For a moment, I simply stared.
Then the blue screen rippled once.
[Ding]
[Host Trait Analysis Complete...]
[...]
[Trait Identified: Primal Repose]
[Unknown Conditions Fulfilled.]
[Previous Trait: Hibernation State]
[Replacing...]
[...]
[Primal Repose Successfully Established.]
[Trait Description:]
[The body sleeps... but never stops cultivating.]
[Primal Repose allows the host to assimilate Qi beyond its normal limits through prolonged adaptation.]
[Duration and results increase according to the amount of Qi absorbed.]
[Forced interruption is not recommended.]
[Body Breakthrough Confirmed.]
[Skill Proficiency Increased.]
[Status Updated.]
"...Primal Repose?"
I frowned at the unfamiliar name.
Unknown conditions?What conditions?
Before I could think about it any further, the blue screen shifted once again, unfolding into a much larger window.
[ STATUS ]
Species: Swamp Tortoise
Realm: Ferocious Beast — Peak Stage
Age: 11 Years
Body Statistics
Length: 4.2 Meters
Shell Diameter: 3.1 Meters
Weight: 2.8 Tons
Attributes
Strength: 80
Defense: 330
Agility: 36
Vitality: 900
Skills
Black Carapace Guard — Mastery: 5%
Earth-Sense Domain — Mastery: 5%
Stillwater Longevity Method — Mastery: 10%
Mountain-Crushing Bite — Mastery: 5%
Primal Core Circulation — Mastery: 10%
Condition
Core Type: Mutated Hybrid Core
Core Capacity: ×3 Previous
Qi Density: Extremely High
Qi Stability: Perfect
Chamber Energy Absorbed: 70%
Integrated: 30%
Dormant: 50% (Breath Resonance Required)
Resistances
Pressure Resistance: High
Energy Corruption Resistance: Moderate
Temperature Resistance: High
Mental Stability: Enhanced
Poison Resistance: Enhanced
...
For a long while, I simply stared.
My eyes moved across the screen once... then a second time... then a third. The numbers stubbornly refused to change. Strength had doubled. Defense had become ridiculous. Even my cultivation realm had advanced another step.
"...Peak Stage?"
The words slipped out almost on their own.
My gaze quickly dropped lower.
Strength: 80.
I clearly remembered it being forty.
Defense: 330.
That number alone made my eyelids twitch.
Every attribute had increased far beyond what I expected. Some had nearly doubled, while others had grown even more. If the system hadn't been in front of me, I would've thought someone had swapped my status window with another beast's.
Instinctively, I lowered my head and looked at myself.
Only now did I truly notice the difference.
My shell had become broader, its surface denser than before. My limbs looked thicker, carrying a quiet strength that hadn't existed the last time I was awake. Even standing still felt different, as though my body had settled into a far more stable state.
The Qi flowing inside me confirmed it.
Gone was the wild, chaotic feeling from before. The circulation was smoother, steadier, almost effortless, as if my body had spent years polishing every imperfection while I wasn't even conscious.
"...Of course."
I let out a tired sigh.
"So that's where those five years went."
My body had been cultivating without me again.
Doing whatever the hell that damned trait decided to do while I was locked out of my own body.
I clicked my tongue in annoyance.
"That useless system couldn't even bother giving me a warning."
"Lose consciousness for a moment," I muttered under my breath. "Wake up five years later."
"What a wonderful feature."
Before I could continue complaining—
"...Brat."
A deep voice echoed through the cave.
I didn't answer.
My attention was still fixed on the glowing screen.
"...Brat."
The voice grew noticeably louder.
Again, I ignored it.
The numbers on the status window were far more interesting.
The next instant, a terrifying roar shook the entire cave.
Oye you Little brat!"
A powerful wave of pressure crashed over me, instantly pulling me out of my thoughts. I quickly turned toward the old skull, only to find the blue flames within its empty eye sockets burning much brighter than before.
