Time To Get Grinding [Part 1]

After losing consciousness, Ethan found himself having a strange dream. He stood in the middle of a vast plain with nothing else in his sights except for an enormous tree. The gigantic tree stood tall and overbearing, it's branches stretching all the way to the clouds in the sky.

Completely taken aback by the sight, Ethan wanted to move closer in order to get a better look at the mysterious tree. However before he could take even a single step forward, a tiny bearded man whose head didn't even go past Ethan's knee suddenly came into his view. The little man strutted towards him with a purpose, brandishing a comically large wooden cane in his tiny hands.

"Scram!" Scoffed the little man in a surprisingly deep tone as he went ahead and swung the end of his cane at Ethan's head, much to the latter's shock and horror.

°

"Leprechaun!"

BAM!

Ethan's eyes snapped open, and he jolted upright, his head slamming right into someone's shield. He winced, rubbing his now throbbing temples.

The person who held the shield, jumped a little in fright when he saw Ethan suddenly get up. However he quickly put that aside when he realized he had hit Ethan with his shield.

"Ah! I'm so sorry about that!" The man apologized hurriedly, rushing to help Ethan get to his feet.

Ethan pressed his hand against his sore forehead in an attempt to numb the pain. "Don't worry about it. May I know what's going on here?"

"R-Right!" The young man placed his shield on the ground and put a hand on his chest. "My name is Tim Gregore, young sir. I work as one of the attendants of the motel."

Ethan nodded slowly. "Uh huh. And what exactly are you doing in my room wearing that armor and carrying that shield?"

Ethan gestured at the light leather armor that the man donned on his body. The attendant scratched his head in embarrassment, seemingly hesitant to elaborate any further.

However Ethan waited patiently, waiting for the attendant to elaborate his story.

Reluctantly, Tim finally decided to explain. "About twenty minutes before this, the manager told me he thought he heard a cry of pain come from this room and asked me to investigate it. When I first walked in, I saw you laying on the floor of the room with a dark and sinister-looking energy surrounding your body."

The attendant shuddered, remembering the horrifying scene. "I had assumed some malevolent spirit had attacked the young sir and was attempting to possess your body. However I didn't want to jump to any conclusions yet so I immediately rushed to grab my armor and shield before investigating any further."

Ethan nodded in understanding. "I see. So I've only been out for twenty minutes or so"

[Pandora: 26 minutes, 13 seconds exactly.]

Hearing Pandora's voice, Ethan suddenly remembered the whole reason he had passed out in the first place. However, before he could ask her anything, Tim piped up again.

"Forgive me for my rudeness, young sir, but are you perhaps a cultivator?" asked Tim with an inquisitive gaze.

Ethan simply nodded in reply.

Tim smacked his forehead. "Now it all makes sense. You must have just been cultivating earlier using some unique cultivation technique."

Ethan simply stared at him, making no move to correct him.

Tim clapped his hands together. "Well, if everything is fine then there's no need for me to be here anymore. Have a good rest of your day, young sir."

"You too." Ethan replied with a wave of his hand as the door closed behind the attendant.

Without wasting another moment, Ethan walked to his bed and sat down. "Pandora, what's my current condition?"

[Pandora: Report. Host has successfully evolved into a unique angelic variant race.

Pending system notifications: 7]

Ethan let out a sigh of relief. "It seems our gamble paid off, partner."

[Pandora: Report. The soul of <Riven Zephyr> has entered a temporary slumber due to overexertion.

Estimated time of recovery: 23H:59M:48s]

Ethan's eyes blinked in surprise when he saw this. "Overexertion? Did something go wrong?"

[Pandora: A slight miscalculation occured that was quickly rectified upon the interference of <Riven Zephyr>.]

"Is that so? Well, if it's like that then I don't see any need to pay it any mind." Ethan dismissed the matter, completely oblivious to the fact that he had almost died a second time. "Open system menu."

_____

{HOST INFORMATION}

- Name: Ethan Corvus

- Age: 14

- Race: Cursed Angel

- Languages: Bipedal English

- Profession: None

- Sub-Profession: None

- Level: 0

{STATS}

- HP: 50

- MP: 50

- Strength: 10 (Max)

- Agility: 10 (Max)

- Intelligence: 10 (Max)

- Vitality: 10 (Max)

- Endurance: 10 (Max)

- Defense: 10 (Max)

Note: You have reached the stat limit of your current level. Please level up in order to increase stats any further.

