Cultivation? (1)

"Hey, what are you doing here?.. who are you?"

Red jumped from fright. The voice came from behind him. It was a girl. seemed around his age with a blue apron on, long black hair and green eyes with a pretty face. She had a confused and annoyed facial expression.

The restaurant was old but well cleaned, next to the door was a trash bin, in front of him looked like the kitchen, no one was around, the restaurant wasn't doing well so only the girl worked in the back.. by herself.

"Hey, please let me hide here for a bit. Some guys are after me" Red begs

"What? What did you do?" the girl asked confused.

"Nothing I swear. one of them didn't like the way i looked at him and called his friends to beat me..." Red explained. He did not wish to tell her the whole story, as he needed to convince her quickly.

"Ok, whatever. Are they still outside?" the girl asked as she started approaching the door.

Red leans against the door again and listens in. He could faintly hear them not too far from the door, talking.

"Where the f**k did he go?" One of them asked.

"I don't know, but he probably didn't go far. Stan said he can't run for sh*t" Another spoke.

"What if he's hiding inside? hey Cid, try to open that door, see if it budges."

Hearing this, Red heart jumps and hurriedly looks around the door. No Deadbolt. If you want to lock this door you're going to need a key.

"Hey go inside" the girl ordered. Without hesitation, Red listened to her and ran in.

Suddenly the door creeks open, with at least 5 guys standing on the other side.

"What are you doing? who are you guys?" the girl asked, standing at the entrance.

"Hey beautiful, did some guy run in here? he owes us something but he ran away before we can take it" One of them spoke.

"No one is allowed in here other than staff, sorry" the girl felt a bit threatened. not that they did anything but they were 5 scary guys. All staring at her.

"no problem. You don't need to apologize" Another spoke with a chuckle. "But how about you come hang out with us? We'll have fun don't worry"

Hearing the boy's words, the girl got pissed and said "Ok, we're done here. You can go. Don't bother me at my place of work, i'm not interested"

"Hey, why you have to be rude you f***ing bitch. How about I make you come with us? you'd enjoy it i promise you" They laugh again.

The girl's eyes widen a little from fright then says "Very funny fucker. How about i start screaming? A cop is having lunch here right now, we'll see what he thinks of what you just said"

"Bitch, I promise i'll see you again... let's go" The ugly one spoke.

Hearing everything transpire from around the corner, Red felt like shit. He put a girl that had nothing to do with this in trouble and he couldn't do anything about it.

Red came out from hiding and said with a low voice "Hey. i'm sor..." when he tried to say something she interrupted him.

"You can stay a bit till they're completely gone" she said before walking away.

Red could tell she was shaking and it was his fault. He ran in front of her and held out his hands, blocking her way "I promise i won't forget what you've done for me today. I'll make sure they will never bother you"

"What can you do? you were just running from them, but thanks anyways" she says while a giggle.

"You'll see" Red said with confidence. "But Won't you get in trouble if someone catches me in here?"

"I won't get in trouble, my family owns this restaurant so they won't mind. I have to go back to work though" she said then started to walk away again.

"What's your name? I'm Red"

"It's Anita. I have to go now Red." she smiled back and left.

Red was embarrassed and angry. Except for a few, humans disgusted him.

Driven mostly by their instincts, there is no one civilized, they're no better than animals. his feelings only grew bigger the more he deals with people like that. But he knew he'll make anyone that wronged him pay soon.

Red walks towards the door again, leaning in to listen again. No sound, but he was still concerned. Then he remembered something. The MAP system command he forgot to check.

"MAP"

A window popped up, but not a square one like the rest. It was round in shape with nothing in it. Red was confused, he reached in and taped the map.

'Map unavailable outside of a dungeon.'

"Thought i can do something with it. Guess i'll just peek in" Red thought as he opened the door slightly and looked. None of them was around. "I guess that cop scared them"

Red walked out of the door, he wanted to say goodbye to Anita but didn't want to inconvenience her any longer and headed home, being a little cautious on the way. "What a day" He said with a deep breath "Or 2 days? i don't even know anymore"

Red finally got home. Unlocking the door and entering the empty house. It wasn't a big place. Kitchen, living room, a small backyard and the stairs that went up to the second floor. He walks towards them and goes up to his room to look around for things he doesn't use anymore and can sell.

Looking around, He realized that he didn't own many things. So he thought maybe he can sell his old game cds.

He doesn't play those old games and who uses cds anymore? Red opened a drawer and pulls one out.

"Appraisal" Red mutters.

'CD : Stands for "Compact Disc." CDs are circular discs that are 4.75 in (12 cm) in diameter. (Price : 31.78$).'

"Wow, not bad. I don't think i would get this much if i sold them online" He muttered "But would I get the same price for all them?" Red sells it and grabs another.

CASH (462.69 $).

"Appraisal"

'CD : Stands for "Compact Disc." CDs are circular discs that are 4.75 in (12 cm) in diameter. (Price : 31.78$).'

"the same? So materials and making process perhaps? Whatever, i don't have time for this" Red then grabbed whatever old cds or new ones with trash games and just sits there with a total of 6 cds, selling them all. earning a total of 190.68 $...

CASH (653.37 $).