"I've been talking to you this entire time," the old skull said, its voice carrying obvious irritation. "Meanwhile, you've been sitting there staring into empty space, changing expressions every other second and muttering to yourself like you've finally lost what little sanity you had."
It fell silent for a moment, continuing to stare at me.
"...Tell me honestly."
"Have you gone insane?"
I blinked before letting out another exhausted sigh.
"No."
The blue flames flickered.
"No?"
The old skull sounded thoroughly unconvinced.
"From where I'm sitting, you frowned, smiled, sighed, then started talking to yourself without responding to a single word I said. If that isn't the beginning of madness, then perhaps you should enlighten me."
I rubbed the side of my head with a claw.
"I'm not insane."
"I'm just trying to understand why my own body keeps making decisions without asking me first."
Another sigh escaped my mouth.
"Honestly... I'm starting to think I'm the only one who doesn't get a say in what happens to it."
The old skull looked at me for a long moment before giving a dry snort.
"...I see. If you've really gone mad, I suppose I'll have to send you to the afterlife myself. Better that than letting you wander around like this."
I blinked.
...This old man was actually serious.
Heh... I'd better stop talking to myself before he really decides to kill me. Shoo, you damned system. I don't want to die because of your nonsense.
After observing me for a little longer, the old skull finally spoke again.
"After seeing your condition, I think there's only one possibility. Your body entered a Qi Assimilation State."
""What?" I asked with curiosity. "Qi Assimilation State?"
The old skull nodded before answering. "It's a state beasts enter after absorbing too much Qi or power in a short amount of time. The body can't refine all of it immediately, so instead of cultivating, it starts adapting to that Qi. The more Qi absorbed, the longer the adaptation lasts."
I frowned as I listened.
"So... that's why I kept sleeping?"
"Sleeping is only the result," he replied calmly. "Most beasts only enter that state during life-and-death situations. They gamble everything because they have no other choice. Even powerful demonic beasts avoid it unless they're completely cornered."
Something about his tone made me uneasy.
"...Why?"
"Because while the body is adapting, it can't properly defend itself. All of its focus is on assimilating the Qi. During that time, the Qi leaking from the body attracts nearby beasts. If no one is there to guard it, the sleeping beast usually ends up as another beast's meal... or a cultivator's resource."
I stayed silent for a while.
"So... that's why you called me abnormal?"
The old skull slowly shook his head.
"Not exactly. Entering Qi Assimilation isn't abnormal. Every beast knows about it.
What's abnormal is that your body enters it on its own. You don't even realize it's happening until you wake up."
...That damned system again.
I'm just the owner. That useless thing is the one driving this body. Every time it takes over, I lose years without even knowing what happened.
I lowered my head, thinking about everything he had said.
If this happened again outside... I was finished.
If I collapsed somewhere in the wilderness and that damned trait forced me into another deep sleep, I'd probably wake up inside another beast's stomach... if I woke up at all.
A cultivator finding me would be even worse.
I needed a place where I wouldn't have to worry about any of that.
Somewhere with enough Qi to cultivate, enough food to survive, and no beasts wandering in whenever they pleased.
As that thought crossed my mind, my eyes slowly wandered around the cave.
Rich Qi filled every corner. Spirit herbs grew in every direction, and despite everything that had happened since I arrived, I hadn't seen a single beast step inside.
The more I looked around...
The wider the grin on my face became.
...Isn't this place perfect?
The old skull had been watching me the entire time. The moment he saw that grin, his blue flames flickered slightly.
"What are you smiling about?"
I quickly shook my head.
"Nothing."
"Don't lie. That face of yours says you've thought of something."
I scratched the side of my shell awkwardly before glancing around the cave one more time.
"...I was just thinking."
"What?"
I looked at him, then at the cave again.
"...I want to stay here."
The cave fell silent.
The old skull didn't answer. It simply stared at me for a long moment, its blue flames quietly flickering inside its empty eye sockets.
Neither of us spoke.
Then...
A faint laugh escaped from the old skull.
A strange smile appeared on its face.
...Why did that smile suddenly give me chills?
"...Interesting."