Michael was sitting on the counter beside Nancy. Lately, he has lots of free time because of the machines he introduced in his kitchen, and the takeaway counter has been doing wonders for the restaurant.
Although the seats are still full, people are no longer sitting outside the restaurant because of the takeaway counter.
He was discussing the operations of his restaurant with Nancy when he heard the long-awaited message from the System.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing your first mission."
"You are rewarded with a body cleansing pill and Bronze tier Spiritual roots."
"Ding! The System detected that you had completed the mission before its calculated time, and your services positively impacted customers' lives. The System has issued additional rewards: A lottery ticket for bronze tier Lucky Spin and one Skill upgrade ticket."
"All the rewards are stored inside the system inventory. Keep up the good work."
"Finally…" He said under his breath. He was so excited that he had forgotten that he was sitting beside Nancy for a second.
"What happened, Michael?" Nancy asked him.
"Nothing, Mom; I was just thinking of one product I wanted to introduce in our restaurant."
"But Michael, we have barely opened our restaurant. Don't you think it's too early?"
"No worries, Mom. This is just a thought, and further planning is needed. By the way, Mom, it's almost time to close the restaurant. Let's start wrapping up the things."
After coming home from the restaurant, Michael had dinner and quickly returned to his room.
Once inside the room, he quickly looked at his rewards.
Body Cleansing pill: The name says it all. Use it to get rid of all the impurities.
Bronze Tier Spiritual Root: Lowest tier spiritual root. It helps in cultivating, but don't expect too much from it.
Skill upgrade ticket: Use it to upgrade any skill by one-tier.
"System, how do you use spiritual roots and body cleansing pills?"
"Ding! Do you accept to pay 2 SP for this question?"
"Okay."
"Ding! To use the spiritual roots, you must give instructions to the System.
Host, I recommend using the spiritual root first, followed by the body cleansing pill. The Body cleansing pill can improve all aspects of the body, including the spiritual roots. Although the difference will be small, every advantage matters for cultivation.
"System, use the spiritual roots."
"Ding! Host the process will be painful, so get ready for it."
Before Michael could say anything, the System began the process.
At first, he felt nothing. Then, suddenly, his entire body was jolted with intense pain. He quickly lay down on his bed and put a cloth in his mouth to muffle his cries.
The process was more painful than the Eyes of Truth. He felt like someone was fitting a completely new organ inside his already compacted body, and to make space for it, it was pushing all the other organs aside.
Thankfully, although it looked like a long process, it hardly took 15 minutes.
His entire body was drenched in sweat. He woke up and tried to move his body.
"If I knew it was going to be so painful, I would have taken that anesthetic vial?"
"Host, it was good that you didn't take it. To become powerful, you must face the problems that come with it.
While the anesthetic vial can reduce pain, it also dulls the ability to sense changes in the body. Pain receptors exist for a reason.
If you don't understand the pain, you won't respect the benefits that come from it."
Michael was not able to grasp things completely, but he knew that the System wouldn't do anything that would harm him, so he thanked the System.
He checked his body for changes. With each breath, his body absorbed a minuscule amount of the spiritual energy in the surroundings.
However, he knew he needed a proper cultivation technique to absorb it more.
Next, he took out the body cleansing pill. The pill was small, with light patterns etched into its surface, giving it an almost ethereal appearance.
He had read some cultivation novels and knew how the pill worked. He quickly went into the bathroom and sat in the bathtub.
He popped the pill in his mouth, and soon, the effect of the drug started showing. All the impurities began oozing out of his body.
Following that, he took a big dump, and only after that did he feel relieved. He had made a mess in his bathroom. A thick stench was so unbearable that he felt like he would puke.
He knew he could not bathe in this condition, so he quickly asked the System for a solution. The System suggested that he use a Cleaning Magic Card, which cleaned the entire bathroom.
After that, he took a bath and went outside. He was so tired that he went directly to bed.
When he woke up the next day, he went to freshen up, and when he saw himself in the mirror, he was shocked to see the changes in his body.
Suddenly, his skin looked as pure as jade's, without any blemishes. He also felt like he could breathe in more mana than yesterday.
Soon, he checked his stats and was astonished to see it.
