Julius watched them for a moment and smiled to himself but then he felt pity too. "Sorry guys, I just need a little bit of points. I will make it up for you all," he vowed in his mind.
The tyrannical meter stayed neutral.
He checked the total again. The number was now at 1146 points.
"System," Julius said as he looked toward the palace where the eunuch had crawled away earlier. "Buy Tyrannical Body Level One."
[Deducting 100 points. Tyrannical Body Level 01 purchased.]
Julius waited. He expected something dramatic. A flash of light. A loud message. Something. But nothing happened. He looked down at his hands. Still the same.
"What is going on, System? Did you just scam me?"
[You only asked to purchase it. You did not specify the target.]
Julius frowned. "Huh? Who else would the target be? I am the host. Obviously it is for me..." He stopped mid sentence. "...Wait." His eyes widened. "Are you saying I can use system items on other people too?"
[Of course.]
"Damn." The first person that came to his mind was Rurika. "If I use this on Rurika, will she become stronger?"
[You must use it to find out.]
Julius coughed lightly. "Ahem... right. Fine. Use it on me then."
The moment he said that, his whole body froze. A crushing pressure slammed into him from every direction. From above, from the sides, even from below. It felt like something was trying to squeeze the air, pee, shit, and even blood out of his lungs, stomach, and the whole body. Then it was gone. Just like that. One second. It was only for one second.
Julius blinked. "That is it?"
[Yes, Host. Tyrannical Body Level 01 applied.]
He rolled his shoulders once. "...Do it again," he ordered without wasting any more words or time.
[Host, the cost has changed.]
"What?" He looked at the system screen again. The price had jumped to 400 points. But it was no longer the same upgrade. Now it showed Tyrannical Body Level 02. Tyrannical Body Level 01 was still there, but the option was greyed out. "What is this?"
[Host, you have already used Tyrannical Body Level 01 on yourself. You cannot apply it again. It can only be used on others now.]
"Oh." Julius scratched his head. "Alright then... show me what other items I can buy."
Before the system could open the store, a loud shout came from the distance. "Where is the intruder?"
Julius turned and heard the sound of metal. Chainmail rattled. Iron boots stomped the ground. A squad of palace guards rushed out from behind the storage room. And that eunuch from earlier was leading them. He was still crying in pain, his broken leg now tied with a wooden splint, but the moment he saw Julius his face twisted with anger and terror. He lifted a shaking finger and pointed straight at him.
"That is him! That is the intruder!" he shouted, his high pitched voice cracking.
"Arrest him!" the guard leader ordered.
"No! Execute him!" the eunuch shrieked.
Julius noticed a ping of notification, now without the ringtone, registering a point count.
"Execute him!" The guard leader obeyed.
The guards followed the order as they rushed forward. Julius suddenly felt a wave of panic hit him for a moment. He had just upgraded his body to Tyrannical Body Level 01, but he had no idea if that would be enough. These men were armored, trained, carrying real weapons, and worse, they were cultivators. Julius was still just a mortal with a slightly stronger body. Still a mortal, not a cultivator at all.
For a split second he wondered if doubling his strength and toughness would actually help against trained fighters with swords. He had no training, not from when he was on Earth and not even here from the original Julius. Then he remembered something. The first guard was already swinging his blade down toward Julius's neck. Julius did not even think anymore. Inside his mind he shouted, "Tyrannical Slap!"
SLAP!
It was instant. Julius did not even register what happened, but the guard leader did. He was a cultivator and better than all of his fellow guards. He saw the hand of that beggar looking young boy move with such speed and precision that even he was not sure if he could block or counter, even after knowing that the attack was coming.
However, the guard who got struck flew and smashed into the wall of that storage room and fell to the ground. He was still awake and looked completely unharmed, but now on his right cheek was a large handprint, swollen and pulsing.
"AHHH!" The guard screamed out in pain like a child, which nobody expected from a guard, from a man, as if his grandfather had slapped him for stealing a candy.
Julius's face was also in horror and shock seeing the effect of Tyrannical Slap which only costs one point. His focus shifted towards the flurry of notifications, but among them one stood out: a single notification of +100 points right after he slapped that guard.
"YOU! YOU DARE RESIST!" the eunuch shrieked and did not stop as he ran away. Seeing him run away leaving them behind, the guard leader felt betrayed, but he was not shocked; these eunuchs were all cowards.
"What are you standing there for? Arrest him!" This time he did not order them to execute; he was not sure who this boy was, so just arresting him would be fine and considered doing his job as a palace guard.
Julius was now not afraid at all as he raised his hand and the guard who came to resist him flinched. The system showed a series of notifications again. Julius smiled at the farming.
"Who are you?" The guard leader felt a headache; one slap from a boy and all of his fellow guards were now terrorized.
"Are you sure you want to know?" Julius calmly answered.
"If you are here to cause trouble, then you will not escape alive."
"You dogs dare to bark at your own master?" Julius growled and in rage yelled Tyrannical Slap in his mind, forgetting that it was a melee strike, not a range.