17 First Quest

Alden walked into the bathroom.

He locked the door and put the clean uniform aside.

He put the beast egg beside the bathtub and turned the faucet for the hot water.

As the bathtub was filling with hot water, Alden took off his clothes.

"What's this?" He unconsciously uttered. "Is this me?" He questioned while looking at his reflection in the mirror.

Though his body had black drops of liquid stuck all over, it could not cover his transformation.

The skin on his face had become crystal clear, making him even more handsome, and his hair looked a little darker than usual, giving him a more mature look.

The muscles on his body were well-defined. He was skinny before, so he had abs, but his abs were not as defined as now. And most importantly, he had a complete six-pack.

There was an air of maturity around him.

With his new look, he was almost unrecognizable, without a hint of the previous unconfident boy. He was definitely going to be a lady-killer.

"S-System, what is going on?" He could not help but seek answers from the system.

[Host, this is the result of removing the impurities]

Alden clenched his fist. "I feel more powerful than before. I can't believe I am noticing this only now." He closed his eyes, trying to come to himself. "T-This…" His eyes widened in realization and shock.

He could feel it. His senses were sharper than before. Especially his hearing.

"Hoo!" He exhaled. He took a few minutes to came to himself. After he came to himself, he walked to the bathtub and stopped the faucet. The bathtub was full with steaming water.

Alden did not waste more time. He could barely stand his smell, so he entered the bathtub.

He lay and relaxed, at the same time, reminiscing about what happened during the day and all the knowledge he acquired. And most importantly, he deeply analyzed what happened with the system.

"It's been a long day and eventful day." He sighed. "I still can't believe what happened. I imagined the academy to be strict and scary, but not on the first day.

It's such a huge shift." Alden looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes. "Just two days ago, I was still at school, being bullied. But today, my whole world took a turn.

Such fights. Even Neo and Owen, who are students, are so strong. I can not even imagine how strong teacher Linda is, not to mention the dean of the academy, the supreme commander.'

Alden pinched the bridge of his nose with his index and thumb finger. He released a deep sigh.

"And I can't believe what is happening with the system. I still think it is a dream." He thought. "But this is an undeniable proof." He passed with his hand through his six-pack.

Alden looked at the beast egg. 'On second thought. I am glad I chose the Mental cultivation technique.

It's not too good to stand out too much. If I become a prodigy or too strong, the military will try to recruit me or cut me off.

But with the mental cultivation technique, I can slowly raise my strength, and they can not discover it without a device to measure my mental strength.

Alright then. It's decided. I will not show my strength.'

At that moment, a thought came to his mind. He had still not tested the skill he received. "System, can I use my skill Inspect on the beast egg?"

[Yes]

"Inspect," Alden muttered while intensely looking at the beast egg.

[Seven-Colored Beast Egg]

[The beast hatched from this egg will have the seven-colored bloodline]

[Status: Hatching in progress... 50%]

"System, what is the seven-color..."

[Ding]

Before Alden could finish his sentence, a system message cut him off halfway.

[You received a quest]

[Quest: Seven-colored egg hatching]

[Requirements:]

[Mental Strength reach 1-star warrior realm] - Completed.

[Body Strength Reach 1-star warrior realm] - Completed.

[Feed the beast egg 1 liter of blood] 

[Form a contract with the beast]

[Quest reward: Beast Egg Hatches]

"Whoa!" Alden exclaimed. "System, what is this?" He could not help but ask. "If I complete this quest, will the beast egg hatch?"

[Yes]

"Are you crazy? System, 1 liter of blood is too much. Are you trying to kill me? Can you lower it?" Alden tried to negotiate.

But the system did not reply.

Seeing that the system did not budge, Alden could not help but sigh in defeat. He looked at the vein on his hand. "One liter." He muttered.

He imagined the pain of the wound he needed to inflict on himself to lose 1 liter of blood. "I can't do it." He shook his head.

