《Reincarnated Into DC With The Omni-Gaming System》 Chapter 1 - I Guess I Died I find myself in a seemingly endless white space as I wake up. Where is this? How did I get here? As I was trying to remember, I hear a voice. [ Hello Ash and welcome to the afterlife. Most people don''t get to speak with me, the Judgement System, but you have amassed a ludicrous amount of karma.] "The afterlife but that means I died. I don''t remember dying. The last thing I remember doing is getting on the bus to bring food to the orphanage," I think to myself. [Most souls can''t remember how they died as it is usually a traumatic experience, and yes, I can read your mind. But, you shouldn''t try too hard you will remember when you''re ready.] [Now let us get down to business, you lived a life full of helping others, just like the heroes in the comics you loved. I will now convert all the karma you have earned into a numeric value to obtain things for your next life.] [Calculating Karmic Value... 20,070,109,528 Karma] [Wow, I have not seen this much karma for a least 10,000 years and, that''s saying something as I monitor 10 trillion universes. To give you a frame of reference between 1 and 100 karma is what average people have by the time they die.] "How could I possibly have so much karma I did not save a freaking planet," I say stunned. [I realize you find it hard to believe, so let me list some of your feats off. You inspired a love for science in Hale Jackson, who would one day find a solution to climate change, saving billions of people. You saved the life of Ada Lee, the lead researcher on the team that finds the cure for cancer. You helped detain a criminal that would have become a bioterrorist if you did not stop him. You have done many more things, but I don''t have all day.] My mouth hangs open as I take it all in. Hale was one of the orphans I took care of at the orphanage and, Ada was my neighbor in high school who I walked home from school with until she moved away. I closed my mouth, happy I had a positive impact on them. [Finally closed your mouth did you, I was getting worried that I broke your brain or something. We really need to be moving this along.] [Do you wish to keep your memories after you are reborn? Cost to keep memories 10,000,000 Karma.] "Yes, I want to keep my memories." [What world would you like to be reborn in? Marvel- 1,000,000,000 Karma DC-1,000,000,000 Karma Fantasy-50,000,000 Karma Modern-10,000 Karma Apocoliptic Modern-100 Karma Apocoliptic Fantasy-50,000 Karma Apocoliptic Sci-fi-80,000 Karma] "DC, I will get to meet my favorite heroes like Flash, Superman, and Batman," Ash states excitedly. [Be warned the DC you will be reborn into my not be as it is in the comics. The main characters should be there but, apart from that everything could be different. Do you still wish to be reborn in DC?] "Yes," I say, affirmingly. [Chose your powers. You can either say the powers you want and, I will display how much they cost or look through the list. Here are a few I would recommend. Creat Your Own Fundamental Force-50,000,000,000 Karma Legendary Saiyan Physiology-20,000,000,000 Karma Game System-4,000,000,000 Karma Hero System-4,000,000,000 Karma Omni-Shop-4,000,000,000 Karma Limitless Potential-4,000,000,000 Karma] [A warning about two and three, if you chose either your parents will die right after you''re born. And if you purchase two or more systems, they will combine.] "Well, I guess two and three are off the table. I will purchase Game System, Hero System, Omni-Shop, and, Limitless Potential. Also, show me prices for Psychic Sheild, so my mind is protected, Enhanced Processing, so I can learn quickly, Eidetic Memory, so I don''t forget the knowledge I have learned, and an ability that stops my powers from being absorbed." I affirm. [Psychic Sheild-1,000,000 Karma Enhanced Processing-100,000,000 Karma Power Absorption Immunity-200,000,000 Karma Confirm Purchase?] "Yes," I confirm. [Chose if your family have powers. No Powers-0 Powers-1,000,000,000] "Powers," I say. [Alright, if you have nothing else to say it''s time for you to be reborn.] "Can I save my karma and use it later?" "Ok, I''m ready." [Ok, I will bind the powers to you then, you will be reborn.] [Binding Game System, Hero System, Omni-Shop, and Limitless Potential...] [Binding complete, Game System, Hero System, Omni-Shop, and Limitless Potential merged into Omni-Gaming System.] After it said all that, everything went black. A few minutes later, my head felt like it was being crushed when suddenly I am blinded by the light. [Congratulations, Host, you have been born. As a reward for being reborn in the DC universe, you are rewarded a starter pack, do you wish to open it?] Hearing the voice, I realize that I was just born. After a few seconds, I feel a sharp pain on my bu??. I cry out at the sudden pain. Then, I see a blurry woman cradle me in her arms. Cradled in her arms, I feel an emotion I have not felt since my mother died, motherly love. "Hello little one, your names gonna be Ash. Awww you''re so adorable," the woman says affectionately. Chapter 2 - Amy Davis Ash fell asleep in my arms as I held him. I am exhausted as well so, I give him to my husband, Enzo, then go to sleep. I am 26 years old with two children, now that I have Ash. I have been married to my husband for five years. We had our first child, Rose, a little more than five years ago now. I had hoped Rose would not develop powers like Enzo and me because we did not want her to have all the problems we had to face. But, when Rose turned five, we realized she was a telepath, like me, because Rose started to hear things that were never spoken aloud. As Rose obtained the same power as me, I think if Ash does get powers, hopefully not, he will get the same power as his father, Mental Shield. If Ash does awaken the Mental Shield power, I will be both relieved and terrified. Relieved because it''s easier to hide and he would not have to deal with the constant voices in his head and terrified because the underground organizations value people with the Mental Shield even more than telepaths as its the only sure counter to all telepathic abilities. I was 14, just starting high school, when I awakened to my powers. When they awakened it feel like hundreds of people talking inside my head, my head started hurting from all the noise. I fell to my knee in pain, then ran back home to my mother, May Aston. My mother had always been there for me, especially after my father died in the Vietnam War when I was two years old. She was a nurse, so I hoped she could fix whatever was happening. Arriving home, I shouted for my mother amidst panicking from whatever was going on. My mother dashed to me, asking me what''s wrong with a worried look on her face. I told her there were all kinds of voices speaking in her head and how my head hurt badly. My mother, seeing me terrified, grabs my hands and tells me to take deep breaths. While taking deep breaths, she tells me that it just her in the room and to focus on just her voice. I try doing that and it works all the voices fade away except hers. I look at my mother, hearing her talk about how afraid she was that she would lose me as well, but as I was about to tell her how she wouldn''t lose me, I realize her mouth wasn''t moving. I tell her about how I could still hear her talking about losing me even when her mouth is not moving. A shocked expression appeared on her face. We had discovered I could hear thoughts. My mother called everywhere she knew to find out what was happening to me trying not to give away that who she was talking about was me. While she was doing that we also worked on tuning out all the voices and, after a week, I could keep the voices out most of the time, with tiny slipups only a few times a day. After that week, I finally went back to school. I found out as soon as I stepped foot on the bus that it was much harder to keep the voices out with more people. Going back to school, I was happy because I had not seen my best friend, Mindy, in a week. I saw Mindy with her boyfriend, I walked over to them. About to say hello to Mindy, I lose control over my power and hear her boyfriend think about going on a date with a girl named Talya. I was disgusted that he would cheat on my best friend. I blurted out, "You''re cheating on Mindy with Talya!?" Mindy looked at him shocked and sad as if she expected it. After a week of finding out people''s secrets: cheating on people, cheating on tests, stealing and the like and trying to right them. People started either avoiding her or bullying and the worst part was she could hear them berate her even when they didn''t do it to her face. After that week, Mindy wanted to know how I was finding all of this out, so I told her out my power. We had good times for a week after that, but it didn''t last after that everyone started to bully Mindy for being my friend. After a week, Mindy could not handle it anymore and stopped talking to me. Turning 15 years old, I was optimistic but cautious about the new school as I had gotten better at controlling her power on having an outburst once a month or so. I laid low trying not to attract attention. After a few months, I started trying to make friends again. I fell in love with a guy named Alex. After I dated him for several weeks, my powers had an outburst while talking to him at school. I heard him thinking about going on a date with a girl named Kendra after school and how she was an amazing kisser. Feeling hurt and angry, I completely lost control and sent a wave of psychic power out, causing everyone in the school to cry out in pain then fall unconscious. I looked around at what I had done and was terrified. I felt a wave of exhaustion come over me and fainted. Waking up and seeing everyone still on the ground, I ran home to my mother wanting to feel safe from myself. One week later, men in black suits and ski masks ?ssaulted our house, kidnapping my mother and me. They blindfolded us and took us to some facility. They took my mother away to blackmail me into complying. They began testing my abilities. After a week of tests, they restarted my schooling but added combat training and telepathy training to it. The classes were like a normal school except there were fewer teachers and all the students had some form of power. I ascertained in a few days that they had not only captured my mother, but they also had taken a family member from nearly all of the students. If the student did not have a family to take hostage, they had shock collars so they would behave. After a month of being in class, I started to like a boy named Enzo. He had an ability that made me unable to read his mind. During the month, I continuously tried to read the guard''s minds to find out where my mother is, but they had training to counter telepathy. If I tried a little bit harder than usual, I could read their minds, but the guards did not know where my mother was. I tried to find out where they could be keeping her, but what I found they are blindfolded whenever they go to any facility. After two months, I found out that Enzo was being heavily experimented upon as I saw needle marks on his arms and legs. I asked him about it and, he said that he had a very rare power that they wanted to find out more about it. Turning 16 years old, I learn many ways to use my telepathic powers from all the training they put me through, and my powers evolved to be able to feel the emotions of others. My telepathy trainer said I was an Empath in addition to a Telepath. A week after I turned 16 years old, the government raided the building where everyone was being kept. The government rescued all the students and the families that were held as hostages. They decided for everyone''s safety everyone would be relocated. Fortunately, Enzo, since his parents were killed when he was five years old, he was allowed to relocate with us. After we all relocated, I fast-tracked through the rest of high school in one year. I decided I wanted to go for a law degree partially because of my ability but mainly because I wanted to make sure people like my captors get what they deserve. Enzo and I had been dating since we were relocated. He found out that his parents had left him a multi-million dollar inheritance and controlling shares in his father''s company, but he could not access it until he was 18 years old. We had decided we would hold off any serious relationship commitments until after I get my law degree and he gets his business degree so he can take over his father''s company. After Enzo and I finishing our schooling, we got married and conceived Rose. Chapter 3 - New Family I woke up to see that I am laying in what I think is a bassinet, but my vision is still blurry. I had heard that babies had poor eyesight when they were young, but I never knew it was this severe. I can hardly make out shapes. I try to move around to get a better look at my surroundings, but I guess, since I''m a baby, my muscles are not strong enough to support my own weight. "Hey, System, open the starter pack you told me about also, if you can, tell me how I can start moving around quickly." [Opening starter pack... Obtained Solar Cultivation Manual, Power Loan, and 10 Tier One lottery tickets. Answering query, if host wishes to be able to move around quickly, you should either start muscle training as you have Limitless Potential it should only take a month to start walking around or, you can purchase an avatar from the shop.] I think about both ways it told me and decided I would do both. But first, I need to look at the things I got from the starter pack. I observe the things I got from the starter pack and am momentarily stunned. I am pretty confident the Solar Cultivation Manual is a ki training method like in the martial art novels I read back on my earth. I have no idea what Power Loan does, but the lottery tickets seem straight forward enough. "System, how do I get the cultivation manual?" [Do you wish to use the Solar Cultivation Manual?] "Yes." "System, I want to see all of your features before I look at how much that avatar costs." [Omni-Gaming System-Lvl. 1 Status Inventory Missions Dungeons(Locked) Map(Locked) Shop Powers] [Avatar- 150,000 GSP] [Do you wish to exchange your karma for GSP.] "Can I use it any other way?" [No, it can not.] "Ok, exchange all of it." [One-time exchange fee of 1,000,000,000. 