"Multiplication…"
At first, Nylon thought this whole ordeal to be a big joke, but now that he was seeing it in person, it was impossible to deny it any further. He had, some way or another, been blessed with an overpowered ability by an incomprehensible entity calling itself the Infinite Multiplier System.
[P.S., you can't multiply objects that were the result of a previous multiply. As you can see before you, neither the original rock nor the four that were created have multiplication symbols above them.]
Nylon nodded in understanding. If it wasn't this way, then there really would be no part of this situation that made sense.
[Now then, with the introductory system feature out of the way, why don't we move on to the next one?]
"Next one…?"
FWISH!
A glistening multi-colored wheel appeared in front of Nylon. It was floating just like the System Interface but had vastly different functions.
[This right here is the 'Reward Wheel' and presents to you a wide variety of potential rewards that you can spin for. The higher the level of the System, the better the available rewards will be, and the easier it will be to acquire higher-ranking rewards.]
[You get 1 spin of the Reward Wheel every day by default. They stack. Also, you can obtain more from the next system feature I'll be showing you.]
[For now, though, why don't you spin this hotrod and see what you get?]
Nylon complied. He put a hand on the wheel, and with all the strength in his body, he spun it.
The wheel dinger flitted across hundreds of nodes. Each node was a different distance from the next node, with Common-rank rewards like "Old Boot" and "Toy Sword" possessing larger node gaps.
Of the options on the Level 1 Reward Wheel, there were those colored grey—the largest—and then there were the green and blue-colored ones. The green were several times smaller than the grey, whereas the blue were so slim that you had to squint your eyes to view the names of the Rare-ranked rewards.
DING! DING! DING!
After approximately four seconds, the wheel dinger finally started to slow. Two more seconds later and the dinger found its mark.
*Ding!*
[You spun the Reward Wheel once and acquired the Uncommon-ranked item 'Basic Body Refinement Set']
[Basic Body Refinement Set] - [X4]
[Includes: Basic Body Refinement Manual (1), Lowest-rank Body Tempering Liquid (3)]
Nylon not only lucked out on his Reward Wheel roll, he also received nearly the highest possible multiplier value for the item itself.
Without thinking, he touched the multiplier value of 'X4' and watched as three sets of Basic Body Refinement items materialized next to the first one. Now there were 12 vials containing a murky gold liquid as well as four rugged sheepskin books with the title 'Basic Body Refinement Manual' engraved on them.
"This won't fix my lack of a Martial Spirit, but it'll certainly give me the chance I need in order to get out of here."
Nylon had heard of the Body Refinement Path before. It was what those who could not cultivate, or had insufficient cultivation talent, chose to focus on.
To progress, one had to absorb the medicinal efficiency of liquids specially made by Alchemists. These liquids were dubbed Body Tempering Liquids and had but one purpose: to temper the body and assist in Body Cultivation.
"This manual is as basic as it says it is," said Nylon as he flipped through its pages. "But this is fine. My comprehension was severely reduced after I returned from the World of New Dawn, making it more difficult to understand and practice more advanced techniques. Therefore, for a starter cultivation manual, something like this one is best."
From the contents of the manual, Nylon learned that the stages of Body Cultivation were extremely simplistic.
They were termed:
Copper Body → Bronze Body → Silver Body → Gold Body → Diamond Body
There were notes of additionally theorized stages at the end of the Basic Body Refinement Manual, but they were little more than myth. Yet, whether true or false was of little consequence to Nylon—the only stages that mattered for him right now were the Copper and Bronze Bodies, for reaching the Peak of the Bronze Body was the equivalent of achieving the Unmaker Plane.
Regular cultivation started with the first Realm of Development—the Awakening—which was further split up into 9 stages called Planes. Those Planes, from lowest to highest, were:
Collection → Enhancement → Venation → Adamance → Juggernaut → Invincible → Mystery → Metamorphosis → Unmaker
The Copper Body of the Body Path correlated to the Collection, Enhancement, Venation, and Adamance Planes of the Cultivation Path. This meant that as long as Nylon could cultivate a Physique at the Peak of the Copper Body, he'd rival the Mine Wardens, who were generally of the Adamance Plane.
With a goal in mind, Nylon took advantage of the lateness and solitude of night to begin the cultivation of his body. With post-haste, he followed the instructions stated in the Basic Body Refinement Manual while downing the first of his twelve Lowest-rank Body Tempering Liquid vials.
The result of this action was near-instantaneous!
OOOM!
A golden glow radiated from Nylon's body, turning his outermost non-visible layer of skin a slightly darker shade of brown. This was proof that his skin had been hardened, signifying a breakthrough into the Early Copper Body stage.
"Previously, I overheard someone mentioning even the lowest of Body Tempering Liquid potions costing an arm and a leg. I thought the prices to be absurd, but now I understand why they're priced so high."
The power of an Alchemist was truly terrifying.
Nylon continued to drink and refine the contents of the Body Tempering Liquid vials. Each one required roughly 10 to 20 minutes to fully circulate; in other words, it wasn't until three hours later that all of the vials had been drained.
The result?
WAAA!