Morning came and Aster was stifled by the fact that he can't get up earlier because of Aria. Not that he had any complaints with her being on top of him. It was fun but he was too weak to carry her weight on top of him.
The girls woke up one by one when they heard their alarm clocks ring. The first thing on their agenda was to pack and move their stuff. It was a close walk away from their place anyway so it was like having a back and forth stroll if they were to move the things one by one.
Despite their need for a frugal lifestyle, the majority of their earnings must have been used on clothing. The sheer number of them was literally enough to fill an entire room. It was later when he found out that they were dresses and gifts from their princess days.
Another question plagued his mind again. 'What privileged escape did they have that they had the time to pack their clothes? Why were they dumb enough to have stacked on clothes while not having saved the money first?'
Good thing that Aster's question was answered when Eve held out a ring in front of the other room's door. Within a few seconds, the contents of the room have been sucked by a vacuum that sucked towards the rings.
"You girls actually have a space ring." He whistled out from being impressed. Aster surmised that they must have fled with the wrong ring and left the one containing the money at their kingdom. His space bag is nowhere as powerful as a space ring.
Aria saw his look of amusement and contemplation. Her fast working brain must have the potential to be a mind-reading psychiatrist when she speculated his thoughts and said. "You must be thinking that we prioritized clothing and left the gold that was more important."
"Yes." He blurted unconsciously, only to be kicked in the foot. Aria glared and explained. "The other reason for our escape is by bribing a lot of people through the money. When we arrived here, only a measly amount was left that City Lord Greene found no use in fraternizing with us."
"Sorry for the misunderstanding." Aster begrudgingly said while thinking. 'You could have just explained and not add the kick, you know.'
The other girls were cleaning the house down to its last corner. It was common courtesy and respect for the house that they lived in for years. They came in with the place perfectly clean so it was an act of respect to leave with the place having the same clean condition. They also decided to leave behind their furniture because it would not fit in place with the new house that was perfectly ready and grand.
Monet and Jade were practically skipping as they walked due to the excitement. These girls never really grew up in luxury and that was one of the reasons for their older triplet sisters to buy it for them.
It did not take long for them to reach the white and smooth walls of their house to be. It had black, decorative railings that were simultaneously appealing and practical against potential trespassers.
They reached the dark green colored gates. One that was small for individuals to pass through while the bigger one is for letting through huge furniture and fancy carriages if they ever decide to purchase one.
From outside, one could already view the aesthetically pleasing house. It had a rich and expensive vibe to it. Its white theme really made it stood out from all the other houses of the street. In its right, is a wide meadow which was the perfect fit for Aster who wanted to try out the prowess of his fighting skills. Farther from the meadow is a lush green forest which is supposed to be the practice forest for the students of Creed Academy.
Even farther ahead the practice forest was the great forest which the locals designate as the Feral Regions. The owners of Creed Academy were either really smart or careless to build their infrastructures just bordering the feared forest.
Passing down the keys in his hands to the ecstatic Jade, Aster left them to stroll far in the grassy meadows. The girls were having fun on the house and familiarizing themselves with the high-class pieces of furniture. He could tell that the triplets were actually giving a sigh of relief from having left their old house. The secrets that the trio withheld was intriguing but he had other matters to attend to.
'System, designate lust points to cultivation and have me advance to 1st level of Novice rank.' The system did just that and he saw the Cultivation label change.
From its original None to Novice 1. Mana filled his inner core and made him grasp of its minute mysteries.
The inner core was where the mana would be stored up and an essential part of a cultivator's body. It is generally located just below one's navel and when destroyed would essentially mean being crippled.
The one at the navel is designated for energy. The other one is in the middle of the chest and responsible for the spirit. The third core is by the head which is for the soul.
Cultivators would skillfully channel the stored mana between these three cores and make use of meridians and acupoints to bring with it powerful effects.
The lust points needed for him to advance to Novice 2 was exponentially higher.
Cultivation: Novice 2 (0/2,000). This means that with every rise in cultivation. The previous 1,000 lust points would be obsolete and he has to have a reserve of another two thousand to advance.
With his lust point reserve still having 8,641, he decided to save it first and consolidate his gains from the advancement.
From his Skill menu, Aster skimmed through it and found the skill he was looking for.
Origin Body Art. Invented by the host and is a body cultivation art that contains the essence of every basic movement of the body. 1,000 lust points needed for mastery insights.
This was a product of his hard work and genius when he was sixteen-years-old. Having read a lot of manuals on body cultivation, Aster appropriated all of their basics to form a cultivation art that would culminate all of them.
It was just an incomplete prototype when he stopped dabbling with it. He never thought that the system perfected it for him.
The system was really as domineering as endorsed.
"Origin is the start of things and things all start with the basics." This was the idea that his naming for the Origin Body Art was catered to.
