Pov: Ryuk
Walking back to the main metal desk, I said in my mind, "System, show me the new functions of Level 1 and the new quests."
Immediately, the golden-black obsidian panel flickered and expanded in front of my view, showing several new notifications.
"SYSTEM LEVEL 1 FUNCTIONS UNLOCKED:"
"1. EMPEROR'S STORAGE: A DIMENSIONAL INVENTORY OF 10 CUBIC METERS TO STORE NON-LIVING OBJECTS."
"2. DOMINION SCAN: ALLOWS HOST TO SCAN THE GENERAL INFORMATION OF ITEMS, BEASTS, AND STRUCTURES WITHIN 10 METERS."
"3. THRONE OF ORDER (DORMANT): REQUIRES THE COMPLETION OF A PHYSICAL THRONE AND TERRITORY TO MANIFEST."
After showing the new functions, another screen popped up right below it, displaying the new quests for Level 1.
"SYSTEM LEVEL 1 MAIN QUESTS:"
"1. BREAK INTO GRADE 1 MARTIAL ARTIST REALM (0/1)"
"2. OBTAIN THE SECOND FRAGMENT OF A FALLEN KINGDOM (0/1)"
"3. ESTABLISH YOUR FIRST SETTLEMENT IN THE FALLEN HEARTLANDS (0/1)"
"4. GAIN 100 SUBJECTS UNDER YOUR RULE (10/100)"
"5. SLAY A GRADE 2 CORRUPTED BEAST KING (0/1)"
"QUEST COMPLETION: (0/5)"
Reading the new functions and quests, I nodded in satisfaction.
First of all, the Emperor's Storage was a huge help. In my previous body, when I lost my flesh, I also lost the gold coins and the parchment of Dead Rising that were kept in my pockets. Fortunately, I had already memorized the first part of the Dead Rising mana training before I died, and the system rewards were bound directly to my soul, otherwise I would have been completely penniless right now. With this dimensional inventory, I wouldn't have to worry about losing my belongings again.
Then, my eyes stopped on the fourth quest: Gain 100 subjects under your rule (10/100).
Seeing that number '10', my heart warmed up. Those ten subjects were obviously Yuki and the nine orphan children—Kevin, Eva, Dimitry, Ivans, Xiao Jake, Arya, Anya, Natasha, and Yumiko.
Even though I was thousands of kilometers away in an uncharted land, the system still counted them as my followers. That meant all ten of them were alive and safe! My desperate choice to run away and draw Reynolds and that golden-masked woman into the northern mountains had worked.
"Thank goodness... they survived," I breathed out a long sigh of relief, feeling a heavy stone lift from my chest.
Now that I knew they were safe, I could focus completely on getting stronger in this place. Looking at the first quest—breaking into the Grade 1 Martial Artist realm—I remembered what Yuki had told me back in Town 16.
To formally break the biological barrier of a mortal body and become a Grade 1 Martial Artist, a person needed two things: reaching the Pro stage in a martial technique, and consuming a high-energy martial potion or an alchemist's pill to force a trace of martial energy into the body.
My previous Basic Kick and Boxing Technique had mutated into the Grade 3 Four-Armed Asura Combat Technique, which reset its mastery stage back to Beginner (10/500). That meant I needed to practice hard to raise its proficiency back to Pro, and at the same time, I needed to find some strengthening potions or pills.
Thinking this, I looked around Morven's massive underground laboratory.
"Since Morven spent centuries building this body to walk the martial path, he must have prepared resources for its first breakthrough," I thought to myself.
To test my new system ability, I walked toward the rows of glass shelves and metal cabinets lined up against the eastern wall and activated Dominion Scan.
An invisible wave pulsed out from my mind, and small golden text boxes began appearing above the items on the shelves!
[rotten beast blood — expired 40 years ago, useless.] [empty spirit crystal — depleted of mana.] [dark iron scalpel — high-grade surgical tool.]
Most of the biological materials in the open shelves had already rotted away because Morven had been dead for quite some time, or maybe the outer-world corruption had drained their energy when his soul was taken.
Walking further down the lab, I reached a heavy black iron vault door at the corner of the room. Using my scan on the vault, a message popped up:
[Black Iron Preservation Vault — Sealed by a basic mana lock. Contains preserved alchemy pills and equipment.]
Seeing that it was locked by magic, I didn't bother trying to find a key. I stood in front of the thick iron door, took a deep breath, and pulled back all four of my muscular arms.
Running the basic movements of the Four-Armed Asura Combat Technique, all four of my fists slammed into the center of the iron vault door at the exact same moment!
BOOM! CRACK!
The heavy metal door caved inward with a deafening metallic screech. After three more consecutive four-armed punches, the lock shattered completely, and the heavy iron door fell inside with a loud crash.
Stepping over the broken door, I walked into the preservation vault. Inside, the air was cold and dry. There were no rotting smells here; instead, there were three stone pedestals.
On the first pedestal was a large black leather coat and a pair of flexible dark trousers. Scanning them, I found out they were made from the hide of a Grade 3 Shadow Python, specially tailored by Morven with four sleeves to fit this body!
Since I had been walking around completely naked ever since dropping down from those magical threads, I quickly put the clothes on. They fit my muscular frame like a second skin, feeling both light and tough enough to block normal blades.
On the second pedestal rested a small wooden box containing three blood-red pills the size of marbles.
I used Dominion Scan on them immediately.
[Grade 2 Blood-Forging Pill (x3): An ancient alchemical pill created by Dark Wizard Morven. Contains purified vitality of three Grade 2 martial beasts. Consuming one allows a mortal with a strong foundation to break directly into the Grade 1 Martial Artist realm without any side effects.]
"Pills!" My eyes lit up.
Grandma Rose had told me that normal martial artists in the cities only drank rubbish strengthening potions made by scientists, while only true elites and rich disciples could afford alchemical pills. And here, Morven had left behind three Grade 2 pills!
Finally, I walked over to the third pedestal. On it lay a thick, black metal ring and a folded map made of beast skin.
Scanning the map, I saw that it was a rough map of the surrounding area, which Morven called the Blackwood Forest—a small outer region of the Fallen Heartlands. And the black ring was actually an old-fashioned compass that pointed back to this underground laboratory so the wearer wouldn't get lost in the forest.
I stored the two extra pills and the map into my Emperor's Storage, keeping one Blood-Forging Pill in my upper right hand.
However, I didn't swallow the pill right away. According to the martial theory Yuki taught me, trying to break through with a pill while your martial technique is still at the Beginner stage is a huge waste of the pill's energy. To get the most perfect foundation, I needed to grind my Four-Armed Asura Combat Technique to the Pro stage first!
"Wait a little longer," I muttered, storing the last pill into my inventory as well.
Looking toward the long stone corridor that led up to the surface, my eyes narrowed with determination. In this underground lab, I only had empty space to punch the air. If I wanted to master a combat technique created for an Asura body as fast as possible, the best way was real combat.
And outside this lab was an entire uncharted forest filled with beasts.
Flexing all four of my hands, a sharp smile appeared on my face as I walked up the stone stairs toward the exit.
It was time to see what this Fallen Heartland looked like—and test the true power of Morven's masterpiece.