Chapter 11: Learning curve

Before training began, Jason was a bit worried that his arm might be a bit inconspicuous when the authorities decide to come over to take Jason's story of the alleged attack. Plus it kinda unnerved him seeing inside the freezer, just past the glassdoor. At first, he thought about just making it self-destruct like his blood but then an idea came to mind. 'Hey system, could I possibly reattach my arm?'

[No. Your wound has already closed and began to heal. However, there is a way to accelerate the process if you desire.]

'Which is?' Jason asked a bit too impatient.

[If you consume your arm you'll be able to regrow it in a few seconds. Since it's already part of you and just a clump of dormant cells, if you consume it, your regeneration will stop consuming your Qi and allow you to focus it towards your training.]

Jason was surprised but also found the notion of regrowing or reattaching limbs faster just by grabbing hold of them and consuming them or just put them back in place before the wound closed. He was about to do it right now but then he remembered that if he did so it would be a missed opportunity to gain some levels in his regeneration. As if feeling his frustration the system decided to react before Jason could ask the question.

[If you wish, you could consume the arm and keep it inside your arm in your storage, but the amount you can store would be only your hand up to the wrist alone. Additionally accelerating your regeneration through the consumption of biomatter will still yield some experience towards your Regeneration ability.]

'Awesome!! Though I kinda wish I could store my whole arm. Is there a way to increase the storage capacity? Also how come I don't have an inventory like in most games?' Jason asked.

[Your internal storage is only capable of containing biomatter, and it will only grow in capacity as you level up and as your viral abilities grow, such as Cell manipulation, Consume, and Shapeshifting. If you wish to have an inventory, it can only be achieved if you gain an ability to create your own dimensional pocket like a storage ring. The store may provide such an ability if you level up.]

'Oh hell yeah baby!! I'm gonna work hard to get up to level 25 now!! Inventory here I come!!' Jason got excited as he quickly grabbed his arm from the freezer and began to consume it, which was very. . . well unsettling. When he started to consume his arm, it made the same bone-crushing, and toe-curling fleshy sound, same as when he consumed the rabbit. Bry went pale and had to look away from the scene while covering his ears. As the arm was consumed it was regrowing at the same rate as its consumption and it was a very weird feeling for Jason. It was like how he consumed the rabbit and felt it move inside his body like when he eats something akin to clam chowder soup or rice. However, the major difference is that it didn't go down his throat but rather into his hand then moved through his arm up to his left shoulder before moving through his back and then regrowing out of his right shoulder taking form. It looked like a mass was moving through his left arm towards his right shoulder and then some weird red and black tendrils were giving way to the bone while twisting and taking the form of muscle tissue and skin as it changed color back to how Jason's skin naturally looked. Witnessing it was quite amazing and a bit weird. Perhaps horrifying.

[Regeneration and Cell Regeneration Lv.11 -> 12]

[Consume Lv.2 -> 3]

[Cell Duplication Lv.3 -> 4]

[Cell Replication Lv. 2 -> 4]

[Adaptation Lv.3 -> 4]

[Notice: Doing the same action will have diminishing returns.]

'Yay, also boo. I kinda wanted to repeat it but seems it's not as easy as that.' Jason thought. After Having regrown his arm completely Jason began to test it at the behest of Bry. It was a standard medical procedure to test a limb's capability right after it has healed, regenerated, or been reattached. As such Jason did as Bry asked while he took as many notes as he could. After the testing was done, it seemed like Jason's arm was in perfect condition, as if it had never been cut off. It wasn't unheard of for someone to have regenerative abilities, but that ability was quite unusual and typically it didn't work as Jason's did. Only very high-level ability users, with the skill also at a high rank, were capable of regenerating their limbs as fast as Jason had. That being said, Jason wasn't exactly normal or fell within those standards. He was in a whole new standard of his own and that meant new forms of measurements, but we'll leave that for later.

