Advancement

Since the Shadow Servant could display these orbs of light in a way David could understand, he wondered if it could also display the abilities he currently possessed. After all, he was a high school senior, and at the very least, he had mastered subjects like literature, mathematics, and general studies.

"Shadow Servant, can you display my status in a data format like this?" David acted on his thought and asked the Shadow Servant.

The Shadow Servant's eyes flashed several times, and then David saw a set of data appear before his eyes. This technology was somewhat similar to the holographic imaging of the Interstellar Federation, yet through the Shadow Servant's eyes, he could see no data displayed in front of his physical body.

David was no scientist, and after a moment of thought, he couldn't grasp the principle behind this display method, so he focused his attention on the data before him.

Name: David Kerr
Strength: 2.5 (1)
Agility: 1.7 (1)
Physique: 2 (1)
Spirit: 2.8 (1)
Literature (Not Initiated), Mathematics (Not Initiated), History (Not Initiated), Body Technique (10% Initiated), Long Sword Mastery (5% Initiated)

David's strength was 2.5, while the reference standard for an average person's strength was 200 kilograms, which corresponded to a data value of 1. Every 1-point increase in strength represented double the previous strength.

David's body had not suffered much since childhood, especially regarding food beneficial to his physical development; he had never lacked a steady supply of strengthening meat.

This had resulted in him possessing strength three times that of an average person. A strength of 600 kilograms would have made him the undisputed world champion in his previous life.

One must know that the professional weightlifters of his past life could only lift a maximum of 250 kilograms, a huge gap from his 600 kilograms.

His agility was 1.7. If David's memory served him correctly, his most recent test result for the 100-meter dash was 9.2 seconds.

In his previous life, the Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt had run a 9.58-second race, which was the best result achieved after generations of human effort.

Yet in this life, he, an ordinary high school senior, had already surpassed the speed of the world's fastest sprinter from his past life.

Of course, both strength and agility required a robust physique as a foundation, so a physique twice that of an average person was only normal.

However, he found the concept of Spirit difficult to understand, even though his spirit, which exceeded that of an average person, was the strongest of his four basic attributes.

Spirit was invisible and intangible, but upon closer reflection, he realized that since waking from his sleep, the world he saw was clearer than before; this must be the result of his increased Spirit.

In fact, what David did not know was that the reason the Shadow Servant had not been able to reveal so many abilities before was primarily because his Spirit had been too weak.

David's predecessor had consumed most of the energy in his soul while performing the sacrifice, and the remaining faint soul, carrying his memories, was absorbed by the summoned Shadow Servant.

This summoned Shadow Servant was even more special. The process of sacrifice required an offering to a designated deity, but David's predecessor knew very little about the deities of God's Great World, and the trainer Jeremy, who provided him with the sacrificial manual, certainly wouldn't have told him these things. Thus, the deity of this sacrifice was an unknown entity.

The sacrificial method recorded in that book from God's Great World was not a simple way to increase one's strength; even in God's Great World, few would attempt such a sacrifice.

Every person who performed a sacrifice underwent long periods of special training, consumed large amounts of precious soul-strengthening potions, and possessed corresponding innate talents. Only with all these factors combined could one perform such a sacrificial activity within a temple.

And even then, the success rate was extremely low.

Yet David's predecessor, knowing nothing, had performed this high-risk sacrifice outside of God's Great World without the protection of a temple, without strong soul-related talent, without the corresponding resources, and without any training. The consequences were predictable.

It was precisely during the sacrifice, under the influence of unknown forces, that David's soul crossed over and fused perfectly with this body.

However, due to the impact of the crossing and the consumption from the sacrifice, David's soul power had been extremely weak.

This meant his Spirit did not even reach the level of an average person, let alone activate the Shadow Servant's special abilities.

After the explosion at the bookstore, the deaths of nearly a hundred people had produced nearly a hundred souls, some weak and some strong. Although the Shadow Servant had used a portion of the absorbed souls to strengthen itself, a great deal of converted soul power had been passed on to David.

It was precisely because of this sufficient soul support that David was able to quickly recover all his memories, and the Shadow Servant had activated its corresponding abilities, which were also linked to the strength of his Spirit.

When David saw the abilities he possessed listed below the data, his face flushed with shame—shame for his predecessor, and naturally, shame for himself, as he had inherited the predecessor's memories.

Looking at these results, the three main cultural subjects—Literature, Mathematics, and General Studies—were all marked as Not Initiated.

Even the Body Technique he had been somewhat proud of was only at 10% progress toward initiation, not to mention the 5% progress in Long Sword Mastery.

These results reflected his true current level: he was a poor student. To think he wanted to get into Na'an University was truly a pipe dream.

Of course, David was being a bit self-deprecating; the Initiated level was actually above the standard for an average person, and most students' grades, by the Shadow Servant's evaluation criteria, were at the Not Initiated level.

The fourteen red orbs of light absorbed by the Shadow Servant were obtained from the souls of nearly a hundred people, and even the most ordinary person would have their own strengths.

David ordered the Shadow Servant to send one red orb of light labeled Literature (19% Initiated) into his body. This was the only way he could imagine applying the red orbs.

Because he discovered that under his command, the orbs within the Shadow Servant could be moved.

He chose this red orb because the Literature orbs were the most numerous, and if this Literature (19% Initiated) orb experiment failed, it wouldn't be too great a loss.

But if it succeeded, the Na'an University that his predecessor had always wanted to attend would be within reach.

If he could get into Na'an University, then trainer Jeremy and any other potential enemies would no longer be able to threaten him.

One must know that Na'an City was not the Peilan City he was currently in, and Na'an University was not a place just anyone could enter, let alone do anything to him once he was inside.

As for the six months of safety he had left, as long as he was extra careful and didn't give trainer Jeremy any opportunities, he figured he could survive it.

Currently, the only thing he could do regarding the danger was to be on guard; he was completely unable to launch a counterattack.

Perhaps the possibility of a counterattack lay with the Shadow Servant. David looked at the Shadow Servant and made up his mind, and the Shadow Servant transferred the Literature (19% Initiated) red orb into his body.

The moment the Literature (19% Initiated) red orb entered his body, he saw the data panel in front of him change.

The previous Literature (Not Initiated) became Literature (19% Initiated), and at the same time, a wave of memories surfaced in his mind.

It was a process of learning in segments: some parts involved reading aloud, some involved whispering recitations, some involved silent comprehension, and some involved teachers providing explanations.

Within these memories, no image of the owner of the memories appeared, and even the faces of the few teachers who showed up were blurred.

I do not know how much time had passed, but David woke up from the recollection, his understanding of the subject of literature having deepened significantly; he remembered every sentence and every knowledge point from the memories he had just experienced.

He looked at his identity bracelet and saw that only a minute had passed, even though it felt to him as if he had gone through hundreds of days of learning.

The knowledge granted to him by this red orb of light was as if it had been carved into his mind, leaving a much deeper impression than knowledge he had acquired through his own study.

Knowledge acquired through his own study would slowly fade with the passage of time, but the knowledge obtained through the red orb of light would never disappear.