Three days later, winter arrived exactly as Na-Ri had predicted.
A thin frost clung to the edges of windows, and a chill ran through the air, compelling residents either to wear heated garments and heavy clothing or to remain indoors altogether.
At dawn, Kyle's eyes fluttered open, a peculiar sense of relief coursing through him as he rose.
His body felt unusually heavy, the result of having slept uninterrupted for three days owing to the pill's influence and the subsequent breakthrough, which had granted his body ample time to stabilise and adjust to its new enhancements.
During that period, no one had come to inquire after him.
As a new resident, largely unknown to others, it had been easier for him to remain secluded in his quarters without drawing attention.
On occasion, Orion had lingered by his door, checking quietly to confirm that he was still breathing, while Na-Ri devoted herself to training and pursuing a breakthrough of her own.
Adela, on the other hand, still remained unconscious... with no signs of waking any time soon, though at least her body was not displaying any notable signs of deterioration.
But she was the only one they still had to cover up from time to time.
In fact, they layered the idea that she had gone on an expedition to hunt beasts and acquire essence cores, either to save or to pay her daily fees, although she owed nothing outstanding.
Seventy-one percent of the residents were told the same story by the handsome youth, yet they all found it difficult to believe it, for ever since her arrival she had always possessed an unusual abundance of essence cores without working any job or venturing outside again.
She had simply enjoyed a surplus, and she had already been here for fifty days, a little longer than Orion himself.
Besides, she was someone everyone wished to speak with, even though she rarely engaged in conversation herself.
Still, she remained approachable and courteous to most.
Kyle finally emerged from his room after consuming all the food stored in his bag, driven by sheer hunger.
He was not as weak as he would once have been when he might have been unable to move a single step.
Instead, he felt only a pressure upon his head, as if a subtle reminder of what the body required in order to grow.
When he had eaten his fill and regained some strength, he remained silent, quietly reflecting on the changes within himself.
His vision seemed sharper, his body felt lighter, and his mind was clearer.
Yet he had not checked the manual to see what his current status might reveal.
Then, after all that, he began arranging the essence cores inside the chest, using the clothes on his bed to cover them with other materials so no one would suspect he had hidden something there.
At least, since he had been gone for three days straight, no one had broken in and taken them. They were all still intact.
That realisation made him certain he could not keep carrying the bag everywhere.
Even if most ignored him, eventually some would grow suspicious of seeing him with it too often, and sooner or later they would want to know what it contained.
But he could not assume that because everyone else might have their own essence cores or worked to earn them, they would not be tempted to take another's without effort.
After all, it was human nature.
Once he was done hiding the essence cores inside the chest, prepared to consume them soon since he would heavily need them to grow stronger and push for another breakthrough, his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
With the doom drawing nearer, he could no longer afford to pay for more days, and the ones he had already paid for might turn out to be nothing but a waste.
The tension rose again when he realised winter had truly arrived.
Only then was he certain he had been unconscious for three days, just as Na-Ri had predicted.
A look of disgust crossed his face. At that moment he felt the urge to step outside and see the current situation.
Perhaps the settlement was finally giving clues to the refugees, or perhaps it was still pretending to be oblivious.
Of course, he knew it was the latter, and he hardly cared about their stupidity in throwing everyone to their deaths.
He knew he wasn't going to be part of it, no matter what it took.
Now more than ever, he wanted to survive.
To be fair, he was already close to catching up with Na-Ri, having reached Orion's level, assuming the handsome youth hadn't pushed further ahead and started focusing on strengthening himself against the coming doom.
It was not impossible that a clown like him could turn into a fiery warrior when danger loomed. Besides, he held the power to do so.
But before all of that, Kyle decided at once that it was time to check his status in the manual and see the new improvements, because, honestly, his curiosity had grown too sharp to ignore.
