ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝟚𝟟: 𝔸𝔠𝔥𝔦𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝕋𝔦𝔱𝔩𝔢 ⓇⒺⓋⒶⓂⓅⒺⒹ

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As he glanced at the notifications, the information within them flowed seamlessly into his mind. As the data settled in his consciousness, the floating notifications slowly faded from view.

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

﴾ The cooldown for║INVERSE║is 10 times the number of minutes spent in the mode ﴿

﴾ Cooldown: 01:50:00 ⧼hr:min:sec⧽ ﴿

﴾ All Stats in the 5 main Attributes of║STATUS║will be temporarily halved for a duration of 11 minutes ﴿

﴾ Each time you exit║INVERSE║mode, 1 Looted Stat from your║LOOTED STATUS║will be added to each of the 5 main Attributes in║STATUS║﴿

﴾ As your Stats of 5 main Attributes in║STATUS║are no longer in equilibrium, you will be forced out of the state of Harmony ﴿

﴾ With your overall Looted Stats less than double the overall Stats, access to║INVERSE║will be temporarily restricted ﴿

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

After a few seconds, the steam pouring from his body dissipated, clearing out through the windows and ventilators. The air in the room returned to its usual stillness, but the sense of exhaustion lingered heavily on him. He ignored the lingering notifications as dizziness crept over him. His skin felt tight and dry, his lips cracked, and his eyes stung from extreme dehydration.

Stumbling into the kitchen, he hauled his fatigued body toward the large 20-litre water can. Without hesitation, he grabbed the container and began gulping down water, desperate to quench the overwhelming thirst that gnawed at him.

He drank in a continuous stream, not stopping for breath, his parched throat welcoming the cold liquid. In less than a minute, he had drained more than half the can, his body greedily absorbing the hydration.

Only then did he feel some relief as the burning thirst subsided, and the crushing weight of exhaustion began to lift, though only slightly. The aftereffects of undergoing║INVERSE║still held him in a weakened state, leaving his muscles heavy and his senses dulled.

His clothes, drenched from the earlier steam, clung uncomfortably to his skin. Moving slowly, he changed into a dry set of clothes, trying to shake off the lingering fatigue. As he finished, his chubby Soul A.I. floated toward him, eyes wide with curiosity. The tiny figure scanned him, its eyes glowing with a soft light as it observed his new outfit.

Moments later, the A.I. waved its small hands, and a mini version of his clothes began to materialize over its previously naked body. A proud grin spread across its chubby face as it flew toward the full-length mirror.

The little baby admired its reflection for a moment, then pumped its tiny fist into the air with a silly but triumphant smile. Its twinkling eyes turned back toward him, clearly waiting for praise, the childish excitement radiating from its glowing expression.

As the equilibrium between his five main Attributes in║STATUS║broke, the rare skill║Harmony║, which had kept his emotions in check, deactivated. Instantly, the suppressed emotions returned, flooding his mind with sensations he had been shielded from in the state of harmony.

The scene, as strange as it was, brought a flicker of amusement to him. The Soul A.I.'s eagerness, its joy in mimicking his appearance, felt oddly endearing despite the absurdity of the situation. The tiny figure hovered in the air, beaming expectantly, waiting for recognition of its new outfit.

He could sense the tiny being's joy and eagerness as if they were his own. Since the A.I. was essentially a fragment of his soul, its feelings were as clear to him as his own thoughts. Despite its designation as an artificial intelligence, the A.I.'s actions mirrored those of a human child—seeking affection, attention, and approval in the way only a newborn could.

The A.I.'s cheerful antics, its wide-eyed gaze anticipating praise, brought a genuine smile to his face. He couldn’t let the little being feel unappreciated. With a soft chuckle, he offered a compliment, "Well, that dress suited you more than me."

At his words, the A.I.'s eyes brightened like a star igniting in the night sky. Its delight was almost palpable as it clapped its small hands together, circling around him in a giddy display of happiness. The air seemed lighter with the A.I.'s cheerful energy filling the space, its innocent joy infectious.

Jay moved to the bed, his body still weighed down by the remnants of his weakened state, and laid down to rest. For a few minutes, he simply allowed himself to breathe, feeling the tension begin to ebb away.

While lying on the bed, he summoned the familiar║STATUS║tab into his mind. He was eager to see the changes that had come from his Tier-2 Evolution, curious how the latest transformation had affected his stats.

