After the old man’s hologram disappeared, the knowledge of the Freedom Technique’s first chapter soaked into his mind. A feeling of euphoria washed over him as his mind opened and a vision of a vast open sky appeared before his eyes. An unfamiliar energy flowed all around his body as though it had always been there. Imaginary shackles shattered as he soared among the clouds, free from worries or pain.

Sadly, the vivid image quickly dissolved, causing him to sink back into his dark and lonely bathroom. Even so, that brief moment of absolute freedom gave him insight into what it meant to pursue freedom with this technique. The experience itself was almost magical.

Since the old man was gone, Sigmarus returned to the main room and sat down cross-legged on the hard floor. All of the excitement from the last few minutes replaced his previous exhaustion with curiosity. Full of impatience, he opened all of his screens and admired them.

Personal Info

Name: Sigmarus Grayson

Race: Human (Earth)

Spirit Root: Attributeless Freeform

Approximate Cultivation Grade: Mortal

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Attributes

Level: 1 Exp: 0/100

Strength: 5 Endurance: 7 Dexterity: 3 Agility: 3

Intelligence: 4 Wisdom: 8 Perception: 1

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Stat Points: 0

Ability Points: 0

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Equipment

Ragged Boxers, Worn-out socks

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Skills

Universe Apparatus Lv.1, Freedom Technique Lv.0

Focusing on his stats, Sigmarus compared himself to others he knew and came to the conclusion that a ‘5’ in any stat would probably be average for most humans. Equipment… that one didn’t matter right now. As for skills, he messed around until figuring out he could press on them to see descriptions and upgrade requirements.

Universe Apparatus (Lv. 1)

{An artifact created by a powerful being based on the games he enjoyed while visiting a mortal plane. Function and Assistance can improve as level increases.}

{Upgrade Requirements: 1,000 Ability Points}

Freedom Technique (Lv. 0)

{A cultivation technique for seeking Absolute Freedom. To fly unhindered from shackles. To live unrestrained by vices. To run freely beyond barriers. To become truly free.}

{Every level of the technique improves all stats by 1, Dexterity and Agility by an extra 3, and perception by 9. New skills of the Freedom Martial Arts can be obtained as level increases.}

{Upgrade Requirements: 9 Ability Points or equivalent training.}

“Wow. Quite the description.”

Indeed, the description for the Freedom Technique sounded thrilling enough to quicken his heartbeat. Just knowing its purpose was thrilling. He couldn’t wait to find somewhere to test out the effects of the new tattoo. But first…

Let’s test out this Freedom Technique before going to sleep.

Based on the knowledge of the technique which had entered his mind when the book had dissolved into particles and entered his forehead thanks to the apparatus, he closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. Gradually, he handed off all of his bodily functions to the subconscious and automatic process. Letting go of his physical body to focus on the first awakening of his dormant soul probably would have taken years to learn if not for the apparatus aiding his comprehension of the process. As he focused inward, his senses cut off from the world, and the first sentences from the technique flashed through his mind.

[For one to be free, one must seek to shatter rules, yet retain morality. Rules are not a creation of the heavens; only a machination of man. Realizing one’s shackles is the first step to breaking them.]

Upon recalling them, he felt something click in his brain. Then, something lurched and slowly began to flow. Thanks to his new understanding, he realized it was the so-called Origin Energy. The amount was only a tiny fraction compared to what he experienced in his previous vision. Even so, it was enough to form his own meridians and spiritual pathways which would form the nerve-like system used to cultivate Origin Energy. Without the knowledge from the technique, this would have been impossible. He felt thankful.

Before long, a system of new spiritual pathways branched throughout his body all the way from his forehead to his toes. A tiny amount of Origin Energy slowly flowed through these veins. Compared to the ocean of energy from his vision, the leftovers after establishing his own meridians could only be compared to the condensation dripping from a cold glass of water. One day, the energy would definitely flow as freely as a rushing river, but this tiny amount lifted his spirits. A feeling of purpose and joy filled him as though he had finally become a whole person.

Now that his meridians had been established, he utilized the sliver of perception available to him to uncover strands of Origin energy floating in the atmosphere. Unfortunately, the amount available was miniscule, causing him to question how long it would take to reach the first stage of the Freedom Technique. For now, though, he cast aside his worries and focused on becoming the open vessel for this energy.

As the technique described, he opened his soul to the world around himself. His low perception meant he could only sense energy a centimeter away from his body, but it was enough. Any strand of energy that flowed near enough to him turned off its natural path and streamed into his body as though it had a mind of its own and was happy to find a home within his soul.

