Chapter 64: Failed Attempts (1/2)
After making sure Mei had left, Arion went out the back where only a large plain field was visible with nobody in sight. The backyard of his house was surrounded by thick bushes and small trees, and a green field in the distance.
All the other houses were located on the other side, and he was sure no one else would come here.
”Alright. Time for Inner Perception!” Arion wanted to check out his status screen once again properly since he didn't have much time to check out some things.
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[ INNER PERCEPTION ACTIVATED ]
Strength: 3
Defense: 4
Agility: 3.8
Pranic Force: 1
Defity: Prana Binding Stage [ 10th Cycle - 20,521/ 1,048,576]
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”Huh? How is this possible?” Arion mumbled when he noticed a change in his Defity, surprising him.
Previously he had only 0 rounds, but now it was showing 20,521, which meant that somehow his 10th Cycle had made some progress within just a day when he had only been eating.
'It can't be...Ingestion Empowerment?' Arion remembered that he had such a kind of ability that seemed to allow him to increase Defity as long as he eats something that contains prana.
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— Ingestion Empowerment [Lvl. 1] : Ingest any pranic items to increase Defity. Effectiveness varies with level
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Arion's eyes lit up, 'Does this mean I can really become powerful just by eating alone? That sounds too easy!'
Before he thought that he would have to go through arduous training like the ones he usually read in stories or see in movies where the main character would have to train without food and sleep for 100 days or something similar.
From 0 to 20,521 rounds in just a day was almost unbelievable for him since he doubted if anyone else could beat this speed of increasing Defity and that too without doing any extra heavy lifting of his own.
He speculated that he could complete the 10th Cycle within just two months compared to a year or more.
And theoretically, if he had a bottomless stomach and infinite amount of pranic food, then he could maybe even complete the 10th Cycle within just a few days or less.
But then his expression became a bit down when he remembered how expensive anything with the word 'prana' was. Even the medicinal balls he ate would have sold for quite a lot in the market if Yaro wanted to sell them.
'How am I gonna earn money? Join a training school? No...even then, I would merely be just training...or will I be allowed to do some part-time jobs like in my previous life?' Arion had already begun to think of different ways to earn money in this world.
But due to his limited knowledge of the world, he couldn't see many options, especially since he wasn't even a legit Defier yet.
The most common way of making money he knew was by killing Dreadlings or taking up bounties to kill Dreadlings people spotted. However, all these required him to be at least a Dreadslayer, let alone a Defier at least.
But now, he was sure he would even find it hard to kill the weakest Dreadlings out there with his current strength. He had merely started on the path of building his Defity, and he was nowhere ready to engage a Dreadling alone just to earn some money.
It was only because of sheer luck and the mental state he was in at that time, he was able to kill some Jawfiends in that cave. But even then, he knew how close to death he was at that time.
He valued his life more, and so he thought, 'I guess I will just take my time. No need to become desperate and do something foolish. Let's see where the future takes me.'
He then decided to check out the most interesting thing he saw on his status screen,
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Bloodline: Doom Lizard (Dormant)
Abilities -
— Shapeshifting [Lvl.1] : Limited to base race and bloodline form
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'Dormant? So how do I exactly use this bloodline or change into my bloodline form?' Arion was very curious about his shapeshifting ability coupled with his bloodline. He was already used to using the shapeshifting ability on humans, but now the 'bloodline form' truly intrigued him, making him wonder if he could really turn into a lizard and if so, how and what he would look like.
Even though he was inwardly disappointed with the word 'lizard' when he thought about how that old man or Aldress boasted of being a dragon, he still felt that having a 'bloodline' was better than nothing.
Arion looked around to see if anyone was nearby and moved into a more secluded spot just to be safe and also to make sure he would have enough time to react in case someone comes.
'Alright. Let's do this…'
”Transform!” Arion whispered as he took a powerup stance. But other than hearing the sound of some night-calling insects, nothing else happened.