A panel appeared in front of Will.
It was a bit different from what he was used to in Beyond Immortality.
He could not contain his excitement and wanted to check the notifications.
"Layla, take Lucas and give him a new set of clothes. Meet me in my room at noon."
After saying that, Will ran to his room.
There, he read the notifications that he received.
[ You've changed the destiny of Greyrain. With him experiencing Sword Enlightenment and formal training at an early age, he could now attain higher realm as a swordsman. ]
[ You've received 10,000 Destiny points. ]
"Destiny points?"
It was something that the system from the Beyond Immortality didn't have.
Reading the message, he immediately understood that taking Lucas to his side didn't happen previously and caused a change of his fate.
"But surely I can now call my panel, right?"
And surely, he called his character profile.
[ Will Sundersky ]
[ Spirit root-Low(damaged)
Destiny Points - 10,000
Destiny Store ]
"What the hell is this crap profile? There's nothing in it!" Will became frustrated as he stared at his profile.
"And a damaged low-grade spirit root? Damn, I might have stepped on the biggest shit in my whole life."
Even his past spirit root was mid-grade and it allowed him to roam the Great Stellar Continent and earn decent money for himself as a Fifth level Body Adapting adventurer.
His eyes moved to the Destiny Points and Destiny Store.
As he tried to open the store, a series of notifications appeared.
[ You've received 10,000 Destiny points. ]
[ Destiny Store now available. ]
[ You've been rewarded with Advanced Sword Aptitude. ]
[ Receive reward Advanced Sword Aptitude? ]
Will read the messages and was shocked.
"Sword Aptitude? And even an Advanced grade at that. Even in my previous life, I've only had low-grade sword aptitude."
Aptitude grades can be categorized from low, mid, high, advanced, superior and heaven.
Those with advanced grade aptitude were already considered geniuses. People having superior grade like Lucas were very few. If one had a heaven grade, they can stand on top of the whole continent.
"I won't let this chance slip."
"Receive."
[ Reward received. ]
Will waited for something to happen but he felt nothing that changed.
Looking at the sword displayed on the wall, he had the urge to swing it.
He took it and drew the straight steel sword.
As he held it in his hands, Will suddenly felt strange because it was like he was connected to the sword, something that he never felt previously despite being a swordsman.
He took his stance and executed some techniques he used in his previous life.
Will only used his left hand because his right arm was still injured.
Swish! Swish!
Every swing was powerful despite him having no cultivation.
Will was shocked to see that this advanced sword aptitude increased his understanding of his techniques the more he performed them.
Slowly, he was correcting his mistakes and his strikes strengthened.
His movement became more fluid and stable despite using his non-dominant hand.
Three minutes later, he halted his practice and slumped to the floor, exhausted.
"This body is weak. I need to train it. And this injury needs to be healed."
If performing a few sword techniques could cause him this tired then he would be just as good as a cannon fodder.
"But at least I now have a chance to fight for myself."
With the advanced grade sword aptitude, he could at least reach the Sword Master like Lucas.
"I just need to train diligently and get my hands on high grade techniques."
He wiped the sweat on his body and changed his clothes.
"I just hope that my family has decent sword techniques."
Will decided to visit their small library later.
"Now, my problem is still this damaged spirit root."
Having an advanced sword aptitude could truly put him in a higher place but having it alone would still put him in a disadvantageous position against those powerful people and those demonic beasts that destroyed the Highwind Kingdom.
"Heck, even Lucas with a superior sword aptitude and Nascent Soul realm perished."
The Destiny Store then entered his vision.
After opening it, new messages came in.
[ Destiny points earned can be used in the Destiny Store. ]
[ There are only five items on the Destiny Store at a time. Refreshing the item list cost 100 Destiny points. ]
[ Blue Blossom Petal - Spirit Grade - 100 Destiny Points
[ Mountain Bell Flower - Rare Grade - 5 Destiny Points
[ Adamantine Longsword - Earth Grade - 1,000 Destiny Points
[ Fire Red Wood Bark - Rare Grade - 10 Destiny Points
[ Seven Sword Divinity - Divine Grade - 100,000 Destiny Points ]
Will's jaw dropped as he read the name and grades of the items.
At the Great Stellar Continent, items and techniques could be categorized from common, rare, spirit, earth, spirit and transcendent.
As for divine grade, he had never heard of it!
However, Will was sure that it was way higher than that of a transcendent grade that only the most powerful individuals possess.
He went straight to the Seven Sword Divinity.
[ Seven Sword Divinity - Divine Grade - 100,000 destiny points
A sword technique that comprises seven levels, each one has the potential to overwhelm the heavens. ]
A brief but overbearing description.
Will wanted the technique so badly.
In his previous life, he was content and used a rare grade sword technique.
He got his hands on it after battling life and death against many other players.
That was just a rare grade.
He couldn't imagine how powerful this Seven Sword Divinity technique would be but he knew that he needed it to survive.
But the problem was that now, he only had 10,000 Destiny Points, earned after changing the destiny of Lucas.