After finishing the notes and the test it was time for Jason to begin his training, and boy did he took to his training a bit too well. Although it would be more accurate to say that Jason took to energy far too well. Psi energy training was like Qi training, first, it implied Jason picturing the energy as a ball but this time inside his mind connected to his body through his head, then into his body using the nervous system to guide it. It went much like when he first tried to learn to sense Qi, even faster and easier even. His Scan function even assimilated the skill of sensing Psi and added it to the form of energy he could see.

[Psi Sensing Gain]

[Energy Sensing:

Psi Lv.1 -> 26]

[Psi Manipulation Lv.1]

[Body capable of containing and handling high levels of Psi due to your Peak Physical Condition]

[Psi. 36]

[Your understanding of energy has helped you realize how the world works further. This discovery has gained you further knowledge.]

[Int. 36 -> 37]

Thanks to this he could see Psi just like Qi, except unlike Qi which was orange in color, Psi was like a pale blue mist this one clinging to peoples heads, or rather it was like clear mist touched the head of a person in a stream, then it came out pale blue on the other end. It could be said that Psi was a collective excess of energy left in the air. Like residue from a nuclear plant, artificially made from humans, while Qi came from the ground and other living beings besides humans. Sure some animals also let out some Psi, but they were very few, and compare to humans it was very little as well. The reason Psi is more abundant now than ever is not that there weren't enough humans in the world, of course, more than 30 billion about 37 years ago was enough. Well technically 36 since the TGR occurred in 2083, which was more like a big set of explosions spread around the world where big beams of light but we're getting sidetrack. The reason Psi wasn't available to use until after The Great Rise, is because there wasn't enough ambient energy for the human mind to process and therefore produce enough to be of actual use. After gaining Psi he immediately asked Maria to teach him how to sense Mana and this was faster to gain than before. All he had to do was picture a sort of aura around him being control by his mind and done, he gained the ability to sense it, and with Scan see it as well. It looked like a yellow mist that had particles of different sizes and floated aimlessly until it touched humans as it was drawn in. The reason Jason learned so quickly, was because his senses had been enhanced considerably by his ability leveling up and because the other energies were allowing his energy sensing to be more sensitive than others, then there was the rate at which he was absorbing energy, and the last piece that brought it all together, his Scan Function also worked as a final boost. Now he had all three energies at his disposal, all he needed to do was learn to use them effectively and have A&S for them.

[Energy sensing:

Qi Lv.26

Psi Lv.26

Mana Lv.26]

[Mana Manipulation Lv.1]

[Body capable of containing and handling high levels of Mana due to your Peak Physical Condition]

[Mana. 36]

[Your understanding of the 3 basic energies has helped you realize how the world works further. This discovery has gained you further knowledge.]

[Int. 37 -> 38]

After being able to sense, see and manipulate all three energies Jason suddenly felt a surge go through his body, and a new message appeared.

[Energies have attempted to merge but failed. Your body is not ready to sustain new forms of energies at the current level and state.]

'Wait what?! You mean to tell me there are more than just the 3 energies?!?!' Jason thought wide-eyed and confused.

[Correct. However, you are unable to use them or retrieve information on the subject. Recommended you raise your stats if you desire to do both.]

'Of course.' Jason thought getting slightly annoyed, 'Well it was to be expected. It's not like I'm just gonna be handed everything on a silver platter. For now, let's focus on increasing my number of abilities and skills.'

[Suggestion. Only learn one ability or skill from each energy branch for the moment. Increase the level of your current A&S before gaining more to minimize the risk of neglecting useful A&S.]

Jason slightly shook his head surprised and perplexed as he thought, 'Suggestion? Since when do you offer suggestions? I thought you were my subconscious interpreting information.'

[As your Int. raises, so does the information and features of the system. Every stat contributes to your growth and Int. helps your system to grow as it is your ability.]

'Ohh~ Right. I forgot my actual ability is the System and the Virus part of me is just a part of my body.' Jason thought realizing his position. 'Hu. Wait but why are you becoming like an A.I. then?'

[Your subconscious is part of your mind. As part of your mind, it functions similarly to a conscious mind in how it processes certain information. Your internal monologue is part of your conscious mind and your subconscious also has its own monologue you barely register until the system arose.]

