章 30: 1-stage, 7-star breakthrough
Later that day, back in his flat, Michael was determined to break through to the 7th star of the Mind Enhancement stage. Not only did every increase in cultivation bring about a boost in physical strength, it also meant one or more new abilities would appear in the shop.
The more Michael thought about it, he felt that "shop" was a strange name for Glory's function. Even if he purchased perks with it, it was more of a guiding influence. It told him what was the best change to his body or mind to spend the excess energy on.
After three hours of nonstop training, "Congratulations on reaching cultivation 1-stage, 7-star. Host, please move on to the final relaxation technique from the set," sounded in his mind.
"Ah! You warned me that the middle stars would be far easier than the early and late ones. Is that true?"
"Host is welcome to find out."
Michael laughed. Ever since he decided to be more tolerant towards Glory's way of speaking and secretive manner, he found he relied on himself more. In turn, it instilled a confidence in him that he had lost many years ago. Now, whenever Glory suggested he do something, Michael went along with it.
The shop greeted him with a field of glowing white once more. For the entire week, Michael saved his points, eager to buy something expensive. He had well over a thousand in the bank and was prepared to splurge.
There were no changes among the old abilities although the new ones took his attention. Three of them were "Spatial Thinking", "Creative Thinking" and "Analytical Thinking", accompanied by one more, "Mental calculation".
"These four all enhance my cognitive abilities. Glory, are you trying to turn me into a genius?"
"Host, that is impossible."
"Ouch. Am I that dumb? No, don't answer yet. I think I know what you mean. Let me guess your next words," Michael thought for a minute and continued:
"Combined, these four abilities are designed to perfect my process of thought. However, they cannot make me talented at something. For example, I may beat every IQ test and their variations, but I will probably never be as good with technology as Dimitri. Or, better yet, the man who created you. That requires a talent or a genius."
"Host is knowledgeable, after all."
"Ha-ha, of course! I studied at EIS in my past life too, you know?" as Michael said it, his cheeks burned with embarrassment.
In fact, the school operated on quotas. If only eight idiots applied, they would all be accepted. In the school's early years, many children with above average intelligence were enrolled, he among them. Later, as EIS gained popularity, only true geniuses like Anna and Dimitri could pass the exams.
Unlike with the memory perks, Glory didn't play coy this time. There were ten upgrades for each of the four. Spatial Thinking required 50 points per upgrade, and the other three – only 40 points. Without asking questions, Michael guessed that spatial perception was his weakness and needed more energy to modify his brain.
Before him were four different qualities. Creativity, calculation, dimensional imagination and logic. His points weren't enough to buy them all. Even with him saving diligently, he couldn't afford everything Glory had to offer.
'What would be more useful during the chaos in a few weeks? It should be either logic or creativity. On the other hand, if anything disastrous happens, none of these will save my life. So far, I've been concentrating on what comes after the calamity. I still need money, which is why I've been running like a hamster in a wheel all this time. Fine, money it is.'
"Glory!" he exclaimed decisively, "Give me… no, wait. Listen carefully. One. By. One. Give me ten Spatial Thinking and ten Mental Calculation upgrades."
He assumed the same position he used for cultivating and felt tingling inside of his skull. While his brain was slowly rewriting itself, increasing the strength and bandwidth of neural connections, the man turned boy patiently meditated. It took Glory an hour to implement the changes.
Michael felt strange. He wanted to ponder on whether his choice was the better one, but his mental faculties stayed the same. He didn't become smarter or more insightful.
Skeptical of his new power, Michael took out the pages with Angry Birds levels he created himself. Instantly, it was like he became a different person. He spotted minute imperfections in his designs. In several cases, the trajectories were far too difficult to realize for players. They had to pull on the slingshot with their chubby fingers where only a precise angle would bring them victory.
Inspired by the boost in his computational skills, Michael got to work. He scrapped tens of levels and produced new ones by the dozen. He only had to close his eyes to picture the result of any block hit by any bird at any angle. A minute of concentration led to a level that wouldn't be inferior to any of the original ones from his world.
