Home...

~Omniscient Pov~

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'Being home never felt this good...' Yohan slowly went inside, however on his way back, he had already realized that he didn't feel all that tired, nor did he inherently 'feel' the heat or even much of the cold. To be more accurate, he did feel the heat, and he didn't at the same time... The temperature changes didn't affect him negatively in any way shape, or form.

Normally a human would sweat under the sun's gaze, and produce sweat to cool down; but he no longer did, at least in these temperatures. It felt a bit odd at first, but also fine. In a sense, it was almost instinctual, he felt as if his body had the perfect balance between being hot and cold, which would likely be immensely helpful in upcoming exams...

"Yohan!!?"

He heard a voice calling him from inside the home, near the kitchen area. He felt his brain twinge a bit...

He sighed, shaking off the sensation. 'It's gonna be weird having another mother to look after... Especially after losing my—' Yohan cut the thought short, his jaw clenching slightly. His mind quickly drifted to the promise the entity had made him—to take care of his first mother. He knew she was likely devastated, struggling with his sudden death in his old world...

The weight of it all hung over him for a brief moment before he forced himself back into the present. 'But this is my life now. This version of me at least... I have to move forward,' he reminded himself. With one last deep breath, he prepared himself for the conversation awaiting him inside...

"Hey, mom!" He shouted back. Soon, a figure approached him being only an inch shorter than he was. Her eyes were the same as his, as well as her hair being a glossy black. She was quite pretty by his standards.

However, it was a shame someone like her was a widow. From his memories, his father was a good man. He just got caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time...

"Honey, I was worried, you've been gone for a while... Where were you?" She asked, snapping him out of his thoughts a bit.

Yohan hesitated for a brief second, trying to keep his expression calm. This was his new mother, and though he barely knew her, the familiarity in her worry made his heartache... 'It's strange... She feels so real, yet I just got here...' This would take a bit of getting used to for him, he knew that much. However, he could instantly tell that this woman had genuinely loved him.

"I... went out to train a bit," he replied, keeping his tone light. "Needed some fresh air, as well as getting stronger while I'm at it, you know? Sorry if I worried you." He offered a small smile, hoping it would ease her concern.

Her eyes softened, though a hint of doubt remained, "Just... be careful, okay? You know how things can get around here," she said, reaching out to place a hand on his arm.

Yohan nodded, feeling the warmth of her touch. It felt so surreal, but he knew he'd have to settle into this role, no matter how out of place he felt. "I will, Mom. Promise."

She sighed, and gave him a side eye, "Alright young man, just don't overdo it. And please, call me if you're going to go out like that too."

Yohan couldn't help but chuckle a little, even though the moment still felt odd, "I got it, promise. I'll keep you in the loop next time."

"Good; also, you came at the right time, dinner is ready, and standing here chatting away is just gonna make it get colder." 

He slouched a bit, "That wouldn't be too pleasant~ So I'll be heading in first."

With that said, he made his way toward the kitchen, the warmth and smell of dinner greeting him. It was a comforting, almost nostalgic feeling, something he hadn't realized he missed until now. But as he sat down, he couldn't shake the strange mix of emotions stirring inside him—this new life, this new family, and the constant reminder of the one he'd left behind...

Still, for now, he'd have to push those thoughts aside and focus on the meal. There'd be time for everything else later...

~

The next day came quickly, Yohan rose out of his bed and stretched his already loose limbs. 'Ah~ That felt amazing~' He slowly rose up. 'I should get ready for my physical training, and maybe sneak in a bit of Energy training too...'

Soon, he chose to have to train his energy. With that thought, he went into a meditative position on his bed. He closed his eyes, focusing on the surrounding energy in the atmosphere... To train Energy, users would need to absorb it from the surrounding air, absorbing it into themselves and merging it into their own 'Core'.

'The Core is the spiritual aspect of the body, it holds all of one's energy... But, there's more to them... Beings can have more than 1 Core to store their Energy; however, this kind of attribute is innate and cannot be changed or developed like in most cultivation situations. Likewise, someone can have 1 core yet have high Energy potency. This means if someone with a core could deal 1 damage with a potency of 1 is 1 * 1; someone with a potency of 3 can do 1 * 3 and unlike the amount of cores one cannot change, Energy users can increase their potency... But techniques like those are only taught to peak class students from the academy, and not only that. One would have to be both physically and mentally strong enough to manipulate their Energy like that, and 'fold' it to essentially make it denser...'

