Muscle Gain

With a lethal strike, the Corpse Beast's head shattered, blood and flesh splattering.

A spiritual source emerged, swiftly shooting towards Simon's forehead.

New information flashed in his mind.

"Level 1 Spiritual Source Holder: Sources 9/10"

Excitement surged through Simon's heart; he was only one spiritual source away from completing the set.

Uttering a low growl, Simon charged forward.

The Corpse Beasts, awakened and abandoning their feast on the one-eyed frog's corpse, swarmed towards Simon.

Except for the one whose head he just smashed, there were still five left before him.

Simon calculated silently; he felt a twinge of regret at their small number. He had developed a fondness for these low-level Corpse Beasts, weak in strength yet able to provide him with spiritual sources. More of them would be even better.

With a swift movement, Simon tracked the attacking trajectories of these low-level Corpse Beasts with his eyes, effortlessly dodging, then striking down with his hammer once more.

With a thud, another Corpse Beast collapsed, a spiritual source appearing from its body and flying towards Simon.

"Level 1 Spiritual Source Holder: Sources 10/10"

"Done." Simon felt somewhat exhilarated.

As his spiritual sources reached 10/10, a strong surge of heat rushed through his body, followed immediately by a powerful burst of energy. 

In that instant, his strength, speed, reflexes, sensory perception, and overall physical capabilities all underwent significant enhancement and strengthening. Deep within, he even felt a flutter of joy.

It was an indescribable excitement.

In his mind, messages continued to appear one after another.

"Promotion initiated, successful promotion."

"Level 2 Spiritual Source Holder: Sources 0/20."

"Basic Enhancement: Strong Lungs Type I."

"Special Skill: Glimpse Rune (Incomplete)."

"Enhancement Selection: Improve Strong Lungs Type I, strengthen stomach, enhance muscles; only one choice can be made."

Feeling the surging power within him, Simon sensed that with his advancement to a Level 2 Spiritual Source Holder, his strength had increased by nearly a hundred pounds. If previously he could exert five hundred pounds of force with both arms, now he could unleash no less than six hundred pounds of force.

The four remaining undead creatures surged towards Simon. Without time to choose which part to strengthen, he swung his hammer continuously. Though the hammer was not long, it was made of iron and carried substantial weight. Despite being light for Simon's current strength, it still unleashed formidable destructive power. A single strike from his hammer could shatter bones instantaneously, even the toughest skull wouldn't withstand it.

In a single blow, Simon once again shattered the skull of one of the undead creatures. As it collapsed, spiritual sources emerged, assimilating into his body with little observable change. 

With his increasing strength, the transformations triggered by absorbing these spiritual sources grew minimal, nearly negligible now. What surprised him most was that despite absorbing the spiritual sources, no new messages appeared in his mind.

"What's going on?" Simon was momentarily puzzled. He proceeded to dispatch the remaining three undead creatures in succession. Although he absorbed their spiritual sources, there was still no discernible change.

He still needed twenty more spiritual sources to advance further. "Could it be that becoming a Level 2 Spiritual Source Holder means these undead creatures are too low-level for their spiritual sources to be of any use?"

Simon pondered briefly, contemplating this possibility. If indeed true, it would signify that his path to greater strength would become challenging, necessitating the hunting of stronger monsters.

"As a Level 2 Spiritual Source Holder, I have gained another opportunity for enhancement. Now, there are three choices: to continue reinforcing Strong Lungs Type I, strengthen the stomach, or enhance the muscles. Which part should I choose to strengthen?"

"Strong Lungs Type I enhances lung capacity, extending breath-holding time by two minutes. Opting for this enhancement should significantly increase my breath-holding capability."

"I wonder what abilities strengthening the stomach and muscles would confer."

Simon understood the critical importance of breath-holding time in a city submerged by floods. With his enhanced physical condition, his breath-holding capacity already exceeded two minutes. Adding the enhancement from Strong Lungs Type I meant he could now hold his breath for a total of four minutes.

"Four minutes should be sufficient for now. Even if I were to fall into the water, this duration would allow ample time to resurface for air. If I couldn't surface within that time, it would likely mean encountering something terrifying. Even a few extra minutes of breath-holding might not be enough."

After much consideration, Simon, driven by curiosity about enhancing other bodily parts, ultimately chose to strengthen his muscles. Based on his own speculation, he believed that muscle enhancement was closely tied to strength. His experience battling the one-eyed frog had taught him that strength was paramount; only with sufficient strength could he hunt down stronger adversaries.

Upon selecting muscle enhancement, new information immediately surfaced in his mind. Simultaneously, he felt unusual changes coursing through all his muscles.

"Basic enhancement achieved: Muscle Growth Type I"

"The muscles have been fundamentally strengthened, gaining an increase of one hundred pounds in strength, enhanced muscle control, and improved muscle resilience."

Simon took a deep breath, feeling every muscle in his body become active. His chest, abdominal muscles, arms, thighs, and calves were visibly swelling and bulging. Waves of strength surged from these muscles. Moreover, he found that his control over them had improved. With a mere thought, he could strengthen his muscles, making them harder and enhancing their ability to withstand strikes.

"Indeed remarkable, all my muscles have been enhanced. According to the messages, Muscle Growth Type I can strengthen my strength by one hundred pounds. Not only has my strength been enhanced, but it seems I can also consciously control these muscles, making any muscle swell and harden at will. In this state, I can withstand some degree of attacks."

Simon attempted to control his muscles, feeling both amazed and delighted. Breaking through to become a Level 2 Spirit Source user, his strength increased by approximately one hundred pounds. With his arms now capable of exerting six hundred pounds of force, and now comprehending "Muscle Growth Type I," he gained an additional one hundred pounds of power. It could be said that the strength he could unleash between his arms was now no less than seven hundred pounds.

Seven hundred pounds, three hundred and fifty kilograms, for Simon, a regular office worker who rarely exercised, this was an unimaginably powerful force.

This meant that Simon's arms could now lift five individuals each weighing an average of 70 kilograms.

"The Spirit Source is truly astounding, capable of making one so powerful. Moreover, I can become even stronger. Unfortunately, it now requires twenty Spirit Sources, and obtaining them from these low-level corpse beasts is no longer effective."