Only a machine or a superhuman could create something that Michael now spent mere minutes on. His calculations were so intuitive, he was able to mark the distances between objects even before drawing them.
When he finished fifty levels, it was already the middle of the night. While he was working, Michael spent his remaining points on two Creative Thinking upgrades. However little that was compared with ten, it was enough to breathe life into the designs, adding originality and color.
Michael sat in the center of the room and taught himself the last relaxation technique from the set of three that jumpstarted his evolution into a cultivator. He followed a strange breathing pattern and sank his mind into semi-consciousness. With his eyelids closed, he opened his eyes.
Inhale. Exhale. The ring of water looked furious, imbued with more energy than ever. The random drops that fell off, evaporated with loud hisses and sizzles. As Michael tried to gather the rivulets into his body, he was jolted with pain and fell on his back.
"Crap," he swore dejectedly. The agony of the early stars was back. Instead of piercing, freezing cold the water was boiling hot. A single touch of it was enough to throw off the unprepared Michael's concentration.
"I guess that's fair, huh, Glory? It took me only two weeks to go from 4-star to 7-star. That's about the same as the time I spent to reach 4-star. I get that the energy needed to break through is greater with every level. It's time to pay my dues."
Michael forced a sad smile.
"Chances of collision?"
"13% with 10% possible error, host."
"At least that's good. I wish that thing would pass by sooner. We will finally finish the game, everyone will become multimillionaires. Then I can hire more people to establish a real company. Why would I sell those hit lyrics when I can create my own superstars? Making games, shooting movies and TV shows, producing inventions and pharmaceuticals – earning money is so easy!"
He sighed, "I hope Alice and I can become close quickly. Even if she decides not to enroll at EIS, I'll find her. She can be friends with Anna just like in my past life."
Without breaking his meditative pose, Michael fell asleep and dreamt of the times he spent with his beloved. When every moment was filled with sweetness and every love song made sense.
The next morning, before he woke up, the door opened, and his mother carried in the heavy bags filled with their possessions. The woman didn't know her son the world traveler had superhuman hearing. He came out to greet her, already dressed and full of energy.
"Misha, son!" she hugged her adorable child. He was their family's hope. After her husband made a small fortune during the 1990s when Russia's economy was in disarray, much of their earnings went towards his cancer treatment. Although his condition was stable, and he was long back at work, Michael's mother worried the terrifying illness would strike again one day. If the unthinkable happened, her son would have to become the family head.
Raised in a patriarchal family, Michael's mother considered herself a good wife. She was never disdainful of hard work and always bore the hardships together with her husband. However, she wasn't the type to carry much responsibility. This move to Europe for her Misha's education was the bravest thing she had ever done.
"Mom," her son said, breaking the hug, "how much money were you able to collect?"
"Oh dear, always worrying about me. The company gave me everything they owed. It'll tide us over until I can find a new job here in town."
"Yeah, about that. You don't have to do that anymore. In two months I'll begin to provide for us. I've teamed up with some friends…"
"Misha, that's not your job. You need to study so you can earn money when you graduate," his mother interrupted.
"No, listen! We're making a game! It'll be profitable, I promise!"
"Ah!" she put her hands on her chest, "How didn't I see? Of course! If that's what you like, dear, make games all you want. I'm sure you can become a game designer in the future. I believe in you," she cooed and ruffled his hair.
Michael sighed helplessly. There were real disadvantages to looking like a 14-year-old. Even though he basked in his mother's praise, Michael knew she didn't mean it.
'If I combine my two ages, 14 and 34, then I'm older than you, woman! That's not how it works though…'
Michael wasn't happy with the lack of respect he imagined he deserved. But one look at his mother's kind face, and his resolve melted into a puddle.
'Fine. Wait and see until I make a few millions. I'll see how you protest when I put you on an all-paid cruise around the world.'
クリエイターの想い 
BlackInk
BlackInk Cutoff: I’ll see how you protest when I put you on an all-paid cruise around the world.’
That's it. Expect a timeskip and news about the space object in next chap.
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