Chapter 12. Bone Tempering
Leaving the Beast Trading Area, Alex held his bank card and calculated silently.
The 500,000 credits Principal Higgins gave him, plus the 2 million inheritance left by his parents, and the 2 million he just made... it all added up to nearly 5 million credits.
Alex sighed softly. "Now, the only thing I have left is money!"
Following the signs, Alex arrived at the Pill Trading Area.
A faint scent of medicine permeated the air, with various pills stored in glass bottles lining the shelves.
In no time, he bought 15 Top-Grade Bone Tempering Pills, spending 3 million credits. Afterward, he headed straight for the training rooms.
Arriving at the front desk of the training center, Alex spoke politely. "Hello, I'd like to open a training room."
The receptionist smiled slightly and asked softly, "May I ask what your cultivation realm is? It will help me choose a suitable room for you."
"Tier 1, Rank 4."
The receptionist thought for a moment before suggesting, "How about the lowest grade, an F-Rank Training Room? It increases the efficiency of your cultivation method by 10%, allowing you to better absorb the world's Origin Energy to raise your realm. It also offers beast simulations ranging from Tier 1 Rank 1 to Rank 5. The price is 100,000 credits per hour."
"Open an E-Rank room. Is that okay?"
"E-Rank? The price is 200,000 per hour, and it won't be much more useful to you than the F-Rank. I suggest you stick with the F-Rank," the receptionist explained patiently.
"Just open the E-Rank. For three hours," Alex said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
On one hand, he wanted to make the most of his time cultivating and tempering his bones. On the other, he wanted to test his skills against a virtual Tier 1 Rank 6 beast, so he had to choose the E-Rank room.
"Alright then. Cash or card?" the receptionist asked helplessly.
"Card." Alex handed over the bank card.
The receptionist respectfully took the card. after processing the payment, she handed back an E-Rank access card along with his bank card.
"Left turn ahead."
Alex took the card. "Thanks."
After a few steps, Alex arrived at the door of the training room.
He swiped the card and entered. A strong sense of advanced technology washed over him.
Inside the room, various precision instruments shimmered with faint light.
"Hello, respected user. I am your AI Assistant, Aria. Please state your command."
A sweet voice suddenly rang out, startling Alex.
Good lord, technology is this advanced now?
"Simulate a Tier 1, Rank 5 Scorpion-type beast for me."
"Generating for you now, please wait..."
Two and a half seconds later, ripples appeared in the air in front of him. A virtually simulated Iron-Armored Giant Scorpion slowly materialized.
It was the size of a small car. Its armor glinted with a cold light, the hard shell looking as if it could withstand any attack.
"Convenient enough!" Alex exclaimed in admiration.
Without hesitation, his hands formed seals rapidly. An Abyssal Swamp instantly formed beneath the Giant Scorpion's feet, trapping it firmly.
Above, a Shadow Claw appeared, whistling through the wind as it slammed viciously onto the scorpion.
Under this chain of attacks, the Tier 1 Rank 5 Iron-Armored Giant Scorpion was instantly left on the verge of death, its body covered in cracks and wounds.
"Not bad. Crossing a small realm gap, one combo of combat skills is enough to beat it to this state."
Alex nodded with satisfaction, calculating internally.
Keep in mind, he was only using an S-Rank Ability, and his combat skills were merely at the Novice level!
If he reached SS-Rank and his skills were cultivated to the Perfect level, how terrifying would that power be?
Next, Alex tried generating a Tier 1, Rank 6 Iron-Armored Giant Scorpion.
This time, after a full combo of skills, the scorpion was clearly not heavily injured.
Seeing this, Alex's gaze sharpened. He summoned the Death Scythe and shouted, "Slash!"
The demonic scythe carried a fierce momentum as he swung it violently at the Tier 1 Rank 6 scorpion.
With a shhhhk sound, the scorpion's hard shell was easily sliced open, leaving a deep gash.
"As expected, I still need the Death Scythe!"
