Chapter 15: Midnight Cultivation
Finally, the sun had set, and the entire kingdom was bathed in the luminescent glow of the moon. The air outside carried an icy chill, almost as if winter would begin any moment.
From each soldier standing watch, visible puffs of white mist escaped their lips with every breath. Perhaps it really was going to snow.
Asher stood by his window, watching the cold, harsh wind sweep across the land, a gust of it creeping into his room and snatching away whatever warmth had remained.
Shivering, he hurriedly shut the window and latched the shutters.
His room was far from luxurious—no chimney, no heating system, nothing to keep the cold at bay except a single, thin blanket. That was the price of being weak.
'Man, now that I'm alone, I should check my stats,' Asher thought, summoning the system.
A translucent screen flickered before his eyes, revealing the information he sought.
[Stats]
Strength: 3
Agility: 3
Stamina: 1
Intelligence: 1
Mana: Infinite
As he had expected, his stats had improved slightly after consuming the beast core. However, this confirmed something he had already suspected—his Insight skill was weak and unreliable at this level.
It had only informed him that the core was of a high grade, but based on his stat increase, that was clearly inaccurate.
'This wasn't a high-grade beast core, just a simple one at best. It only added one to my strength, two to my agility, and nothing to stamina. If my Insight skill were stronger, I would've known that. Maybe I would've even absorbed more from the core.'
Asher sighed, though he still appreciated the small boost he had gained. At least he wasn't entirely useless anymore.
But his mind soon drifted to something else.
The welcome he had received upon returning to the castle.
His sister had been greeted by an entire company of people, surrounded by guards and attendants who acted as though she were royalty itself. Meanwhile, he had returned to an empty, lifeless hallway. No one had even bothered to check how his trip had gone.
And for some reason, that pissed him off.
'Maybe it's because I miss my old teammates...'
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Asher collapsed onto his bed, staring at the ceiling as nostalgia washed over him. He recalled those days—the thrill of battle, the camaraderie, the feeling of being part of something greater.
But those days were long gone.
A sudden notification snapped him out of his thoughts.
[Hello! What about the core you stole?]
[Would you like to cultivate it?]
Asher's eyes widened.
'Damn, I almost forgot about that!'
He shot up from the bed and raced to his wardrobe, rummaging through the pile of clothes until he found the pair of pants he had worn earlier.
Digging into the fabric, he extracted the stolen core and held it tightly in his grasp.
Returning to his bed, he sat upright, legs crossed, just as he had seen it done in the game.
The system sent another set of warnings.
[A warning before you start.]
[You have no skill to complement Cultivation.]
[Secondly, you absorbed a core earlier. This might end up failing—possibly catastrophic—or it might work.]
[Thirdly, cultivation takes time. You must connect your inner Mana Core to the beast core and absorb the energy slowly, or you risk damaging your own core.]
Asher already knew all this.
Still, it wasn't bad for the system to remind him.
"..."
It was time to grow stronger.
After finishing his preparations, he dimmed his eyes, concentrating.
He willed the mana inside him to awaken. At first, everything felt normal. Then, a strange shift occurred—an eerie stream of purple energy seeped out from his body, drifting toward the golden-colored core before him.
The energy coiled around the core, wrapping it in a ghostly haze.
A moment later, something changed.
The golden glow of the core began to fade.
Asher barely had time to register the phenomenon before a sharp, stabbing pain erupted in his chest, as though a dagger had been driven directly into his heart.
His entire body seized up.
The agony was unbearable—so much so that he could hardly keep his eyes open. His breathing grew ragged, and his vision blurred.
The system chimed again.
[You have cultivated the core in record time.]
[King of Cultivation has been awakened.]
[You can now cultivate things twice as fast as a normal person.]
A small wave of relief washed over him. At least he hadn't failed.
Moments later, the core had turned completely bland—all its energy absorbed. Yet, even as he cut off his mana flow, the searing pain in his chest remained.
'Damn... it hurts. But at least I've gotten stronger.'
He summoned the system again.
[Stats]
Strength: 5
Agility: 3
Stamina: 3
Intelligence: 2
Mana: Infinite
'Whatever beast this core came from must've been a muscle builder,' Asher mused, letting out a tired chuckle.
He allowed himself to fall back onto the bed, only then realizing how heavy his breathing was and how utterly drenched in sweat he had become.
Knock! Knock!
A sharp pounding at his door jolted him upright.
"Lord Asher! Please open the door! We sensed a high-grade spiritual energy coming from your room! You might be in danger!"
'Danger?!'
His pulse spiked as he instinctively turned his head, scanning the room for any sign of a lurking monster.
Nothing.
It was just him.
But then realization hit him like a thunderbolt.
'Shit... they think the energy came from a monster. They sensed my mana! Fuck!'
His lips tightened. His mind raced.
How many people had sensed it? How many guards had been alerted?
If they broke down the door and saw nothing, suspicions would rise. If they started investigating, they might uncover everything—his stolen core, his hidden training, his secrets.
He needed a plan.
"No, there are no monsters here! Leave me alone, I wanna sleep."
He forced his voice into a slothful, tired tone, hoping they would simply back down. He was their lord, after all. They had no authority to enter without permission.
But then he heard a voice that made his blood run cold.
"It's me, Melissa. Asher, open this door. Or have you been possessed by a spirit?"
His stomach twisted.
Melissa.
The queen. His mother.
Shit.
How the hell was he supposed to get out of this now?
"I'm coming in."
Asher's breath caught in his throat.
This... was bad.