Just as the last wisp of energy from his all-night cultivation settled within him, and his disappointment began to fade, a sound chimed through his mind.
[Ding!]
Dravin's eyes widened.
[Cultivation of 'Astra Breath Absorption Technique' detected.]
[Random multiplier activated: 3999x!]
[Energy absorption amplified!]
Before the last word had even fully registered in his consciousness, the world exploded.
"BOOM!"
The pool of void energy he had painstakingly gathered over eight long hours that he had been complaining was insufficient, did not just grow. It exploded.
multiplied by a factor of nearly four thousand, transforming from a calm pond into a raging, apocalyptic tsunami of pure power that erupted from the very center of his being.
A muffled groan escaped his lips as the untamed energy smashed against the inner walls of his body. His meridians, which had felt wide and accommodating just moments before, were now tiny compared to surging wave. They strained, groaned, and threatened to shatter into a million pieces.
If it weren't for the Physique Strengthening Fruit, he would be dead. His original, fragile body would have been turned into a fine red mist in less than a nanosecond. But even with his newly reinforced physique, he was at his absolute limit.
The sheer volume of energy was too much, too fast.
His skin, unable to contain the overwhelming pressure, began to weep blood from every pore.
Thin, spiderweb-like fissures of crimson spread across his arms and chest as his capillaries ruptured. A coppery taste filled his mouth as his internal organs were violently compressed. He could feel his very cells being saturated, stretched, and filled to the bursting point.
The progress bar on his internal status panel, once a stagnant line, became a blur before him.
[Lifeform Level: Rank 2 Super Soldier <12.00%>]
[Lifeform Level: Rank 2 Super Soldier <35.00%>]
[Lifeform Level: Rank 2 Super Soldier <70.00%>]
[Lifeform Level: Rank 2 Super Soldier <100.00%>]
A sensation like a chain breaking occurred deep within him. A barrier he hadn't even been fully aware of shattered into dust.
The overflowing energy had somewhere new to go, pouring deeper into his cells.
[Congratulations! You have broken through to Rank 3 Super Soldier!]
But it didn't stop. The tsunami of energy was far from spent. It continued its relentless assault, pushing his new rank to its limits in mere seconds.
[Lifeform Level: Rank 3 Super Soldier <40.00%>]
[Lifeform Level: Rank 3 Super Soldier <80.00%>]
[Lifeform Level: Rank 3 Super Soldier <100.00%>]
"Crack!"
Another, louder shattering sound echoed in his soul. A second, even more formidable barrier was pulverized by the sheer, brute force of the amplified energy.
His body convulsed on the small air bed as he was forcibly pushed into an entirely new realm of power.
[Congratulations! You have broken through to Rank 4 Super Soldier!]
The remaining energy, its momentum finally starting to wane, surged through his newly opened channels, continuing to fill his foundation.
[Lifeform Level: Rank 4 Super Soldier <30.00%>]
[Lifeform Level: Rank 4 Super Soldier <60.00%>]
[Lifeform Level: Rank 4 Super Soldier <70.00%>]
And then, as abruptly as it began, it was over.
The last of the amplified energy was absorbed, and a profound, echoing silence descended upon his mind.
Dravin lay motionless on the bed, his body stained with a mixture of sweat and blood.
He was gasping for air, his chest heaving, his muscles twitching from the aftershocks.
He felt like he'd been hit by truck-kun, torn apart, and then stitched back together with threads of lightning.
After a long minute, he managed to push himself into a sitting position.
He looked down at his hands, at the faint red lines on his skin that were already beginning to heal thanks to his monstrous physique.
He could feel it—a deep, resonant power thrumming in his core. It was a strength so far beyond what he'd possessed just minutes ago that it felt like a dream.
"Rank… 4?" he whispered, his voice hoarse.
He had been despairing over his slow progress, and in the span of thirty seconds, he had leaped over two entire ranks.
It was simply unbelievable.
But Dravin knew he could never be so reckless again. From now on, just four hours of cultivation would be enough. If he had been lucky or unlucky enough to trigger 10,000x multiplier, he would have been done for and be rendered crippled in the best case scenario. Luckily it hadn't come to that.
Suddenly he remembered something important. The exam. What time was it?
His eyes darted to the small, cheap clock on his table.
The hands pointed to 6:00 AM. The entrance examination was scheduled to begin at 8:00 AM.
He had two hours left.
Scrambling to his feet, a new sense of urgency propelled him.
He rushed to the small, adjoined washing area at the side of his shed.
Turning on the tap, he scrubbed the drying blood and grime from his body, watching as the water swirled red down the drain.
As he cleaned himself, he felt the changes. His muscles were harder, denser. His senses were sharper. He could hear the faint chirping of insects outside the walls with perfect clarity.
Dressing in his favorite shabby but comfortable training clothes, he knew he couldn't afford to rest. He had the power, but he needed to refine his skill to wield it.
He had one hour to dedicate to training before he needed to head to the assembly point.
He grabbed his alloy cleaver. This time, when he held it, the connection was deeper. With his newfound strength and physique, the heavy weapon felt as light as a feather.
He began to practice, but not with the frantic energy of the previous day. Now, his movements were imbued with the insight of a Level 5 master.
Every swing was precise, efficient, and wasted no energy. He focused on channeling his new, more potent inner energy into the blade.
He cleaved. And he slashed again.
[Ding! Random multiplier activated: 12x!]
[Ding! Random multiplier activated: 9x!]
For nearly an hour, he practiced, the multipliers providing a steady, but not spectacular, increase in his proficiency. Then, with time running out, he put everything he had into one final, perfect cleaving motion.
[Ding! Random multiplier activated: 1999x!]
Another deluge of enlightenment, less violent but no less profound than the one from his cultivation, poured into his mind. He didn't just understand the forms; he understood the principles behind them, leverage, momentum, edge alignment, the perfect transfer of force. It was the difference between copying a master and truly understanding their art.
['Basic Cleaver Technique' has reached Level 6!]
['Basic Cleaver Technique' has reached Level 7! <5.50%>]
[Mastery of a combat technique has tempered your body.]
[Strength +2, Speed +2, Physique +1]
Dravin lowered the cleaver, his breathing steady. The weapon felt like a living part of him now.
Level 7 mastery provided a 50% boost to his attack power. Combined with his new Rank 4 strength, the power he could unleash with a single swing was terrifying.
He was confident. But he was not careless. A Rank 3 Primitive Monster was still a dangerous beast.
With one hour remaining, he slid the long cleaver into the simple sheath on his back, took one last look at the shed and stepped out.