After his brief encounter with Annaliese, Lothur returned to Viktoria's residence without anyone noticing his little escape. Then, he used the rest of the day to practice his two already learned techniques, focusing on gaining more attribute points and improving his proficiency in them.
A technique might have a low rating, but that was only its first limitation. However, because the majority of people in this world struggled to pass even the Beginner phase, even an Iron-grade technique could become impressive in the hands of a genius who mastered it at the Grandmaster level.
Another critical point was its user's cultivation level—the greater its power, the greater the technique's effectiveness.
With this in mind, Lothur did not take his training lightly, even considering how standard his techniques were.
He hoped to increase his Intelligence attribute in the future, so aiming for high levels of mastery in each technique was not too high a goal for him. As such, he wanted to be different from the rest, doing something that few could or even attempted, becoming a Grandmaster!
...
After sunset in Peters City, Lothur finally finished his last training session of the day, lying face up in the small training area of his wife's residence.
There he was, breathing heavily, while he seemed to be melting due to the impressive amount of sweat pouring from his body.
Such a thing could be easily noticed even if someone looking at that place ignored his body. That was because the entire wooden floor of that area was stained with traces of wet feet and sweat drops.
But while he was in that state, a small puddle of black goo was standing beside him, from which drops of this disgusting substance continued to accumulate as it dripped from his navel.
He had finally reached the 3rd Transformation!
And already knowing what that meant, Lothur did not even need to see the system screen in front of him to smile in satisfaction, feeling the pleasure of leveling up.
Finally, trying to regain his breath and ignore that strange smell in his surroundings, the young man dressed only in a small pair of shorts turned his attention back to the system screen.
In this instant, he finally understood a little more of this.
[Name: Lothur Ritter]
[Physique: what doesn't kill you makes you stronger]
[Bloodline: ****]
[Cultivation: level 3]
[STR: 4.0] [CON: 4.8] [DEX: 4.1] [AGI: 6.2]
[INT: 30] [PER: 11] [WIL: 40.7]
'Level 3, huh? By my count, level 3 should be cultivation with average physical attributes above 4.'
'Let's see what the average value of my attributes will be the next time I advance...' He pondered silently, feeling that he could begin to predict the values needed to level up. With that, he could understand more of the strength of people more substantial than him, something precious to anyone!
But as he thought about he looked straight at his attributes and remembered the warnings during his four training sessions today. He realized that his speed of progress had already slowed!
"Sigh..."
'There must be some kind of body resistance related to this kind of training.'
'I've only trained a few hours on each of these techniques, but my progress has already slowed by an average of about 25%!'
'That's alarming!'
'At this rate, in a few weeks with these techniques, I won't have any attribute gain anymore!' His eyes opened wide at the thought of this possibility.
But that was the life of cultivators. Beginners like Lothur usually had impressive results in their first training. But, then, their results dropped considerably after weeks or months.
And since many lacked the willpower and talent to keep persevering, they would never find out how to retrieve their gains.
However, Lothur did not feel too desperate about this since he could always count on his Physique's advantages. So, even if training these techniques would no longer help him increase his level, it would still be something worthwhile for him, as long as he could advance his mastery and rely on his incredible Physique powers!
...
After learning a little more about cultivation in this world, Lothur cleaned up that area and then took a cold shower in Viktoria's bathroom.
However, as he was leaving that place in the same way he usually did in his room, this young man ran into his wife, who by now had returned from her responsibilities.
She was sitting in an armchair beside her bed, slowly taking off her shoes, while her slender calf was on display to Lothur.
But as he looked at his beautiful wife, she finally saw him wearing only a towel around his waist.
Viktoria watched him for a moment, feeling a little angry at this shameless person. Still, then she noticed the improvements in his body.
'This guy...'
'He's getting stronger.' She noticed the volume of Lothur's chest and shoulders, while his abdomen seemed much more defined than before.
And seeing that such an idea was not in her head, she stood up to approach him, curious. "What have you been doing? Are you training your body or something like that?"
Hearing that, Lothur smiled and said. "I'm exercising lately, but it's no big deal."
"Why? Are you feeling more attracted to your spouse?"
"Tsk!"
'This idiot...'
'He's probably not doing anything. That must be related to the miraculous recoveries he's been through recently.' She watched him dress inconspicuously, assessing his figure.
After Lothur finished putting on his clothes, Elise arrived at that residence bringing the two of them dinner.
"Aren't you eating with your parents today?" The silver-haired young man asked this as he sat down at the only dining table there was around.
Noticing her husband watching her, Viktoria was honest. "No. They are busy with something."
"Oh?"
And while the two of them were talking, Elise was staring at Lothur with a terrible expression in her eyes, incredulous at seeing this scumbag so well.
'Damn!'
'Is he immortal or something? How did he survive the night before and still recover so well?'
'Hell, he looks better than ever!' She admits how well Lothur was looking, something seen in his muscles and his skin's sheer quality.
And thinking about how much better it would be for her if this young man just disappeared, Elise felt terrible seeing him looking so good.
'Damn it!'
'I have to think of something to deal with this scumbag.' She thought about that as she watched the two eating, mainly looking at the young man who seemed to have the appetite of a wild animal.
"Wow, this food is delicious!" Lothur complimented the dish he was devouring. "This place has good cooks, huh?"
"Really?" Viktoria laughed as she looked at Elise.
"Of course!"
"By the way, dear, can you cook?"
But then Viktoria's expression went cold at hearing such words, "Why should I?"
"For me, of course."
"My wife has to be able to satisfy me in e..." He smiled at her as he made a gesture with his right hand, trailing toward one of her hands.
"Humph!"
"The day I cook for you is the day hell itself will freeze over!"
"Then I already feel bad for the poor demons... They will freeze very soon." He joked one last time before finally smelling Viktoria's hand as his face was slapped.
Pa!
"That's your punishment for saying so much nonsense in such a short time." Viktoria looked at him coldly before finally giving him another warning. "By the way, you will sleep on that couch tonight." She pointed to that piece of furniture. "So don't even think about going anywhere near my bed tonight, understand?"
...
In the blink of an eye, the night passed.
After sleeping on a couch in Viktoria's residence, Lothur secretly left that place after her departure, heading toward his goal.
As soon as he managed to leave the area of the Frost estate, he immediately headed towards the central part of Peters City, where the local Cultivation House was located.