9 Episode 9

Jacq slowly opened his eyes. After letting his eyes adjust to the light, he looked around the hospital room. Seeing everything seemingly normal, he checked his status again.

"Stats!" he said in his head.

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Name: Jacq Gremni

Title(s): Holder of The God System, (Unlock more titles by gaining reputation across the universe. Certain actions give certain titles.)

Age: 14

Race: Human

Cultivation: Human (Host has yet to cultivate)

Battle Power: Human (Host has yet to cultivate)

Body Cultivation: Human (Host has yet to cultivate)

Experience Points: 0/1,000 to Spirit Gathering Lower Level

Skills: None

Current Apothecary Progress: 0 (Learn about herbs and their uses to increase. When a certain amount of information is obtained along with experience in using the herbs to make pills, the Progress Bar will increase.)

Apothecary Level: Tier 0

Current Blacksmith Progress: 0 (Learn about ores and their uses to increase. When a certain amount of information is obtained along with experience in using the ores to make equipment, the Progress Bar will increase.)

Forging Level: Tier 0

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"So it is real after all," Jacq said after doing a quick overview of the status board. He looked at his shoulder and saw the bandage that covered the wound. At this moment, the doctor walked in.

"It's good to see you wake up so soon. We were worried about your wound, but it seems like a minor infection. I will give you the prescription for you to fight the infection. Otherwise, just don't put any strain on your shoulder and you will be good to go after five to six weeks. The police have contacted your guardian to come pick you up after finishing the formalities. You will be free to go in an hour or two," the elderly doctor said after seeing Jacq look at his wound.

"Thank you doctor," Jacq replied.

After the doctor left, Dorathi came in and explained the situation to him with red eyes. Of course unknown to Jacq, she was not actually crying. This was just her act as to not draw any attention to the pair. Jacq and Dorathi both left after filling out the paperwork and getting the prescription that the doctor spoke of earlier. Dorathi made dinner once they arrived back home. It was already getting late now, nearing 11 PM. Seeing the time, Jacq told her about not attending school again until after the tournament was over.

Even though Dorathi faked her surprise and tried to stop him, she looked forward to what would happen. She knew there was something special about Jacq ever since she had received the mission to keep an eye on him. After eating and doing some stretches that he could, Jacq went to his bedroom.

"Hey System, do I need to take the prescription for the wound? You did say it would be healed on it's own didn't you?" He asked in his mind.

"You do not need to but I recommend you take them to avoid suspicion. There are currently things wrong with your body besides the obvious wound. The wound will heal much faster if you start studying the herbs and ores. The more knowledge you gain, the faster you heal," The System replied with it's neutral voice.

"Alright, I will start researching that in the morning then.

***

*

Jacq woke up late in the morning. Dorathi had decided to let him sleep in due to his injury. She also sent the school a letter which stated that Jacq would be attending home school now. Although this would be suspicious due to his lack of parents, with the signature that was provided on the letter there would be no problem. After eating breakfast and doing his daily exercises to the best of his abilities, Jacq went on the browser using his phone. He started researching about the ores and herbs while keeping his body physique maintained.

As this routine continued, the three seniors dropped by to check on his health. Once they saw that everything was fine, they started to come over less due to the awkward feeling they got whenever there was nothing to talk about as Jacq rarely spoke. In this fashion, sixteen days had already passed. The sixteen days were bountiful, Jacq had learned about multiple herbs and ores as well as their various usages. His shoulder had also healed in this time, the speed shocked Jacq but Dorathi was not surprised. After all, she had placed small amounts of Spiritual herbs in his food to heal him.

Jacq learned from The System that Herbs and Spices would be considered just Herbs. He had learned many names of the herbs and ores on Earth. From the Alfalfa herb, the herb that is used to treat Arthritis, to the herb Aloe which was used to treat minor cuts, scrapes and burns. As for ores, he found that they were separated by grades according to the concentration of the mineral as well as the value of the said ores in the market.

Ever since Jacq woke up, he had learned that his memory became better and his emotions were easier to control. Things would rarely surprise Jacq anymore. The only thing that surprised him is his Progression Bar speed. Spending so much time on learning multiple herbs and ores, Jacq's Progress Bar remained 0. At first he thought this was a mistake of The System, but when he received a response from the neutral voice, his entire being was shaken.

"The herbs and ores you are currently researching are worthless in the Cultivation world. You will need to study Magic Herbs and Magic Ores to progress forward. How you learn these is not my problem," the voice had told him after Jacq had read and memorized majority of the known herbs and ores.

With no other way, Jacq continued his research. Who knows, maybe the herbs and ores of Earth were useless to cultivators, however it might not be true for him. He was still a mortal after all. With some time still left before the random selection of the tournament, Jacq had spent a bit of his inheritance to buy ores, herbs, equipment for forging and the basic manual to start forging. He couldn't find anything for the Apothecary line of work. It seemed to be restricted, especially for someone his age.

Just like this, Jacq spent his time learning the basics of forging. His results were terrible. He would always over stress the materials and end up breaking down the main essence. However, he was not discouraged. His failures pushed him to continue trying his best regardless of his progress. With The System's help, he had started memorizing how to strike the material according to the material as well as how long the material needed to be heated up. Jacq had completely forgotten that he was still a teenage boy, it would be a miracle if he could produce anything without a master to teach him. The only benefit he had was his body had started to become stronger.

He finally ran out of resources a day before the selection for the tournament. Going to sleep early that day, Jacq slept quickly as he looked forward to watching the selection which would determine his race's existence. Unknown to him, he would be much closer to seeing the participants than he imagined.