Chapter 9: A New Plan
Inputting a couple search terms related to what he wanted to know on the search bar, Corius eventually came across a video that seemed to fit his needs, reading the title of the video before tapping on it as he lightly nodded. 'Hmm… 'Immortality%: A Simpler Achievement Than You Might Think'. Yeah, I guess this is the one.'
Click.
Just like the video he had watched before, a being stood at the very center of the video behind a solid yet unassuming background. However, unlike the previous video, which was narrated by a being made out of blue goo, the being in this video instead look more similar to Corius, his hair and eyes a vibrant blue.
"Welcome back to my channel," the man said, his tone somewhat energetic. "If you're watching this, you're either a Worldrunner just beginning to get into higher-level achievements, or you're a Worldrunner just watching this for no apparent reason."
"Or perhaps you're a low-ranked Worldrunner but you want to attempt Immortality% out of spite," the man continued, prompting Corius to do a double take at the man's words. However, after hearing the man chuckle for a bit, he eventually let out a light sigh as he remembered he was watching a video.
"In any case, I'm no psychic, but if you need information on how to have an easier time completing the Immortality% achievement, then this is the video for you."
Hearing those words, Corius brought out the piece of paper where he had listed all of the tips he had learned from the previous video he watched. Then, with his full attention on the video in front of him, he went ahead and started listing down the man's words.
"First and foremost, the greatest tip I can give you as a Worldrunner aiming to complete the Immortality% achievement is to not attempt Immortality% from the get-go," the man said, making Corius tilt his head in slight confusion. Thankfully, it did not take long for the man to explain why. "Now, you might be wondering…"
"Why shouldn't we attempt Immortality% right now? Isn't that the main reason why we're watching the video in the first place?"
"Well, here's the thing." The man took in a deep breath before continuing. "Immortality% is considered to be an achievement that's a part of series of achievements aptly named the Immortality series. If you go through the achievements in that series in ascending difficulty, your chances of completing Immortality% are significantly higher than those repeatedly attempting the Immortality% achievement over and over again."
"For your information, the Immortality series of achievements start from the five star achievement Full Lifespan%, then you have Longevity%, 5x Longevity%, 10x Longevity%, and then Immortality%," the man explained, with Corius furiously writing down the series of achievements the man mentioned. 'Full Lifespan% is a five star achievement, huh. I could probably attempt that.'
"As for the completion conditions of the achievements I've mentioned, I'd suggest consulting your nearest Worldrunner branch for a detailed list of the achievements," the man said before clearing his throat. "Now, we move onto the second tip."
With his ears perked up, Corius waited for the man to talk… only to be slightly disappointed by what he had heard. "Although this might seem counterintuitive, attempt achievements aside from the Immortality series. My recommendations would be the school-based achievements such as Elementary Graduate% or College Graduate%, or the lifespan extension achievements such as Extra Year% or Extra 5 Year%."
"Now, you might be screaming at your screen right now, telling me that you watched the video to get tips that would help you complete Immortality%. However, rather than getting tips to complete Immortality%, you're instead being told to attempt other achievements." Saying this, the man wryly smiled before a calm expression appeared on his face soon after. "Well, here's the thing. All of the other achievements I've just mentioned a while ago are things you'll have to go through in your Immortality% attempt… are you getting what I'm saying?"
Hearing those words, Corius could not help but ponder over the man's words for a bit, eventually piecing two and two together as he gasped with an expression of realization. Coincidentally, just as he had realized what the man was hinting, a light smile appeared on the man's face as he nodded. "If you're thinking what I'm thinking, then that's correct."
"Use the strategies you've learned from these other achievements on your attempt at Immortality%. In the worst-case scenario, you'll shave off a couple centuries from your time. As for best-case scenario?"
With a toothy grin, the man chuckled. "For reference, one of the top Worldrunners, Rumgaleis, was able to cut down his time by two millennia by applying all of the strategies from the achievements I've just mentioned."
'Two millennia…' Scratching his head at the words the man mentioned, Corius could not help but wonder if he would take that long to complete his Immortality% achievement. Eventually, he shook his head, finding no meaning in discouraging himself before he even had the chance to successfully complete it.
With that, he returned his attention back on the video, just as the man was about to mention the third tip. "Well, this third tip is more or less universal. Have a skill in your loadout that either allows you to have an easier time manipulating energy in a planet with an ambient source of energy, or a skill that allows you to create energy you could manipulate in a planet with no ambient source of energy. Of course, having easier access to energy helps you out on a lot of things, but for you, who's focusing on the Immortality% achievement, there's only one thing you should keep in mind."
"It gives you access to the Worldrunners' Life Extension Manual."
