"Don't worry about it. Every man your age thinks he looks older than he is," said the saleswoman to try to console him, as he became thoughtful. "But leaving that aside, I can tell your clothing size by looking at you, but I have no way of doing that for your friend… Could you describe him for me?"

  Alexander thought about it and replied simply: "You could say his body is similar to that of a goblin who ended up taller and bulkier than the others, almost as if he went through a small evolution… But don't tell him that. Hehe."

  "Hehe." His comparison surprised the saleswoman, who still tried to hold back her laugh, but ended up not succeeding. "How cruel of you to describe him that way… But thanks to that I can imagine what the ideal clothing size would be for him."

  "What types of clothes are you looking for?" she asked.

  "Full sets," replied Alexander. "I don't want anything too expensive or sophisticated, but it also doesn't need to be the most economical."

  Upon hearing him, the saleswoman thought for a bit, as if considering which clothes fit the description better, and then went into the interior of the store holding something.

  It didn't take long for her to return with an item full of clothing sets of various styles in the requested sizes.

  Not knowing which to choose, Alexander asked for help from the saleswoman, who was very helpful in assisting him.

  With her help, he chose 5 sets for each of his forms: 2 casual, for use in the city; 2 made especially for adventurers, which allow wide movements; and 1 that was a middle ground between casual and formal, as a guarantee that he would have something more formal.

  Buying these sets made Alexander feel like crying without tears, because the total price of the purchase was 1 small gold coin.

  "I have to start doing missions soon," he thought. "Or my money won't last long at this rate."

  "But it's not like I'm spending without reason," he comforted himself. "With these clothes I'll finally be able to test if my goblin form can or cannot pass for a Demi. The worrying thing is that I've already seen various types of demis in this city, but none of them look much like my goblin form."

  After paying for the clothes, Alexander got a bit lost in his thoughts until the saleswoman's voice brought him back: "Can I help you with anything else?"

  "Ah, yes. I'm sorry about that," he said. "I want some combat needles… About 50 of them should be enough."

  As soon as she passed all 50 needles, the saleswoman asked again: "Anything else?"

  "Is there anything here that teaches, and/or assists, in controlling internal/bodily energy?" asked Alexander, excited.

  "We don't have any specific item here about that subject," replied the saleswoman after thinking about his request. "But we have a book about how to awaken Ki."

  This answer left Alexander confused, because, according to Earth's knowledge, Ki should be the advanced form of bodily energy. In other words, it didn't make much sense to have the advanced version, but not the basic one.

  As if hearing his doubts, the saleswoman explained the situation of the item in question: "The more basic and economical versions have already been sold. The problem is that this book is considered too complicated for its reasonably expensive price of 1 large gold coin."

  "Can I see it for a moment without committing to buying it?" he probed.

  "Of course. Please wait a moment," said the saleswoman, who entered one of the compartments of the store and returned with a book.

  As soon as Alexander held the book and began flipping through it, a notification appeared to confirm his hypothesis. He didn't need to buy it for the system to recognize it, he just needed to have enough growth points and a book, or another item in question, that was compatible.

  Ding!

  [Form to awaken the energy system (Ki) found. Do you wish to spend (5) growth points to awaken this new energy system?]

  If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  "Yes," replied Alexander to the system without any hesitation through a thought. But as soon as he agreed to awaken this new energy system, his blood began to circulate faster and he had to use all his willpower and concentration to pretend nothing was happening while returning the book.

  "I won't keep it, as it's really very complicated. It doesn't seem like I'll be able to learn it on my own," said Alexander, trying to maintain composure. "But here is 1 small gold coin for the needles. Keep the rest as a thank you from me."

  The saleswoman still wanted to refuse the part he gave her, but didn't have that chance, as he turned and left the store as if fleeing, which, in a way, he really was doing.

  Obviously, Alexander fled because the changes intensified every second, becoming difficult to hide, and not because he was afraid the saleswoman would reject his tip. But since she didn't know that, an amused and sincere smile blossomed on her face upon seeing the "young Alexander" "fleeing."

  As soon as he distanced himself from the store with Ocean, he could no longer suppress the process and changes in his body began to "run wild."