>> Host Name: Michael Ashbluff
>> Age: 16
>> Level: A mortal with an average body.
>> Strength: 11
>> Agility: 11
>> Intelligence: 20
>> Spiritual Roots: Bronze Tier
>> Current Wealth: 100,028 Gold coins (After deductions)
>>SP (System Points): 10,000 SP
>> Skills: MasterChef (Beginner), Eyes of Truth (Beginner)
Michael noticed that he had higher intelligence than other stats.
"I think it's all because of my transmigration, which gave me additional memories." He mused.
After watching the changes in his body, he came outside the bathroom.
"Finally, it's time to check the remaining rewards."
He saw a lottery ticket for a bronze-tier Lucky Spin and one Skill upgrade ticket displayed in his system inventory.
He clicked the ticket.
"Ding! Confirm if the Host wants to use the ticket?"
Michael agreed, and soon, he saw the lucky spin in front of his eyes.
It was a bronze wheel that contained various items, such as cultivation techniques, technology, magic skills, equipment, chemistry, Business, entertainment, and more.
"Damn, with so many things, and it's still a Bronze wheel. I hope I win some good cultivation techniques, as they will save me some SPs."
"System SPIN"
As soon as he said that, the wheel started to spin. The speed was so fast that he could not see anything. After waiting for a few seconds, the wheel started slowing down.
Michael saw that the wheel was still far from the cultivation skills section. He was not very optimistic about getting it, but slowly and steadily, the wheel moved towards the cultivation section and boom.
It stopped with a big sound.
"Congratulations, Host. You have won a cultivation technique – Mystic Turtle's Shell."
"Yes, yes, finally, I got a cultivation technique."
Michael was so excited that he started jumping. Soon, his sister, drawn by the commotion, came to his door and started banging on it.
"Brother, why are you shouting like an idiot? Did Mom give you candy? Open the door."
Michael's face blackened.
"This girl, all she thinks about is candies."
He opened the door to tell her to go away, but as soon as he opened the door, Lila ran inside and started looking around the room like she was searching for something.
"Brother, where's the candy? Don't tell me you ate it before opening the door."
Her face turned sad, and it was like she would cry soon. Michael quickly approached her and coaxed her.
"Lila, who said I had candies."
"then why were you shouting so much."
"I just got an idea for a new dish, so I was excited."
"You mean to say we will have a new dish."
Hearing this, Lila was so excited that she forgot about the candies. This little girl was a hardcore foodie.
"Yes, so please let me work on the recipe, or else you won't get to eat it." After convincing her, she finally left his room.
"Let's see what this technique is about."
Soon, the System displayed information about the cultivation technique to him.
Mystic Turtle's Shell
Level: Bronze
Type: Defensive
Description: By channeling the power of the Mystic Turtle, practitioners can form an invisible, protective barrier around their bodies, reducing damage from physical and magical attacks. It can be used to advance till the Foundation Establishment stage.
"This technique is pretty useful. Now, at least, I don't have to worry till the Foundation Establishment Stage. By the way, System, what are the cultivation stages, and how does it correspond to this world's mage system."
"4 SP debited."
"Host, there are 9 Cultivation stages and the corresponding Mage stages."
"Initiate Stage – Apprentice Mage
Body refinement Stage – First Tier Mage
Qi Sensing Stage – Second Tier Mage
Foundation Building – Third Tier Mage
Core Formation – Fourth Tier Mage
Meridian Cleansing - Fifth Tier Mage
Energy Condensation – Sixth Tier mage
Spiritual Awakening – Seventh Tier Mage
Nascent Soul Formation – Eight Tier Mage
Soul Refinement – Ninth Tier
Master Stage – Tenth Tier"
"There are many more stages for the cultivation, but the Mage cultivation of this world stops in the tenth tier."
"When you reach the Master Stage, the System will tell you about the other stages, or you will be overwhelmed."
When Michael read what the System had said, he was genuinely shocked. He had never known that this world had mages until the tenth Tier. His decision to focus on becoming strong was right, or he would have become a pawn of others.
He clicked the technique, and soon, all the information about cultivation started to appear in his mind. This time, he felt no pain and could easily absorb all the information.
