31 Training Part 3 & System Evolution
After hearing the announcement, Dan and Andrei took the elevator down to the ground floor, and entered the kitchen once more. They talked with Yauheni for a bit, he gave praise to both Dan and his son, Andrei. He was particularly impressed by Dan, and told him that his adaptability was an incredible skill. Once they'd finished eating, they both headed to the rooms allocated to them. Dan quickly had a shower and got ready for bed.
As he did so, he checked to see what the system notification was.
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Congratulations, you have met the Evolution Requirements: 10x Base Original Strength, 5x Base Original Speed! Inferior Adaptive Evolution (F) has now become Lesser Adaptive Evolution (E)! Adaptive Evolution Base Multiplier has increased: 8x -> 32x
Boosters can now be stacked! Current Stack Limit: x2
You will now receive better rewards from all quests!
Maximum Priority Adaptive Evolution Slots Increased: 5 -> 12
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I knew that I was close to reaching my goal, but not this close! The default speed for Adaptive Evolution is 4x greater, boosters can be stacked once, better quest rewards, and more slots! I've been thinking about what I wanted next for a while. I already have one in mind, System, please use one slot for Elemental Resistance, not just the basic ones, but the others too!
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Adaptive Evolution: Complete Elemental Resistance
Biological Harmonisation: Initiate a process of biological harmonisation through intensive training and exposure to elemental environments. Stimulate the body's cells to resonate with elemental frequencies naturally present in the surroundings.
Genetic Activation: Trigger latent genetic pathways related to elemental resilience through specialised techniques and stimuli. Unlock dormant genetic capabilities to adapt to and counter elemental threats effectively.
Cellular Reinforcement: Strengthen cellular structures and membranes to withstand elemental stress and manipulation. Enhance cellular regeneration rates to repair damage caused by elemental attacks rapidly.
Neurological Adaptation: Train the nervous system to recognise and react to elemental stimuli with heightened reflexes and coordination. Develop neural pathways that facilitate instinctive responses to different elemental energies.
Metabolic Optimisation: Optimise metabolic processes to efficiently process and neutralise elemental toxins or imbalances. Enhance energy production and utilisation to sustain prolonged exposure to extreme elemental conditions.
Structural Resilience: Reinforce skeletal and muscular structures to endure the forces exerted by elemental powers. Improve joint flexibility and overall physical resilience to prevent injuries from elemental attacks.
Energetic Shielding: Cultivate an internal energetic shield that acts as a barrier against harmful elemental influences. Develop the ability to project an aura of protective energy that repels or absorbs elemental assaults.
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That's great, so I either have to find places with an overabundance of each element, or I have to find out if it's possible to learn elemental magic somehow. I also somehow have to cultivate an internal energy-based shield, that sounds so easy, thanks System! I guess I'll have to worry about that later. Dan found that he wasn't really tired, so he decided to start thinking about what else he might want to add as a process. How about complete Martial Arts mastery?
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Adaptive Evolution: Complete Martial Arts Mastery
Enhanced Cognitive Processing: Develop enhanced memory capacity and processing speed to absorb vast amounts of information efficiently.
Enhanced Physical Conditioning:
Muscle Memory Enhancement: Develop the ability to memorise and replicate complex movements with precision.
Increased Flexibility and Strength: Body adapts to perform a wide range of martial arts techniques effectively.
Sensory Heightening:
Enhanced Reflexes: Sharpen reflexes to anticipate and react swiftly to opponents' movements.
Heightened Awareness: Senses become more acute, allowing perception of subtle cues during combat.
Database Assimilation:
Information Absorption: Download and retain detailed knowledge of every martial art technique in existence directly into the mind.
Instant Retrieval: Access the database of martial arts information instantly during combat situations.
Adaptive Combat Instincts:
Intuitive Mastery: Develop an instinctual understanding of applying various martial arts techniques effectively.
Adaptive Strategy Formulation: Analyse opponents quickly and devise efficient combat strategies.
Mental Resilience:
Emotional Control: Master emotions to remain focused and composed in high-pressure combat scenarios.
Combat Mindset: Cultivate relentless determination in pursuing martial arts mastery.
Continuous Improvement:
Training Regimen Optimisation: Constantly refine training methods and techniques to enhance martial arts skills.
Versatility Expansion: Explore and incorporate diverse martial arts styles to become a well-rounded combatant.
