Chapter Twenty-Three
DING! Congratulations, Host. You have successfully leveled up. The system notification flashed before Li Yu’s eyes. Seeing the ssage he had been waiting for... the secondary reason why he had decided to enter this battle in the first place despite knowing just how dangerous it was going to be... filled him with satisfaction.
But quickly following that feeling was a severe white-hot pain that exploded through every nerve in his body. His entire body went limp. Li Yu collapsed backward into the spring behind him.
His eyes slowly began to close as the agonizing pain started fading away. In its place ca numbness. He felt nothing. Not his fingers. Not his hands. Not his face. Nothing at all. Then the haziness returned.
This ti it was even stronger than before. He was slipping into that comforting darkness once again. Drifting deeper and deeper into that peaceful embrace. But before he could fully disappear into it, the system’s voice suddenly echoed inside your mind.
Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have leveled up to Level 1. You have obtained a Restoration Pill. Would Host like to use the pill? Yes / No.
Li Yu was in no state to see the ssage. Nor was he capable of making a choice. But the system made the choice for him. Overriding part of its own functions in order to save his life.
Ding! Yes selected. Host’s physical body will now be restored to full health. Restoring... Restoring... Restoration Complete.
Li Yu’s fading consciousness, which had nearly vanished monts ago, suddenly snapped back into full clarity. His eyes shot open. He imdiately sat upright and slowly looked around.
The corpse of the Saber Panther was still floating nearby within the spring. Then Li Yu blinked. His gaze shifted toward his own hands. There were no tears. No grueso wounds. No injuries. Nothing.
If anything, his hands looked as though they had never entered a battle at all. They were smooth and pristine. Not a single mark could be seen upon them. Even the scars he had accumulated from previous battles had disappeared.
It was as though they had been completely erased. The sight was utterly unbelievable. "What is this?" Li Yu muttered with a shocked expression. His eyes traveled across the rest of his body.
Everything looked pristine. Pure. Clean. His body looked more like that of a scholar than soone who had been tempered within a death zone. Li Yu would have almost believed that he had died and sohow transmigrated once again if not for the corpse of the Saber Panther floating nearby.
And if not for the reflection staring back at him from the surface of the spring. So yes. It was still him. Li Yu. But what exactly had happened? Wait. Why stress himself trying to figure it out when he could simply ask the System?
"Hey, Sys." "Tell what just happened. I could swear I was about to die back then."
The system responded with its usual monotone voice. Yet this ti, sothing sounded different. It sounded tired.
Oppressed. Almost like a human who had been forced to work nonstop for an entire day. Host, leveling up saved you. The system replied. Then it continued.
After leveling up, Host is granted a Restoration Pill that restores Host directly to peak condition, removing any marks or injuries Host may have suffered while retaining Host’s accumulated prowess. The system paused briefly.
No. Not rely retaining it. At every level-up, Host’s prowess is enhanced slighy. Despite how clear the explanation sounded, Li Yu imdiately noticed that sothing was wrong. The System sounded strained. Almost as though it was injured.
"Hey, Sys." "What’s wrong with you?" Li Yu asked. His tone carried genuine concern. The System remained silent for several long seconds. Then it finally spoke. Nothing to be worried about. I rely went beyond my own programming.
In such situations, I am punished. Li Yu frowned. Programming? Punished? He didn’t fully understand what the System ant. Then suddenly—It clicked. The System had previously told him that it didn’t possess the authority to make decisions for the Host.
Only the Host himself could issue commands. Yet Li Yu didn’t rember being asked whether he wanted to use the Restoration Pill. Which ant the System had likely broken one of the many rules binding it in order to save him.
Li Yu’s expression slowly froze. Another mory surfaced within his mind. It was that mont earlier. The mont when he had wanted to surrender. To close his eyes. To rest forever within that comforting embrace.
Back then, it was the System that had spoken. The System that had convinced him to kill the Saber Panther himself. The System had deliberately used his hatred and spite to pull him back from the edge. And now Li Yu finally understood why.
The System knew. It knew that if he personally delivered the killing blow, he would gain enough experience to level up. And once he leveled up, he would receive the Restoration Pill.
In other words... The System had been pulling the strings from the very beginning in order to save his life. After reaching that conclusion, Li Yu’s face beca filled with a strange expression. Because truthfully... Before this mont, and even a few minutes ago, he had never fully decided whether he could trust the System.
After all, the origins of the System... and the people who had created it... were far from trustworthy. Yet now... For the first ti since obtaining it... That uncertainty was beginning to crack.
But seeing how far the System had gone to save him from death made Li Yu feel a warm sensation rise within his chest. In all his life... his previous life, that is... he had always felt alone.
For the first ti, it felt as though he wasn’t. For once, he had soone willing to step forward and have his back no matter what. It ant a lot to him. It really did. Host... are you crying? The System sounded baffled as a single tear slipped from the corner of Li Yu’s eye.