***
Name: Clueless
(Information): Born in ruins, carrying ignorance of the world yet tempered by harsh truths of human nature. Self-disdain and contempt for weakness shape your path. Though blind to what lies ahead, this designation grants heightened adaptability in every circumstance, ensuring survival at any cost
Title: [None]
(Information): Titles have been unlocked. Each carries weight, granting advantages or disadvantages much like a [Name]
Core Type: Dual Core (Yin/Yang – Adaptive Mutation Variant)
Rank: Tier 2 – Tempered
Primary Element: Adaptive Void [Evolved for skill application]
Secondary Element: Evolves with Beast Trait Fusion [Evolved for physical enhancement]
Skills: [None]
Vitality: 150%
Stamina: 150%
Spirit Energy: 145/1000%
(Information): Breakthrough into Tier 2 achieved. Advancement to Tier 3 requires 500%. All stored reserves have been consumed: 10% from essence core, 135% from Bond Partner.
Beast Traits: [Empty]
Bond Links: [1]
Items: [None]
Cultivation Stage: Elemental Vein Realm – Stage 2
Mutation Sync Rate: 20%
(Information): Upon reaching 40%, the probability of taming creatures of the ruins will unlock.
***
"Oh, wow. In all actuality, I am becoming closer to hating... I do not even know what I am hating anymore." Kyle sounded bewildered, unable to decide where his new-found contempt was aimed.
The self-loathing never left him; if anything, it grew heavier once he noticed the pattern of disadvantages piling against him.
At the same time, a faint thread of satisfaction lingered, for at least there was a clearer prospect of survival ahead.
The manual had finally yielded more detail. His name was explained, and in that revelation he realised the manual never assigned a cultivator their true name.
It crafted one instead, a designation pulled from their nature, each carrying a guaranteed advantage.
His own ensured survival at any cost. The promise of endurance should have been a blessing, but the condition beneath it made the benefit feel more like a penalty.
To him, it only spelled out a fresh disadvantage. The thought fed his old disdain for himself, and he could not shake the sense that bad luck would always keep close watch over him.
On the other hand were the titles. They resembled the Name in function, but with one clear difference: more than one could be acquired, and each might bring either an advantage or a disadvantage.
"What if I gain three titles, and two burden me with disadvantages while the last grants me a single advantage? What would become of me then?" Kyle considered the scenario with little comfort.
For the present, he had no certain answer to such questions.
Next came his primary and secondary element.
He now realised his primary element had been the deciding factor in his victory against the Boss of the Green zone.
He had adapted to its strikes again and again, each blow landing with less force while his own counters grew stronger until the fight was won.
His Name had reinforced that survival, ensuring his endurance at every turn.
But the cost... umm... what exactly was it?
Either ways, It was not luck...
And now, he would be able to acquire skills under it, and he was genuinely curious about what sort they might turn out to be.
Then again, there was the secondary element, which leaned towards beasts.
And... well, it seemed simple enough: it would grant him the traits of whatever beasts he managed to tame. The problem was that he had no idea how to tame even one.
"So since I have two elements, that means the primary belongs to my human core, and the other to the mutant core," Kyle muttered as his grasp of the mechanics slowly sharpened.
His stats had also leapt forward after the breakthrough.
He understood now why his Items tab stood empty. The Qi Condensation pill had been consumed, and he had only ever received the one.
Also, if his knowledge was right, Tier 2 had five layers, each split by a hundred per cent milestone of Spiritual Energy.
Since Tier 2 required a total of five hundred per cent at its peak to break through, he was already past the first layer, close to completing the second, and edging towards the third.
The energy he had received from Na-Ri had been immense.
Dual cultivation seemed to yield far more Qi than essence cores.
What puzzled him was how much Spiritual Energy she herself might had gained from the purified Qi pool he had poured into her.
As he continued trying to uncover information he was ignorant of, a knock at his door broke the silence.
"...Kyle?" Na-Ri's voice carried through with its usual indifferent tone.
Now, upon hearing her voice again, he found himself wondering whether she had received a title, and what Name she also has...