At the moment, Viktor has 142 spirit stones on hand. Therefore, it would be better for him to start strengthening his team. After all, there were only so many things that could be done with one pair of hands.

From his past experience with Boris, the stones would need some time to come into effect, and this conjecture of his was confirmed by the Djinn. Hence, Viktor decided to give each of them three spirit stones and told them to eat one every one hour.

The others did it without complaint, but Viktor noticed that there was someone who seemed hesitant to consume it. It was his girlfriend, Eva.

With a worried look on her face, Eva held the spirit stone he gave to her and asked, “Dear, what kind of drug is this? Will it have any side effects on my skin? You do know some drugs could make people go bald! Dont you?”

“…”

The back and forth session where Eva relentlessly fired off question after question continued for one hour until finally, she was convinced after Viktor ate one of the stones himself to show her the effects.

On one hand, she finally agreed to eat the stones. On the other hand, the antics still did not stop, instead it changed form. After eating one stone, she now started to act out and even stared at the mirror, checking her complexion almost literally every minute.

Three hours passed, and with it, the three spirit stones were consumed. The night came, and it was time for the group to rest. As usual, the two bodyguards would take turns to guard the place, while the rest would sleep comfortably.

With this arrangement, Viktor could maintain their progress and hope there won’t be any side effects emerging in the morning. Side effects would not only mean an unneeded danger for them, but also a waste of precious spirit stones if they end up dead.

Viktor himself also took their stones before he took a rest himself. Today was such a tiring day after all, and a good night’s sleep would always be good for one’s health.

Closing his eyes while contemplating his future, Viktor unknowingly fell into slumber.

The sun shared its brilliance as it rose on the horizon, and they passed through the night without any incidents. However, as he woke up, Viktor felt a distinct lack of someone sleeping next to him._-.

His question was answered as he heard a cheerful voice.

“This is amazing! I never felt this great!”

Eva was talking cheerfully to herself as she once again checked every detail of her face in a full length mirror. Somehow, she was convinced that her skin had tightened and felt much more firm than yesterday.

Her over excitement had actually made Viktor couldn’t help but believe that the spirit stones do have some kind of drug side effects.

Viktor, however, did not pay her gushing any mind. He started to analyze each of his team members’ progress.

[Torri Helsinki – Battle Power: 16 (18) – Mortal Realm – middle stage]

[Boris Oslo – Battle Power: 18 (19) – Mortal Realm – middle stage]

[Evangeline Amelia Bardott – Battle Power: 10 (13) – Mortal Realm – middle stage]

[Barry Pennyworth – Battle Power: 11 (14) – Mortal Realm – initial stage]

Surprisingly, three of them just receive an upgrade in their realm to the middle stage. Even though Barry hasn’t received an upgrade, he and Eva still received a high increase in battle power. Boris who has consumed a total of 7 stones, on the other hand, this time only getting one battle power increase.

It was clear that Eva was the one who received the most benefits from three stones. As he looked over her drastic improvement, Viktor wondered about this and then the Djinn told him that the spirit stones do give different effects to different people.

All in all, the four of them felt much stronger than before. The most obvious change that both Viktor and the others noticed was the fact they didn’t feel the frigid air of winter as cold as before.

Viktor was certainly satisfied with the upgrades they received. Even though it still wasn’t enough to fight the monsters outside, it was certainly a good progress. He still has 127 spirit stones left, so improvements no matter how small it was would be a win in his book.

Instead of worrying about his companions, the thing that concerned Viktor the most was himself. He also consumed three spirit stones last night, but he received no notifications or increase in his stats at all.

[Viktor Romanov]

[Strength – 19]

[Agility – 49 ]

[Endurance – 28]

[Battle Power – 32]

[Spirit Force – 30]

[Mortal realm – peak stage]

On one hand, he was happy as he managed to reach such high numbers. However, he knew that these high numbers in his eyes were still not enough at all for the challenges he was about to face.

He walked outside and sat behind the hut, on a flat rock before he started talking to the Djinn.

“Djinn, how many should I eat before I get another upgrade?”

<with your current stage, white stones won’t give you much.>

“Darn it, I only have one of the yellow stones..” Viktor clicked his tongues. Eventually, he sighed and asked, “If I consume it now, how many would that give me?”

<At your current condition, zero>

“What do you mean?”

<You are currently at the peak of your realm, and you need an extra something to break through to the next realm>

A suspicious look appeared on Viktor’s face when he heard that.

“What the hell does that mean?”

<If the alien construct mentioned was as I thought, then that would be the place for the upgrade>

Viktor’s expression twisted in annoyance as he remembered what Captain Andrei told him about.

He was planning to visit the alien construct, but he thought he needed to become a bit more powerful before he could attempt to check on it. However, the words the Djinn said have changed everything. He might be forced to completely revise his travel plan.

However, the Djinn were not done talking.

<Fortunately for you, with the lamp bound to you, you don’t need to go there for upgrade>

Even though he was a bit annoyed that the Djinn kept him in suspense, the excitement that followed when he heard those words made him forget about his annoyance.

“That is amazing! Now I need to upgrade, do it now!”

<Sure.. that would cost you 100 spirit stones>

“….”

Viktor fell silent for a moment, before he shouted at the Djinn.

“This is a daylight robbery!”

Even though that was what he said, Viktor was not too concerned. Even before the apocalypse, he knew firsthand and well enough that nothing in this world is free. He recalled how those who took advantage of his family and tried to get away scot-free; Let’s just say the fate of those people is not beautiful.

Therefore, he decided to agree with the requirement, and the Djinn told him to follow his instructions.

He took out the Persian bronze lamp, dragged the spirit stones close towards it. In an instant, the lamp started to pull the stones as if it was a vacuum.

[100 spirit stones absorbed]

[Processing the upgrade from Mortal Realm to Earth Realm.]

Immediately, Viktor could feel changes happening within his body, and as he discovered, the process was quite painful. He felt as if he was being pricked with hundreds of tiny needles on his entire body, and it was followed with surges of electrifying energy rushing through his veins.

Even though the sensation felt excruciating, it also carried an extraordinary feeling. The waves of sensations eventually ceased, and the moment they completely disappeared, Viktor felt like he was born anew.

[Realm upgrade successful]

[You have reached a breakthrough into a new realm.]

[Earth realm – initial stage]

[You have received 10 status points that can be freely distributed!]

Viktor grinned at the messages, inwardly glad that the process was done. The extra 10 points stat itself was enough to give him a little consolation for the spirit stones he had sacrificed.

But then, to his surprise, as the messages disappeared, he received another surprising message.

[You have the required aptitude to control your spirit force]

[You may now choose one of the 10 elements of spirits]

[Fire, Earth, Water, Wind, Metal, Plant, Ice, Lightning, Darkness, Light]