But somehow, no matter how he tried to turn away, his gaze went to the veins on his arm.

He shook his head and decided to ask the system a few questions to get his mind off the matter regarding the blood.

"System, is the hatching of the beat egg at 50% because I completed two requirements from the quest?"

[Yes]

"System, what is the seven-colored bloodline?"

[For more information, please hatch the egg]

No matter how Alden looked at it, he got stuck in a corner. If he wanted to get stronger, he needed to hatch the beast egg.

Yes, he could just return to cultivating, and he would eventually do that. But hatching the beast egg would increase his strength instantly by bounds. With the beast companion by his side, he would be more at ease.

"System, If I cut myself, can you heal my wound to stop the bleeding?"

[No]

The system's reply angered Alden. "Are you really trying to kill me?" He retaliated angrily. "I can't believe I actually considered cutting and inflicting a wound on myself to feed the beast egg 1 liter of blood." He sighed a sigh of relief. Relief that he actually did not do a stupid thing. He instantly dispersed the thought of feeding the beast egg 1 liter of blood. At least for now.

Alden remained in the water for a few more minutes and then left the bathtub. He opened the drain, draining the water.

"System, what do I do with the egg?" He asked calmly. He had come to himself.

But the egg was a problem. He could not just bring it out of the room and show it to Neo and Owen.

Though it's been only a day, he trusts them. At least to him, they are nice. They are the best friends he has ever had. 

But he did not know how to explain to them If they saw the beast egg. He could not just tell them about the system. He felt that he should keep the system a secret. But even if he told them about the system, they might think he was crazy.

[Host, you can put the egg in your mental world]

"Great!" Alden bent down a little and put his hand on the seven-colored beast egg.

He did not know how to transfer the beast egg into his mental world, so he had to ask for help from the system.

"System, please transfer the egg to my mental world."

Instantly, the egg disappeared.

He put on the clean uniform, and after putting the dirty uniform in the washing machine, he got out of the bathroom.

...

"Neo, what happened to you?" Alden exclaimed.

Immediately after leaving the bathroom, his eyes fell on Neo, who sat on his bed. He had returned with two plastic bags full of snacks. But unfortunately, by the looks of it, he had not returned well.

His nose was bleeding a bit, and there was a scratch on his cheek.

Alden rushed to him. "Who did this?"

"Forget what happened to me..." Neo uttered, his eyes wide in shock and disbelief. "what happened to you?"

"N-nothing happened." Alden looked away. He had not thought of an explanation previously. So now, he had to improvise. "I just cultivated according to the cultivation technique teacher Simon gave us. And then, this happened."

"You broke through?" Neo exclaimed in shock as his jaw dropped.

"I-I think so," Alden admitted. The reason he admitted was because he trusted Neo would not reveal it to anyone, and most importantly, he could not think of a better explanation at the moment. No, he was not sure if there was even a better, more reasonable explanation.

"But it's impossible to break through in just a few hours. It took me years to break through the 1-star warrior realm.

Yes, I also practiced martial arts, but even so, I would not have broken through the 1-star warrior realm in less than three months."

"I-I guess I am just talented." Alden did not know how to reply. For he truly had underestimated the cultivation technique given by the system. It turns out, the cultivation technique the system gave is far more precious than he imagined.

He had to keep it a secret no matter what.

"Neo, stop trying to change the subject," Alden remembered the important thing. "Who did this to you?"

"I got into a fight." Neo admitted.

"Sighh!" Alden sighed. "Do you see now? If you want to fight, someone stronger than you will beat you."

"Hmph! Beat me?" Neo looked at Alden a little angrily. "You should have seen what I did to them. If not for the fact that I could not use my strength for fear of accidentally killing them, they would not have been able to inflict the slightest scratch on me."

"Do you start fights wherever you go?" Alden could not help but ask.

"I could not hold back. But this time, it was really not my fault. This is what actually happened..."