758,109,528 karma exchanged for 758,109 GSP.] "So the exchange rate is 1000 to 1, that hurts but, what can you do? Purchase the avatar." [Purchased avatar. When using the avatar, you will transfer your consciousness into it, meaning while using the avatar, your main body will be unconscious. To shift your consciousness back and forth, all you have to do is think about it. As the avatar is level one, it can only handle one active power but, as you only have one active power, Enhanced Processing, it is not a problem currently. If the avatar should die, it will take one month to form a new one. Please customize the appearance of your avatar before creation.] An RPG style character creation screen but, before I start creating the avatar, I need to ask the system, "Why is Enhanced Processing an active power." "I suppose that makes sense. How long can Enhanced Processing be maintained, right now?" [You can currently handle a 20% increase for one hour or a 10% increase for two. If the avatar you make is an ?du?t, it could manage a 40% increase for one hour.] I look at the character creation screen. I had already decided to make it look like me when I was 19 and hearing what the system said just reinforced my decision to do so. Finally finishing the avatar''s appearance, a map screen popped up asking me to chose a location within a mile for the avatar to form. I pick a back alley where it wouldn''t be suspicious. As I confirm the position, a ball comes from my hand and starts rolling away. [The avatar will take 12 hours to finish forming.] I suppose I will start training so I can move around. I feel my stomach growl as I am about to start. I feel the urge to start crying out, but I manage to hold it back as I thought of how embarrassing that would be. I try calling out to my mother for food yet all I can do is let out baby noises. My larynx is still developing. I''m not used to speaking with it so, I will have to practice speaking as well. I called out for my mother for a few minutes before I could not hold back from crying any longer. After whining for a couple of minutes, I hear someone walking toward me. I see a blurry woman figure pick me up, who I am almost sure is my mother. While holding me up, she says, "Oh, Sweety, are you hungry? Just wait for a second, Mommy will feed you soon." Subsequently to br??stfeeding, my mother carries me into what I believe is the living room as there is a big couch in the middle of the room. Laying on my mother, I start to think back to my mother from my original earth. She was a nurse. She died in a bombing attack on the hospital she was working at, along with my father, who was a police officer trying to stop it. I was b?r?ly 13 years old at the time. Following their death, I strived to be like the heroes in the comics they got me so they could be proud of me. I haven''t felt maternal love since then, but now laying on my mother, I feel it again. This time I will make sure to cherish it. Chapter 4 - Gathering Information Laying on my mother, I can not really start training to move around so, I decide to start training my eyesight. I begin looking around at objects in the room, trying to focus my eyes on them. Following an hour of training my eyesight, I hear the system notify me. [Ding! Preception stat +0.1] I am shocked by the sudden announcement but realize that it is to be expected as it is called the Omni-Gaming System. I am happy that my training paid off so quickly. But, I have no idea what a 0.1 increase means. "System, show me my stats," I demand in my mind. [Status- Name: Ash Davis Level:1 Species: Human HP:10 MP:0 Str:1 Agi:1 Con:1 Int:7.8 Wis:7 Per:1.1 "What is the average for ?du?ts?" I inquired. [The average for an ?du?t human is about five except for health, mana and, luck. Health and mana vary too wildly to give a fair standard and, most people''s luck stays at one their whole lives.] I guess that means that I am smarter than an ordinary person. I am pleased to know that I am intelligent, but I need to get back to training. Just as I am about to get back to training, my mother carries me back to the bassinet, places me inside, then brings the bassinet into the living room. I then listen to her walk off into another room. Now that I am no longer laying on my mother, I decide to quit doing the eye exercises and do muscle training instead. I begin by trying to move my head around. I shift it left and right for several minutes with great difficulty. After doing head exercises for 30 minutes, I switch to exercising my lower body. Right as I am about to start, I realize that I can also practice using my voice and eyes as my head would not be moving around. I move my arms up and down while looking around the room and make unintelligible noises. My mother comes over to see me moving around a few times during my hour-long training session. She smiled and spoke to me in the baby talk. Following the training session, both my strength, constitution, perception, and even my intelligence went up a little. I am tired after the workout, so I go to sleep. When I wake up, it is dark, I cry, embarrassingly, for food again then get back to training. I train until I am tired, go to sleep, wake up and eat, over and over until I hear a notification. [The avatar is ready to be controlled. Please remember when you transfer your consciousness into the avatar your main body will be in a sleep-like state and vice versa.] Opening my eyes, I find that I am n?k?d. I quickly cover my privates and ask the system, "Why am I n?k?d? Can I buy clothes in the shop?" [You are n?k?d because you just formed, and yes, you can buy clothes for the shop, but it could be expensive as it is not ordinary attire. Do you wish to browse through some relatively cheap ones? Or the more expensive ones?] "Show me some from both that you would think I like." [Bullet Resistant Suit Set-120 GSP Sympathetic Morphing Suit-8,000 GSP Nanosuit-405,000 GSP] "What is the properties of the Bullet Resistant Suit Set and Sympathetic Morphing Suit," I state, I did not even consider the Nanosuit as it is too expensive. [Bullet Resistant Suit Set can stop 9mm caliber guns and below. Sympathetic Morphing Suit can change into any clothes you can imagine and slowly repairs itself if it is damaged.] "Purchase the Sympathetic Morphing Suit." I take the suit out and put it on. The suit without morphing looked like a complete black wetsuit. I envision business attire then it slowly transforms into what I had envisioned, it takes ten seconds to finish. I wander out of the ally and into town. I walk over to a grocery store and see some newspaper dispensers. On one of the newspapers, it says published by Daily Planet and, the date says September 6, 1989. I am rather certain that DC follows almost the same history as on my earth. I try remembering events that happened in the early 1990s. I appear in a humongous library. I am startled for a split second until I realize this must be my Eidetic Memory in action, organizing my memories into a library. In front of me is a book labeled Events of the 1990s. As I pick the book up, I have a feeling telling me I could relive the whole memory if I wanted or just read the content. I open the book and, my brain is overwhelmed with lists of events and everything I know about them. "System, do I have to use the library every time I want to remember something?" [No, the library is for introduction until you get used to it or, when you do not know precisely what you are seeking for.] "Good to know." I begin to think through my newly refreshed memory of the events that happen in the early 1990s: start of the Gulf War, 1991, the USSR dissolves, 1991, the World Wide Web publicly debuts, Bill Clinton is elected, 1992, Hurrican Andrew strikes, 1992 and Pablo Escobar goes to prison, 1991. Two things stuck out to me more than the others, the World Wide Web and Pablo Escobar. The reason that the launch of the World Wide Web catches my interest is that I could use the rise of the internet to make lots of money. I know that in my old world are not kind to those who do not have it and, it is even truer in the DC universe. I have stolen from criminals before. Two teenage thugs tried threating me and, tell me to put all my cash and valuables into a duffel bag they were carrying. I beat them up, took their bag then tell them to clean their act up. In the bag, I found watches, rings, and heaps of cash. I took the money as it is almost always unrecoverable then anonymously reported the location of the bag with the rest of the items in it. I know stealing is illegal but, so is being a vigilante. The way I saw it, taking their money keeps them from using it to hurt others. But, before I would be stealing from Pablo Escobar, I will need to have more powers. Chapter 5 - Money and Missions "System, what are the stats of this avatar?" [Status- Name: Ash Davis Level:1 Species: Human(Avatar) HP:35 MP:0 Str:3.5 Agi:3.5 Con:3.5 Int:7.8 Wis:7 Per:4 Dex:3.5 Luck:5 Chr:7] "Hey, I thought you said an average ?du?t''s stats were five. Why is this avatar so weak?" I asked, feeling cheated for the amount of GSP I spent on it. [All of your powers have been reduced some. Your body and soul wouldn''t be able to handle it otherwise. If you did not have the Limitless Potential power, your body would have already exploded. Also, I didn''t have to tell you this, but I will, you can not purchase a new power until you level up the Omni-Gaming System.] "I suppose if that''s how it has to be, there is no helping it. How does it level up?" I say with a defeated tone, reluctantly accepting reality. [The Omni-Gaming System levels up with exp from missions. You can also use exp to upgrade your powers or skills. Do you wish to turn on missions? Switching on missions will activate the leveling.] [Missions subsystem online. Leveling online.] [Daily Mission: Grow strong Mission Objective: Train for three hours Reward: One crystal and one exp. Punishment: None] "Show me the leveling screen," I state curious of what''s new. [Omni-Gaming System lvl1(0/100) 6/6 Slots filled Psychic Sheild lvl1(0/100) Enhanced Processing lvl1(0/100) Power Absorption Immunity lvl1(0/100,000) Power Loan lvl1(0/100) Avatar lvl1(0/100)] "Wow, Power Absorption Immunity costs a lot of exp to level. Show me descriptions for Power Loan and Psychic Sheild." [Power Loan- You can lend one power to a person. When the power is retrieved from the person, it earns exp based on its use. Psychic Sheild- You are resistant to psychic attacks. Telepaths, without the ability to penetrate mental shields, can not read your mind. Hypnosis, mental hallucinations, and mind control have limited to no effect on you. Magic versions of these abilities are only 50% resisted by Psychic Sheild.] Looking at Psychic Sheilds description, I am both relieved that it works so well to protect me from so many things, and fearful as it is weak to magic. The description also doesn''t tell me how limited. I need to become much stronger or, this world will kill me. "What can cause a limited effect, mentally wise, on me, System?" [It depends on how powerful the one attacking you is. Please gather information on power levels in this world for more detailed information.] As I reach in my pocket to pay for the newspaper, I realize I don''t have anything in this world. I don''t have an ID, a birth certificate, or SSN. "System, can I purchase identification papers and money from the shop." [Yes, but I would go against obtaining money from the shop as it would be a horrendous waste of GSP. All Authentic Identification papers(ID, SSN, and birth certificate)-100GSP 1000 USD-1GSP] "Buy the papers and the 1000 dollars." [Identifacation papers and 1000 USD deposited into inventory.] "In my last life, I was too focused on helping everyone that I forgot I needed to live for myself sometimes. I can do both in this one." I think to myself feeling motivated. With money in hand, I know I need to use it to make even more. While trying to think of a way to use the money to make more, a stroke of inspiration dawned on me. Casinos, the best use of my Eidetic Memory and Enhanced Processing, I could count cards easily and calculate the probability of games. After an hour of walking, I arrive at the casino. Coming to the exchange desk, I exchange all 1000 dollars