While training, Kaiden lost consciousness multiple times as there were times where his tenacity took over pushing himself to the limit and beyond his actual Fortitude. However, the results were acceptable seeing the amount of effort he exerted.
At the end of the first day's training, Kaiden was able to endure the strain of attempting to circulate his inner energy for 5 minutes now. Regarding the progress in circulation distance, Kaiden reached 1/9900th of a full circulation.
"You have made decent initial progress on the first day. We'll end the training here. However, you may also practice when you're not under my guidance, although it will be vastly different compared to attempting in here as you have your original attributes."
Nodding as he questioned whether he should train outside, 'I guess it wouldn't hurt if I familiarize myself, even if under heavy strain it should be much easier right?'
"Okay, what about her? Her change is taking much longer than mine."
"Well, yes. I didn't do anything with your bloodline and just solidified your foundation as I don't know what path you would like to travel down, and I also don't happen to have any bloodlines I could infuse you with. That will be left up to you. Her bloodline is being augmented to a much higher level and then she will also begin energy training alongside you.", informed Kairo.
"Interesting, what now?", asked Kaiden.
"Now…YOU leave as I know you should have some things to take care of. Training won't be stopping your daily activities. Just preparing you for the future. Also, when you're ready tomorrow to resume training, meet at the usual spot and a rift will open."
Nodding Kaiden, walking through the protected rift that Kairo opened.
Unknown to Kaiden, Kairo smiled at the closing rift. "I have much hope for you my successor, it's unfortunate my life force has but 3 months more at the longest."
-----
Reaching the alley in Crescent Wake Town, Kaiden was utterly shocked by how dark the sky was; however, the town was extremely well lit because of the Lumicite lampposts littering the streets.
'This game does mirror the times of day as they said, just at 3 times the pace.'
It was halfway into the 53rd hour of the first day of
"Tch. I should've turned in the Town quest before heading to Kairo...I'm pressed for time now and there are definitely the rich or famous guilder leaders equipped with Pods. System active time left?"
'System: 47 minutes, 54 seconds.'
As soon as the system sounded, Kaiden sprinted off, heading in the direction of the Town Hall. He was much faster than before, therefore he reached the Hall in a short 10 minutes. Sometimes having an expansive area of inhabitance can be an inconvenience.
Reaching the Mayor's office after going through the short process of verification, Kaiden approached Mayor Lowe.
"Hello Mayor Lowe, I have finished the assignment. Penni has safely made it through the Crescent Forest."
"Ah, Hello Unsheathed, I've been waiting for you for a while now. Yes, I'm aware Penni informed me through our message channels.", reaching into his drawer, Mayor Lowe stamped a paper in which he handed to the Kaiden.
[Quest Complete!]
Assessment Rank: S-
Clear Time: 14:16:51 hours
Reward: 50,000 Experience, 20 Gold, 50 Reputation, and 50% Discount on 2 plots of your choice for 7 days.
"Take this paper, to the Economic Department down the Hall and if you have enough funds you may buy Land."
Nodding, Kaiden sprinted down the hall trying to get as much done as possible. Shortly after, he arrived at the Economic Department desk and handed the receptionist Amina, a soft-featured blonde girl with a moderate figure, the paper Mayor Lowe gave him.
"This paper is valid for 7 days and will be put in the logs, you will have 7 days remaining from this moment on the certificate before it expires."
Startled, Kaiden thought he heard wrong as the receptionist said 1 instead of 7 days. 'Wait that's right the quest rewards are simply basic rewards for clearing. The fact that I cleared it quickly and Penni's merchandise experienced no damage, my rewards were elevated!'
Kaiden was experiencing a moment of relief when he realized he didn't have to put the carriage before the horse, as he would have an empty shop with no workers or products! Well… he did have an inventory full of equipment he could sell, however, his level was much higher than the general masses.
Leaving the Town Hall, Kaiden finally checked his system interface as he received new messages from various people, some being his friends.
Hollow Stance: "Damn you! How dare you leave your brother you fool? I can't believe you fucked up a Lord Rank Boss and I received no invite?! SHAMELESS! Watch how I deal with you if you dare take on another boss without me D:< ."
Gentle Whisper: "Key that was mean! I could've gone for experience also I know you're strong but don't forget about me! Plus, Hollow is getting out of hand! Where are you to control him?! >w>."
