[Hardcore Gigolo: I've got good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear?]
[Half-Fed on Looks: Heh.]
[Hardcore Gigolo: You're no fun. The good news is, you might become really powerful in the future. The bad news is, you might not live for many more years.]
[Half-Fed on Looks: What do you mean?]
[Hardcore Gigolo: Have you heard of Esper Awakening?]
Seeing this message, Du Xiu's pupils contracted.
A surge of excitement rose in his heart.
Of course, he knew about Esper Awakening.
Awakened Espers were extremely rare; in the entire Empire, there seemed to be only a handful.
But without exception, they were the pinnacle of the Empire's combat power.
They were the core force protecting the Empire.
Awakened Espers completely surpassed Origin Cultivators and Apothecaries.
The only ones who could rival them were those who wielded the terrifying power of Imperial Artifacts.
But what did his headache have to do with Awakened Espers?
A bold idea suddenly popped into Du Xiu's mind.
[Half-Fed on Looks: Are you saying I'm an Awakened Esper???]
[Hardcore Gigolo: There's about a fifty percent chance. Generally, Awakened Espers have headaches. It's not really an illness; it's a Spiritual Power Drain. You can think of it as an Ability Seed, and your brain is the soil. It needs to draw nutrients from your brain to successfully awaken.]
[Hardcore Gigolo: But the problem now is, your brain has no nutrients. And from what you've described about your comas, generally speaking, if an Awakened Esper falls into a coma due to Spiritual Power Drain, after four or five times, the 'seed' will wither, meaning the Esper Awakening will fail. How many times have you passed out?]
[Half-Fed on Looks: About... twenty or thirty times.]
[Hardcore Gigolo: How many?]
[Half-Fed on Looks: About thirty-two times. I reckon it'll be thirty-three in the next couple of days; it's about that time again.]
[Hardcore Gigolo:??? Are you sure you're not joking?]
[Half-Fed on Looks: Really, it's almost every month for over a year now.]
[Hardcore Gigolo: Wow! Your Ability Seed seems pretty impressive! Even after so many failed drains, it hasn't withered.]
[Half-Fed on Looks: Bigshot (kneels lightly), want to invest in me? I don't have a master yet. If you're willing, I'd be honored to follow.]
Du Xiu quickly replied.
For the past six months, every time he passed out from the Spiritual Power Drain, he felt extremely unwell upon waking, languishing for days.
No matter how resilient the Ability Seed in his brain was, it seemed it was about to wither.
He wanted to save it.
[Hardcore Gigolo: Actually, you do have investment value, and quite a lot. But unfortunately, I'm just a gigolo, willing but unable.]
[Hardcore Gigolo: You really can't afford any potions?]
[Hardcore Gigolo: Although I don't recommend it, you might want to tell someone about your Esper situation. Given your current state, you should find a consortium. If you confess to them, they'll likely be very interested in you and willing to invest.]
[Half-Fed on Looks: Bigshot, should having an Esper Ability be kept secret?]
[Hardcore Gigolo: Yes, it's best to keep it secret, or you'll have big trouble later. But for you, those concerns are too distant. Your main issue now is to quickly take some potions that nourish the spirit to ensure a successful awakening. Otherwise, if the Esper Awakening fails, at best you'll become an idiot, at worst you'll die. Of course, not just potions—if you have Heaven and Earth Treasures that nourish the soul, even better. Alright, I'll send you some information on Esper Awakening. Take a look.]
Bigshot Ruan seemed to have something urgent and logged off after sending Du Xiu some information.
What a good person.
After sending a Good Person Card, Du Xiu opened the information and began to read.
Half an hour later.
Du Xiu fell into deep thought. It seemed that Bigshot Ruan's advice was right; it was best to keep the Esper Ability a secret.
He deleted his post, likely to protect himself from being targeted by those with ill intentions.
The information was filled with stories of Awakened Espers.
Those powerful Awakened Espers who left behind many legends were all backed by consortia.
There were very few who came from humble beginnings.
This made Du Xiu a bit apprehensive.
Could it be that consortia have ways to steal abilities from Awakened Espers?
Du Xiu shivered, feeling a chill.
At this moment, Du Xiu's feelings were mixed.
The good was that he might become an Awakened Esper.
The bad was that the 'seed' in his mind was about to wither, requiring a large amount of potions for nourishment.
And not just one or two doses, but a large quantity until the Esper Awakening.
As for seeking the protection of a powerful consortium...
Du Xiu thought it over and decided against it.
According to the information, those who failed to awaken described their symptoms in the final attempts.
They fell into comas for several days, even a week.
His longest coma so far was a day and a night.
He was in the mid-to-late stage of Esper Awakening.
He could hold on for a few more months.
Thinking of this, Du Xiu casually flipped through the pharmacology formula books on his desk.
This stuff didn't seem that hard.
He had some talent in pharmacology.
He decided to save himself.
People should always have dreams, right?
A man living between heaven and earth should not be content to remain beneath others for long.
Bowing to life? Impossible.
Then, he picked up his phone and sent a message to Nini:
"Hey buddy, you there?"
After a while, a reply came.
"Speak."
"Can I borrow some money?"
"The other party retracted a message."
......
Seeing the retracted message, Du Xiu fell silent.
It proved that...
One cannot place hope in others.
Du Xiu reviewed his current options for earning money to buy potions.
There were only three ways.
The first was to venture into the Wilderness to gather herbs or hunt Insectoids.
Herbs or Insectoid corpses could be sold to the Hunters Guild.
The second was to take on tasks from the Hunters Guild for a reward.
The third was to concoct potions. Either the Hunters Guild would provide herbs and charge a fee for concoction, or he would buy herbs himself, concoct them, and sell them.
The first and second options were definitely out.
For the past half month, he had been trying to sense Origin Power.
The result was disappointing; he hadn't sensed even a trace.
Without cultivating Origin Power, and with no knowledge of firearms or weapons, venturing into the Wilderness would be suicide.
He could only use the third option.
The Hunters Guild gave Senior Apothecary Apprentices a monthly quota of free herbs.
They could try concocting potions to become true Apothecaries.
In the past half month, Du Xiu had completed the Junior Apprentice and Intermediate Apprentice certifications.
The Senior Apprentice examination was more stringent and held only once every six months.
The next Senior Apprentice Examination was in half a month.
He needed to pass it quickly.
Having made up his mind, Du Xiu didn't hesitate and continued to study the pharmacology formulas.
Just then, his phone buzzed with a message from Nini.
A grinning emoji.
Du Xiu silently blocked her.
No woman can toy with my feelings.