Chapter 101 - 98: Taking the Experience Pill
Chapter 101: Chapter 98: Taking the Experience Pill
After leaving Sun Yaowen’s Alchemy Room, Feng Hao didn’t rush back to his dorm. Instead, he took a detour to the library.
He had wanted to look up some information about extradimensional monsters, but after a long search, he found nothing. There were only a few brief mentions in some history books about a cosmic cataclysm, and the crucial thing was, he had already read them all.
Resigned, Feng Hao could only look up some general information about the Origin Secret Realm.
Back at Rongcheng Academy, it had been nearly impossible to find any information on the subject. Fortunately, Five Provinces Academy had plenty of resources. After some research, he gained a much clearer understanding of the Origin Secret Realm.
It also piqued his interest, making him feel an almost unbearable eagerness to go!
It was nighttime by the time he left the library. The vast campus was practically deserted. It couldn’t be helped—the alchemy department had a pitifully small number of students. The entire department had fewer people than this year’s incoming class for the strength department.
Back in the dorm, Houhuiyao was hunched over the alchemy table, frantically refining pills. He didn’t even look up from his work when he saw Feng Hao return. "Brother Feng, you’re back?"
"Yeah." Feng Hao nodded, hopping onto his bed to start cultivating. "Why are you making so many Tier Four Blood Recovery Pills? Planning to eat them for dinner?"
"It can’t be helped, it’s for a quest!" Houhuiyao replied without missing a beat.
"Isn’t it the first day of school? What’s the rush?" Feng Hao couldn’t understand.
Houhuiyao turned around, a sleazy grin spreading across his face. "Brother Feng, there’s something you don’t know. This quest was posted by a beautiful upperclassman. I have to take it seriously, if you know what I mean."
Dark lines formed on Feng Hao’s forehead. He was speechless. "Is there anything in that damn head of yours besides women? Can’t you think about anything else for a change?"
"Hehe, just casting a wide net! Besides, that upperclassman really is gorgeous."
"..."
Feng Hao couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. He tilted his head back, swallowed a Life Spirit Pill, and began to cultivate in earnest, using a Magic Crystal to assist him.
Time flew by while he cultivated. When he opened his eyes again, Houhuiyao was already asleep in his bed. The nearby alchemy table was covered in Tier Four Blood Recovery Pills.
He swallowed another Life Spirit Pill, then took out a Level 3 Magic Crystal to aid his cultivation. He was being so extravagant mainly to reach level twenty-two ahead of schedule. Then, he planned to use Experience Pills to boost his level even higher in preparation for entering the [Origin Secret Realm].
It was extremely dangerous for a Second Order Mage to absorb a Level 3 Magic Crystal. As soon as he began, he felt as if his entire body was being pricked by needles. Surging Magic Power rampaged through his meridians. Fortunately, Feng Hao had allocated points to his main meridians, making them much thicker than those of other Mages of the same order. Otherwise, he would have never been able to withstand the energy from a Level 3 Magic Crystal.
As constant waves of pain washed over him, Feng Hao gritted his teeth and endured. Before he knew it, sweat had soaked through his clothes.
One, two...
When he was more than halfway through absorbing the fourth Level 3 Magic Crystal, the Genetic Tree in his Divine Sense finally changed. It slowly grew a section taller, simultaneously forming ten firefly-like [Gene Primes].
To avoid wasting the remaining half of the Level 3 Magic Crystal, Feng Hao chose to endure the pain and continue cultivating. After all, a single Level 3 Magic Crystal was worth 1,000,000 Magic Crystals. Wasting even half of one meant losing 500,000.
"Phew~!"
After an agonizing ordeal, the remaining half of the Magic Crystal was completely absorbed, leaving behind nothing but a small pile of stone-like dust.
He took a moment to catch his breath. Once the pain in his meridians subsided, he immediately swallowed an Experience Pill and resumed cultivating. The potent medicinal effects instantly flooded his body, and the terrifying speed of absorption drew in all the ambient Magic Power from the surrounding area.
After he took five Experience Pills in a row, his Genetic Tree began to grow wildly at a visible rate.
To Feng Hao’s surprise, the five Experience Pills pushed him all the way to level twenty-eight. In other words, he had gained six genetic levels, completely exceeding his expectations.
’Very good. I’m one step closer to the Third Order!’ Feng Hao opened his eyes, pleasantly surprised, and saw that dawn was breaking.
He wasted no time in allocating and absorbing the [Gene Primes] in his Divine Sense. He instantly felt as if he’d been completely reborn. After all, this was an increase of a full seventy [Gene Primes], and the resulting changes were significant.
Additionally, because he had grafted the Talent Branches from West Moon Ridge, Feng Hao took the two [Gene Primes] he would have normally allocated to his physique roots and put them into his meridians and stealth instead.
