Chapter 8: The first step towards Cultivation

After finally arriving in his room, Strax sat on the dusty floor and opened the Inventory, pulling out a technique book. He tried to open it, but couldn't; he forced the sides where the pages should be, but it felt more like a box than a real book. "Open already," he said, hoping it was just a glitch in the system. As suggested, the book opened in half, and a notification window appeared.

[Do you want to learn [|Vorah Sword Cultivation Technique|] Yes/No?]

He read the message and simply agreed. There wasn't much else to do in that situation. Finally sitting on the floor, a light appeared and slowly covered his body. He began to feel different. The energy around him shifted, his sense of the world transformed, like a blanket over the entire world, something warm and soft to the touch, yet voracious and rough to cast.

His hands tingled trying to touch that cozy sensation, but his eyes denied it with awakening.

[You Have Learned Cultivation.] The basic notification appeared in front of him, and he just smiled slightly, feeling his entire body circulate with a new energy, like blood, imperceptible but present.

He closed his eyes and began to analyze the technique he learned. It suddenly appeared in his entire knowledge, but he wasn't proficient in it. It was like knowing how to ride a bike; you could know, but after years without practicing, the beginning would be difficult, but you would remember how it always was.

With his eyes closed, he began to breathe heavily and gradually calm down, feeling the energy around him. He started to absorb it slowly, as if it were a common breath. His body felt the mana enter and leave, calm and haunting, and thus, focus. Soon, hours passed without him realizing, without feeling tired or hungry, just absorbing, condensing, and storing mana throughout his entire body.

He felt a sudden surge of energy in his body and opened his eyes, completely sweaty and with his clothes stained black and reeking. He looked at the message in front of him and read it aloud: "You have fully understood the Vorah Sword Cultivation Technique, however, your body did not adapt correctly and created a new path. Congratulations!

You have upgraded the Technique to: Vorah's Complete Cultivation."

"Let me see if I understand this correctly, my body forced me to upgrade the technique just so I could absorb the energy?" His questions made sense, how did he create something that he didn't even understand? Of course, his main conclusion was this.

"System."

He really didn't care, as long as he could cultivate, everything was fine! So, he opened his Status window.

[Name: Strax Vorah

[Age: 18 years old.

Strax looked closely and saw the changes. He really didn't understand what was happening, but he continued to observe the physical changes generated through cultivation. He noticed that his body was lighter again, just like when he upgraded with his system points. This was good, actually, it was excellent.

"So Cultivation is outside the System's statistics, so even though the System says I have so many points in agility, in reality, these points only apply to me, not to others. Ok, I need to understand cultivation methods and ranks, so I can have a clearer idea of what this extra strength the system gives me is all about, and whether or not it reflects on other people.

It may seem like a game, but it's nothing like that."

With his thoughts in order, he increasingly wanted to understand what the system was about, but that would take too long. So, he would continue his experiments to take full advantage of the System, in the best possible way. Of course, he was intelligent for that.

Thus, he would always do his best to become stronger, it was the promise he made with the previous owner of the body, he would be the strongest of all!

"I need a bath." He said, getting up to take a shower. Fortunately, his room was a suite, despite looking Victorian, they had running water and showers, which was really a great advantage.

Strax entered the bathroom, letting himself be enveloped by the steam that hung in the air, granting him a long-desired sense of relaxation. As the hot water caressed his skin, his mind wandered through the small things of the day, anticipating his plans about what to do in the Baroness's mansion.

After the invigorating shower, Strax ventured through the luxurious corridors of the mansion, guided by the seductive aroma emanating from the kitchen. Arriving at the dining room, he glimpsed a lavish table, adorned with delicacies that aroused his voracious appetite.

"Good afternoon, Strax," said the butler, whose uncomfortable demeanor denoted an undeniable antipathy towards him. His name, known by all in the mansion as

a whisper of suspicion, was Oswald.

Strax returned the greeting with a mere nod of his head, his distrust of the butler remaining intact.

"Oswald," he murmured, choosing a chair near the window, overlooking the well-kept gardens. "It seems we're bumping into each other again, I almost feel the urge to kill you."

Oswald raised an eyebrow, emitting a discreet grumble. "I'm just doing what I'm told, Strax. I don't have time for nonsense."

Tension hung in the air as the two men faced off with penetrating gazes, as if they were measuring each other in a silent game of chess.

"Ah, Strax, you're here," said Beatrice with a bored look. "I hope you don't spoil the food with your presence."