......
"How is this possible...?"
Azmodeus didn't even know how to quantify his confusion over what was happening...
He was cleaning up the Sect grounds when he was attacked by his elder sect brother, 'Yang Cheng'. He died. He came back to life.
Time was somehow rewound by two years. Some new existence calling itself the 'Infinite Evolution System' invaded his mind and spouted all this ludicrous knowledge.
And now his strength soared due to what he assumed to be the system's doing!
"..." Azmodeus analyzed all the facts presented to him while sitting on a rock near a stream.
And after a few minutes of brooding over the subject, he realized what was going on.
"I'm going absolutely f*cking insane!" He mumbled while looking up at the clear blue sky with an expression that said he knew it all.
~Whoosh~
He felt the cool spring wind blow his long black hair in the air, as he felt like a Buddha who was about to ascend after understanding the truth.
However, after a few minutes of not feeling his ascension come, he was ultimately forced to understand that there was no impending ascension.
And it was also through that realization that he understood that he wasn't going crazy either...
"So this is really happening...? Is my life actually turning into a Slice of Life...?" He asked himself with a disbelieving tone.
His voice was apprehensive and slightly cautious, but when he realized just what this could mean for his future, he practically jumped up in glee.
"This is what I have been searching for! A way to gain more strength! A way to power! Who cares what sort of motives the being who did this has in store for me?? If they really wanted to kill me, then I'm sure it would be easier than snapping one's fingers!"
At this exclamation, Azmodeus got up off the boulder, heading toward a nearby turtle he saw crawling near the stream.
"There's no point in dawdling around when a way to acquire more strength was given to me on a golden platter."
Although he wasn't the smartest boy around, he at least knew when to be grateful and when to make use of an opportunity presented to him.
In his opinion, it was better than spending extended periods of time denying something that was undeniably happening to him!
And he further strengthened his resolve to test the theory that this was actually happening by playing around with a few key words, all in an attempt to get those screens to appear again.
Of course, the keywords did absolutely nothing to aid him in his objective, but they helped him ask a question that would.
What did that robotic female voice call itself again...?
He tried to recall what that voice called itself, as he ultimately remembered it before his black eyes brightened and he muttered, "Open System... Please..."
He had no clue if this would actually work or not, but there was no harm in trying.
And luckily for him, a bright blue and golden light flashed in front of him.
BLING!
—------------
{[Infinite Evolution System]}
[Host: Azmodeus]
[Race: Human]
[Lifespan: 12/62]
[Cultivation: Early Stages of the Flesh Refining Realm.]
[Level: 1]
[Evolution Essence needed for the next level: 0.01]
[Overall Combat Power: Early Stages of the Flesh Refining Realm]
{[Stats:]}
[Strength: 0.1]
[Speed: 0.1]
[Defense: 0.1]
[Qi: 0.1]
[Cultivation Talent: 0.1]
[Spiritual Roots: Crystallized Embryo] (Rank: ???)
{[Assimilated Evolution Traits/Qualities]}
[Inherited Traits and Active Species Alterations: None]
—------------
"So this is my 'system interface'?" Azmodeus asked himself with a small grin on his face.
Even though he didn't understand a single that was being shown to him, when he saw the 'strength stat', he understood that this was a way to gain more power!
And that was all he needed to know to become more pumped up than ever as he walked toward a turtle that was sitting by a tranquil stream of water.
The entire place that he lived in was surrounded by nothing but lush green forestry and a few small hills, so he didn't have to worry about there being other beings that could be spying on him.
After all, no one would be willing to come out to where the lowest of the lowest-ranked new sect disciples lived...
Even so, he took hurried steps toward the harmless turtle as he was ready to test out this system for himself!
"What did it say again? I need to kill something and choose if I want to absorb these 'stat' or 'ability' things?"
Azmodeus was positive that this was what the system told him as he walked over to the turtle with a sharp stone in hand.
"Sorry little guy, but you will have to be the first stepping stone in my path to power," he apologized to the turtle before hurtling the stone in the direction of its head.
*Spurt!*
The rock quickly made contact with the soft tissue of the turtle's head as brain guts splattered the nearby creak stones a deep crimson red.
Azmodeus looked at this sight with a remorseful expression before his gaze hardened as he clenched his fists and said, "This is what I must do for power."
It wasn't the first time he had taken a life and it sure as hell wouldn't be his last, so he steeled his resolve and awaited that robotic lady to speak again.
And he didn't have to wait long as a robotic female voice rang out inside his head, followed by a few system notifications materializing in front of him.
BLING!
[Ding!]
[You have killed a Mortal Level turtle.]
[You have obtained 0.01 Evolution Essence.]
[Ding!]
[You have leveled up!]
[Ding!]
[You have reached Level 2!]
[All of your stats have been increased by 0.1 for leveling up! (Only applicable past Level 1)(Stat increase per level varies based on power bracket of the host.)]
[Ding!]
[Would you like to absorb part of the stats possessed by the turtle or would you like to roll for one of its innate abilities?]
.......