Alex sighed emotionally. Right now, this Companion Spirit Weapon was his strongest asset!
After all, Companion Spirit Weapons only had a chance of appearing when awakening an A-Rank Ability or higher. In the entire Federation, over hundreds of years, very few people were born with one.
Compared to standard combat weapons, Spirit Weapons could drastically increase combat power. A Spirit Weapon could easily crush a standard weapon of the same rank!
"Again!"
Seeing the Giant Scorpion still daring to resist, a cold light flashed in Alex's eyes as he swung the scythe again.
Within a minute, the Iron-Armored Giant Scorpion was dead.
"So satisfying!" Alex shouted excitedly.
As for a Tier 1 Rank 7 beast, Alex decided not to try for now. He would likely only cause light injuries and would have to slowly whittle it down. It wouldn't be much of a challenge, just tedious.
However, Alex was slightly disappointed that his Ability Characteristic was still unclear.
"Whatever. It will appear when it's meant to appear!"
Subsequently, he took out the Top-Grade Bone Tempering Pill, preparing to start the tempering process.
He sat cross-legged on the floor, swallowed the pill in one gulp, circulated the Basic Ability Cultivation Method, and began to temper his bones, charging at the First Round of Bone Tempering!
The medicinal effect of the Top-Grade pill kicked in rapidly. In an instant, Alex clearly felt as if his bones were being gripped by invisible giant hands, being crushed and reshaped bit by bit.
Subtle crackling sounds echoed from his bones, and his muscles contracted and tightened with the changes in his skeleton!
The piercing pain caused bead-sized drops of sweat to roll down his forehead.
Time ticked by. Alex gritted his teeth, enduring the agony.
One hour later, his body shuddered. "First Round of Bone Tempering, complete!"
An hour might seem short, but without the Top-Grade pill and the three High-Grade pills he consumed afterward, this First Round would have taken days to complete!
Moreover, the difficulty of bone tempering increased with each round. Otherwise, why would the average progress in the Federation be stuck at the Third Round?
"System, open panel," Alex said after catching his breath.
[Name: Alex Whitefield]
[Age: 18]
[Realm: Tier 1, Rank 4 (+)]
[Companion Spirit Weapon: S-Rank—Death Scythe]
[Combat Skills: Tier 2 Abyssal Swamp (Novice), Tier 2 Shadow Claw (Novice)]
[Cultivation Method: Basic Ability Cultivation Method]
[Bone Tempering: 1st Round (+)]
[Slaughter Points: 500]
[Note: The little rookie is taking flight...]
Looking at the remaining 500 Slaughter Points—earned from killing Kane and the other beasts that afternoon—he pondered what to upgrade.
But the plus sign next to "Bone Tempering: 1st Round" confused him.
"System? What does the plus sign behind Bone Tempering mean?" Alex asked, puzzled.
[Points can be used for upgrades. Using this System to add points is non-toxic and side-effect free. Only 200 points needed to reach the 2nd Round. Action speaks louder than words.]
"Holy crap? Why didn't you say so earlier, you bastard!" Alex couldn't help but curse.
Now, Perfect Tempering was a guarantee!
Whether he added points all the way up or tempered himself manually until the Ninth Round, he could just use points to reach the Tenth Round with 100% success rate and obtain the Perfect Golden Bone!
Besides, he had participated in the process manually just now. That was honest labor!
"System! Add points to Bone Tempering! Upgrade to the 2nd Round!"
[Consumed 200 Slaughter Points. Host successfully reached the 2nd Round of Bone Tempering.]
As the System notification faded, Alex felt his entire skeleton shatter and reassemble. The pain was unbearable.
But after the pain passed, his entire skeletal structure became significantly harder.
Alex sighed internally. One-click upgrades... you deserve the best!
Looking at the remaining 300 Slaughter Points, his gaze fell on his two combat skills.
Should I upgrade Shadow Claw to Proficient first, or Abyssal Swamp?