System Bound, Newbie Gift Package
Adam was a cultivator, and though his cultivation base wasn't very high, he still had a perfect 20/20 vision. Actually, if anything, it was beyond 20/20. Cultivation was the slow evolution of the human body, using Spiritual Qi as the catalyst.
His cultivation base was low, still being in the Body Refining Realm, but he had tempered his body eight times over. If his vision was unobstructed, Adam, with his strengthened body, would be able to see clearly for miles..
But the thing in front of him was only a few inches away from his face, not extremely far. It wouldn't be a problem to read something in a size two font at this distance, let alone the normal-sized text in front of him.
However, when he first saw words appearing in his line of sight that didn't obey the laws of physics, he began to question whether his vision was truly okay.
Hovering in front of Adam was a weird blue screen that displayed something extremely similar to a game status screen from back on Earth.
'Ding! It has been detected that the host has become 16 years old! The system is now being awakened!'
Below the white text was a loading bar. It was at 60%, and every second, it would go up by 2%.
Then, just as he began to question his eyes, his ears joined the equation, and he started hearing things.
A mechanical voice that sounded exactly like a text-to-speech bot from Earth spoke a series of words in Adam's head that made him realize something.
"System? I have a Goldfinger?" First, Adam was shocked, then ecstatic.
Even though he didn't spend too much time watching those cheesy shows with overpowered protagonists, he still knew what the words that sounded in his head entailed.
He had a cheat!
Beyond happy, Xue Bai waited for the loading bar to finish. And before the clock even changed another minute, it did.
'Ding! The system is now bound to the host!'
The mechanical voice was indifferent to Adam's happiness, and once again sounded.
"System! What do you do? Can you make me immortal? Maybe give me a supreme-level cultivation technique?" Adam's excitement was almost tangible at this point, and he couldn't wait to figure out what his system did.
'---'
Sadly, seconds after he asked his question, there was no reply, and he realized he was getting no response.
A bulged vein appeared on his forehead, but since there wasn't anyone around he could get angry at, Adam calmed himself down and instead focused on the screen in front of him. Since the system wouldn't answer him, Adam decided to look at it himself.
—
Adam Courtois
Cultivation Base: 8th stage of the Body Refining Realm
Middle-Grade Cultivation Talent
Low-Grade Alchemy Talent (+)
Level 1 Talent Shop
—
The status screen was straightforward, and besides his name and cultivation base, it only showed his talents and another string of words labeled 'talent shop'. However, something next to his alchemy talent caught his attention.
"So I can upgrade my talents?" Adam wasn't a dim-witted person, and once he saw the plus sign next to his alchemy talent, he understood what it meant.
He could upgrade it.
However, as curious and excited as he was about the possibility of upgrading his talent, the talent shop at the bottom of his status screen gathered most of his attention. And like a child with no restraint, he clicked it.
How couldn't he? It looked so tempting.
Clicking the button, Adam's system screen changed from his status to another one with the same blue background and white text.
—
Low-Grade Speed Talent ($10,000)
Low-Grade Strength Talent ($10,000)
Low-Grade Defense Talent ($10,000)
—
The Level 1 talent shop was extremely simple, with only three options available for purchase. Each with a glaring red price tag to their right.
"I can buy talents?" Adam was at first euphoric at the possibility of buying a brand-new talent.
Talents were the foundational part of a human in the federation. Without a talent, one could only live in a slum and work in a factory for the rest of one's life. Their lives were worth less than dirt and could be ended with a simple snort from a strong martial artist.
However, on the other side of the pasture, talent holders were the gems of society. The better the talent, or the more talents one had, the better their lives would be.
Even if a normal person had a talent at the lowest rung of the hierarchy, a person with a low-grade strength talent lives a much better life than any normal person. With their new strength, moving out of the slums would be easy, and they could easily land a supervisor position and work in upper management at a factory.
It could turn anyone into a star, no matter how poor a life they previously had. But they were also extremely hard to awaken. Other than having them innately from birth, the only way to get a talent was through a natural treasure.
But any single natural treasure that could give someone a talent would cost an immeasurable amount. It wasn't something the poor Adam could even dream of buying.
So when Adam figured out that he now had a shop dedicated just to talents, he was barely able to keep his consciousness from all the euphoria he was feeling.
But his excitement was cut short, and he felt blue-balled once he looked at the prices.
"$10,000? I don't even have a thousand dollars in my bank account! How the hell am I supposed to get that much money? Even if I sold myself, I wouldn't be able to get that much money." Adam cursed aloud.