'Ah~ So it's like that little whisper in the back of the head or that gut feeling except now it's loud enough to hear. So it's like having the dual mind ability except one mind is the one that makes the final decision and the second provides suggestions and information.' Jason thought, 'And the higher my Int. the faster both minds process information and more suggestions are given making it possible for the system to develop something akin to an A.I.'

[Correct]

'Cool. This system is super useful. I really like it. Makes life simpler.' Jason thought smiling. However, Jason's enjoyment was short-lived as he noticed Maria and Bry looking at him like he was a bit insane. While Jason had kept his personal conversation with the system inside his mind, his facial expressions were very much exposed. "Shit. I definitely gotta work on my poker face." Jason said out loud.

[Correct]

Jason got annoyed and mentally said, 'Really?' After he sighed annoyed he decided to just focus on his training for the moment. His first goal was to reach level 10 on his ability to manipulate the 3 energies, first focusing on Qi since it was the closest. The best way to do so was to continue to clear up the pathway he started, as it would provide more space to move his energy and train more efficiently. It took a good 6 hours just to clear up more of the passageway and he noticed something odd. The more he cleared up the passageway of impurities the more he noticed his body was working harder to function. He felt fatigued and a bit out of breath as he saw his Stamina plummet until he got a message.

[Stats are being affected due to the build-up of impurities in your bloodstream. Suggested you expel these impurities or your stats will begin to fall.]

'Wait a minute?! Impurities?!?! You mean all the shit I've been working hard for the past 6 hours to clear out are now in my bloodstream?! I thought they were already being expelled out!!' Jason thought angry and frustrated as he stood up from his lotus position.

[Incorrect.]

[It is indeed true that your Qi passageway is indeed getting cleared, but those impurities are still a physical matter that was being accumulated in the passageways over the years. Having expelled them, they still need to go somewhere unless you force them out of your body.]

"SHIT!!" Jason yelled from his room frustrated as he brought his right hand to his face and his left to his hip trying to calm down. After breathing in deep and then sighing away some of his frustration he asked, 'Ok, so how do I expel these impurities from my body?'

[The same way you expel them from the passageway. You must use your Qi to force them out through your sweat. Exercising will also assist the process.]

'So I have to use Qi and exercise at the same time if I want these impurities to leave my body faster than just expulsing them with Qi?' Jason asked rhetorically, 'Great. Because that's just as easy as it sounds.' Sarcasm was becoming a bit of a second language for Jason. He sighed aggravated as he realized there was no other way and he knew it deep inside. With his decision made he moved around his furniture a bit to open more space in his room and began to do basic exercises first to get the hang of doing both things at the same time. Jason knew it would be easier to break the problem into small bits and steps as he had done so before with math. Same principle except now physical. 7 hours passed and dinner came, but at this point, Jason was more than happy as by the time Maria came to call him for dinner he not only cracked how to use Qi and exercise at the same time, but he was now training his basic Martial arts at the same time. Jason could feel the impurities coming out as his fist and kicks felt more and more powerful the more Qi flowed through his body even if the passageway was just around his right arm. It was because he was using his cells to further aid in carrying the Qi around and pushing his impurities out through his sweat. It even helped clear up the passageway he was working on and before he knew it he had achieved the first circulation from his right thumb to heart.

[Qi Manipulation Lv.8 -> 10]

[Energy 36 -> 40]

[Qi. 40/40

Psi. 40/40

Mana 40/40]

[Energy Absoption Lv.10 -> 11]

[Cell Manipulation Lv.8 -> 10]

[Cell Strengething Lv.5 -> 7]

[Physical condition has improved. Improvement will be felt further when you level up]

[Con. 40 +1]

[Str. 40 +1]

[Dex 40 + 1]

The stats still showed 40 as the +1 was grayed out.

[You've learned to use energy simultaneously with your movement.]

[Multitasking Gained]

[Multitasking Lv.1]

[You also learned how to expel out impurities from your body. This is a skill that will help improve your physical condition and help protect you. Suggested you level it up further.]

