I just wanna say thank you to all the people that contributed to the 300 view milestone, you are all awesome!
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Day 2
After his crazy physique boost from yesterday, he felt that 5 hours of training was inadequate. After doing the 5 hours, he only felt a bit tired. After doing another 5, he still didn't feel all that drained, and decided to just finish the training early, as he hadn't expected the physique boost. He did the final 5 hours, and heard a delightful mechanical voice.
[Ding! Congratulations for reaching Peak Stage 1! You are 0/2000 Body EXP to Mid Stage 2!]
"Wait, what do you mean Mid Stage?".
[Normally after collecting the required EXP, you would have entered the Late Stage 1, but your Physique was enough to enter the absolute peak of stage 1. The reason for entering Mid Stage 2 after collecting the required EXP is because Peak Stage 1 is stronger than Early Stage 2.]
"That's awesome! Wait, does this mean that I can also unlock Hell Stance?".
[No. You have not reached the required stage, since there is qualitative difference of the technique between stages. For example, the refinement of the first stage is different than that of the second.]
"Huh. Well… I should increase my comprehension since there is no way I'll get bored enough to do 80 hours of training. I mean, if I really wanted to I could, but it would just be too boring.".
James takes the manual and reads it for about 20 minutes and feels as though his understanding of the technique had increased.
[Ding! Congratulations for increasing your comprehension of [Hell Body Tempering Technique] to "Slight". Your Body EXP yield has increased to 30 per hour.]
"Finally! But 64 hours?! Nah, still way too long. I'll get to the next level, and if it's still too long, I may get to the one after that.".
He keeps reading and reading for hours, but still doesn't understand more. He reflects on what he read, and finds that he does indeed have more knowledge than he started with.
[Ding! Congratulations, you have increased your comprehension to "Understanding". Your Body EXP rate has increased to 40 per hour.]
"FINALLY! I'VE BEEN READING AND TRYING TO COMPREHEND THAT DAMN THING FOR HOURS! Okay… 50 hours… I feel like I can deal with that… I'll do 20 hours today, 15 tomorrow, and 15 the day after that. With my crazy physique, I should be able to do it.".
James gets up and starts training. After the ten hour mark, he feels somewhat drained. At 15, he feels a bit more drained. At 20, it seems that he has reached his mark as he felt his body erupting. He collapsed outside and slept for hours.
When he woke up, he saw a Skeleton Hound biting his arm, being able to barely do any damage because of the difference in physique. He remembered that in the description of the Hound, they would hail to anyone that had an imposing enough strength.
SKELLY DAWG
James isn't sure how to be imposing, but be simply tightens his muscles and stares into the eyes of the hound. The hound slowly goes into a more submissive pose and lowers its head.
[Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained your first pet [Skeleton Hound]!]
"Wait, pet? Oh… Oh! OH! I wonder if I can make it even stronger! HEEEEEEEEEELL YEA! I GOT A DOGGOOOO!".
[Would host like to pull up the host menu?]
[Yes] [No]
After clicking yes, a floating panel appears.
[Skeleton Hound]
[Nickname: N/A]
[Physique: 200]
[Soul: 70]
[Intelligence: 50]
[System Note: the hosts' stats rub off on the pet.]
[Evolution Stage: 1]
[Points Until Next Stage: 3/1]
[Ding! It has been detected that this pet has done some prior slaying, thus has evolution points. Would host like to evolve the pet?]
[Yes] [No]
Hames contemplated it for a bit, and decided to evolve his pet. A white glow enveloped the hound, and when it dissipated, a much cooler skelly boi appeared.
[Two-Headed Skeleton Hound]
[Nickname: Skelehound]
[Physique: 400]
[Soul: 150]
[Intelligence: 100]
[Evolution Stage: 2]
[Points Until Next Stage: 2/5]
It seemed that evolving took up a lot of Skeledog's energy, so it went into hibernation. James did the 15 hours of training and went into hibernation next to Skeledog.
Day 3
When James woke up, Skeledog was still sleeping. Nothing that notable happened this day, EXCEPT FOR MID STAGE 2! After doing the last 15 hours, he heard that beautiful voice in his mind.
[Ding! Congratulations, your [Hell Body Tempering Technique] has broken through to the second stage! To unlock the exclusive skill "Hell Stance", initiate the test through the menu.]
James didn't spare a second and initiated the test.
[Use Hell Fist ten times in 3 minutes.]
To anyone else, this would be hard because Hell Fist also hurts the user if their physique is not enough, but James had a physique of over 900 through the training, pill, and tempering. In the end, it took him less than a minute to complete the test.
[Ding! Congratulations, you have qualified for the upper-grade version of "Hell Fist" by showing such mastery with it. "Hell Fist" has been upgraded to "Infernal Punch". You have also unlocked "Hell Stance".]
James was pleasantly surprised by this and tested infernal punch. It was so quick that the friction caused by the air lit his fist on fire, and produced more force. Now that was what he had truly expected of Hell Fist the first time he had used it. When he also tested "Hell Stance", it made him feel impenetrable. He wasn't exactly able to test it because even if he was awake, Skeledog had less than half his physique. The EXP he now requires had been increased to... TEN THOUSAND! HOW IN THE HELL IS HE SUPPOSED TO GET THAT? Maybe he'll eventually get it.
Either way, he had to increase his evolution points, and the only way to do that was through killing monsters. Maybe he should go and venture into the city, maybe he'll find some monsters there. Then it's decided - He'll be going into the city with his - PICKUP TRUCK! He shouted "I TRULY WAS A REDNECK!!!".