When the bandits were killed, blood splattered everywhere, notably on the young woman, who looked both horrified and grateful. Her gratitude quickly won out as she said, "Thank you, thank you. If you hadn’t come, Mia's fate would have been horrifying." She glanced hatefully at the headless bodies of the bandits.
Mikael ignored her odd habit of referring to herself in the third person and replied indifferently, "No need to thank me. I was just passing by and needed to kill some bandits. You were just lucky, that's all."
After he finished speaking, Mikael touched the bandits' bodies, appearing to pickpocket them, but in reality, he was activating the Race Gaining system.
[Race: Humans (Aedris world) successfully copied.]
It is that easy? he thought, raising an eyebrow, before actually taking their money. When he was done, he was 1 gold and 83 silver coins richer.
The girl seemed slightly uncomfortable with his response. "No matter your reasons, you still saved Mia from a horrible fate, and for that, Mia is eternally grateful," she said, bowing deeply.
She continued, "Mia has a request. Can you help her get to Onissa City? Mia doesn’t think she’ll survive the journey alone without her guards."
Seeing his disinterested gaze, she panicked and quickly added, "Mia's dad can pay you. He has a lot of money! If you ensure Mia’s safety during this trip, you’ll be well rewarded."
‘Please accept. If he doesn’t help Mia, she’ll die in this forest, she thought, still terrified from her recent ordeal.’
Mikael considered her request. ‘Hmm, I could help her. She saved me some time by helping me find the bandit, so even if I spend some time escorting her, I’ll still come out ahead.’
"Alright, but I’ll leave you near Onissa City," he said.
She quickly agreed but was confused. "If you leave Mia near the city, how will you get the money?"
"Oh, that’s not important. I don’t need the money. I’m just helping you because you saved me time, that’s all."
The girl was visibly torn between being impressed by his rejection of the money and bewildered by his apparent indifference to her life.
Mikael turned and crouched before saying, "Get on my back."
The girl was completely stunned by his words and stood frozen in place.
Mikael waited for a couple of seconds, but not hearing her approach, even with his enhanced senses, he turned around and asked, “Are you coming?”
Mia stuttered, “B-but why do you want me to climb on your back?”
Mikael explained, “Look, if we walk to Onissa City, it will probably take hours, but if you get on my back and I run, it will take only tens of minutes, or maybe even less!”
She let out a small “Oh” before approaching him, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.
Normally, the position she took would have been quite inconvenient, but with his high stats, it didn’t bother him. He then placed his hand under her thigh to get a good grip before saying, “Hold on tight, we’re going to go fast, and I don’t think I need to explain what will happen if you fall at this speed…”
‘I said that, but even if she loses her grip, I’ll be able to catch her before she falls,’ he thought.
She made a small sound of agreement before tightening her hold on him.
Mikael then darted forward, running at a speed faster than that of a car.
The wind made a sharp cutting sound as he moved, and the surroundings blurred—at least, that was the case for Mia, a normal human.
After traveling for only a couple of minutes, Mikael arrived at the forest’s edge near Onissa City, where he stopped and motioned for Mia to get down.
She released her grip, still a little dizzy from the high-speed movement, then bowed and said, "Mia would like to thank her benefactor once again–." She paused, as if remembering something, then continued in an embarrassed tone, "Mia is ashamed, but she still does not know the name of her benefactor."
Mikael replied, "Name’s Mikael, but it’s not important. You’re near the city now and safe, so– bye."
With that, he disappeared from the scene, his speed leaving no trace.
Mikael heard her, but he kept going. He wasn’t here to play the hero, like he had said before. She was just lucky.
He continued deeper into the forest before leaving this world and reappearing in the familiar Hub.
The instant Mikael appeared, he received some surprising notifications:
[At the start of the second week since Earth was linked to the Akashic Records, several modifications will occur:
1: Transformation of the private hub into a public hub where you can interact with other Earth natives.
2: Unlocking of a Global Level Leaderboard featuring all Earth natives.
These modifications will occur in 10 hours, 13 minutes, and 45 seconds.]
‘Oh, I knew the hub would become public, but the leaderboard—that’s new.’
“System, will there be rewards for ranking well on the Global Level Leaderboard?”
[No, the Leaderboard doesn't offer rewards. However, it can help you gain fame and related benefits with other Earth natives.]
‘It seems this leaderboard is pretty useless. Let’s be honest, fame can be helpful, but it’s nothing compared to real strength.’
After this brief interlude, Mikael moved into his apartment, where he used the bathroom and took a shower.
As he stood under the warm water, he thought, ‘Ahh, it feels so good to have access to a modern shower. It’s definitely more convenient than using a cold water basin. Damn medieval times… I’ve gotten too used to the comforts of modern life, and whenever I have to deal with medieval-level technology, it’s hard to endure.’
After taking a long, relaxing shower, Mikael dried off but chose not to put his clothes back on. He thought, ‘I’m about to change my race, and it’s bound to be REALLY painful. Maybe I’ll even expel impurities like in a cultivation novel or something, so it’s better not to dirty my clothes.’
