Viswa lay down on his bed as he looked at the ceiling.
At least that is what Jiva who is sitting beside him thought. But Viswa is looking at the system notification in front of him.
[CURRENT POINTS: +96 TRIGGERED A SPECIAL CONDITION. NATURAL RECOVERY OF THE HOST'S BODY WILL INCREASE BY 96%]
He could feel the increase in speed of his body recovering. It is almost double the normal speed, but on top of that, the pill Sir Warden gave him actually gave him a lot of boosts as well and it seems like the effects of the pill and Karma points are stacked together.
Jiva looked at Viswa who seemed to be in a daze.
"How are you feeling?"
Viswa turned to him and said with a smile as he sat up.
"I am fine. I am just a bit surprised. I didn't expect this scenario."
Jiva smiled wryly and said.
"Actually it is not that common. As you have heard from the village guards, it is a crime for Black Sand Academy students to harm people in the village. But of course, the students are stronger than most commoners and they do enjoy a certain status as long as the village guards themselves catch them in the act, no one complains about them and no one comes as a witness.
Luckily, the twins found us and we had a village guard nearby. Otherwise…"
He didn't finish his sentence, but Viswa understood what could have happened. He would have died.
"Are all the Black Sand Academy students adults?"
"Oh, no way. The best students are mostly as young as us. The threshold for cultivation is 15, so admissions are open for anyone who is 15 years old. In fact, the person we came across is in the academy for over 4 years and he is not even the strongest student there."
"Then who is that guy our age? He said something about the future ruler of the Black Sand region?"
Jiva sighed and said.
"Honestly, I don't know. He must be some noble child.
Even though Black Sand Village appears remote beside a sea without much development, the Black Sand Academy is called one of the sacred lands of training cultivators. All the noble children in the surrounding towns and cities come here. Sometimes even people from far away come here to get admission in the academy."
Viswa nodded and asked.
"So, is the academy very encouraging towards fighting? Otherwise, students wouldn't act like that over such a small issue."
"From what I know yes. Academy places a lot of importance on strength and all things inside are decided by strength and capability.
In fact, I heard there is a hierarchal structure among the students based on their cultivation level and combat abilities. Even I saw a bunch of stronger students ordering weaker ones.
But of course, the fighting is mostly regulated through tournaments, monthly tests, etc. The only time the fighting is pretty much unrestricted is when they participate in personal duels and when they are in the Black Forest."
"Black Forest?"
"The forest behind the academy grounds.
From what I know, it is the forest ground specifically set up for training the students. A lot of resources are necessary for students to cultivate. Even though the academy gives out a lot for them, they need a lot more than that in that competitive place, so the academy set up this Black Forest.
Nobody knows how deep the forest goes, but there are a lot of spiritual Beasts and a lot of spiritual herbs that could help them with their cultivation.
Students often go there.
Actually, the forest attached to the orphanage is also part of Black Forest, but Sir Warden created an enclosed area and drove out all the beasts from there just for us."
Viswa nodded in realization.
"So, with so much combat going on, I bet there are a lot of unfortunate situations right? Like people being crippled or dead?"
"Yeah, unfortunately. It is very common for that to happen within the Forest and in the duels and tournaments. But as long as it happens within these restricted rules, no one can be blamed for them."
Jiva just kept on explaining whatever Viswa asked.
Viswa on the other hand was a bit confused.
"How do you know so much stuff about the academy?"
"Well, I often talk to Sir Warden about it. I always wanted to become a strong cultivator, so Black Sand Academy is a dream place for me to start my cultivation. I know a lot about it."
Viswa noticed the look of blind admiration in Jiva's eyes and just smiled.
But at this moment, he suddenly felt a bit tired. There is a warm fuzzy feeling deep inside his stomach and he started sweating.
"Oh, it seems like the medicine is taking effect. I will leave now. You can rest.
And don't worry about those words from that guy. When we get into the academy and surpass him, he would be slapping his own face to apologize to us."