[Expel Harmful Matter Gained]

[Expel Harmful Matter Lv.1]

[Learning this new knowledge on your own, has gained you one more Int. point.]

[Int. 38 -> 39]

'YES!! I knew the harder the challenge the bigger the gain!! Now I just need one more point in Int. and I can level up!!' Jason thought making a single jump and pumping his fist. He was clearly happy, who wouldn't, but there was one thing that soured his victory a bit. *Sniff sniff* 'Holy shit something stinks!!' Jason thought as he covered his nose but then realized, "Oh shit it's me" He said looking at his body as he noticed his sweat looking a gross shade of brown. They were the impurities he expelled and it was super sticky and stank like old garbage. So he ran to the bathroom not wanting to touch anything worried the stank would be spread. He took a very brisk shower as he kept complaining of how much it stank and how hard it was to wash out. "FOR FUCKS SAKE, JUST GET OFF ME ALREADY!!!" He complained as he kept soaping up, rinsing, and repeating. By the time he was finally clean, he had run out of soap, shampoo, and conditioner. "Ok, that's it! The first spell I'm learning is 'Cleanse'!!" Jason yelled out frustrated at the waste of water and self-cleaning products. He got dressed and walked downstairs to eat still fuming at the memory of the stank and the very difficult washing. As he ate he told Maria he wanted to learn the spell Cleanse immediately. Luis had already come home and felt a bit offended he wanted to learn magic before advanced martial arts, but he was very curious as to why that spell out of all the many combat spells. It was more of a miscellaneous spell used for housework. Maria also shared this curiosity as she could swear he would want to focus solely on spells like 'Magic Missile'. As such she couldn't help but ask, "Why do you wish to learn magic first? And why that spell specifically?" Jason shook a bit as he remembered the sticky disgusting feeling and said, "Because if I'm gonna keep expelling impurities I'm gonna end up going through a buttload of cleaning products and gallons of water." Everyone was suddenly filled with shock as they collectively stood up with their hands on the table and yelled out, "You did what!?!?!" Jason got startled as he leaned back using his hands to kinda defend himself from the scream as he answered, "Y-yeah? Why was I not supposed to?" He asked the last part a bit worried. Everyone looked at each other before Luis said, "Expelling out impurities takes days to learn how to do!! How did you learn it in a day?!?" Jason's eyes went wide as he heard this. 'How come it was so easy then?' Jason asked the system, this time trying very hard to keep his facial expressions in check.

[Many factors contributed to this matter. Your control over your cells, your physical condition being at its peak, your grasp of Qi, your viral nature, and your dedication to your exercise, all played a part in your achievement. If not for these conditions, it would've taken significantly longer to achieve.]

'. . .' Jason had to bite his tongue to keep himself from smiling and dancing, but instead he made his cells dance for him, which was more like moving up and down and occasionally spinning and making wall spiders dance the macarena, or at least as close to it as possible. The dance was cut short as Jason had to explain what he did, and while Luis and Maria looked surprised, Bry was writing notes down as best as he could with Jason's restrictions. After dinner, Jason went back to his room but not before asking for Maria's help in fixing the door she had broken. Once his door was fixed, Jason jumped into bed and began to multitask by making his eyes changed while he did some research on a few subjects, such as spells and how to cast them. He had stopped his shapeshifting before since he wanted to focus completely on his Qi training and expelling his impurities, but now while he did research, he felt like he could multitask better now that it had turned into an actual skill. The reason he researched how to do spells on his own was that he figured that if he learned to do it on his own it would help him get the last Int. the point he needed to level up. Previously it had been shown that the more he figured out on his own the faster his intelligence rose, so he didn't want to miss the opportunity to get the last point he needed. Unfortunately, it was getting a bit late and Luis wasn't going to allow Jason to spend the whole night awake since tomorrow he wanted Jason to train further. Which Jason had no trouble with, but he kinda wanted to enjoy his Saturday as well, but now that he had awakened he desperately needed to get stronger as fast as possible. However, his main goal now was to get the spell Cleanse, he really hated that godawful smell from the impurities.