This process lasted for nine hours. At that point, the Origin Energy he had collected surged and erupted with newfound power, strengthening his body and senses. Sigmarus’ eyes shot open. He blinked a few times. The feeling of energy squirming through his body caused him to shiver with excitement.

[Freedom Technique Lv.0 --> Lv.1]

[Learned Freedom Palm.]

Whether due to the apparatus or the Freedom Technique itself, knowledge of a simple combat technique entered his mind. Raising his right hand in front of his body, he clenched it multiple times, inspecting it with both his eyes and newfound perception. A strength he never would have imagined coursed through his hand at his will. According to his newfound knowledge, the skill imbued energy into a palm strike. Just the image of the skill in his mind made him want to see both the skill description and the visual representation of the change in his stats. Instantly, his status opened. He grinned.

Attributes

Level: 1

Strength: 6 Endurance: 8 Dexterity: 7 Agility: 7

Intelligence: 5 Wisdom: 9 Perception: 11

Freedom Palm (Lv.1)

{The basic palm strike of the Freedom Martial Arts. By imbuing Origin Energy into the palm, it increases the internal damage to the opponent. Damage and flexibility of the skill increase along with skill level or equivalent practice.}

{Damage = Strength + Wisdom +- External Modifiers}

{Upgrade Requirements: 5 Ability Points or Equivalent Training}

The ability to both see and feel the difference in his stats sped his heartbeat once again. He couldn’t wait to see what he could accomplish with these increased stats. Unfortunately, he couldn’t think of a good place to test these increased stats or the new skill aside from a dubious gym on Red Street. He had visited the place once back during his first year as a muskrat, but immediately gave up on becoming a member upon realizing it was operated by one of the gangs in the area. If he hadn’t already become a foundation melder at the time, then he probably wouldn’t have been able to leave the place safely. After all, nobody wanted a building to collapse on top of them due to beating up all the foundation melders. He had been lucky.

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Sigmarus contemplated his options. Compared to the equipment available in the upper sectors, the gym’s equipment was trash. All of it was outdated. Still, when he had visited, he could tell they maintained everything well. They would need to do so in order to hold their control over Red Street, after all. Other than that, he could only do basic exercises at home, but that would greatly reduce his efficiency.

Guess I’ll do some basic exercises here to find out if it can increase my stats. If it works, I’ll risk going to the gym.

Sighing, he stood slowly due to soreness from sitting on a hard floor for too long and looked at the clock, only to become stupefied when he saw that it was almost noon. He finally realized nine hours had passed during his meditative state.

“Damn… nine hours and only reached level one? That means… one ability point’s worth each hour? This is definitely the slowest method to level it up. It’s a good thing I don’t have to work today, or I might have run late.”

He was astonished enough that he actually spoke to himself instead of thinking the words like normal. A moment later, though, he realized that he wasn’t tired at all. It made him wonder if the meditative state of his training could replace sleeping or not. Like everything else, he would need to test it.

Since he didn’t feel tired, he immediately began a short workout of exercises which could be completed without equipment. He was elated to find out that he could complete more of each exercise than anticipated. Before long, dark-gray sweat droplets started perspiring from his pores, which made his brows furrow. According to his knowledge from the Freedom Technique, his body would start expelling impurities after reaching the lowest threshold of spiritual cultivation, Iron Rank, and that level could only be achieved after completing five steps of body reformation referred to in the technique as Yellow, Black, Earth, Heaven, and Great Heaven fighter stages. Perhaps his body was so polluted by his environment that the process needed to start early? Although saddening, he believed his conclusion to be true.

There was a reason wealthy people wanted to live as far from the ground as possible. Numerous disasters occurred during the previous century which polluted most of Earth’s surface beyond reason. As someone who initially lived in the cleaner Middle Sectors, his expected lifespan was probably a little higher, but most muskrats would be lucky to reach the age of fifty. Supervisor Bob was one of the oldest muskrats he had met, and he was only thirty-nine.

While lamenting his current living conditions, Sigmarus pushed himself to finish multiple sets of every exercise he could think of. Before he knew it, more than an hour passed by. Lead-colored sweat covered every inch of his body, carrying with it the stench of a rotting carcass. He had forced himself through the exercises despite the horrid smell of his polluted sweat but couldn’t take it anymore. His nose crinkled while he stripped and stumbled toward the shower.

Halfway through his shower, his eyebrows rose upon feeling the long forgotten itch caused by his muscles repairing themselves after working out, but wasn’t it too soon for that process? Ten minutes hadn’t even passed, yet he could feel the process speeding up to the point that he couldn’t help twitching due his squirming muscles. A minute later, the ticklish squirming of his healing muscles calmed down and a screen materialized in his view.

[You have completed a rudimentary exercise regimen.]

[Strength +1, Endurance +1]