Chapter 32: Levelling Up

"Secondly comes the training, which is the largest determining factor in whether you become a strong or weak Prime cybernetic fighter."

"It would be intensely difficult for anyone to achieve anything worthwhile while undergoing the Prime transfusion. But during our little spar, I noticed you are no stranger to combat," she said.

Arlo remained quiet.

"It seems you have received training. You know how to attack and defend yourself. You only need to come in more face-to-face encounters with death, and you should be fine,"

Captain Ennessa said.

"Well, I just hope I survive the encounter with death," Arlo replied.

Captain Ennessa rolled her eyes.

"I do not mean literal death, no one survives that."

"What I mean is you will be going on hundreds of missions with me until you become the perfect Prime, or perhaps the next Sir Armortura Lemor one day," she said, with a giggle.

Arlo smiled wryly.

’That probably will not be happening anytime soon,’ Arlo thought as Captain Ennessa stood up.

"You will be undergoing the transfusion tomorrow, Arlo. Rest properly," she advised before moving toward the exit.

"Captain Ennessa..." Arlo suddenly called out.

Her hand stopped at the doorknob, and she turned toward Arlo, who was resting on the bed with a bandage around his head and various parts of his body plastered.

It looked comical, but when she remembered she was the one who placed him in such a state in the first place, it stinged her heart a bit.

"Thank you... for everything."

She heard him, and froze, before a broad smile appeared on her face.

CLICK!

The door closed as Captain Ennessa moved down the stairs and entered her own room.

Her eyes fell upon the large wallpaper on the wall.

It contained a picture of her entire family, including herself.

Her gaze scanned each of them, lingering longest on the young man who hugged her close, a big smile on his face.

"I may have found you...Susanoo" she said, a broad smile on her face as her eyes slowly turned glassy.

_____________________

[Congratulations. Mission: Resist the Opponent for 3 Minutes has been successfully completed.]

[You have been awarded a total of 400 EXP.]

[Total EXP: 400/200]

[Criteria for leveling up have been fulfilled. Would you like to level up?]

Arlo gave a nod.

[Congratulations. Host has leveled up to Level 3.]

{+10 Attribute Points...}

[Total EXP: 200/500]

"Would you like to distribute attribute points?" the system asked.

Arlo furrowed his eyebrows before asking, "Hey, System?"

Arlo called out as the voice sounded directly inside his head.

[Yes.]

"I want to ask your opinion on the cybernetic transfusion. Do you think I should undergo it?"

Arlo asked, turning to the only source of advice he had available and trusted the most.

[Do you want to undergo it?] the system replied, causing Arlo to fall backward, his head hitting the pillow.

"I am thinking that if I could combine the power of magic and cybernetics, I could massively improve my strength in half the normal time."

"That would greatly help my future goals. But I am also afraid it might stray me from the true path of magic. Like it will slow down my cultivation instead,"

Arlo said, expressing his true worry that cybernetic transfusion could prove counterproductive to his growth.

[I understand your fears, and I am downloading new protocols to address them. If the cybernetic transfusion ends up straying from your path and becomes nothing but a distraction, it will be tagged as an alien substance by the new protocols, and the system will immediately eliminate it, expelling it from your body.]

[But if it ends up being exactly what you wanted, it will remain. So, you do not have to worry anymore. Whatever happens, you will be safe,] the system replied at length.

Instead of telling Arlo what to do and making his final decision for him, it had downloaded new protocols that would eliminate his fears about cybernetic transfusion.

The system would normally have immediately refused such an idea, being a firm believer in the path of magic, but this reveals that it did recognize the capabilities of this cultivation method.

[But know this, Arlo.]

[The path of cybernetic transfusion can never be supreme to that of magic. Don’t lose that belief. It’s important.]

Arlo gave a serious nod.

"With that settled, I think I should invest more points into strength to make sure I do not fail the cybernetic transfusion or cause too much trouble,"

Arlo said as he willed his attributes panel to appear.

______________

[Attributes]

[Strength: 15]

[Agility: 14]

[Perception: 12]

[Intelligence: 15]

[Charm: 3]

{Attribute Points: 10}

______________

"Add five attribute points to strength, one to agility, three to perception, and one to charm," Arlo said.

In the next instant, his veins wriggled beneath his skin as a strange, pure flow pumped from his heart and coursed through his veins, spreading throughout his body.

