A deep breath. A moment of silence.
Nile sat cross-legged in his cultivation chamber, eyes closed, letting the world around him fade into the background. His fingers traced the cool surface of the floor, grounding him as he prepared for his routine check.
ASD.
The translucent screen shimmered into view, its familiar structured layout bringing a small sense of comfort. For a moment, everything seemed normal. The numbers, the values—all lined up just as they should be.
Mana: 31/39
Spiritual Energy: 53/59
Number of Imprints: 1/10
His gaze swept over the screen, but something felt off.
A slight frown formed as he traced back his last memory of checking his ASD. It took him only a few seconds to realize what was missing.
His 12 Knowledge Bundles.
They were gone.
His heartbeat quickened. Had he lost them? Were they erased?
No. That wasn't it.
A subtle shift in his consciousness made him realize the truth—the knowledge wasn't gone. It had become a part of him.
It was a strange sensation. When he had received Jessica's Knowledge Bundles, they had felt foreign, like extra compartments in his mind, holding information he could access but never truly claim as his own.
But now…
Now, there were no extra compartments. No barriers separating him from the knowledge.
It was as if he had known all of it from the very beginning.
A slow exhale left his lips. So that's how ASD works… It only displays what is separate from me. Once fully assimilated, it no longer needs to list it.
He flexed his fingers, recalling the techniques Jessica's knowledge had granted him. Previously, when using them, there had been a slight delay—a feeling of referencing something external rather than executing it naturally. But now? Now, that hesitation was gone.
His thoughts flowed seamlessly, his understanding deeper than before.
Yet, even as he acknowledged this change, something else caught his attention.
Beneath his usual stats, two new entries had appeared.
---
The Arcane Manipulation Art
Nile's eyes narrowed as he read the name.
Arcane Manipulation Art – Lv 1
The title alone sent a shiver through him.
His mind instinctively recalled the book Frost had left behind. The first few unsealed pages had contained dense, cryptic texts—ones that had taken him hours to understand. And now, those same texts had transformed into a structured ability within his ASD.
Curious, he willed his mana to shift.
A sharp inhale.
It moved—not just his mana, but his spirit energy as well.
Seamless. Natural. As if his body had always been meant to function this way.
Jessica's knowledge had given him techniques for controlling mana and spiritual energy separately. He had learned how cultivators needed different arts—one to refine their mana, another to stabilize their spirit, and even more to manipulate different attributes.
But this?
This eliminated the need for separation.
Mana. Spirit. Even free attributes—he could manipulate them all with one technique.
Nile clenched his fists. No wonder Frost sealed this book… If people knew about an art like this, they would do anything to get their hands on it.
And this was only Level 1.
A smirk threatened to form, but he forced himself to stay focused. His attention shifted to the next new entry.
---
The Mysterious Artifact
Artifact: ??? (Book)
Category: Book
Sealed Status: 99% sealed, 1% unsealed
A heavy silence settled in the room.
Nile stared at the entry for a long moment, his thoughts racing.
A book wasn't just a book anymore. It was an artifact.
And it was sealed.
Jessica's knowledge had explained the importance of artifacts—some were ordinary tools, enhanced with formations. Others were semi-sentient, capable of growing alongside their owners.
But this one…
99% sealed.
Which meant whatever lay within was far beyond his current reach.
If only 1% had been enough to grant him the Arcane Manipulation Art, what unimaginable power lay hidden in the remaining 99%?
His fingers twitched with the urge to unseal more. But he knew better than to force something beyond his understanding.
Not yet.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment, steadying his thoughts.
That's when he noticed the final change.
---
The Red Knowledge Bundle
It floated behind his ASD screen, pulsing with a faint crimson glow.
Nile's breath caught.
At first glance, it resembled the 12 Knowledge Bundles he had received from Jessica. But something about it felt… wrong.
His ASD had automatically processed Jessica's bundles, making the knowledge accessible in time.
But this one?
It remained separate. Unprocessed.
He focused on it, scanning for details.
Contained Knowledge: Lv 1 Body Stimulus Paste
Given by: Jennifer
His brow furrowed.
Alchemy knowledge.
Jessica's bundles had been refined passively, absorbed like sunlight on a clear day. But this bundle required active refinement.
He instinctively called for his imprint—
Yet, instead of feeling the familiar sensation of his imprint responding, something else stirred.
His palms tingled.
A flicker of energy coalesced at his fingertips, and suddenly—
Two spheres materialized in his vision.
One black.
One white.
Both only 1 cm in radius.
Nile's breath hitched.
He didn't need Jessica's knowledge to recognize that these were not normal.
His ASD didn't register them.
Even when he had shown them to Uncle James and Mama last night, they couldn't sense them.
It was as if they didn't exist to anyone but him.
He had tested their properties before but had never used them for refinement. Now, though, an instinctive pull told him exactly what to do.
He reached out with his will, commanding the white sphere to act.
Immediately, it expanded—growing from 1 cm to 5 cm in size.
A sharp drain on his spiritual energy.
-5 points.
The sphere pulsed once, then shot toward the red bundle, swallowing it whole.
What happened next was mesmerizing.
The red color melted away, as if being washed clean.
Jennifer's imprint dissolved, erased like ink wiped from a page.
The residual energy—the remnants of its former state—was consumed by the white sphere, strengthening it.
And just like that, the bundle was purified.
Nile exhaled, calling the twin spheres back to his hands.
Then, without hesitation, he directed the processed knowledge into his Will Vortex.
A rush of understanding flooded his mind—ingredients, methods, effects, failures.
When he opened his eyes again, he was ready.
Ready to attempt something impossible.
Ready to prove that he could earn an Alchemy Badge without ever having practiced Alchemy.
A slow smile formed on his lips.
"Let's begin."