'I should really ask about the Life Extension Manual once I go there,' Corius made a mental note, finding it slightly surprising to hear the same term being mentioned in another video.
"For those attempting lifespan extension achievements, the Life Extension Manual is a staple. In fact, those attempting the Extra Year% achievement have gotten the average record down to a few hours, all because the Life Extension Manual is available," the man explained.
"In fact, it wouldn't be surprising to have the Life Extension Manual make up most of the progress in your eventual Immortality% run. So, if you haven't gotten the Life Extension Manual yet, you definitely should. Even the first stage would allow you to clear Extra Year% without a problem, perhaps even Extra 5 Year%."
"And now, for my final tip," said the man, prompting Corius to pay full attention as he briefly glanced at the piece of paper he had been writing on. "Raise your Worldrunner rank."
"Now, it might seem like a tip like that's already a given, but most Worldrunners tend to forget to raise their Worldrunner rank," the man lamented, letting out a light sigh. "In any case, if you didn't know, raising your Worldrunner rank increases the number of skills you could have in your loadout, with each rank increasing that limit by two skills."
"A Junior Worldrunner can have three skills in their loadout, a Bronze Worldrunner five, and so on and so forth until you reach the Grand Worldrunner rank. Those at this rank can have 15 skills in their loadout."
"And that's pretty much all you need to know about attempting the Immortality% achievement. Break the records, Worldrunner." After saying those words, the man then told those who were watching the video to subscribe to his channel before ending the video with an outro.
Finding no more reason to stick around the end of the video, Corius went ahead and closed the video as he returned to his bed, looking at the piece of paper he had been writing on. Reading through the various tips and tricks he had written down on the paper while watching the videos, a plan gradually formed inside his mind as a determined expression briefly flashed on his face.
'Tomorrow, I'll start making preparations.'
…
The following day, after going through his usual routine while in his original body, Corius left his home, eventually making his way to the nearest branch of the Worldrunners organization.
After entering the building, he then made his way to the counters, noticing that the number of people flooding the place was significantly less compared to the previous time he was here. Thinking that most of the people had finally realized how difficult a Worldrunner truly was, he made his way to one of the free attendants before flashing his Junior Worldrunner badge.
"How may I help you today, sir?" the attendant asked.
"Show me a list of the skills I could buy and upgrade," Corius said in response, to which the attendant nodded.
"Would you like to access the list in our technology section, or would you like to do the transaction here instead?"
"Here is fine," said Corius as he extended out his arm. Nodding in response to his actions, the attendant went ahead and scanned his wrist, prompting a small holographic screen to appear above it as a four-digit number was shown to him.
After that, the attendant gave Corius a small device, to which a small holographic screen popped up, showing him the list of skills he currently owned, as well as the list of skills he could buy.
Scrolling through the list, he eventually found the skill he wanted to buy after planning for it the previous night. However, once he saw the price of the skill, he could not help but let out a soft hiss. "[Inferior Internal Energy Generation] costs 25 thousand Worldrunner Credits?"
Taking a look at the number above the wrist, which gave him a number that was just slightly above five thousand, he could not help but lightly shake his head. "Suppose I should just go for [Inferior Internal Energy Conversion] instead.'
Unfortunately, even that was way above what he had at the moment. "15 thousand Worldrunner Credits… how many achievements would I have to complete before I could even buy that?"
Letting out a light sigh, he decided to go with his second plan, which was to upgrade the skills he currently had. Fortunately, unlike the skills he had just looked up, all of his skills only cost a thousand Worldrunner Credits each to upgrade, making Corius now the proud owner of three two-star skills.
"[Inferior Enhanced Growth], [Inferior Adaptability], and [Inferior Prodigious Intelligence] have been upgraded to [Lesser Enhanced Growth], [Lesser Adaptability], and [Lesser Prodigious Intelligence] respectively. Is there any else you would like to add?" the attendant asked, to which Corius shook his head in response. "No, that'll be all for now."
Hearing that, the attendant lightly nodded before scanning his wrist once more, deducting three thousand from the number on the wrist. Seeing this, he could not help but feel a slight twinge as he gradually left the counter before waltzing his way around the building.
"Well then. I guess I won't be able to attempt Full Lifespan% for some time." He let out a sigh. "Then again, the guide did say to attempt other achievements that might not seem to have any connection to Immortality%."
"Hmm…" Just as he pondered over this thought, he had coincidentally stopped in front of the section of the building made for Worldrunner attempts.
Looking at one of the empty pads in the section, a light smile crept up his face as a thought surfaced in his mind.
'I think… my plan needs a few modifications.'
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
TrueDawn
TrueDawn I wonder what Corius meant by that?
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
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