When Jason woke up or rather was woken up by Luis, he quickly did his morning routine and during breakfast read on spells and the basics of casting them on his Odin. So far he understood the basic principle of using mana to create a geometric shape and a control circle, but he had trouble understanding how to issue the commands or activate the spell. Spells were all about intent and forming the right matrix for them according to what the user believes a geometric shape means to them. Practicing without the proper knowledge could be dangerous, but the cheapest spell scroll cost 500 credits and the cheapest book of spells was more than double that. As irresponsible as it may sound, Jason still wanted to try learning how to cast a spell on his own. He really wanted that last Int. point, but boy was in for a rude awakening. At one point during breakfast, he decided to give it a go and tried to form a circle with mana to form a simple matrix, but the instant the circle was complete and Maria realize what he was about to do she cast a spell at lightning speed to destroy the matrix before Jason even finished it. "Are you insane?!? You could've killed yourself!!!" Maria shouted standing up very angry at Jason's actions. Jason was surprised and confused as he said, "I was just trying to form a simple matrix. Is not like it was gonna work or do anything." That set Maria off as she said, "A simple matrix?!? Do you realize that a matrix without purpose is unstable and will explode if no intent is put into it?!? The moment a matrix is complete, intent must be issued or the mana will build up, and without a place to go it will explode violently!!!" Jason went wide-eyed at the prospect of inadvertently killing himself for being dumb enough to make a matrix without really wanting to do anything with it. He had basically tried to make a bomb without giving it a shell or a trigger. "That's it!! Today I'm your teacher!!" Maria yelled taking Jason by the ear and dragging him off his chair as he yelled, "Ow! ow!! OW!!!! Wait!! I didn't finish my breakfast!!!"

Maria had dragged Jason all the way to his room and sat him down at his desk as she yelled at him, "Now sit here and study!!" She then made a spell matrix purple in color and a new spell was cast at a speed Jason barely had time to see the matrix at all before a small black void opened and a bunch of books came out. The void moved around his desk, and him, making a big circle of books surrounding him kinda like a prison. "I want you to read all these books before the day is done!!" Maria yelled and Jason protested, "Are you crazy?! There no way I'm gonna read through this mountain by the end of the day!! What are these books anyway?!?! Magic book?!?" Jason then picked one up and read the cover which said 'Principles of energy and their properties' Jason got angry and yelled, "Are you kidding me?!?! I already know about the 3 energies!!" As soon as he finished the last word Maria hit him over the head with a big ruler she had conjured from her personal pocket space, like her books. "You clearly don't!! You almost killed yourself downstairs so now you are relearning everything!! You can forget about getting a new tutor!! From now on I'm your teacher and you are my apprentice!! So start studying!!" Maria shouted holding the ruler trying to hold back the urge to hit him over the head again as she said, "Start by reading the history of The Great Rise!" Jason protested as he said, "But we already covered that subject in school!!" Then, Wham!! Another ruler smack over the head. Jason rubbed his head as he asked, "Can I at least finish my meal first?" Wham! Another smack with, "You sit there and read! I'll go get you your food!" Maria stormed off muttering stuff about how irresponsible and reckless Jason had been and about how useless the school system was for not teaching this, very basic knowledge, to everyone, even if they had yet to study magic. Magic was dangerous and is mistakes like these that can cause accidents and even cost the lives of young people who just want to practice without the money to buy books or scrolls. She believed that at the very least they should teach safety and clearly warn about the dangers of practicing magic without a source of knowledge. In truth, Maria hated the current school system and she wanted to change it, but~ she hated the idea of being a teacher even more. However, after seeing how her defacto son almost killed himself, she just kinda snapped. Imagine if you will Jason being forced to study subjects he had already studied before in school, and doing it all day. . . On a Saturday no less. Did I mention the ruler he was being smacked with, every time he protested or seemed to get distracted, was a metal ruler and about 2 feet long? By the time the day was over Jason had barely made a dent in the mountain of books he had to read, and he had to take a bunch of Quizzes. On the bright side, he finally got the final Int. point he needed, but by that point, he had a head bump and was thinking, 'I hate everything.'

