Chapter 13 - Introspection (Part 1)

He probably wasn't going to get any answers to his questions. It would remain another mystery that he would have to solve in the future.

This left a sour taste in his mouth. Sure, it was definitely good to gain these special abilities. Especially as someone from another world, he appreciated all the help he could get in order to remain competitive compared to the natives of that world.

However, he wished these things were a little bit more straightforward, rather than working in a cryptic and vague manner. Something like an instruction manual would be nice to have.

However, it seemed like the Heavens liked to toy around with people down below. It was akin to giving a gaming console to someone in the Middle Ages without even explaining what that thing did and how it worked.

Now he had two abilities that he had to first, try and figure out how they worked exactly, and second, how he even got them in the first place.

Someone else might ignore the latter question, but Arthur didn't think that was sensible. Who knows what sort of conspiracy he could be embroiled in now that he was chosen to carry these blessings. These types of abilities could indeed be a blessing, but for the weak and unprepared, they would be a curse instead.

So he was feeling slightly conflicted about receiving these things.

For now, he had no choice but to forget about their origins. Trying to find anything out right now would be a fruitless endeavor. He was too weak and too lacking in knowledge.

It would be in his interest instead to first learn how these two abilities worked, down to the most minute detail, and second, to use them to increase the rate of his strength growth.

In that world, strength was king. So, in the end, if he never managed to learn exactly how and why he got those abilities, if he was indeed involved in a grand conspiracy and his life was at stake, the best option would be to simply become stronger than whoever was planning on using him in the first place.

Becoming so strong that all this scheming and petty tricks held no meaning anymore.

And so, he decided to put his abilities to good use.

Firstly, he was curious about something related to his new eye ability.

He looked at his own hand and focused his eyesight as much as he could.

A few moments later, some letters started floating in the air right in front of him.

'Human: Lao Jianming

Explanation Level: 1

Age: 20 years old

Height: 1.95 meters tall

Weight: 110 kg (15% bf)

Dominant Hand: Right

Backstory: ???

Qi Cultivation Rank: Foundation Establishment (Middle)

Qi Cultivation Talent: 5

Body Cultivation Rank: Unawakened

Body Cultivation Talent: 8

Soul Cultivation Rank: Unawakened

Soul Cultivation Talent: 8

Elemental Affinities:

 - Wood (7) | Mastery: ???

 - Earth (7) | Mastery: ???

Weapon Affinity: Heavy Sword (6) | Mastery: ???

Luck: 0

Weak Spots: ???

Treasures and Weapons: ???

Qi Techniques: ???

Body Techniques: ???

Soul Techniques: ???

Artificial Power-ups: ???

Curses and Poisons: ???

Familiars: ???

'

In front of him was a list of characters, all written in the same style he had gotten used to up to now. However, this one was far longer and more in-depth than the previous times he tested it.

It actually took him a while to consolidate everything in front of him.

There were a few things he could gather from what he had read. The first related to the power itself, and the second related to his own abilities. These conclusions were still to be taken with a grain of salt, as they assume that his ability is 100% accurate, which was yet to be decided.

First, in relation to the ability itself.

It seemed like the amount of information shown depended on the 'Explanation Level'. It looked like, at least to him, this aspect was related to the depth of the explanation shown.

It seemed to be very clearly related to the places that had a "???" as their content. Perhaps to get these points to show something, he would have to raise the explanation level to a higher rank.

He had no idea how to do that, though. Obviously, he had to improve his mastery over this technique in order to achieve that. However, he didn't even know its name, much less the method of improving in it.

Another thing that he noticed was how different his entry was compared to everything he had seen before. It was the first thing that he noticed, and how could he not, considering the massive length of this new entry.

All the previous ones had been small and concise. This one, however, was far more in-depth. Going as far as including height, weight, and even backstory.

He could try and get to the bottom of this. However, he didn't have the time nor the resources at his disposal at the moment.

He would have to conduct several tests on various different types of objects and beings. This would be a very time-consuming endeavor, time which he could not afford to waste. He had other priorities at the moment.

He would conduct these tests as a secondary objective. As he travels and sees new things, he would take every opportunity he could to use his ability and test the results. Eventually, he would end up figuring out exactly how this skill worked when applied to different subjects.

There was no need to conduct the investigation right now.

And so, he decided not to focus on that for now and moved his attention to what the entry said about him.

Starting from the top, he looked at his height, age, weight and dominant hand.

'They seem to be correct.'

Indeed, these values seemed to be accurate to his own condition. It was truly baffling how someone as poor as Lao managed to keep himself well-fed enough to maintain this sort of physique. Qi was truly a wonderful thing.

These few points seemed to give the ability some more credibility.

He looked over the rest, starting with the cultivation section.