Unfortunately, the current system lacked such a thing. This made Dalvin feel a little dismayed because even if he was piss broke in terms of currency at the moment, having the option to purchase things remotely could have drastically changed his situation and significantly increased his survival rate.
Oh well, there was no use pining over something he probably could never have had anyway.
Rather than that, he rested on the spot and realized his bloodline energy had recovered to 55%. This naturally meant that he had spent 25 minutes practicing while using the Xueqi pill and this was more than twice the amount of time he spent in the simulation, leaving Dalvin puzzled.
While some of his actions were different from the simulation and diverged away, it should not be enough to create such significant changes. This fact left him somewhat apprehensive, wondering what the difference was between simulated him and real him but not knowing exactly how to get that answer.
While he thought and rested, he checked his character screen to see the progress he made.
[Name: Dalvin
Race: Human
Physique: Spacetime Immortal Body (10% Awakened)
Age: 21
—————————————
Martial Arts Realm: Mortal (Foundation)
Martial Arts Technique: Earthquake Fist (Low-grade Human Rank)
Blood Qi: 30/100 (Unable to Breakthrough)
—————————————
Cultivation Realm: Mortal (None)
Cultivation Mantra: None
Cultivation Base: 0/100 (Unable to Breakthrough)
—————————————
Power: 0.4
Qi: 0.2
Fortitude: 0.3
—————————————
Bloodline energy: 55%. (Next 1% in 00:08:44)
…]
To Dalvin's surprise, a few things had changed. His realm, technique, and blood qi were expected given that he had practiced just now, but he didn't **not** expect all of his abysmal stats to increase by 0.1 in all fields just by practicing for 25 minutes.
So was it the pill, the technique, or the act of exerting himself that yielded the gain?
If you asked him, Dalvin felt it was the pill. His stats were trash as they were below one full point for sure, but he did not think merely practicing for such a short time could increase it permanently, nor did he think just 3 foundational exercises of the lowest-tier Martial Arts technique could be so miraculous.
It was definitely the extraordinary xueqi pill that was preserved in the spatial pouch, maintaining its medicinal efficacy even after so long. This made him understand its value, which Feng Qi had failed to mention as he did not seem to regard it, likely a subconscious behavior having been a cultivator all his life.
Dalvin rested while thinking, finding his condition to be very strange. Even though there was nothing to do, his mind was currently lost in various thoughts and daydreams, so much so that he temporarily lost a grip on reality and zoned out.
When he shook his head and suddenly snapped out of it, he realized that his bloodline energy had risen to 75%, meaning that he had been out of it for 20 whole minutes. Amused and angry at himself for treating his own life and safety so casually, he stood up and didn't bother to dust his backside lest he cover his palms with muck.
He only even snapped out of his trance because he felt his body hollow out, like the feeling of having the energy sucked out of you when the caffeine boost came to an end. While it was thankfully nowhere near as intense or debilitating, it was enough to knock him out of it.
Dalvin stood up and excitedly popped another xueqi pill, feeling the surge of heat and powers coursing through him again. Immediately, he continued with the fourth, fifth, and sixth foundational movements in the next 20 minutes, around 5 minutes shorter than it took him to do the first 3.
This Dalvin was not confused about, as he knew the reason for it lay with his slightly increased stats. Just a 0.1 increase had changed the amount of time it took by a whole 20%, making him lose his disdain for the gained amount.
In truth, he couldn't exactly feel the exact changes himself because he was under the effect of the **Xueqi** pill and it made him feel like an inexhaustible engine of endless power while it was active.
Even now, when the primary effects wore off and he was left with the strange buzz that lasted after, he still could not feel the exact difference. However, he naturally checked his character menu again and was intrigued to see that the blood qi he gained remained at 30 points.
However, his stats had increased by 0.1 points in all fields once more. Dalvin was curious as to how this would manifest when the pill's effects wore off thoroughly. While he waited, he decided to run another simulation to see whether anything would happen in the next hour since it was already past 4 pm.
"System, begin the simulation."
[4.25 pm. You were resting while your body cooled down from your second round of exercise. Idle and bored, you delved into your memories to reminisce on fun moments while gaming and spending time with friends.]
[4.35 pm. You recovered twice as fast from your 'buzzed' state, which you felt was due to your increased ability. You did not immediately pop a new pill and allowed your body to crash into fatigue.]
[4.36 pm. Placing your back against one of the walls, you closed your eyes and let the fatigue wash over you, entering a state of semi-comfortable sleep.]
[4.40 pm. You are asleep, nothing happens.]
[4.50 pm. You are asleep, nothing happens.]
[5.00 pm. You are asleep, nothing happens.]
[5.10 pm. You are asleep, nothing happens.]
[5.20 pm. You are asleep, nothing happens.]
[5.25 pm. You still remain asleep drooling slightly.]
[An hour has passed, and the simulation comes to an end.]
'Nice.' Dalvin thought to himself happily.
The ability to actually fall asleep and not be disturbed by anything was a godsend in the situation he was in. If it wasn't for the fact that he could practice martial arts, he would have to rely on sleep to pass the time until 3 pm tomorrow.
Though, as much as Dalvin craved power, he was still someone who had been working out in the gym consistently for a few weeks recently, so he definitely understood the need for rest. Even if this magical pill could fuel him with energy seemingly endlessly, it was still a good idea to rest.
Even the booklet and the martial arts manual emphasized rest at frequent intervals to allow the body to adapt to the changes and establish one's new starting point so that the body could grow from there.
Following the example from the simulation, Dalvin waited until the pill fully wore off and lay against the wall before finding his eyelids closing rapidly. He was soon enveloped in a world of blackness that was his dreams, but they were not so peaceful.
For within this void, a pair of gigantic eyes that were bloodshot seemed to enlarge itself in the entirety of his third-person dynamic view. The eyes focused on him and seemed to widen with intent.
From a place that seemed right beside him yet over an extremely long distance, he continually hear a low muttering from the voice behind the eyes as its pupils remained focused on him.
"I curse you… I curse you… I curse you…"