THANKS FOR ALL THE POWER STONES!! A MASS RELEASE WILL BE TOMORROW AS PROMISED! Enjoy the chapter!
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After a simple hour or so, the group are ready to go. Alden keeps himself shifted and puts Tanji on his back so they can make an exit. It is quite annoying have to feel the front of his sword digging into his side though. Silvan packs his things and they make sure to take everything that they manage to find.
After this, they make their exit back to the city of Grimcrest.
Once they return, they do get a few looks from people across the hall. They are muddy, bruised and their clothes are completely broken up. Tanji wakes up as they return to the school and is quite light headed from the overexertion of his power. Also, his Soul Core is pretty much empty now. He can even feel the emptiness in his abdomen. It feels similar to being very hungry and tired.
"We did it?" Tanji asks in slight curiosity but mainly for reassurance in his head. Alden nods and says "Yes. We did."
They go to the locker rooms across school and change into their ordinary uniform. However, they do still look bruised and beat up. This will likely go away by the following day anyway.
Tanji looks up to the clock and sees that it's 6pm. "6pm?! Everyone's already in their dorms!" He feels a vibration in his phone and so do his friends. He promptly checks it to see a new message from Grimcrest Academy.
Tanji blurts out "600 dollars?!" Silvan nods and says "This is amazing. I deduced that we would receive 200 each, not a collective of 1.8 thousand."
"They must have a lot of money." Tanji comments.
He says his goodbyes to his friends and makes his way back to his apartment in the heart of the bustling Bludby City.
Once he returns, the unread notifications pop up again.
[CHOOSE A QI BEAST]
[OPTION 1: Fire Worm. A Qi Beast that is based on a worm with fire-forming capabilities. Mainly provides extra stealth alongside overall damage. OPTION 2: Power Panda. A Qi beast, based on a panda with much higher muscle mass than an ordinary panda. Mainly provides extraordinary strength. OPTION 3: Aero Moose. A Qi Beast based on a moose with enhanced speed alongside wind-forming capabilities. Mainly provides speed and extra cutting damage from harsh winds. OPTION 4: Water Shark. A Qi Beast based on a shark that has water-forming capabilities. Mainly provides special abilities such as breathing underwater but also provides extra strength and swimming speed.]
Tanji follows with his usual and deep evaluation of the powers. "Hmm. Many of these Qi Beasts will give me clashing elements. Will having two Qi elements be harder to use? System."
The system promptly replies.
[If the user chooses a Qi Beast with an element power different to his own, the Qi Beast will lose significant power.]
He then thinks "Urgh. But pandas are a bit weird and not very cool. Whatever. It won't get weaker if I use it and it says it will give me a lot more strength. You know what? It might not be all that bad."
He chooses the Power Panda and a blue orb appears in front of him. He catches it before it hits the ground and feels its soft and warm exterior. In the orb, he sees a baby panda almost sleeping within it.
In front of him, the system displays a pop-up.
[Eat the Power Panda.]
He does exactly that and tastes a smooth and sweet taste of strawberry. He is actually surprised by how good it tastes and as he swallows, he almost feels it disappear in his throat. The orb is completely transferred into qi and then it matures in his Soul Core.
He hears a peculiar baby roar from a certain direction and assumes that it's the Power Panda within him. "Whoa." He says in excitement. "I can feel my Soul Core filling up already."
[NEW ART!]
[Qi Beast Art: Yin-Yang Rush. Muscular mass significantly increases and power drastically increases. Qi is transferred into a mix of yin qi and yang qi. Lasts 30 seconds.]
[+35 Strength, +20 Speed, +20 Constitution]
Right after he has his excitement from these new powers, he lays down and just wants to relax after the hard day. It's really been taxing on his body. As he rests for a few minutes, another notification pops up.
[ELIXIRS UNLOCKED]
[OPEN ELIXIR MARKET?]
Tanji stands right after he sees this and thinks "Elixirs?! Like from the video games? System! What's an elixir?"
[It would be disrespectful to describe every elixir under the same term. In simplest terms, elixirs are liquids that can affect organisms in various ways. These elixirs can be split into positively affecting elixirs or negatively affecting elixirs.]
He decides to open the market and sees several elixirs. Many spanning in different colours and sizes and containers. He really understands what the system meant by elixirs varying widely.
[Wrath of the Dragon Elixir.]
[COST: 7XP Points]
[Physical Stats increase by 30% but Control decreases by 80%. Last 60 seconds.]
[Nurse's Remedy Elixir]
[COST: 5XP Points]
[Minor wounds are healed in the span of as little as a second and healing factor is fastened by 2X for 60 seconds.]
[Added Brawn Elixir]
[COST: 14XP Points]
[Immediate Strength Boost of 8% and Ability to gain Strength increases by 10%.]
Tanji seems to like the Added Brawn Elixir. The cost is well worth having faster strength gains in the long run. It also makes him stronger on the spot. He checks his XP points and is actually quite surprised by the number.
"19?! I really have just been laying off then." He says in surprise. He quickly buys the Added Brawn Elixir and a cylindrical bottle appears in front of him with a silver substance within. He peers upon it and opens the lid. The system doesn't prompt him to do anything so he just chugs it down.
He smartly assumes that he is supposed to drink it and if he didn't, the system likely would've reported that to him.
He feels nothing too weird and just sees a new notification.
[STRENGTH: +10%]
His strength stat increases +17 points and he feels the immediate strength already. His steps feel just that much lighter and he feels a tad bit easier to move around. He also feels that extra swiftness in his movements.