CHAPTER 66: WITHDRAWAL

Harry opened his eyes slowly. There was a hint of maturity in them—he looked cold and calculating.

A screen appeared before his face, but he ignored it.

His body ached from the lingering pain.

His Hemostasis skill started working, relieving some of the discomfort.

He adjusted to his newfound strength. Having all three of his cultivations at the Elemental Master level didn’t just improve his power—it was more than that. Now, he could wield three different elements.

But with that came a cost. He knew his stat points would dry up quickly.

With three elements, he would need to upgrade and unlock multiple skills, which required more resources.

"Finally," Gracie scoffed.

She had been sitting here for 15 days. If something had gone wrong, she would have stepped in to help with her experience or called for assistance.

"Why, you bored?" Harry asked while glancing at something in front of him.

"I am bored as hell. Do you even know how much time has passed?"

"Two days?" Harry guessed. He had been lost in the Trial of Regret.

"Fifteen days. It’s already been fifteen days," Gracie said angrily.

She could feel her cultivation reaching level 5. She needed time to assimilate everything that had built up.

"I’m going to cultivate. And don’t worry—I won’t take fifteen days just to level up once," Gracie grumbled before shutting her eyes.

Harry, feeling drained, used a Qi Replenishment Pill to freshen up.

Seeing Gracie deep in cultivation, he decided to keep an eye on her.

[Congratulations! You have reached Elemental Master Level 1.]

[+2 Stat Points]

[Congratulations! You have received the ’Shadow’ element.]

Another message popped up regarding his body cultivation—it had also advanced to level 3 due to his Qi cultivation.

When he saw his new element, he wasn’t impressed. He had been expecting something rarer—Necromancy, Chaos, Void—but he got Shadow instead.

He remembered that the person who fought alongside him against the Alpha Wolf had also used the Shadow element.

Harry shook his head in disappointment.

"System, now it’s all up to you," he muttered.

Every person’s element manifested differently—some used the same element for utility, while others focused purely on combat.

He had no control over that. But for some reason, he felt like the System was shaping each element to be perfectly suited for him.

He checked his new skill that came with the Shadow element.

[Shadow Step: Level 1]

Turn into shadows and teleport a short distance (5 meters).

[Upgrade: 2 stat points]

It was similar to that man’s technique. Harry still remembered how he had darted through the jungle using a skill like this.

"Not bad," he thought. It was a useful ability, especially for escaping.

He checked his stat points.

[Stat points: 7]

He didn’t want to waste them. He knew that upgrading a skill would give him time to master it, but he also didn’t have enough points to experiment recklessly.

It was better to save them for a critical moment—when he would know exactly which skill to enhance.

If he had to estimate his current power level, he was roughly equal to a Level 4 Qi Cultivator—and that was without taking his extra element into consideration.

Having a variety of attacks could make a huge difference in combat.

He waited for a day until Gracie finally opened her eyes, filled with resolve and determination. But the moment she saw Harry, those emotions vanished.

"See that? I’m way faster than you," Gracie smirked.

"Yeah, of course. In the end, you are a legacy," Harry smirked back.

"You bastard, I’m getting sick of sitting in this room for so many days."

Harry and Gracie left the room.

"I have something I need to do. Want to come with me?" Harry asked.

"No. I’m also getting sick of your face. I’ll see if Liam and Blake are out," Gracie said before parting ways.

Harry remembered the lady at the market—he had asked her to craft more rings and bracelets made of Celestium.

She had told him to come back in a week, but he was already two weeks late.

"I hope she still has those items," Harry muttered as he headed toward the market.

When he arrived at the shop, the lady was sitting there, looking bored.

"Hello, ma’am. Are the items ready?" Harry asked.

She raised an eyebrow at the familiar voice.

"You finally came. You said you’d be back in a week, and here you are—nearly three weeks later," the lady said, pulling out twenty rings and twenty bracelets made of Celestium.

"I’m really sorry. I got busy," Harry apologized.

"Yeah, yeah, who cares? Just take them and give me my money," she said, ignoring his apology.

"What a trash attitude," Harry thought, but he handed over the last of his purse anyway.

But he couldn’t ignore the profit he could make by selling the rings and bracelets.

He considered upgrading his storage space skill but quickly dismissed the idea.

Right now, he needed power. And what was better than having an extra fighting skill?

He could buy tons of artifacts, but they were temporary.

And who knew if he would even get time to use them?

Harry believed most in his own strength. No artifact could give him the same confidence.

"I hope to continue doing business with you. So, I expect to see more items next time," Harry said, taking his leave.

Even though he didn’t like her attitude, that was exactly why he wanted to keep trading with her.

She didn’t care about his personal life or what he was using the items for—which was perfect for him.

As he walked through the market, he saw many fascinating items.

Artifacts that enabled a person to breathe underwater, ones that adapted to temperature—things that weren’t particularly valuable to cultivators but could be treasures for normal humans.

He recalled a saying:

"Trash to one person can be gold to another."

’Something like that’ Harry scratched his head.

Then it clicked—he had heard those words from Gracie.

And that made him ponder:

"What makes a person truly alive?"

If it wasn’t the soul, then what was it?

It was simple.

The mere fact that he could ask these questions proved that he was alive.

"But then... does that mean a beast who can’t think was dead?"

Deep in thought, Harry reached his room.

Gracie, Liam, and Blake were already there.

"We’ve noticed something very interesting," Liam said immediately.

Harry was intrigued. The first thing they said wasn’t a greeting or small talk.

That meant it must be really important.

"And that is?" Harry asked, pulling out one of the rings.

He was in a hurry to make new items and earn money so he could buy and learn how to craft more artifacts.

"We noticed that members of some big families are withdrawing from the academy," Liam said.

"Are they afraid of the exam?" Harry asked.

"That’s the interesting part. Even those who are average at fighting have withdrawn. Only the strongest remain."