"Now, let's try this technique."
The cultivation technique consisted of two things: a set of exercises and one breathing technique. He noticed that his breathing technique was different from his normal breathing in daily life.
As soon as he started doing the exercise, the sweat began to form on his body. The one set consisted of 18 moves. But within the first 8 moves, he felt he had used all the energy inside his body.
The system reminded him, "Host, use the breathing technique along with the moves." Somehow, he felt that the System was mocking him for this slip-up.
But he ignored the System and started doing the exercise.
Soon, he felt like he was absorbing some energy that was spreading inside his body while exercising. His body started to feel like it was filling up with energy. The exhaustion he felt before was washed away and replaced by a rejuvenating feeling.
Before, he made the moves clumsily because of exhaustion, but now, with the support of breathing techniques, he has started doing them efficiently. After completing one set, he already felt like the energy in his body had increased by 10%.
Seeing the effect, he started doing it more rigorously.
This continued for five sets. Soon, he felt his body had reached its limits. He stopped the exercise and focused on his body. He felt his body was sturdy and had developed some muscles.
Michael knew he could have done more than five sets if he had higher-tier spiritual roots, but he was pleased with the results.
When he first came into this world, he was pretty weak. Even after eating food with unique ingredients from the System, he could not gain much strength. But today, he felt like he could beat 10 of his past self.
After that, he tried using the technique that came with the cultivation skill, and soon, a thin layer of spiritual energy formed around his body like a shield.
There was a dagger in his room. He took it and tried to make a small cut on his palm, but the protective energy layer prevented it from piercing his skin.
After that, he canceled the technique and cut a small hole in his palm. He wanted to test the healing effect of this technique.
Soon after using the method again, the wound started to heal slowly.
"This is still very slow, but with time it will improve."
After testing a few other things, like his strength and agility, he went to have breakfast.
When he reached the dining hall, Nancy noticed Michael's change.
"Michael, why do I feel that you have changed."
Michael didn't hide it.
"Mom, I bought some pills from one healer, and he said they would improve my health. I took it on a whim, but I think the effect has started showing. "
While eating breakfast, Michael discussed his plan to introduce a few more recipes in his restaurant.
This time, he planned to introduce the foods and beverages from his past life.
While thinking about his plans, he suddenly got a System Notification.
"Ding! You have a new Mission."
"When a Merchant makes the moves, he always does his best. Make The Happy Belly the number-one restaurant in the Kingdom. (You don't have any restrictions to achieve the goal.)
Reward - One Diamond Tier Lucky Spin ticket."
"Well, I was thinking of expanding my Business, so this mission is a bonus. But before that, I will visit The Yearwood Royal Mage Academy. It's time to meet that Principal and make a deal with him. Working with such a prestigious Academy will give my restaurant good publicity."
The Yearwood Royal Mage Academy was not a place anyone could go wantonly. Today, he will meet Jenny and ask her to take him to her old man.
He also wants to see the world and understand it's working. He can ask Jenny about it since she is a member of the royal family, and she must know more than what an average citizen must know.
As Michael stepped out of the house to go to the restaurant, he saw his guard, Tom, approaching, and a girl in a white dress was walking ahead of him.
Although her dress gave her a noble appearance, she was far from pristine. She looked at Michael disdainfully, clearly stating she didn't think much of him.
"Hello Michael, it's been a long time since we've seen each other. Where is Aunty? I want to give her the letter Grandpa sent."
Nancy came outside and saw a girl looking at Michael with disdain. She felt a surge of anger but controlled it and approached them.
"Hello Lydia, what are you doing here?"
Lydia glanced at Nancy, noting her anger, but gave her a dismissive look and said, "Hello, Aunty. You know that Grandpa's birthday is next week. He wants you and your kids to attend the birthday banquet."
Saying this, she handed the invitation letter to Nancy and walked away without another word.
Throughout the encounter, Michael observed the girl disliking how she spoke to him and his mother.
He examined the invitation letter, noticing Duke White's Family symbol. Soon, memories of the girl and her cousins surfaced in his mind.
"So that's why, in the past, Michael didn't have any friends. I think it's time to teach those cousins of mine a lesson they'll remember for a lifetime."