Unburdened by the pain of his cracked meridians, Eric turned his focus to any other changes he might have undergone.
His search was expectedly directed to his status sheet.
[IMMORTAL CORE: PRESENT]
[TEMPORAL SOUL: IMBALANCED]
[CRANIAL MERIDIAN PATH: CLEARED]
[SOUL IGNITION: MERIDIAN DREDGING]
[ABILITIES]
- [PARTIAL MEMORY RECALL: Host's past memories can be actively recalled if not suppressed.]
- [COGNITIVE PROCESSING: Information processing increased to peak human speeds.]
- [SENSORY PERCEPTION: Senses are acutely sharpened. Host can passively observe the world's Qi]
- [ENHANCED PHYSIQUE: Physique enhanced to peak human strength]
[NOTE: HOST HAS REACHED THE LIMIT OF BASE HUMAN ABILITY]
Nothing.
There were barely any changes to his previous state.
Eric's brows twitched. 'Well that's definitely something.'
He duly noted the new line stating his current cultivation stage but paid it little mind.
What truly caught his attention was the ever present line about his cleared cranial meridian.
He had not understood it earlier, but after enduring his meridians wail, Eric had gained some insight to what it meant.
Of all the lines of fire scorching his body, one had burned brightest.
Slithering up his back, over the crown of his head, and ending at the palate.
It was his largest and and most agonising source of pain.
With knowledge of the smaller, partially blocked network of meridians winding through his head, Eric concluded thia must be the major meridian of his head.
'Is it what allows me achieve Qi sight?' Eric questioned himself, attempting to unravel the mechanics of the useful ability.
After a few seconds with his mind lacking an answer, he posed the question at the system.
[QI SIGHT TECHNIQUE AUTOMATED THROUGH IMMORTAL CORE]
[TECHNIQUE ACTUATED THROUGH CRANIAL MERIDIANS]
'Qi sight is a technique?' Eric's brows scrunched together in surprise.
'Is Qi sight the only technique I can use because my other meridians are blocked?' He asked.
[AFFIRMATIVE]
"Nice to know." Eric said. "I wonder what other abilities I'll get after clearing all my meridians."
'Good news is with one major pathway cleared, that leaves five major meridians and the respective minor ones'
'The only problem is cultivating and performing such a delicate process under immense pain...'
_Knock. Knock._
Two short knocks drew Eric from his thoughts.
His keen senses detected the Doctor's crisp woody scent through the door.
"Come in." He called.
Silas looked as ragged and unkempt as always.
"Here's the completed reports and diagnostics on the tincture." Silas said, handing Eric a bundle of handwritten notes.
Eric's instructions hadn't only been to test the mysterious drug for poisons.
That was simply the most urgent.
Once they knew it could be consumed safely, Eric tasked the doctor with conducting comprehensive tests, despite how limiting the estate's resources.
This stemmed partly out of his curiosity into the nature of the veil and its interactions with reality, but mostly to complete the first quota for the system's quest.
"Thank you, Doctor." Eric said, his tone signaling dismissal.
When Eric saw Silas still awkwardly standing before him with an unrecognisable resolute face, he had to ask.
"Anything else?"
Silas took a short gulp before replying. "It's my son."
Eric's eyes narrowed. "What about him?"
"H-His grandmother. I put him in her care. She's gone silent for the past two days." The Doctor stuttered, gasping between words. "It could be anything, of course, but the timing is concerning."
Eric fell silent.
From his memories, Silas's son had been a bit of a troublemaker, though nothing extreme.
But that didn't connect to the grandmother's silence.
He didn't recall Silas ever mentioning this in his original timeline, possibly because it was resolved irrelevantly.
Although Eric couldn't be completely sure. There were too many variables to account for.
The timing itself was the greatest issue.
"They're still in Santar, right?" Eric asked.
Santar formed the southern half of the commerce hub, Oriens.
The state had a unique situation of housing two administrative regions; Anatos to the North, and Santar to the south.
Anatos controlled the only two islands in Oriens.
With dense, financial districts, luxury apartments, historic quarters, the main stock exchange, and the iconic deep-water port.
While Santar was the land-based, industrial workhorse.
