After the mysterious archer (Feng Wu) left, Mark hurriedly opened the quest list and clicked on the main quest and side quest that he completed.
*Ding! You unlocked all Single-shot firearms. Check out the gallery for details.
*Ding! You received a new main quest
*Ding! You unlocked Ether particles.
*Ding! You received a new Side Quest.
*Ding! The system needs twelve hours to absorb the natural energy and convert it into ether particles before safely merging them with your DNA so that no other changes occur in the process.
*Ding! During the process, the host will be unconscious. Proceed?
"Allen, we are closed for the rest of the day." Before proceeding with the process, Mark ordered the Android to close down the shutter. He then walked upstairs to lie on the bed.
He can actually continue his business as usual and proceed with the process during the night time but Mark was too excited at the moment that he couldn't wait any longer. It's been several weeks since he transmigrated into this world.
In a world where power rules above all, no one knows how a weak civilian faces an unfortunate death. Considering he's already been dead once, naturally, Mark doesn't want to face death once again. So, he wants to raise his strength as quickly as possible. What's more, there's also his revenge against the Imperial family.
Lying on the bed, Mark clicked on proceed. In an instant, he felt as if a powerful sleeping drug has been injected into him and lost his consciousness.
It was a peaceful sleep. In fact, Mark would have slept for more time if it hadn't been for the constant notification sounds rung in his ears and forcefully woke him up.
As he slowly opened his eyes, there was a holographic screen floating before him where the notifications appeared one after another.
*Ding! Ether Gene has been merged with your DNA successfully.
*Ding! Congratulations, Ether Core has formed successfully. You receive 500 credits as a reward.
*Ding! Phoenix Bloodline hasn't been triggered. The Host can only buy the other bloodlines from the credits shop.
*Ding! Your stats have been improved by a slight margin.
*Ding! Choose your spirit path
*Ding! Choose your attribute
*Ding! Daily Quests have been unlocked.
*Ding! New Main Quest has been added
"Oh, 500 credits as a reward? Cool… Now, I will be able to use Lottery once again, not once but two times." Mark became ecstatic, looking at the free reward. The lottery system that gave him the Battle Tank only works once a week. When Mark opened the Lottery for the second time once the cool-down period is over, he saw it was asking for 300 credits as a fee.
And it isn't easy for Mark such a high amount. Even if he dismantles the only gold-grade sword in his possession, it might not give him such a high amount of credits. So, he thought of thinking about it later. Never in the world did he expect to receive such a high reward for forming the Ether Core. Moreover, he formed ether core only because he sold more than 1000 gold coins worth of goods. That makes it an extra reward.
Mark was so happy that he even took lightly of the bad news of not triggering the ancient phoenix blood that runs in the Imperial family and focused on other notifications.
He read the fourth notification and spoke, "System, Open Character menu."
A new window has been opened with stats displayed on the screen.
Name: Lu Zhen (Mark Spencer)
Strength: 0.4
Intelligence: 1.1
Defense: 0.5
Agility: 0.3
Vitality: 1.0
Resistance: 0.1
Charisma: 7.0
Luck: 2+1
Bloodline: N/A
Attribute: ???
Spirit Path: ???
Ether Quality: Low
Ether Energy: 18
Rank: N/A
Skills: N/A
Lifespan limit: 85 (60 years left)
Available credits: 834
Net worth: 691 gold coins, 24 silver coins
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"Oh, there's a breakthrough option, which is glowing?" Mark found that along with the improvement of his stats in various areas, there are question marks on spirit path and attribute, and there's also a breakthrough added at the bottom, which is now glowing. That means he can break through to the 1-circle realm. Isn't that the case?
It brings to the matter of the rules of breakthrough. It was no secret that the number of ether particles will decide a spirit warrior's breakthrough to the next realm. While Mark doesn't know the exact amount, he does know that every realm needs ten times the amount of ether particles that of the previous realm. For example, if the four circle realm needs 10000 amount of maximum Ether particles, then, the five-circle realm would need 100 thousand.
However, here, on the stats, there's not even Ether particles state. Instead, there are ether energy points which are at 18. Since the spirit warriors said to use ether energy to increase their attack power of normal attacks or consume the energy to use skills, are ether particles and ether energy points both the same? If that's the case, is 10 is the starting point to enter the 1-circle realm? Then, what do the stats signify? Questions are running through his mind. And the only one who could give an answer is the System.
And luckily, the system answered him to clear his doubts.
*Ding! The rules for Host are slightly different from other spirit warriors.
*Ding! The Host's stat points play a major role in the breakthrough. For every point in the main stat, the host can make a breakthrough. Before making a breakthrough, the host must decide his Spirit path.
*Ding! Strength stat boosts the Host's damage of melee attacks and the maximum weight you can carry.
*Ding! Intelligence boosts the Host's spirituality, common sense, problem-solving ability, and skill in magic.
*Ding! Defense boosts the sturdiness of the Host's body and reduces the damage of melee and magic attacks.
*Ding! Agility boosts the Host's attack speed, movement speed, and reflexes.
*Ding! Vitality boosts the Host's life force.
*Ding! Resistance reduces the effects of mind attacks on the Host.
*Ding! Initial results show that the Host has an aptitude in Intelligence and Vitality stats.
*Ding! Paths recommended: Fighter, Mage, and Summoner.
"Hmm, my strength is quite low, and also fighting with fists and developing muscles isn't my style anyway." Mark fell into thoughts upon reading the information sent by the system. "Maybe, it's why it's decided like that?"
*Ding! Aptitude decides on genes, not by thoughts or personality. The Host's talent appeared to be inherited from his biological mother.
"Biological mother?" Mark's facial expression immediately changed upon reading the reply from the system. He may not be real Lu Zhen but received his memories.
While the real Lu Zhen never knew of his real identity and don't have any enmity with the Imperial family, Mark felt that the least he could do is to get him justice.
He couldn't do anything when a higher rank officer sold him out to the Mafia gang. When he finally escaped and contacted his friends to tell them about the person who was responsible for his kidnapping, it was too late as he was already branded as a traitor and got a shoot on sight order placed on him. In the end, without even getting the chance to protect his innocence, he was killed by his trusted comrades. Ironically, the guns they used to pierce bullets in his body turned out to be his own inventions.
Mark wasn't able to get justice for himself. So, all of his anger towards his former comrades was shifted towards the Imperial Palace. While Lu Zhen never suspected a conspiracy behind the deaths of his foster parents, Mark who knew the truth felt like the Imperial Palace might be behind their deaths.
After all, he could at least imagine a spy keeping an eye on the servant who became village chief after trading his baby with an Imperial Prince. Maybe, they just want to kill the two of them to bury the truth completely. And even if Lu Zhen knows of it, what can he do and who will believe him without conclusive evidence?
On top of that, during his two-week stay in the town of Fangchuan, Mark asked his employer that took him about the burglar that killed his foster parents. However, what he received as a reply is a piece of bad news. The Burglar has never been found. It was when Mark suspicion's increased.
It is why Mark has specifically chosen the Imperial city as the location of his store of all the places in the Empire.
Now that he finally started the path of being a spirit warrior, Mark was looking forward to payback the Imperial Palace in several folds.