Chapter 77: A Small Concern

.Ethan wondered what would happen if they produced pills directly from the system.

If it were just a way to speed up his production, it would be too convenient since he could create dozens, if not hundreds of pills this way.

From accumulating large amounts of Qi in no time to quickly gaining system points, Ethan thought it would be too OP to have something like that.

Not that he would complain about it, after all, the faster he got stronger, the better it was for him.

It was just that, although Ethan had received several rewards from the system recently that, in a way, gave him an edge over everyone else, there was always a limit to it.

For example, when he was asked to participate in the exam to become an alchemist, it only provided him with a basic understanding of alchemy.

The same thing happened with the subsequent reward he received, which was mastery in pill crafting, and even that was just level one. Sёarch* The NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Ethan learned over time that this mastery made him proficient in handling any recipe as long as it was level 1.

He hadn't had the chance to practice a level 2 recipe yet, but he could instinctively tell that refining a level 2 pill wouldn't be a walk in the park with his current abilities.

The same applied to the items he received.

For instance, the cauldron was of the lowest grade, and it had difficult requirements for Ethan back then to upgrade it.

The same was true for the rare flame he received, and so on.

Although the system was assisting him, there was always a certain limit within which it did so.

Maybe it was the system's way of maintaining balance.

Ethan didn't know, he only knew that for an artifact of that level, there would surely be better and more powerful surprises that he could receive with his current cultivation level.

Although losing 2 Qi and one SP point was low compared to what Ethan had expected initially, he also understood that the total amount he would lose after each refinement wouldn't be insignificant.

For example, if he were to produce 100 perfect-grade pills, he would lose 200 Qi and about 100 SP, which, for his current self, was a lot.

Ethan shook his head and decided to come to terms with it.

'It could have been worse,' he thought.

Ethan had noticed that for every stack of materials, the number of pills produced mirrored his production in the real world.

He noticed that he could adjust the grade of the pill he wanted, and by lowering it by one grade, he saw that this time, three pills were produced instead of just one.

He also noticed that just as the materials were taken directly from his dimensional space, these produced pills also went straight into his dimensional space.

What convenience, he thought.

Ethan stayed in the minor dimension for a little longer, producing some high- and mid-grade pills he needed for his trade, and spent the rest of the time stabilizing the large amount of Qi he was receiving from production.

Ethan dedicated a few hours each morning to cultivation, mainly because at his current stage, he didn't need to spend entire days cultivating like the other cultivators.

It was known that cultivation consisted of various steps, from absorbing Qi from the surrounding environment to refining it and stabilizing it in one's core, from where it would be drawn whenever needed.

Thanks to the system, Ethan had skipped all the initial steps, and the only thing he had to do was dedicate a few hours each day to stabilizing the Qi he was receiving so that everything wouldn't collapse.

Cultivating was like building a castle.

It was done brick by brick.

If the bricks, which were the absorbed Qi, were placed without any adhesive, the castle would eventually collapse.

This adhesive was what Ethan provided by cultivating every day, thus stabilizing his foundation.

At first, after discovering he could cultivate Qi by refining pills, Ethan had set this aside, but Bai Yu warned him that if he continued like this, he would be in serious trouble in the future.

Ethan had to admit that although he had gotten used to the customs of this world, as well as to cultivation, there were still various common practices he tended to ignore, thinking it would be fine.

This "protagonist mentality" of his had caused him quite a few problems, and it took him some time to get rid of it.

After spending about a day in his minor dimension, he finally came out.

If his calculations were correct, a day in there should have been just over 14 minutes out here.

Being in a world where technology was still very primitive, they used ancient methods like incense sticks to monitor the passage of time.

Ethan had taken three incense sticks, each of a different length. One would burn out in about half an hour.

Another would last about an hour.

And the last one could last up to 2 hours.

Once out of the dimension, Ethan approached the incense sticks and saw that all three were still burning.

This meant that indeed, less than half an hour had passed inside that dimension.

All three sticks still had a good portion left to burn.

Setting aside the longer sticks, Ethan focused on the half-hour one.

The stick had burned about halfway down; in other words, nearly 15 minutes had passed, which closely matched Ethan's estimate.

'Well, this fits within the calculations. At least now I can be sure that time does flow as indicated in the minor dimension's information.'

Ethan thought as he opened the window a bit to let some fresh air into the room.

He had closed it before leaving to prevent a gust of wind from altering the incense sticks' burning time.

Now that this was settled, Ethan could only continue with his usual routine.

Ethan was still uncertain whether it was a good idea to spend so much time in that dimension.

Although the outside world wouldn't change, he would certainly continue to age.

So, in a sense, he was shortening the time he could spend here in the outside world.

For a normal person, this could have been a bad thing, since usually on Earth, the average lifespan ranged from 60 to 80 years, with few exceptions surpassing 90, and a few others becoming centenarians.

In this world rich in spiritual Qi, the situation was slightly different, although not by much. Even here, mortals often didn't reach 100 years, but certainly, the average lifespan ratio here compared to his previous world was different.

Ethan knew that as long as he progressed quickly in his cultivation, he wouldn't have to worry about aging.

Cultivators could live for more than 100 years, with the stronger ones living for over a thousand years.

Ethan, who was at the second stage of mortal rank cultivation, could afford to live for over 200 years.

Knowing this, the small concern that had arisen in his heart was calmed.

Ethan was beginning to realize that the more he cultivated and learned about this world, the more his old mortal mentality was starting to change.

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FRANK_LEE_JUNIOR:

Here's today's chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

As usual, if you have any comments, suggestions, or errors to report, you know where to do it.

See you tomorrow.