Featuring flatter terrain, container terminals, logistics hubs, manufacturing zones, power plants, and more affordable housing for the workforce.
It was the gritty, functional engine powering the glamorous north.
Silas nodded quickly, ignoring how the prince knew of the thing he'd kept most hidden.
"Keep trying to contact her." Eric said. "If you receive no response in five days, I'll reach out to Raz and have him check her house."
Raz and Baskar were in Oriens, laying the groundwork for their financial plans.
Searching for a manipulable front for their future undertakings could take weeks, plus initiating contact with the White Talons afterwards.
Eric didn't think the two men would be stepping foot in the base for at least a month.
That was why Kai had outfitted them with secure phones and other means of contacting them.
Silas relaxed a bit at his words, but his fears still lingered.
Reading through the provided papers at inhuman speeds, Eric decided to engage the Doctor for better understanding.
"What are your thoughts on the tincture, Doctor." Eric said, flipping through pages briskly.
Silas snapped from his thoughts.
At his question, Eric watched a fire he hadn't seen before ignite within the Doctor's eyes.
"This isn't medicine." He began.
"Medicine treats pathology. This appears to...enhance baseline physiology."
Eric arched his brows in interest. "Then what is it?"
"I'm not sure" Silas admitted, itching his head as he gathered his words. "Its closest analogue would be imagining a catalyst that makes every engine in the body run at ninety-five percent efficiency with zero waste heat. Despite its obscurity, it's terrifyingly elegant."
Eric nodded gently, skimming the final pages of the notes. "And any clues to the origins of its materials?"
"Well the source material implies a donor organism so biologically advanced its very essence is a tutorial on vitality." He continued, embracing a lecture like tone. "Its protein fragments are highly stable, fractal-patterned peptides not found in any known animal database. They show powerful, non-specific affinity for mammalian cell membranes."
"Trace elements include phyto-compounds at homeopathic levels, likely botanical infusion residue. I also detected minute, structured water clusters, possibly from specialized preparation."
Silas's voice gained a bravado as he continued, momentarily forgetting his audience.
"English, Doctor." Eric said, pulling him back into reality
"Excuse me, Your Highness." Silas said nervously. "In my honest opinion, this feels less like a drug and more like a bottled ritual, aligning the recipient's biology with a more efficient state using the animal's blood as a template."
"Negatives?" Eric probed, the scepticism never leaving his mind.
"Short-term, I see no risk. Long-term?" Silas replied crisply.
"Unknown. Could the body become reliant on this external optimizer? Might it down-regulate its own natural functions? What if it also learns to clear the optimizer too efficiently? The cell cultures didn't suggest this, but cultures aren't a whole organism."
'Might be why Baskar says its effects shall wane after every use.' Eric added internally.
"The mysteries of how it works are also the ones clouding its potential effects." Silas released a sigh after he spoke.
The Doctor locked gazes with the prince in a show of odd concern.
"In any other situation, I'd say not to risk it. But the Princess... We have too few options to dismiss this."
After he finished the room grew quiet for a few seconds before Eric spoke once more.
"Thank you again, Doctor. I'll greatly consider your words and efforts."
Silas gave a quick nod before excusing himself.
Once the Doctor was out Eric focused his attention back on the notifications which dominated his vision.
[SIDE QUEST: CATALOG NATIVE ANOMALIES]
[OBJECTIVE: Document and analyze five distinct supernatural phenomena native to the planet.]
[REWARD: STAR FORGE BLADES]
[NOTE: MAIN QUEST MUST MEET COMPLETION TO RECEIVE SIDE QUEST REWARDS]
[ANOMALY 1: 100% ANALYSED]
[1/5 COMPLETED]
The updated quest reward acted as a welcomed form of acknowledgement from the system on what he was doing right.
He hoped to finish this quest quickly especially because of its weapon sounding reward.
Whatever gravitas it seemed to have was a certainty considering it was of the system.
A unique blade would add another layer of security in Eric's forthcoming plans.
Looking down, he saw an additional message which doused all the rousing emotions he'd began to build.
[10 MINUTES BEFORE MERIDIAN BLOCKAGES ELAPSE]