Although it was a change of only two points, the resulting effect was plain to see:
Genetic Level: 28
Qi Blood: 46,050 (2,650)
Vitality: 46 (18)
Magic Power: 1,456
Strength: 350 (154)
Hidden Strength: 1,526
Magic Damage: 196
Defense: 312 (32)
Gang Qi: 775
Speed: 730 (120)
Attack Speed: 296 (128)
Divine Sense: 336
Concealment: 463
Divine Sense Strength: 56
Weak Point Enhancement: 77
Looking at the data on his status panel, his Qi Blood alone had increased by a huge amount, making it comparable to a Defense Mage of the same level. Then there was his Concealment; the seven [Gene Primes] he’d added to it had a significant effect.
Beyond that, his Hidden Strength and Speed stats had also jumped a tier. It just went to show how important levels were for a Mage!
’Now I finally have the confidence to tackle the [Origin Secret Realm]. I wonder how difficult the instance will be?’
Feng Hao’s eyes glinted as he gazed out the window, a smile playing on his lips. He had been in this world for over a year, and now he finally had the chance to go tear up an instance.
Back when he played the game "Mage," he had been an instance-clearing master. As long as it wasn’t a mob-heavy instance that countered the Assassin class, the first-clear records were almost always his.
"Nnngh...? Is it morning already?" Houhuiyao mumbled, sitting up groggily and wiping drool from the corner of his mouth.
Feng Hao chuckled and shook his head. ’This guy really is a heavy sleeper.’ The Experience Pills had caused quite a commotion last night, yet it hadn’t woken him up. "You’re awake? Go wash up and get ready for class."
"Oh." Houhuiyao, bleary-eyed, started putting on his jacket when his eyes suddenly shot wide open. He stared at Feng Hao. "How long was I out? How did you get to level twenty-eight in the time it took me to sleep, Brother Feng?!"
"I was wondering if you’d even notice," Feng Hao smirked, taking out the Tier Two Experience Pills he had prepared and tossing them over. "Here. They’re special pills from my master. They can raise your genetic level directly. You can take up to five per order. Once you refine them, you’ll be just like me."
Houhuiyao stared dumbfounded at the pill bottle in his hand. It took him a long moment to process. "Pills like this actually exist?" he said, shocked and incredulous. "My old man told me about them once, but I didn’t believe him! Seriously, Brother Feng, who in the world is your master?"
"What’s with all the questions? If you don’t want them, give them back," Feng Hao said with an annoyed pout.
"I want them, of course I want them!" Houhuiyao clutched the bottle to his chest, terrified Feng Hao would take it back. "But Brother Feng, for you to give me something this valuable... I feel a little bad. Tell you what, why don’t you take my set of Alchemy Equipment."
"There’s no need for that," Feng Hao said with a helpless laugh.
Houhuiyao’s expression turned serious. "No. I never like to be indebted to anyone, especially my friends."
"But if you give it to me, what will you do?"
"Don’t worry, Brother Feng. I’ll send a message to my old man tomorrow, and a new set will be delivered in a couple of days," Houhuiyao said with a casual smile, oozing the confidence of the wealthy.
"..."
And just like that, Feng Hao inexplicably acquired a high-end set of Alchemy Equipment worth two or three hundred million Magic Crystals. If nothing else, at least now he wouldn’t be looked down on as a country bumpkin when he refined pills for others.
After quickly washing up and getting dressed, Feng Hao was about to head to the cafeteria for a bite before class, but what Houhuiyao said next left him completely stunned.
"Brother Feng, I can’t wait! You go to class on your own. Oh, and cover for me," Houhuiyao said, sitting cross-legged on his bed with a look of pure excitement, hugging the bottle of Experience Pills and trembling.
"What the hell? Skipping class on the very first day? Has your brain short-circuited?" Feng Hao demanded, his face darkening.
"It’s just the Foundations of Magic class. It doesn’t matter if I go or not. For me, advancing to the Third Order as soon as possible is what’s most important."
Feng Hao shook his head helplessly. "You’re sure you’re not going?"
"Yup." Houhuiyao nodded with grim determination.
Seeing his mind was made up, Feng Hao didn’t bother trying to persuade him and left the dorm alone.
After watching Feng Hao leave, Houhuiyao held the Experience Pills to his chest with an apprehensive look and began to pray frantically. "Oh, Cangtian! Oh, great Earth! Please don’t give me garbage talents again!"
After praying three times, he solemnly swallowed the first Experience Pill...
PS: Dammit, calculating the stats took almost half an hour. Thinking about how complicated it’ll get with spirit essence equipment in the future suddenly makes me want to cry. :(