  Ding!

  [Your bodily energy system was changed to {Ki}]

  [Your stamina was transformed into Ki]

  [You learned the proficiency skill |Energy Control|]

  The changes were so intense that he had to lean against a wall and on Ocean, so as not to fall, and bite his own lip so as not to scream in pain. His blood circulated so fast that it seemed it would start boiling inside his veins.

  When the changes finally ended, Alexander sighed with relief, but soon realized he wasn't injured or tired. "Finally that strange sensation passed," he thought. "But now I feel so… different."

  "It's as if something or some thing had changed inside me," pondered Alexander. "As if a part of me was replaced by another similar, almost identical, but… better… much better."

  As soon as his situation stabilized, he returned to his room with Ocean and, with a resolute look, as if he had just decided something, stayed there practicing his mana and energy control until the morning of the last day he had paid. The only moments of the day people saw them was during meals and when he went out to walk with Ocean through the city.

  Ding!

  [|Mana Control (Intermediate)| leveled up to |Mana Control (Advanced)|]

  [|Magical Body Strengthening (Intermediate)| leveled up to |Magical Body Strengthening (Advanced)|]

  [|Energy Control (Beginner)| leveled up to |Energy Control (Intermediate)|]

  All these days of training "behind closed doors" did a lot of good for Alexander. He not only improved the two proficiency skills he most wanted, the control ones, and got used to his new type of energy, which left him much more energized than his old {Stamina}, but also managed to improve the skill |Magical Body Strengthening| while training his |Mana Control| using it.

  Inspired by this, Alexander even tried to acquire/create a version of |Magical Body Strengthening| that would work with bodily energy/Ki instead of mana, but even having the system, he still ended up failing.

  After numerous attempts, he came to the conclusion that such a simple approach as the one he was using couldn't create something lasting and/or manageable as a skill. Because, unlike mana, which is an ethereal and practically extracorporeal energy, Ki is the manifestation of bodily energy, meaning it already strengthens the body all the time.

  Satisfied with what he had already acquired in that city, Alexander chose not to prolong his stay there. He knew that Phoenix City could still provide him with more benefits, but still opted to go immediately to Twin City, as he didn't want to risk missing the enrollment period for the combat academy.

  With his next objective defined and ready to depart, Alexander went to the adventurer's guild reception to say goodbye to the receptionist, who had provided him with a large amount of information, and to see if he could get an escort mission to Twin City. Thus, besides earning a little more money, he would have transportation and be guided by someone who knows the route better than him, who only got a simple map of the empire.

  When the receptionist learned of his departure, she seemed to want to say something else, but ended up just applying his escort mission to Twin City, passing on some more information he might need and wishing him good luck.

  Alexander, obviously, perceived the ambiguity of the situation, but decided it was better to pretend otherwise, because the implications and restrictions of his other option could be great, especially when he seemed to be creating feelings and emotions to replace those that were taken from him.

  Not wanting to think too much about it, Alexander tried to occupy his mind with something else. Which ended up being quite easy, because as soon as the receptionist linked the escort mission to him, a mission was triggered in the system.

  Ding!

  [You have a new mission]

  Discovering that Guild missions could become system missions made him happy, but it didn't make him change his mind. He took one last look at his map, focusing only on the essentials, looked at the improvement in his skills, said goodbye to the receptionist, and went to the escort meeting point.

  MAP:

  [|Magical Body Strengthening (Advanced)|: Uses mana to strengthen the body by increasing strength, agility, dexterity, and bodily endurance. At this level it became possible to sacrifice one of the improvements to increase another. Cost: (20) mana and (10) MP. Duration: 5min.]

  *[|Mana Control (Advanced)|: Enables feeling, controlling, guiding, and interacting with mana flows for its various purposes. Control Capacity: 1 to 20 mana. Cost: (1) energy/minute and (1) MP/minute.]*

  *[|Energy Control (Intermediate)|: Enables feeling, controlling, and guiding flows of bodily energy for various purposes. Control Capacity: 1 to 20 energy. Cost: (1) MP/minute.]*