Chapter 169: Three Years Later (2)

'Ah, those traits… I remember them well. They're definitely useful,' he thought with a grimace of discomfort. 'But the pain... that part isn't something just anyone could endure. These two traits may look harmless at first glance, almost benign, but once I accepted them, my body started shifting on a microscopic level. I felt every part of that transformation—and it was honestly fucking excruciating!'

'Still, the benefits were absolutely worth it. Partial Body Control, in particular, turned out to be especially convenient. I don't need to cut my nails anymore, don't have to shave or even bother with my hair growing out. That alone saves time, but it doesn't stop there. With the increased control over my body, I was able to "fine-tune" my appearance—correcting small imperfections, removing minor moles, evening out irregular skin patches, making small patches of thin hair on my skin disappear, and dealing with other minor aesthetic annoyances.'

'Jade-like skin soon?' he joked inwardly, lips curling slightly before his expression returned to a more serious self-assessing look. 'All in all, it's a good outcome. I don't obsess over my looks, but let's be honest—becoming more handsome is not exactly something I'm going to complain about.'

'As for the girls, once they heard about the kind of benefits Partial Body Control offers, they got excited and didn't waste time before acquiring it themselves. The trait gave their already stunning features an additional edge. It might not sound like a big deal at first, but when someone is already extremely beautiful, even the slightest enhancement has an outsized effect.'

A thoughtful expression spread across his face. 'In a cultivation novel, it'd be like the difference between a country-toppling beauty and a world-toppling one, right?' he mused half-seriously, eyes drifting toward the three radiant figures. Each of the three women was focused on her system interface, their flawless appearances seeming to shimmer under the light.

A few quiet seconds passed in that daze before his attention finally returned to the status window, his gaze settling next on the Energy section.

[Energy:

Aura (Dirarnia World): D- 524/524 → SSS+ 50K/50K

Mana (Dirarnia World): D- 633/633 → SSS+ 50K/50K

Mental Force (Myrrakar World): Perfection Realm

Vitalis (Zarvital World): Perfect Human Realm

Anima (Eidorym World): Ascendant Realm]

'Ahh… the Energy section. While reaching the Absolute Limits in my stats came with surprising ease, advancing my Energy stats was an entirely different ordeal—long, demanding, and incredibly draining. Honestly, if I had to measure the time I spent on it over the past three years, it probably falls just short of the time I invested into developing my skills.'

His eyes traced the lines of the Energy section with a faint, satisfied smile. 'Still, even if it devoured countless hours, it was absolutely worth it. I reached the cap here too. I now possess five distinct types of Energy—sadly, the maximum allowed through the Records. If the cap didn't exist, I would've eagerly pursued more. But within that limit, I've brought every single one of them to its peak, and none can progress any further.'

'And what's even better… is that all five complement each other incredibly well. Aura allows me to actively enhance my body and conjure a layer of protection around it. Mana, while lacking the same reinforcement capabilities as Aura, grants me unparalleled freedom when it comes to manipulating elements and casting magic with ease.'

'Then there's Mental Force, which I acquired in the Myrrakar World. It's maxed out at the Perfection Realm. Unlike the two above, it works in a passive way, strengthening my mind in a multitude of ways—whether it's by accelerating my thought-processing speed, enabling me to partition my thoughts, deepening my understanding, or increasing my overall intelligence. A higher level of Mental Force means my mind can stay sharp and operational longer, resist mental fatigue, and handle far more taxing mental tasks than before.'

'But that's not all. No, the most important benefit that Mental Force at the Perfection Realm grants me—at least to me—is the massive boost in "comprehension". When I create or upgrade skills, the difference between my past self—before I had Mental Force—and my current self is beyond night and day. It's simply overwhelming.'

'After acquiring Mental Force, the next energy I set my sights on and trained to its peak was Vitalis, obtained from the Zarvital World. My Vitalis has now reached its highest tier—the Perfect Human Realm. While it shares some core similarities with Aura, in that both work to reinforce the physical body, the nature of their operation is fundamentally different. Aura must be actively triggered to take effect, whereas Vitalis… functions in a completely passive state.'

'Vitalis acts as a form of "life force", and as I advanced in it, it naturally and significantly reinforced my body—without requiring any conscious activation. All of it happened automatically, which made it deceptively easy to overlook just how powerful the changes were. If Mental Force is an energy tightly bound to the mind, then Vitalis is its counterpart—an energy intrinsically tied to the body, enhancing it to extraordinary levels without any effort on my part.'

'And finally, the last energy I obtained—since the Records cap the number at five—was Anima, from the Eidorym World. It too has reached its maximum potential, known as the Ascendant Realm. Anima is closely connected to the soul. Yet, even with mine at its peak, I can only vaguely sense the presence of my soul. It hasn't granted me any concrete benefits so far… if any at all.'

Mikael's eyes drifted toward the girls' focused expressions as his thoughts continued to spiral. 'Still, even if Anima hasn't brought me anything significant yet, I have the certainty that its value will shine in the future. So I don't regret choosing it as one of my five core energies.'

