Tom suddenly woke up due to a strange burst of pain and weakness. At that very moment, he let out a loud groan and inhaled deeply. That breath felt as refreshing as if he had just drunk cold water on a scrounging summer day.
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Despite being asleep, he felt tired; however, as he slowly moved his body, he felt that his body was so much lighter than it ever was. The difference was so tangible that it shocked him. The difference was almost as if he had been previously moving submerged in water, but now he stepped out of that restricting water.
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Everywhere around him was covered with a strange black substance, even the pot and the table before him, though strangely, his body was not at all dirtied by that substance. With his index finger, Tom touched the black matter on the table; it was solid and dry. However, he was certain that it was previously liquid as it had quite an uneven surface. Some areas had more than others.
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As his pain slowly dissipated, he collected his strength and stood up. His first stop was his bathroom. He decided to wash his face; since his pain disappeared, sleepiness once again arose within him. However, it was not uncontrollable, unlike the previous one.
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He stepped over to his sink and, using cold water, started washing his face. Since it was nice and warm, he even partially watered his hair. Above the sink was a small mirror, so once he was done, he looked into it. Waterdropless was still flowing down from his hair and face; however, what he saw was shocking. He even took a quick step back.
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His hair and eye colour had completely changed. They were both identically coloured now: pure white. In addition, his posture seemed much better; as he stared at his reflection, he felt as if a completely different person was looking back at him.
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"This must be because of that soup... It seems like a new world, a new life, a new me... But why white?"
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He muttered as he rubbed his hair. He preferred his original hair colour; he felt that the new colour was literally screaming for others to notice him.
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Since he couldn't do anything about it, he just accepted it. From his kitchen, he grabbed the pot from which he ate the special soup, filled it with water, and then stepped outside, ready to water his plants.
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The plants had grown stunningly. It seemed that, most likely, multiple days had already gone by since the apple and pear trees had grown considerably and were already full of fruits. They were already fully matured trees. The Prist-Shrooms had also grown, though it was only visible in their numbers. There were so many that they were passing one another away, and some were even growing on the grass already.
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"How long have I been asleep? I know that things seemed to be growing rapidly, but this was not a day's worth of growth, I am certain!"
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The fact that he was sleeping for quite a while, most likely longer than a day, was concerning. However, he couldn't help but grin, seeing how he could harvest his fruits.
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So, with great enthusiasm, he walked around watering everything and harvesting most of the mushrooms, apples and pears. Since he was already used to using his inventory, he stored everything he had harvested in it.
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"Congratulation! Host's farming has advanced to the next level! The Host's power had been slightly increased. In addition, please choose two of the following rewards."
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A familiar message popped up and then gave way to another long list of products. Tom once again started browsing the icons. Since he had two trees, he thought about something different, but then again, his lazy side came forth once again.
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Since he didn't want to keep planting, he chose an orange and a grape. Without much delay, he instantly planted these two not far from where his other trees were. And then finally watered them.
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Once he was done with the work in his garden, he walked back into his house. At that moment, he realised that he should be able to start cultivating now that his body was cleansed.
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From his inventory, he pulled out the manual once again and reread it. While he was reading it, he started by sitting down. Once he was done reading, he crossed his legs, tried to relax his body, and eventually closed his eyes.
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The very first step, based on the manual, was feeling the Qi in his surroundings. Once he was capable of feeling it, he needed to gather it inside his body, getting accustomed to the presence and power of Qi.
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The stories he had read previously all showed that it was a piece of cake to achieve. However, he felt absolutely nothing, even after an hour. His motivation was decreasing rapidly, until, finally, he started feeling something faintly.
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He felt a unanimous layer of something around him. It felt warm and nice, almost smooth at the same time. He felt that it was in constant motion, yet it filled everything around him. The distance he could feel, things gradually increased, and the only thing he felt was this matter, which he presumed to be Qi.
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As time went on, he tried to pull this strange force, however, it wouldn't work at all; at the same time, the field in which he was sensing Qi grew. One thing he was certain about was that although he was capable of increasing the range of this strange sense, he could see anything other than Qi. He was certain that his outer range was already reaching some of the objects in his house; however, he didn't feel them at all.
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He continued meditating, getting more and more used to the presence of Qi, and then finally, he felt some major movement around his body, almost as if he was the cause of a whirlwind, and the Qi around him was spinning around him.
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