The next day I woke up groggy.  I spent the night reading cultivation stories, hopping from one to the next looking for things I could use even without the ability to use Ki. I had left a few useful pill bottles on my nightstand before I slept last night. Each one had a translated sticky note on the front as a label. I had also bookmarked a few items. 

Before I could start playing around, there were some other things I had to take care of first. The first thing I needed to do today was to check if I turned in my assignments for the week. I had already started on next weeks but there were times when I forgot to turn in an assignment because I thought I already did. Once that was done, I hopped out of bed and went into the bathroom. I performed two of the Three S's and brushed my teeth. I didn’t shower just yet because of what I was planning for the day. I would end up having to take another right after.

Going to the kitchen I poured a bowl of cereal for breakfast. While I ate, I made my way to the window. Outside was a grey sky, and it was starting to rain. When I finished eating I started my schoolwork. Sitting in the living room I left the news on as I started my work. (There was a story about a young boy getting on top of his mom’s car and throwing firecrackers off at the houses).

I never really enjoyed school. I was a bit of a savant, so I never really studied. It gets even easier when you know how to research your projects. For as much as I've disliked college, it’s so nice that I have an apartment and I'm not living at home. I got everything more or less finished by noon. I double-checked that my assignments were turned in and finished what I could. With my work done for now, I was going to enjoy using my ability.

The first thing I needed to get was from Harry Potter, Felix Felicis by another name; Liquid Luck. I remembered it last night and thought it could come in handy. I enjoyed reading up on its effects as I grabbed a palm-sized reverse teardrop vial from the Wiki page. It was odd to see the clear liquid from the image turn gold after pulling it out. Downing the bottle, I felt a change in myself. I felt... confident? I wasn't sure, but it was something. Next, I was going to try something from a cultivation Manhua.

Throughout my life, I have always been rather skinny. Egged on by my brother I spent an entire summer exercising. Eventually, I gave up due to a lack of visible changes. After going to college I managed to get a little flabby. My sedentary lifestyle was starting to catch up with me. For this reason, I chose “Body-Tempering Liquid” It came from a comic about a certain Cultivation Chat Group. Though I don’t know what the full effect it will have on my body, that’s kinda the reason why I drank the luck potion.

Going to the chapter where the main character makes the substance, I grabbed the spoon from the panel.

Seeing it in person, the black tar-like substance didn’t look very appealing. Normally, I would have hesitated. Instead, I put the spoon in my mouth with an odd spasm from my arm resulting in me only swallowing about half of the spoon’s contents. As soon as I swallowed it, I closed my eyes trying to bear the heat and my mouth opened trying to release the heat. It really was SPICY! Soon the burning feeling spread out to every part of my body. It felt, I don't know how to put it, like everything was buzzing. Soon the buzzing was overwritten with a disgusting feeling with a warm tingle in my stomach. I knew it might hurt at first but this was...I felt vile.

While I had expected the urge to move and exercise like mad, in an attempt to release the pent-up energy, instead of needing to use the gym that I had pulled up on my TV I made a mad dash towards the bathroom.

I started stripping in the hall as I made my way towards the shower. By the time I was in the shower, it was coming out of both ends, leaking from my skin, my eyes, and my ears. From a cultivation world’s perspective, this sticky black liquid was simply labeled 'impurities' from all the cultivation stories I've seen. And I was expelling it from every pore and orifice. My last act was to turn on the water before I simply couldn't move other than muscle spasms as I contorted on the shower floor in the fetal position. My only solace was that the water washed away the putrid film of black goo as I lay there.

After an hour of suffering, I was finally able to move again. When it ended I felt significantly better. It felt horrible. If I were to compare it to the times I’ve been sick I think I’ve felt worse only once. But the smell...

As for the effects, I stood in the bathroom looking over my body. Other than while under the effect of the Super Mushroom yesterday, I've never had abs before. Although slight, I had visible tight muscles on my arms and legs too. I also noticed my face; I had a bit of acne growing up and now it's all gone like it never existed. As for what remained, I still had pale white skin due to not spending much time outside, and… looking at some of the places where I was sure I had a mole or a freckle many of them had disappeared. (I still had that one by my left elbow) “Humm,” As I kept checking my body I also noticed much of the scar tissue on my skin had faded or was fading.

While I was leaving the bathroom I remembered in the story, the liquid also had an effect of improving eyesight. But it's not like there's anything to focus on in this tiny little apartment. I needed something to focus on...and I was thirsty after what had just happened so went to get a glass of water. I stood in the kitchen filling up a glass of water.  As I did, "Eyes and Vision. Eyes? Vision?" I kept repeating inside my head.

Then it clicked, my vision might be perfect for a normal person. But some eyes have special abilities in other worlds.

End