— 10 Days Later —
[Reward Wheel Rolls: 10]
During this past period of time, Nylon had been moved into a private cabin by Warden Sith. He did his Mine work like always, all while stacking rolls for his Reward Wheel. Now, with 10 spins, he could roll and get an additional 1 as a bonus by the System.
Doing just that, Nylon sat on his bed, watching the fanciful wheel spin in front of him.
[You obtained a Common-ranked 'Black-ink Pen']
The first roll was a let-down. And so too was the second roll. However, on the third roll, Nylon's luck turned around.
[You obtained an Uncommon-ranked 'Lowest-grade Spirit Stone']
"A Spirit Stone…?"
This was the general currency of this world, and was also what he spent every day slaving away in the Mines in order to acquire. The one that came from the Reward Wheel, however, was many times larger and clearer than the typical Spirit Stones found in the North Sea Mines.
"A Genuine Lowest-grade Spirit Stone…"
Nylon knew without a doubt in his mind that if he were to get caught with a Genuine Quality Lowest-grade Spirit Stone like the one in his hands, the Wardens would behead him. After all, Spirit Stones of the Genuine Quality range were very rarely discovered in the North Sea Mines. Possibly only one appeared every few months, with each worth hundreds of regular Inferior-quality Spirit Stones of the same grade.
But as long as he never revealed this Spirit Stone to another person, Nylon had nothing to worry about. And best of all:
[Lowest-grade Spirit Stone (Genuine)] - [x5]
A times five!
Just how lucky was Nylon to see a multiplier like this one on an Uncommon-rank Item!?
The chances had to be in the hundredths of a single percentage!
Nylon multiplied the Lowest-grade Spirit Stones right away. What was one extremely rare item transformed into five, now capable of enticing even the powerhouses above the 5th Plane, Juggernaut.
Nylon was marveling at the wondrously glowing stones until the Reward Wheel's flickering attracted his attention. He totally forgot about the rolls he had left.
[You obtained a Common-ranked 'Wooden Plank']
[You obtained a Common-ranked 'Rubber Ducky']
[You obtained a Common-ranked 'XXXL Condom']
[You…]
After 6 consecutive rolls consisting of nothing but Common Items, Nylon was sure his luck had been dried up. However, on the 10th roll, he was pleasantly surprised at the acquisition of an Uncommon-ranked 'Basic Body Refinement Set,' similar to the first one he got 10 days ago.
Unfortunately, this one only had a multiplier of 'X3' above it.
Nylon nonetheless clicked the multiplier, since it was free loot. From this action, he obtained 3 more |Basic Body Refinement Manuals| as well as 9 |Lowest-grade Body Tempering Liquid Potions|.
Nylon was about to start downing the contents of the vials right away. But that was when it appeared. A light—one so bright and blue that it increased the rate at which his heart beat when it appeared.
When the light dimmed, a system notification accompanied the appearance of something totally illogical.
*Ding!*
[You obtained a Rare-ranked 'Infernal Sword' Martial Spirit!]
A Martial Spirit!?
How was that even possible!??
But no matter how this came to be, Nylon was not one to deny free food offered to him on a golden platter. He accepted the reward right away. It took on the form of a small sphere with a menacing, three-dimensional image of a flaming sword circling in its center space.
Nylon's eyes habitually looked above its physical marble manifestation, but when he saw a multiplier of 'X2,' his excitement instantly dampened. He was still very much happy over this outcome, but higher multipliers were always better than lower multipliers.
Nylon multiplied the orb. It became two, each one possessing an unexplainable vibe to them.
He could feel the orbs wanting to pull closer to him. It was clear that they wanted to become one with him—something he allowed.
FWIP!
The orbs seemed to race each other as soon as they received the green light. Both of them yearned to be the chosen one—the one that would assimilate with their new Master.
OOOM!
The orb on the right ended up winning the race, leaving the other to float in disappointment. However, with an imminent metamorphosis occurring within himself, Nylon hardly had the time to console the defeated orb.
A warm red fire erupted from Nylon's body. It wrapped around him, creating a full-body armor set, then a pair of wings, and finally a sword nearly as long as he was tall.
But just as quickly as they came, all but one vanished.
The sword.
Artificially assimilated Martial Spirits were more myth than reality. However, of those myths, there were rumors of Artificial Martial Spirit Users receiving visions of future Spirit Evolution Traits while initially assimilating with the Martial Spirit. This was what happened with Nylon.
Every few Planes of the Awakening Development Realm, a new Evolutionary Trait would be awakened. This varied based on the assimilated Martial Spirit, but for low-rank ones like the |Infernal Sword|, you could max it out before ever exceeding the Awakening Realm.
After the raging fire elemental energies around Nylon settled down, a pop-up screen appeared.
*Ding!*
[You successfully awakened with your First Martial Spirit, Infernal Sword - Rank 2 (Peak)]
Martial Spirits were split into 9 Basic Ranks, then the Earth, Sky, and Heaven Ranks. Above that was a mystery for Nylon, but there were sure to be even more crazily powerful Martial Spirits out there.
FWAA!
Nylon summoned his Infernal Sword Spirit as soon as it fully assimilated. His eyes traced its flaming edges and sharp jagged protrusions, joy swelling up within him.
"With this, I can now begin cultivating," said Nylon. "Moreover, a Peak Rank 2 Martial Spirit is already leagues better than those owned by the other Slaves. Only the Wardens have Rank 2 Martial Spirits, with none having a Rank 3 Spirit."
In a matter of days, Nylon had turned his terrible fate right around. Now, with the assistance of his generous System, he was on a direct path to stardom.