[Karma: 95]
Arin's gaze lingered on the number for a long moment.
"How much would it take… to become human again?" he asked, still flabbergasted.
[Great! Please die.]
His eyes narrowed.
By now, he had grown accustomed to the system's excruciating existence.
"How much is it?" he asked again, his gaze piercing the floating text.
[Please, carry on with your suicide.]
"I'm not doing that," he said flatly.
His voice dropped.
Quiet. Controlled.
"How much… is it?"
The conversation was soon interrupted by a howl.
Everything fell silent.
He didn't blink. His jaw slackened.
His voice rose, firm—almost desperate.
"I am not fighting again."
Just after that, his tail slammed against the ground—again and again.
Then—
A drop landed on Arin's forehead.
He froze.
Held his breath.
Slowly, he looked up.
Nothing.
The sky above was dark.
All at once, he released his breath.
Deep breaths, he told himself.
He inhaled.
Exhaled.
Then he moved.
He opened the store.
His tail hovered over the filter option.
The screen reloaded.
Text appeared, one line at a time.
1. Consumab—
His tail flicked impatiently as he scrolled.
Until it appeared.
[…
9. Poor Quality Foundation Establishment Pill (Cost: 30 Karma)
[You really shouldn't be careful with your karma spending.]
His eyes were indifferent.
He bought it.
Depressed, he looked back at the corpse.
— Growl —
His stomach rumbled.
He shifted his gaze, smudging his tail against the ground.
His eyes fell to the right—
behind a bush.
A two-legged rabbit stared at him, casually chewing on a serpent.
They locked gazes for a second.
Realization struck them both.
The serpent's corpse dropped.
The rabbit bolted on two legs, utterly terrified.
Arin closed the distance in a second.
He lunged.
To him, it felt like watching a humanoid rabbit flee in slow motion.
Blood splattered against the trees.
It was over in a second.
He finished the last ear and lifted his gaze.
An orange fox stood there—two tails.
For a moment, his thoughts tangled.
Fox… two tails? A fish? How did it even get one—what?
Bewildered, he stared.
The fox ran.
It didn't get far.
As Arin devoured its last leg, a thought surfaced.
I misjudged.
Not first stage… third stage of Qi Refinement.
This one has minor restorative effects too.
Uncertainty crept in.
Was this going to become a nine-tailed fox… and I killed it?
Nah.
— RUMBLE —
Thunder cracked.
Rain followed—heavy, cleansing.
"Mm… this feels good," he muttered.
He chuckled softly.
"Guess I'm a rain person—snake—in this world."
Time slowed.
His gaze sharpened as he studied the falling droplets.
"Blood," he murmured.
"Amazing."
His smile widened.
"Cultivators carry Qi in their blood… but beasts?"
He swallowed.
"It's the body."
A pause.
"I have both."
His eyes widened further.
"That cultivation method… the Coiled Foundation Method."
Confusion deepened.
"Shouldn't cultivating just one be enough?"
He paced slowly, thoughts circling.
"No… that method increases speed, but that's not it."
He stopped.
"I feel it. I just can't pinpoint it."
He breathed in.
"First—what's the difference?"
"That lion was overwhelming. The cultivator was strong too… but he died early."
A spark lit in his mind.
"That fireball was impressive."
His eyes narrowed.
"Fire… ball?"
He froze.
"Is that it?"