After sitting still for essentially half an hour, Yohan finally felt the surrounding sparks of energy being absorbed into his body; and soon he slowly felt his energy increasing, albeit barely... Upon looking at his status, he saw that his 'control' stat increased by a mere 0.1 in thirty minutes...

Seeing this, he sighed... 'So... To get an actual point's worth of energy, I'd have to sit still for five hours straight... Yeah, this is gonna be tedious, nor is it going to work out.' At this rate, he knew he had to find a Consolidator to speed up the process. Consolidators are essentially rooms that condense the surrounding energy, essentially halving one's time to cultivate.

But those were ridiculously expensive, and are practically Noble exclusive perks... For now, he'd have to stick to the regular old long way of doing things. 'Alright... Let's aim to get this to at least 4.4.' He closed his eyes and focused again.

~

"I finally did it!!" Yohan smiled from ear to ear. He had been sitting for 4 straight hours, and he finally finished. 'Now I just need to exercise... I'm not gonna have fun... Aren't I...' With a heavy sigh, he got up and warmed up a bit with some jumping jacks and other workouts he remembered from his past life. 

"Alright, I guess it's time to get stronger. Also... I wonder how Ciest and Johnathon are doing..."

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~Omniscient Pov, a few hours later~

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Two figures ran towards the back of a high-tower; Specifically, the male figure had been chasing the female... The female had dark blue hair and golden amber eyes, while the male had light brown hair with sky blue eyes.

"Hahahah! Johnathan~ Stop, We can't do that here." the female called out, her voice carrying a playful edge as she glanced back at him, her laughter ringing out slightly.

Johnathon, grinning widely, picked up his pace. "Come on, Ciest! Just a little more, I'm almost there!" he shouted back, his tone full of both challenge and amusement.

Ciest's laughter grew louder as she maneuvered around a corner, clearly enjoying the chase. "You're impossible!" she teased, but her eyes sparkled with excitement.

"I wouldn't be me if I wasn't-" He smiled slyly, and with a burst of speed and energy, he instantly appeared behind her, grabbing her waist gently.

As Johnathan held Ciest close, a fleeting shadow crossed his expression... His playful demeanor shifted subtly, darkening with a hint of cruelty. "You know, Ciest," he said, his voice dropping to a more serious tone, "it's quite funny though... how someone so young could think he has a chance with you."

Ciest's laughter faltered by a notch, and she tensed slightly in his embrace... "What? What do you mean?"

Johnathan's eyes were cold as he continued, "Yohan's just a kid with a silly crush on you. He has no idea what it means to be with someone like you either. It's almost sad and pathetic, really, the way he pines after you."

Ciest's eyes widened in shock, her smile vanishing as she pushed away from him, creating distance. "Johnathan, that's not fair," she said, her voice edged with hurt. "He's just a kid, and you don't need to be so harsh." she admonished.

Johnathan's expression softened a fraction, though the smirk on his face remained. "I'm just saying it how it is... I didn't intend to be harsh... He's got a lot to learn about life. But it's cute, in a way, the way he looks up to you."

Ciest shook her head, her gaze firm but with a touch of sadness. "Well, maybe you should think about how your words affect others. It's not kind to belittle someone just because you can John."

Johnathan shrugged, the playful glint returning to his eyes. "Fair enough... I'll keep that in mind. But you have to admit, it's kind of amusing to see the way he looks at you. Even though he'll never have you..."

Ciest sighed, the tension between them palpable. "Let's just forget about this for now," she said, taking a step back and forcing a smile. "We've got more important things to focus on."

Johnathan nodded, though his eyes still held a trace of amusement. "Alright, alright. We'll drop it," he said, though the glint in his eyes suggested he wasn't entirely finished with his teasing. Both Johnathon and Ciest are friends with Yohan, while yohan growing up had developed a small infatuation with his female friend that wasn't hard to notice, the younger lad never tried to explore them.

Ciest took a deep breath, trying to shake off the discomfort from the conversation... She adjusted her stance, trying to regain her composure. "So, what's next on our agenda?" she asked, attempting to redirect the focus to something more positive.

Johnathan's grin widened as he put a more playful spin on his demeanor. "Well, we could always explore the tower more, or maybe head back to town and grab something to eat. What do you think?"

Ciest's eyes softened as she considered the options, the earlier tension easing slightly. "I'm up for exploring a bit more. This tower has so many hidden corners. Let's see what else we can find."

Johnathan's expression brightened, and he took her hand gently. "Sounds like a plan. Lead the way, madam."