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That's enough for now, I can think about that after conquering the ground floor. Although Dan was ready to get started on the 24th floor, he knew that Andrei would need more time recover. So Dan lay on his side until he fell asleep, and he had a dreamless rest of his night. Dan woke up feeling refreshed, he had his usual morning shower, and got dressed into a set of casual summer clothing. Once he exited his room, he headed directly towards the kitchen.
Yauheni and a few others were already there, but Andrei wasn't. "Ah Dan, I see you're up early! I honestly expected you to sleep a lot longer. By the way, Andrei asked me to tell you to go ahead without waiting for him. It seems that he was a lot more injured than you were, so he may need a couple of days. You'll probably fight a few of these people here in the coming days."
Dan greeted the others sitting there before he came to a decision. "If that's the case, I'll get started immediately."
"Good man, your gear is already waiting for you on the 24th floor!"
Yauheni slapped Dan on the back, which sent him stumbling, much to the man's amusement. Dan sighed and walked up the stairs this time. After reaching the 24th floor, he spotted his newly mended set of equipment waiting outside the elevator, along with an assortment of weapons. So the theme is armed combat, there's even a gun here! I hope there won't be any live ammunition being fired. I'm not exactly ready for that yet, and there's nowhere to shelter.
The rooms were once again labelled from '1' to '5'. In each room, he found a man or woman who specialised with a different weapon. Dan selected the weapon that matched each opponent, the win condition here was to use the desired weapon to 'kill' the opponent. Of course, he wasn't actually supposed to kill them, for example, the knife would be placed at the opponent's throat. The gun filled with blanks would be aimed at the head if possible.
This floor was a lot easier than the previous one, which allowed Dan to directly proceed to the 23rd floor. He was aware that he might have to use those weapons for real further down in the tower. The next floor's theme was Martial Arts, which was similar to the top floor, except that Dan was allowed to use any weapon he wanted from a selection. He found that he could use just about any weapon once he adapted to using it, but he preferred blunt weapons over bladed ones.
The 23rd floor was almost as tough as the top floor, but Dan cleared it much more easily with minimal injuries. It's probably because I've become stronger in the short time since I challenged the top floor, my body has become a lot stronger in general. I'm getting very close to the Enhanced Strength boundary physically. I'm also starting to recover from injuries faster and faster over time. Let's see what the 22nd floor is like.
Dan was able to fight his way through both the 22nd and 21st floors until he faced his final opponent before the real challenge would begin apparently. His opponent was much taller than him, standing at way over 7ft in total. He just couldn't reach the other man until he adapted to the man's fighting style, he did take quite the beating before that however. After defeating the veritable giant, Dan decided to take a break again. It would take him around 9 hours to recover fully.
His Vigour, Deftness, and Constitution were already getting exceedingly close to 75. They were at 74, 73, and 74 respectively, with Dan's Vigour and Constitution stats hitting 75 by the time he'd recovered from his injuries. He had now officially overcome the Enhanced Strength boundary, he felt amazing and decided to test out his new physical prowess on the coming floors. Dan started to work his way through the floors day by day, his physical and mental prowess improving all the time.
Dan found that floors 20 to 11 weren't as challenging as he'd been told, and the same went for floors 10 to 2, the difficulty only really stepped up on the 1st floor, the final one before the ground floor. He'd been through a lot though, and had faced some incredibly strong and skilled opponents on the way. He had also reached the 3rd stage of the Martial Arts Mastery process, he knew that the 4th stage and onward would take much longer than the others though.
The opponents that Dan faced were by far the strongest he'd faced during the last 3 weeks or so. That was until he reached the 5th, and final room. As Dan entered, and closed the door behind him, he heard it suddenly lock, and he was plunged into pitch darkness, he couldn't see anything. "Welcome, you are the first to make it this far in almost a decade. This room will test your 5 senses, and who knows, you might start to develop your 6th sense.
Interpret that any way you please, I wish you the best of luck."
Dan had barely enough time to process this before he felt a punch strike his the right side of his face, sending him sprawling. It seems that my opponent definitely has enhanced strength himself, it's been a while since I've been knocked off my feet like that. Dan felt around him for anything, he managed to grab onto something familiar, a wooden staff, he grabbed hold of it. This was going to be a tough battle by the looks of things.
