The Only Son Amongst The Daughters Of Eros

This ball pulsed and swirled, radiating warmth and power, hovering before him. Aeric blinked, momentarily frozen.

"No way…" He leaned closer, marveling at the swirling mass. "Did I create this? Is this actual physical Divinity?" It was alive with energy, a piece of his Divinity made tangible.

'Wow. I wonder what kind of damage it can cause. Is this like a stun blast crimson ball or like a combustion level stuff?'

He brought his head closer to inspect, but as quickly as it had formed, the ball flickered and vanished.

Aeric collapsed backward onto the mat, panting heavily. Despite his exhaustion, a smile spread across his face. 'I actually did it. Woah. So that was physical Divinity I casted back inside that Dungeon.'

He looked at his open palm. 'How fast am I growing?'

Ding!

[Congratulations,] the system tore into his thoughts.

[Initial Essence Condensation achieved. Regular practice will ensure greater control and efficiency].

Aeric groaned, pushing himself upright. "Great. Since I know what comes next, I'll celebrate later. Let me just—"

[Reminder: Next exercise Sit-ups to strengthen the core after Condensation].

Aeric let out a long sigh, glancing at the mat. "I know I know. Because nothing says 'great achievement' like crunches." Still, he rose, his body aching but his spirits high.

As he began his sit-ups, his thoughts lingered on the glowing crimson ball. For the first time, he was becoming excited about his powers and abilities rather than just his plans to survive in case things went haywire.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

With all this talk about the Snake Queen and her Drakes, he would need to be powerful enough as Son of Starlight to join the knights in defense of his Region.

Aeric lay sprawled on the mat, his chest rising and falling with each heavy breath. Sweat dripped from his temple, tracing lines down his jaw before splashing onto the floor. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling, his body aching from the sit-ups but his mind already wandering.

With a grunt, he pushed himself up to his feet, wiping his face with the back of his hand. His shirt clung to him uncomfortably, damp with sweat.

[Sit-ups completed]

[Exercise completed. Rewards allocated: 10 XP]

"Alright," he muttered, looking down at his sweaty body, "next on the agenda—definitely a bath."

Aeric walked to the bathroom, peeling off his damp clothes as he went. The cool tiles greeted his bare feet, and he stepped into the tub of hot water.

As the water washed over him, he let his thoughts drift. The cultivation session had been rough, but the brief success was a glimmer of hope. "A crimson orb of Divinity," he whispered to himself, shaking his head in disbelief. "Who knows what else I have in me? This has really got me excited to level up more."

After scrubbing himself clean, he stepped out, grabbing a towel to dry off. The mirror was fogged, his reflection blurred but still recognizable. He smiled faintly, ruffling his damp hair with the towel before wrapping it around his shoulders.

When he was done, he stepped back into his room, but at the same time, he kept having the feeling that he was forgetting something.

Then, the sight of the brown bag near the corner of his bed caught his eye. Aeric paused, the gears in his mind clicking. "Of course! The beast cores…" he exclaimed, walking toward it.

He crouched and unfastened the bag, revealing a small collection of vibrant orbs glowing faintly with energy. Memories of the Dungeon clearing flashed in his mind: the adrenaline, the slaughter, the sex, and almost getting caught.

Aeric pouted. "Perfect. Time to see what this Weapon Crafting is all about."

Summoning the interface, he scrolled to the Weapon Crafting Panel with numerous swipes of his hand, and the new crimson interface shimmered to life.

As calculated earlier, the beast cores he had presently were only worth 74 Weapon Points. Aeric thought it was safe to harness them now so he doesn't forget or someone doesn't find the bag of cores and start asking questions.

With practiced care, he placed each beast core into the panel, watching as they disintegrated one by one into streams of light.

The system chimed in its usual neutral tone: [Beast Cores harnessed]

[Total Weapon Points: 74]

[Weapon Tier: Initiate].

Aeric cocked an eyebrow. "Not that I'm surprised. But I'm only curious how many beasts I'd have to kill to get the Tier I want."

The panel displayed an option —

[Would you like to craft your weapon now?]

He shook his head quickly, selecting "No" with a tap. "Not a chance. An Initiate weapon is basically a fancy paperweight. I'll wait until I kill and harvest and harness hundreds of beasts. Not crafting till it hits Ascendant."

He leaned back against his bed, thinking aloud. "Plus, I haven't even decided what weapon I want yet. Maybe after my training with Alzera I will figure out what suits my style."

Aeric walked to his bed and sat on the edge, his gaze drifted to the window. The moonlight highlighted his room, and normally, he would be on his way to bed, but his mind was elsewhere — on Celestia.

Her face came to his thoughts, her warm smile from their first meeting when their hands had touched. That memory was now replaced by the sight of her disappointment after school today.

Aeric groaned, leaning forward to cradle his head in his hands. "I really messed up with her."

It was desperately gnawing at him to find a way to fix this, while his leveling up and other objectives also loomed before him, and then the idea struck him like a lightning bolt.

Aeric sat up straight, his eyes wide. "Wait…what if I used the Project Skill to fix this? If I unlock the last tier, I could create a clone or even multiple that cultivates while I spend time with her. That way, I can level up and rebuild her trust at the same time!"

Excited, Aeric summoned the Skill Tree. The glowing branches of his abilities shimmered, and he tapped on [Project].

The system displayed the details for the third tier:

[Fourth Tier: Project Supreme — Create physical copies to perform leveling tasks independently, with the Player reaping the benefits. Cost: 400 Skill Points]

Aeric's excitement dimmed as he checked his Skill Points balance. "How much do I even have right now?" The number glowed faintly:

[43 Skill Points.]

He groaned, rubbing his temple. "That's not even enough for the first tier, let alone the third. And I don't think I can skip the first two tiers…"

The system confirmed his suspicions:

[Tier One cost: 50 Skill Points. Tier Two cost: 200 Skill Points. Tier Three cost: 400 Skill Points. Lower tiers must be unlocked before proceeding.]

He flopped back onto his bed with a loud sigh, staring at the ceiling. "Great. Just great. To get Skill Points, I need XP. And to get XP, I need to complete a whole lot of objectives."

His lips twitched into a grin despite his frustration. "Guess I have no choice than to spam random objectives until I have enough XP."

The system chimed softly:

[New Objective: Rest and recover. Rewards: 5 XP.]

Aeric chuckled, closing his eyes. "Look at you helping me out. Alright, system. I'll take it."

The faint glow of the interface dimmed as Aeric drifted off.