Fad's eyelids fluttered open, the world seeping back into focus like a stubborn fog. A throbbing headache surged behind his eyes, forcing him to clutch his head with trembling hands. Every inch of his body screamed in protest—sore, stiff, as if he'd been trampled by time itself.
"What happened to me?" He muttered while looking around, only to find himself sleeping in a cold cave stone, naked with no single piece clothe covering his body.
"Wait! Have I been raped?" He muttered while sitting upright as he tried to figure things out.
[System Override ended]
[Optional Quest– Intervene or Ignore: Completed]
[Additional Quest–Survive: Completed]
[Impossible Quest–Defeat the beast: Completed]
"Ahhh!?" Fad muttered in confusion, not able to make sense of what was happening.
He could remember everything, how it started to the end, but he couldn't remember how he defeated the lust spider. All he remembered was the strange phenomenal the spear unleashed, then nothing else.
"Now that I think of it, wasn't I poisoned?" He muttered while trying to feel his body.
His heartbeat was stable, his heat was natural and he didn't have any lustful desire. This was a clear indication that the poison has really been driven out of his body, but how?
The lust poison isn't like some any other poison that could be driven out through some medication, even while unconscious, the poison could have still take toll in him, unless...
"Ahh!" Fad cried while bitting his knuckles. "I've really been raped!" He desperately cried while looking around.
The cave was empty, with only him in it. The girl he put his life in line to save was no where to be seen, long gone, leaving the poor boy on his own.
"As if I wanted s*x for payment!" Fad muttered while getting up and started dressing himself. "She could have at least ask for a marriage proposal or even offer to be my slave." He spoke while putting the last piece of his dress.
"But to think such a pretty lady like her with me..." He muttered, his lips curved to a creepy smile.
[Batch Reward granted]
{ You level up}
[6 Stat points granted]
[First Evolution triggered]
[Congratulations! You have evolved to a hatchling state]
[Resistance against flame attacks has improved.]
[The user can't level up anymore until they awaken their Cultivation root.]
[You aren't human no more.]
[Martial Rank slot removed]
The text displayed.
Fad followed each line keenly as he wanted to understand what had just happened. He couldn't believe that he had managed to defeat an intermediate beast with his current strength. That should have been a real struggle, but since it has already happened, he was thankful and wanted to know the rewards the system could offer.
He didn't know much about the system, and he thought maybe he might learn one or two from the system's rewards.
To be sincere, the rewards were impressive, especially that evolving part. It made him feel stronger, like evolving unlocked a stronger version of him.
He was a bit disappointed though that he wouldn't level up anymore, but it wasn't like he didn't see this coming. Only that it came too early, making him, maybe, unable to explore the system further.
A cultivation root is everything to a cultivator, without it, there is a certain threshold of strength that one can't surpass. They would just continued absorbing Qi, store them while waiting for the awakening ceremony.
They understand how important this Qi is during the awakening ceremony, as the more they have in their body, the better chances of awakening a higher tier cultivation root rank.
"At least I stand shoulder to shoulder with Fei and Feng now," he whispered, his voice taut with resolve. "But being equal isn't enough. Skill is the battlefield now… and I won't stop until I dominate every front." His fists trembled, knuckles white. "I'll awaken a cultivation root so rare, so powerful, it'll obliterate their pride. They'll choke on their own arrogance when they see what I've become." He smirked.
This only made him to understand how far he still had to go. They might be at per in strength, but Fei and Feng started cultivating Qi longer than him. He still has to cultivate his Qi, store them and wait for the awakening ceremony that would take place exactly a month from now.
[Since the user can't benefit in strength any more, the remaining benefits has been converted to:-]
[1. Level 7 Blacksmith Guildbook]
{A rugged relic brimming with ancient techniques. Within lie the forgotten blueprints for forging beast-bound weapons, enchanted accessories, and gear etched with primal might. Once the craft of elite smiths, now yours to reclaim and wield.}
[Book stored in inventory]
To Fad, this was a complete waste. He didn't have any blacksmith skills, and he wasn't planning to be one, so how could this guide book be of any help to him?
He decided to ignore it for now as there were some more texts displaying.
[2. Level 10 Acupuncture Guidebook]
{An ancient tome pulsing with forgotten power. Within lie the lost secrets of master acupuncturists—techniques that harmonize fate, needles that channel life's essence, and rituals few dare to perform. Unlock it, and reshape destiny.}
[Book stored in inventory.]
Now this made Fad's eyes to spackle with stars.
Only a few sects across the empire practice medicine cultivation, and coming across a taoist with a good medical skills is quite rare. This made them to be expensive and arrogant, but that's not what his eyes spackle for.
"Que!" He found himself shouting.
If he studied this medical technique, with how high ranked they are, he could surely find a way to wake his favorite cousin, Que Xu, and smoothening his plan of making his family suffer.
But that's for later as there were other texts displaying.
[3. Level 13 Elemental Rune Guidebook]
{A mystical codex brimming with elemental lore. Within its pages lie the forgotten arts of rune inscription—symbols that command flame, stone, wind, and tide. Crafted for precision combat, these runes weave raw essence into shields of fury and strikes of pure devastation.}
"This...!" Fad shouted, springing to his feet with sudden urgency.
The art of runes—an ancient discipline buried by time—had once flourished among the ancestors, long before the discovery of the cultivation root. Now, it lingered only in fragments, whispered through forgotten scrolls and the memories of a dwindling few.
Few still remembered how to inscribe runes, and even fewer dared to continue learning the craft. Not out of weakness, but out of fear—fear of the price it demanded. For each rune drawn siphoned Qi permanently from the user's core, the cost scaling with the rune's complexity.
It was this irreversible loss that led many to abandon the art altogether. But Fad refused to accept its demise. If he could find a way to neutralize the sacrifice—if he could master a method that preserved Qi—then the forgotten art would not just return.
It would become a weapon of unimaginable power.
With that done, the system stopped displaying anything further. Still, it wasn't as though he had nothing left to examine. He had evolved—and now, he was ready to uncover the benefits that came with it.
[Name: Fad Xu]
[Race: Human]
[State: Hatchling]
[Health: 100]
[Qi points: 35--> 40]
[Level: 1]
[Exp: 50/100]
[Strength:10-->15]
[Dexterity:10-->15]
[Endurance:10-->15]
{Stat points: 6}
The changes rippled through him like an awakening.
The martial rank slot had disappeared from the system interface, more proof that something fundamental had shifted.
Fad's HP bar gleamed at full capacity, and every core attribute; Qi, Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, had surged by five points each.
Six more sat unused, untouched by choice. He'd keep them tucked away, a secret weapon, a final answer when all else failed.
With the system silent again, Fad exhaled and sat back, the cave's stillness wrapping around him. His gaze drifted to the guidebooks he'd collected. Blacksmithing was off the table for now, too complex and lazy to study. That left acupuncture or rune theory, each promising, each unknown.
But before he could even decide, a voice sliced, clear and feminine, broke the hush like a blade through mist.
"So, you're finally awake."
She stood at the mouth of the cave, framed by the pale light outside.
"An angel!" Fad subconsciously spoke with stars painted in his eyes.