Chapter 9: Isn't Experience Meant to Be Spent?
Inside the training grounds, Hodell faced the distant target and slowly raised one hand.
There was no chant.
No rune.
No magic circle.
He simply let his consciousness sink inward, feeling for the familiar energy pattern he had memorized over and over again from [Searing Ray]. Then he locked onto that frequency and pushed it outward.
Hum.
The air in front of his palm distorted at once.
A streak of blazing white energy shot forward in a straight line and struck the center of the target dead on, leaving behind a scorched black mark.
There were no flames dancing in the air, no surging elemental turbulence, no dramatic visual spectacle.
Just pure, stable energy.
Controlled, condensed, and released.
Reed's voice sounded from behind him.
"The energy form is stable, and the accuracy meets the standard."
Then his tone shifted, becoming more deliberate.
"But remember this. What you are using is not true magic. You are only using your own energy to imitate the high heat and piercing characteristics of the spell. If a real mage cast [Searing Ray], the spell would resonate with the surrounding fire elements. What you are doing is different. You are forcing your energy to exhibit similar properties."
Hodell understood exactly what that meant.
On this planet, the identity of a Mage was ancient, legitimate, and respected. It was a mature pillar of civilization, something society recognized and accepted instinctively. Compared to a tightly guarded Esper, a genius mage was infinitely easier to explain, easier to promote, and easier to place under the light.
Of course, that did not mean the Erhai School was doing him a favor.
This false identity would become another chain around his neck.
If their plan succeeded, then by the time he reached a high position, all his prestige, resources, and political capital would be built on this fabricated foundation, one supplied continuously by the organization itself.
They would be able to say, at any time, that everything he had came from them.
…
Time slipped by quickly.
Hodell threw himself into training with an almost frightening intensity. Every waking moment went toward one thing: grinding experience.
At times, even he had to admit it.
He had become a proper power leveler.
Granted, this time he was only leveling his own account.
As his control improved, his proficiency in using [Energy Simulation] to imitate magical effects rose day by day. The cleaner the release, the more experience he earned.
Naturally, repeatedly casting the same effect caused the returns to drop over time. Fortunately, if there was one thing the magical world did not lack, it was variety.
Magic came in endless forms.
And the difference between [Energy Simulation] and true magic only became clearer the more he trained.
A mage needed structure.
Runes.
Sometimes incantations.
Sometimes gestures.
Sometimes a full spell model or an external array.
Every proper spell required comprehension. To cast a fireball was not merely to imagine a ball of flame. One needed to understand heat, combustion, projection, containment, stability, and then weave all of that into a functional model.
It was like learning physics, then forcing reality to obey it.
[Energy Simulation] was different.
It did not care about runes or chants.
It only cared about results.
As long as Hodell had seen an energy effect enough times and understood its characteristics deeply enough, he could force his own energy to imitate it. In terms of efficiency, it was actually superior to conventional magic.
But it came with limitations.
He did not receive the amplifying bonuses of a proper spell model. He was simulating an effect, not borrowing the full framework behind it.
One was law.
The other was imitation.
One built a machine.
The other brute forced the final output.
And because of that, the organization's enthusiasm toward him only grew.
Hodell made no effort to hide his talent.
That was a deliberate choice.
If he wanted to be cautious, the better route would have been obvious. Keep a lower profile. Slow his displayed progress. Make the Erhai School underestimate his growth rate. Lower their guard. Hoard more experience. Build a deeper foundation. Then, one day, escape like some underground version of Shawshank Redemption.
It sounded beautiful.
It also sounded like a gamble.
He was not Han Xiao.
Han Xiao had foresight. Han Xiao knew where the opportunities were, where the resources were, and how to move through the early game without walking blindfolded into a knife.
Hodell had none of that.
All he had were scattered impressions from books, rumors, and fragments of common knowledge about a planet he had never even seen mentioned in the original novel.
To escape a tightly regulated underground base, he would have to rely on carelessness from the guards or sudden chaos he could not control.
That kind of hope was too fragile.
And there was another reason.
The so called New Human project was now clearly revolving around him. Since he was their "perfect specimen," future research would inevitably continue along the path of studying his body, his growth, and his supposed "optimization."
The fox hybrid bloodline and the original owner's weak Esper gene chain might slow them down, yes.
But not forever.
If he played the fool for too long and the organization found itself making no progress, there was always the possibility that one day they would calmly conclude that dissection would be more productive.
