Jasper stared at Eric in shock. Not once in his entire life did he expect he would receive a smack on his face, knowing he was a martial art practitioner–even participating in an intramurals at his school.
Jasper dazedly stared at Eric's feeble arm and wondered where the strength was coming from, for him to almost faint just a single light slap.
He pressed his cheeks to lessen the pain while staring at Eric in disbelief.
Eric, on the other hand, casually threw the headless zombie with his right hand, seemingly clutching something. He used his left hand earlier to smack Jasper out of his sanity.
He glanced at the viscous blood on his right hand indifferently and then stared at Jasper.
He said, "You have potential. You should follow me. I will protect you."
Jasper nodded dazedly. He glanced at his weapon, Baston, on each of his hands and then his eyes landed at Kaiju's bare hands. Should it not be the other way around? He was bewildered.
Nevertheless, the blood dripping from Eric's bare hands convinced him otherwise.
Meanwhile, Eric was lost in thought. He was conversing with the System.
'Yeobui, this qi crystal… Why does the energy on this crystal seem so different compared to our world?'
{The crystal is not the qi crystal. This crystal is called Evolution crystal. Once an ordinary human eats this, they will evolve and unlock abilities. It is not only limited to ordinary humans, too.}
'What do you mean by that?'
{You have to explore its usage by yourself.}
Eric felt lost.
He opened his palm and stared at the grey crystal in a daze. This disgusting thing should be eaten?
After all, with his extreme sensitivity to the energy, he sensed the thick concentration of energy on the zombie's brain. He felt like it was a qi core, but it should be located on a dantian, not on a brain.
I guess that would explain why zombies are dumb compared to the demonic cultivators.
"What is that?" Jasper asked, staring at the grey crystal with eyes filled with inquiry.
Eric stared at him, annoyed, but then his eyes lit up.
He said, "Perfect!"
"What?" Jasper furrowed his eyebrows and stared at Eric.
However, he did not expect Eric to grab hold of his cheeks with one hand, causing him to open his mouth, and then shoved the grey crystal inside his mouth.
Jasper panicked, and, as a result, he gulped the entire grey crystal.
He felt nauseous. He wanted to attack Kaiju with his baston earlier to escape from his grasp, but before he knew it, the grey crystal was already on his stomach.
The two baston fell to the floor as he kneeled, while trying to vomit the grey crystal, but to no avail.
His eyes teared up, still attempting to vomit it, but then, he suddenly felt his stomach bloated. Mysterious energy raged inside, spreading on his body.
At first, he felt an excruciating pain coursing through his body, but slowly, he felt revitalized. It was a strange feeling that made him forget he had eaten a disgusting solid object.
"What happened?!" Another voice echoed on the door, behind Jasper.
Eric glanced at the man and frowned. The man's face appeared average, but he was slim. Just staring at his wall of texts already confirmed his assessment.
{Name: Andrew Catacutan
Potential: A-
Title: Aspiring Electrical Engineering
Stage: Unawakened
Abilities: Unawakened
Age: 19
Strength: D-
Agility: D-
Durability: D-
Stamina: D
Intelligence: B-
Remarks: He might be weak, but he is smart… unlike you.}
Eric rolled his eyes and instructed the System to show the description of Jasper's Title.
{Title: Aspiring Mechanical Engineer
Description:A mind wired for circuits, energy flow, and innovation. Andrew is beginning to grasp the fundamental principles of electricity, power distribution, and electronic systems. Though not yet a master, his talent allows him to repair, modify, and even create electrical systems with remarkable efficiency.
Effects:
Electric Circuit Mastery – His understanding of electrical circuits, wiring, and conductivity has become more efficient, allowing him to design, repair, and troubleshoot systems twice as fast.
Energy Flow Optimization – He instinctively reduces energy waste in electrical setups, improving efficiency and extending battery or generator life.
Static Resilience – His body has developed a slight resistance to electric shocks, reducing damage taken from electrical discharges for a long period of time.
Improved Neural Processing – Exposure to electrical work has sharpened his cognitive reflexes, boosting reaction speed and information processing for a whole level.
Tool Synchronization – The effectiveness of all electrical repair tools is boosted, allowing for faster and more precise work.
Remarks: In case he might not be aware, the energy inside the Evolution Crystals can be used as a replacement for electricity.}
Another engineering… After assimilating Eric's memories, Ixcahua obtained quite a lot of knowledge on the new world he was in.
He knew about engineering–it was actually a popular field. After all, in the modern world, where mathematics and science has become the main focus for civilization to develop, the significance of the profession signaled the need for more experts–it also resulted in having a high income everybody sought as the world was governed by money.
Of course, now that the apocalypse has arrived, money has become meaningless.
According to Eric, if I am not wrong, mechanical engineering focuses on machines, while electrical engineering focuses on electricity, particularly on electrical equipment. If that is the case… Eric's eyes lit up. Then these two can work together. Also, given their potential, they are worth being my first followers in building my empire!
"AAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" Andrew screamed at the top of his lungs.
He has been staring at Eric earlier with eyes filled with questions. However, the body lying in front of Jasper caught his attention.
He thought it was only a fainted body, as though he lost his consciousness, but when Jasper leaned his body slightly, that was when he noticed the lack of the head.
"AAAAAAAAA—" He was so scared he could not even utter the words inside his head.
Eric walked over the headless body and the unconscious Jasper, standing in front of Andrew.
He hoped Andrew would stop screaming and faced him, but alas, Andrew ended up being terrified more when seeing the apathetic expression of Eric, staring at him closely.
"AAAAAAAAA—"
"Stop screaming like a little girl!"
Smack!
A red palm print was painted on his cheeks, startling him awake.