He had been expecting pain. He had been expecting the throb that came with the influx of information filling his head.
So he had closed his eyes and braced himself for the worst.
Fortunately for him, none of that happened.
A few seconds went by before Marcus finally opened his eyes, wondering what had happened.
Nothing new had appeared in his head.
What's going on?
He thought he had made a mistake.
Upon opening his eyes, on his status window, he was presented with two options.
[Body Modification Knowledge (Lv1): Knowledge of the body, its mysteries, and its hidden potentials. To modify oneself is to cultivate beyond limits. One can forge flesh impervious to lightning and thunder, grasp strength enough to turn mountains and seas asunder. Those who walk this path are called Pathfinders–a path with no known end.
Choose a path:
*. Mental Path (Lv1): Cultivate the mind through meditation techniques and awaken the Pulses buried since ancient times.
*. Physical Path (Lv1): Awaken the body and call upon the Pulses that once led humanity to conquer worlds.]
…
Reading all of this, blood rushed into Marcus's brain.
It all sounded like a fairytale.
How can one be impervious to thunder and lightning? Who truly has the strength to turn mountains and seas asunder?
Everything sounded like an exaggeration.
Nonetheless, despite his disbelief, a part of him yearned for such a type of strength.
But his excitement was soon doused with disappointment when he browsed through the Mental Path.
…
[Mental Path (Lv1):
*. Mind's Eye (0/100).
*. One Though, One Will (0/300).
*. Emperor's Dominion. (0/1000).]
…
"What the fuck, why are they so expensive. Aren't they just level 1 techniques?"
Marcus forgot to breathe for a second.
Unfortunately, unlike blueprints where he could peep at a few extra details about what he was going to get, that was not possible in this case.
"Emperor's Dominion is just as expensive as unlocking body modification. This is too much!"
Leaving the Mental Path to check the Physical Path, Marcus was still met with the same problems.
…
[Physical Path (Lv1):
*. Five Elements Art (0/1000).
*. Sword Cauldron Art (0/1500).
*. Demonic Dragon Art (0/2100).
*. Vajra Diamond Art (0/4000).]
…
In fact, it was worse than the Mental Path.
And these were just the options he saw first. The more he scrolled, the more expensive the techniques became.
When he came across a technique that would cost him fifty thousand achievement points, Marcus quickly closed the window.
"What sort of thief are you? Who would waste fifty thousand achievement points on just a dumbass technique?!"
Perhaps because he felt poor, he could only haggle and insult the system like this.
Marcus looked at what remained of his achievement points and sighed.
Maybe I've wasted a thousand points.
He began laughing as though he had lost his mind.
The only thing he could afford was on the Mental Path, Mind's Eye.
Curious about it, Marcus purchased the technique.
A soft infusion of information smoothly appeared in his mind.
…
[Mind's Eye]: An ancient art created by a sage who wished to see the world as it truly was–not the lies that eyes consume, but the grids that form reality. A Master of Laws.
…
As this information entered his mind, Marcus immediately began to digest it.
***
A few minutes ago.
Over at the edge of the dead forest, Veronica stopped her carriage and stepped off just to turn back and observe the crazy flow of mana.
In her eyes, she could see streams of mana rushing towards a point.
Isn't that the young lord's mansion? I knew that there was something off about him. This flow of mana… her eyes continuously moved from one point to another, trying to grasp more secrets.
However, it was futile. This was beyond her current abilities.
Is that young lord already a Rank 4 Mage? Should I break my seal and confirm myself?
Veronica quickly shook this thought away. Breaking the seal for such a thing wasn't worth it.
"Truly, this Lord Marcus is an interesting persona." She uttered.
"Young master, his grace will not take it kindly if you develop romantic interests at such a time. Especially if it's for a boy from a fallen lineage." A soft feminine voice reached Veronica's ears, snapping her out of her thoughts.
The owner of this voice was nowhere to be seen, as though she didn't exist.
Even the retainers escorting Veronica weren't to hear her.
"Hmph! Who would fall for that greedy guy? I'm only interested in what he's capable of. When have I ever liked a guy?" She grumbled and went back to her carriage.
"When have you ever chosen to stay in another Lord's residence before?" The voice asked, but Veronica acted like she didn't hear anything.
***
At the same time.
Eastern District.
Lord Gaus's Residence.
Eddy, Sam, and Zach were guests of the Baron. As they had been invited to stay until their assignments were over.
"Uncle Gaus, thank you for letting us stay here. It would have been hard to find suitable accommodations in Agard otherwise," Zach said, smiling at the Baron.
"Don't mention it, Zachary. Tell me, did your discussion with the Lord Governor seed any good?"
"Uncle," Zach paused and looked at Eddy before letting out a sigh. "At first the young lord was welcoming and nice. Then all of a sudden, his mood changed and he was… intimidating. It's hard to describe. It felt like an elder of the Royal family was glaring at me."
"What? Marcus isn't anything like that. At most, he's a toothless tiger." Gaus argued.
"No, he's more than a toothless tiger… that ille–." Eddy began and paused.
The word he was about to utter was what he would have said to Marcus' face before, however, he was a bit too scared to do that now.
"Forget it. I'm heading out for dinner and fresh air."
Gaus looked at Zach and Sam.
"He had somehow gotten on the lord governor's bad side," Sam said.
"Hahaha, I do agree with one thing though. That Marcus can be scary at times." Gaus joked. "Come, let's have lunch and catch up a bit," he said, clasping his hand over Zach's shoulder.
***
Back at Marcus's estate.
Marcus had just finished digesting the art he received.
He couldn't help but kiss his teeth. "And this is only worth a hundred achievement points?"
He marveled at the information he got.
One would be able to have a short burst of omniscient point of view when the art is cultivated to the peak of level 1.
Marcus wasn't entirely sure what this point of view entailed, but the abilities it granted one before reaching the peak of level 1 were worth it.