Training

198. 199. 200.

Klein rose from the ground after completing his two hundredth push-up, his entire body drenched in sweat, swelling in a dark reddish hue. But he wasn't ready to call it quits just yet.

Leaving Elowen to her own spree of push-ups—which promised to reach double his number—Klein swiftly moved towards a nearby tree and leapt. He reached out, grasped a narrow branch, and began doing a set of pull-ups.

Klein was never fond of excessive exercise, especially physical exercise. The situation was an exception. The results spoke for themselves after he ingested the strange mushroom broth. If only Xin were conscious, she could have provided him with a detailed report of the physiological changes unwinding within his body.

In essence, he believed that his muscles, tissues, and cells were absorbing the nutrients from the spiritual components he ingested at an accelerated rate on physical stress. The greater the physical strain he endured, the more efficient the digestion became.

Honestly, it was rather difficult to maximise the benefits of his training without the appropriate equipment. Klein could only train in the most basic exercises without them. He did possess bars and ingots of rare metals within his dimensional storage, which could serve as additional weights to increase the intensity of his workouts. Hell, even training in heavy armour could give significant benefits.

Unfortunately, Klein wasn't in the right place or time to make use of them. There was still so much to learn about the transformations unfolding within his body. Coupling with the dangerous forest he found himself in, it was unreasonable to exhaust all his energy solely for the sake of training.

Perhaps that was why Elowen was also doing the basic exercises. Of course, she maintained a constant essence circulation in her channels, which was something he had a hard time following.

Klein kept on forgetting about cycling the raw energy, while also maintaining the proper form. He reclaimed control over his energy and circulated it throughout his body.

This energy circulation was a new experience for him. While mana required circulation, it was primarily a matter of drawing it in and expelling it from his body in spells. Holding mana within one's body and outside the core could be as dangerous as getting struck by a devastating spell.

In contrast, essence appeared to circulate naturally throughout the body at a slow, impassive rate with no supervision, as though they were alive. Yet when he was doing it consciously, his physical body absorbed the raw energy particles fervently. Every fibre of his being was hungry for this newfound energy.

His body was going through some changes, and he wasn't sure how much of it related to the shift of magical components. Ignoring the vision of last night—which was alarmingly fresh in his mind—he still had much to learn about the superior regenerative ability. It simply wasn't natural for Elowen.

Elowen's physical prowess exceeded his, but his regenerative abilities eclipsed hers entirely. He could mend any flesh wound in a matter of minutes, and if essence was involved, it was mere seconds. Unfortunately, or fortunately, he hadn't received many serious injuries to gauge the true extent of this newfound power.

The claw wounds inflicted by the hyena and the arrow in his leg were the only times he was injured. After learning about his extraordinary regenerative power, he tested with a few shallow cuts on himself. His body could recover from weak poison as well, assuming from yesterday's incident, but he wasn't sick enough to test the limits with poisons.

I'll have to figure it all out once I get out of this forest.

As he performed the sixty-eighth pull-up, a familiar surge of sizzling energy flooded within him, coursing through his veins like a wild torrent. The current of energy threatened to break free, wreaking havoc within him, but Klein gritted his teeth and held on, refusing to abandon his hold.

He ended his exercise and came down to sit cross-legged on the ground, focusing to keep the energy on the right path

"Elowen!" he called out to the half-elf, who was deeply engrossed in her own cultivation practice.

Elowen had been avoiding him for a large part since last night--probably too embarrassed about what happened. Her cheeks turned bright red whenever their eyes met, as she ran away to do something else. Well, he was somewhat embarrassed too, but not to her degree.

But Klein could not afford that right now. He had a limited understanding of cultivation. It was prudent to have someone knowledgeable by his side.

In mere seconds, he sensed the familiar barrier, impeding the surging energy, wrenching his insides. No, it isn't the same. This time, the barrier was a notch higher.

Klein's face was flushed red by the time Elowen came. She placed a hand on his shoulder, infusing a small portion of her own energy. Yet the moment her essence came into contact with the turbulent energy coursing within him, she was jolted awake.

The torrential flood of energy swallowed the strands of energy as she jerked her palm away, a look of astonishment spreading across her face.

Klein couldn't help but feel a sense of apprehension, finding her astonished, but there was no halting the process. Not without severe internal injuries. The surging energy relentlessly battered against the invisible barrier, each assault stronger than the last, as an excruciating pain engulfed his entire being.

Croaks of muffled growls escaped Klein's lips as his skin grew reddish-purple, swelling under the fiery friction of the surging current.

Fortunately, this time, the barrier gave way quicker than it had on the previous occasion, as the deep current of energy spread throughout, washing over his body evenly, and filling him with an intoxicating sense of power.

[Essence Assimilated.]

[Congratulations! You have reached Initiate - Level 3.]

[+3 to all Attributes, +3 Unused points.]

[Status Window]

Klein Frost

Human - [Initate - Level 3]

Physique: Integrating (22%)

Law: Seed of Force (Middle)

Attributes:

[Strength: 25 + 5%]

[Speed: 25 +5%] 

[Mind: 25 +5% 

[Spirit: 25 +10%]

[Will: 25 + 15%]

[Recovery: 25 + 5%]

Unused Points: 5

Skills:

- Essence Manipulation (F)

Title: Child of Law, Overachiever

So the attribute points get higher and higher as I level up, he thought. Well, levelling up likely gets tougher with it as well.