He sat down on the bathroom floor, taking deep breaths while bracing for the pain he knew was coming. Minutes passed as he remained in that position before he thought to himself, ‘I know it’s going to hurt, but staying won’t change anything.’
‘I’m a little scared of the pain, and honestly, who wouldn’t be? But I need to go through with this if I want to keep growing stronger. I refuse to stagnate just because I’m afraid of feeling pain!’
With that internal pep talk, he finally looked at the detailed description of the new race.
[Race: Human (Aedris World)
Description: One of the main races of the Aedris world, natives of this world are talented in body refinement but consequently have low potential in anything related to the spiritual side. This race has a stat limit of 800 for the five physical attributes and 120 for the two spiritual stats. It also unlocks the Energy stat but with limited potential.
As a Tier 1 race, it has a max level of 50 before requiring an upgrade to a higher-tiered race to continue leveling up.
+4 to all five physical stats and +1 to the two spiritual stats at each level.
Faster and more efficient body refinement.]
Mikael was impressed by the stats of this race and said, “Records, I want to change my race to Human (Aedris World).”
[Race change to Human (Aedris World) will begin in 10 seconds.
Warning: Individuals from pain-sensitive races have reported extreme pain during this process.]
Mikael wasn’t reassured by the warning, anxiously following the countdown with his eyes.
The moment the countdown hit zero, Mikael felt his bones begin to break—and that was just the beginning.
He gritted his teeth as the sensation of his bones breaking began, but it wasn’t long before the pain became too much to bear. He couldn’t endure it in silence anymore and started screaming.
And it only got worse. After all, this wasn’t just a bone adjustment—it was a full-body transformation.
His organs soon followed, feeling as if they were boiling. Every part of his body was affected, breaking down and transforming, pushing his physical limits to become stronger.
But the price he paid for this enhancement was agonizing pain throughout the entire process.
Yet, after destruction comes creation. As his body was broken down into dust, it gradually began to rebuild itself.
Logically, one might think that if Mikael’s body was reduced to dust, he wouldn’t be able to feel pain. But no, the agony persisted, just as sharp as when he had a body.
His body reformed, only to break down again. And again.
This painful cycle repeated for an unknown amount of time before his body finally completed the transformation and remained intact.
When Mikael realized that the pain had stopped, his fragile consciousness finally gave in, and he passed out.
Some time later, Mikael finally woke up. ‘Ah, that was really not a pleasant experience. Next time I change my race, I’ll have to endure that pain again,’ he thought with a shiver.
He looked around. ‘At least the ground isn’t covered in impurities. That would have been a pain to clean up.’
“Hmm, System, are there any notifications about my race change?”
[Yes, there are some notifications. They appeared while you were unconscious. Displaying them now.]
[Evolution to a Tier 1 race complete. Level cap raised to 50.]
[Body potential greatly increased.]
[Spiritual potential slightly increased.]
[Body refinement efficiency greatly increased.]
‘Damn, that’s really satisfying to see. It makes the pain I went through worth it—and even better, it’s a potential increase. Personally, I find potential increases more exciting than immediate power gains. If your potential is low, power comes slowly, but if your potential is high, you gain power quickly. So yeah, I definitely prefer having my potential boosted.’
Mikael stood up and glanced around, catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror above the sink. He was surprised by what he saw.
‘Huh, I’m more handsome. Yeah, I’m pretty sure I am,’ he thought, studying his reflection. ‘The difference isn’t huge, but it’s noticeable. How to say this? My skin his fairer and some imperfections have disappeared. If I was around an 85/100 before, I’d say I’m a solid 88/100 now. A nice bonus from all that pain. I’m definitely not complaining,’ he thought with satisfaction.
‘I wonder how this beautification works. Is it because the natives of Aedris are generally more attractive, and by taking their race, I’ve become more handsome too? That would make sense. After all, in the Aedris world, people were rarely ugly, and a good portion of the population would be considered beautiful or handsome by my standards.’
‘Well, that answers that. But now that I think about it, how long have I been unconscious?’
After checking with the Records, Mikael learned that eight hours had passed, leaving only two hours before the modifications took effect. ‘Hmm, these upcoming changes are interesting in the sense that they’re something new, but practically speaking, they won’t be of much use right now. Maybe they’ll become more useful later.’
He then got dressed. That’s when he realized he felt great. His injuries were completely healed, and his bones were back to normal, no longer weakened. ‘It seems that changing my race has a healing effect,’ he thought, astonished.
‘Still, I shouldn’t change races just for the healing effect. What if, because of a critical injury, the race change goes wrong and I explode?’
He cleared his mind of these miscellaneous thoughts before speaking in his mind. "Records, I’d like a world I can complete quickly, with a reasonable danger level, and where I can easily farm LP."
[Request available for 100 LP. Note: Accessing a world outside the Hub will cost 100 LP.]
When Mikael saw that message, he thought, ‘Fucking capitalist system they really charge LP for everything.’
Of course, Mikael refused to pay. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t—he was down to 0 LP.
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