He was still 90,000 points short.
As he started to have a headache, another message came to him,
[ As a bonus, your first purchase in the Destiny Store will be free! ]
Will jumped to his seat and shouted, "Yes!!"
He was relieved that the system answered his desire.
"Purchase Seven Sword Divinity!"
[ Purchase successful. ]
The message came and with it, a wave of knowledge and information about the technique flowed through Will's mind.
He digested the technique and felt like he already performed it for thousands of years.
After receiving the technique, Will sighed.
He realized that even with his advanced sword aptitude, he would not be able to perform the first technique of the Seven Sword Divinity because he lacks the qi to do it.
"What good is it that I know a Divine grade technique if I can't use it?!"
"At the end, this damaged spirit root holds me back."
He raised his head and spoke, "System, is there any way to repair my damaged spirit roots?"
Will tried to find a way by asking the system.
[ … ]
He waited and eventually, the system responded.
[ Repairing 'Damaged Low-grade Spirit Roots' costs 10,000 Destiny Points. ]
With the system's answer, Will became excited!
"There is a way!!"
He felt like crying.
Although he only experienced the pain of cultivating with damaged spirit root once, he didn't want to go through that feeling anymore.
And if his spirit root was repaired, he could begin cultivating and strengthening himself.
"I don't care if it's just a low-grade! It's a lot better than having a damaged spirit root!"
"Repair my spirit roots!"
Will didn't care if he lost all the Destiny Points that he earned from Lucas.
He would just try to find a way to earn more later.
His priority was to repair his spirit roots.
An indescribable pain entered his body.
Will felt like thousands of needles were flowing inside his veins.
He even forgot about the pain of his broken arm because it was overwhelmed by the pain on every vein of his body.
He laid on the floor and squirming and he was in so much pain that he couldn't even utter a scream.
Only a groan could be heard from his mouth every few moments.
'Fuck, fuck!'
He cursed in his mind but still gritted his teeth and endured the pain, thinking that it was needed for his survival.
The pain only subsided after half an hour.
He almost passed out a few times but fortunately, he got through the process without losing his consciousness.
Will laid on the floor full of sweat and more exhausted than when he trained with the sword a while ago.
He called his panel to check it.
[ Will Sundersky ]
[ Spirit root - Low
Sword Aptitude - Advanced
Destiny Points - 0
Destiny Store ]
"The damaged status is now gone."
Will smiled and dragged his tired body up and went into the lotus position.
He performed the common-grade cultivation technique he used in his previous life.
Unlike the last time that he was enveloped in pain the moment he began cultivating, his body felt fine.
The qi gathered around him and entered his dantian.
'This is it!'
Even though the rate of how much he refined qi was very slow, Will thought that it was better than nothing.
He became immersed in cultivating and because he already experienced it in his past life, he immediately entered the First Level of Qi Sensing realm but didn't stop there and continued cultivating.
Meanwhile, Layla led Lucas to Will's room after changing his clothes.
He now looked better and even how he walked gave a strong presence.
Nobody would think that he was just a gardener a few hours ago.
"This is the Young Master's room." Layla said as they stood at the door.
She knocked but nobody answered.
After waiting a few moments, she slowly opened the door and was surprised to see Will in a lotus position in the middle of the room.
But her shock didn't end there.
As someone at the Fifth Level of Qi Sensing Realm, she felt that the qi in the air was gathering around him and was being refined.
However, unlike any other time, Will was not in pain.
'He is cultivating!!'
Layla shouted inside and tears formed in her eyes.
His Young Master has damaged spirit roots and this caused him to lose motivation in life. He also received mockery from many other nobles because of his condition.
Even his father, Baron Wilhelm didn't escape the ridicule of the people.
After all, Baron Wilhelm possesses a high-grade spirit root and with his son having low and even damaged spirit root was like an insult to his father.
Of course, Baron Wilhelm and his family didn't care about Will's condition. They supported him and were even trying to find a way to cure him.
Layla also supported his Young Master continuously. She never left his side despite him losing his past enthusiasm and smile.
Her only wish was that he could be cured so that she could see him smile again.
Now, she was staring at her cultivating Young Master.
She could not hold herself back and cried in happiness as she knelt on the floor.
Lucas also entered the room and seeing his Lord cultivating, he kept his silence. He also scanned the room and the outside if there was anything that could distract Will's cultivation.
Of course, he also heard about the Young Master having a damaged spirit root, but seeing that he was cultivating, Lucas thought that it was just a rumor.
The two watched Will cultivate until it was almost dark outside.
Will slowly opened his eyes and smiled. He was still at the First Stage of Qi Sensing realm but he was more than satisfied.
He turned and noticed the two who were staring at him intently.
Layla's eyes were puffy and reddish.
Will smiled at them. "You're here? I'm sorry for making you wait."
Layla ran and threw herself at him. "Young Master! You can now cultivate!!"
He patted her back.
"Yes, I can."
She looked at him and asked, "How?"
Will took a moment to reply.
"Destiny's will, I guess."