When the first rays of dawn filtered through the bulletproof windows, gilding Cloud's expensive beachfront villa in gold, its owner was already in the underground training room, beginning another day of "self-torture."
Ever since he'd paid cash for this mansion using "charitable donations" collected from various gangs, Cloud's quality of life had undergone a class transformation.
But his training intensity had actually increased, reaching an almost obsessive state.
As he put it: "When I was poor, I trained to survive. Now that I'm rich, I train to better enjoy life. Different reasons, same grind!"
Of course, his life wasn't all grueling training.
The villa had become a second home for Terry and the others.
Mai and Yuri, citing reasons like "supervising Cloud so he doesn't slack off" and "preventing bad women from seducing him," became regular visitors.
They'd bicker over a piece of tiramisu one moment, then team up to "bully" Cloud the next, filling the cold mansion with girlish laughter and youthful hormones.
Terry treated Cloud's ten-thousand-dollar double-door refrigerator as his personal beer supply depot.
He'd raid it every few days, drink himself silly, then commandeer the comfiest couch until noon the next day.
As for Ryo, though he'd say things like "young people should keep their distance"—
Every night at nine o'clock sharp, his "inspection call" would arrive on Yuri's phone. In tones worthy of an interrogation, he'd grill her about her day.
And whether... she'd had any "unnecessary physical contact" with a certain guy named Cloud.
Cloud squeezed every drop of potential from himself amid this painfully blissful "harem warfare" daily life.
...
Underground Training Room.
Cloud stood shirtless, bronze skin covered in dense beads of sweat. His muscle definition was like a Greek sculpture—perfect and explosively powerful.
He faced a state-of-the-art super-alloy force meter, practicing the most basic straight punches.
WHAM!
No flashy moves. No external qi projection.
Pure physical power—a single punch that seemed to vacuum the air from the room!
The numbers on the meter went wild before settling on a terrifying value.
[Peak Punch Force: 2,200 kg]
Over two tons of force! This had completely surpassed human physiological limits, reaching the level of a humanoid beast!
This was the result of a month of insane "whale spending" and bitter training.
[Host: Cloud]
[Constitution: 52 (Your bone density now rivals alloy steel plates)]
[Strength: 50 (One punch can now go through three walls)]
[Agility: 50 (Your burst speed approaches half the speed of sound)]
[Spirit: 28 (Your tenacious martial will has elevated your mental power far beyond ordinary people)]
[Source Points: 1,200]
Yet despite these monstrous stats, Cloud's brow was deeply furrowed.
A bottleneck.
A massive, solid bottleneck stood before him.
His body felt like a cup filled to the brim—unable to hold any more power.
He could feel the violent energy within him but couldn't release it at 100%.
Every punch carried a sense of sluggishness, of "having power but not being able to use it."
"System, my power and realm are seriously out of sync!" Cloud groaned mentally. "It's like being a Hulk with a three-year-old's IQ—all brute strength but can't even open a door."
[Host, your analogy is apt. Your physical power has touched this world's "genetic lock" barrier. To break through this shackle, you need a key—powerful mental energy.]
[Your physical strength has approached the limit of what humans in this world can achieve. To break through again, you need to improve not your power, but your "realm."]
[According to system database analysis, when a martial artist's mental and willpower reach a certain level, they can break through their limits and comprehend a new realm: Absolute Domain.]
[Absolute Domain]:
[Description: Power that surpasses human limits. A foundational combat form obtained after breaking the genetic lock. Through powerful mental energy, compress, condense, and release 100% of your power. Dramatically increases attack, defense, and speed—and can even distort physical laws!]
[Comprehension Requirements: Constitution, Strength, Agility, and Spirit all above 50 points, plus an unbreakable martial will.]
Absolute Domain!
Cloud's eyes blazed with intense light!
THIS was the realm he'd been dreaming of!
THIS was true transcendence!
"Mental energy..." He looked at his measly 28-point Spirit stat and felt the pressure of "poverty" for the first time.
He opened the [System Shop]. The price of mental enhancement potions made him inhale sharply.
One bottle of "Intermediate Mental Potential Development Potion" cost a whopping 50,000 Source Points—ten times the price of equivalent potions for other stats!
"System, this is highway robbery!" Cloud couldn't help complaining. "Why are mental potions so expensive? Looking down on us spiritual folks?"
[Host, please understand. Constitution, Strength, and Agility are ultimately physical attributes—their enhancement materials are relatively common across the myriad worlds.]
[Spirit, however, involves the fundamental essence of soul and consciousness. Enhancement materials for it are extremely rare. Simply put: one is upgrading your game character's equipment; the other is directly modifying your source code. Of course the prices differ.]
[Furthermore, shop inventory refreshes randomly. Having mental potions appear this time is already extremely lucky. Miss this chance, and who knows when they'll show up again.]
The system's explanation was simple, crude, and entirely logical.