"Arrgh..." A slight groan of pain escaped Arlo’s lips as he felt the essence enter his wounds, causing an intensely itchy sensation.

But just like before, it quickly disappeared as fast as it had come.

______________

[Attributes]

[Strength: 20]

[Agility: 15]

[Perception: 15]

[Intelligence: 15]

[Charm: 4]

{Attribute Points: 0}

______________

Looking at the stats, Arlo gave a nod.

Now his stats were coming together harmoniously, with his strength stat at the forefront and all the others lining up exactly with it.

The only thing falling gravely behind was his charm, but he was well aware he would need it eventually, just not right now.

He could afford to pay less attention to it, since it was not as if he were some ugly roach.

Just as the system had said, charm was about the ability to be followed and respected, which he did not think would matter while he remained so weak.

Perhaps after he reached the rank of Captain, or the Major rank Captain Ennessa had mentioned, he could devote proper attention to it.

"I hope everything works out well in the end," Arlo mused to himself, his eyes staring at the white ceiling.

All of sudden, he froze, and could have sworn he saw his father’s image, suddenly appearing in his sight for a second.

"Forgive me, Father, for I am not a war god like you."

"I have already lost my first two battles, now."

"But I will still strive to be like you and ultimately make sure those who ridicule your name will not be spared by my blade!"

Arlo vowed, the words burning from his soul.

He closed his eyes, about to fall asleep, when a voice suddenly rang in his head.

[Try breathing as you do when cultivating. It should help you slowly recover your mana as you sleep,] the system suddenly advised.

Arlo furrowed his eyebrows, but regaining his mana truly would not harm him.

So he closed his eyes, breathing through his mouth and nose.

Slowly, dark particles of mana began appearing in the room, entering Arlo’s nose as he drifted to sleep.

With every inhalation of mana, his wounds healed even faster, at a speed that would have deeply shocked Captain Ennessa.

Through the silence of the night, he slept on the bed, clothed in garments of dark mana energy, his soft snores ringing throughout the room.

The path to the top was hard and fraught with danger, but he was willing to walk it to the very end.

He had too much placed on his shoulders, too many people hoping for him, and so many who believed in him, hoping for his return one day.

The last thing he could afford was disappointing them all.

________________________

Sunlight pierced through the thin glass windowpanes, illuminating the interior of a luxuriously designed bedroom.

A figure stood before the wardrobe, dressed in a white T-shirt decorated with geometry symbols across the front and white fleece pants.

His midnight violet hair bounced around his head as a pair of crimson-speckled dark eyes surveyed the wardrobe’s interior.

All of sudden, he turned toward the door, sensing the approach of footsteps.

KNOCK

KNOCK

"Wake up, sleepyhead!" a mocking voice called out, instantly recognizable.

Arlo rolled his eyes and moved to the door, unlocking it.

Standing before him was Captain Ennessa, dressed in a blue-and-white hoodie paired with a jeans, giving her the appearance of a tomboy.

"It seems you are already awake and dressed," Captain Ennessa said, noticing his change of clothes.

Arlo walked past her, heading downstairs. "Breakfast is right below, Ennessa. We do not have all day," he said in a bossy tone.

Captain Ennessa snorted coldly, shutting the door tightly before running after him.

"You do not tell me what to do, kiddo. It is the other way around."

"Hmm, that sounds unfair to me."

"Tch, it is not unfair until I say it is."

Their brief conversation faded as their footsteps disappeared into the distance.

__________________

VROOOOOOOOM

VROOOOOOOOM

The engine of an ultra-high-grade supercar resounded powerfully as the gate to the mini-skyscraper slowly opened.

Captain Ennessa drove out, the mechanisms behind it causing the gate to shut automatically.

"Wear your seatbelt. I do not know how to drive like a geek!" Captain Ennessa said.

Arlo furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and began searching around his seat for a belt.

"Um, what is a seatbelt?" Arlo asked after failing to locate anything.

"This is a seatbelt," she said, pointing to the strange strap running diagonally across her upper body.

"Oh?" Arlo grabbed it with narrowed eyes, then turned to look at Captain Ennessa once more.

In the next instant, he quickly fastened the seatbelt properly.

"At least I don’t have to teach a full-grown adult how to wear a seatbelt,"

Captain Ennessa said, her exasperated sigh carrying a hint of amusement.

"Does..."