7 2.0

That's when the pain started.

It flooded John's senses in a thorny rush, searing through his body like acid. The Life Power surged through his brain cells, mutating and evolving each of them by the thousands. As seconds passed, the pressure in John's skull increased. It was only a matter of time before he could no longer help but cry out in pain, clutching his head and dropping onto the floor. His body writhed and twisted as his voice was lost to the ringing in his ears.

All around him, a crowd of villagers gathered. They watched with sympathy and familiarity as John was subjected to the pain. They, too, had gone through the very same trial. It was a necessary step to becoming an immortal.

Almost an hour later, the pain ebbed. John lay on the floor, throat raw and voice almost completely depleted. He was wiped out both mentally and physically, body trembling as he gasped for air. As the pain faded away, he continued to lay on the floor with his eyes squeezed shut.

John opened the system.

'Welcome to the Idle System 2.0

Name: John

Age: 21

Idlers: 135/135

Life Pool: 1

Options:

Continue - On

Filter - On

Dismantler - On

Life Vision - Off

Taste - On

Immortality List:

Absorption Speed - Idlers 0/135, Beginner - 0/3, Advanced - 0/3, Peak - 0/3

Purifier - Idlers 0/135, Impurities - 0/3, Compact - 0/3, Speed - 0/3

Misc List:

Maximum Idlers - Idlers 0/135, +1 Max Idlers - 134/2159

Maximum Workers - Idlers 0/135, +1 Idler Workers - 36/2061'

'Where did my Time Pool go!?' John jolted upon reading through the system. He tried to sit up but found his body was still trying to recover. 'And my Skill points!? System, what the hell?!'

Still cursing the system, he checked out the new skills and his Life Pool.

'Life Pool:

The accumulated units of Life Power stored in user's brain.

Absorption Speed:

Beginner: Take the Life Power from Life Sources at a rate of 1, 2 or 3 units per minute.

Advanced: Take the Life Power from Life Sources at a rate of 4, 5 or 6 units per minute.

Peak: Take the Life Power from Life Sources at a rate of 7, 8 or 9 units per minute.

Bonus for maxing all skill levels: Adds 1 unit per minute speed.

Purifier:

Impurities: Removes anything from the Life Power that is not useful to the user.

Compact: Takes Life Power and compresses it.

Speed: Speed of Impurities skill is 2x, 3x or 5x faster.

Bonus for maxing all skill levels: Can absorb any Life Power and will transform into available Life Pool units.'

John put all Idlers into Purifier's Impurities first. The timer came up as 24d 21h 40m. If he killed creatures again, would he gain Life Pool units? How did that work, exactly? John furrowed his brows as a wave of frustration washed over him.

It was then that Amanda, in her flowing white robes, approached him. The older woman stood not far from where John was lying down. She smiled down at him and said, "Congratulations on taking your first step onto the road of immortality."

"Thank... you." John forced his heavy eyelids open and looked up at Amanda. His voice was still frail and came out shakily and barely audible.

Amanda kneeled down and placed her wrinkled, warm hand onto his chest. With a start, John could feel something entering his body from Amanda's palm.

'Life Power detected.

Absorbing…'

John closed his eyes again and felt a wave of calmness ripple through his body. The Life Power was travelling from Amanda's hand through his chest and into his bloodstream. Goosebumps crept up and down John's spine, and he felt the power making its way into his brain where it vanished.

"This Life Power of mine will convert into your Life Power. It usually heals and strengthens your body as a whole," Amanda's eyes twinkled as she spoke, "but I can tell your body is already in peak condition. You will have an advantage compared to most other immortals. Once you have recovered from the trial, the Life Power will go uninterrupted throughout the blood system, and you will be able to store it within you."

It was as Amanda said. After a few minutes, John felt completely refreshed. He stood up and did some light movements, finding his body fully recovered.

"Wow, that healed me so quickly." John was stunned at the speed of the Life Power healing.

