Please Touch Me, Master

Bi Chen prepared for days without rest so he could make things perfect.

He made sure to invest in his Aptitude despite not having a Geist, raising it to 5. This allowed him to sense the Essence within him and control it to an extent.

That was why he was able to shoot out his own blood from his fingertips.

It was all thanks to raising his Aptitude.

He also raised his Integrity, ensuring he wouldn't run out of blood too quickly. This also improved his regeneration, allowing him to replenish his lost blood much faster.

This was only the start.

He experimented with Crafting, even using several common materials in the Labyrinth to observe their effects. The Rank 1 Thread Rope was created by using his hair, pieces of his flesh, one eyeball, some teeth and nails, and many kinds of rocks found all around the cave. 

Due to the randomness of the materials and the several impurities within them, the success rate fell from fifty to thirty percent. 

Thankfully, Bi Chen killed over five hundred Abominations.

He had a considerable number of Essence Cores.

It was because he had all of these tools at his disposal, and the Rank 2 Abomination was injured, that Bi Chen had so much confidence in his success. His plan had a 99 Percent chance of success, with a one percent margin of error.

The result?

"I won." Bi Chen smiled, holding a glowing orb in his palm.

It was dull blue and had a dazzling hue about it. The round stone warbled with prismatic energy, but it also had dark colors tainting its corners. These were signs of impurities, but without a doubt, this was legit.

—Rank 2 Essence Core!

"I finally have it… hehe!"

Bi Chen had to go through a lot of trouble to take down a single Rank 2 Abomination, but it was all worth it. He got his desired prize without much loss or injury to himself.

The amazing part was that he didn't even exhaust all of his methods.

'If it had survived that assault, I would have used the Thread Ropes strapped around my waist to try again. There's no way it could have taken on two blasts of such a scale, even if it was a fully healed Rank 2.'

Not only did he have a backup plan for the explosion, but he also had one for himself.

'I saved 3 SP… in case I needed to supplement any of my Stats. Turns out doing that was also unnecessary.' Overall, Bi Chen was glad with the results. 

All his efforts had finally been rewarded.

'With this Rank 2 Essence Core, I can Craft a Rank 1 Artifact with 100 Percent Success Rate… and I can even Craft a Rank 2 Artifact with a 30 Percent Success Rate.'

The latter's Success Rate was too low, and knowing his luck, Bi Chen knew he was more likely to fail than succeed. That would mean his efforts at retrieving this Rank 2 Essence Core would have been in vain.

As much as Bi Chen wasn't averse to risk, he wouldn't take a risk that was more likely to cause him harm than success—especially if he had to sacrifice a lot in the process.

'I used four Rank 1 Artifacts and two Rank 1 Essence Cores to obtain this Rank 2 Essence Core. I have to make those investments worth it.'

Rank 2 Essence Cores were worth at least ten times more than Rank 1 Essence Cores.

They were also worth at least five times more than Rank 1 Artifacts.

In a sense, he sort of got a good deal by obtaining the Rank 2 Essence Core, but his gain was only a little higher than his losses. If he were to lose this Rank 2 Essence Core as a result of a Crafting Failure, then his losses would be too drastic.

'But if I Craft a Rank 1 Artifact with this Rank 2 Essence Core, it would also be too much of a waste, since I actually gave up many Rank 1 Artifacts just to get this.'

Bi Chen found himself in quite the dilemma.

Should he take the risk by trying to Craft a Rank 2 Artifact—even if the chances of failure were higher than his chances of success—or should he be content with having another Rank 1 Artifact?

"Hehe… hahaha… hahahahahahaha!"

Bi Chen laughed aloud, his voice echoing within the massive space he alone stood in.

His deep and unpleasant zombie sound would cause many to frown and cover their ears in displeasure, but he relished this moment.

He enjoyed the ugly roars he produced from his rotting throat.

It made him feel alive.

"Why do I have to choose either option?" He asked himself with bulging eyes, his grin growing wider by the second. 

"Rather than Craft… why don't I simply Refine? Refine a Rank 2 Artifact!"

The Success Rate for Refinement was a lot more complicated than Crafting. On one hand, it could be significantly lower, while on another hand, it could be nearly guaranteed.

What mattered most… were the ingredients!

"Using several Rank 1 Artifacts and precious materials to Refine a single Rank 2 Artifact is a near guaranteed success!" He beamed. "As long as I use this Rank 2 Essence Core and not several Rank 1 Essence Cores, I will most likely succeed."

Bi Chen calculated the chances in his mind and arrived at an answer.

'95 Percent Success Rate! I have a 95 Percent chance of succeeding with this Refinement.'

Without wasting any more time, he began to pick up all the Crafting Stone Shards scattered all over the battlefield. The corpse of the Abomination was slowly disintegrating, but Bi Chen paid it very little mind.

'If I had a method to preserve its corpse, I could use some of the body parts for Crafting or Refinement Materials… but I sadly lack the method to do so.'

He also considered using the corpse as a material in his intended Refinement, but after giving it a bit of thought, he chose not to. This Rank 2 Abomination had too many impurities, and merely attempting to remove all of them would take too long.

By that point, there would be very little material left to even use.

'Besides… by killing this Abomination, I absorbed most of its Essence to Level Up. That's why the decomposition rate is much faster and the only thing that will ultimately be left over is the Essence Core—which I have already harvested.'

In essence, there was no use trying to use the Abomination's corpse for anything more.

The Sovereign Undying Body was already putting it to use by storing its Essence as Level Ups and Stat Points.

And from this Rank 2 Abomination alone, Bi Chen had gotten quite the reward.

He Leveled Up twice!

[STATUS WINDOW]

- Name: Nameless Zombie (Lvl: 12)

- Race: Lesser Undead

- Status: Slave (Alive, Almost Fully Recovered)

- Integrity: 9/12

- Physique: 15

- Aptitude: 5 (30% Essence)

- S Points: 9

- Number of Vassals: 1

[Current System Evaluation]

You are a weak, pathetic little Zombie who has inherited the remaining embers of the Sovereign Undying Lord's power and awakened the Sovereign Undying Body. 

You are already growing stronger…

[End of Information]