The Place Where Everything Begins

Chapter 144 - The Second Stage (4)

'This will be my Status Window for the next stage... I bet, whoever sees my Status Window will just think of me as a normal good guy.' Jeremy thought with a light smile after finally finishing adjusting his Status Window.

After that, Jeremy projected the false interface before him,

'[Information Falser]'

Simultaneously, a transparent window appeared out of the blue...

...

Name: Tommy Samson

Race: Human (Le'Liac - Low-Rank Organism)

Class: None

Title: Good Samaritan (Rank 2 - Inactive), Donor (Rank 1 - Inactive)

Affinity:

- Fire (Common): 38.5%

- Darkness (Uncommon): 17.6%

Talent: None

Trait: Kind-hearted, Benevolent, Compassionate

Skill: None

Achievement: None

Mission: None

...

After seeing nothing wrong with his false Status Window, which looked just like the real one, Jeremy nodded his head slightly.

'I have roughly three and a half hours before the Access ends. So, let's try this...'

Having thought so, Jeremy sat cross-legged on the dark floor and started meditating.

He intended to try his last talent, Serenity of Magic, to see if he would really meditate twice more efficiently or not.

Almost a minute later, Jeremy finally entered the 10th stage of meditation and was now floating inside a dark world where countless energy particles were flying all around him.

Within this highest stage of mediation, Jeremy would be able to draw those affinity-related energy particles in the air into his dantians.

At this time, Jeremy saw countless mana, fire, darkness, and space particles within the air. Subsequently, he focused his mind solely on the mana particles.

Afterward, Jeremy tried to attract the mana energy from the atmosphere into his body...

However...

*Sigh...*

Jeremy sighed dejectedly as he promptly opened his eyes not long after trying to attract those mana particles.

To his dejection, Jeremy still couldn't pull the mana into his body despite the fact that he had a new talent related to meditation at bay.

'So, the Serenity of Magic doesn't help me to solve my current predicament at all. It seems like the only solution for me is to equip the rank-10 title to activate the talent, Origin of Magic...'

Jeremy thought to himself as he shook his head slightly.

...

Origin of Magic (Talent) - After being activated, you will be able to freely convert any type and quality of mana according to a consistent and meaningful ratio. 

...

In fact, Jeremy wanted to activate all his titles so badly, but he knew that he couldn't do it now as it wasn't a suitable time yet.

After all, the moment when Jeremy chose to activate those titles, he would become a standout like a sore thumb inside the second stage.

Like that, the cupids would see the titles above Jeremy's head and might interfere with the second stage, causing it to become hectic like a bustling marketplace.

Jeremy didn't appreciate that notion even one bit...

Thus, it's better to keep a low profile and become invisible, or else Jeremy might be eyed by other vicious predators too early in this life.

'There is no need to hurry; I still have roughly 40% of mana left in my tanks. If it really comes to worse, I will just activate my titles; or in the worst-case scenario, I can still have that...'

'Oh, wait!'

Having suddenly realized something, Jeremy's eyes widened significantly as his left glove simultaneously shone with a white glow.

Approximately ten seconds later, a small crystal with oscillating dark-blue fluid appeared within Jeremy's hand.

It was the level-5 mystic shell Jeremy had bought from Mercury with the price of one black star, altogether with one more black star for the delivery fee.

Upon bringing out the mystic shell, Jeremy looked at it with a fascinating expression, like he was looking at a priceless treasure.

'Three hours are more than enough...'

Jeremy thought with a mysterious smile...

...

Three and a half hours later...

Right now, Jeremy used the appearance of the average middle-aged man, Tommy Samson. He wore a black combat suit and boots while having two knives strapped to his waists.

Even while disguising himself as another person, Jeremy still chose to wear a black outfit...

'I'm ready...' Jeremy thought to himself as he stood in the middle of the dark space.

Shortly after, a window of notifications suddenly appeared before him...

...

? The Special Access has been concluded ?

? You will be teleported to your destination in the second stage of the Tutorial in 15 seconds ?

...