Amanda nodded. "It's mainly because of your body's condition. Most people who turn twenty-one are all fit, healthy, and strong, but they are unlike you who have managed to get to the peak condition. While they can still get their bodies to improve after that age, they miss out on the perks."

"What kind of perks?" 'The System's Rank SSS must be the peak she was on about.'

"The main perk is faster absorption and usage of Life Power. Of course, this is only a temporary leg-up." Amanda's gaze hardened. "The others will eventually catch up to your cultivation level when you're at higher ranked levels. You'll have about a hundred years before you reach that point. You'll also have fewer impurities inside your body, so Life Power will cycle through your body much faster too."

John nodded at the explanation. 'Will the remaining impurities inside my body be forced out? My Stomach Acid and Impurity Filter skills have prevented any impurities from entering my body since acquiring them, but what about before that? This body could not be free from impurities prior to my coming to this world, right?'

The two waited in anticipation for the impurities to surface. The older woman was waiting to see John shocked face. All the newcomers had the same look of utter surprise on their faces upon seeing what their bodies produced, and she was prepared to console him. However, after a few minutes, it was Amanda's face that was shocked.

"This is not right," she muttered. "Why are there no impurities coming out of your body? No matter how slow or sparse the Life Power is when you first absorb it, impurities will be filtered out."

John guessed that his body must have very little or no impurities at all.

"Let me check your body." With a nod of approval from John, Amanda put her hand onto John's shoulder and then closed her eyes. John could feel the Life Power entering his body from her hand, but it was in her complete control this time.

A few minutes later, the Life Power returned to her hand. Amanda's hands returned to her side, and she narrowed her eyes at John.

"This is impossible. You have NO impurities whatsoever!" Her voice was steady, but her hands shook ever so slightly. "Your Life Power is unhindered and is travelling roughly twenty times faster than anyone I've ever introduced down this path. How did you live? Did you not eat or drink at all?"

How was John supposed to explain? He felt a trickle of sweat slide down his temples. If she found out about the System, she'd want to dissect him!

"I ate very little," John spoke very carefully. "I made sure it was cooked and only ate the basics for survival. I never indulged myself."

That was the only excuse he could think of, but he could tell by her expression that Amanda wasn't buying it.

John sighed.

"Do you know what Siders are?"

That's when it clicked.

"So you're a Sider." Amanda's gaze softened. "That would explain things. The last Sider to come here was over thirty thousand years ago. Since then, there have been Siders in the other villages, but not here."

"Other villages?" John was plunged into a pool of confusion at that part. After so many months of working and living here, he'd never heard anything about any other villages.

"In the immortals' area, there are four villages at the bottom of four mountains," Amanda explained. "These villages face directly north, east, south and west of the Capitals. Once a person has reached any of these villages, like you have, they'll be able to become an immortal. They will then be teleported to the immortals' sect in the centre."

John nodded, trying to piece it all together. With a frown, he was struck by a sudden thought.

"What happens if people stray from the path? When if they went slightly east when they should have gone south?"

"They either get killed in one way or another, or they are sent back."

John went pale. On his way to this village, he'd made a few spur-of-the-moment decisions as far as direction goes. How close had he been to not making it here?

"Since you are now officially one of us, I should reintroduce myself," Amanda changed the subject with a warm but firm smile. "My position is Outer Elder, and my full name is Amanda Burch. I am on the 5th Level of Creation Stage on the road to immortality. As an Outer Sect Elder, I only have information on the first four stages. Each stage has nine levels, and every three levels is a small stage."

Amanda went on to explain the stages:

1. Starting Stage. The stage where you'll learn how to absorb Life Power from the earth and learn how to purify it too.

2. Life Stage. The stage where you'll learn how to create Life Systems all over your body so Life Power can be used to attack or defend.

3. Shrink Stage. The stage where you'll learn how to compact the brain cells.

4. Creation Stage. The stage where you'll learn how to create more brain cells.

"You can only learn these inside the main sect," she concluded, placing a hand on John's shoulder. "As an Outer Sect Elder, I formally invite you to join the only immortals' sect in this world: The Rogue Sect."

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