Arthur's face turned ashen as he stared at the screen. Displayed for all to see was a humiliating image of him licking a gooey substance off the floor. He glared at Blu with deep resentment. If she were in a man's body, he might've punched her already. But she was just smiling, holding something back—her laughter threatening to explode.
Arthur sighed, defeated.
"Do whatever you want... but why does it taste so bad?"
Blu couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Hahahahahaha!"
She doubled over laughing, clutching her stomach as tears welled up in her eyes. Arthur floated to the side, arms crossed, waiting for her to finish. Half an hour passed before she managed to stop.
"Sorry," she said between chuckles. "I really couldn't help it. Just look at your face!"
"Are you done?" Arthur asked, voice cold.
"Yes!" she answered immediately, standing at attention like a soldier.
He shook his head in dismay. After a moment of silence, he looked at her seriously.
"I want to know… when can I start training those innate powers?"
"Maybe... five?" Blu answered, uncertain.
Arthur nodded, then opened his status window.
Name: Arthur Kasadin (Ji sen)
Level: 2 (95 XP / 300 XP) – Level 3
Credit Points: 1100
Age: 0 (20)
Mental Power: 120
Physical Power: 1
Cultivation: None
Technique: None
Inventory: [Blood of the Ruined Kings], [Black Book of Necromancy of the Northern Hell]
Shop
Innate Powers: Fire, Water, Earth, Metal, Crystal, Space, Time, Chaos
Passive Skill: Copying by Swallowing
As he reviewed his stats, his eyes stopped at the inventory.
"How do I use the Black Book of Necromancy of the Northern Hell?"
Blu gave him a strange look but answered anyway.
"You can study it the hard way or buy an Instant Comprehension Pill from the store. But that pill costs over a hundred thousand CP—way more than the book itself."
"Oh." Arthur scratched his head, frustrated he hadn't thought of that.
"Once I'm older, we'll get serious," he said.
"Okay," Blu nodded.
They talked deep into the night—about the book, about what kind of life Arthur would lead once he grew up, and how awesome he thought he was going to be. But even after their conversation ended, Arthur floated restlessly. Something was bugging him.
Then a voice broke his thoughts.
"You're thinking about the shop, aren't you? You never asked me about it."
"Oh, right!"
He immediately opened the shop tab with his mind. A massive catalog appeared, filled with items.
Shop Categories:
Weapons
Potions
Herbs
Beasts
Magic Beasts
Spirit Beasts
Mythical Beasts
Arthur was stunned—not by how many items there were, but by their prices. Most weapons started at 3 million CP and some reached into the billions. Only a few basic items were affordable: a sword, bow, shield, spear, staff, and mace—each for 100 CP.
He scrolled for over thirty minutes before giving up. It was overwhelming and discouraging.
"Blu... can I even sleep in this state?"
"Yup. Doesn't really matter if you do or don't," she said with a shrug.
Arthur nodded and eventually drifted to sleep. No matter what kind of strange body or system he had now, he wasn't ready to give up his humanity.
Morning arrived, and the carriage reached its destination: a secluded cave known only to the king and a few trusted subordinates. Amy had discovered it during a hunt. Though the cave looked small from the outside, it opened up into a massive dome within—complete with grass, trees, and harmless spirit animals that looked almost too cute to be threatening.
Thanks to their wood and earth magic, they quickly constructed a spacious home within the dome.
Time flew.
Five years later...
Arthur could now walk, crawl, and jump with ease. His parents weren't even surprised—he had started walking at just eight months old. He assumed this was normal.
Finally, he could begin practicing his innate powers. But unsure of where to start, he decided to visit the library. There, he found his father reading.
Arthur hadn't known what his father looked like until shortly after his birth, when he was first held. He was tall—about two meters—and looked strikingly regal. Oblong face, thick eyebrows, strong cheekbones, and a noble aura. He looked like Christian Bale with the presence of a king.
His mother, on the other hand, was cartoonishly beautiful—long black hair, sky-blue eyes, high cheekbones, and lips like a velvet sofa. She resembled Angelina Jolie.
Seeing Arthur approach, his father gave a small smile before straightening his face.
"You want to read? Then don't make noise or play around, or I'll deal with you properly."
"Papa?" Arthur asked, feigning innocence.
His father smiled and returned to reading.
Arthur didn't respond, instead walking to the shelves to search for books on elemental powers. After half an hour, he finally found a section filled with books radiating elemental energy. It didn't take a genius to figure out what they were.
"Light, fire, dark, water, wood, earth, metal… and lightning?" Arthur murmured. "Wait. I don't have lightning."
"You can swallow it and make it your own," Blu answered.
"You're kidding."
"Nope. I didn't explain this clearly before. When you swallow something, your passive skill breaks it down and copies everything needed to recreate it. It also helps you learn the attribute faster."
"So... book eating? Why does this feel like I'm Theodore Miller from The Book Eating Magician?" he muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Blu chuckled. "Go ahead. Eat the books. Eat the attributes. Grow faster."
"But these books are huge—how am I supposed to swallow them?"
"Did you forget the trial? Just hold the book and imagine it becoming small. That's enough," she replied, mildly disgusted.
"Oh... right. My bad." Arthur apologized sheepishly.
Moments later, Arthur emerged from the library with a smug grin plastered on his face, looking like someone who'd just won the lottery. His passive skill was ridiculously cool—even if the taste of some things left much to be desired. He glanced at Blu, whose disappointed expression showed she'd missed a hilarious moment. Arthur's smile only grew wider.