Upon seeing the notifications, Jeremy stood patiently, waiting for the countdown to reach zero.

Fifteen seconds later, Jeremy's entire figure simultaneously disappeared from within the dark space.

...

A small cavern situated inside a small rocky hill...

The small cave was formed by the weathering rocks and extended deep into the hill. It had a space large enough for two or three humans to enter at the same time.

At this time, Jeremy's body suddenly appeared out of thin air within the cave as he gradually opened his eyes to look around him.

However, before he could turn his head, rows of notifications suddenly appeared before Jeremy...

...

? Congratulations for passing the first stage, and welcome to the second stage of the Tutorial ?

? This stage will be the last selecting phase for you, Le'Liac humans. If you survive this test, the System will deem you qualified to be a resident and live on Ortus. Good luck ?

? Tutorial Mission: Survive II ?

...

'It looks like I have to add the new Tutorial Mission into my false Status Window...' Jeremy thought briefly after seeing the notifications before him.

A short moment later, the window finally disappeared as Jeremy turned his head left and right to inspect around him.

'Where is this place? Why am I teleported into a cave? Isn't it supposed to be at the camp's outskirt?' Jeremy had many questions within his mind right now.

He looked at the surrounding environment in confusion as he didn't see the expected sight of people walking around the camp at all.

Instead, Jeremy was met with a small rocky cave with an entrance situated more than twenty meters away from him, leading to the green forest outside.

Unexpectedly...

When Jeremy turned to look at the rocky floor, he suddenly found a small wooden box beside his feet.

'A treasure box?'

Jeremy wondered while raising one eyebrow after spotting the wooden box placed near his feet.

'There is no trap attached to the box. So, it might be the reward for successfully using the teleportation circle...'

After finishing his thought, Jeremy crouched down and opened the box.

*Creak*

The wooden box was opened slowly, creating a creaking noise echoing within the small cave.

Soon, the content within the box revealed itself to Jeremy.

There was only one thing within the box, and it appeared to be something like a brown animal leather.

'Another parchment...' Jeremy thought while picking the brown parchment up to see what it was all about.

Just like the Mana Affinity parchment that Jeremy had obtained from the hidden room back in the easy trial, the parchment in his hand right now read the words 'Aura Affinity' on its top section.

It was clear that the parchment in Jeremy's hand had the sole function of boosting a person's aura affinity, which would directly lead the person into the road of Warrior Pathway.

'Again... Useless thing again. Why don't I get a skill or talent instead of this almost worthless thing?'

Jeremy thought while shaking his head in disappointment.

'Should I gift the two parchments away or sell them for some pennies?' Jeremy thought momentarily.

For all that, Jeremy had already planned his other 'unique' energy aside from mana, and it was obviously not the aura energy.

So, Jeremy felt pretty dissatisfied with his reward from the box.

After keeping the parchment inside his glove, Jeremy promptly stood up and looked at the cave's entrance.

The outside appeared to be filled with trees and vegetation as Jeremy even saw small animals and fowls roaming freely outside.

With his enhanced eyesight from the skill and talent, Sixth Sense, Jeremy could see everything outside very clearly, despite the fact that the forest was more than thirty meters away from him.

At this time, Jeremy suddenly raised one eyebrow because he had heard some noises from a faraway place.

The noises were so faint that even with Jeremy's enhanced hearing, he almost couldn't hear them.

If it were before his Heightened Senses was upgraded into Sixth Sense, Jeremy wouldn't hear a single sound from such a distance.

'Some people are battling in that direction...'

Having thought so, Jeremy activated Third Eye and looked in the direction where the sound came from.

Soon, Jeremy's sight zoomed into the forest...

'Hmm... There are too many trees shielding my view...'

'So, this is another downside of Third Eye as it cannot see through obstructions rather than the information overload.'

'It is still inferior to my tier-5 observation spell after all...'

After realizing his skill was ineffective in this situation, Jeremy decided to go to the battlefield to see what took place there by himself.

Just like that, Jeremy started walking in the direction where the noises came from, without delay.