to chips then go over to the tables. I observe several games and found that if I only use Eidetic Memory, I can predict the winner of most games with 80% accuracy. I activate Enhanced Processing then go around the tables again. Even with both powers working together, I would not be able to win all the time, but I could win most games and minimize my losses in the ones I did lose. I sit at one of the game tables and start playing. I win over 15,000 dollars after a few rounds of blackjack. I make sure to lose a few times then I move to another table. I repeat this a few times until I amass 145,000 dollars. Excited to have won so money, it''s hard to stop but, I know if I continue it would draw attention to me. I made sure I lost about as much as I gained so it would give the casino a false sense of security. Wouldn''t you feel better, knowing someone won 280,000 dollars but lost 135,000 of it? If I do it this way, the casino will want me to return because they think they can win the money back. I turn off Enhanced Processing then, go to the exchange desk and ask for a check as I still didn''t have a bank account. The lady asks if I want my picture on the wall, and obviously, I didn''t. I also had to fill out a tax form. After walking out of the casino, I call a cab to drive me to the nearest bank. I open an account with them and put the check into it. [Secret Mission, Business Man, Complete. Mission Objective: Earn 100,000 dollars in one day Reward: Business Charm skill, new items unlocked for purchase, five Tier One lottery tickets Punishment: None] "Wow, there are even secret missions. What is the Business Charm skill? I thought you said I could not have any more abilities until I grew stronger or upgraded the system." Business Charm- Activates when talking about business. While active charisma is increased by 20%, people are 5% more likely to not cheat you, and when speaking to employees, you exude an air of leadership.] Extremely happy that the skill would help me greatly when I start my own business, I decided to use the lottery tickets, finally. "System, use all 15 lottery tickets," I state excitedly [... ... ... Chapter 6 - Lottery [15 exp 20 exp 10xPlumpnuts 5 exp Gaming Prince Armor Piece Improvement Stone Improvement Stone 10 exp Star Cultivation Manual Spirit Water Spring Creation Stone(Rare Drop) Luck of the Sea Skill 20 exp Ring of Shadows(Rare Drop) Plumpnut Seed] Looking at all the loot, I am amazed by some of the items I see. "System, show me descriptions for the items I obtained." [Plumpnut- A type of super nutritious nut that can satiate the average person''s hunger for three days. Plumpnut increases cellular activity and energy. It also cleanses your body of toxins by 1% over three days. Has a minuscule amount of ki. Gaming Prince Armor Piece(1/50)- Piece of the Gaming Prince Armor, dropped from the lottery, used to make the Gaming Prince Armor Set. Improvement Stone- Used to improve the attributes of an item. Star Cultivation Manual- A cultivation manual that gathers power from stars to strengthen the user. Spirit Water Spring Creation Stone- A stone used to create a Spirit Water Spring, the spring condenses the surrounding ki into spirit water at a rate of one milliliter per day. Luck of the Sea Skill- While at sea, storms, and waves calm down by 10% while near you. The wind is almost always in your favor. Fish catch rate increased by 20%. If you are on a boat, the effect works for everyone on it. Plumpnut Seed- Grows 15 plumpnuts every month after it reaches maturity. It takes 5 years for it to grow to maturity.] Staring at all the amazing items I received from the lottery, I knew that I would need to change my plans a little. I planned to start a transportation company as it has the lowest initial start-up costs but, now that I have the Luck of the Sea skill, I can start a fish business. I will need to get some more cash for gambling before I can begin. But, before I do any of that, I need to fuse my cultivation manuals. "Confirm fusing cultivation manuals," I state authoritatively. [Solar Cultivation Manual and Star Cultivation Manual fused to make Rotating Galaxy Origin Art. Deducted 50,000 GSP] Right as it fused, my mind is flooded with information again. The method to train the new one was both similar and different from the Solar Cultivation Manual. I could now use both the sun and the stars to cultivate. I will need to gather the energy of the sun into one central point before gathering the star energy into another nine points and having them rotate around it. I will next need to use that energy to expand one of my 12 main meridians until it has the same structure. I will then have to do the same to the other 11 meridians. Strangely, it does not tell me what to do have that. After ?ssimilating the information, I take a plumpnut out of the inventory. I inspect the plumpnut and see it looks like a small black peach. I then put the nut back before deciding to find a hotel so I can switch back to my main body. [Chain Mission: Fish Business Mission Objective 1: Within one month of buying a boat catch 100 tons of fish. Reward: 20 exp, Ship Building & Upgrade Dock, Treasure Locator, and 500 GSP The sudden mission surprises me while I am in a cab going to a hotel. Looking at the objective, I knew it will be difficult, but the rewards are worth it. Back in my main body, I begin training extra hard, wanting to get the daily mission done. After hours of training, I hear a notification. [Daily mission complete, rewarded one crystal and one exp.] I finished the three hours worth of training needed to complete the mission. I feel a sense of satisfaction from accomplishing my task so I choose to stop for now and start cultivation. As it is still night, I can only gather star energy plus I am indoors making it harder. Circulating the energy through my body, I feel energized and stronger. "System, show me my stats." [Status- Name: Ash Davis Level:1 Species: Human HP:30 MP:0 Str:1.6(3) Agi:1.6(3) Con:1.6(3) Dex:1.6(3) Luck:5 Chr:7.7] "System, what do the numbers in parentheses represent?" I ask confused about the new thing. [They represent the stats you have with the star ki flowing through you. But, as you have not fully incorporated it into yourself, if you run out of ki, your stats would fall back down to the number that is not in parentheses.] "How do I incorporate it into myself?" [Through training your body or circulating your ki more.] Having my questions answered, I am elated to know my main body is almost as powerful as my avatar when I use my ki. Though I still did not know any methods to use ki besides strengthing my body. Three days later, I still have not seen my father from what my mother has told me he is on a business trip until next month. For the past few days, I have been training none stop. Over the last couple of days, I realized that while I was controlling one body, the other is sleeping, making it so that I b?r?ly have to sleep at all. I ate one of the plumpnuts and discovered that my stats go up faster from training afterward. I started cultivating with my avatar body three days ago. Today, I plan on winning one million dollars from the casino. With the money, I should be able to purchase a fishing boat, so I can start the mission. Chapter 7 - Boat Arriving at the casino, I notice the casino staff is paying extra attention to me, probably to make sure I''m not cheating. Card counting is not illegal but it could get me kicked out, so I need to make sure I take some losses to not be suspicious. After two hours of playing, I rack up 1,000,000 dollars then hear a system notification. [Achievement complete, Novice Gamble, win 50 times at gambling. Luck +1] I am momentarily stunned that the system has achievements but it makes sense. Games have achievements so the Omni-Gaming System should have them as well. "System, can you tell me how to accomplish the other achievements," I state excited by the possible rewards. [No, all information on achievements are secret until you complete them.] "That''s too bad," I reply. I have the money transferred to my bank account, I will use 500,000 dollars to purchase a good boat with a bed on it so I can easily switch back and forth without suspicion. I will use the remaining money to hire a crew and get the needed permits. I plan to start fishing in Alaska as it is one of the best fishing places in the USA. I also plan to use a quarter of the first months to buy stock in companies I know will be big in the future, if they exist in this universe. I have plans to buy a big plot of land with some of the money so I can place the Spirit Water Spring and some plants I plan on growing. I debated it for a while but I decided I would use the Improvement Stones on the Spirit Water Spring Creation Stone. From what I know about ki, it will be the most useful in the long run. ¡­. After arriving in Alaska, I ask around for an hour about where the best place to buy a fishing boat is and most people pointed me toward Mason Shipyard, a family-owned business. I am beginning to miss the internet, it takes so long to get things done without it but, I have plans in the future so I will bear with it for now. I make sure to get all the legal paperwork out of the way before I go down to the shipyard. It takes almost all day before it all finished so I decided to wait until tomorrow. As soon as I wake up, I walk to the shipyard. Stepping through the door, I can hear the clamor of work. I walk over to the receptionist and see she has a name tag that says, Emily. She looks young, no more than 20 years old. "Hello, how may I help you?" Emily asks politely. "I am here to purchase a fishing trawler. Can I speak to your boss?" I ask with a smile. A few minutes of waiting later, a big burly man walks in with Emily. "Hello sir, my name is Hal Mason, the business manager. If you would step into my office we can discuss the specifics." Hal states as he leads me to his office. As I sit down, he asks, "What kind of trawler are you looking for?" "I need a trawler with at least 180 cubic meters of insulated storage space, that can pull eight tons of fish, has a bed, and is full stock with the required equipment. I would also like if you could help me find a crew to man it." I say respectfully. I did not really need the storage as I found out that time does not pass in my inventory, but if I did not get storage, it would be weird. "We do have a couple of ships that meet your requirements but they are not cheap. One cost 414,000 dollars and has 180 cubic meters of storage and, the other is 495,000 dollars and has 200 cubic meters of storage. Of course, we have smaller ones if those are too expensive." Hal says, probably believing I don''t have that much money because of how young I look. "I''ll take the one that cost 495,000 dollars, I want to look at the ship and if everything checks out. I will sign the contract and transfer the money over." I tell him plainly. Hal''s expression turns to one of surprise before returning to normal as he says, "Of course, I will have Emily show you to it while I get the contract ready for you. I will also call a few people I know to see if I can round up the crew you asked about. If you can come back tomorrow I should have a few people you can choose from." Hal then quickly leaves evidently in a more exciting mode. I found out that Emily''s full name is Emily Mason after talking to her for a while as she showed me around the ship. She is Hal''s daughter. Hal is training her to take on more responsibility in the company and showing me around the ship was part of it. From what little I have talked to her about, I can tell she is outgoing and really wants to relieve her father of some of his burden. After checking the ship out, I sign the contract and transfer the money over to Hal. I take a cab back to my hotel. Hal said he would have a crew for me by tomorrow. So, in preparation, I bought a Remote Inventory Inlet Talisman for 1000 GSP. I can place it on any opening that is not bigger that''s no bigger than 50 meters in any direction to become an inlet for the inventory. I bought it so I would not have to go down to the storage room every time it fills up. It also still works if I am not there. I worried what would happen if a human fell in but, I asked the system and, it said creatures above a certain level of intelligence are not able to enter. It also said that as long as I do not want it to go in, it won''t. Chapter 8 - Completing the Mission I wake up at the hotel and cultivate for a few hours before meeting up with Hal. Arriving at the shipyard, I am greeted by Hal, "Hello sir, I gathered a few people that you can choose from." Hal leads me to a room with about 14 guys sitting down. "You will need 8 people to man the boat you bought. Jordan and Kyle can sail the ship and the rest have some experience on a fishing boat." Looking toward the men, I begin speaking, "I sure I don''t have to tell you all how hard your job will be. You may be out on the water for days doing hard labor for long hours. But, I value loyalty just as much as tenacity. I treat those who are loyal well. If you can not be loyal to me and my company you may leave now," three people left the room as I said that. "Now then, any questions?" "How much will we be paid," a blond-haired young man asks. "350 dollars a week. After working