The cooldown was finally over. Seven long, exhausting days of narrowly avoiding being turned into wolf chow, dodging poisonous berries, and barely constructing my dream treehouse—which, for the record, still looked more like a bird's nest on steroids than anything remotely livable. But hey, progress is progress, right?
As I lay on my makeshift platform, staring up at the canopy, the system's familiar ding rang out.
Wish available.
"Finally," I muttered, sitting up and dusting myself off. "Okay, Michael, don't screw this up. No stupid wishes this time." Last thing I needed was to end up with something ridiculous like eternal flatulence or the ability to talk to trees. (Though, now that I thought about it, talking to trees could be mildly entertaining—except they'd probably just gossip about how badly I smelled after seven days without a shower.)
No, I needed something useful. Something powerful. I needed a way to handle the beast wave.
Think Michael, think, think of something American.
"What should it be…..guns?..bombs.., explosion.?"
"Yeah, explosion it is."
"Alright, system. I've had enough of playing it safe. I want an attack skill. But not just any skill—no, I want something big. Something… explosive." I paused for dramatic effect, even though the system probably couldn't care less about flair.
"I wish for the ability to compress Qi to absurd amounts and create massive explosions."
"Yeah, now this is what we call an original idea."
Processing…
"Yeah, that's right. Explosions. Because nothing screams 'don't mess with me' like being able to blow up a mountain with a flick of your wrist."
Beware that the higher the damage output, the higher the energy consumption. The highest tier may put your life in danger.
"That's… scary, but I agree. I don't think there's a better idea to use this wish considering my situation," I loosely justified.
Granted.
You have acquired the skill Qi Compression: Explosive Art.
Before I could even react, a barrage of details appeared in front of me. Apparently, the skill had five tiers, each with increasing levels of devastation. Oh, and a little bonus "Void Collapse" tier, which sounded like something straight out of a sci-fi horror movie.
I scrolled through the descriptions, nodding to myself. "Alright, let's see…"
• Tier 1: Capable of blowing off branches or damaging small structures. So basically, I could ruin someone's garden party. Not bad for starters.
• Tier 2: Can obliterate a building. Cool. I could demolish a house. You know, in case I ever wanted to get into real estate demolition.
• Tier 3: Strong enough to disintegrate large structures and send shockwaves. Now we're talking! Perfect for clearing out whatever large structures I inevitably need to blow up.
• Tier 4: Can create explosions that demolish a forested area or a small hill. Because who doesn't want to casually level a hill now and then?
• Tier 5: Capable of obliterating a mountain. A freaking mountain. Alright, if I ever feel the need to go full villain and make a dramatic exit, this is the move.
Then I got to the Void Collapse tier, which had the charming subtitle: "Warning: Extreme Energy Cost. Risk of self-destruction. Use sparingly (or not at all if you value your existence)."
"Oh, great. A move so powerful, it comes with a 'self-destruct' warning." I shook my head, laughing despite myself. "Void Collapse… nuclear-level explosion? Yeah, I'll just casually whip that out next time I'm feeling a little too safe."
I could already see it: me, standing on top of a mountain, screaming something overly dramatic like, "This isn't even my final form!" before setting off an explosion that would vaporize half the landscape. Very subtle. Real low profile.
But still, the potential here was insane. It was like giving a kid a box of fireworks and telling him not to play with matches.
I leaned back against the tree, grinning like an idiot. "Okay, Michael, you've officially become a walking time bomb. Fantastic. Let's just hope I don't blow myself up on the first try."
By now, the sun was starting to dip below the horizon, casting the forest in deep orange and pink hues. I glanced around, contemplating my next move. I mean, I could try out my new explosive powers right now, but… maybe not in the middle of the forest I'd just barely managed to survive in.
Jokes aside, this was too freaking strong.
"Tomorrow," I said, nodding to myself. "Tomorrow I'll try it out. Preferably somewhere far, far away from flammable things."
I spent the evening gathering supplies, occasionally muttering to myself about how I was going to blow up the world one tier at a time. With my treehouse coming along nicely and my new explosive skill locked and loaded, things were finally looking up.
That is, until I heard the distant roar of a beast.
I froze, every hair on the back of my neck standing on end. "Oh great. Right on schedule."
I thought of the time: less than 24 hours until the beast wave hit. And here I was, gearing up to play with a skill that could accidentally turn me into a human barbecue if I wasn't careful.
"Guess that's what they call trial by fire," I muttered. "And if things get really bad, I'll just go full Void Collapse and nuke the bastards. What could possibly go wrong?"
"All that aside, the energy consumption of each attack is really vague. If it was in numbers or numeric—"
For better management, the system has decided to display the user's current Qi levels and the Qi cost for each explosive tier.
Suddenly, a glowing panel appeared in front of me, floating like an annoying pop-up ad.
Current Qi: 500
• Tier 1 Explosion Cost: 10 Qi
• Tier 2 Explosion Cost: 100 Qi
• Tier 3 Explosion Cost: 200 Qi
• Tier 4 Explosion Cost: 400 Qi
• Tier 5 Explosion Cost: 501 Qi
• Void Collapse Explosion Cost: 1000 Qi
"What the… isn't this too much of a coincidence?"
"Whatever."
"Well, that's helpful," I muttered, scratching my head. "Now I can blow things up with a clear conscience—assuming I don't run out of Qi first. And here I thought I was just going to go on a rampage without a care in the world."
I glanced at the cost of the Void Collapse. "A thousand Qi? Seriously? Guess I won't be using that one unless I want to pull off the biggest 'Oops, I did it again' moment in history."
————————————————————
[ Name: Michael
Age: 22
Cultivation Talent: Nil
Cultivation Realm: Nil
Wishes: On cooldown (7 days)
Current qi: 500
Skills:-
1. Everlasting Renewal:
• Description: This ability grants continuous regeneration with an initial base rate of 1. Whenever the user is injured, the regeneration rate increases linearly—+1, +1, +1—until the injury is fully healed. Additionally, the user is ageless and immune to the effects of aging, maintaining their current physical state indefinitely.
2. Qi Compression: Explosive Art:
• Description: This skill allows the user to compress Qi to absurd amounts and create massive explosions. It has five tiers of increasing destructive power, along with a special Void Collapse tier.
• Tier 1: Capable of blowing off branches or damaging small structures. (Cost: 10 Qi)
• Tier 2: Can obliterate a building. (Cost: 100 Qi)
• Tier 3: Strong enough to disintegrate large structures and send shockwaves. (Cost: 200 Qi)
• Tier 4: Can create explosions that demolish a forested area or a small hill. (Cost: 400 Qi)
• Tier 5: Capable of obliterating a mountain. (Cost: 501 Qi)
• Void Collapse: capable of obliterating literal terrain, just like a nuclear warhead. Warning: Extreme Energy Cost. Risk of self-destruction. Use sparingly (or not at all if you value your existence). (Cost: 1000 Qi) ]