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

﴾ STATUS ﴿ ⧼Primary⧽

Name: Jay | Age: 23

Race: Greater Human ⧼Male⧽

Level: 11 | Tier: 2 ⧼Low-Phase⧽

Life Energy: 1250/1500

Strength: 32 ⧼18 + 1✯ + 3✦ + 10⨊⧽

Agility: 32 ⧼16 + 1✯ + 5✦ + 10⨊⧽

Vitality: 56 ⧼25 + 1✯ + 20✦ + 10⨊⧽

Endurance: 46 ⧼20 + 1✯ + 10✦ + 5⚜︎ + 10⨊⧽

Spirit: 32 ⧼21 + 1✯ + 10⨊⧽

Luck: 7

Health: 560/560

Stamina: 230/230

Spirit Energy: 160/160

Undistributed Stats: 10

INNATE TALENT:║ LOOT║ ⧼ Grade Unknown ⧽

INNATE EXCLUSIVE SKILLS:║LOOTED STATUS║║Inverse║

﴾ Looted Innate Talents ﴿

* Grade 3║Wind Innate Talent║⧼not merged⧽

* Grade 3║Earth Innate Talent║⧼not merged⧽

﴾ ACHIEVEMENT TITLES ﴿

⧼ Common Grade ⧽

║Training Maniac-I║║Beginner's Luck║

║Lesser Arachnid Hunter║

⧼ Uncommon Grade ⧽

║Greater Wolf Hunter║║Greater Bear Hunter║

⧼ Rare Grade ⧽

║Day-1 'Tier-2 Evolver'║

﴾ SKILLS ﴿

⧼ Common Grade ⧽

Lv.4║Nimble Fingers║ Lv.5║Blood Poison║

Lv.5║Poison Resistance║Lv.6║Physical Pain Resistance║

Lv.8║Inspect║ Lv.10║Night Vision║

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Lv.10║Hydraulic Leap║Lv.10║Auditory Sense║

Lv.10║Olfactory Sense║Lv.10║Bite║

⧼ UnCommon Grade ⧽

Lv.1║Fire Ball║Lv.1║Strength Boost-I║

Lv.1║Agility Boost-I║

Lv.1║Passive Health Regeneration-I║

Lv.1║Passive Stamina Regeneration-I║

Lv.1║Passive Spirit Regeneration-I║

⧼ Rare Grade ⧽

Lv.1║Harmony║

⧼ Epic Grade ⧽

Lv.1║Soul A.i║

﴾ RESISTANCE ﴿

Physical Pain Resistance ➟ 50%

Mental pain Resistance ➟ 16%

Poison Resistance ➟ 5%

﴾ SPIRIT ITEMS ﴿

⧼ Common Grade ⧽

║Rusted Short Sword║║Adhesive Boots║

║Centauri Kavach║

⧼ Uncommon Grade ⧽

None

⧼ Rare Grade ⧽

║Stream Wind Sword║

﴾ WEAPON MASTERY ﴿

STAGE 1 ⧼ Lv.1 - Lv.10 ⧽

Lv.1║Minor Dagger Mastery║➟ Lv.1║Dagger Aura║ ⧼Locked⧽

Lv.1║Long Sword Mastery║⧼ Sword Minor-2⧽ ➟ Lv.1║Sword Aura║

STAGE 2 ⧼ Lv.11 - Lv.20 ⧽

Lv.14║Short Sword Mastery║⧼Sword Minor-1⧽ ➟ Lv.14║Sword Aura║➟║Aura Extension║

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

The increase in his stats was higher than he had anticipated. From the Tier-2 Evolution alone, he gained a significant 10 points across all his Attributes—except, of course, for the Luck Attribute, which remained stubbornly static as always. The usual five Undistributed Stats per level had doubled as well, granting him 10 for leveling up from Lv.10 to Lv.11.

Before he could dwell on the numbers too long, his Soul A.I chimed in cheerfully, "Master, for every increase in Tier, the Undistributed Stats obtained will increase."

The little A.I. floated closer, still radiating that childlike enthusiasm. "Now that Master has reached Tier-2, the Undistributed Stats will be 10 instead of 5, and when Master reaches Tier-3, the Undistributed Stats will increase to 15, and so on!"

With that simple explanation, things began to click into place. Jay then understood why the Dire Wind Wolf and the Bloodthirsty Earth Bear had been so overwhelmingly powerful.

Their strength had come from their higher Tiers, which granted them additional stats and made them formidable. He mumbled to himself, piecing it together, "No wonder they were so strong. If not for║INVERSE║, I’d have been crushed."

His eyes shifted to the floating chubby baby, his Soul A.I. It had been proving far more useful than he originally expected. The constant flow of information, the instant explanations—it was like having a living, breathing guide who could cut through the complexities of the System and the Trial Program.

Having this personal Soul A.I. would undoubtedly give him an edge in Trial World. But calling it a Soul A.I felt impersonal, especially after seeing how vibrant and alive it seemed.

He paused, contemplating for a moment, then asked, "Do you have a name?"