for three months, your pay will be bumped up to 400 dollars a week. Of course, people who drive the boat get paid more. If you catch more than 100 tons of fish in a week, everyone gets 50 dollars bonus." Everyone cheers as they hear that. I asked Emily yesterday what fishermen get paid and went a tad higher. "Though I can only hire 8 of you currently, I plan on expanding my business by next month. If you can not find a job by then, I would be happy to hire you." I hired the youngest most experienced workers. I hired young people because they will be able to adapt easier when I upgrade the ship later. I also plan to train them to become ship managers. I get aboard the ship, place the Remote Inventory Inlet Talisman on the open to the fish storage then get on board. "Alright everyone, check out your equipment then we will go get food for everyone and start working. Jim, your in charge of these guys. If you have any problems, I will be in the captain''s quarters." Jim is one of the oldest people I hired, 38 years old. I hired him because he has experience managing a crew, so I can concentrate on other things while he manages everyone on the ship. "Yes sir, it will take an hour or two to get the crew settled in," Jim stated. After an hour everyone settled in, I give them all 50 dollars so they can buy food. "You have an hour to get your food," I tell them. While they were buying their food, I bought some history books, walkie-talkies, and went to the library to get newspapers from recent history. We set sail as soon as everyone returned. One hour later, they are already pulling in their first haul of fish. I hear Jim say that this is the fastest he has ever had to pull the net in on the first go. They lower the net back in and not even 30 minutes later they are pulling it back up full of fish. I knew the Luck of the Sea skill was good when I read the description, that''s the reason I chose to start with a fishing business, to begin with. But, reading about it and see it in action are two different things. If it''s this powerful, I don''t have to worry about getting the mission complete. In the captain''s quarters, I read through all the books and newspapers I brought. I tested my Eidetic Memory while reading and realized a few things. Though I only need a glance to memorize the page, I would not understand the meaning of the words on the page. It would be like a photograph, all the words are there, but you need to take a closer look to comprehend them. After finishing the history books, I conclude that, at least within these history books, this earth''s history is mostly the same as my own with a few differences. Cities have different names, companies had different names, and there are even companies that did not exist in my world like Wayne Enterprise and Queen Industries, but for the most part, everything is the same. In one of the newspapers, I found a Daily Planet an article about a meteor shower in Smallville, Kansas, that happened a few months ago, which means Clark is already on earth. After the crew caught their tenth haul, I hear a knock on my door. I open it and it''s Jim. "Sir, we have a problem. I think we may have a hole in the storage. It is still not full after ten full nets," Jim says in a worried tone. "Ok sir," Jim states, looking skeptical about what I said. A few days later, I hear a notification from the system. [Chain Mission, Fish Business, Mission Objective 1 Complete. Rewarded 20 exp, Ship Building & Upgrade Dock, Treasure Locator, and 500 GSP.] Chain Mission: Fish Business Mission Objective 2: Earn 100,000,000 dollars for things taken from the sea in six months. Reward: 200 exp, Production and Manufacturing machinery unlocked in the shop, Treasure Locator Upgrade Token, and 5,000 GSP. Punishment: Unable to continue chain mission.] Chapter 9 - Rewards and Emma "System, show me descriptions of the items I was rewarded." [Ship Building & Upgrade Dock- Can change an already existing dock into the Ship Building & Upgrade Dock. Or be placed on the shore to create it. When given materials, it can automatically build or upgrade ships. Treasure Locator- Scans up to a 1km radius for valuable minerals and metals. If it finds treasures, it will pin the treasure''s location on its 3D holographic map. It can be used once every three hours.] I will have to wait to use the Ship Building & Upgrade Dock because I do not have the money to buy the property that I would need to set it up. I plan to use the money I get from this month''s profits to buy another ship and a fast boat for treasure hunting. If I am lucky and find some treasure, I will be able to use the Ship Building & Upgrade Dock. I need to find some to help me with my business so I can focus on other things. I don''t know anyone I can trust to manage it yet. I should start looking soon. Switching over to my main body, I see a red-haired little girl looking at me. Ever since I started cultivating, I no longer have a problem seeing. Upon taking a closer look, I see she resembles my mother quite a bit. I then recall my mother telling me that I have an older sister named Rose. This is the first time I have been awake in my main body to see her. I usually am only in my main body at night when she would be asleep. "Mama, why can''t I hear anything from him," Rose asks curiously. "Because, honey, he takes after papa," my mother says in a solemn tone. "Wow, so just like how I am like mama, he is like papa," Rose says excitedly. "Can I hold him, mama?" "Okay, but be sure not to drop him." I never had a sister in my old life, so being held by her felt strange but, I still enjoyed it. Switching back to the avatar, I have them start going back to shore. While heading back, I buy a Remote Inventory Outlet Talisman and a book on how to make both the outlet and inlet talismans, costing 1,000 and 3,000 GSP respectively. I bought the knowledge on how to make the talismans because I know I will be using a lot of them in the future and if I had to keep buying them it would be too expensive. I go down to the storge and put the Remote Inventory Outlet Talisman on top of the storage, so when the fish came out of the inventory, it would fill the whole thing. The main difference between the inlet and outlet talismans, other than the obvious one, is that I need to actively let things out or someone needs to press the switch that came with the talisman. I give the switch to Jim and tell him to press it only when offloading fish. Arriving at the shore, Jim walks over to me and starts talking. "Boss, I have a few contacts with local hotels and restaurants. If you want I can get in touch with them and sell the fish to them for a decent price by the end of today," Jim suggests. "I won''t let you down sir," Jim says resolutely then walks away. Getting off the ship, I travel to Mason Shipyard to obtain a fast boat for treasure hunting and see if Hal knew where I can buy some diving equipment. Right before I am about to at the shipyard, I get a notification from the system. [Side Mission: Help the lost little girl. Mission Objective: Help the girl find her family. Reward: 5 Tier One lottery tickets, 100 GSP Punishment: None] I look around and see a little girl on a bench sobbing. I walk up to her and ask her, "Do you need any help little girl, are you lost?" "I... I was chasing a bu??erfly and... and then I didn''t know where I was. And now I don''t know how to get back to daddy," the little girl says while still crying. "My name is Emma. Will you really help me find my daddy," Emma asks while wiping her tears away. "Of course I''ll help you. Do you know your dad''s name or where he works," I ask her to get an idea of where to start looking. "Thanks, mister. My daddy''s name is Hal. He works at a place with lots of boats. Daddy told me I am not sposed to go anywhere with strangers, but you are helping me, so I''m sure it''s alright," Emma states with a smile. "Hal, as in Hal Mason," I ask, thinking she may be the daughter of the Hal I know. "Yeap, do you know my daddy, mister," Emma questions curiously. "I think I do, do you have a sister named Emily?" "Wow, you even know Emy. So does that mean you really know where daddy is?" "Come on, grab my hand, I will take you there it is just a few blocks away." As I reach out to grab her hand, I see little spheres of ice below her but, it is not cold enough to freeze anything. "What are those," I inquire, pointing at the little ice orbs. "Those, they happen every time I''m sad," Emma says before putting her hands over her mouth. "Da... *sniff*ddy said I''m not supposed to tell an... anyone or they might take me away. He is going to be angry at m... me," Emma states while sobbing. "It''s alright, how about I forget you ever said anything about it," I say to try and make her feel better. "Really," Emma asks. "Yes, really, now let''s go to the shipyard to find your dad." Chapter 10 - Craft Arriving at the shipyard, I hear people calling out Emma. Going inside, Emma sees Hal then runs over to him. "Emma, where did you go, sweety? I was so worried. You know you''re not supposed to wander off," Hal says while hugging her. "I know, I won''t do it again. Oh, I got to thank the mister who helped me get back," Emma says as she turns around and starts walking towards me. "What mister," Hal inquires. Walking over to me, Emma says, "Thank you, mister, for helping me." As soon as she said that, I hear the system say that the mission is complete. "So you are the one who brought my daughter back, sir. Thank you, umm. Sorry, I never got to ask you your name," Hal state in an apologetic tone. "My name is Ash Davison. It was no trouble at all to help her. I saw her crying on a bench on the way here," I told him. I had my last name changed to Davison on the identification I bough from the system, so it would not be as suspicious if my avatar came across some who knew my main body. "All the same, thank you, Mr. Davison. Why were you coming here," Hal asks. "I want to buy a quick boat and reserve the other trawler you told me about. I would also like it if you could help me find some scuba gear." "Of course, you can go to my office and take a seat. I have to tell Emily that Emma is back. I will be there in a few moments," Hal tells me. I walk to his office, take a seat, then I decide to use the lottery tickets while I wait for Hal. [10 exp Tier One Item Crafting Manual(Rare Drop) Pill of Healing Mana Awakening Potion(Rare Drop) [Omni-Gaming System can be leveled up. Do you wish to open the leveling menu?] "Sure, open leveling menu," I tell the system. [Omni-Gaming System lvl1(118/100) 6/6 Slots filled Psychic Sheild lvl1(0/100) Enhanced Processing lvl1(18/100) Eidetic Memory lvl1(5/100) Power Absorption Immunity lvl1(0/100,000) Power Loan lvl1(0/100) Avatar lvl1(11/100) "Level up the Omni-Gaming System," I state. [Omni-Gaming System leveled up. Map function unlocked, two teleportation points provided. Training efficacy slightly increased. New items unlocked in the shop.] Happy about the upgrades, I ask the system, "Why do some of my powers have exp when I did not place any into them." [Powers can gain exp from being used.] "That''s good news, that means I can train them," I say, pausing for a second then continuing. "How much exp does it take to level the system up now?" [It will take 500 exp to level up again.] "That''s quite the jump," I say as I look at the items I got from the lottery. "Show me the description of the items I got." [Tier One Item Crafting Manual- Book on how to make tier one items. Pill of Healing- Mends broken bones, heals cuts and scars, reconnects nerves, repairs organs, and revitalizes the body. The more constitution you have, the weaker the healing effect will be. "Wow, that is some amazing stuff. If I drink the Mana Awakening Potion in my avatar body, will the effect carry over to my main body?" [Currently, no. But, if you drink it in your main body, it will carry over. Also, as soon as you can feel mana, it will be simple to awaken mana with your main body.] "If you say it will be simple, I will just drink it now," I declare before I hear the door open and stop what I am doing. "Sorry it took so long, Emily went six blocks away to search for Emma. Now, let''s get down to business, you said you wanted a fast boat and to reserve the other trawler. You also said something about scuba gear," Hal says. "Yes, I would like to reserve the trawler and buy a quick boat." "I will need an 80,000 dollar deposit to reserve the trawler for you. As for a fast boat, I have a few, what kind of boat are you looking for," Hal asks. "It needs to have a bed and a fridge," I tell Hal my requirements. "Okay, I only have two boats that have those things. One does about 18 knots and is a bit bigger than the other one. It costs 147,000 dollars. The other does 23 knots and costs 113,000 dollars," Hal explains to me. "I''ll take the faster one. I will sign for them when you have the forms drawn up. As for the scuba gear, do you know where I can find some," I inquire. "That''s alright. I need to go get some fuel for the boat and a few other things, will you have the papers ready in about an hour?" "Of course, Mr. Davison," Hal affirms. Walking out of the shipyard, I decide to wait to use the Mana Awakening Potion until I get out to the ocean and instead look through the items I can make. While going over to