1 year passed and my injuries only managed to be healed by a little bit.
The degree of my damage cannot be healed by merely circulating energy for a year or two.
The fact that my storage items were destroyed along with my clothes made this situation even harder.
If my estimates are correct then I would need to meditate for at least 150 years before my situation would allow me to travel.
That much time is doable but do not know where I am and if I could still live tomorrow...
Sigh..., I can only patiently use energy to recover and hope for the best.
...
Inside a medium-scale clan, a youth was strolling on the road.
Stalls were along the street and they sold everything from necklaces to pills and meditation techniques.
All these things were crucial for a human in search of power but for this youth, these things were too expensive and his situation only allowed for looking but no touching.
As he was about to pass by an alley a voice was heard
-Hey kid, come here a bit!
His mood soured instantly as he continued on with a slightly faster pace.
...
Opening the door to his house was usually a task that the youth didn't pay any attention to but now even this movement made his body ache.
Going to his bedroom and lying on the bed was all he could muster.
As soon as his body touched the sheets his wounds opened again and started bleeding.
-Those hooligans beating me again, it's the second time this month!!
With anger, he punched the bedside table with such might that it collapsed and rose some dust in the room.
-Ah, my body aches even more now, great.
The boy closed his eyes and went to rest since he couldn't do anything more today with his body so damaged.
While deep in sleep a weird dream manifested.
He was alone in a cubic room, white walls on all sides with a strange metallic bed in the corner.
A toilet was situated in the next corner as these were the only furniture in the room.
He stood up and looked wearily around as he never saw anything similar in his life.
Everything looked so unnatural that it scared him to the core.
Suddenly a shadow appeared behind him.
This made him shake and take some steps back.
The shadow grew and took the shape of a humanoid figure.
I looked like a sculpture made of obsidian.
With no facial features the doll looked empty and neither did it have any fingers or joints.
It looked...incomplete.
A voice that sounded like two cords of a violin sounded from the sculpture.
-Hello young man, do you wish to be bullied forever, to remain at the bottom of society?
The weird voice spoke in a weird tone like someone spoke with more words in mind but interrupted mid-way.
The boy trembled and did not say a single word, he thought that it was just a dream and was waiting to be woken up but the rays of dawn.
-This is not a dream, but an offer, a god has taken sight of you and decided to help in raising an apostle that will give a word of his descent in this mortal world.
The boy tried to stop his shivering and opened his mouth to speak
-Who-, who ar-r-e you and why chose me?
-His Majesty noticed your ambition and decided to bestow great power upon his future vassal.
The boy breathed and tried to calm himself further.
After 5 minutes his movements became more orderly as he raised his head and a resolute look could be seen in his eyes.
-I refuse your-
SLASH
...
4 years came and went like the wind
Inside a cold and dark cave sat a dark figure.
The person did not make any movement however one could not help but keep distance as a deathly aura surrounded the entity like a thick veil.
It looks like I am healed about one-tenth and I can use my energy more freely.
A pill appeared in my hand as I took it and resumed my recovery.
After the youth refused my help I decided to directly take over his body and use his soul as an appearance to fool the old fogeys in that clan.
I managed to steal a technique that allowed for long-distance item transmission.
Unfortunately, it did not allow for anything besides inanimate objects to be passed over.
Pills and potions could be steadily supplied as the boy got stronger and stronger thanks to my soul-absorbing property.
This innate trait allowed me to steal everything from talent to skills and memories from an entity whose soul I absorbed.
Immense greed could be felt every second I saw those geniuses walking around.
But I had to restrain myself.
I had plenty of time as my lifespan was long.
Slowly accumulating talent and potential was the best course of action.
I can take my time to prevent others from discovering my existence and start hunting me down.
My trait, however, is weak since my soul was damaged and I have to slowly repair it before I can regain access to its full potential.
I close my eyes and resume my meditation to faster heal my injuries.
...