'If I hadn't learned about the limit imposed by the Records—restricting users to just five energies—I probably would've acquired new ones recklessly, not giving it a second thought, and ended up completely screwed. Luckily, I bought that book written by the Carefree Immortal. It was a lifesaver. Thanks to it, I obtained this crucial information and avoided making a mistake that could've haunted me later…'

He ran a hand through his hair with a quiet exhale. 'Seriously, in the world of the Records, information is every bit as important as raw combat power. It shapes long-term decisions and ensures you make strategic choices when it really matters. I can easily imagine entire information broker groups forming in the Hub—specialized in collecting and selling knowledge like that.'

'I mean… they probably already exist. It's just that I've never come across them, which isn't that surprising. I don't visit the Hub often, and even when I do, I don't stick around long. On top of that, I only ever stay in the section designated for Earth(Origin World) natives. Outsiders aren't allowed there—except in rare cases like Amelia, Kiara, and Lyra, since they're now "linked" to a native, which in this case means me.'

At that moment, a sudden realization struck him. 'Ah, damn. My thoughts have drifted off again. This happens way too often ever since I got Mental Force. I think it's because my mind is too "active" now… or something along those lines?'

He shook his head lightly, brushing the thought aside.

'Anyway, I should focus on what I was doing—which is verifying that everything's in order with my status window. I was at the Energy section, where everything looked solid. I've got an aura core and a mana core both located near my heart. They're responsible for managing the Energy aspect of power. Then there's my Mental Force nucleus, nestled within my brain, which takes care of the Mind aspect.'

'Vitalis, unlike the previous three, isn't housed in a centralized core. Instead, it's spread evenly throughout my bloodstream. That comes with a rather nice advantage—there's no "core" to target, meaning I don't have a convenient weak point. But the downside is that whenever I bleed, I lose some Vitalis along with the blood. Of course, it isn't a permanent loss—it regenerates over time—but during that window, I'll gradually grow weaker the more I bleed. Vitalis governs the Body aspect of power.'

'And finally, there's Anima, which I believe resides in a type of core situated within my soul. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure if it's truly located there, but that's what it feels like. Without the ability to actually perceive or manipulate my soul directly, I have no choice but to rely on this assumption. Anima governs the Soul aspect of power.'

'These five energies work in concert to create a nearly perfect balance of power within me, and I'm honestly quite satisfied with the result… Everything seems to be in its proper place on this side of things, so no further adjustments are necessary. I should move on and continue reviewing my status window, starting with the next section—skills!'

[Active Skills:

Weighless Wind – Explosive Style (Legendary) – Tier 1, Level 2 → Weighless Wind – Explosive Style (Legendary) – Tier 2, Level 5

…+23 Skills

Active/Passive Skills:

Body Refining Technique (Uncommon) – Tier 0, Level 3 → Body Refinement (Rare) – Tier 1, Level 5

Chained Sword Style (Rare) – Tier 1, Level 4 → Elemental Sword Style (Legendary) – Tier 2, Level 5

Aura Threads Creation and Manipulation (Uncommon) – Tier 1, Level 4 → Energy Threads Creation and Manipulation (Rare) – Tier 2, Level 5

Mobile Meditation (Uncommon) – Tier 1, Level 3 → Accelerated Recovery

(Rare) – Tier 2, Level 5

…+61 Skills

Passive Skills:

Unarmed Martial Arts Mastery (Common) – Tier 0, Level 5 → Martial Arts Master (Rare) – Tier 1, Level 5

6th Sense (Uncommon) – Tier 0, Level 5 → Supernatural 6th Sense (Epic) – Tier 1, Level 5

…+38 Skills]

'There's not much to say here, except that this is where the bulk of my time has gone—and it really shows, considering the sheer number of new skills I've acquired. On top of that, nearly all of my older skills have leveled up and most have even increased in rarity, which under normal circumstances would've been a huge boost… and it was. But now, knowing I'll be abandoning all of them soon…'

He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling softly.

'Honestly, it's kind of depressing to "let go" of all these skills after the sheer amount of effort I put into acquiring and upgrading them. But I know it's something I have to do. Improving my innate talents takes priority—it's far more important for my long-term growth and future potential, just like it was explained in that book written by Carefree Immortal.'

'And it's not like I'll suddenly be unable to use those skills anymore. I should still retain the ability to wield them. After all, I'll continue to possess both the theoretical understanding and the practical experience. What I'll lose is the boost granted by the Records, which will inevitably weaken the effectiveness of the skills, but my personal mastery won't disappear. So at least there's that…'

With those thoughts settling in his mind, he completed the review of his skills and moved on to the next section of his status window. However, the moment he realized that the next entry was the LP section, it became clear that he had reached the end of his "review." Just to be thorough, he scanned over everything one last time before nodding with a short breath. "All good."

"Same for me," came Amelia's calm voice, quickly echoed by both Kiara and Lyra.

Lyra stepped forward, subtly drawing everyone's attention. "We all know what today is about and we've already discussed the plan, but just to be safe, I'll go over it one last time."

Author Note:

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