A System That Beats Death

Once a hint of sunlight peeked from across the horizon, Nanling began to stir. Stretching her slightly sore limbs caused her to let out a satisfied m.o.a.n. She then felt an overwhelming urge to return to the softness which threatened to entice her to an endless rest. Then she realized what was different. Having slept on sand but awoken to being in an exotic blanket setup, she felt slightly unsettled. Looking up, she saw a unique smooth material instead of the scorching desert sun which probably would've rendered her awake immediately. Looking closer, it was a foreign textile that did not have the fragility of fabric while being more elastic and durable than what she knew. One would expect that this contraption would be damned by the heat of the desert sun but somehow the temperature inside remained the equivalent of a continuous spring breeze. She then finally noticed Guren who was seemed to be emitting snowflakes and sitting in the corner.

Despite understanding that she was a stunning beauty herself with jade like skin, vibrant eyes, and a nubile physique, she was unconcerned as she did not suspect Guren to commit any foul play. It was not due to her perceiving him as the same gender as that could still be problematic but due to his una.d.u.l.terated reaction when seeing her n.a.k.e.d. A gaze that only contained confusion and zero reaction from the body, not even a slight and instinctive twitch on the lower half. If she did not suspect that he was a female, she would have asked if he was as.e.x.u.a.l or an eunuch.

Currently, Guren was reading a book with a serene expression. The only thing that broke the ambience was the pace at which Guren read. Every second, he flipped the page silently and gracefully but in a rapid and focused fashion. He looked like he was skimming through the novel rather than reading it.

Letting out a yawn, she then muttered in a drowsy tone, "The novel was too boring for you?"

When Guren flipped to the last page of the novel, he put the book down next to a stack of a hundred other novels and finally said, "No, I just finished it"

"What do you think?"

"This one was of better quality compared to the rest"

"Compared to the rest?"

"5 were carbon copies with pathetic variations, 4 were detective novels with only 1 having a decent intrigue plot, 5 were straight up smut to get off to, 3 had abusive relationsh.i.p.s which made the entire story ridiculous, and 3 were somewhat interesting fictional biographies", Guren stated.

"You r-read all of them?", Nanling stammered as she forgot to remove the e.r.o.t.i.c novels and just assumed that she still had enough time to hide them the day afterwards.

Guren nodded before saying, "I read faster than usual due to the lacking quality. An interesting point is that femdom is more prevalent than harem orgies. Are emperors in this world that submissive?"

"I don't believe you. Who can read 20 novels that fast even if they drop them due to bad quality? You don't even have dark circles under your eyes", Nanling countered in disbelief.

"Oh?", Guren then felt his face and realized that he had forgotten to put his mask back on due to being so focused on reading. He had only intended on reading 2 novels but the System had informed him of a potential breakthrough.

[Cognition B Upgraded to Cognition B+(Effort)]

[Language B+ Upgraded to Language A(Effort)]

After engaging himself in a task that required only the capacity of the mind, he experienced an increase in cognitive ability. Before, his memory could be considered excellent. He was able to memorize everything necessary through the assistance of the method of loci and bordered on eidetic. After the advancement to Cognition B+, his memory was beyond eidetic to the point where he could confidently state that he was able to remember the minutest detail and time even seemed to slightly slow when he wanted to strategize. He even had the ability to partially split his mind into two separate consciousnesses.

As for changes caused by the advancement to Language A, he now could barely understand the speech of animals and no longer needed to study every language of every new world he transmigrated to. He barely needed to in the first place as he was proficient in many encryption methods and over a dozen languages back in his original world.

Every time Vitality is upgraded, the amount of sleep he needed lessened and to be fully rested, he would now only require 4 hours. As for all-nighters, he could attempt 3 entire days before his mental health started deteriorating.

Realizing she had seen his face, she then leaned in closer for a better view. Those eyes seemed familiar. No, it couldn't be, she thought. After all, someone like Guren couldn't crack a joke if his life depended on it.

Her heart then seemed to hurt. She had left him while angered but slightly regretted it. Then when reminded of that woman, her eyes narrowed.

Sensing her change, Atlas tilted his head slightly. No, he definitely couldn't be him, she thought and calmed down.

In a self-deprecating tone, she then said, "How would you handle a forlorn love?"

Atlas immediately raised his eyebrows to signify confusion on this development

He then said, "If you're lacking affection, it would be wise to stop reading romance novels. They only make it worse" as he was then reminded of a hopeless romantic's rant on how badly he wished for a contractual relationship that flourished into true love but all 15 attempts remained contractual with the female always choosing financial stability over him. They clearly did not understand how wealthy the hopeless romantic truly was though.

"Would you choose success over love?"

"Define success"

"Power", Nanling stated after a while.

"I would definitely choose power over love", Atlas declared without hesitation.

The System then scoffed. Did it need to send the Host a screenshot of how doting he was towards his soulmate? If it was not a part of host's soul then it would have become chronically depressed from all the affection shown between the two.

Nanling then let out a helpless smile and said, "I guess men can't help wanting a harem"

Guren then scowled and said, "I don't prioritize power for more p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es in disguise. True love is just not guaranteed and with power, I can deter unnecessary suffering"

He then remembered a vague departure and said, "I am still lacking"

Nanling stared at him in disbelief. Even if she had not witnessed his true combat prowess, she could tell that he was formidable. To need to be stronger than a Sword Saint, what enemies had he faced?

Before she could ask, a swift projectile appeared right before her. Guren immediately caught the throwing knife. He then dropped it as it was coated with an odd substance.

"What an interesting poison", he muttered before turning to the source.

"Master, I will be strong for you so please come home"