Jiva left with those words.
Viswa smiled and at this moment, Mr. Guide suddenly popped up.
[Hey kid, move your ass. It is time to train.]
Viswa was dumbfounded. He was indeed planning to train after recovering, but for some reason when he thought his injuries are gone, this wave of weakness hit him, so he was planning on resting a bit.
[I know you are feeling weak and feverish. That is because the medicine that guy gave you is very potent for your current strength.
So, that extra potency is stuck in your body and it doesn't have anywhere to go. If you train now to your limit at an extreme pace, your body will keep on recovering. This gives a channel to that extra potency and it will also speed up your training by a large margin.
Your strength will increase much faster.]
Viswa is surprised with how serious Mr. Guide is. After all, this suit-wearing snob of a little man only ever called Viswa dumb and stupid while electrocuting whenever he wanted.
This is the first time, he is explaining something patiently.
Looking at Viswa who is just staring at him, Mr. Guide frowned and said.
[Can't you hear me, you numbskull. Make a move. You got your ass beat like that from a puny and untalented insect and you still have the gall to just stay on your bed.
If I were you, I would find a spoonful of water and drown myself in it.]
There it is. Viswa suddenly felt relieved. He got off the bed and went out of the room silently into the forest.
He went to his pit. The whole area is now always damp because of the water well, but it also gave a cool effect there. He got into the pit and started digging with his hands. But this time, he didn't stay at his pace.
He increased the speed and strength he used.
He forcefully dug his hands deeper into the soil and used all of his strength to pull bigger chunks out. His muscles bulged as they were put to extreme tension.
He could feel them being ripped apart. But they are healed in an instant. He also felt the warm feeling in his stomach reduce just a very tiny minuscule bit.
He didn't stop, he kept on digging and soon, his fingers started bleeding and his veins almost looked like they are about to pop, but he just continued digging.
His body is in a constant state of stress and recovery and he didn't even care about the rest.
Just like what Mr. Guide said, the warm energy he had in his stomach is way too huge, he could feel that he can just go ahead and work for three days without eating anything.
And that is exactly what he did.
He didn't even bother to sculpt with the clay. He just kept on digging and brought the sand out.
On the night of the third day, he pushed a large batch of soil out of the pit and moved to a side. Then he saw a person standing there.
"Sir Warden?"
Viswa said in a surprised tone as he looked at the man in front of him.
Sir Warden looked at the area. The small water tank, the heaps and heaps of soil and the large pit which is obviously leading into a tunnel. He also saw the small water stream coming from the lake.
"What are you doing?"
He asked Viswa with a frown on his face.
Viswa didn't know what to say, but he decided to be honest even if it wouldn't make much sense.
"I am training."
Sir Warden came forward and help Viswa's hands and asked.
"Are you digging by hand?" He was surprised and then he bent forward a bit to look at how far the tunnel went.
It is more than fifty meters long. He was really surprised.
Viswa nodded at his question.
Sir Warden then patted Viswa's body a bit and then only his frown disappeared.
From the looks of it, the training is indeed effective, but he doesn't know why the boy is training this hard.
"Don't put those guys' thoughts in your head. Don't overwork and push yourself too much because of it. Also, come back home, the kids are worried about you."
Viswa nodded.
But Sir Warden didn't budge, he just stood there waiting.
Viswa understood and he took off his clothes, before jumping into the tank. He cleaned himself up before putting on a fresh set he prepared for himself on the side and walked back along with Sir Warden.
As soon as he reached home, Manavi ran to hug him.
"Where did you go? I thought you ran away." He could see the tears rolling down her cheek. He patted her head a bit and just smiled.
"Where would I go to? This is my home." He said as he looked at the rest of the kids who are clearly happy that he is fine.
He had terrible food for dinner and went to his room. Before he hit his bed, he decided to check his attributes. He could feel that he became stronger in these three days.
