Immortal Freeloader 6 (Patreon)

When the dawn arrived, I was still reading the book. I had understood every word easily despite the unfamiliar, complicated style of writing that put Chinese and Japanese to shame — based on my very limited understanding — but that didn’t make understanding the fighting technique described any easier. 

“In the dance of combat, a graceful figure forms. Tiger ascends, a beacon descends,” I read, trying to understand exactly how that linked to the weird drawing of a punch. “Who the hell describes fighting technique with poems?” 

Trying to understand the book by reading wasn’t going well, but at least reading it gave me a basic understanding of how the world worked. Apparently, there were two general ways. Cultivation, and Martial Arts. 

There was little information about Cultivation in the book. The only thing I really understood was cultivation required something called Qi, and it was significantly superior to Martial Arts. 

Meanwhile, Martial Arts was separated to five stages according to the book. Initiate, Muscle Reinforcement, Skin Refinement, Bone Forging, and lastly, Connate; with each stage having multiple steps. Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Peak.  

They probably had some equivalent cultivation stages because the System treated stronger martial arts as cultivation difference as well, but it was not something that was described at the book. 

The book in my hand was damaged, and described only the Initiate Stage completely, and Muscle Reinforcement partially. The introduction section implied that it could be practiced until the Bone Forging Stage, but skin refinement and bone forging techniques were missing. 

However, the description of the Initiate state was interesting. Based on how the book described the effect, I managed to reach to the peak of the Initiate stage just by practicing some boxing; an achievement that was supposed to require months of work and some special resources. 

The pill I received from the System about Martial Aptitude must be truly miraculous.  

Still, it explained why I was getting that hungry, as improving as a Martial Artist consumed the essence of the body, and needed to be replaced. It was like exercise burning calories, but only more magical. 

I wanted to check the book I had received from the System, hoping that it was easy to understand, but before that, I went back to the depths of the forest. Only after passing a large meadow that would have revealed the presence of an observer, I took the book out of the System. 

To my slight disappointment, the existing parts are exactly the same rather than being a superior version that could be understood easily. At the same time, I wasn’t in a position to complain too much, because unlike the other book that only went partway into muscle refinement, it explained every stage until the bone forging. 

I immediately ripped the cover of the both books and put the new contents to the old one, and used some dirt to make the pages older. Then, I stuffed the old pages into the ripped fabric I had been using as a bag along with the ripped cover. 

Maybe they would come useful. 

Then, I started practicing the Tiger Fist from the beginning. The first initiate described a basic punch, but it was accompanied by a long and flowery poem I had trouble understanding. Yet, I mastered the first Initiate exercise easily … then the second, the third, the sixth. 

As I practiced the sixth exercise, something clicked, and I realized that the poem was describing how to gain the awareness of my essence, and use it for something more than just the passive improvement I had been enjoying as an Initiate. 

I felt warmth being pulled from all over my body, a warmth that felt like the whisper of a roar, and gather in the middle of my chest. Just like that, I stepped into the muscle reinforcement stage, and I could use that energy to channel into my punches, not just to leave indentations on trees, but to break them. 

It would have been glorious … if I hadn’t suddenly started to sweat a black, oily substance. Impurities, the technique described, but they definitely undersold the amount that would be generated. 

I went to a nearby spring — glad that the location had an abundance of water sources — to wash, ignoring my hunger. As I broke through, the hunger returned with a vengeance. I felt like I could eat a dozen of those huge boar legs. 

The moment I got rid of that disgusting smell, I pulled the skewer from the System, and devoured in a few bites, curious just how big was the difference between Mortal-Low and Mortal-High grades. 

It turned out to be a lot. Despite feeling far hungrier, one skewer was not only enough to sate my hunger completely, but also digested faster without leaving me hungry. An interesting combination.  

I settled in the water for a moment, feeling the energy in the center of my chest grow. It was hard to measure the size, but the growth was substantial. 

“Note to self, the jump between grades is no joke,” I said as I settled near the spring, and started practicing the first punch of the Muscle Reinforcement stage. It was called Tiger’s Ascent. At first, it was similar to the nameless first punch of the Initiate realm. Some kind of straight jab, but it was accompanied by a different poem. I repeated it about fifty times, punching a tree, each hit adding another deep mark…

Once again, the understanding clicked, and some of the energy that was gathered in my chest flowed to the punch while my essence felt like the roar of a tiger, disappearing forever as my muscles devoured it.  

The tree cracked. 

I had no doubt that, if I was facing a normal human, not only they would have died, but their head would shatter like they were hit by a sniper rifle. 

“Damn, it’s no joke,” I said as I calmed down and took a deep breath. The punch was fascinating, but it depleted almost one fourth of the essence I had. 

I stopped practicing the Tiger’s Ascent, afraid of ending up hungry once more. The book had several warnings about depleting the Essence, and I didn’t want to risk it. 

Instead, I practiced the first and second punches of the initiate realm several times, making sure they didn’t drain my essence. 

They did not. More importantly, after I reached Muscle Reinforcement, I could even control their passive drain, making them turn into ordinary punches as well. I could disguise myself as a Beginner to Peak Initiate stage easily. 

The book had some exercises for that exact purpose, but the impression I got was they were supposed to be difficult to practice, requiring weeks and months and not just minutes. 

Underlining the value of the Martial Aptitude pill from the System once more. 

Still, as I thought about my next steps, a saying from the language of jade drifted into my mind. “Poor studies while rich practices martial arts,” I said. It made sense, considering each punch consumed more food than it would keep an ordinary family fed for a month. 

I needed money and resources. 

Which, technically, I could gather by hunting. With my new strength, I should be able to find a job that paid well. One of the caravan guards was at most at the Peak Initiate stage — since he didn’t trigger the cultivation difference return — but he was able to find work. 

But that meant working hard. Before my injury, I would have chosen that path, but back then, I was young and prideful. 

Or, in other words, stupid. 

Why should I work days and weeks doing hard labor, when I had a shortcut? My so-called punishment. I had no idea what that divine being had in mind while giving me that, but I had every intention of abusing it. 

As for the warning about great evil that came along with the System … well, that was a problem for the future, once I was strong enough to intervene safely… I didn’t abandon the people I cared about, but I was not a mindless crusader. 

I considered returning to the mysterious stall owner that gave me the book and display my skills, but if the martial arts were as important as I was starting to realize, all it would do would be to destroy the pity she was feeling for me. 

She might even offer me a job, which wasn’t likely to trigger the System. I was yet to test that … but considering it was called Freeloader System, I wasn’t holding my breath. 

Not to mention, there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t have worse intentions. She helped and pitied me, but it was when she saw me, a pitiful and soft young man down on his luck. There was no guarantee she would feel the same once she realized how good I was learning Martial Arts. 

I didn’t even know whether she could detect my breakthrough. 

No, ditching the town was the smart idea. I didn’t ask anyone about the location of the nearest town, but I could just follow the road and question the other travelers. At the same time, I changed into the same wounded, poor village outfit and fashioned another walking stick. 

The day was long…