Rain got up early in the morning and, with the poison stone in his hand, began meditating with his spirit, perceiving the energy released by the poison stone. His soul strength had diminished due to the adventure of the previous day. He emptied his thoughts and focused entirely on understanding the poison stone.
After a couple of hours, he stopped as it was time to get ready for work. He opened his personal panel to check how much progress he had made in understanding the poison energy, alongside the videos of different people who had completed the beginning chapter of Poison Claw and those who had fully comprehended the power of the poison stone.
**Personal Panel:**
- Name: Rain
- Realm: Beginning D-rank
- Physical: 4.1 (20)
- Agility: 2 (20)
- Genetic Energy: 3.2 (20)
- Genetic Energy Refinement: 0.124 (100)
- Techniques:
- Poison Claw 1st chapter (9/9) – 0.9%
- Life Vine Shield – Nil.
- Mystery
- Poison stone- 0.09%
Seeing his personal information, he didn't pay much attention to the genetic energy since, from the speed at which his reserves were increasing, he estimated that he would reach 5 points in genetic energy before dissolving all the genetic waste. In less than three months, he would be ready to break through to the middle D-rank realm. The most important thing he noted was his progress in comprehending the poison stone, realizing that the first chapter of poison claw didn't contain the full mystery of the poison stone. The only stat that dissatisfied him was his agility. After reviewing this, he closed the panel and went to get ready for work.
As he ate breakfast, an idea suddenly came to him. He quickly got up and went to the bathroom. With his spirit, he perceived the acid in the bathtub and found that it was releasing energy, but it was very faint. Rain thought to himself, "Everything in this changed world releases energy now—some large enough to affect an area, and others very faint". The acid in the bathtub was so faint that it wouldn't help him understand its mystery. He walked out of the bathroom and instructed BIT to search for items similar to the poison stone but with acidic properties. As he sat back down, BIT responded with a list of items.
1. Acidic Energy Heart – 10,000 credits
2. Venom of the Spitting Night Cobra – 3,000 credits
3. Sap of the Devil Trap – 3,000 credits
After seeing the Sap of the Devil Trap, he stopped paying attention to the rest. He wanted to buy the Acidic Energy Heart, which was the heart of an alien-like monster found in a strange domain called Alien Domain, one of the S-rank weird domains. However, he didn't have enough credits, so he focused on the Venom of the Spitting Night Cobra and the Sap of the Devil Trap. Based on their price and descriptions, their power was similar. He chose the Sap of the Devil Trap because he had an affinity for life energy, wood energy, and bought it. After comprehending the Sap of the Devil Trap, he could transform the Poison Claw into Acid Claw or combine both energies to create a more powerful technique. Additionally, he could use theenergy he comprehend from the Sap of the Devil Trap to refine the parts of his body he hadn't yet refined, making his body more balanced in strength.
As he daydreamed about mastering the energy of the Sap of the Devil Trap, he heard his doorbell ring. He checked the time and realized he had ten minutes before his shift started. The ringing was from Siobhan. He quickly finished his breakfast and left his home.
"Good morning, Siobhan," Rain greeted her.
"Good morning, Rain," she replied.
"Let's go," Rain said as they entered the lift.
Rain asked, "Will we be going to the Factory Floor to contain weird items again?"
Siobhan replied, "We don't have to. After we returned to the city yesterday, a battle broke out on the Factory Floor of B-rank genetic warriors, between Lady Caldwell, Sky's mother and leader of the Hei family in our city, and Francis's clone."
Rain shuddered at the mention of Francis's clone, remembering his encounter with it. He was surprised to hear it could fight against two B-rank genetic warriors. As they walked out of their building, Rain anxiously asked, " How was Francis's Clone with a energy reserve of peak D-rank fight against two B-rank genetic warriors? What was the result?"
"Francis's clone reached the energy level of a B-rank genetic warrior, but he couldn't sustain it for long and was destroyed," Siobhan explained.
Rain sighed in relief, both because the clone was destroyed and because he wouldn't have to run around the Factory Floor containing out-of-control weird items today.
