21 Debt

As the seconds ticked down, Dalvin felt himself become more and more restless. He initially thought that given the situation and his previous lethargic lifestyle, he would become more resigned when the end came, but it turned out that he was completely unwilling!

It was like every cell in his body was trembling with intent, not wanting to be extinguished from this world. This made him feel extremely energized and uncomfortable, as if he had to get up and do something, but he had no idea what to do.

He had the idea to use the system to convert the incoming spirit energy into cultivation and break through the levels, but it didn't work that way, unfortunately. He needed a cultivation technique first and foremost, and secondly, as the old hag said, he needed to manually convert it into spirit energy for himself before the system would register it.

If Dalvin had the ability to do all that, he wouldn't be in this current situation.

Dalvin brainstormed until he had an idea. He quickly pulled out Feng Qi's notebook and rapidly turned the pages. He looked for the section that talked about the foundation establishment young master and his martial arts lackey.

Reading the recount, it was clear that the two had spent a significant amount of time in the prison, so how did they eat? How did they survive? Cultivators could subsist using spirit energy just fine, but martial artists were the exact opposite, eating like elephants due to the nature of their practice.

Unfortunately, the idea was killed before it even began. The martial artist was never mentioned to go to the cooking and dining area, and it seemed like the foundation establishment young master had his own storage ring with resources for them to eat and use.

The disappointment and despair that surged into Dalvin's heart was like a tide. Especially since his body began to heat up and he felt like his blood was beginning to boil, but not in a good way.

Clearly, the moment of truth had arrived, and his time was up. His guts were going to decorate the walls, and even the catastrophic effect of his death would be casually resolved by a sweep of the jailer's hands.

Dalvin walked backward until he hit the wall and slid down to the ground, feeling the intensity of his current situation escalate rapidly until it became unbearable. His entire body shook like he was having epilepsy, like he was being tazed by someone.

He couldn't even think well because it was like his mind was mired in mud, so he couldn't feel any pain. At least, that was one upside to this entire debacle.

Dalvin obviously could not tell how much time passed while in this state, but he suddenly felt a shift when the energy within became controlled and tame, seeming flushed out of his body as if a drain cork had been opened.

Panting, he was confused as to what happened until he saw a message before him that filled him with joy and also dread at the same time.

[Detected infusion of spirit energy in player Dalvin's body. Automatically seizing to repay the Physique Awakening Debt accrued.]

Dalvin pushed himself into a standing position, feeling a mixture of coldness in his body and a hint of fatigue. He had truly come to the brink of death this time in a way he could never have calculated with his current knowledge and ability, and he was saved by something that might have been worse than what came before.

"Physique Awakening Debt…" Dalvin's face became grim.

How could he not understand what this one line implied? His dreams of cultivating immortality were nothing but just that, dreams. Until he paid off this debt, every little bit of spirit energy he absorbed would be seized away to pay this debt.

This meant that until he could pay it off, he was stuck with only the path of Martial Arts. This was bad because if he ever wanted a chance to escape, he needed to at least reach the jailer of Feng Qi's level of power in cultivation.

'Well, now I can only wait to return home and think up a new battle plan when I'm in a better state,' Dalvin thought as he sat down again.

After what he just went through, he was drained in all aspects but even the little willpower he had left was beaten away by the realization of the debt he had been forcibly given. This time, there was nothing that could provoke him into action because he had already wasted two precious xueqi pills to make up for his mistake earlier.

He wasn't going to repeat it by depleting all his energy in practicing without some food source nearby or of easy access. Besides, the next feeding time was at 3 pm to 3:30 pm in the afternoon.

He would be returning home at 3, so it didn't matter as much since he could get unlimited food on Earth as long as he had money. Just thinking about being able to have burgers and pizzas again made Dalvin's will to live brighten significantly.

The food that was at his fingertips that he had taken for granted was now akin to the heavenly ambrosia of the gods. The irony was not lost on him as he chuckled hollowly and began to rest, trying to sleep away the remaining time.

Surprisingly, Dalvin found himself easily drifting off. The intense stress of waiting to blow up into smithereens can really tire a person out apparently. Maybe if he ever had insomnia, he should strap a bomb to his chest and watch the countdown.

Dalvin's head eventually lolled to the side as he fell into a deep slumber, his dreams being one of food and continuously eating everything he liked. As such, he naturally drooled heavily as he slept, comically wearing a slightly foolish smile in his sleep that would provoke one to bully him.

When he woke up with a start, he blearily looked around before realizing that nothing was happening. Scratching his head, he relaxed again and fell asleep once more, changing his position slightly.

Eventually, he was finally forced awake in a span of fear as his body was dragged toward a back portal that appeared in the middle of his cell, taking him within immediately. The portal suddenly closed, and in the next second, the jailer appeared before the cell with a shocked expression.

"Trans-spatial travel! How is that even possible?" He muttered with shock, glancing at where Dalvin had been with furrowed brows.

He hesitated greatly. "Since this was achieved within the prison without raising an alarm or being blocked, it follows the rules. It means that the person who used the spatial travel is not a registered prisoner, but how can that be?"

The jailer began to walk away while shaking his head. "I can't afford to break the rules. Whoever they are, they can seem to come and go as they please, but not everyone here is bound by the rules like me."

With the familiar clinking of cell keys, the jailer disappeared around the bend, returning the lit corridor into utter silence.

As for Dalvin, he appeared on a heap on the wooden flooring of his apartment, being spat out of the portal like a piece of deadwood. It wasn't until he smelled the scent of the polished wood that he began to realize that he had truly come back.

He was home.