Hodell had read the original novel.
He would never make the mistake of treating the people in this world like simple programs running fixed logic.
Reed, for one, was extremely satisfied with his progress.
That only further convinced him that Hodell was the first true success of the New Human project.
As Hodell's level rose and his perception sharpened, he fully confirmed something he had long suspected.
He was under twenty four hour surveillance.
Always.
Everywhere.
There was no blind spot.
Still, after repeatedly witnessing his results, the Erhai School's caution relaxed slightly. They became more invested, more eager, and a little less defensive. Only Reed continued watching him closely.
Even the combat instructor eventually admitted there was nothing more he could teach him at the current stage. Someone in the Superpower System did not need to grow like a full time martial artist.
That disappointed Hodell a little.
He had once half seriously imagined that this magical civilization might be one of those wonderfully abstract worlds where every mage also doubled as a front line brawler by cultural tradition.
Reality was much less entertaining.
Living in a dragon's lair with enemies all around and not a single trustworthy person to speak to, Hodell poured all of his focus into the only things that reliably answered him.
Stats.
Skills.
Experience.
Every time he watched the numbers rise, every time a skill level increased or a pool of experience deepened, the quiet satisfaction it brought kept him moving.
His effort was becoming real.
That alone was enough.
…
In the public recreation area, a cold mechanical voice kept looping through the enclosed chamber.
"Competition promotes evolution. Power is born from sacrifice."
Number Three stood against the wall, his gray white fingers slowly dragging across the alloy surface until they left shallow marks behind.
He had just returned from an assassination and cleanup mission. The target had been an aging conservative scientist, someone labeled an obstacle to the new era. Now that obstacle was a corpse.
In the briefing room afterward, Reed's holographic projection had only offered two words.
"Efficient."
Those two words had earned Number Three a new classification.
Elite Executor.
He gripped his newly issued access card tightly.
Why, then?
Why did that Number Seven, that Eli, deserve Reed's constant attention?
Why did he get praise just by showing a few tricks in the training ground?
To the experimental subjects, Reed was not merely a superior. He was a savior, a benefactor, the one who promised evolution, freedom, and a path into the Pure Land. He distributed rewards. He occasionally bestowed mercy. He appeared in holograms like a cold god remembering to bless the faithful.
Except for Hodell, almost every experimental subject longed for Reed's approval.
Number Three turned his gaze toward the training grounds.
A low sound vibrated in his throat.
It was time to show Reed who truly deserved investment.
…
During these three months, Hodell's understanding of the Erhai School deepened.
The entire organization was hidden underground.
That much was certain.
It was divided into several levels, though he still could not judge the true scale of the place. Dr. Moore stood at the top as its unquestioned leader. Reed oversaw the laboratories and much of the training related to the New Human project.
From time to time, "waste" would be disposed of.
Sometimes it was literal trash.
Sometimes it was processed corpses.
At the same time, new "raw materials" were continuously brought in. Hybrids. Pure blood humans. Broken people from the surface. Unknown captives. They were consumed by the project as fuel, material, data, and examples.
This place was the central laboratory for the New Human project.
Including him, there were around a hundred successful experimental subjects. Beyond this main base, there were several smaller branch laboratories dedicated to improving the project's overall efficiency. Some successful subjects would be transferred out to other locations, while this facility mainly housed those still requiring "training."
The longer he stayed, the clearer it became.
This place was not merely raising weapons.
It was cultivating tools.
As for Hodell himself, his monotonous routine eventually ran into a new problem.
His experience gain efficiency began to slow.
[Energy Simulation] learned magic effects faster than an actual mage. In some ways, it was even shameless. Once he understood the key effect structure, the rest was close to copy and paste.
But because of that, the experience rewards for repeating common spells steadily declined.
Even so, the last three months had been enormously profitable.
Through the combat curriculum, he had fully learned [Basic Combat] and, as expected, obtained the [Well Trained] talent, which added an extra one hundred points to his base Health. Unfortunately, he still had not seen even the faintest hint of a side profession.
His current skill growth had become very respectable.
[Simple Ability Application] reached Level 3.
[Simple Energy Perception] reached Level 3.
[Basic Combat] reached Level 2.
And after months of relentless farming, his accumulated experience had risen to a staggering 450,000.
For once, the numbers were comforting enough to feel almost beautiful.
…
On that particular day, Hodell walked toward the training ground as usual with Reed beside him.
