Chapter 13: Hiro the Sorcerer

Millions of colors stacked and combusted, bringing Hiro into the familiar environment of the system space.

Once inside, he summoned the {Sorcerer Awakening Potion} and digested it.

Just in case his body succumbed to sleep or something during the awakening process in the real world, his consciousness would remain awake in the system space.

With that out of mind, Hiro then focused on the {Anaylytical Mind} and {Time Dilation} rewards.

The first skill was a reward based on his earlier 800-point investment, and this skill was a combination of increased intelligence and photographic memory. seaʀᴄh thё nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

It increased both his comprehension ability and gifted him with the desired photographic memory, basically turning him into the perfect student model.

As for the time dilation feature, it would increase the ratio of time between the simulation space and the real world by a factor of 1 upon use, with each use costing double.

Hiro quickly tested the feature by increasing the time ratio from 1:1 to 2:1 by paying 50 APs, then increasing it again to 3:1 by paying 100 APs.

Hiro checked his current balance, discovering that he had 1,470 points left. After struggling for a little bit, he decided to bite the bullet and spent 200 more points to get the ratio up to 4:1.

Like this, his daily sleep could equate to a full day in-game with a surplus of 8 hours.

Next on the list was the lottery box!

"I need 30 gems for the 10x lottery box," Hiro was quite excited, as the 10-item lottery box had a higher chance of giving him something with practical value.

Hiro quickly pushed the irrelevant holographic screens aside and brought the lottery screen over.

Without hesitation, he used the gems required for the lottery box and watched the cube spin around before exploding into a shower of colorful lights.

While he was prepared for it, Hiro was still disappointed by the random consultation rewards of achievement points, ranging from 20 to 400 points for each consultation reward.

Luckily, he obtained two tangible rewards this time!

[Notice: Congratulations, you've acquired the Sorcerer's Guide to the Five Elements!]

[Notice: Congratulations, you've acquired 3x Futuristic VR Technology blueprints!]

…

A dense cluster of information about magic theory barged into Hiro's mind, and it took him a good fifteen minutes to digest the information.

Meanwhile, three pitch-black flash drives materialized in front of Hiro, a light blue pop-up window with a brief description hovering above each of them.

"Futuristic VR technology!" Hiro was ecstatic!

Although this world had VR technology, it was far from mature enough to permit full immersion as advertised in anime and manga.

However, this futuristic technology was more than enough to make the push! Although Hiro never thought about creating his own company and entering the gaming industry, no one would say no to free money!

"Although I can't start my company right now, I can start preparing for it… I mean, how can I be handsome and rich without my own company?"

Almost without thinking, Hiro's spendthrift occupational disease kicked in, and he went to the system shop and browsed through his daily life skills.

After scrolling through the skills, his eyes finally settled on {Business Acumen I}, {Business Acumen II}, and {Business Acumen III}.

Their prices were 200 points, 400 points, and 800 points respectively.

{Business Acumen IV} costs 1,600 points, and looking at that price, Hiro immediately sobered up.

Even with the consolation rewards, spending 1,400 points to invest in his future company was Hiro's current limit.

Somehow, his balance dropped to 1,070 points!

Hiro didn't even feel like checking the backlog since the fluctuating value of his points would give him a headache.

"I've decided!" Hiro made a firm resolution as he began to feel the new skill taking effect.

I'll make sure to always cash in all my rewards before I start spending gems and points in the future!

With that mindset, Hiro decided to push the matter of selecting a new game aside before he entered the Transcendent Taoist game.

…

Transcendent Taoist, Cave Dwelling.

A dense, misty spiritual energy surrounded Hiro the moment he opened his eyes.

Notifications filled his vision, and after he dismissed all of them, he focused on his cultivation base.

[Daoist: Hiro.]

[Sect: Lunar Shift.]

[Realm: Foundation Establishment 10/10.]

[Cultivation Base: 4,100,000/3,900,000]

[Spirit Array: +12 per second]

…

Hiro decided to undergo tribulation immediately.

[Notice: You have a 75% chance to ascend the lightning tribulation!]

[You can use 1 gem to increase your chances by 5%!]

An option to use the gem appeared, and next to it was the option to consume a golden core pill. However, Hiro didn't have any pills.

I can purchase medical pills from the sect! Hiro was surprised, realizing that he hadn't explored the game properly.

However, 75% wasn't a low chance, so Hiro decided to go with the tribulation without a second thought.

Thunderclouds gathered in the sky, and they started to smite down on Hiro.

While feeling paralyzed by the barrage of lightning, a sudden thought struck Hiro.

If a Qi Gathering cultivator could be considered a Tier-10 Paranormal, doesn't that make me a Tier-8 Paranormal once I've achieved the Golden Core realm?

Also, is it a coincidence that the Holy Church decreed the unification of power systems while the Pantheon of the Gods includes the likes of the Goddess of Magic, Beast God, the Blood Ancestor, Elvenheim, Immortal Monarch the Heavenly Emperor, etc…

I refuse to believe that it's all but a coincidence! If my guess is true, then the conflict between the Church and the State is deeper than I initially thought…

The 81 lightning strikes from the tribulation passed, and Hiro successfully made it into the Golden Core realm!

Feeling refreshed, he inspected his stats.

[Daoist: Hiro.]

[Sect: Lunar Shift.]

[Realm: Golden Core 1/10.]

[Cultivation Base: 12/1,800,000]

[Spirit Array: +12 per second]

…

As expected, the daily 1 million spiritual units are no longer sufficient if Hiro wanted a faster breakthrough in the future. However, he was feeling reluctant about using 5 gems to increase the spirit array rates from 12 units per second to 22 units per second.

After thinking about it, Hiro went to meet with the leader of the Lunar Serenity faction to receive his rewards for achieving the Golden Core realm.

Hiro quickly confirmed his status as a true disciple, elevating him from an in-name disciple.

After receiving his reward which consisted of three spell books, two defensive and one offensive magical spells, Hiro quickly learned them and sent his character on a few sect missions.

"As long as I gather enough contribution points, I can be promoted and get myself a better spirit array, all without the need to spend my gems!"

Satisfied, Hiro stacked a number of missions on auto pilot, but he made sure none of them were hard enough to injure his character.

That way, the chain wouldn't be broken and his character wouldn't stop going on missions.

With that out of hand, Hiro left the simulation space and the system space, quickly falling unconscious together with his body.

…

When Hiro woke up from his sleep, the first thing he noticed was the light blue pop-up window with his updated information written on it.

[Player: Hiro]

[Class: Sorcerer]

[Tier: 9]

[Rank: C]

…

Together with the awakening, information appeared in Hiro's mind as though it was an intuitive knowledge from the depths of his mind.

Of course, this was information derived from the magic theory, the guide to the five elements, and the awakening potion.

A Sorcerer's tier is based on their spirituality, the main focus of Hiro's future growth.

Information related to spiritual meditation and the harmony of the elements flowed inside Hiro's mind, while the separate classifications of tiers and the subdivisions of ranks followed.

If Hiro had to guess, then his system must have derived the information from the current world, and each tier is subdivided into ranks C, B, A, and S…