MagicsSlave: "WOAH! Is that a Lord Rank Boss I see? You showed that boss your donger alright when you get back, tell me the magnificent story! Ahahaha."
Responding with a wry smile as he shook his head, Kaiden realized with these silly guys his life would be very eventful, however, he was looking forward to it.
Overall, evaluating the administrative structure for the future guild, Kaiden began pondering.
'Gentle is the most responsible one, however, I need to know how her management skills are before I leave any type of clerical work to her.'
"There isn't much left for me to do except one thing."
Heading directly towards the Merchant Association, Kaiden reached there within a few minutes. In which he headed to the commerce area, outfitted with multiple reception desks. Stopping at the desk that read "Auction", Kaiden began inquiring.
"You guys don't have an Auction House? Is it only this desk?"
"Yes, we have one, however, it currently isn't in use as the population isn't high enough to unlock it. If you have anything you need to register, then you can register here for now."
'Ah, so they player population in the town must reach a certain amount to open up the 'Auction House function. Interesting, similar to a game I've played before.'
"Okay I will be registering items here then.", responded Kaiden.
"This is to be noted, however, there is a 10% tax if you are registering 1 item and the tax lessen as the quantity you auction increase, to as low as 3%. Every extra 50 items are -1% in tax."
Registering the items, he accrued on his leveling endeavors, Kaiden deposited a total of 340 equipment of all types and levels. It is to be noted, this equipment isn't only his drops but also drops proven to be useless by the others when he was in his party.
"Your tax will 4% for every item you have cosigned."
Nodding Kaiden walked out of the hall, making his way to the residential area as that's where the beneficial rest areas were. Ordering a Hotel room for 50 bronze, Kaiden called up the system.
"System, initiate Log Out."
'COMMENCING! Log Out.
'Pzshht.'
-----
In the real world, Kaiden raised his hands as he removed the AVICH off his head. Sitting in bed, he experienced a dizzy spell and well as a hunger that originated from his core. Unable to acclimate to the feeling in a brief period, Kaiden laid back down for a while.
However, laying down his ears twitched as the clock hanging on the wall located on the opposite of the room sounded more distinct, and quite frankly is was beginning to agitate him. Opening his eyes, Kaiden was assailed by a variety of more vibrant colors as his eyes were now stronger, picking up more minute movements.
'Huh? Why does everything feel so…surreal? As if… Wait it couldn't be? I haven't even ingested a Grade 5 'VitaShake' yet so I couldn't have experienced a Cellular Phenomenon.'
However, unaware to Kaiden because he was molded with another entity of himself, the basic physiology of his brain was elevated to a higher neural output; before this, it was just that his cells were unable to handle the additional strain. Hence, the disproportionate reaction speed to his brain's current condition.
Fortunately, going through intense pain and probable danger awakened his brain's survival instinct, prematurely secreting an enzyme called 'N-X7' which releases the 'AE-X' hormones to the cells.
There was one concrete way to test if you had undergone a Cellular Phenomenon, check if you were able to influence your surroundings to any degree.
Closing his eye, Kaiden closed his eyes and after more than 10 minutes he sensed he was able to perceive through sensation the world slightly less than 2 feet in front of him.
'By HARDIC standards, this is the most basic of basic Cellular strength, but they also said it can only be brought about by Grade 5 or above VitaShakes…meaning that I'm one of the anomalies who awoken early.'
Finally, able to withstand the dizzying feeling in his head Kaiden stood from bed checking the time: 6:14 pm.
'Tomorrow I have that meeting with the 3rd Head of the 'Sonic Star Media Group'. Therefore, I'll log in shortly, before the meeting so I can continue preparations."
Walking downstairs, Kaiden was greeted by his brother on the couch who was also just getting out of the game.
"Hey Key, you just get out of 'World's Destiny'? I chose a Mage class, currently, I'm Lv.11. Just reaching Crescent Wake Town you?"
'Should I tell him the truth? Ah, he's my brother who cares.', contemplated Kaiden as he said "Lv.17, I'm also in Crescent Wake Town."
"17?! What's your IGN, mine is Intact yours?", questioned Zeek in an excited tone.
"Unsheathed, hehe.", chuckled Kaiden as he knew what was about to come.