Li Yu smiled and wiped the tear away with his right hand. "Thanks, Sys." "Thanks a lot for saving ." "For caring." "It really ans a lot to ." Li Yu spoke with a sowhat pained smile.
Growing up alone and neglected by others, he had never truly experienced this feeling before. The feeling of being cared for. The feeling of having soone looking out for him.
Host is having a misconception. The System quickly responded. I only saved you because my existence depends on you. If you die, I die as well. So of course I would try my best to save you.
The System spoke rapidly, almost like a child caught red-handed doing sothing embarrassing. Li Yu’s smile only widened. Then he shook his head. "Whatever, Sys."
"I’m just happy you used the Restoration Pill and not the Holy Cleansing Elixir." "Or else I might be trying to delete you right now instead of praising you."
The System imdiately fell silent. Then it spoke again, its voice rising slightly. Host, are you serious right now? Li Yu chuckled upon hearing the System’s stupefied tone.
"What are you thinking, Sys?" "Of course I’m kidding." "You wouldn’t seriously think I’d curse you for eternity and spend the rest of my life trying to delete you if you sacrificed the Holy Cleansing Elixir that I have all my plans set on, right?"
"No, no, no." "It was just playful banter." Li Yu said with a smile as he leaned back into the stream. The System didn’t respond. It was still suffering under the burden of the punishnt inflicted upon it for breaking its own laws.
At the mont, it didn’t have the energy to dissect Li Yu’s words. Though the part about cursing it for eternity felt suspiciously genuine. Based on Li Yu’s tone, that part sounded far less like a joke and far more like a threat. Crazy bastard. The System silently cursed within its mind.
Li Yu, however, was genuinely happy. Happy that he had survived. Even happier that the System had finally beco sothing he could trust completely. But the thing that made him happiest of all was the fact that the two drops of Holy Cleansing Elixir remained untouched.
That treasure was precious as hell to him. After a few monts of resting and recovering the parts of himself that the Restoration Pill couldn’t restore.. such as his pettiness and various questionable personality traits... Li Yu shifted his attention toward the system notifications.
One of them still displayed: You Have Leveled Up. After all these weeks, he had finally leveled up. A grin stretched from ear to ear across his face. Then his gaze moved toward the next notification.
Ding! New Features Have Been Enabled. Storage Has Been Enabled. System Storage: A vast space where all sorts of items may be stored. All stored objects are preserved in a state of perpetual stillness exactly as they were when placed inside. Based on the description alone,
Li Yu instantly understood just how useful this feature was going to be. With this, he could store freshly roasted at and retrieve it days, months, or even years later. And it would still be as hot and delicious as the mont he placed it inside.
The System’s voice rang out. Host... really? The System sounded sowhat exasperated. You have been granted such an incredible feature, and the first thing that cos to your mind is using it to store food? Really? Li Yu blinked.
Then he slowly turned his head as though he were directly facing the System. "You have no idea." "Imagine going on a journey that lasts hundreds of days and having no access to food wherever you’re headed."
"This storage space would be invaluable." "I’d be able to store enough supplies to survive." "And that’s not even all." Li Yu beca increasingly excited. "Think about how useful this would be for large groups."
"Think about expeditions." "Think about rchants." "Think about transporting resources." "This thing is amazing." Li Yu continued rambling endlessly about the brilliance of his idea.
The System remained highly skeptical. The truth was that Li Yu’s heart had always ached whenever he watched the corpses of powerful beasts rot away. After all, he couldn’t possibly roast and eat every beast he killed.
But now? Now he could roast all of them. Store all of them. And eat them whenever he wanted. Fresh. Hot. Delicious. It was absolutely perfect. After listening to Li Yu go on and on about food preservation for several minutes, the System finally gave up trying to correct him.
But Host still understands how useful this feature will be for increasing your overall strength, right? Li Yu nodded. That part was certainly true. The storage space would be incredibly useful. Artifacts. Cultivation techniques. Treasures. Rare materials. Weapons.
There were countless things he could store. Li Yu even briefly daydread about going on a massive stealing spree just to fill every inch of his storage space. But before that dangerous train of thought could continue, another notification appeared.
Ding! You Have Received One Free Spin On The Primordial Destiny Wheel. Li Yu froze. His mouth nearly fell open. That wheel? He was getting another spin?
"Wait." "Wait, wait, wait." "I thought it would take forever before I could use that thing again." Li Yu was genuinely shocked. For sothing that felt so cosmic... For sothing that contained beings and treasures far beyond the cosmic level...
He definitely hadn’t expected spin tickets to be this easy to obtain. Not even close. Yet here he was. Receiving another free spin. "Hey, System." "Is this real?"
"Am I really getting another chance to draw sothing from that wheel?" Li Yu asked uncertainly as he stared at the notification floating before his eyes. Even now, part of him found it difficult to believe.
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