~

"Why do I feel as if someone was talking about me?" Yohan simply shrugged off the thought. He had just finished his workout a few minutes ago, however, he had realized something during his workout, and not only that. He had realized it just a day prior...

'I really had no hope...' That was what he surmised. He lacked talent of any kind, a literal blank slate. What you would expect of a normal human being back on earth is what he was before rebirthing here.

Which essentially boils down to his insipid physique... 'I don't have an ounce of muscle or anything, I'm just flesh and almost bones.' Yohan sighed at this. However, he wasn't much better in his previous life, but he was likely built better even if they had a similar stature... The only decent thing he could pinpoint about himself was his intelligence compared to every other stat he possessed. 

That made sense since he had a higher talent level for it, but regardless of that, he focused on intelligence rather than muscle, but that could only get you so far... In this world, you needed both brawn and brains to help you reach far, or be fodder...

However, this problem has been fixed... Sort of. 

'I'm glad I got that ability of regeneration... Those micro-tears in my muscles will take me half the time to recover, but I still need to fix my stamina issue.' He flexed a bit. Despite having time to recover torn musculature, not adding the time to use his energy to help, he still needed to fox his stamina or endurance, it was his lowest stat. What was helping him was that 70% buff he had from one of his plunders1...

'I might as well go look for some more bugs to consume, they give me some insane boons-' Just as he was about to finish his thought, he saw an infamous little critter crawling about, and he smiled for a moment.

"Time to die little roach!" Without a moment's hesitation, he stomped onto it, killing it. Soon, the pop-up came again, and this time, he was surprised.

"No wonder these things are so hard to kill, they can regenerate, who knew?" Without much hesitation, he picked up the perks he needed the most, and after a few minutes of undergoing grueling pain again; He had ended up with these as his abilities;

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Name: [Yohan Newman] Age: [16] Height: [169.2 cm] Race: Human

(NEW) Stamina (SP): [End*10 = 40 * 1.70 = 68] / [68]

Active Skills (Toggleable);

Fast Scurrying {C}: Allows for rapid movement and quick escape from predators or threats. Enhances speed by 50% for short bursts, costs 5 SP per second, with a cooldown of 2 seconds.

Passive Skills;

Titanic Jaw strength {A-}: Your jaw muscles are now +2400% stronger.

Hard Carapace {B-}: Provides significant protection against physical damage, reducing impact from most attacks and environmental hazards by +80%.

High Resilience {B-}: Grants resistance to physical damage and environmental stress, such as extreme temperatures or lack of food and water.

Environmental Adaptation {B}: Highly adaptable to various environments, including extreme temperatures, high humidity, and low oxygen levels.

Rapid Regeneration {B-}: Accelerates healing of minor and limb-like injuries, allowing for quicker recovery from damage by +250%.

Climbing Mastery {C}: Excellent ability to climb vertical surfaces, including smooth or rough textures, thanks to specialized claws and legs.

Talents Tab;

Survival Instincts {C}: Increases likelihood of avoiding danger by 40%, with enhanced reflexes and behavioral adaptations.

Resourceful Scavenger {D+}: Efficient at finding and utilizing available resources, including food and shelter, in various environments.

Adaptable Feeder {D+}: Allows consumption of a wide variety of food sources, including organic waste, with minimal nutritional needs.

Enhanced Sensory Detection {C+}: You are now highly sensitive to environmental changes and vibrations, allowing early detection of predators and obstacles with ease.

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'No wonder my jaws feel like this... I could do some real damage with them...' Not only that, his skills were stacking up nicely. He almost had 40 different skills overall. And it's only his second day in this world. Still, even with these skills, he's likely fodder for most students at the academy... 

'Even then, the way how my ability works is nothing short of divine... Not only that, if the skills have a decent enough discrepancy between themselves, they practically become skills in their own right, and those boost me on top of my other boosts. Talents aren't just physical, they're straight up beyond just physical aspects. I essentially had a 6th sense for food and attackers.' He smiled, realizing that he was truly blessed to have this kind of power.

If one day he does gain base strength on the same level as his peers, he'd essentially be unstoppable... At least, he thinks so. He couldn't inherently judge based on what he didn't know, and being at the lowest of the low means he didn't have that luxury.

With a sigh, he quickly put on his shoe, "I still have around 2 hours left before my mom gets home... I might as well use that time to do something else, but what?" He was still quite tired from all the workouts he did today.