get fuel, I look through the Tier One Item Crafting Manual and find an item that I urgently need now that I will not be on the boat for a while. It is called a fishing charm. It attracts fish just like my Luck of the Sea skill but without all the other benefits. Looking at how to make it, I see various ways. As I look over them, I find the simplest method I can currently do. The method I chose to make the fish charm was incredibly simple. All you need to do is carve a fish shape out of wood, soak it fresh fish blood for two hours, then force ki into it. After I will go get some fuel for the boat, I will buy some wood so I can start making it. Chapter 11 - The Fish Charm After arriving at the gas station, I buy 100 gallons of fuel for the boat. I put the fuel into the inventory so I won''t run out of gas at sea. I put the fuel in ten-gallon gas cans, so it would be easier to take out when I needed them. I also made sure no one saw me fill all of them up, but when I went to pay, the cashier still gave me a weird look. Pay with card has not been implemented to the full extent yet. It makes me miss the convenience of the future. I travel to a hardware store after leaving the gas station. I purchase some woodworking tools and a few pieces of oak wood. I go buy a few pots so, when I finish carving the fish, I can place them in the fish blood. Following buying the pots, I check the time and find that an hour had passed. Hal should have everything ready when I get back. Back at the shipyard, I sign a few things and transfer the money over to Hal. I take the keys for it and drive it to where the trawler is. I start making the fish charm. After a few minutes, I made something that kind of looks like a fish. I throw it in a pot with fish blood while I start making another one because I don''t think that one will turn out well. I made six of them before I ran out of wood. After letting them all soak in the blood for about an hour, I took them out. All I have left to do is pour some ki into them. Picking up the first one I made, I begin to channel ki into it, but just as I start, it shatters into hundreds of pieces. I pick up the second one and do the same, but this time I try to channel less ki. This time instead of shattering, it only broke in half. On the third try, I succeed. Instead of just adjusting the amount of ki, I tried circulating ki through the fish carving using the blood it absorbed. Upon succeeding, I receive a notification from the system. [You have crafted Fish Charm(Poor Quality). Novice Item Crafter Achievement obtained. Blazing Blacksmiths Hammer awarded.] Another achievement, that''s great, and I got an item this time. The Fish Charm I made has a poor quality rating. I wonder if that will negatively impact the effects. "System, show me descriptions for the Fish Charm and Blazing Blacksmiths Hammer," I say. [Fish Charm(Poor Quality)- Fish catch rate +10% to an entire ship. Due to the inferior quality of ingredients and bad craftsmanship, this works quality was reduced to poor. If not for the quality of ki used to make it, the Fish Charm would not have any effects what so ever. Blazing Blacksmiths Hammer- Every time you stick down with the hammer, it heats up what you''re working with significantly. Items made with the have a 15% chance to gain a fire-related ability based on what the item is.] Looking at the Fish Charms description, I felt a little ashamed about my shoddy craftsmanship, but I also realized that the fish blood and wood I used were bad as well. I will need to get better quality ingredients if I expect better quality items. "Why do system items not have qualities but, the item I crafted does, System?" [System Items do not need a quality because the effects do not vary.] "I suppose that makes sense," I relent. I finished crafting the rest of the fish charms. Of the three remaining carvings, two of them came out with poor quality, and one had a common quality. The common quality one had a 20% bonus to fish catch rate instead of the poor quality ones with only 10%. I put the better Fish Charm on the trawler. Opening up the map, I see a detailed overview of Central City and where I am currently located in Alaska. I conclude from that information that the map will only show areas I have been. Touching the map, I find that I can zoom in and out just like on a touch screen. I tap on a place on the map, and a prompt appears. [Do you wish to set a teleportation point here? Once the teleportation point is set, it can''t be changed until a week after you set it. Yes/no] I select no. Then I scroll the map to the alleyway I formed my avatar in and placed a teleportation point there. I also place another one in a back alley by Mason Shipyard. I tap on the teleportation point I placed in Central City, and I am issued another prompt. [Do you wish to teleport here? Yes/no] I hit yes, and I am suddenly enveloped by a blue glow. I have a tingling sensation throughout my whole body. Then, I see the blue grow brighter before my whole surroundings change. I was now in the alleyway, exactly where I placed the teleportation point. The teleportation points work. And I do not even have to be there in person to set one. I only have to have been there. This opens a bunch of ways to utilize it. But before that, I decided to see if the teleportation function has a cooldown. Opening the map again, I chose to teleport back to Alaska. A few moments later, I am back in Alaska, right by Mason Shipyard. "So there isn''t any cooldown, but the teleporting takes about three seconds. I won''t be able to effectively use this in combat, but it is a great utility," I think aloud to myself. Chapter 12 - Searching for Treasure I finished everything I needed to do so, I get on my boat and start sailing out to open water. When I get about a mile away from the shore, I drink the Mana Awakening Potion. I feel a cooling sensation through my whole body then I hear a system announcement. [Unlocked Mana stat.] "System, show me my stats again." [Status- Name: Ash Davis Level:1 Species: Human(Avatar) HP:131 MP:86 Str:9.6(13.3) Agi:9.3(13) Con:9.4(13.1) Int:8.6 Wis:7.9 Per:9.8(13.5) It would seem I need to work on my mental stats as they are falling behind, but it looks like I will get every stat to have a base of 10 by the end of the week. "System, does my main body have to get stronger to unlock more power slots?" [Yes.] "Okay, show me the stats for my main body." [Status- Name: Ash Davis Level:1 Species: Human HP:111 MP:0 Str:7.6(11.3) Agi:7.2(10.9) Con:7.4(11.1) Int:8.6 Wis:7.9 Per:8.8(12.5) My main body is quite a bit weaker than my avatar, but it can''t be helped the effects of cultivation are weaker indoors. I will have to awaken my main and train extra hard to catch up. ... After a few days of finding nothing, I went back to see how things are doing with Jim. He was handling business well and, he even found more people to sell the fish to. I promoted him to a business manager but told him he had to find and train a replacement before he leaves the crew. I also make sure to remind him how important the switch I gave him is, so when he gives the switch off to his replacement, he will tell them as well. ... Following a week of using the Treasure Locator and finding nothing, I have been constantly cultivation as I had very little else I could do. I was about to condense my first sun and breakthrough to the first stage of my cultivation, Ki Condensing. As I broke through, I hear a notification from the system [Secret Mission: First steps as a cultivator. Complete Mission Objective: Enter the first stage of cultivation Reward: Thousand Tempering Body Cultivation Art, Organ Strengthing Pill] "I feel so much stronger after breaking through to Ki Condensing, plus I got a body cultivation art for doing it. System, what are my stats now?" Name: Ash Davis Level:1 Species: Human(Avatar) HP:221 MP:86 Str:22(22.1) Agi:21(21.1) Con:22(22.1) Int:9.4 Wis:8.9 Per:21.3(21.4) Dex:22(22.1) Luck:6 Chr:7.8] "Wow, that is a huge jump in stats, I might want to hold off on physical training until my mental stats catch up," I say out loud to myself. After viewing my stats, I eat the Organ Strengthing Pill as it was pretty straight forward. Then, I use the Thousand Tempering Body Cultivation Art. The knowledge flows into me. The Thousand Tempering Body Cultivation Art works by pushing the body beyond its limits through various forms of strain. Whether it be extream temperatures, insane pressures, or plain old damage from getting hurt, as long as you survive it and have enough nutrition and ki, it will make you stronger. The main principle, in fact, is what does not kill you makes you stronger. Though I was happy to get the art, I was not looking forward to practicing it. I mean, who would look forward to being hurt. Subsequently, to digesting the knowledge of the Thousand Tempering Body Cultivation art, I used the Treasure Locator again and it made a ding noise. It had finally found something after a stale week of nothing, I finally found a treasure. I set down the anchor and dive under the water. With my new stats, I could easily hold my breath for 20 minutes. Swimming down to the marked location, I see a boat covered in algae. Searching through the ship, I find a few pieces of jewelry and a locked ?h?st. I put them into the inventory and swim back up to my boat. I make a few more trips down to the ship, finding some more jewelry and a box of silver coins. When I was certain I got everything from the inside of the ship, I start to search on the outside of the ship. I don''t see anything of value, so I checked the Treasure Locator map and, it was stopped blinking. I had gotten all of the valuables from the ship. I planned to keep the gold and silver for the time being as they would become worth more in the future. I planed to auction off the diamond so I can buy the land I need for the Ship Building & Upgrade Dock. Getting back aboard my boat, I get a notification from the system. [Hero Mission: Stop the smugglers Mission Objective: Neutralize the smugglers, save the people that they have captive, then notify law enforcement. Reward: 100 exp, 10 Tier One lottery tickets, Power Upgrade Token Punishment: Avatar can not be used for a week, -20 exp] Chapter 13 - Traffickers I look around for the smuggler''s ship. I spot a large black ship on the horizon about three kilometers. I get out the spyglass to take a closer look and discover that it does not have a flag. I also see people patrolling around the deck. I start traveling toward the ship. As I begin to get within close, I slow my boat and get behind their ship, where they can''t see me. I buy a dart gun and 30 darts from the system so I can knock people out from far away. Then I patiently wait for the right time. As I continuing to follow them, the sky turns dark. It''s time to take action. I pull up alongside it, store the boat into the inventory, and get on their ship. Climbing up the side of the ship, I hear people walking above me. I wait until they just pass me before I climb aboard. I quickly run up behind him and hit him, with an open palm, on the side of his head. He is sent flying three feet away. I did not want to hit him with my fist because I have not tested my new strength. Seeing that the man is knocked out, I drag him to a shadowy area, where he will not be seen. I see that he is wearing a uniform, so I have my suit copy it and take his gun. I walk up to a higher point on the ship so I can get a better look at how many guards there are onboard. Looking for the vantage point, I see a total of seven guards, five patrolling around the deck, and two others up top. I start heading for the two up top as they can spot me better. Getting within range, I fire the dart gun at the guard closest to me. The dart misses by a few inches, alerting the guard. I immediately activate Enhanced Processing to help me then I fire the dart gun again. With the help of Enhanced Processing, I easily shot both of the guards with darts causing them to pass out. Having taken out the guards up top, I quickly tied them up and picked up my darts. I then proceed to incapacitate the rest of the guards on the top deck. I knew it would be much more difficult to quietly take down the guards below deck. Finding stairs down to the lower deck, I advance down. After I go down the stairs, I hear people talking and it sounds like they are coming toward my direction. I quickly hide as I listen in on their conversation. "We really hit the jackpot this time. We caught 14 women under the age of 20 and four men, plus we got at least 10 tons of drugs," says one of the guards excitedly to another guard. "Yeah, I am sure we will make about 20K or more for this mission. Has Ben come down to switch with you yet?" The second guard asks. "No, but he will probably be down in a few minutes." As they walk past me, I dash behind them and bash their skulls together, knocking them out instantly. I change my outfit from the disguise into a pure black one with a black cloak. I run up behind him and restain him. "Owww, who the hell are you? How did you get on the ship?" The man states, sounding both confused and scared, wiggling around to get free. "I am the one who is going to be asking the questions here, and if you do not tell me what I want to know, I will break your bones one by one," I tell him deliberately