{SKILLS}

- Sword Mastery: Dawnbringer's Sword Technique (Level 1)

- Combat Mastery: Griffin Claw Fighting Style (Level 1)

- Appraisal (System Skill)

- Assimilation (System Skill)

- Universal Lingo (Racial Skill)

- Plummage (Racial Skill) <Locked >

{EQUIPMENT}

- Basic clothing (weak)

{TITLES}

- Progenitor (Equiped)

- Perfect Constitution (Fixed Title)

{PROGRESSION}

- Experience Points: 0 / 100

- Skill Points: 0

_____

"Holy crap!" exclaimed Ethan in amazement as he looked at the status menu in front of him.

If he still kept any grudge against his partner for putting him through unimaginable pain, it was long gone now. Even calling himself broken wasn't even justice to describe this remarkable improvement.

To put into perspective, the average person's highest stat at level 0 would be 6 and their lowest stat, 2.

However, because of the potent angelic essence he had consumed, Ethan had maxed out all his stats before even taking a single step in his cultivation journey. Blood rushed wildly through his veins in excitement as Ethan checked some of the details of the rewards he had gained.

_____

{TITLES}

• Progenitor (Equipped):

- A title given only to the first of their kind. Grants the host 20% additional exp points.

• Perfect Constitution (Fixed Title):

- A title worthy of those that chase the heights of perfection and balance within themselves.

Upon leveling up, the stats of the host will simultaneously increase by +1.

_____

'I just keep getting more broken the more I read!' Ethan thought to himself in amusement. 'These will definitely come in handy as I grow stronger'

Ethan's eyes then landed on his skill panel, checking the two new skills he had received.

_____

{SKILLS}

• Universal Lingo (Racial Skill):

- This skill allows the host to automatically and perfectly understand, speak or mimic any language in the universe, regardless of the race.

• Plummage (Racial Skill):

- Allows the host to grow a pair of angel wings on their back. Can be freely deployed and retracted at anytime.

Skill Status: Locked. Host must be at the peak of the Vitalis Stage before using this skill.

_____

Ethan raised a brow in surprise. "Two very helpful abilities. Shame I won't be able to fly yet though. And lastly–"

His eyes shifted to the last new thing on his system menu, his race.

_____

<Cursed Angel>

- A unique angelic variant, never before seen by anyone in the universe. Cursed Angels are experts in the arts of curses and dark magic.

_____

"So that's why I received the progenitor title.", Ethan realized. "Feels kind of good to know that I'm different from a basic angel."

Having finished with that, Ethan got to his feet and went to examine his physical appearance in the bathroom. He was surprised to see that he had grown a foot taller, making him look like a young adult instead of the 14 year old that he was. His physic, that had been lean and a little frail before was now toned and more robust. His hair had also gotten darker and more silk-like, enhancing his already handsome features even more.

"I'll have to thank Riven once he wakes up", Ethan muttered to himself, flexing his arm. "I'm so glad I listened to him."

Putting that thought aside, Ethan decided to check out of the motel and leave the city all together. He wanted to get as far away as he could from his grandfather's city and start making a name for himself with his own hands as soon as possible.

If it was before he met Riven, Ethan would have never even entertained the thought of getting back at his family. After all, the dead could never do anything to the living. But things were different now.

'Just you wait...' Ethan's silver eyes darkened coldly. 'I promise I'll make sure you regret everything you did to me.'

Ethan hailed a cab and made his way to the western edge of the city where one of the main gates were. The closest city to Cygnus was Aurumville, a place popularly known for its vast trade and wealth. It was about a day and half's journey away and to get there one had to pass through a stretch of forest known as The Caliginia woods. The forest was filled with beginner level beasts and Ethan planned to take his time on his journey while he leveled up.

Reaching the western gates, Ethan paid the toll and walked out of Cygnus. Not even bothering to give the place where he had grown up one last glance.

_____

A/N: I have just uploaded the power scaling system, cultivation ranks and other important info in the auxillary chapter. Feel free to check it out.