New System, Who Dis?

Tutorial Day 37

Upon waking, the first thing I noticed was that the Sunstone hanging in my room indicated it was the middle of the evening and thankfully the same day. The next thing I became aware of was the extreme ache of my body. It felt as though I had been lifting weights at the peak of my strength, essentially ego lifting, for an entire day.

Attempting to sit up caused my abs to scream in protest. Moving my hand to rub my abs resulted in muscles I didn't even know existed in my forearms, biceps, and shoulder voicing their complaints.

What exactly had just happened?

The tester hadn't mentioned any soreness. I blinked and even my eyelids ached.

Trying to find answers, I mentally opened my Status page.

There wasn't much of a change. Only two lines had any differences from the last time I'd looked at it. My Wisdom and Perception had long since capped out at ten each throughout my training and subsequent Healing and Cleansing of Claude. So those weren't what had changed.

I'd realized at some point that because of my Demonic Vault's class of Battlefield Healer—the Stats it offered were increased based on an average level of the Skills. Since Cleanse was level forty thanks to Claude's alcohol consumption, the average between Heal and Cleanse was twenty-eight, which was seventeen points higher than the eleven they'd started at.

No, the change was that both Qi and Soul had now joined Mana, with fifty points. Stuck, at fifty points…

That, of course, was the dilemma I had just reached, and why I was currently scrutinizing the barrel of Stat Breakthrough Liquid. What was my option to increase my Pools of energy? Despite all my conversations with Claude, or any hints Smegma might have given me from the past, there truly wasn't a definitive answer.

And, considering that my brain had been stuck on the idea of a perfect Evolution, I couldn't help but wonder if I was doing something wrong. Sure, I had just cleansed my entire body of impurities. Yes, I needed to increase all of my stats above ten, which would break them into the E-Rank—

Which was where my Pools of Soul, Mana and Qi already were!

If the cards I had seen were any indication, one through ten defined F-Rank. Eleven through fifty was E-Rank.

So, was I overthinking this? Probably. Especially considering that an Evolution in a Mana Pool Skill would increase the depth and capacity of the Mana Pool. That, and 'Mana Pools' couldn't grow… according to Smegma.

Still, I couldn't help but pause for a moment. I stopped and reviewed what I thought I needed to do with the Stat Breakthrough Liquid. All in all, it seemed pretty simple. Submerge yourself in the Liquid, allow it to permeate your skin through some sort of magical osmosis, and your body would do the rest.

However, why then did Stat Breakthrough Pills need to be consumed? According to the descriptions in the Shop, the Stat Breakthrough Liquid was an all-encompassing solution to breaking through. It would break through not only one Stat, but all of your Stats simultaneously.

Still, if a Pill worked from the inside, did that mean I should fully submerge myself and also consume the Liquid as I sat in it?

That thought felt like consuming bath water—disgusting and dirty. However, it also seemed right. If magical osmosis through the skin was something that aided the process, then I thought perhaps doing both would be the exact way to get this done perfectly.

Painfully, I eased myself backward out of the bed, feeling like I was pouring myself onto the floor. I hadn't gotten under the covers, thanks to the exhaustion I'd felt after taking the three Rejuvenation Pills, which at least stopped me from getting tangled in them.

My body seemed to creak and groan with each movement, the muscles tight, tender, and incredibly sore. Yet, I felt strong. Despite the tautness of each muscle fiber, looking at the barrel filled with the liquid didn't fill me with trepidation about what I was about to do.

I had to lift this thing and pour it into the copper tub. And I thought I could.

That surprised me.

Yes, my Strength had increased. I knew that. After all, I'd pulled a half-ton Mirror Fish out of a lake. I'd slain Borkers while activating Reptilian Body—and even walked around wearing Claude's insane Armor. Still, this was my first time truly feeling that increase—of feeling what Claude had been torturing me for. I didn't even think I needed Reptilian Body or my Qi to perform this task.

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How much did that barrel weigh?

Well, I was guessing based on the size—but it could easily be five hundred pounds. Sure, I was going to struggle a bit to lift and dump it, but somehow, I was certain I could. In fact, I did. With no struggle, I pulled the corked lid off the barrel, placed a hand underneath the three feet of wood, and dumped its contents into the copper tub. The smell of Herbs, alcohol, and other ingredients hit my nose and burned their way up. It was a different experience than the detoxification of my body, where the sulfur smell invaded my nostrils. This smell, while pungent, wasn't unpleasant.

The color of the liquid gave me pause. It was strange. It actually had seven distinct colors, and they didn't mix. I was curious about the properties of this liquid.

How was it made? If anything, this was the other side of the coin to my Pill Crafting. This was Potion or Elixir Crafting. But to have seven separate colors and probably seven different effects was an oddity to me. I had seven Stats—so was that all this was?

Is this a combination of seven Stat Breakthrough Potions?

Would I ever be able to make something like this? If I saved up enough Mana Coins, I could buy the equipment and possibly learn this kind of Potion making. Still, even with all my successes so far, I had yet to receive a Skill for Pill Crafting or Alchemy or anything.

So, what was the Overdraft enchantment funnel-thing doing?

I knew there was no answer to that question, at least not yet. I also knew that once I opened the barrel of Stat Breakthrough Liquid, it would slowly lose efficacy the longer it was exposed to the air. So, I cut any further considerations short. I took off my clothes and was about to jump into the pool, but thought better of it. I didn't want any of the liquid spilling over the side.

Instead, I carefully lowered myself in, feeling the somewhat smoothie-like liquid engulf my feet, calves, and then thighs.

The liquid was neither cold nor warm—strangely, it felt like it wasn't really even wet. Just pulpy?

Before my body went into the tub, the Potion filled about half of the copper device. With my body submerged, the liquid immediately rose, covering my abdomen all the way up to just below my nipples. The length of the tub allowed me to lay down, submerging more of my body.