[ ATTRIBUTES
STRENGTH: 17
AGILITY: 14
STAMINA: 23
COMPREHENSION: 27
WILL: 45]
He is surprised by what he saw. He kept a check on the attributes for a while. All the training he did in a week made him gain 3 points in strength, but he got the same three points in the last three days.
It is the same with the Stamina and he even gained two points in agility even though he hasn't be focusing much on it.
But this is indeed a good rise in strength.
He also understood that it is mainly from the pill that he took. He is also sure that his speed would be better than last week since his recovery speed increased, but he still wished that he could take something like that pill again.
If he used that, he is sure that his strength will increase by a lot.
He went to sleep and the next morning, he went on with his daily routine, but he couldn't help but feel like he is being stared at by someone. And this time it is quite different from what he felt when he went out with Jiva.
But he couldn't feel any danger around him, so he just went to train. He really wanted to do the crazy level of training once again, but he doesn't have those pills. So, he could only slow down his pace. But it is definitely faster and harsher than his first day.
He kept on training and making clay dolls. As he moved forward with the tunnel and dug ten more meters, he suddenly found two things. He hit a rocky area and the rock he found there is actually very unique.
He had one that is the size of a plate and brought it out. It is very heavy for its size and it is probably because of its density.
But he is more interested in its surface. It is very abrasive. He then thought of something and went ahead to pick a stone that is as long as his forearm.
He started grinding that stone on the rock he found under the ground and he is surprised to see the effect. The rock is indeed very abrasive and the stone started grinding pretty easily.
He kept at it for another hour and soon he managed to get a sharp edge on the stone.
He wanted to test it out a bit and luckily he found the second thing at that exact same time.
*HISS*
A snake that is almost a meter long hissed its way out of the pit. It has brown skin that almost made it merge with the soil, but its eyes are way too eye-catching.
Viswa looked at it and his eyes lit up. Even though he is eating meat once a day in an orphanage, the taste of the food is awful. He wanted to enjoy a meal of his own.
He immediately caught the snake easily. It was not that difficult for him and he even found use to the new sharp stone in his hands.
But he was surprised by the screen in front of him.
[YOU HAVE CHANGED THE FATE OF AN EARTHEN SNAKE BY KILLING IT. YOU HAVE ENDED ITS LIFE BEFORE ITS DESTINED TIME. OBTAINED -0.1 NEGATIVE KARMA.]
Then he was drawn into that weird feeling again. He saw a scene where the earthen snake that he killed crawled out of the ground, and roamed around. Its length isn't much different from when he caught it.
It went to catch a rat and an eagle caught it before it could. Maybe it seems like the snake didn't have much impact on other lives and it wouldn't have lived for long.
Viswa was dumbfounded. He understood the principle of these Karma points, but he didn't expect that it would be to this extent. He looked at his Karma points and it is now an awkward +95.9.
He shook his head and didn't think much. It is not that much of a difference. He could bear it for now.
He started a fire and skinned the snake with the sharp stone. Even though it is a bit hard because he doesn't have any handle, he still managed to decently skin it. He washed it off and started cooking it over the flame.
He then put the snake skin on a large rock after washing it cleanly to let it dry.
Soon after he finished the snake as he relished in that taste, he felt something. The same warm feeling he had when he had the pill.
But this time, it is very much chaotic. It started causing him severe pain and he even puked some blood.
[What the hell did you do now?]
Mr. Guide instantly appeared and looked at him with a frown and then he looked at the remnants of the snake and sighed.
[You idiot, you ate an animal that is halfway through becoming a spiritual beast. How can you even digest the spiritual energy when it is not refined.]
Viswa doesn't even have any energy to reply and Mr. Guide sighed for the first time.
[Alright, we have no choice.]
He snapped his fingers and a screen appeared in front of Viswa.
[COMMISSION REQUEST
REFINIMENET OF CHAOTIC SPIRITUAL ENERGY 1 UNIT COSTS 1 KARMA POINT
ACCEPT
Viswa didn't even hesitate before choosing yes and he felt the chaotic energy becoming dormant instantly. It is similar to the energy he got from the pill, but just not the same amount.
