Levi turned towards the flushed face girl.
She seems quite cute at this moment.
"Thank you."
Tucking her hair timidly she lowered her head and nodded as she ran back to her line like a rabbit.
'So cute!'
Her back was the last thing Levi saw before he turned his attention inward. The stadium, the thousands of whispering students, all faded away. While Jacob enjoyed his fleeting moment in the spotlight, Levi closed his eyes and focus his consciousness on the blue interface floating in his mind.
'A system… It's really a system,' he thought, a sense of surreal disbelief washing over him. 'Just like in those novels from Earth. Is this the standard package for all transmigrators?'
His eyes scanned the details again, but this time, he truly absorbed the name.
『9999x Thousand Fold Cultivation System』
"Hm!?"
He was instantly excited.
He had suffered enough on earth already. Not only didn't he get girls, he was a loner by circumstance.
Not to mention his Dad went to get milk for ten years, he had been on his own ever since.
An idea, sparked in his mind. He didn't need to wait. He could start right now.
He focused on the technique ingrained in his new memories: the `Astra Breath Absorption Technique`. It was the most basic meditation method taught to all recruits, designed to slowly draw in the astra energy in the air. Following the instructions, he controlled his breathing, creating a gentle circulatory rhythm within his body.
Almost immediately, he felt it—a faint warmth, a barely perceptible trickle of energy seeping through his pores. It was like trying to fill a bucket with a leaky bowl. The minuscule wisp of energy merged with his muscles and skin, and then… nothing.
Levi frowned and was disappointed. The process was pathetically slow. At this rate, it would take an entire month just to see a 20% increase. His F rank was truly talent.
'Why didn't it work?'
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a sound, rang out in his head.
[Ding!]
[Cultivation of 'Astra Breath Absorption Technique' detected.]
[Random multiplier activated: 200x!]
[Energy absorption amplified!]
Before he could even process the message, the small amount of energy he had absorbed into his body suddenly erupted into a roaring tsunami, multiplying violently until it reached 200 times its previous size.
His cells were like sponge as the greedily devoured the massive amount of energy. His muscles tightened, his bones vibrated, and a wave of heat washed over his entire body as every fiber of his being was saturated with astra energy.
[Lifeform Level has broken through the first barrier!]
[Congratulations on reaching Rank 2 Cell Tempering Realm!]
His internal system panel refreshed instantly.
┌──────[ Profile ]──────┐
│ [Name]: Leviathan Cross
│ [Astra Soul]: Water [F-rank] (Level 1) <0.01%>
│ [Lifeform Level]: Rank 2 Cell Tempering Realm <0.00%>
├──────[ Attributes ]───┤
│ [Strength]: 8
│ [Speed]: 8
│ [Physique]: 7
│ [Energy]: 120
├──────[ Techniques ]───┤
│ [Meditation Technique]: Astra Breath Absorption [Level 1] <3.50%>
│ [Combat Technqiue]: Basic Saber Technique [Level 1] <10.50%>
│ [Beast Companion]: NILL
│[New User Gift: One (1) Lottery Spin available. Use now?]
└─────────────────────────┘
His attributes had doubled! A breakthrough that should have taken the original Levi over six months of bitter cultivation and non-stop training had been accomplished in a single breath. He was instantly rendered speechless.
The effect was simply too powerful. If he could cultivate for more than six hours, just how much multiplier would be activated?
Just as he was about to burst into manic laughter, a deafening explosion ripped through the stadium.
"BOOM!"
Levi's eyes snapped open, his newfound senses sharp and clear. All eyes were on the stage, where Jacob stood bathed in a vortex of swirling void energy. The energy converged above him, solidifying into the massive, projection of a three-meter-long saber that pulsed with raw power.
"An Astra Soul Manifestation!" someone shouted in the crowd.
Jacob's face lifted in a proud grin. He reached up toward the projection, his hand closing around an invisible hilt. As his fingers tightened, the projection dissolved into motes of light that rushed into his palm, forging a physical, blazing saber crackling with real flames. The air around him shimmered with scorching heat.
Gasps of shock and awe rippled through the recruits.
"Astra Soul: Blazing Saber! It's a high grade D-Rank Astra soul!" One of the instructors announced, his voice booming with approval. "An excellent result!"
To showcase his newfound power, Jacob let out a roar and swung the flaming sword horizontally.
A meter-long slash of pure fire shot from the blade, slicing through the air for a dozen meters before finally dissipating with a soft hiss.
The display sent another wave of envy and admiration through the crowd.
His awakening complete, Jacob descended from the stage, his head held high as he soaked in the praise. His eyes scanned the crowd until they locked onto Levi.
He swaggered over, the fiery saber vanishing from his hand. Stopping just a few feet away, a cruel smirk spread across his face. He looked Levi up and down, as if inspecting a piece of trash he was about to throw out.
Then, slowly and deliberately, he raised a hand to his throat and dragged his thumb across his neck in a sharp, cutting motion. The message was clear.
Levi felt the raw power thrumming through his newly reinforced body. He met Jacob's threat an icy, profound calm.
A D-rank talent was impressive to the masses, but to him? It was just a slightly brighter firefly in a world where he was destined to become the sun.
He looked at Jacob's threatening gesture and offered nothing in return but a cold, dismissive stare. It was a look one might give an insect buzzing annoyingly in their path!
Jacob was momentarily taken aback by the calm in Levi's eyes. It was not the false bravado of someone trying to hide their terror. It was the dismissive gaze of a superior being.
The audacity of it was so shocking that Jacob almost laughed aloud.
'He finally snapped,', a chuckle finally escaping his lips. 'The shame of awakening an F-rank talent probably fried his brain.'