With the same thought as before—that over-building my foundation was better than the alternative—I took my fourth and final Rejuvenation Pill out of my Necklace. I took a deep breath then popped it in my mouth.

The deep breath was so I could hold my breath as I submerged myself. The shudder was still for the taste.

In one fluid motion, I lowered my torso down, submerging my head, arms, hands, everything under the liquid. The Rejuvenation Pill's sensation of exhilaration hit me first, but it was almost immediately followed by a small burning sensation. It began like tea tree oil on my skin, and ramped up to something akin to an Indian rug burn.

It was then that I discovered why the Potion hadn't felt wet. The liquid had instantly begun its work numbing and permeating my skin.

The Indian rug burn, which was now climbing toward the sensation of a second-degree sunburn, was beginning at my feet and running over my body. My chest, arms and head were about three seconds behind and still on the tea-tree-oil stage.

The burning intensified, escalating from a mere sunburn to something akin to what I imagined was the spark of my skin catching fire. Normally when in this type of pain, I'd likely begin hyperventilating. With my body submerged, I couldn't do that and not drown. As the burning crept over my stomach, my eyes clenched tighter, knowing that the same pain would soon assail my face.

Soon, that spark at my feet ignited, and the agony was so deep it felt like it had entered my bones. For just a moment, I forgot myself and my lips cracked open. The Potion rushed into the gap and coated my teeth. The burning was instant inside my mouth. Whether that was because it shouldn't be there, or because of the properties of the gums and tongue—I couldn't say.

But the burning caused my jaw muscles to twitch and spasm—which made my mouth jerk open and totally fill.

Like the liquid had a mind of its own, it rushed down my throat without my need to swallow. A new terror overrode the agony—and gave me a brief reprieve. That moment stretched long enough for me to realize two things. My lungs weren't screaming for air—and the pain would get much worse before it got better.

While I was still in charge of my thoughts, I dove into myself, entering my Mental Universe with every shred of consciousness I had. Once there, I could still feel a muted version of the pain, but it was like I'd gone back about ten seconds in the process.

The problem was that the pain was still ramping up. How could I further distance myself from the incoming burn?

My Mana Pool glowed brightly with the effects of the Rejuvenation Pill, mocking me with my split-second decision to consume it. I couldn't help but wonder if my choice was the cause of this… No one had mentioned anything like this before.

Surely burning alive was a topic Tutorial takers would mention?! Why had this never come up in conversation? Surely, others must have broken through their Stats before me. So why was I in such a horrible situation?

The only answer was the Rejuvenation Pills, or perhaps—the fourth one. That was definitely the answer. They'd purged my body of impurities, creating an accelerated version of the magical osmosis. The thought had only taken a few seconds and already the burn was ramping up its threat, telling me I might die for my stupid desire of a perfect Evolution.

As if to mock me, the sun that was my Mana Pool grew so bright that it forced me to close my eyes in the metaphysical realm as well. Was this it? Did I just have to close my eyes and wait for my body to burn up or explode?

Wait.

My thoughts began to spin in response to a thunderbolt of realization.

Mana.

My eyes flew open in both planes, and the pain ramped up to a new crescendo, but I didn't care. I had three Pools of energy that were currently not being used. A small smirk crossed my face. I doubted the smirk made it to the physical world because, at the moment, my face was too busy grimacing in pain due to the intense burning down my esophagus.

This might just work.

Inside my Mental Universe, I made the connection between my Pool and the Reptilian Body Skill using MNS. With the abundance of Mana, I was able to force it wide open for the first time. I left the Universe to check in on the red-smoke Skill planet. A thick shield of Mana enveloped the planet in that space. Smoke was slowly being drawn back into it, and the planet was quickly becoming something akin to whole.

The planet flashed and the pain lessened. There was a moment of consideration, and then I remembered that scales had formed on my skin. Had that slowed the osmosis? Maybe. Either way, this was the chance I needed.

In my current state, it wasn't hard to summon my Qi. And with all the practice I had gone through with Claude, holding my Soul energy tightly around my body wasn't difficult. All three of my Pools began to drain but refill simultaneously due to the effect of the Rejuvenation Pill. And I had a moment to consider what was actually happening here.

The tester had been wrong.

The Rejuvenation Pill didn't just increase your recovery rate and your Mana Pool over thirty seconds. It worked on all three resource pools, which was probably why it increased recovery. Physical recovery wasn't a primary effect, it was a secondary—or perhaps even a tertiary effect from how the Pill operated on all three resource Pools simultaneously.

This was quite the discovery. And the pain lessened further.

For about twelve seconds, and then the Rejuvenation Pill ran dry.

The moment it happened, I felt the feeling of limitless power fade, and with it—my fear returned.

From one second to the next, my Mana went dry—thanks to the hundred points a second I had been feeding down my Soul Nervous System. Qi burned off inside my muscles just as quickly, as the pain it had been suppressing overwhelmed it.

The last Pool to bottom out was Soul—but it only managed to stay somewhat whole for a second longer before it too, shattered—along with any hope I had.

The only place that felt 'cool' against my incinerating skin, was where my Necklace of Small Holding rested. It was excruciatingly cold, in fact. Already in my Mental Universe, I could feel the contents inside it vibrating. Was it about to break?

It isn't all the contents… either way, what did it breaking matter, if I was dead?

Surely this was worthy of a Derpin Award as one of the stupidest ways for a Hunter candidate to die.

Whelp, at least I was facing my death with my eyes wide open… and not shut tight with fear.

My world strangely didn't go black—instead it went rainbow-road supernova even as multiple small black objects flew out of my Necklace of Holding. Then the small eclipses those items created, and my vision was swallowed by white.