13 Will

Jim recalled that his stats had increased sharply since the last time he went hunting and decided to use the spear for the next few zombies. The result ended up being three hits each, Lower Dark Fist seems way too overpowered, at least triple the power of a spear thrust despite being unarmed, didn't hesitate and tossed the short spear into his Inventory, then continued hunting using only his fists.

[Unarmed Combat Skill Obtained]

[Punch Skill Obtained]

Circulating Snow Treading Steps, he rocketed forward, the wind blowing against his face made him recall putting his head out of the car window as a kid. A mere few seconds passed before the next enemy was discovered, he didn't slow at all, wrapping his fists in dark energy and pouncing towards it, the zombie exploded in a mess of blood and gore. It had been three days since discovering Lower Dark Fist's power, his continual hunting reaped large rewards.

[Level Up]

[Snow Treading Steps Level Up]

[Snow Treading Steps Level Max]

[Snow Treading Steps Derivation Skill - Bursting Thunder Steps Obtained]

[Congratulations Host, Host Has Achieved Maximum Level In A Skill, Skill Max Gift Pack x 1 Awarded]

[Lower Dark Fist Level Up]

[Lower Dark Fist Level Max]

[Lower Dark Fist Derivation Skill - Great Dark Fist Obtained]

[Congratulations Host, Host Has Achieved Maximum Level In A Skill, Skill Max Gift Pack x 1 Awarded]

[Qi Manipulation Level Up]

[Qi Manipulation Has Reached Level 9]

[Qi Battery Level Up]

[Qi Battery Has Reached Level 4]

[Unarmed Combat Level Up]

[Unarmed Combat Has Reached Level 3]

[Punch Level Up]

[Punch Has Reached Level 8]

[Congratulations Host For Defeating Rank 2 Zombie x 1, 20 Points Awarded]

[Common Quality Magic Stone, Energy: 57]

'Er...' Jim hadn't noticed any difference between this zombie and the previous hundreds he fought until the notification occurred, he vowed to start using appraisal on them, the thought of running into something well above his capabilities made his spine go cold.

Spending some time on learning the circulation routes of Bursting Thunder Steps and Great Dark Fist he decided to try the new movement technique first. A loud thunderclap resounded through the area as Jim suddenly shot forward faster than he could react, crossing two city blocks and slamming into the side of a ruined brick building. His body was sore all over from the sudden impact.

[Physical Resistance Level Up]

[Physical Resistance Has Reached Level 2]

[Bursting Thunder Steps Level Up]

[Bursting Thunder Steps Has Reached Level 2]

Dusting himself off, Jim looked around and didn't see any enemies, after that embarrassment he decided to switch gears and open the gift packs which had been building up.

[Skill Max Gift Pack x 4 Opened]

[Congratulations Host, System Upgrade Module x 8 Obtained]

[Congratulations Host, 40,000 Points Obtained]

[Basic Cultivation Gift Pack x 2 Opened]

[Congratulations Host, Blood And Qi Pill Bottle x 4 Obtained]

[Congratulations Host, Lower Light Fist Technique Obtained]

[Congratulations Host, Serene Mind Mental Technique Obtained]

'Oh...?' He chose to use appraisal on each of the items.

[Appraisal Level Up]

[Appraisal Has Reached Level 3]

[Blood And Qi Pill x 60 - Quality: Common]

[Accumulates Blood Energy And Basic Qi Energy For Early Cultivation]

[Lower Light Fist Technique]

[Wraps User's Hands In Qi To Increase Destructive Power]

[Serene Mind Mental Technique]

[Improves Mental Prowess, Increases Cultivation Realm]

'Oh?' Despite cultivating for some time and obtaining a very large qi capacity, he hadn't seen any signs of his cultivation realm increasing, it seems he needed certain techniques to achieve this. With the influx of Modules Jim decided to purchase some new functions.

[Job System]

[Allows Aquisition Of 'Jobs', Equipping A Job Improves Relevant Status and Skills]

[Price - 5 System Upgrade Modules]

[Powers]

[Unlocks New Shop Category]

[Price - 2 System Upgrade Modules]

Jim decided to leave a module for later, there were just too many things he wanted.

[Congratulations Host For Unlocking Powers Menu, Complementary Power Blink Obtained]

"Status."

[Name: Jim Garrett]

[Species: Human]

[Level: 6]

[Experience: 3/2,500]

[Job]

[Stats]

[Cultivation Realm: Lower Foundation]

[Qi: 20,689/161,360]

[Skills]

[Powers]

[System Functions Unlocked: Log, Status, Shop, Skill Assist, Cooking Assist, Level Up, Improved Rest, Stat Allocation, Inventory Lv. 2, Job System, Powers]

'Oh?' The Skills list had been collapsed into its own menu, Jim opened the Job menu.

[Currently Equipped: None]

[Available Jobs: Warrior Lv. 0, Spearman Lv. 0, Pugilist Lv. 0]

'Hmm...Let's try out Warrior' A small boost in power was felt upon equipping the job, it felt rather nice, he checked out the Powers menu.

[Illusion Barrier Lv. 2, Blink Lv. 1]

"So THAT'S where Illusion Barrier is listed!" After purchasing it in the skills menu it hadn't appeared in his skill list, he wondered why this was, apparently it was classified as a Power, but why was it in the skills section then? He couldn't find an answer after pondering for a while.

Suddenly a heavy pressure weighed down on his shoulders, he couldn't move a muscle, extreme fear grasped his heart, a feeling of hopelessness and despair welled up within him, making his life feel pointless. A large billowing cloud of mist began approaching, slowly at first, then fast enough that his eyes couldn't follow, he activated Focus just in time, the mist had arrived in front of his face and seemed to want to envelop him. Circulating Great Dark Fist he mustered what willpower he had to make a desperate attack.

The cloud suddenly burst apart with a soul-piercing screech, Jim's head was pounding, his right fist which had launched the attack had gone numb, a quick glance revealed it was no longer a fist, attached to his wrist was a rotten clump, his heart stopped for a moment thinking of the consequences of getting swallowed by that creature. System notifications were going off repeatedly like it had broken, he couldn't pay attention to any of it as his mind was faltering, he quickly willed Illusion Barrier to deactivate before collapsing on the spot and losing consciousness.