[Would you like to level up? Y/N]

'. . .' Jason looked at the system window aggravated and mentally exhausted because of Maria's teaching and her very violent method of doing so. 'Can I do it later?' Jason asked knowing there was gonna be some pain and he just didn't wanna go through that right now.

[Yes. You can level up at any moment.]

'Thank you.' Jason said as he got up from his chair only to be whacked again. "OW! What was that for?!? Is already diner time!! The day is basically over!!" Jason shouted. . . Yes, there was another whack, and Maria said, "The lessons are over when I say is over!! Now sit there and keep studying while I make dinner! You have 2 more lessons before we are done and 3 more Quizzes!" At this point in time, Jason was very tempted to jump out the window and run like there no tomorrow. The reason he didn't do so, was because the last time he tried he got stunned by a magic shock trap Maria had set up around his windows and door. . . And then got whacked right after. Today was not Jason's day. The fact that Maria was kinda letting out some of the anger she couldn't before the last time she and Bry punished him, also helped make the day just a tad worse. She had been carrying a lot of anger the last couple of days so . . . poor Jason. After eating his dinner, and finishing his lessons it was already around 11 pm so all he wanted to do was take a shower and sleep. 'Ugh. A whole day studying. A whole day!! My Saturday has been stolen from me!!! This is so unfair.' Jason thought sad as he dropped on his bed groaning.

[You got the last point you needed.]

'Silence!! I got whacked so much I couldn't even multitask and keep training my shapeshifting!!' Jason complained punching his bed groaning further. After more bellyaching, he fell asleep and the next morning it was Maria who woke him up. Not with a whack, but this time being more gentle, and then she explained she had been a bit too violent yesterday because she was so angry and scare of how Jason nearly killed himself. Jason leered at her and said, "If it weren't for my regeneration my head would still be in pain." Maria leered back and took out the ruler again lightly smacking it in her hand. Jason wasn't backing down as this time he said, "You hit me again and I tell Bry about your obsession with BL novels and manga, AND! how you like to watch him when he's not looking." Maria let out some bloodlust as she said, "Don't you dare!!" And while it would seem kinda suicidal Jason was one to take a gamble as he said, "Go ahead, you crazy Yandere wannabe!! I already wrote the text and prepared the picture!! I can take the pain and then some! But can you take the embarrassment!! Come on!! Call my bluff! I dare you!!" It was a stalemate as they stared each other down, waiting to see who would make the next move. Jason only had to blink to send the text he wrote the night before and had it ready in case Maria dare try to hit him. Maria finally decided to back down but Jason kept the text ready just in case. No way he was lowering his guard as he leered at her while he warned her, "Next time you hit me, I don't care if I tried to help you with your love life, I will tell Bry your secrets until you wish the floor could swallow you hold." Maria let out more bloodlust but Jason said, "Did I mentioned I took a picture when I caught you washing your body pillow?" He then smiled like a proper demon and Maria went pale as she asked, "Y-your bluffing. Y-you said you promised not to tell." Smiling Jason said, "Yes but I took a picture in case I wanted to blackmail you or as insurance. The question is not whether I'm willing to send him the picture or not. What you should be asking, is 'Am I bluffing?' Well? Am I?!" Jason asked smiling. There was a long silence before Maria finally decided Jason wasn't lying. If only she knew he was. . . Well kinda. While it is true he didn't take a picture of her washing her bodypillow, he did record the current conversation. Now he had the evidence he needed in case Maria decided to say screw it or found out he was lying. Once Maria went downstairs to cook breakfast Jason finally relaxed after the tense environment and did his morning routine.

Before going downstairs he first sat on his bed grabbed his pillow ready to bite it as he asked the system to go through with the level up. For 30 seconds Jason's entire body was in pain as he felt every bone, muscle, vein, nerve, organ, skin, hair, and even his brain, move around and change. It was like there was a shell around every part of him and it had suddenly shattered apart giving way to something new. When the process was done, he felt like his body was new and stronger as soon as he saw that his +1 stats were no longer gray and had been added fully to his stats, as his main window and status window opened up showing new information.