lowering my tone so to appear more threating and to disguise my actual voice. "And if you''re thinking about calling for help, don''t bother, there is no one on this ship left to help you. I am sure a smart man such as yourself knows what I mean by that," I tell him, leaving it purposely ambiguous. "Yes sir, I will tell you anything, just please don''t kill me," the man replies as he is shaking from fear. "Good, who do you work for," I ask while tightening my grip. "Everyone on this ship works for the Phantom Group. We specifically work under someone called Water Phantom. I do not know his real name, but that is what everyone calls him." "Ok, now tell me where the people you abducted are and why you kidnaped them?" "They are all in the biggest room at the very end of the hall. They were to be used as leverage against their families that owed us money or sold as slaves for money." After I got the information I needed, I stuck him with a dart to make him pass out then ran down the hall to where the man had said the people were located. Chapter 14 - Hero Mission Complete Opening the door to where the captives are kept. I see ten young women in cells, and I also see some of them have girls with them in the cells, most probably not over the age of 13 years old. "These must be the women the guards were talking about," I think to myself. I look around to see if the men the guards were talking about were here, but I could not find them. I take out the key that I took from the body of what I think was the boss and go over to unlock the cells. As I walk over to one of the cells, one of the women notices me. "Who are you? You do not look one of the guys keeping us prisoner," said a woman with tattered clothes in the cell. "I am here to rescue everyone. I have already subdued your captors. I will release all of you then inform the coast guard on the radio," I tell her in with my undisguised voice so she would trust me. "Really! That''s great! What''s your name? Are you some kind of mercenary hired by one of the families of girls here," the lady quickly asks seeming exhilarated. "No, I am not a mercenary. I will not tell you my real name but, you can call me Shadow. Oh, by the way, do you know where the men who were captured are at," I ask her while I walk over to unlock more cells. "Well, Shadow, you can call me Amber, Amber Watson. I saw some men being taken to the side room over there," Amber says while pointing to a door on the far side of the room. "Thanks, can you unlock the rest of the cell while I go get the guys, Ok," I ask her while giving her the key. "Sure, you can count on me," Amber says, smiling while taking the key. Running over to the door Amber pointed out, I try opening it but find it''s locked. I take a step back from the door, then slam my shoulder into it to break it open. I walked in to find four guys in dirty clothing looking at me. "Who the hell are you," the man on the far left shouts. "You better have not have laid a finger on my sister." "You can call me Shadow if you like. I am here to save you, not hurt you. I already knocked all the guards out and started to free the women in the cells," I tell them. "Were you hired by my family, the Rutherfords? Is my little sister Jane okay," a blond man wearing expensive-looking clothing asks. "I was not hired by anyone. I was just passing by. Your sister should be in the other room," I plainly tell him. "Still, I think you should be rewarded for saving my sister and me. If you are ever in Central City, look Alex Rutherford up and give me a call. I will make sure to reward you with a hefty some money," Alex says with a smile. "Sure, Sure, I''ll do that. Now, go into the main room. I will look around the ship for their radio. When I find one, I will come back to get you so you all can inform the coast guard about the situation," I inform them. After a few minutes of looking around the ship, I find a room with another locked door. I knock it down just like the last, and inside it, I find heaps of cocaine in the large room. Look around the room I see stacks of money on top of a table. I go over to the table and, I see 10 bundles of 10,000 dollars. I quickly put the money into my inventory and continue searching for a radio. Following a few more minutes of searching, I find a radio in one of the rooms. I go back down to where all the people were located and bring them to the radio. "Alright, now just use the radio do call the coast guard so you can be rescued and all these people can be arrested. Do you all need anything before I leave," I ask all of them? "No, we are okay. But we all wanted to say something before you go," Amber says. "Thank you for rescuing us," they all say in unison. "You''re welcome. Now I better get going," I tell them as I start leaving. An hour after I return to shore, I get a system notification. Reward: 100 exp, 10 Tier One lottery tickets, Power Upgrade Token] [Beginner Hero achievement obtained by completing one Hero Mission. +10% exp gain from defeated foes +10% exp from Hero Missions] Looking at the reward a thought suddenly dawns on me, "System, did I get exp for defeating those guys?" Chapter 15 - New Trouble [No, the System does not currently reward exp for defeating humans.] "Well, that''s too bad," I say to myself with a sigh. I decided to hold off one using the reward I got from the mission until I could properly think over how to use them best. I am mentally exhausted from taking on all those guys, so I go back to my boat and meditate using my cultivation technique for an hour or two. From all the time practicing my cultivation, I realized that my body is always drawing in energy, but it was at least 10 times slower than when I focus and meditate while circulating the energy. ---------- Far away in a dark room, a man with a dark blue mask sits in a large chair looking over a large map of the world with tiny ships place on it. When suddenly, a man bursts through the door. "Boss, I just got word from Stonetooth that he and his men have been arrested off the coast of Alaska and, the ship he was given has been seized," the small dark-haired man states. "WHAT! That''s impossible! They had at least 15 guards armed with automatic weapons. There is no way the police are equipped to handle that kind of firepower," the man in the blue mask says furiously. "I know, Water Phantom, sir. But, it gets stranger sir, Stonetooth says the police did not take them down but, rather one man wearing a black cloak single-handedly took all them out without killing a single one," the small dark-haired man says. "One man took them all out without killing them? Was it a mercenary hired by one of the influential families to take their child back? The Rutherfords or the Falons, maybe? Damnit, there goes my leverage for my takeover plan," Water Phantom says with a frustrated sigh. "Do we know which mercenary it could be, Goblin?" "We have a few suspects, but none quite match the skill level shown by the person who took our men out. To be able to take out all our men without killing them and without them sounding an alarm, he has to stronger than a rank one mercenary, so I think he ought to be a rank two or three mercenary," Goblin states. "There is only about 35 rank two mercenaries and, there are only about four rank three mercenaries in the US. Goblin, gather all the information you can on the 35 rank two and four rank three mercenaries. If the cloaked man turns out to be a rank two mercenary, kill him, but if he is a rank three, try to get him to join us. If you can''t get him to join us, make sure to leave on friendly terms, it is too costly to be on the wrong side of a rank three," Water Phanton declares in a serious tone. "Yes, sir. Do you need anything else from me," Goblin asks? "Contact Earth Phantom, I need to speak with him. Also, get Stonetooth released, I want to speak to him about anything he might have revealed, you know what a coward he is," Water Phantom say to Goblin. "Certainly, Boss," Goblin says before leaving. "I hope we can get him to join us, but more than anything, I do not want him to be hostile toward us. The last rank three that was hostile toward us took nearly 50 million dollars worth of resources to track down and kill. I do not need that kind of money drain with my upcoming plans," Water Phantom thinks to himself while relaxing in his chair. ---------- After a few hours of meditating, I feel energized again, so I decide to walk around town. As I walk around town, I think of how to go forward with my company. I will have less and less time to spend building them up as I expand to other areas of business. I need someone great at management to help me, but I also need to be able to trust them. As I was in deep thought, I bump into a woman. I say, "Sorry, I was lost in thought and wasn''t looking where I was going," but as I look up to see it is Amber Watson, the girl that was on the ship and, she seems to be crying. "Are you crying, miss? Are you hurt," I ask her? "No, I''m not hurt, I am upset," she answers. "Would you like to talk about it, maybe you''ll feel better." "Okay, a few weeks ago, I was hired as a manager-in-training at a big company. But about six days ago, when I was traveling to a business meeting, I was kidnapped and held in a cell until a few hours ago when I was saved," she states. "Oh my goodness, you were kidnapped," I say trying to fake my surprise. "Yeah, but I''m fine now," she says. "After getting taken to the police station and answering a few questions, I immediately call my boss to explain what happened. Do you know what he told me," she asks while holding back her tears. "No, what did your boss say," I ask? "He told me I had already been fired and replaced. Can you believe that? I was kidnapped when I was going to a business meeting FOR THEM. And when I finally get back after being trapped in a cell for six days, I find out I had already been replaced," she says furiously. "That is terrible, you know what, I started a business recently, and I could use a manager. If you''re interested, you can come by the docks tomorrow at 10 a.m.," I tell her. The company is renting a building on the dock so we can hold meetings there. "That sounds great, I will definitely do that," she says with a big smile, clearly feeling much better. "Good, I will see you tomorrow then," I tell her as I get up to leave. Chapter 16 - Amber Watson This week has been a rollercoaster. I was happily going to a business meeting for my company. Then I was suddenly kidnapped and put in a cell aboard a ship with lots of other people. After six days, I was finally rescued by a nice person who calls himself Shadow. I was overjoyed. Think back to it now, I probably came off as overly enthusiastic. It took about an hour for the police to get us back to shore after Shadow rescued us. As soon as the police were done questioning me, I call the company to explain what happened. But before I could even explain anything, they told me I had already been replaced. At first, I was furious that they replaced me for missing a few days of work because of reasons outside of my control. But then, I became sad as I really liked working there and the pay was great. I walk around the street crying pitifully until I bumped into a handsome and kind man. He apologized for bumping into me. As I heard him speak, his voice sounded vaguely familiar, but I put that in the back of my mind as I had more important things to worry about. See that I was crying, he asked if I was hurt. I told him no. Then he asked if I wanted to talk about what was wrong. It felt great knowing someone cared enough to ask me that, especially after the week I''ve had. After talking to him about the horrible week I''ve had, I felt immensely better, but I was still worried about what to do next. But, to my surprise, the moment I had that thought, he tells me that he recently started a business and could use a manager. Then he told me if I was interested, to be at the docks by 10 a.m. I was a little worried at first when he said that he recently opened a business, thinking maybe he was trying to kidnap me. I was a tad paranoid from my recent kidnapping. But when he told me to be at the docks at 10 o''clock, I calmed down. From what I saw when the police brought me in for questioning, the dock was a busy place with lots of people. It was not a place you could easily kidnap someone. Thinking about what a good opportunity this could be, I could get potentially become top management in a start-up company, so I quickly said that I would be there. After the man left, I realized I didn''t even ask what his name was. I had to make sure to ask his name tomorrow, but for now, I had more things to worry about. I needed to find a cheap hotel to stay at for the night. I had some money left on my credit card that the police manage to recover from the kidnapper, but only enough to last me a few days. In my old company, they usually paid for my stay at a hotel if I was on a business trip. If I decide to work here, I will need to find an apartment to stay at. After searching around for half an hour, I finally found a cheap place to stay for the night. I was about to take a shower when it dawns on me that I forgot to call my parents to tell them I was okay. I immediately used the hotel phone to call them. They were extremely worried about me as I usually