[First Lost Tree Fallen Scroll successfully collected...]
Finally, Lothur saw this message before him as he looked down, with Viktoria still in his arms.
Seeing that, he unconsciously hugged her even tighter, feeling a wave of satisfaction running through his body.
'Fuck yeah!'
However, before he unwittingly showed his excitement, he suddenly thought of a problem. 'What will happen to that necklace? Or rather, what will happen to that red leaf?'
[The system requires what's on the leaf, not the exterior of it...]
'So that's it!'
'Then? What do I gain by collecting this thing?'
[Does the host wish to absorb that first singularity right this instant?]
Gulp!
'Better not!' He thought, fearing that Viktoria would notice something if he proceeded with this in front of her.
'I'll do that later!'
After that, he saw the system message box disappear from his sight, and a feeling of relaxation arose in his body.
"Sigh..."
But then he heard a cold tone coming from the vicinity of his left chest. "Are you done, or will you be like this all night?"
"If you want, we can do it like that..."
Pa!
After speaking as he wished, Lothur felt the weight of Viktoria's hand on his right cheek just before he almost fell backward.
"Now go away!"
"But don't forget what you promised, or I'll make you wish for death!" She said as she walked into her residence, leaving that man alone in that hallway.
"Sigh..."
'Well, I didn't expect anything anyway, so it's time to return to my room...'
...
Upon arriving in his room, Lothur sat down in one of the corners of his bed and immediately called up the system.
'Come on, time to absorb this thing!'
[Beginning absorption of the first part of the seven singularities...]
[Scroll successfully identified...]
[The baptism process will begin in 3... 2... 1...]
After that, a humming sounded in Lothur's ears while a red light that only he could see spread in his surroundings, little by little enveloping him in what looked like a sphere of light.
Meanwhile, he felt as if he had suddenly become drunk, with his consciousness floating and part of his reason wavering.
The red light from before began to penetrate his skin in that instant, causing Lothur to look at himself in terror, wondering if this was some kind of delirium.
However, this state did not last long. He soon began to feel an unparalleled pain in the middle of his back, where if he could see, he would witness his spine glowing red, like lava.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!" He shouted in a crazed manner, with nothing else in his mind but that feeling which was nothing better than having that part of his body ripped off.
...
After a few minutes in that state, the almost unconscious Lothur saw the message he had been waiting for from the system.
[Absorption of the first collected singularity completed!]
[The host's body was considerably changed after merging with the first Scroll...]
[Increased bone quality identified...]
[Increased muscle quality...]
...
[Increased affinity of the host's soul with the Lost Tree...]
[Host's Physique evolution: what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.]
[The host's bloodline has been strengthened.]
[Spirit baptism completed...]
[Activating status...]
[Name: Lothur Ritter]
[Physique: what doesn't kill you makes you stronger]
[Bloodline: ****]
[Cultivation: level 1]
[STR: 1.4] [CON: 0.6] [DEX: 1.6] [AGI: 1.8]
[INT: 30] [PER: 11] [WIL: 36.2]
'Uh?'
'Those characteristics...' Lothur thought about those numbers he had ignored earlier, finally paying attention to his status.
'STR, uh, that must be the strength attribute, huh?'
'Oh, I get it!'
'That system somehow quantifies my characteristics into numerical values!' He exclaimed in his mind, remembering some games he had known in his life on Earth.
But not understanding much of the overall situation, he soon put his status aside to focus on the earlier messages.
These messages were making Lothur feel better and better. But this was not because it was making him satisfied. On the contrary, what pleased him was the refreshing feeling in his body after that earlier torment.
As he felt his body completely healed, not only from what had happened a few moments ago but also from the lightning wounds, he finally smiled in joy.
With that, he immediately ran to his bathroom since he felt he should observe himself in the mirror.
"Wow!" He exclaimed in surprise, running his hands over his jaw, feeling that as handsome as he had been before, he had managed to get even better.
"Uh? What's that?" He unconsciously moved his finger toward a lousy goo oozing from his navel.
"Damn, what the fuck is this?"
Immediately after this, he lowered his head without caring where he was and felt a sudden urge to put everything in his stomach out.
'Where did that come from? How can something smell so bad?' Lothur wondered in disgust, feeling that there was something dead coming out of his belly button.
'Damn it! I have to take a shower, or this smell will knock me out!'
And then he ran into the shower, still seeing the last message from before in front of him.
While doing so, he did not forget what he had just read. 'System, what is this physique you quoted?'
[What doesn't kill you makes you stronger: after fighting to the brink of exhaustion, the threshold of life, as long as the host can stabilize his situation, your body will become stronger after your recovery.]
[Unique condition: 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' is closely related to strong feelings. Without them, this Physique will naturally lose its main characteristic.]
[The envy and hatred of others are your weapons to evolve to the top!]
'What?' Lothur's eyes shone in surprise as he understood that, although impressive, this Physique was somewhat problematic.
After all, the characteristic of this innate ability implied that he would have to suffer considerably to achieve advancements!
And as much as it also meant great returns, it was not so easy for an earthling to accept that so quickly.
It might be much easier if he were a native of this world or even a prehistoric human from Earth. But as someone from a technological and relatively peaceful civilization, the idea of fighting until he was on the brink of death was not so appealing to Lothur.
"Sigh..."
'It seems that this system is a mixed blessing...'
'There are advantages, but gigantic risks accompany them.' His eyes sharpened as he understood a little more of this system.
There were no free lunches, and Lothur understood that very well.
If the system gave him something, he would have to be naive not to assume that he would lose or give something back at some point.
Regardless of whether this was an alternate world, this young man felt that things could not be created out of anything without any foundation.
If he could obtain power so simply, there must be a complex method behind it. After all, even the good-for-nothing Lothur knew that the cultivation world was for the few!
'If I'm not mistaken, this condition must be related to the fact that by hating me, people will naturally try to kill me. With that, as long as I survive, I'll be able to get stronger.'
"What a complication..." He muttered in a low voice as he felt the water from his bathroom shower running down his body.
'Looks like the start of my journey in this place won't be easy...'
He then laughed sarcastically, feeling that at this point, the body he had inherited might help him more than he expected. 'With that fellow's qualities, it shouldn't be hard to piss off many people...'
"At least I have a way to go now!'