"Good night," they bid themselves as they entered their rooms, which were just beside each other.
As he entered the room, he could not help but widen his eyes.
The room was a massive one with enough space for him to even bring in a car or two.
It was painted brown. The paint released a soft glow that illuminated the room in a calm, warm light.
Although there were other lights in the room, possibly for better vision, the one from the paint seemed to carry an ethereal glow.
At the end, connected to the wall was a king-sized bed. To its right side, it was a massive wardrobe. And beside the wardrobe was a fairly large work desk.
To the left was a single door that led to the bathroom.
The wall the bed rested on was a glass that granted a perfect view of everything going on outside.
The first thing he checked was the wardrobe.
On their way to their rooms, the maid told them about the various things they had placed into their separate rooms, from clothes to toiletries to perfumes to cosmetics and jewelry.
Everything they needed for a normal life was placed into their rooms.
Looking into it, Silas just grabbed his toothbrush, toothpaste, sponge, soap, and a towel.
He entered the bathroom. Shortly after, the soft sound of water clicking against tiles echoed through the room.
After a few minutes, Silas stepped out of the bathroom, a towel tightly wrapped around his body.
Water slid down his frame in drops. His hair looked softer, and the one that always hung over his face was pushed back.
He took a pair of pyjamas from the wardrobe and slipped into them calmly before jumping into bed.
After resting for a while, his lips finally parted. "Rion, show me my status."
As he spoke, a holographic screen materialized in his face, showing him his status accurately.
[Name: Silas Lancaster]
[Race: Human(baseline)]
[Talent Tier: SSS]
[Cultivation Realm: Mortal]
[Cultivation Stage: Initiate(1 meridian open)]
Silas read through everything calmly before instructing the AI to stop.
Rion was what he had named his own AI companion.
In the human empire, AI companions were like a birthright.
All humans, poor or rich, noble or commoner, all got an AI companion when they reach the age of 10.
The only difference between AI companions was the tiers assigned to each person depending on their Civilian grade.
His own was just a grade 1 civilian, so he only had an AI that was for the basics.
"Connect me to the virtual space," Silas finally said.
His view was filled with white.
As the white cleared, he was standing in a bustling square.
Sci-fi-like buildings that glowed with neon lights, people of different types walked around, either browsing through the shops or walking with their friends.
Silas was not there for things like this. Walking further, he soon reached the place he was going, the library of their Orion Sector.
Walking into it, the first thing that greeted him was the sight of the hulking shelves that towered even higher than some small mountains.
Already used to the sight, he just walked towards his goal.
Browsing through the books, he quickly found something related to the topic.
[Knowledge on Baseline Humans]
"I need to understand what happened to me after I awakened," he muttered as he stood up, walking towards the row of chairs arranged neatly.
He flipped through the pages every few seconds, his eyes moving from left to right as he devoured knowledge like a bottomless hole.
"This…" he whispered, his eyes wide open. "Even my reading speed has increased by so much."
But his gaze lowered slightly. "This book does not say anything about my ability, though," he murmured. "Does that make me special, or is it because it is a basic knowledge book?"
Then his mind focused on the library in his mind, which had gained another book. "Was this there when I saw it before?" He wondered aloud as he saw the altar in the centre of the library.
Focusing on it, a series of words appeared in his sight.
[Deduction Altar: By setting a task, the altar will draw from all your knowledge to create the most perfect deduction it can with your knowledge. Speed and perfection are limited only by your knowledge.]
A simple description. But the implications were far from simple. To become a scientist, to advance to the enlightenment realm and beyond. Everything needed a person's deductive skills to be as high as possible. But he did not need to go through all that stress, he could read and sit back while this altar did all the job.
Looking at the timer of his stay in the Virtual Space, he made up his mind. "I should read as much as I can."
He walked towards the shelf, returning the previous book and picking another one. With the rules of the library, if he dared to run or cause a disturbance, he would be punished, so even with his excitement, he was gentle
After a few minutes, he took another, then another.
[You only have five seconds left in the Virtual space]
Rion reminded with a soft chime.
Silas nodded calmly, returning all the books with the little time he had left.
As the last book fell into place, his body flickered out of the space, appearing on his bed again.
On the bed, Silas's face was all smiles. He had read almost a hundred books in just an hour, which was far more than he used to read.
"If I become a grade 2 citizen, I can spend more time in the Virtual space and, in turn, read more books, improving the ability of my mind," he said, stroking his chin.
He had not put much thought into it before, but seeing how much he could read with his mysterious mind, the thought had started to bloom.
"I will try to increase it later," he muttered. "I should focus on this first."
As he spoke, he rubbed his palms together as a grin spread across his face.
He had read almost everything he could touch in the library, from basic fighting stances, to basic technology knowledge to even cultivation ones.
"Time to put this to the test."
In his mind, everything he had ever learned seemed to stir as they whirred around the single altar that stood in the centre.
"Let's say, I want to deduce the best cultivation path I can take."
As he said this, words began to fly into the air, and each one began to form a new script on the altar table.
Silas frowned. "With this speed, it should take a few hours. Well, I am not in a hurry," he said as he slumped into his bed.
Sleep claimed him almost immediately as his eyes snapped shut.
The morning sun filtered through the glass, pouring into Silas's room, but he was not there.
In the training room, underground the president's mansion, Silas and Amelia stood calmly, their eyes locked in each other's.
In Silas's hands were dual short daggers, and Amelia had a katana.
"Why will you wake me up so early just because of a
joke from last night?" Silas lamented.
Amelia did not reply; she slid a foot backward as she burst forward towards Silas.