call them about three times a week. I told them about everything that had occurred in the past few days. When I told them about how I had been kidnapped, they wanted me to come home straight away, but I convinced them that I was fine. Then I told them about how the company replaced me. They were infuriated to the point I thought they would explode. But after I calmed them down a bit, I told them about how I was offered a job, here in Alaska, as a manager for a start-up company. They were happy to hear that but told me to make sure to call them often. They also said that if I needed any money for food or a hotel to call them, they would send some over right away. After talking to them for a couple of hours, I hung up the phone and took a shower before going to bed. As I sleep, I dream of the past and what has led me to this point. ---------- My life up until the age of nine was pretty normal. My mother mostly stayed at home, but every Friday, she sold baked goods to a local shop for some extra money. My father worked as a manager for my maternal grandfather''s business. My grandfather owned and operated a mining company. My maternal grandmother mostly stayed home, but she some times help my grandfather with his business. A month after I turned nine years old, my grandmother died in a hit-and-run accident. My grandfather begged the police to find who killed his wife, but after three weeks, they ran out of leads to follow, so they stopped actively investigating the case. He pleaded for them to reopen the case for days, but they told him there was nothing they could do. After four days of begging and pleading, he hired a few private investigators. For months, he keep hiring investigators becoming more distant as time past. Three months after the death of my grandmother, I overhear my father talking to my mother. He said that my grandfather had been asked, by the board of directors, to step down, as CEO, because of his mental health issues and excess spending. After stepping down as CEO, my grandfather started to reconnect with the family. He took us to the theater and bought nice things for us. I could tell he was still sad, so I always tried to cheer him up whenever possible. Two months pass, it was my grandmother''s birthday if she were still alive. That evening I heard my father frantically come into the house to speak to my mother. I snuck up close to hear what they were saying. My father told my mother that the police found my grandfather with a hole in his head and a gun in his hand, sitting on a chair in his office at home. They also found his will and a note on the desk in front of him, so they have deemed it a suicide. At the time, I did not truly know what the word suicide meant, but I did know that I would never see my grandfather again. Knowing that I would never see my grandfather again made me begin to weep. Hearing my crying, my parents found out that I was listening to them talk. They immediately picked me up and hugged me while we all started crying together. Later on, I found out that in my grandfather''s will, he gave my mother: his mansion, 10% stock in his mining company, and 50,000 dollars. He gave my father: his car, his guns, 10% stock in his mining company, and 50,000 dollars. He gave me 30,000 dollars in a trust fund to be used for college and my grandmother''s and his wedding ring. The remainder of his stock, 10%, was to be given to a charity called Earth Alliance as well as the rest of his money. My grandfather only had 30% stock in his company at the time of his death because he had sold a good deal of it to pay for private investigators. I deeply loved my grandfather. After his death, I was sad but, I knew what I wanted to do, I would work hard to become a powerful businesswoman, to make my grandfather proud. I started to study extra hard. I took advanced classes, did extra credit, and I even had my father teach me economics when he was home. All the hard work and dedication paid off, I graduated from high school at the age of 17 with a bunch of college credits. I decided to go to the same university as my mother and father, Metropolis University. Chapter 17 - Mothers Worry I go to my hotel room to take a shower, as I had been out all day. After finishing my shower, I take a taxi to the nearest airport to purchase a ticket, for the day after tomorrow, to New York City. New York has some of the biggest auction houses in the United States, perfect for selling the diamond I found in the wrecked ship. After I bought the ticket, I returned to the hotel and switched back to my main body. I have probably had my mother worried as I have been busy for the last few days, not able to return to my main body. To her, it would appear that I am sleeping abnormally long and deep, possibly making her worry if I am sick or if something is wrong with me. As soon as Amber is hired, I should spend more time in my main body and enjoy being a child again with my family. As I thought that, I hear a system notification. [Daily Mission: Family Time Mission Objective: Spend two hours with your family. Reward: Choose: Ki Gathering Pill, One Random Skill Fragment, or One Random Recipe Fragment.] "Wow, another daily mission. I''m starting to think the system might be responding to my d?s?r?s. Are you System," I ask in a happy tone. [The system does make missions corresponding to your d?s?r?s sometimes, but not frequently because that would negatively impact your ability to develop problem-solving skills.] "That pretty cool, now, would you please give my information on the rewards for the mission I just got," I say, a little excited. [ Ki Gathering Pill- A pill that greatly helps to gather ki for non-cultivators. For cultivators, the effect of the pill varies, from moderate to nothing at all, depending on how strong the cultivator is. Random Skill Fragment- Combine 5 fragments to make a Bronze Random Skill Token, 10 to make a Silver Random Skill Token, 30 to make a Gold Random Skill Token. Random Recipe Fragment- Combine 3 to get a random recipe.] "That''s great and all, but what do the random skill tokens do. I get that they probably give me a random skill, but what is the difference between all the tokens." [Bronze Random Skill Token- 80% chance common skill, 19% chance uncommon skill, and 1% chance rare skill Gold Random Skill Token- 80% chance rare skill, 19% chance super rare skill, and 1% chance epic skill] "Those odds are not in my favor if I want a good skill unless I save up to make the Gold Random Skill Token," I state, in a defeated tone. "Does my luck affect the odds at all," I ask the system? [A luck value below 100 does not affect the odds.] "Aw, that''s too bad," I say, disappointed that my luck would not affect the odds at all. [However, your luck will affect the random recipes you get.] Hearing that brought my mood up a little. ---------- My son has had me worried lately. I mean, ever since he was born I have been worried about him, but he has had me especially worried the past few days. He has been sleeping for an unusually long time recently, sometimes up to eight hours. When Rose was a baby, she usually woke up crying every couple of hours. But that is not the main reason for being worried. When he is sleeping, he sleeps very deeply. About five days ago, I went to go wake Ash up to feed him because I wanted to take a nap after cleaning all day. I called out his name as I picked him up. When he did not wake up, I was started to get worried, so I called out his name louder. He still did not wake up, so I immediately checked his breathing, frightened that something is wrong with him. As I put my ear up to his ?h?st and hear him breathing fine, I let out a sigh of relief. But I was still worried, so I called my mother, who was now a doctor after going back to college. She was one of the only doctors I trust after what happened to me in that facility. Calling her, I got the answering machine, "You have reached the phone of Dr. May Ashton. I am out at the moment, in London for a conference for a few days. If this is a business call, please call again later."As I heard the message, I remember her telling me that she had to go to London for a few days and that she said she would come to visit as soon as she was finished. After I heard her voice and knowing she would be coming to visit soon, I calmed down. The following few days, I keep a close eye on Ash. He scared me a few times, making me contemplate calling my husband home, but I decided against it. He was on an extremely important business trip, and I was probably overreacting. Sometime tomorrow, my mother should be coming here to visit. Late last night, she left a message on my answering machine telling me she was flying in tomorrow. ---------- After going through the information on the new mission, I cry out for food as I was hungry from not eating for a while. I still had to cry even after I practiced for a long time. If I wanted to speak, I would have to wait for my voice box and vocal cords to develop more. The best I could do currently is two-letter words, and even that is garbled. After waiting for a few moments, my mother picked me up and started feeding me. While I was feeding, my mother started to speak to me. "Honey, you''ve had me so worried the past few days, but tomorrow, your grandmother is coming to check on you," she says in a cheery tone. "She is a doctor, pretty amazing, right," she states in a proud voice. "She has really been wanting to meet you, but work has kept her busy. She will probably arrive very early tomorrow. Are you excited to meet your grandmother," she asks in baby talk. When she tells me that she has been worried about me the past few days, I feel terrible. "System is there any way for my main body to wake up from stimulus or notify me if someone is trying to wake me up." [Searching.....] [Evaluating...] Chapter 18 - One Problem Solved [Searching.....] [Evaluating...] [Found best viable solutions to the problem.] [Talismans of Shared Vision- A pair of talismans that enable you to use one talisman to see and hear the surroundings of another. Costs 5,500 GSP. Quantum Micro Recorder and Receiver- A paired micro recorder and receiver that lets you hear sound from the recorder over any distance, using quantum entanglement. Costs 2,000 GSP. Split Mind- Skill- Grants the user the ability to split a portion of their mind to do other tasks. When the minds rejoin, so will the memories. Warning: The process of splitting your mind the first time will be extremely painful. Your intelligence and wisdom stats will be reduced in proportion to how much you have split your mind. As an example, a 10% mind split means a 10% reduction in intelligence and wisdom. Costs 20,000 GSP.] [Split Mind is the optimum solution, but it is also the most expensive.] "Hum, true, Split Mind is the best solution. The second best option is the Talismans of Shared Vision, but that would still require me to constantly check up on it. Can you tell me how Split Mind works precisely," I inquire, wanting to make sure there are no unexpected side effects? [When you split your mind, you split apart of yourself off. The split mind will have all your memories and personality, but will only possess intelligence and wisdom proportion to how much you split off. Meaning even though he has your memory, he would not be able to think of solutions to problems as fast or well as you would. But, as you have both the Enhanced Processing and Eidetic Memory power, the split mind could regain the lost intelligence in as little as a day or month depending on your other mind''s decisions. It becomes very unpredictable when multiple powers and skills come together. Also, how the split mind will act is will depend on how much intelligence and wisdom it has. For example, if the split mind has low Int and Wis, then it would mostly act like a toddler or baby.] "Great, this skill is amazing! It like a lesser version of a hive mind. How long can the minds be split apart or is there a limit," I ask eagerly? [As long as the minds are in the same body there is no limit, but if it not in the same body, there is a limit. Within a day, you will start to feel a slight yearning to recombine, after a week, you will feel a strong need to recombine, and after a month, the need would be so strong that you can''t think of anything else.] "So the limit is my will power then," I ask? [Theoretically, yes. But, it would feel as if you are starving, and you have a feast in front of you.] "It would certainly be hard, but I don''t plan on being separate for more than a day. Oh, I have to ask you, couldn''t a hive mind like power or skill do the same thing. why are they not on the list," I ask? [Powers like Hive Mind or similar powers or skills are not on the list because either they have requirements that you are not likely to meet in the near future or could be used but would have severe side effects if used at your current strength. The system is designed to help you not hurt you. That is why those three options are the most viable.] "Well, thanks for looking out for me. I should think up a name for you, you have always been looking out for me, plus calling you System all the time seems impersonal," I say feeling bad I did not name the cute voice that helps me all the time. "I will think hard about it for a while and choose a good name for you," I