Yohan walked through the busy city streets, feeling worn out from his intense training. The sun was setting, casting long shadows on the pavement. As he wandered, he noticed a crowd gathered around a makeshift stage in the town square. A banner hung above, announcing an open-arm wrestling competition.

He hesitated at first. He'd heard about people with special energy abilities and didn't want to end up facing someone with those kinds of powers. But the sign clearly stated no energy users were allowed, so he figured it might be a good chance to try something new without risking a showdown with someone...

'I might as well, most of these guys don't even have Energy either...' After a moment of thought, Yohan decided to join in. He signed up and soon found himself waiting in line. He looked around at the crowd—some people were cheering excitedly, while others watched with focused eyes. When it was his turn, he walked up to the arm wrestling table.

'Whaoh...' Yohan had to actually look up the person...

His opponent was a giant of a man, easily towering at least 6'9" maybe even 6'10". The man's sheer size and muscle mass were definitely intimidating.

The referee, a big guy with a loud voice, glanced between Yohan and his opponent. "Ready? Go!" he shouted, slamming his hand down on the table.

Yohan grabbed the man's hand, feeling the rough, strong grip. As soon as the match started, he realized just how strong his opponent was. The man's arm felt like a solid wall, and Yohan struggled to move it. 'He's hella strong for someone without Energy...' Despite his perks, Yohan was slowly but surely barely managing to budge the guy.

"T-The kid's winning!?"

"Looks like old Titan is gonna go down tonight boys!!" The men cheered in the back.

Yohan on the other hand was trying his hardest to push through the strain, he tapped into as much of his core strength, using all the energy he had. The crowd's noise faded as he focused... Sweat dripped down his face...

'Go down already Damn It!!!' He shouted in his mind.

With a final, determined effort, Yohan managed to push the man's arm down onto the table. The crowd cheered, and Yohan, though exhausted, felt a bit of satisfaction from downing someone that big. He had taken on his first opponent and won... 

"WHOOOAAHH, THE KID WON!!!!"

"NEW KID! NEW KID!! NEW KID!!!"

The man let out a frustrated yell, slamming his free hand on the table... For a moment, it seemed like his pride had taken a hit. But then, much to Yohan's surprise, the man cracked a smile, shaking his head in disbelief. It was clear he hadn't expected to lose.

"Well, I'll be damned," he said, offering Yohan a handshake. "Didn't think a kid would beat me. Nice job, be proud even. Let's have a rematch next time" The man shook Yohan's hand, and Yoha returned the gesture, however, that wasn't all...

*DING!*

'What..?' He heard the sound of the System, and when he looked at the panel and saw the perks of the man; to say he was surprised would be an understatement...

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Here's the status panel, adjusted for a human character with the desired traits and closely matching your main character's setup:

[Name]: [Silas Black] Race: [Human] Age: [35] Height: [210 cm]

Physique;

Strong: Provides an additional +50% growth rate for physical attributes.

Physical Growth Rate: {D-}

Mental Growth Rate: {F+}

Skills Tab:

Active Skills (Toggleable); None

Passive Skills;

Combat Expertise {C}: Provides proficiency in hand-to-hand combat and weapon handling. Increases damage output by 20% and reduces incoming damage by 10%.

Enhanced Reflexes {C}: Improves reaction time by 30%, allowing quicker responses to sudden threats.

Iron Will {B-}: Increases mental resistance to psychological manipulation and pain by +40%.

Physical Endurance {C}: Grants a +25% boost to stamina and resistance to fatigue.

Spatial Awareness {C-}: Enhances the ability to sense the environment and detect movements, improving tactical positioning.

Talents;

Tactical Insight {C+} (Hidden): Improves decision-making in high-pressure situations, granting a +20% boost to strategy execution and leadership.

Focused Mind {B}: Enhances concentration and cognitive abilities, improving learning speed and memory retention by +35%.

Astounding Stature {A}: Provides an increase in height of no less than 195 cm to a maximum of 210 cm.

Broad shouldered {B-}: Your shoulders are broad, even for your physique.

Hairy {F-}: You grow bodily hair by +250% faster than a normal human being.

Full Chests Muscles {B+}: Your chest is quite the sight to behold...

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To say Yohan was surprised would be an understatement, Without a moment's hesitation. He plundered all that he needed from the man and left behind all the useless skills. Luckily, he had the option to not absorb them instantly, which was good.

On the outside, however, Yohan simply smiled and shook the man's hand... However in his mind, the man was practically nonexistent, his goal was to get home and absorb these into himself as fast as possible.

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END