Earthling in Uncharted Dimensions

'D, can you explain the Essence to elemental progress conversion briefly.'

[*sigh* Okay, listen carefully. I won't tell this again. The Essence to elemental progress conversion is only available for the affinities. The immunities must be created and increased with exposure to the respective ones.

The conversion rate of Essence to progress varies with each stage. The 'Lesser' stage has a rate of 1:4. That means, for every one point of progress, you have to spend four Essence points. The 'Medium' stage has the rate of 1:16 and the 'Greater' stage has 1:256 ratio. The rate is set to such a height so that you don't become a lazy bum!]

'If that is the case, then use 1600 Essence to upgrade the Lesser ones to Medium stage.'

[Done.]

Lee slowly stood up and walked to the side. He got out of the tub and dried himself. A tingling sensation of happiness swept across him as he stretched his limbs. He glanced over his dress and felt reluctant to wear it. The jeans and the inner tee was not a high quality item that has self cleaning property. The enhanced eyesight could not unsee the dirt patches and his nose detected displeasing scents. At once, he summoned D.

'Is there a lifestyle skill to clean and purify physical objects?'

[Yes, there is one. It is called 'Cleanse'. It is used to remove dirt and impurities from objects. It is the perfect skill to clean your clothes.]

'Show it, D.'

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Name: Cleanse.

Description: A lifestyle skill with diverse uses. The skill is very useful in cleaning surfaces and purifying objects. The cleansing comes at a cost, and this cost is proportional to the cleansing done. Deeper and tougher stains consume more Essence to remove.

Cost: 1100 Essence.

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'Buy it.'

[Hehe...brought it!]

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The skills 'De-Spell' and 'Cleanse' can be merged. Proceed?

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The unexpected dialogue box caused Lee to frown as he demanded an explanation from D.

[When two skills of the same properties are acquired, those skills can be merged to create a new one. This can rarely result in obtaining cool and powerful skills. Sometimes, the result might be a skill already existing in another category.]

Lee did not think on it for long as he uttered-

'Merge.'

The panel disappeared and was nowhere seen. D prompted that the skill merging can take some time. As Lee extended his hands to take up the clothes, the new skill was formed. It's information came up on a panel.

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Name: Spotless.

Description: The resultant skill of merging De-Spell and Cleanse. This spell can remove mundane and magical restrictions and impurities. The proficiency of the skill is entirely based on the host's willpower and resolve. No Essence cost discount.

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Lee grinned as he acquired the skill. Checking the existence of the skill in the Skills tab, he stared at his clothes and extended his hands as the skill was activated. The dirt and unpleasantness on the dress completely vanished as 125 Essence vanished from his balance.

An endless happiness roared inside Lee as he wore his dress in a hurry. As he opened the door, An was seen standing at the corridor, anxiously waiting for him. An's dress also had a few patches of dirt that were almost visible to the naked eye. Lee extended his hand at her as he walked towards her. 30 Essence was reduced this time. The extended hand gave her a frown.

The process only lasted a second and Lee relaxed his hand. Walking side by side with her, they exited the corridor and saw the goblin girl beaming at them from the reception desk.

"Room 12 is on the first floor. You can see it's position from this outline."

As An and Lee approached the desk, the girl spoke as she placed the floor outline of the first floor in front of them. From the first glance, they saw the placement of room 12 at the far end of the floor. The duo nodded delightedly and moved towards the stairs which was right to the reception.

The winding stairs were decorated with innumerous carvings of musicians playing musical instruments. A lot of humanoid and demonoid figures can be seen dancing to the tune. The mesmerizing melody on the carvings made their ascend quicker.

The room was unlocked as An inserted the key into the keyhole and the door was opened. The floor was made out of a light brown texture wood. The wide window on the wall straight ahead gave access to daylight. The bed was large enough for two people. The round wooden table beneath the beautiful lantern had two chairs near it. 4 paintings of men and women playing musical instruments were hung on the walls. The oil lamps on all four walls gave off an aesthetic beauty. These features in a room of 5 meter length and 4 meter width was pleasing to the eye.

An went straight to the bed and fell like a log onto it. The bubbling bath was so refreshing, her body felt the effect of a sedative. As Lee slowly drew closer to the bed, An was at the verge of falling asleep. He glanced out through the window next to the bed and saw a few disciples roaming on the streets. His figure sat at the edge of the bed, deep in thought.

*poke poke*

Something poked Lee from the behind and he looked over his shoulder. It was An who poked him with her sword's scabbard. She wanted to ask something, but her heavy eyes closed shut before she could speak. Her placid mind slipped deep into a tireless slumber.

Lee took the scabbard and the sword from her hands. His mind raised a number of questions at its first glance.

[I know what you are thinking. 'Spotless' can only remove the impurities from an object. It cannot restore the object.]

Lee was not disheartened by the comment. He summoned his Inventory and shuttled his sight between the Cold Nyx Silver needles and An's sword.

'D, if I remember correctly, you said that providing the necessary materials for reshaping can decrease the Essence usage, right?'

[The change is not significantly large. The cost reduced is the Essence used to convert the existing material into the desired material. So, if you provide the material, less Essence spent!]

'Open Re-Model.'

The display appeared and the black and white representation of An's traditional Jian sword came into view. Lee leaned forward as he analysed the sword through thorough scanning. He was absolutely ready to alter the sword design, but An's words resonated in his mind. He felt partially reluctant to proceed as his final product will be different from what it is now.

'Screw the design! I want her to be safe, and I want a sword that can keep her safe. I want to reform the sword into one that looks cool and is visibly overpowering!'

The mind was made and hands moved in unison. The design slowly took shape as his eyes observed every aspect of the forthcoming sword. The track was lost, again!

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9 A.M.

1820 Essence harvested.

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The notification came up, only to be instantly muted by Lee. Hands swiftly moved over the screen which only he can see. Unbeknownst to him, An was wide awake from her short nap. She stretched her limbs as she glanced around. The back of Lee was visible to her. She saw his hands moving vigorously and guessed that he was occupied with something of great importance. As she crawled over to his side, she could not see anything in front of him as his hands nimbly moved in the air. She consoled herself that Lee had not gone crazy!

Couple of minutes later, his hands came to a halt as he looked very delighted. His wide smile only brought frown to An as she did not know what he was doing in the air. Lee heaved a sigh as he nodded in achievement. His smile turned to visible surprise as he was expecting An to be asleep, and not by his side. His raised brows conveyed the fact that he did not see her all this time.

"If you are going crazy, just tell me. I will knock you unconscious and call a doctor."

An stated with a frowned seriousness. She was yet to see the fruit of Lee's hardwork and imagination. Lee chuckled as he asked-

"Where is your sword?"

An was alert by his question as she searched the bed for her sword, but in vain. Her distraught countenance felt painful for him to bear, so he calmed her troubled heart.

"You don't have to worry. I took it to remodel it, and I just finished the job. I cannot say whether it looks good or bad than it used to. Decide it yourselves!"

Lee proceeded to pay and 360 Essence was deducted from his reserve. Before An's eyes, a dim light shone and faded away to reveal a sword in his hand!