declare. [Although a name is unnecessary since you want to give me a name, I hope you pick a good one.] "Don''t worry, it will be the perfect name for you," I ?ssure. "Now, can you confirm the purchase of the Mind Split skill," I ask the System, getting back on track. [Obtaining Mind Split skill, deducting 20,000 GSP.] As I purchased the Mind Split, I felt a blissful sensation come over me as the information on how to use the skill was poured into my mind. After I digested all the information, I begin to prepare myself for the process of splitting my mind. As soon as my mother put me back in my bed, I take a deep breath, then begin the process. As I begin, I start to feel a mild headache. After a few seconds, it started to feel like someone was hitting my head with a sledgehammer. I grit my teeth, trying my hardest to endure the pain. Then, after what felt like an eternity, the pain finally stopped. [You have successfully split 9.4% of your mind off, giving the split mind the intelligence equivalent of a smart baby. Would you like to give the split mind a nickname?] "Let''s nickname him Little Ash since he like a little me. By the way, why is the split 9.4%, instead of the 10% I was aiming for," I inquire, confused as to why that would happen? [You are not proficient in the Mind Split skill and were in severe pain causing you to mess up the skill. With more practice, you will be able to use the skill better.] "Well, I guess I should practice using it while mom is not here," I think to myself. Recombining with Little Ash, I feel a refreshing feeling come over me. I then use the Mind Split again, but this time it was simply uncomfortable instead of extremely painful. I continued to practice using the skill until my mother came in and picked me up. "Your sister is back, don''t you want to welcome her back? Let''s go say hello, okay?" Chapter 19 - Hired As my mother took me into the living room, I hear my sister at the front door. "I''m back," Rose shouts happily as she comes through the door. "Welcome home sweety, did you have fun at Jessica''s birthday party," my mother asks her. "It was super super fun. They had a bouncy castle, pizza, and cake. I wish you could have been there to see it," Rose exclaims. "I''m sorry I could not be there sweetie, but I can''t leave Ash alone until your father returns from his business trip," my mother says in a disheartened tone. "I know mommy, can I hold Ash, please," Rose begs cutely. "Sure, just sit on the couch and, I will give him to you," my mother says as Rose immediately runs to the couch. "Okay, now gimme, please," Rose says. "Haha, Okay here, make sure to be gentle with him," my mother says while snickering. After my sister played with me for a couple of hours, I decided that instead of switching back to my avatar, I would get a full night''s sleep, something I have not had in a while. I wake up in the morning to the noise of feet walking and people talking, I feel refreshed, like a weight has been lifted off me. I look up, and I am in my mother''s arms, in the living room. I hear a lady talking to my mother, and when I look to see who it is. I see a red-haired lady who looks a little older than my mother, talking to my mother. "Looks like little Ashy is awake, sweety. Can I hold him for a bit," the lady asks my mother? "Of course, mom, but after you are done holding him, I want you to do a check-up on him to make sure he is alright," my mother says while handing me to my grandmother. "Oh no, is something wrong with him," my grandmother asks worriedly. "He has been sleeping for long lengths of time, and when he is asleep, he sleeps very deeply. He gave me a scare quite a few times when he does that," my mother states. "That is strange, but it shouldn''t be life-threatening. I can do a preliminary check-up if you get the tools from my bag in the guest room, and it should be fine if I do not see anything unusual. To do a full check-up, it would take about a week for me to get the required tools. But, you should be too worried, or Ash will pick up on it," my grandmother tell my mother. "Your right, I am probably overreacting, I have just been so worried since I found out he has his father''s power," my mother says. "He awakened his power so young," my grandmother exclaims. "Rose''s power awakened young as well, way earlier than yours awakened at 14," she says while pondering. "We have to be extra careful to make sure no one finds out about his power. We both know what they did to Enzo." "Yes, I will make sure to protect my son," my mother says as she leaves to get the tools for my grandmother. My grandmother looks down at me and starts speaking, "Hello Ashy I''m your grandma, can you say, grandma," she says while playing with me. "Ga... ga ma," I say to please my grandmother. "Awww, you''re so adorable. I wish James was here to see you. He would have loved to spoil his grandson," my grandmother says while looking a little sad. "James, dear, make sure to watch over your grandchild," my grandmother states as she is looking up. I gather from what she is saying that James is my grandfather and that he has already passed away. Realizing this, I am a little sad that I won''t get to meet him. After my mother brings in the medical tools, and my grandmother finishes the check-up, I split my mind then go into my avatar. Waking up as my avatar, I take a shower, so I am ready for the day. While in the shower, I have a thought, so I ask the System. "Will I know if my main body is in distress, or do I need to buy another item that you showed me?" [Since you only split your mind, your body''s are still of one soul. So if either mind is feeling excessive fear or other distress, the other will feel slightly uncomfortable or distressed.] "Well that''s good to know, I won''t have to worry about that too much," I think to myself relieved. Finishing my shower, I check the time and see it is only a little past 8 o''clock. Seeing that it was still a while till the meeting time, I decided to go to the company office down at the docks and check to make sure everything is running smoothly. After waiting for a little while, Amber shows up. She was wearing the same clothes as yesterday. "Sorry for my clothes, as I mentioned before, I was kidnapped, so these are the only clothes I have," she says apologetically. "It''s fine. Let''s go to the office so you can have a look around to see if you would like to work for me." "Alright, let''s go," Amber says excitedly After walking for a few minutes, we arrive at the office. I take her to my office on the top floor. "This is technically my office, but I am not here very often. If you decide to work for me, this would become your office, as you would manage almost everything. I won''t lie to you, if you take this job it will not be easy. But, before talk anymore, do you have any questions you want me to answer," I ask her? "Yes, can you tell me exactly I would be doing here," Amber asks seeming slightly intimidated "You would be responsible for managing all of my businesses. You will hire managers when needed, and you will receive reports from these managers daily, you will then need to check these reports every other day," I say, then take a short breath. ''If there are no problems, you can file away the reports in the filing cabinet. If you find a small problem with the report, and you find there is something indeed wrong, you need to issue a punishment accordingly. If there is a big problem you need to notify me, and I will deal with it," I tell her with extra importance. "You will also need to be, at the very least, present during any company meetings with any very important figures or dealings worth more than 1,000,000 USD," I tell her as I finish speaking. "Wow, that is a lot of responsibility, do I get any say in the company? Also, what is the pay like," she asks, seeming overwhelmed? "After 6 months, I will give you one percent interest in the parent company that will control all the other companies. You will be paid $1,250 bi-weekly for the first 6 months. Afterward, you will get a raise based on how well you do. If you want to have more say in the company, all you have to do is show that you can do a good job," I answer her. "That''s wonderful! I would love to work for you," Amber says, trying to suppress some of her excitement to look professional. "Okay, let me show you around and introduce you to the workers." Chapter 20 - New York After introducing her to some people and showing her around some more, I gave her some money. "You can use that to get some clothes and food. You will also probably need the money to book a hotel room. I will be back in a few days. I have to go to New York City on business. I leave you in charge here. If you do not understand something, you can ask Jim when he is not busy," I tell her, so she knows where I will be. "Okay, sir, I will do my best," Amber responds with a face of determination. "I know you will," I tell her as I leave. Leaving Amber to her work, I get some food before going back to the hotel. Laying down in the hotel bed, I ask the System, "How much would it cost to buy all books related to Computer Engineering, both hardware and software, from my old world? Also, do you have any manuals on magic like the one for ki or books on how to use magic?" [You can only purchase any books from your world from before you died in 2020, currently. You can also purchase magic manuals and books about magic. But the best magic manuals can only come from the lottery.] "Alright, show me how much the Computer Engineering books will cost, and then, you can show me some of the magic books you would suggest. [All Computer Engineering Books from before 2021- Costs 1,300 GSP All Computer Engineering Books from before 2021 with no redundant books- Costs 640] [Introduction to Mana by Tuel Valtal- Costs 230 GSP Application of Mana by Elementless Saint Zuna Yavwood- Costs 360 GSP] "Buy Computer Engineering books with no redundant books and the two books on magic." "What is knowledge inheritance, does it cost more?" [Knowledge inheritance transfers all the knowledge in the book into your mind with no biased view or incorrect information, and yes, it makes the price go up by 100%.] "I''ll stick to the physical books. By the way, System, why did you only show me those two books that are purely about mana?" [Those two books were the best fit for the current you. If you practiced magic from any other books, it could hinder your potential. After you finish them, you will be able to practice any kind of magic.] "Thank you for always looking out for me." [You''re welcome.] Opening up my inventory, I am stunned by the number of books. There are over 2,000 books on Computer Engineering in the inventory. It would probably take several months to read all of them even if all I did was read, sleep, and eat. [Unlocked Virtual Reading Display function from having over 300 books in your inventory.] "A new function that pretty cool. What does it do," I ask pleasantly surprised? "That''s nice, that will save me some inconvenience." I organized the books by year, and then I started to read the introductory books for every year after 1988. I spend the next two hours reading them with Enhanced Processing activated. After using Enhanced Processing for two hours, I deactivated it and process what I learned. I may have Eidetic Memory, but it still takes me time to comprehend the things I learned. But, while I was reading the books, I noticed that I was getting slightly better at reading with a glance, so I think it may be simply a matter of practice to get better at using Eidetic Memory. After I finished processing what I learned, I switch back to my main body. I fused my mind back together and absorbed all the memories of the day. I then split back up and go back to the avatar. I spend the rest of the day reading. The next day I woke up early to get on the plane to New York City. I did not bring any luggage with me, as I had the inventory, so I was getting stranges looks from the staff. When I got on the plane, I started reading with the Virtual Reading Display, because I know it will be about 8 to 10 hours until I arrive in New York City. I could still see it even with my eyes closed, so it would look to anyone else as if I was sleeping. As I arrived, it was seven o''clock New York time. I find a phone booth with a phone book in it and then searched for auction houses. I find a few auction houses, but one of them sticks out to me, Davis Auctions. My family name is Davis, so I wonder if it has anything to do with my father. I know that my father owns a big business that is present in many areas, so it could be related to him. I call their office to ask how their CEO is, and it is indeed my father, Enzo Davis. Chapter 21 - Im sorry I am sincerely sorry to all of you who enjoy this fan fiction, but I am dropping this story. I want to move on from this story and start writing my own original stories. Plus, I feel dissatisfied with this story. In the beginning, it was fine but soon the powers got out of control causing the story to go all over the place. I also found it extremely limiting to write in the first person, so if I would ever pick up this story again I would rewrite it. Thank you for all the support. If you want you can check out my new original work Tales of the Strongest Lizard releasing soon.