"If there's no mission assigned to us today, I'll ask Damian to join me at the training ground," Rain said.
"What kind of training?" Siobhan asked.
"Combat training. I'll ask Damian to fight me," Rain responded.
"There's no need for Damian," Siobhan said. "You can train in the Virtual Realism Training Centres."
Rain considered it but thought to himself that training in a virtual world wouldn't be the same as training in the real world. "Virtual training won't do. I need to train in the real world where my body can feel the fight, sense the impact when I hit a target, and experience the pain when I'm hit," he explained.
Siobhan replied, "Virtual Realism technology involves wearing a full-body uniform. When you enter the virtual world, the uniform will simulate the impact of hits you land and the pain you feel when you receive hits. It's like fighting in real life"
For the rest of the journey, Siobhan explained more about the Virtual Realism technology and the training centre located at their headquarters. Rain kept it in mind as they entered their office.
Rain saw Damian and Lily already in the office, not at their desks but at the central table where they held meetings and discussed missions. He thought there would be a meeting first thing in the morning, but he didn't see Sky in the room or her office.
Damian, noticing them, said, "You two, come here quickly."
Rain asked, "Why?" as he and Siobhan walked toward the table and sat down.
Damian said, "Have you heard about the fight that broke out on the factory floor?"
Rain replied, "Yes, Siobhan told me. I sighed in relief when I heard we didn't have to go to the factory floor to contain the out-of-control weird items."
Damian said, "We're going to watch a video of the fight."
Rain excitedly nodded. "Really?" Siobhan added, "Awesome! Teacher Sky's mother also participated in the battle. I wish to see her fight since we took the same genetic medicine."
Lily said, "Watch the battle carefully. It will be a learning experience for us."
Damian instructed, "Now keep quiet. After the video ends, we can discuss it."
Everyone fell silent as Damian started the video. Rain saw interconnected buildings with bridges, roads, and gardens, and then a beautiful woman with ice crystal feathered wings, glowing with a blue hue, came into view, making her look like an angel. Rain heard Siobhan whisper beside him, "So beautiful." Rain noticed the woman's face resembled Leader Sky's and thought she must be Lady Caldwell. The people who had been present on the floor disappeared, likely evacuated due to the turmoil, leaving behind transformed individuals with black claws instead of hands, walking mindlessly with no pupils in their eyes. Rain guessed they were people the city had failed to evacuate, and Francis had transformed them into mindless abominations.
Rain watched as energy beams shot from Lady Caldwell's wings, instantly freezing the monsters. The video then switched to a man's back as he threw pebbles at the abominations, each pebble leaving a hole in their heads, killing them instantly. Rain was amazed at how ordinary-looking pebbles could kill the abominations. He thought the pebbles might not be ordinary stones but something else, as it seemed impossible for regular objects to kill D-rank monsters without much effort. Rain thought, "That man must be the head of the Hei family in this city."
The video alternated between Lady Caldwell and the head of the Hei family as they effortlessly killed the D-rank monsters. But Rain kept wondering about Francis' clone, who hadn't appeared yet. Just as he thought this, the building at the center of the floor began to shake. As the buildings, bridges, and roads collapsed, a tree rose from the center. The tree, with its purple body, black leaves, and the spreading purple fog that enveloped the entire floor made Rain feel uncomfortable. He then noticed Francis' clone standing atop the tree's crown.
Seeing Francis' clone appear, both Lady Caldwell and the head of the Hei family started moving toward him. Rain noticed that the head of the Hei family also began flying to reach Francis' clone, which surprised him. He didn't remember reading in any textbooks that B-rank warriors could fly—he thought only A-rank warriors gained that ability. But before they could reach the center of the floor where Francis' clone stood on the tree's crown, two bulges formed on the tree's stem, swelling like balloons before bursting open. From these openings, two monsters emerged. They resembled gorillas with wings on their backs, seemingly made of wood. One monster flew toward Lady Caldwell, while the other headed for the head of the Hei family.