After leaving the Tou Pavilion, Essim and Aisha continued exploring various parts of Heavenly News City. The bustling metropolis was alive with activity, and they visited a range of places—restaurants, hotels, entertainment venues, martial arts dojos, and academies. The atmosphere in each was distinct, far removed from anything they had experienced on Earth.
For instance, back on Earth, people still relied on motorcycles or other multi-wheeled vehicles. Here, in the world of Cultivators, animal-drawn carriages were the norm. While flying contraptions like airships and winged beasts existed, they were prohibitively expensive, so much of the city's traffic moved on foot or by pushcart.
"Brother… How about we proceed to Tier-2 now?" Aisha asked, her voice laced with fatigue after all the walking.
"Hmm, you're right. Let's find a place to rest first," Essim replied.
They made their way to an inn in the city center, a towering 10-story building that appeared quite popular. After reserving a room for a week, the total came to 1,500 energy crystals—a fair price given its location.
Hotel Room, 7th Floor
Inside the cozy hotel room, Aisha's curiosity got the better of her. "Brother, do you think you can duplicate the Silver Badge?"
Essim smiled. "Yeah, give me a moment."
Opening his status panel, he saw that the cooldown for his Infinity Duplicate Talent had ended.
[Duplicate (Silver Badge) x 10,000. Are you sure?]
"Yes," Essim confirmed.
As expected, there was no problem. A bright white light filled the room for a brief moment, and soon 10,000 Silver Badges materialized in the storage space of his ring.
By now, both Essim and Aisha had upgraded from basic system bags to a more sophisticated Space Ring—a massive upgrade from their previous 1,000-slot bags. The ring, purchased earlier at the Tou Pavilion for a whopping 10 million energy crystals, offered 100 cubic meters of storage space, providing ample room for their growing collection of items.
Essim chuckled, pleased with the results. "Hahaha, this talent never disappoints."
"That's 50% of our goal achieved," Essim said, casually leaning back. Their objective had been to obtain a Silver Badge to proceed with their promotion. But not only had they secured the badge, they'd also acquired numerous high-quality items in the process.
Essim felt increasingly driven to explore higher realms and strengthen his power. His Infinity Duplicate talent gave him the ability to copy items owned by the strongest individuals, and he even dreamed of duplicating the rarest materials used to create entire systems someday.
Not wasting any more time, Essim opened the promotion panel.
[Proceed to Tier-2, consuming items:]
Silver Badge
100,000 Energy Crystals
Level 20 Monster Heart – Commander Rank
Are you sure?
"Yes," Essim confirmed.
Immediately, he felt a surge of power coursing through his body. It wasn't painful, but it felt unusual, like something foreign moving through his veins—almost like a worm crawling inside him. The strange sensation didn't last long, soon replaced by a warm, comfortable feeling. His body felt charged with newfound energy.
[Congratulations, you have successfully promoted to Tier-2!]
[New sub-skills have been unlocked. Choose wisely.]
Curious about the changes, Essim opened his status panel.
[STATUS]
Name: Essim
Level: 20 (1%)
Attributes: STR 1732, AGI 1580, INT 1338, RES 1691
Class: Swordsman (Holy Human, 90% exp)
Skills: (Divine Slash Shadow), (Sky Shattering Slash), (Area of Light)
Sub-Skill: -
Equipment: (Divine Sword +10), (Two-Step Shoes +10), (Night Splitting Cloak +10), (Fierce Fighting Gloves +10), (Durable Helmet +10)
Talent: Infinity Duplicate (EX)
Features: Market, Chat, Friends
"Sub-skills?" Essim wondered aloud. "Does that mean Cultivator skill books count as sub-skills?"
He recalled seeing several skill books at the Tou Pavilion, but none had stood out to him at the time, apart from general information.
"Maybe we should try buying some skill books to test them out," Aisha suggested, echoing his thoughts.
"Yeah, we're not in a rush. Go ahead and proceed to Tier-2 as well."
"Okay, brother," Aisha agreed and proceeded with her own promotion.
Moments later, she gasped and gripped Essim's hand. "Brother…" she murmured, her voice tinged with fear.
"Don't worry, calm down. I felt the same thing earlier," Essim reassured her. His words seemed to soothe Aisha, and she gradually relaxed as the strange sensation passed.
Once the promotion was complete, Aisha shared her updated status with her brother.
[STATUS]
Name: Cute Cat
Level: 20 (3%)
Attributes: STR 1684, AGI 1613, INT 1377, RES 1562
Class: Archer (Nature Elf, 60% exp)
Skills: (Arrow Explosion), (Nature Archery Dance), (Sun Core Arrow)
Sub-Skill: -
Equipment: (Light Moon Bow +10), (Poof Movement Shoes +10), (Cloud Dancer Robe +10), (Shooter's Gloves +10), (Core Helmet +10)
Both of them had gained an additional 500 points in all attributes after the promotion. Their equipment had also been upgraded to +10, representing the best of what they could acquire. Forging such equipment required significant resources and someone with the rare talent for successful forging, but Essim had bypassed that need with his duplication ability, albeit at a high cost in materials.
"Brother, look, the event ranking has changed," Aisha pointed out.
Essim opened the Event Ranking board to check.
[Event Ranking]
Raden Tutu – 3600
William Anderson – 1450
Rikamu – 1250
Bai Qi – 750
...
Laras – 430
"Is that Sister Laras?" Essim asked, surprised. Upon reflection, it made sense. He had always sensed Laras had a unique talent for combat.
"It seems we're falling behind again," he said with a feigned expression of sadness.
Suddenly, Aisha punched him lightly in the stomach. It wasn't hard, but it caught him off guard and left him a little embarrassed.
"What was that for?" Essim asked, still confused.
"Hmph, stop whining. Don't complain if you don't see your name on the ranking again," Aisha huffed, turning away from him.
Essim laughed. "Alright, alright! Sorry, I was just kidding."
He then smiled and added, "Let's focus on finding some good skill books for ourselves."
Aisha, though still acting indifferent, headed for the door, with Essim quickly following behind her, wondering what he had done wrong.