His Karma points got to 94.9.
But he didn't mind. He immediately went to digging as he noticed Mr. Guide disappear without saying anything.
Viswa didn't want to waste his time. From what he can see, he could at most have this energy for a few more hours and he needs to get back to training. He started digging once again and this time there are a lot or rocks coming, which made this a bit faster, but harder at the same time.
The best way would have been digging around a rock to loosen it and pull it out.
But Viswa just used brute force to forcefully drag the rock, even if he is hurting himself and then he brought them back to the surface. Too bad he didn't find many of those abrasive rocks. At least not to the size of the first one. He found much smaller pieces that he could carry around.
Viswa trained until the energy was used up and then came back to rest.
He then started diving into sculpting the clay dolls and grinding the stones.
The next day, Viswa went back to the digging area to train, but this time he didn't dive into action immediately. Instead, he went to look around.
Since he found a snake here, there are likely other things as well. And from what he saw until now, the training efficiency with that energy is much more efficient compared to just depending on his recovery.
He looked around for some traces and soon he found the place he is looking for.
It is a small area, where the snake got caught by an eagle while trying to catch a rat.
This place indeed has much better vegetation compared to the area he was in. He searched around to see if there are any traces of animals.
He had decent enough training in the woods to hunt and survive, he soon managed to find some traces. He found some feces and footprints.
He looked around calmly and his eyes lit up.
There is a rabbit in a distance. He slowly inched closer to it and noticed that something is weird with this rabbit.
It is bigger and it has two tails which are completely unusual. He couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled, even though the snake also looked weird, but it is not different from snakes back on Earth, but this rabbit is clearly different.
'Whatever, who knows what kind of meat I am eating every day. I might as well…'
[YOU CHANGED THE FATE OF A HALF-EVOLVED SPIRITUAL BEAST THREE-TAILED RABBIT BY KILLING IT. YOU ENDED ITS LIFE BEFORE THE DESTINED TIME. OBTAINED 1 NEGATIVE KARMA]
Viswa frowned as he looked at the number. This is way too much compared to the previous one. But there is another notification that confused him even more.
[THE RABBITS FATE IS INTERLINKED WITH THE FATE OF OTHER BEINGS. OBTAINED POSITIVE KARMA 5]
As he was left confused, he saw the visuals that come with the kills. He saw the rabbit hopping around in the plains and a boy was going after it. The rabbit also has three tails instead of two. It is much faster than now and much bigger too.
The rabbit froze for a second and the young boy caught up to it.
When he was about to make a move, he saw a black shadow-like figure pouncing on the boy and killing him.
Viswa was sucked out of the visual. He didn't see the boy's face or the face of the shadow figure.
But it seems like chain events like this will also trigger some Karma reaction. He wondered if Manas' change was also calculated like that.
He shook his head and focused his attention on the rabbit. It already bled out. He skinned it there only and cleaned it up before going back to his camp.
After cooking the juicy rabbit, he started devouring it. He only managed to devour one-third of it, before a notification popped up.
[2 UNITS OF CHAOTIC SPIRITUAL ENERGY DETECTED. DO YOU WANT TO REFINE IT?
COST 2 KARMA POINTS
ACCEPT
Viswa felt extremely bloated and accepted and soon he felt full and the energy accumulated in his stomach. This time it is indeed more than the snake and it is only one-third of the rabbit. He still has a bit more.
He decided to go crazy with the training and he is sure that there are more animals like this in the forest.
He hurriedly dug as he remembered Jiva's words.
There are still three months till the admission exam into the Black Sand Academy.
And there is a large enough forest in front of him. He needs to increase his strength as much as possible and he decided to do it at whatever cost.
He needs to be in Black Sand Academy and he doesn't know what the passing criteria is, but to be safe he has to be in the best shape.
After all, there are a lot of debts he needs to repay.
And with those three months of crazy training began.