Blake suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Have I… become arrogant?
"No, no. This can't continue like this," he muttered to himself.
"The more arrogant I become, the higher the chances that I'll make a fatal mistake."
"Anyone who becomes arrogant is destined to fall sooner or later."
"With this little strength… what right do I even have to be arrogant?"
Taking a deep breath, Blake adjusted his mentality. Once his thoughts settled, he turned and walked toward another area of the mansion.
After that, Blake continued his daily routine—working during the day and cultivating at night.
Just like that, another five days passed.
Blake had now been in this world for ten days.
He opened his eyes and exhaled deeply.
"Warrior Sutras are far harder to cultivate than Mage Sutras," Blake muttered.
"I've been cultivating it for five nights straight, yet I still haven't reached high-grade First Rank."
"But…" he clenched his fist slightly, feeling the strength surging through his body,"After cultivating it, I feel at least ten times stronger than before."
Blake complained about the difficulty of the Warrior Sutra, yet at the same time, he couldn't deny its terrifying benefits.
"It's time to sign in."
"All these past days, the system hasn't given any particularly good rewards. I hope the tenth-day reward is better."
"System, sign in."
"Sign-in confirmed. Congratulations, Host, for obtaining: Superman's Heat Vision."
Superman's Heat Vision:
Beams of intense heat emitted from the eyes.
The intensity of the heat increases as the Host's strength increases.
O_o
Blake's mouth opened so wide that two hotdogs could easily fit inside.
"…Superman's Heat Vision? Is this for real?"
For a long moment, Blake was unable to process what he had just received.
When he finally snapped back to reality, a grin spread across his face—so wide that anyone who saw him would mistake him for a madman.
"Hahaha… this is insane!"
"To think the system could actually give me Superman's ability."
"Wait… does this mean the system can also give me powers of other beings from my original world? The ones I used to read about in novels and comics?"
Blake pondered for a moment before shaking his head.
"Why think so much? There's no need to rush."
"I'll just stay hidden… and keep getting stronger."
A panel appeared before him.
***
Host: Blake
Rank: 1st Rank (Mid-grade)
Physique: Human- 1st Rank (Mid-grade)
Mana Core Affinity: Fire, Water
Talent: Heat Vision
Sutras:
• Silent Sutra (5th Rank)
• Fire Sutra (1st Rank Mid-grade – 100%)
• Water Sutra (1st Rank Mid-grade – 100%)
Storage:
• Golden Shield Talisman
***
"So Heat Vision is now one of my talents, huh…"
Blake stroked his chin thoughtfully. After memorizing the changes, he closed the panel and walked away.
He deliberately chose areas of the mansion with fewer people, not wanting to attract trouble.
And just like that, the day passed, and night arrived.
As Blake prepared to cultivate, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
"…I haven't seen Ethan these past few days."
"I didn't see him during breakfast or lunch either."
"Well, maybe he was selected for knight training."
The knight training
Knight training was something that children brought into the mansion from outside had to go through—though not everyone was selected.
Children were chosen based on their affinities and whether they showed talent on the warrior path.
When a child reached the age of sixteen, they had to touch the Mana Circulation Stone, which revealed their elemental affinity and the grade of their talent.
Talent was the most important factor in determining one's future as a Mage or Warrior.
Talents were divided into grades: Low, Middle, High, Peak, and even higher grades beyond those.
A low-grade Mage could only hope to reach the 3rd Rank at most. Advancing beyond that was extremely difficult.
Middle- and high-grade talents had better prospects, with high-grade talents capable of reaching the 7th Rank, though further advancement was still very hard.
Peak-grade talents had the potential to reach the 9th Rank.
Of course, potential did not guarantee success.
Many died while exploring ruins, traveling, cultivating, or due to unforeseen accidents. That was why 9th Rank Warriors and Mages were incredibly rare.
Warriors, on the other hand, were tested differently.
They were provided with a basic Warrior Sutra known as the Human Sutra.
Talent on the warrior path was determined by how quickly one could cultivate each layer of this Sutra.
The Human Sutra was the most widely spread Sutra among the human race. It was created at the dawn of human civilization by the First Human Emperor, when humanity was one of the weakest races among the thousands of races.
The Sutra had only one requirement—being human.
Its purpose was to allow all humans to cultivate and to test their talent on the warrior path.
Blake, however, didn't need to worry about talent.
With the system, he could cultivate any Sutra he obtained with ease. All he had to do was keep cultivating to increase his strength.
"Maybe Ethan really did get selected for training."
"Whatever. He's a lucky guy."
"As for me… I'll just pretend to have no talent in either path and continue working as a janitor."
"I'll reveal myself only when I'm powerful enough."
With that thought, Blake closed his eyes and resumed cultivating the Berserker's Wraith Sutra.
He wanted to reach high-grade as soon as possible.
Warrior Sutras were fundamentally different from Mage Sutras.
For Mages, cultivation involved absorbing mana and storing it in the mana core to raise one's rank.
Warriors, however, had to temper every part of their body.
The 1st Rank focused on absorbing mana to strengthen the outer body—mainly the skin.
The 2nd Rank refined the inner body, such as blood, bones, and tendons.
The 3rd Rank was the most dangerous.
At this stage, warriors had to temper their lungs, kidneys, intestines, and the most vital organ—the heart.
It was also where most warriors failed, either dying or becoming crippled.
Just like that, another ten days passed.
It was now the morning of the 20th day.
"Huff… finally."
Blake opened his eyes and let out a long breath.
"I've reached the peak grade of the First Rank."
"At most, in two or three more days, I'll break through to the 2nd Rank."
"Still… it took me fifteen days just to reach peak grade. Warrior Sutras really are difficult."
Despite his complaint, a smile appeared on his face.
What Blake didn't realize was that what he considered "difficult" was heaven-defying in the eyes of other warriors.
Even those with peak-grade talent would need three to four months to reach this stage.
"It's time to sign in again."
"Let's see what the system gives me on the twentieth day."
"System, sign in."
"And please give me something powerful—like the Infinite Gauntlet or the powers of a certain hammer wielding thunder god."
Blake silently prayed.
"Sign-in confirmed."
"Congratulations, Host, for receiving—"
"Huhhh… O_o"