Unforeseen Benefit & Elusive Questions

Outside, the sky above Crescent Wake Town was dark, it was nighttime and Kaiden was shocked by the desolation of the streets. The NPCs now rested in their residences and a majority of the user population was offline, the only select few still within the game were the ones who logged on late in the day or users like Kaiden who owned a GRVIP.

'What time is it?'

Looking, the timer read 64th hour. As for the real date, the system determined it was September 14th, 9:19 PM. In just a few short hours, it would once again be daylight in-game. Using this opportunity, Kaiden started the log-out process as he was aware there were a few things he needed to take care of.

However, at that moment, a mountainous amount of notifications rang, the delay between each noise was basically nonexistent. An expansive list appeared before Kaiden's view. There were multiple messages from different categories.

Whether messages from his friend, system notifications regarding his physique or messages from inquiring Lifestyle players, the list went on.

'Holy crap...it seems that inside Arrivdar, messages are unable to connect and only once I leave the connection is reestablished. Interesting.'

Fortunately, nothing extreme happened and this was just questions inquiring which road to take as of this moment. The guild's capacity increased to 142/200, but Kaiden was shocked by this. Based on the number of applicants on the first day, Kaiden assumed it would already be filled.

That idea was rejected when he read the last message Gentle Whisper sent him.

Gentle Whisper: "Key, based on the number of applicants. I'm going to revise the requirements, increasing the level to 17 and making the questions stricter. I have a feeling you would want to elite amongst the general masses."

Kaiden didn't reply and just nodded as this message was sent 2 days ago. He supported her idea wholeheartedly, but he wasn't looking for the expert players as they went already contractually tied to many major guilds. Kaiden was looking for people around his age group that he could propel past the past generation.

He was skeptical of accepting any well-known or questionable people as the major guilds had tendencies to plant moles in foreign guilds to establish an information channel; there was no real workaround, therefore, Kaiden just supported a stricter recruitment system.

Filtering Kaiden found nothing until 1 message stood out, it was a weird one.

Symbolic Soul: "To grasp one's inner voice to the extreme, is to rejoice the outer for what it is. Do you agree?"

'HUH?! What the hell are they talking about?' Kaiden couldn't quell his curiosity and therefore replied.

"If I rejoice the outer, wouldn't my inner self already be liberated? For without free restraints, we are unable to embrace ourselves."

Instantly, a friend request was sent which baffled Kaiden.

'System: 'Lv.26 Symbolic Soul' has sent you a friend request.'

Accepting, Kaiden was next presented with a video call request, which Kaiden answered as he was idle at the moment.

A blonde-haired priest popped up, his eyes were blacker than the abyss, and his eyebrows sharp.

Symbolic Soul: "Hello Unsheated, my question really had no meaning but I didn't expect such a profound response teetering on answering the truth. You must truly have an inquisitive mind."

"I don't think so, your question only puzzled me. How may I help you?"

Symbolic Soul: "I wanted to take a quick glimpse into your mindset and see whether you truly cultivate the mind or were just one of those arrogant talents. I have made my choice. May I join your guild? I am an Lv.26 Apprentice Paladin, with 4 main stats."

'4 main stats? He must have had his share of fortuitous encounters.'

"Sure, however, what are the properties of a Paladin? The game still lacks information on these things."

Symbolic Soul: "Ah, take the slightly reduced health and defense of a Shield Warrior, sprinkle in the buffs of an oracle but only in the defensive department and viola, Paladin."

Nodding, Kaiden sent a guild invite to Symbolic Soul, as this person had a genuine feel to him not to mention, he was a defensive support class but already Lv.26. This alone spoke worlds about his usefulness or talent for that matter.

Welcome the 4th rank Saintly General, the Impenetrable Holy Fortress, the path of recognition was underway.

Ending the call, Kaiden finally logged out.