Red was about to buy the Mana Bolt skill, but stopped himself. He wanted to check the other skills first, thinking that there might be something better he could use.

He remembered, in the filter options, he didn't choose magician. but it was magic. so he read all the options properly.

- Magic / One handed Melee / Two handed Melee / Defense / Ranged / Martial arts / Stealth

"This is a little different, it's like there is no specific class, but what skills do i need? maybe i can build my own class? Well i'm broke and can't afford much so i'll think about this more in the future when i have more money"

With the level filter still on, Red taped the One handed melee option. Another filter popped up and Red taps on it, revealing 5 options.

- One-Handed Sword / One-Handed Axe / Rapier / Dagger / Dual Blades

"Wow, very cool. But I increased my mana. I don't have any of these weapons either to use the skills with, so i guess i'll move on for now.."

Next, Red taps on the Two handed Melee option and goes to the other filter. He knew he wouldn't be using a two handed weapon anyways. He probably can't even carry one handed. Red chuckles.

- Two-Handed Battle Axe / Two-Handed Sword

"Ok, good to know. To the next one then.. Defense"

- Human Tank : Increases Max Health by 2% per piece of Heavy Armor equipped. (Passive)

Price : 1000 $.

- Fortress : [WITH ONE HAND WEAPON AND SHIELD EQUIPPED]

Reduces the cost of One Hand and Shield abilities by 7% and reduces the cost of blocking by 18%. (Active)

Price : 2000 $.

- Defensive posture : You remove the next harmful Direct Damage cast at you. This effect can occur once per cast. (Active)

Price : 2000$

"For level 1 and 2 skills this is not bad, I'm gonna have to save up for Defensive Posture. It seems the most useful for me."

For the ranged option. It was for Bow and Crossbow. with 2 skills.

- Snipe : Plant a masterfully aimed arrow into an enemy's vital spot, Damage dealt differ according to users and skill level. (Active)

Price : 1000$

- Long Shot : Gives you a damage bonus against enemies at longer range. (Passive)

Price : 1000$

For Martial arts Only one skill was available. a very useful skill.

- Body Tempering : this is the first stage of cultivation. Tempered body is the cultivation of one's body. divided into 9 layers (Passive)

Price : 500$

"This is good. Compared to the other skills it's slightly better, but it's cheaper.. why? is it harder to level up? whatever it's perfect for me"

Red Lifted his hand and bought the Body Tempering Skill. he thought it might not be as good as it looks.

He didn't want to do it at first, it was a gamble, but if this skill fails, he'll have no other choice but to sell his console or something valuable he owns.

'Body Tempering skill Successfully purchased'

"Ok. let's see what this is exactly... Skills"

The skills window opened with a new skill in their midst. Red taps on it.

Body Tempering : Tempered Body is divided into 9 layers. See the different layers information.

(level: 0 / Active)

Red Presses on the option.

Tempered Body 1st Layer :

Physical improvements only.

Tempered Body 2nd Layer :

Physical improvements only.

Tempered Body 3rd Layer :

Physical improvements only. Eligible to start training martial art skills. grows in size about 5~10 cm.

Tempered Body 4th Layer :

Only after entering the 4th layer will the advantages of training gradually surface. Also when reaching this Stage the skin hardens. The new skin will become hard like rock or wood. One's strength and resilience will be greatly enhanced.

Tempered Body 5th Layer :

When someone enters this stage his/her bones start to refine. This is called Bone Refining. Which would greatly enhance the toughness of one's bones, resulting in an enormous upgrade in both power, strength and speed. However training speed starts to slow down.

Tempered Body 6th Layer :

When reaching this stage one can refine essence. It takes at least two or three months before the refining force will enter one's bones. You will get faster and your senses will improve.

Tempered Body 7th Layer :

You reach this stage when the essence finally breaks out of the bones and flows into the body. Refining it into the Channels, which are also known as "Meridians". It would flow into the body's internal channels, and then, finally attaining the ability to be able to absorb Energy from between heaven and Earth to train the body. An extremely important step.

Tempered Body 8th Layer :

Essence Power Seed which usually never moved before will suddenly tremble slightly. A faint mist that was previously surrounding the seed turns into a glowing halo as it spiraled around the essence Seed. It will start to flow along the channels and move towards the lower abdomen. However, just as the essence Power Seed reaches the end of your inner body's channel, an invisible resistance will appear. It was like an invisible wall that will immediately stop the Seed in its tracks.

Tempered Body 9th Layer :

When You are able to break the Barrier then you are about to enter this stage. When most people reached Tempered Body 9th Layer, they would usually resume their regular training.

"Wow... this is becoming more and more like those cultivation novels. And the layers... to me they are levels right? ... then it's way easier to cultivate due to the system? It was cheap because of it's difficulty but with the system that doesn't count?" Red sits on his bed and mutters. "Body tempering.." suddenly the skill activates and a progress bar shows up in front of him.

'Body tempering : 1 / 100'

"wow.." Red exclaimed, but when he moved, the skill got canceled.

"So i have to stay still to level this skill up?.. Sure" Red goes and puts on a movie. then sits in a comfortable position and activates the skill.

"Body tempering.."