As a person with an alchemy talent, Adam was given a monthly allowance by the Federation, but it was only $2,000 a month. But when he factored in rent, food, cultivation resources, and materials to practice alchemy with, Adam only had around $200–$500 a month as pocket change.
So even though $10,000 wasn't that much, Adam wouldn't be able to gather that much money even in 2 years, let alone before the college exams.
'Ding! The system has now completely merged with the host's soul! A newbie gift package has been awarded!'
But as he was becoming distressed, the system's mechanical voice sounded once more.
Adam had no words to say once these words appeared in his mind, but the smile on his face portrayed all of his inner emotions.
And without any words, he clicked on the small brown pouch that had now appeared on his system screen.
'Ding! The host has acquired a one-time upgrade voucher! Upgrade or purchase any talent at the cosmic-grade!'
"Cosmic-grade? Aren't talents capped off at the supreme-grade? Even the Eight Great Martial Emperors of the Federation only have supreme-grade talents." Adam mumbled.
From what he knew, talents capped off at the supreme-grade. After all, in his mind, the peak powers in the universe, the Eight Great Martial Emperors of the Federation, only had talents of those grades.
But now his system was telling him there were things above that. And one with a grand name like cosmic-grade.
Even a child would be able to tell that the cosmic-grade was far above the supreme-grade.
However, something in Adam's mind made him curious. How much higher was it than the supreme-grade? Was it only one tier higher? Maybe 2? Or possibly even three?
Adam was curious and excited by these thoughts, but before he got carried away with arrogance, he realized he needed to make a decision.
Looking at the voucher and its hidden phrasing, Adam realized that he wasn't only given the choice just to upgrade a talent, but he could also buy one at the cosmic-grade.
Previously, his talent shop was only level 1. But now that he was given the one one-time upgrade voucher, he had upgraded to level 7.
And scrolling through the shop, Adam couldn't keep his eyes from dilating!
—
Cosmic-Grade Sword Talent
Cosmic-Grade Elemental Affinity Talent
Cosmic-Grade Cultivation Talent
Cosmic-Grade Innate Flame Body Physique
—
There were so many things in front of Adam that he couldn't help but start drooling. He was like a kid in a candy store with a golden credit card!
Sadly, while all of the treats in front of him looked appetizing and would fulfill every youthful fantasy he had, Adam eventually came back to reality.
"This system is one that needs money to be used. And while having such high-grade talents would be great, it doesn't help me get more money." Adam analyzed.
The college exams were about three months away. And while a cosmic-grade cultivation talent might seem like the best answer to this, it wasn't.
Adam wasn't able to leave the city until he was either 21 years old, a Martial Master, or a part of college. And since the first two weren't possible, that left him with only the last option.
However, Adam needed to get as much value from the system as he could before the college exams!
Most likely, since his home didn't even know about cosmic-grade talents, it wouldn't be possible for the talent testing stones at the college exams to be able to see through the depths of his new talent and find it.
Hell, worst-case scenario, it might even think that Adam didn't even have a talent in the first place.
Such an outcome wouldn't be the end of the world, as Adam could simply show his cultivation base, but Adam wanted to avoid it. What if someone thought he was a special specimen and wanted to examine him?
Adam got chills just thinking about that.
Also, colleges like to prioritize students with more than one talent rather than students with just one extremely high cultivation talent.
The latter was nice, but when they grew up, they were extremely basic. Fast cultivation time didn't mean anything on the battlefield. But the former was great. A person with a speed talent, even a low-grade one, could leapfrog stages in combat and possibly beat people stronger than them.
It was true that a jack of all trades was a master of none, but someone who only had one skill was worse. Majoring in one field in such a complex, mysterious, and wide world was nothing short of signing an early death sentence.
Having more than one talent was much better, as this way, Adam could become a much more valuable target for colleges, but he could also become a jack of all trades.
This was also why Adam didn't want the cosmic-grade cultivation talent. If he chose it, that's all he would have until the college exams.
He wouldn't be able to gather $10,000 in three months.
Adam also didn't know if a Cosmic-grade cultivation talent would be able to let him reach the Martial Master Realm in three months.
And finally, with one untestable talent, he might not even get into a college!
In short, Adam only had one clear choice to make.
Thinking this much, Adam eventually arrived at his decision.
===
Low-Grade Alchemy Talent (+)
Clicking on the plus sign near his alchemy talent, Adam upgraded it.
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