...…
"How is this possible…?"
Azmodeus didn't even know how to quantify the swirling confusion over what was happening…
He recalled that he had been cleaning the Sect grounds when he was suddenly attacked by his elder sect brother, 'Yang Cheng.' He died— and then came back to life.
Time had somehow rewound by two years. A strange entity calling itself the 'Infinite Evolution System' invaded his mind and flooded him with all this ludicrous knowledge.
And now, his strength was soaring due to what he assumed to be the system's doing!
"..." Azmodeus sat on a rock near a stream, analyzing and piecing together all the facts that were presented to him.
And after a few minutes of brooding over the subject, he realized what was going on.
"I'm going absolutely f*cking insane!" he muttered while looking up at the clear blue sky with an expression that said he knew it all.
~Whoosh~
A cool spring breeze blew, lifting his long black hair in the air as he felt almost enlightened, like a Buddha who was about to ascend after understanding the truth.
However, after a few minutes of not feeling his ascension coming, he was ultimately forced to admit that there was no impending ascension.
And it was also through this realization that he understood that he wasn't going crazy either…
"So this is really happening…? Is my life actually turning into a Slice of Life...?" he wondered aloud, disbelief tinging his voice.
His voice was apprehensive and even slightly cautious, but when he realized just what this could implicate for his future, he practically leapt with joy.
"This is what I have been looking for! A way to gain more strength! A way to power! Who cares what sort of motives the being who did this has in store for me?? If they really wanted to kill me, then I'm sure it would have been easier than snapping their fingers!"
At this exclamation, Azmodeus got up off the boulder and headed toward a nearby turtle that was slowly crawling its way near the stream.
"There's no point in dawdling around when a way to acquire more strength was given to me on a golden platter."
Although he wasn't the smartest boy around, he at least knew when to be grateful and when to make use of an opportunity presented before him.
In his opinion, it was far better than spending extended periods of time denying the reality of something that was undeniably happening to him…
He further strengthened his resolve to test the theory that this was actually happening by playing around with a few keywords, all in an attempt to get those screens to appear again.
Of course, the keywords did absolutely nothing to aid him in his objective, but they led him to ask a question that would.
'What did that robotic female voice call itself again…?'
He racked his brains to recall what that voice called itself, ultimately he remembered it and his black eyes brightened as he muttered, "Open System… Please..."
He had no clue if this would actually work, but there was no harm in trying.
And luckily for him, a bright blue and golden light flashed in front of his eyes.
BLING!
__________
{[Infinite Evolution System]}
[Host: Azmodeus]
[Race: Human]
[Lifespan: 12/62]
[Cultivation: Early Stages of the Flesh Refining Realm.]
[Level: 1]
[Evolution Essence needed for the next level: 0.01]
[Overall Combat Power: Early Stages of the Flesh Refining Realm]
{[Stats]}
[Strength: 0.1]
[Speed: 0.1]
[Defense: 0.1]
[Qi: 0.1]
[Cultivation Talent: 0.1]
[Spiritual Roots: Crystallized Embryo] (Rank: ???)
{[Assimilated Evolution Traits/Qualities]}
[Inherited Traits and Active Species Alterations: None]
__________
"So this is my 'System Interface'?" Azmodeus muttered to himself, a small grin spreading across his face.
Even though he couldn't make sense of most of what was being shown to him, the moment he saw the 'strength stat,' he understood that this was a way to gain more power!
And that was all he needed to know to become more pumped up than ever as he walked toward a turtle that was sitting by a tranquil stream of water.
The entire place that he lived in was surrounded by nothing but lush green forestry and a few small hills, so he didn't have to worry about there being other beings that could be spying on him.
After all, no one would be willing to come out to where the lowest of the lowest-ranked new sect disciples lived…
Even so, he took hurried steps toward the harmless turtle as he was ready to test out this system for himself!
"What did it say again? I need to kill something and choose if I want to absorb these 'stat' or 'ability' things?"
Azmodeus was positive that this was what the system told him as he walked over to the turtle with a sharp stone in hand.
"Sorry little guy, but you will have to be the first stepping stone in my path to power," he apologized to the turtle before hurtling the stone in the direction of its head.
Spurt!
The rock quickly made contact with the soft tissue of the turtle's head as brain guts splattered the nearby creak stones a deep crimson red.
Azmodeus watched the sight with a remorseful expression before his gaze hardened and he clenched his fists while declaring, "This is what I must do for power."
It wasn't the first time he had taken a life and it sure as hell wouldn't be his last, so he steeled his resolve and awaited that robotic lady to speak again.
And he didn't have to wait long as a robotic female voice rang out inside his head, followed by a few system notifications materializing in front of him.
BLING!
[Ding !You have killed a Mortal Level turtle.]
[You have obtained 0.01 Evolution Essence.]
[Ding! You have leveled up!]
[Ding! You have reached Level 2!]
[All of your stats have been increased by 0.1 for leveling up! (Only applicable past Level 1)(Stat increase per level varies based on power bracket of the host.)]
[Ding! Would you like to absorb part of the stats possessed by the turtle or would you like to roll for one of its innate abilities?]
…....