Breakthrough

It was a quick decision, one which some may have even called rash, but Sol didn't care. Power! Who the hell would give that up? Seeing the holographic figure give out his hand, Sol shook it.

"Julius, I promise you that your death will not be in vain." He said as he gazed into the eyes of the figure with a fierce look of confidence.

Upon saying this, a light smile appeared on Julius' face as he said his final words. "Thank you, warrior."

With this, Sol's surroundings quickly went blurry as he lost consciousness. The 'dream' was over.

[System initializing process completed]

…

As soon as Sol awoke and sat up, not drenched in sweat for the first time, his eyes turned completely white as they began to glow and illuminate his room. All his memories of who he was in his past life, the life of Lance Han, began to assault his brain.

He remembered that the watch that he had on earth was passed down to him by his parents from a long generation of relic holding. He even somehow remembered what happened after he died on earth.

Lance's soul traveled to a faraway planet in another galaxy where he was reborn as Sol. Although he lost his memories, he eventually came to claim the inheritance, which allowed this entire cycle to happen in the first place.

After a few more seconds of memories pouring into his head, Sol's eyes returned to normal.

[Welcome… host]

A blue panel screen appeared in front of Sol with these words.

A small grin formed on his face, and his confusion finally disappeared. Now, all that was left to do was pass this test. Hearing the robotic voice in his head welcoming him, Sol assumed that it belonged to Julius.

"What can I call you?"

[I am a system. An apparatus of storage and information. You may decide to call me whatever you like]

"Hmm, then I'll call you… Gear."

[New name received: Gear]

[Not bad…]

"Alright then, Gear. Can you help me pass this upcoming test? It i-" Just as Sol began to explain the test, Gear interjected him.

[I exist inside of your mind, therefore, I already know everything that you know. There is no need to explain yourself]

"That's useful…"

[As Julius mentioned, he used most of his items for the war, but there are still many left in his inventory. Although they were very weak to him, they might be great for you. For this upcoming test, there is a stronger cultivation technique not used by Julius during the war.]

"How powerful is it compared to Julius' cultivation technique?" Sol said, wanting to gauge the difference in power between himself and the latter.

[Compared to the cultivation technique of Julius, this technique matches its power by 71%.]

"What!? Didn't you say he used all of his powerful items in the war?" Sol said with a bit of shock, hearing this blasphemous number.

[Yes, however, this cultivation technique is special. Exploring the caves of Tribuna in the Jalos galaxy, Julius found this hidden away in a mysterious tomb. However, he was unable to use it due to a rule the technique had: One must have absolutely no core foundation in order to cultivate with this technique. For this reason, he saved it, and now it is perfect for you.]

Hearing this explanation triggered an eager excitement in Sol's heart. "What's its name?"

[Blazing Sun Tempering Cultivation Technique]

As soon as the system said this, a jolt of light shined in front of Sol for only a second, before a golden scroll suddenly appeared in thin air and dropped onto his lap.

On opening it up, all the letters and inscriptions inside floated out of the page and poured into his glabella, informing him of how to cultivate the technique.

After a few seconds, Sol wanted to check his time on his watch to see how much time he had to cultivate, but saw that the watch was completely broken.

[The watch was only a form of travel for me, the system. Now that I am in use, the watch is no longer useful.]

Hearing this explanation, Sol got out of bed and sat in the middle of his room in a lotus position, closing his eyes and putting his hands on the edge of his knees.

Even if he didn't know the time, he was going to cultivate until he was strong enough to pass this exam, and make it on time no matter what!

Imagining his surroundings, he could see himself after a few minutes of concentration from almost a third-person perspective. Except, he was an outlined black figure in pitch darkness. After another few minutes, however, weird waves and blobs of colorful gaseous liquids began to flow alongside him.

After a few more minutes, his body began to glow a slight golden color, as the color essences around him began pulling towards him like he was suctioning them in.

[Body has come in contact with mana]

[No mana core found]

[…Mana core created]

[Gaining 0.1 mana per second]

[Mana needed to break through into the next rank: 100]

As the mana went into his body, he could feel its warm feeling travel through his meridians and enter the core of his stomach.

…

<16 minutes later>

*Ding* [100 mana reached]

[Breaking through…]

Sol suddenly felt the mana in his belly get even hotter as it condensed into a single point.

After a few more seconds of cultivation, the condensed ball of mana suddenly exploded, spreading throughout his entire body and widening his meridians slightly.

[New rank reached: Prosperity Rank: Stage 1]

Sol opened his eyes, a bright grin on his face as he stood up. He could feel the newfound strength in his limbs, and his body seemed to be much lighter than before. His vision was clearer, his hearing louder, and his smell more exact.

*Ding* [New tab unlocked: Status]

[Click the status tab to see your current stats]

"Oh? What's this…"