Christian, who had finally heard about special abilities, was too excited at first, thinking it was the perfect excuse to tell his sister. Still, he eventually came back to his senses and calmed down, realizing he didn't know exactly what they were. So, he asked Iris, hoping to clarify things further.
"Is there anything else mentioned about them? Like, what they are exactly?"
[They could be anything that is considered beyond normal, but what they are exactly isn't mentioned. The document, in the first place, was created for cases where such individuals are found, as the government would immediately take them into custody.]
[So, in essence, this document serves merely as instructions for handling the situation when these individuals are discovered.]
Christian was not entirely satisfied with such a vague answer, but in the end, he decided to make do with the information he had for now. After all, the mention of special abilities was good enough to serve as an excuse, and he resolved to go with it regardless.
His sister was still waiting for him, after all, and he figured he could always look into things further later, anyway.
Even so, there were still things that needed to be done first, and Christian, was unable to wait any longer.
He opened his Idle Practicing slots, ready to decide which one to allocate the Breath of the Shadow Blade technique to.
[First Slot - AI Programming - 20:10:01/24:00:00]
[Second Slot - Program Hacking - 20:10:01/24:00:00]
[Third Slot - Perfect Hand-to-Hand Combat - 20:10:01/24:00:00]
[Fourth Slot - Human Biology - 20:10:01/24:00:00]
But, then looking at the timer for his Idle Practicing slots, Christian couldn't help but be reminded once again that everything that had happened, everything he had discovered and went through, had all occurred within just twenty hours, not even a full day. This realization caused his spirits to drop as the weight of how little time had actually passed settled in.
He felt like he hadn't lived a day more eventful than this one and hoped that, even in the future, he wouldn't have to live through something like it again.
Experiencing something once in life was enough, after all.
Actually, it was better not to experience it at all, but it was already too late.
Shaking his head to rid himself of the distracting thoughts, Christian focused on the important matter at hand. He turned his attention to the Idle Practicing slots, scanning the current assignments, and began to think about which one he should replace.
Taking a moment to ponder, Christian realized he couldn't stop the Idle processes for either Hand-to-Hand Combat or AI Programming, leaving only the other two options to consider.
In the end, Christian stared at the fourth slot, where "Human Biology" was listed, and thought about the Breath of the Shadow Blade technique, as well as the extraordinary power system as a whole.
Christian thought about what he had found and felt that something like Human Biology would be very useful later, at least for research purposes. However, for now, there were more important things to focus on.
Then, why was that so?
That was because of what he had discovered about the exact nature of the extraordinary power system.
At first, Christian thought the extraordinary power system would be something unique, something exclusive, but it turned out he was wrong. It wasn't as rare or special as he had initially believed.
The extraordinary power, or more accurately, the way to become stronger, had always been right in front of him; he had simply been ignorant of it until now.
Well, all the common people around the world should be about the same.
And that's why he felt a little frustrated, as he believed that with his Idle System, he should have been different.
As it had already happened, Christian knew he couldn't dwell on things he couldn't change anymore. At least he had found out now, even if it was a little late. So, acquiring extraordinary power, or, more accurately from now on, becoming stronger, was through "essence," which actually existed in the air and was everywhere.
It was through a kind of breathing technique and exercise that allowed the essence to permeate the body and begin storing within it.
In this way, one would not just have a stronger body but would also be able to perform supernatural moves.
Moves that are just like the ones he had read about or watched in fantasy stories.
Luckily, the Breath of the Shadow Blade technique he had acquired also had two parts: one for breathing and one for exercising.
Of course, the exercises were not a requirement for breathing and absorbing essence but rather a means to make the breathing more efficient. Additionally, they could also be utilized as a fighting technique designed for blade combat.
The downside of using the exercises, however, was that one would become tired faster and more easily.
Anyway, why did he say that Human Biology would be useful later?
It was because of the affinity and attunement of the body to essence issue, which is also closely tied to the speed of absorbing essence.
Affinity determined how quickly one could absorb the essence, while attunement related to the body's ability to accept and harmonize with the essence without any issues.
Normally, affinity and attunement would be about the same though, meaning that a person's ability to absorb the essence would match their body's capacity to accept it without complications.
However, variant cases are always present, and Christian had deduced something from all the things he had read.
Why do people sometimes go berserk and undergo abnormal transformations?
It should be because of a high affinity for essence combined with low attunement. He could even think of a few mechanisms through which this occurred.
Then why are these cases suddenly increasing , when it wasn't in the past?
It should be because the essence permeating through the air- the essence in the world, is increasing.
This was what he inferred from how one would be able to become much stronger with the changes in the world that Iris had talked about.
When before the essence was scarce, it still wasn't a problem, but now it's different.
Well, not necessarily scarce, the point is the difference in the concentration of essence, anyway.
That's also the reason why he called himself ignorant, because as the essence is naturally everywhere, he was breathing it in all along. However, since he didn't know the right way to breathe and absorb it, he couldn't make the essence entering his body his own.
This left him frustrated, as it felt like such a waste.
Well, actually, he still needed to be able to sense the essence in the air in the first place to make any change, and without the Breath of the Shadow Blade technique, it could have taken him ages on his own.
Anyway, all of this was just his theories and assumptions, and he would find out the exact details later.
Then came the problem: what about his affinity and attunement? Were they high or low? Was there a difference between them?
Christian didn't know.
That was why, he was also considering the issue of whether he would face any problems when practicing the technique he had acquired.
Then again, he would be practicing it through his Idle System, so there shouldn't be any problem.
When Christian practiced body techniques, like when he tried to attain a perfect body or other combat skills, he would always gain the benefits without experiencing the drawbacks, things like exhaustion, muscle soreness, and other such discomforts, were never a problem for him.
So, he was pretty optimistic that it would be the same this time too.
Anyway, for now, Human Biology wasn't that crucial, as while he would need it later to understand the exact mechanisms behind the breathing technique and other related processes, if he couldn't find that information from other sources, it wasn't a priority at the moment.
Still, Christian believed Human Biology would prove useful in the future, not just to help him understand how the human body interacts with essence.
Knowing how the body absorbs and handles essence would be crucial for improving these parameters, as understanding the biological processes behind affinity and attunement would allow him to find a way to enhance both the speed at which he absorbs essence and how well his body can handle it without negative effects.
Most importantly, it wasn't just for him, but also for his sister, as he wanted her to train later and become stronger. After all, he knew he couldn't always be with her twenty-four hours a day.
Anyway, he knew that understanding about affinity and attunement, and then improving them, wasn't something that could happen overnight. It would require careful planning, and perhaps some more advanced techniques or knowledge that he didn't yet have access to. That was why he said it would be useful later, not at the moment.