Psssshzzzt~

The GRVIP housing Kaiden emitting a low humming noise followed by the expulsion of a cooling air blast. Kaiden sat up and exited the pod. Waking up this time was leagues better than before, there was no spinning sensation and a wave of bodily hunger. However, Kaiden attributed this to the wrong thing.

What surprised Kaiden was that his mind was actually more focused! He realized that now his brain was supporting two trains of thought, not only was his brain processing the activities he needed to do, it was also thinking of a way to produce income. His concentration was improving, and drastically at that.

'Could Kairo's training regiment have an unforeseen effect on my natural brain? No...there's no way a game could affect my physical body. ITS A GAME! Remove the notion from my brain.'

However, logically, the more Kaiden pondered this notion, the more Kaiden felt it could be the case. As he was still left without an explanation as to why he experienced an early Celluar Phenomenon.

'Hmm...what events took place between the time frame of the Cellular Phenomenon occurrence and me being in-game.'

Pondering, Kaiden sat on a nearby chair in front of his desk. He became lost in thought as rapidly recounted the events of his first day in World's Destiny, until finally, it hit him; an epiphany.

'That fruit! After ingesting the fruit, I was in intense mental pain, similar to the pain when I train with Kairo. On this premise, that means intense mental stimulation promotes physical growth! But...is that all its really limited to?'

Unable to resist, Kaiden sat down in the lotus position. He had to confirm his theory; calming his mind Kaiden focused solely on himself. He began following the breathing circulation sequence performed by Kairo.

The effects were nonexistent as within the first 30 minutes there was no reaction. However, 2 minutes later, a change occurred Kaiden's cells began expelling Celluar Energy into his muscles in trace amounts.

The ensuing result was a murky sweat that began covering his skin as his muscles began expelling impurities in the Celluar Energy. Opening his eye, Kaiden was shocked.

'Who developed the basis of this game?! How can it affect reality? This is preposterous, out of this world! Wait... speaking of out of this world. That ethereal voice...it didn't reside in the world. How could I have overlooked this...we aren't alone in this universe or whatever the broader spectrum is called. This just leaves more unanswered questions.'

Kaiden approached the GRVIP to take the last 'Grade 4 VitaShake' that was in the chamber as he had the daily automatic consumption set to 1. However, to his surprise all VitaShakes he stored in the supplement feature was emptied.

'!!, What?! My body even absorbed all that serum in 3 days? No wonder I feel not an ounce of fatigue. However, I need to refill this.'

Attempting to run downstairs, Kaiden tripped over a stack of 3 metal containers. However, through pure instincts, he recovered midair and stuck a proper landing avoiding an embarrassing fall.

'Ah, either Mom or Zeek placed the delivery in here while I was occupied in-game. Thank goodness."

Opening a singer container, Kaiden realized Tyler had the VitaShakes separated by Grade, and this one contained over 70 'Grade 4 VitaShakes'. Locating the Grade 5 case, Kaiden one held one in his hand.

It constantly baffled Kaiden, how a serum so cold could temper the body and cause hard to describe scorching internal pain. Kaiden pondered if his body could handle the potency of a Grade 5 VitaShake but then realized his body already experienced a Celluar Phenomenon meaning his cellular anatomy was at the level of 'Grade 5 VitaShakes' undoubtedly.

Although this may be true, as Kaiden ingested his first 'Grade 5 VitaShake', he came to realized that having a physique at the level and actually experiencing firsthand was two completely different notions.

Once again, Kaiden forced himself on his knees an infernal sensation coursing through every component of his being. Muffling his pained groans, Kaiden gripped the carpet. Despite having experienced great mental pain, this initial feeling was always unbearable. It was akin to someone opening his mouth and throwing molten metal from a furnace into his internals.

Due to his increased capabilities, the carpet Kaiden was gripping was gradually being ripped to shreds. In fact, if his hands reached the surface underneath, there was no doubt that his hands would win in a battle of integrity.

