However, very quickly, Michael no longer cared about what 'harmful standard' caused the mutated gem to passively absorb sunlight. This was because when Michael actively controlled the mutated gem to absorb sunlight, he once again felt the warmth of the Sun on his skin.
Furthermore, when actively absorbing for too long, a burning sensation would even appear on Michael's skin... This was because actively controlling the mutated gem to absorb sunlight required Michael to provide his own energy to activate this function.
It was like operating an excavator; an excavator running at full power could naturally exert tremendous force.
But at the same time, the excavator also burned fuel, and not just a little, but a lot—it was a real fuel guzzler!
Michael found that in just ten minutes, his original energy reserve of 9 points had dropped to 8.5 points.
Indeed, actively controlling the mutated gem consumed a great deal of energy.
If merely absorbing solar energy consumed so much, wouldn't the consumption be even greater if he controlled the mutated gem to absorb higher-level energy?
But fortunately, sunlight contained energy far purer and more advanced than electrical energy. By actively controlling the mutated gem to absorb sunlight, even after a fifty-fifty split, Michael still gained 1 energy point after ten minutes!
In other words, after all was said and done, Michael not only didn't lose energy, but he even gained 0.5 energy, reaching a total energy reserve of 9.5 points!
"Hahaha!!!"
"The mutated gem is awesome!"
"It's absolutely incredible!!!"
Michael laughed joyfully!
Actively absorbing sunlight, he gained 0.5 pure energy in ten minutes, so wouldn't that be 3 points in an hour?
And this was only in the most basic state.
What if Michael went directly to the desert to sunbathe, would the efficiency be even higher?
What if, on top of sunbathing in the desert, Michael also set up countless reflectors around him to reflect all the surrounding sunlight onto himself? How terrifying would the efficiency be then?
What if, even higher in the sky, a convex lens was set up to converge all the sunlight passing through it to a single point? How terrifying would that be?
Ten times? A hundred times? Or a thousand times? Ten thousand times?
Hiss!!!
The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became!
It was terrifying to this extent!
Was this really telling me to become Superman?
He fantasized about one day, like a certain DC hero, standing alone in space without any protection, enjoying the direct sunlight without any refraction, and even various cosmic radiation energies.
Then, everyone on Earth who monitored this scene would hide and tremble.
What an exciting anticipation that was!!!
... "Hiss~~"
"This damned physical fitness!"
An hour later, Michael's energy points had risen to 12!
But the burning and stinging sensations from his skin, which was still exposed to the Sun, pulled Michael back from his fantasy to reality.
Michael frowned with some irritation.
Actively controlling the mutated gem to absorb sunlight indeed had its flaws.
When actively absorbing sunlight, the passive protection effect of the mutated gem seemed to fail?
No!
It couldn't be said to have failed.
After all, while actively absorbing sunlight, Michael could still occasionally feel a faint coolness circulating within his body.
But this coolness couldn't catch up to or neutralize the burning damage contained within the scorching sunlight.
If it weren't for this coolness maintaining his body, Michael's body would have been scorched long ago when actively absorbing sunlight.
People feel warm when sunbathing, but that's because most of the chaotic energy contained in the sunlight is blocked by the skin.
However, when Michael actively absorbed, he directly absorbed these chaotic energies into his body, and the damage to the body was not insignificant.
In other words, the passive maintenance function of the mutated gem was suppressed to a very low state when Michael activated active control...
"Alas~"
"Indeed."
"There is never anything completely perfect in this World!"
"However, this is actually a good thing."
"While absorbing energy, continuously increasing the energy reserve."
"And also being able to use the passive effect to repair and even further refine the damage to the body when actively absorbing energy!"
"This is actually a kind of breaking down to build up!"
After the burning and stinging sensations completely subsided, Michael clenched his fist again to feel it.
He could clearly feel that this time, his fist felt a bit more powerful than before!
"Compared to the situation where the mutated gem's passive effect fully protected the body, where the body didn't undergo this refinement and couldn't grow."
"Looking at it this way, the current situation is the best."
"This World is dangerous after all. Every bit of strength gained increases one's ability to survive!"
"What else can I say!"
"How can one see a rainbow without experiencing the storm?"
"Thank this great opportunity!" "There's no suffering in vain!"
"There's no toil that goes unrewarded!"
"The good days ahead are earned through your own hard work!"
"Keep going!"
After resting for about ten minutes, when his body had fully recovered and even strengthened a tiny bit, Michael once again began his cycle of sunbathing: 'comfort – stinging pain – repair – rest – repeat.'
With his fierce determination ignited, Michael's willpower was beyond what ordinary people could match!
…He didn't even eat lunch or afternoon tea. It wasn't until the Sun had completely set that Michael ended this self-abusive 'cultivation'.
However, feeling that his body had indeed grown stronger,
and that his energy reserves had reached an unprecedented 30 points,
Michael finally broke into a joyful, childlike smile!
Indeed!
As long as he strived, there would definitely be a result!
Perhaps the result would be good, or perhaps bad.
But for Michael, this result was very good!