[Name: Jason Miller

Age: 15

Race: Human-Virus

Level: 2 Next Level: 5,470/100 Exp.

Hp. 141/141

Sp. 141/141

Qi: 40/40

Psi: 40/40

Mp: 40/40]

[Every level up will grant an additional 100 points to Hp. and Sp.]

'Hold up! Where the hell did I get 5,470?!?! And how come is not 181?! My Hp. and Sp. was 80!' Jason asked, angry at the loss of the extra 40 points.

[You are no longer at the Peak of your Physical condition. Having leveled up you are stronger than a normal human but you are no longer at the peak of your current state. The Peak of your status grants a special status that doubles your Hp. and Sp. However, you are no longer in that state.]

'Fuck!!' Jason cursed.

[As for your Exp. you only received 4,500 from the quest. Outside the quest you received 1,000 Exp.]

'From where?!' Jason asked.

[Fighting and winning against Dylan and his group.]

'What?!' Jason yelled.

[Beating Dylan and his group outside of the quest and without the Adaptation ability, would've net you a total of 800 Exp. However, your Adaptation had leveled up to level 3 and added 20% of Exp gained, making the total 960. Then you woke up and tortured Dylan till he passed out, and then woke him up for more torture, gaining you an extra 40 after you left. A final total of 1,000 Experience points.]

'. . . Hu. . . So torture gets me exp. . . Ain't that like super fucked up?' Jason asked shocked.

[Experiance is compiled from what you do and how you do it. Now that you awoke and leveled up, you will gain passive Exp. during the year until your birthday. Quest and Hidden Quest will also gain you Exp.]

'What do you mean passive Exp.?' Jason asked confused.

[As you grow you gain experience, not just stat points. Just like your trials that allowed you to awaken from now on, you will collect passive Exp. that will be received on your birthday.]

'Oh~ I like the sound of that. Free Exp!' Jason got a little excited, as he looked at his status bar next.

[Stat Window:

Status points: 10

Con. 41

Str. 41

Dex. 41

Int. 40

Energy 40

Viral Strength 60]

[25 points added to A&S points. The new total is: 1,770]

Jason sighed as he asked, 'Ok, so do I have to reach the peak to level up again?'

[No. You only need to reach the peak to trigger an evolution, even if it's a minor evolution. However, there will no longer be any more minor evolution. Next evolution at level 10]

'Alright. So what's the peak of this body then?' Jason asked.

[500]

'HOLY SHIT!! Are you kidding me?! How am I gonna reach that point?!?' Jason asked covering his mouth so he wouldn't scream.

[Training and time]

'It was a rhetorical question!!' Jason yelled in his mind.

[No it wasn't]

Jason narrowed his eyes at the comment.

[My responses are the same as your responses]

'Ok enough! Jesus.' Jason said frustrated and sighing as he ran his hand down his face. 'Ok so now I need to get to 500 on all stats, except energy and VS. or I will never level up past level 10. And as if that wasn't enough! I also can't access the shop until I get to level 25. I knew it was too good to be true. No way my life was just gonna be easier because I got this power.' Jason thought as he dropped his back on his bed wondering how he was gonna get to level 25 with the big mountain he needed to climb.

[Remeber that Luis is level 345. If he can do it so can you.]

That small bit of knowledge sparked a giant question. 'Hold the fuck up! Dylan was at level 11 and his stats were nowhere near mine. How the fuck did he get to level 11 without evolving or reaching the peak?!?!' Jason asked sitting up.

[Dylan is only human, and he neglected his body. Humans will only go through an evolution event once they reach level 500. You are a Human-Virus. You work differently than a normal human. As such your way of leveling up will differ from a normal human since you are already an evolved version of a human being. Dylan and his group did not receive the level-up bonus because their stats are below the needed amount for the bonus to activate.]