'System, buy it for me.' Following his decision, another one thousand was deducted and he only has about seven thousand six hundred forty-one lust points left to spend.
The Lust Exchange System appropriate it with the perfect remuneration for the lust points used up.
Within an instant, Aster's head was filled with scriptures and images. These were the insights within the Origin Body Art.
By subconsciously following the enlightening images of his mind for an hour, his slightly muscled and firm body of a young 18-year old became sculpted with firmer muscles. He was still lean and thin but his muscle tones became pronounced.
His mind was also filled with images of the various forms that are associated with the body improvement art. By practicing every conceivable and achievable movement and limits of the human body, one would be able to gain full control of the body's locomotion and even become proficient in the amount of force that one could exert.
The Origin Body Art is a perfect cater to vessel the mana of someone in the 1st level of the Novice rank.
He peeked through his neck hole and saw the best configuration of muscle alignment that he ever saw. 'The abs and pecs are superb.'
'Those monstrous bodybuilders would go insane if they found out that their years of effort was topped by me within an hour. I also beat them in aesthetics because I don't have those bulging veins they have from overuse.' Aster complimented on his body while lightly criticizing the bodybuilders. In his opinion, those who have those bulging root-like veins were adverse effects of overexertion and were like varicose veins. 'Sorry to all bodybuilders I have dissed at.'
Aster eventually returned his train of thought to the system he was given. Instant breakthrough, instant mastery, and powerful innovations in skill making. These were miracles that one would find hard to come by and yet they just happened after the will of Aster's thoughts.
Instant mastery was not true though because he had to practice on his own to truly master it. His fast success was attributed to his latent knowledge in the art he helped in creating.
'System, did the creator give another guy some system that had overpowered capabilities as you?' The presence of another overpowered son of a bitch would mean the forming of a rivalry.
The system promptly answered. "No, the creator already has his imaginative juices drained out by your existence and the creation of my schematics. If you are looking for rivals, then they would be the heaven-defying geniuses that are borne in this world and the some who are found in the upper realms."
'Do gods exist in this grand universe of creation?' Given that the system has omnipotent tendencies due to its connection to the creator itself, he decided to ask. Only to be answered. "Maybe. Advance your cultivation first and the answer will come to you."
Unbeknownst to Aster, the omnipotent creator of all existence did not think that far ahead.
Aster decided to not think about it and did the easiest routine movements in his newly mastered skill. To his delight, every kick and punches he had let out was enough to beat anyone with the same cultivation as him.
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Notification:
The host has been offered a passive growth option for the skill, Origin Body Art. Would you like to use?
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'Care to explain?' Aster was answered directly. "The passive growth option is an option to make a certain skill grow dependently with your cultivation. Your current Origin Body Art is only useful for the Novice 1 level. If you are to improve it, then you have to use corresponding lust points. Passive growth allows the host to not worry about the cost and just passively enhance your version of the Origin Body Art as you progress in your mana accumulation."
'Yes for me please.' He did not even care to comment on the system's sales pitch and understood the implications of passive growth. Mana cultivation and body cultivation are independent of one another. To advance in one of either fields, you have to allot the time and resources to them.
An example is a wizard who focuses on magical arts but his body would still remain that of a mortal despite having little increments. This is the reason for the frailty of wizards in close combat.
Practitioners of body cultivations are more on the specializations of warriors and berserkers. Aster who was thought to be mana deficient beforehand could also opt for the body cultivation to stand alongside his peers.
There are practitioners of both body and mana cultivation as well. Most of them have been known as close combat mages and all-rounders.
The passive growth option gives a clear advantage to Aster by a large margin compared to the others.
An hour passed and Aster really found no other benefit in practicing other than working up a sweat and conforming with his recent benefits. He decided to head back to his newly purchased home and find out what the girls are up to.
It was still a considerable distance of walking from where he was standing and the gate entrance. Aster decided to test out his speed and he reached his destination within a minute.
Inside, he entered through the intricately designed door and was greeted by a spacious room. Sofas and beast skin rugs were what came to his view. A grand chandelier on the roof while there are beautiful paintings on the roof. There is also a perfectly positioned fireplace.
By its right, is a beautiful brown colored railing in partnership with the shiny and wooden flights of stairs that head to the rooms of the second floor. To the left are the dining area and other spacious rooms that are separate for the storeroom, kitchen and sink, laundry area, and luxury hot baths and showers. Aster visited them one by one and even found a jacuzzi option for the large tub.
He went back to the leisure room where he found a door and exited through it. A big pool was what greeted him. It was there that he found comfortable benches and those weirdly designed beds that has an inclined half.
In those five weird beds are the lovely siblings. Sporting their swimming attires that has a green motif to it. Sunglasses were placed on their perfect faces and they leisurely enjoyed the moment like wealthy, young, and successful women under the shade of an umbrella.