Thankfully, it didn't escalate to that extent. Kaiden's rational mind began overpowering the sensation and in due time the reaction subsided. The initial combustion of the chemical chains formed from VitaShake ingestion was always intense.

Regaining control, Kaiden started to circulate the breathing sequence in tandem with the hypersensitive and saturated state of his cells. This combination boosted the efficacy by at least 100%, within 3 minutes, Kaiden's muscles were writhing.

In contrast to the event taking place in Kaiden's body, his mind was experiencing pure euphoria as he unearthed a way to cultivate his real body quicker and faster than simply ingesting VitaSahkes and relying on exhaustive training. He could now establish a three-pronged approach.

Firstly, he would begin with exhaustive training. Secondly, he would follow up with VitaShake ingestion, and lastly, he would further amplify the efficacy with the breathing sequence. His plans were now well-developed.

Not only would he begin to reach a level beyond the masses, but he would also instruct his guildmates and create his own real legion because, in the back of his mind, he kept experiencing this eerie feeling.

It was a viable plan, only it wouldn't progress at the rate Kaiden did because simply put; he was already enhanced before the enhancement through serums. Therefore, even the developer probably wouldn't be able to calculate that someone could emulate the game's effects so early.

This was a feature to be discovered only when the publics' brains began experiencing enough compound strain or the old illogical monsters who drink Grade 10 VitaShakes like water and have inhuman brain functions or physique in general.

Now, the blessed by plot armor Kaiden has stumbled across this benefit relatively early in the timeline. Oh no, whatever could happen?

Performing this action for 2 hours by the end, Kaiden was covered in grime. However, his senses deepened a degree and he was able to discern the heartbeat of his brother next. Furthermore, his Omniscient Influence Domain increased to 3 feet. Unfortunately, he was inexperienced in the way of applying this auxiliary device. Not to mention, he was nowhere near the state of instinctual activation; it required too much of his focus to even begin deploying the sphere of influence.

Showering, he pondered the aspects needed to begin training this personal domain. He understood that ingesting VitaShakes would only increase the strength or rather area of his influence; familiarity was a completely different entity. Only through repetition would he increase his experience, ultimately coming to the conclusion - train in the same fashion he did with Kairo.

Returning to his room, Kaiden sat in a simple lotus position as he encased himself in his Realm of Omniscient Influence. 1 foot...1.5 feet...2.2 feet, slowly the intangible area began leaking and expanding until it reached the limit of 3 feet.

At this output, Kaiden sustained the sphere of influence for 2 minutes before began feeling overdraft. 2 minutes and 10 seconds in his eyes began to feel a building pressure. 2 minutes and 15 seconds in a splitting headache was forming. 2 minutes and 20 seconds, the sphere of influencing began to involuntarily regress.

2 minutes and 30 seconds from the start, Kaiden laid on the ground gasping. His muscles felt like lead due to his brain lacking the capacity. It took 30 minutes before Kaiden recovered from his previous experiment, and there were 4 minutes before it was daylight in World's Destiny.

Using this small window, Kaiden loaded 7 'Grade 5 VitaShakes' into the GRVIP's supplement chamber, maximizing the stock as he laid down and prepared to log back into World's Destiny.

Inside the game...

As he spawned into the streets of the Crescent Wake Town, the amber sun was in the midst of rising. The indigo sky gradually changing into a stunning amber gold, followed by an exuberant pale orange, blending into a blueish yellow until finally, it settled at a bright cerulean blue.

Once again, avoiding leveling Kaiden headed directly for the Forgotten Anomaly Realm, as he determined the benefits of practicing with Kairo completely eclipsed the benefits leveling could provide; there was no contest.

In due time, Kaiden was greeted by the sight of Latahhya and Kairo. Her complexion was much more vibrant, the immediate effects of practicing energy were becoming evident. For a moment, Kaiden shuddered. He could feel a subtle change in Latahhya's feelings as he gazed at her. A slight but warm smiled crept upon her countenance.