His daily "magic study" was still primarily supervised by Reed. Today should have been no different from the days before it.
Open the training hall.
Grind experience.
Repeat.
Instead, the moment the doors slid open, the routine was broken.
A familiar figure stood in the middle of the arena.
Number Three.
The gray white skin. The oversized build. The thick, oppressive presence.
Hodell's eyes narrowed slightly.
Almost instinctively, he glanced toward Reed.
Did they arrange a sparring partner for me today?
A trace of doubt appeared in Reed's eyes as well.
An Elite Executor possessed a certain amount of autonomy, and because Reed's recent attention had been so focused on Hodell, he was not fully aware of the movements of the other experimental subjects.
There was no need for him to personally monitor them day and night. That level of detail could always be left to subordinates. His role, in many ways, was to remain the savior, not the scheduler.
Before Reed could speak, Number Three strode forward and rudely pointed one thick arm at Hodell.
"Number Seven."
His voice rumbled like muffled thunder.
"I want to see for myself whether you are actually worthy of Lord Reed's personal instruction."
Reed's brow furrowed.
He had seen Hodell's progress over the past few months. Even so, Number Three was still a fully trained experimental subject, one with much greater combat experience and better physical conditioning. In Reed's view, Hodell had almost no chance of winning.
If Number Seven is injured or discouraged, he thought, he will become passive. That would interfere with Dr. Moore's plan.
He had just opened his mouth to stop this nonsense when Hodell answered first.
"A fight?"
He stepped forward calmly.
"Sure."
Reed's eyelid twitched.
Hodell, meanwhile, felt the timing was about right.
His experience gain from routine training was slowing down. The feeling of being controlled every moment of every day was suffocating. The environment here was oppressive, the sounds drifting from the laboratories were miserable, and the surveillance was so complete that he sometimes worried he might reveal his plans in his sleep if he dreamed too vividly.
More importantly, if he continued to display appropriate growth and undeniable value, then even if the New Human project failed to make progress for another year or two, the organization would be far less willing to dissect him.
By then, his strength, utility, and position would all be much higher.
Reed looked at him sharply.
"Confident?"
Number Three seized the chance immediately, clearly afraid Reed might intervene if given too much time.
"What, scared?" he sneered. "If you do not even have the courage to face evolution, then you do not deserve the organization's cultivation."
Hodell looked straight at Reed.
"I am confident."
Confident my ass, Reed thought, nearly grinding his teeth.
Your simulated spells will not even break through his magic resistance. Has your progress made you arrogant?
Still, after a moment, he suppressed the urge to stop the fight.
Fine.
A setback might even be useful.
Let him face reality.
At that exact moment, Hodell made his choice.
He stopped holding back his experience.
Experience existed to be spent.
The panel moved at once.
[Esper Novice leveled up to Lv.8. Energy +10. Intelligence +1. Endurance +1. You gained 2 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.]
…
[Esper Novice leveled up to Lv.10 [MAX]. Energy +30. Intelligence +1. Endurance +1. You gained 2 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.]
The first main class capped at Level 10. Further progress required a class advancement.
Over the past three months, [Esper Novice] had climbed from Level 2 to the maximum Level 10, costing a total of 130,000 experience.
In return, it granted:
8 Endurance.
8 Intelligence.
100 Energy.
16 Free Attribute Points.
8 Potential Points.
His total level rose to 11.
As always, the main class gave the best value for investment. It was the first thing worth maxing because it directly improved Energy and overall growth.
After pushing [Esper Novice] to the cap, Hodell glanced at the class advancement requirements and set them aside for the time being.
Next, he spent 10,000 experience to push [Basic Superpower Affinity] to Level 3.
Then, based on his understanding of the original novel, he spent 30,000 experience to raise [Basic Combat] to Level 6, unlocking a new skill.
[Grappling]
Finally, he poured 160,000 experience into [Simple Energy Perception] and [Simple Ability Application], raising both straight to their Level 10 maximum and gaining two additional Potential Points in the process.
All of this happened inside him in the span of a breath.
Outside, nothing seemed to change.
Reed had effectively given tacit permission by remaining silent.
That was all Number Three needed.
With a low roar, he exploded forward.
His massive frame charged like a heavy chariot, crushing across the distance in an instant. A brutal straight punch tore through the air, aimed directly at Hodell's face, its speed and power far beyond anything the training instructor had ever shown.
.....
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