't their transformations that made them so fearsome, but their limitless bodies. If a Saiyan kept up with their training and exploited their Zenkai ability, their body would reach heights untouchable by lesser races.

Humans, on the other hand, were the complete opposite. They relied solely on Ki Control while their bodies were depressingly limited in comparison with the rest of the universe.

Luckily, while he couldn't reliably train his body at the moment, nothing was stopping him from improving his new Energy stat. Even if it was just a little bit, the power boost from utilizing Ki is vastly different from the natural body.

"That being the case, I think I have a plan…" Vidar’s eyes shone with a glint. "Though, it's another gamble with death."

But staying weak was a gamble in and of itself, so he didn't fear failure at all.

----------------------------------------

"Hah…!"

In the quiet of the rough cavern room, the sound of Vidar’s breathing grew pronounced, a testament to the effort he was exerting at the moment. With each repetition he pushed himself further, determined to surpass his previous limits.

Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, evidence of the intensity of his effort. His arms trembled slightly, but his ki strained itself to make ends meet, his unwavering resolve influencing its potency.

Finally, as he reached his final push-up, Vidar collapsed to the floor. There was no sense of accomplishment, just the dull ache of his body.

Six days had passed.

In those six days, not much had happened.

After much contemplation, he'd gone ahead and gained the Ki Control skill. Of course, at F-Grade, it didn't do much.

Essentially, all he could currently do with ki was bring it to the forefront. This concept was fairly confusing to understand as most of the universe still didn't understand the underlying principles of ki.

Ki, when being used physically, is like a second body. If one brings their ki to the forefront, it overlaps their physical body and makes them stronger, faster, and more durable. That was why even though some had power levels in the billions, they didn't destroy worlds with a simple step.

Because by default, no one is using their ki for anything.

However, where it gets confusing is Ki Suppression. If everyone could suppress themselves naturally, why would that even be considered a technique? Why would the Frieza Force be so flabbergasted whenever the Z-Fighters did it?

Because that's not how it works. Ki Suppression wasn't just deciding to not use their full power. Anyone with a brain could do that.

If ki enhancements were similar to a physical body, then anyone with eyes could see how big you are. Even if you don't flex your muscles and lift a ton, if you weigh 400 pounds at 7 feet tall, everyone can see that.

That was how scouters worked, even. They simply measured how much ki others could ‘see’.

But Ki Suppression? It was the physical equivalent of temporarily shrinking one's muscles to look weaker. Something that should be impossible.

Therefore, he had an idea.

Goku, in a butchered dub version of the show, had once said that ‘power came in response to a need, not a desire’. The second part of that quote, though, was that one needed to ‘create that need’. Similarly, ki itself responded to a need, if one was using the most literal terms.

So how could he create the need for his ki to grow? What scenario would force his ki to use 120% of its effort in order to grow?

Weakness.

If his body was constantly feeble, then he wouldn’t be able to do something as simple as a push-up. Normally, if this was the case he would simply be too weak and would have to try an easier routine for getting stronger.

But ki wasn’t exactly like muscles. It was mystical energy representing one’s life force that didn’t need to be bound by the laws of physics.

If he tried to do a push-up and his body couldn’t do it, his ki would have to compensate. It would grow in response to a need for strength, going beyond his current physical limits.

Of course, a training method like this was both dangerous and had diminishing returns.

But what worthwhile training method wasn't?

Since he could ignore exhaustion, he trained for nearly the whole 16 hours every day, only stopping for a drink of water or sleep. His stomach rumbled constantly, but he didn't let it affect his work ethic in the slightest.

Despite his body being so weak, this was the strongest he'd felt since his regression.

Today is the day. Vidar didn't feel like speaking, tiredly opening up his status window to check his progress.

=[Status: Vidar]

-Age: 14

-Race: Human

-Power Level: 27 | Magic Points: 6

-Energy: 54

-Unique Ability: Harvest

-Perks: [-]

-Skills: [Combat Mastery (F)], [Meditation (D)], [Mana Core (F)], [Conjuration Magic (D)], [Ki Control (F)]

To increase in Power Level by 24 points was nothing short of amazing for just under a week's worth of training. Especially for a human without anything but bodyweight exercises.

Still, it wasn't anything to write home about.

Since his Power Level was a multiplication of his Energy and his other hidden stat, he was certain that the attribute representing his body had to be 0.5. While he could easily acquire the skill needed to reveal it, he didn’t dare do so on the off chance his body became stronger.

If he became any stronger physically, his energy stat would stop skyrocketing, and would simply grow at an even pace.

This meant that even if he had the advantage of intellect and skill, his Power Level would be nothing in the face of a vastly superior enemy. And seeing as how a simple jackalope would've killed him if he wasn't waiting for its attack, he needed a way to hunt the monsters that roamed the planet. With how thick the hides of most common animals were, simple punches wouldn't do much even with his power level.

Until he reached a sufficient level of power, he needed a force multiplier.

The first answer that came to mind was a ki blast, but he still didn’t have the control to do that yet.

The second was his magic.

When it came to using his MP, he'd been keeping it to a minimum, only creating two bottles of water per day. In the end, he deemed spending on the second water bottle necessary, as he likely would've passed out if he only drank a single liter of water per day. Sadly, this meant that he only had 6 MP to work with when looking for something to even the odds against the monsters.

Eventually, he found it.

As long as I make sure it kills, this should work for one good swing. Vidar felt as if he was trying to convince himself of this, nervous about his eventual choice.

Because while he didn't plan to use a weapon in most battles, the weapon he chose wasn't reliable at all. It was likely designed to be used once and never again. But it was the only version of this weapon he could afford, sadly.

=[Attempting to use 'Mundane Materialization' to create 'Glass Sword'...]

=[Calculating MP Cost…]

=[Creation Cost accrued to 4 MP for 1 'Glass Sword']

=[Would you like to create 1 'Glass Sword'?]

-Yes.

-No.

Swallowing his nerves, he clicked yes on the prompt.

The plan was simple; To hunt a beast with a Lesser Soul and improve his Mana Core.