Grace Bennett suppressed his excitement and checked himself, only to realize that his current energy value was actually down to just 1.

"Energy needs to be restored through rest. It represents a person's mental state and physical strength. So, not only does fusing spiritual energy consume energy, but even doing ordinary things also uses it up. When I left the hotel this morning, I clearly still had 2 energy. I didn't expect that after just half a day, I only have 1 left."

Upon learning this number, Grace Bennett was first startled, then suddenly understood.

Immediately after, without any hesitation, he reached for the food he had bought and began to fuse.

Almost at the same time, Grace Bennett instantly felt his mental state and physical strength start to drain away at a terrifying rate.

And this time, after his energy was depleted, Grace Bennett clearly felt an urgent need to rest—it had already reached the point where rest was absolutely necessary.

If, when his energy was at 3, he felt full of vigor and strength, then at 2, it was like having worked half a day—somewhat tired, but not overwhelmingly so. But now, when his last bit of energy was drained, it felt as if he had been exhausted for a very long time, as if all his strength had been sucked dry.

He just wanted to lie in bed and sleep soundly; even opening his eyelids seemed like an insurmountable chasm.

"Thud~"

He didn't even have time to check the newly fused spiritual energy before Grace Bennett collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

This sleep was especially sweet; he didn't even dream once. It was as if he stuck to the bed, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, it was already dark outside the hotel room.

"Huh? It's night already? How long did I sleep?" As soon as he opened his eyes, Grace Bennett immediately noticed that his body, which had been exhausted to the extreme, was once again full of energy. And this clarity was unprecedentedly strong, without even a trace of the grogginess normal people feel upon waking.

He took out his newly bought phone to check the time, and to his astonishment, it was just after nine in the evening. He had arrived at the hotel a little after one in the afternoon, so he had slept for a full eight hours.

"A normal person only needs about eight hours of rest a day to recover from a day's fatigue." A flash of realization crossed his mind again. Grace Bennett checked his energy value once more and found that it had indeed returned to 3.

At this moment, in that strange space in his mind, there was also a portion of spiritual energy floating, exactly the same as last time.

Seeing this spiritual energy, Grace Bennett finally felt truly delighted.

Chapter 012: Increasing Energy

Now that he had new spiritual energy, what he needed to do was, of course, to fuse it.

He had already experienced the effects of spiritual energy firsthand. Not only did it allow him to quickly master the physical abilities others possessed, but it also seemed to subtly enhance some of his own physical attributes, such as strength and speed.

Although the feeling wasn't very clear and Grace Bennett couldn't be certain, he figured he could confirm it by trying again.

Once he gave the mental command to fuse, the spiritual energy was immediately activated and surged into his body. At the same time, that slight pain and tingling sensation appeared once more.

This time, because he was fully focused on the changes brought by the fusion, Grace Bennett clearly sensed that his strength and mental state were indeed slowly improving.

Although he couldn't determine the exact degree of improvement, the clear sensation still made his expression change dramatically.

After the fusion ended, Grace Bennett casually clenched his fist and found that his strength had indeed increased quite a bit compared to before.

"It really did improve." A subtle gleam flashed in his eyes. Suppressing his excitement, Grace Bennett thought for a moment before reaching for the remaining food to continue fusing.

After consuming another point of energy and extracting another portion of spiritual energy, Grace Bennett didn't hesitate and immediately began fusing again, because he was especially eager to figure out exactly how much he was improving.

Although he still didn't know how to judge it, he thought that as long as he kept fusing and improving, once he reached a certain limit, he should be able to roughly determine it.

With this strange thought in mind, as the tingling and pain quietly returned, a new thought suddenly emerged in Grace Bennett's previously excited mind.

"Fused spiritual energy 3 times, increased energy by 1, total energy now 4, current energy 2."

"Huh?" As soon as he heard this thought, his expression changed, and a look of shock surged in his eyes. Increased energy by 1? His energy limit had increased so quickly?

By now, he clearly understood the function and significance of energy. 3 energy was what a normal person possessed: all their strength, endurance, and various physical and mental states. Its importance could not be overstated.

He hadn't expected that after just three fusions of spiritual energy, he would increase his energy by 1—a one-third overall improvement?

Thinking of this, aside from shock, Grace Bennett was filled with a joy akin to sudden enlightenment.

With the increase in energy, the changes brought by each fusion also became immediately clear.

That should be a one-ninth overall improvement for a normal person!