'In other words, Dylan only relied on his power and that was the only strong part about him but the rest is shit so he and his lackeys were easy to beat in close combat. But!! that means my learning curve is not really a curve, but a fucking rollercoaster. Fucking fuck!!' Jason thought.

[Remeber. You are a Human-Virus.]

'. . . Oh my God, I'm such a moron.' Jason thought smacking his face and running his hand down it. That little reminder, helped him realize that in order to speed up his growth he needed to think and act more than just a human. Jason needed to train and work, as a human AND! as a virus. He couldn't ignore his viral skills because his entire growth depended on them. 'I am gonna have to really infect a lot of things just to reach my goal.' Jason thought.

[On the bright side, you'll be stronger than a normal human being with powers]

This made Jason smile from ear to ear. 'Ok, now I'm less worried about my growth rate.' Jason thought and then added, 'So since I still have a buttload of Exp. How about I use it? How many levels can I level up with what I have right now?'

[Every level will cost double what the previous level costed. At the moment you can level up 4 times.]

'So, up to level 6 then.' Jason thought as he did some calculations of his own, 'So that's 40 more free stat points which brings it to 50 in total and 100 more A&S points. Then a total of 400 points for my Hp. and Sp. Awesome!' Jason was about to go through the level up but then stopped when he remembered a key detail. If he levels up now and ends up fighting someone higher than him, like Dylan, the Exp. yield will be less than before. So now he had to debate whether he should level up right now or hold off.

[You could just find stronger opponents. At some point, if you lack the necessary Hp., Sp. or Stats, you will be faced with opponents you can't win.]

'By that logic, I should've lost to Dylan and his group.' Jason said.

[You won only because you persevered and managed to predict your enemy's movement. A single misstep would've spelled your defeat. The only reason the amount of Exp. you received was so much, is because you went against the suggestion of the quest, it was your first victory, your Hp., Sp. and Qi were low, your Adaptation ability, you won the quest by the skin of your teeth, your stats allowed you to reach the peak of your physical condition, and because you knew how to fight.]

[For all intents and purposes you should've lost.]

'Then explain to me why it felt so easy.' Jason asked skeptical of what the system had just said.

[You had rattled your enemy, you controlled the flow of the fight, you cut off their movements, and you essentially fought them one by one.]

[Your strategy and execution made it feel easy when it actually wasn't.]

[The biggest factor was they were holding back to avoid killing you. Had they fought with the intent to kill, you would have died.]

[As your subconscious, my perception is higher than yours. As such your body realized how much experience it had gained.]

'That still doesn't explain why the quest gave me so much.' Jason said.

[The quests aren't determined by you. They are preset by your ancestor. Outside of quest, your experience gain will be determined by many variables that will measure the difficulty level, your personal level bares little influence in this matter.]

[While you are worried about gaining less experience because of your level, it will happen anyway because of your abilities, and your stats.]

'Why does it feel like you are trying to convince me to just level up?' Jason asked.

[Because I am. I am your subconscious and my main goal is to ensure your survival with my advice. The higher your Hp. and Sp. the higher your survival rate.]

Jason stayed silent for a moment as he processed all the information he had received. As it stood the Exp. he gained was somewhat random as his system(aka his subconscious) would make hundred of calculations of variable Jason couldn't quite see and then his body would collect the Exp. it determined it got. In other words, Exp. was gained from what he learned in battled after he won, but if he lost it would remain as passive Exp. until his birthday or until he won the next battle. Jason still wasn't sure if it was better to remain low-level or if it was better to solely focus on getting stronger and just forget about the Exp. he would gain. 'Didn't I get the quest because I was lower in level than Dylan? Wouldn't that mean I'd lose a few quests if I level up?' Jason asked.

[Not necessarily. You might even miss out on quests because your level is too low. Much like the quest that asked you to survive or escape, wouldn't have given you Exp.]

Jason sighed still not sure what to do. Then he remembered that in some video games he didn't really have a choice. Once he had enough Exp, he would just level up automatically regardless of whether he'd want to or not. This system, however, gave him a choice, and one he didn't fully know how to approach.