"DAMN! That's you? My little brother is absolutely amazing! When we get back in-game. I'll shoot you a friend request.
Nodding Kaiden proceeded to raid the fridge as he drunk a Grade 4 VitaShake as his stomach was insisting on rebelling. Quelling his hunger at a much later time, Kaiden was finally overwhelmed with a feeling of sleep.
Sleeping for what seemed like an eternity but was actually just 9 hours, Kaiden woke up feeling refreshed.
'7:05 AM'
Finishing his daily needs by 7:40, Kaiden proceeded to do rigorous home training in his yard for an hour while his brother joined to increase his physical qualities as well.
By 9:45, Kaiden put on his helmet, logging back into the game for a few, to take care of minor things.
---
'System Alert: 109 Gold, 40 Silver and 67 Bronze has been deposited into your Inventory for Auction sales.'
Checking his System log, Kaiden was astounded that over 200 pieces have sold already. This showed how much of a demand there was for equipment!
'I have to build a Lifestyle corporation as soon as possible. The profits will be immense if I can continue to capitalize on opportunities before others. Unfortunately, I have nothing but my game deeds to support that at the moment. A big corporation could engage in a financial sword fight and my donger would lose...For now."
While Kaiden sat on the virtual bed, scrolling through information, he found out within the period he was gone, people were active – highly active, the person in 2nd place for the World Level Leaderboard was already 1 level below him. However, Kaiden wasn't worried about this as he knew with his current equipment and skillset people would be hard-pressed to surpass his level.
Not to mention, resting in the Hotel Room for over 8 real hours gave him a buff.
[Exuberant Rest] – Increases the Inner Energy regeneration rate by 20% and provides an additional 20% experience bonus.
Although, he wouldn't be capitalizing on that at this point as he was only online to monitor the progress of his forum post.
Surprisingly, there were over 40 message notifications on his System. They were inquiring questions from many different professions. They were all Apprentices at this point but there were plenty, Alchemist, Apothecary, Blacksmith, etc.
Filtering the unneeded professions at the moment, Kaiden only responded to the various Apothecaries, Alchemist, Blacksmiths, and Tailors.
Replying en masse, "If you're interested in being employed, then please sign this and we will have a much needed informative conversation afterward, very soon. Also, all Lifestyle players must be over Lv.10 as we will be meeting in Crescent Wake Town."
Closing the message, Kaiden realized Gentle Whisper was on and sent her a voice message.
"Hey silly."
Immediately after, Gentle Whisper responded in a fiery tone, "Silly?! Who's silly? TnT What do you want? You clearly want something."
"Are you busy? And however, experienced are you in discreet buying?
"Well…my family does own a chain gourmet brand ''Rosa Blanca". I've been educated in the ways of business since young."
Smirking as Isabella (Bella's full name) was a full package, beauty, booty, and brains. Ahem… Kaiden wiped away his lustful thoughts as he responded.
"Perfect! I'll be sending you 1000 gold, begin buying the materials needed to nurture Alchemist, Blacksmith, Tailors, and Apothecaries at a reasonable price, I'll leave that to your discretion."
Numb to all the surprises that Kaiden kept dishing out Bella replied flatly, "Ok."
Following up with, "But, what do I get in return? Hmmm?"
Choking, Kaiden ended the chat and paid no mind to her banter as he transferred 1100 gold to Bella.
Now, if you're wondering where did Kaiden magically got over 1000 gold from when he only received 100 from the Auction house so far, simple. If you remember the ring on his finger, inside was that pile of gold that totaled wait for it…. 54,000 gold!
Thankfully, Kaiden's mindset was influenced by the business strategies injected into it causing him to refrain from splurging all at this moment and instead gradually deplete the market of immediate resources.
Unfortunately, Bella was a fox not to be taken lightly.
Gentle Whisper: "Hey! You jerk don't you just ignore me!"
Kaiden: "Ugh, you headache! I just tacked on 100 extra gold, 50 is yours, go crazy!"
Gentle Whisper: "I swear when I see you, I will bite you and never let go. Don't you call me a headache, jerk!
Grumbling Kaiden closed the chat again… 'Such a headache, lucky she's dependable though."
"System…Log out."
---
Back in the real world, Kaiden began preparing himself to get ready for his 'Sonic Star Media Group' assault, for in this deal he would be the real profiter.