The A.I. blinked at him, wide-eyed, clearly surprised. "Master, I don’t have a name," it replied, its voice tinged with a childlike curiosity.

It gazed up at him with an expectant look, eyes filled with hope. "Master, will you name me?" it asked, its small voice brimming with anticipation.

Jay thought for a moment, deliberating over the perfect name. The A.I. was a miniature version of himself, after all. With a small grin, he said, "Alright. Since you’re like a mini version of me, I’ll name you 'MJ,' short for Mini Jay."

Ding—a notification appeared in Jay’s vision:

﴾ You have successfully designated 'MJ' as the name of your Soul A.I ﴿

The A.I.’s face lit up instantly, eyes sparkling with joy. It clapped its tiny hands and beamed at him, clearly delighted by the name. "MJ! I love it, Master!" It zipped around him in excitement, still brimming with that endless energy, proud to bear the name he'd given.

Still beaming, MJ continued, "Master, as your Soul A.I., one of my core abilities is to manage my host's║STATUS║and guide you toward the best possible path. Just give me your permission, and I’ll take care of everything."

He gave a small nod of approval, trusting MJ’s capabilities. The A.I brightened in response, its small form glowing pale blue before darting into his║STATUS║screen as if it were stepping through a doorway. With a small flicker, MJ's voice echoed within his mind once more.

﴾ MJ has entered his A.I form ﴿

A 2D version of MJ’s chubby, smiling face materialized in the corner of the║STATUS║window. The mini face—barely an inch wide—blended seamlessly into the interface, its bright eyes scanning over his information. Newly obtained skills began to highlight one by one, as if MJ were sifting through them with a critical eye.

"Master," MJ's baby voice chimed in within his mind, "I will first activate the ones that won’t cause any pain when merging." The playful tone softened into something more focused, giving a sense of calm assurance.

As MJ worked through the list, information about the skills began flashing in front of Jay’s eyes, each detail appearing as if inscribed directly into his vision. The steady flow of knowledge poured into him, clarifying what they were meant for, how they fit into his growing arsenal.

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

﴾ Achievement Title ﴿

║Day-1 'Tier-2 Evolver'║ ⧼Rare Grade⧽

* Able to obtain 2 Bonus Undistributed Stats with each level increase starting from your current level.

﴾║Day-1 'Tier-2 Evolver'║activated ﴿

﴾ Undistributed Points: 10 ➟ 12 ⧼10 + 2⚜︎⧽﴿

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

Jay was genuinely amazed when he realized that an Achievement Title could actually grant additional Undistributed Stats. It wasn’t something he had ever expected. The sheer potential such titles held opened up a new layer of growth and power.

Sensing his curiosity, MJ’s voice chimed in with an eager explanation, "Master, these types of Achievement Titles are rare. They can only be obtained through Galaxy-level achievements or above, like the one you earned by evolving to Tier-2 on your first day of the Milky Way Galaxy Trial Program."

The explanation made sense. Such an extraordinary title wasn’t just handed out for regular feats—it required monumental accomplishments. Before his thoughts could wander too far, another notification appeared in his vision, pulling his attention back.

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

Lv.1║FireBall║ ⧼Uncommon Grade⧽

* able to conjure and shoot a ball of condensed fire, capable of reaching targets within an 11-meter radius.

* The fireball's intensity and impact increase based on proximity, delivering maximum damage to anything within its effective range.

Cost: 11 Spirit Energy peruse.

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

As he glanced at the notification, a cool sensation washed over his mind, as he saw unknown characters, burning with a vivid orange flame, etching themselves deep into his consciousness.

﴾ Congratulations! You have successfully merged with the skill║FireBall║﴿

He felt the weight of the new skill settle within him, ready to be unleashed. Eager to test it, he began to focus on activating the skill when MJ's voice quickly interrupted his thoughts.

“Master, wait! The skill works like a mechanism—when you use it, it converts a portion of your Spirit Energy into a fireball, which then becomes a projectile attack,” MJ explained in his usual cheerful tone, but with a hint of caution.

There was a small flicker of disappointment as the realization hit Jay—he couldn’t manipulate fire in a freeform way. Instead,║Fire Ball║was structured, creating a single fireball that could only be launched as a projectile. It wasn't quite the dynamic control over flames that he had imagined, but still, the potential was there.

Even with that slight letdown, the excitement of using the skill bubbled inside him. He could already imagine the fiery projectile bursting forth with devastating force. However, he decided to save the test for later, when he re-entered the Trial World, where conditions would be more suited for experimentation.

MJ, sensing his restraint, continued shuffling through the║STATUS║, as more notifications appeared, offering glimpses of his new abilities and insights. With MJ managing the flow of information, everything was laid out efficiently, allowing him to absorb it without feeling overwhelmed.