《Mage of Arcane Will [LitRPG]》 Glossary Skill Levels: 1-100 [Common] 101-200 [Uncommon] 201-400 [Rare] 401-800 [Special] 801-1200 [Epic] 1201-1600 [Legendary] 1601-2000 [Mythical] 2001-2500 [Heavenly] 2501-3000 [Divine] 3001-???? [Transcendent] Race and Class Level Stats: [Common] 1-10 [Uncommon] 11-20 [Rare] 21-50 [Special] 51-100 [Epic] 101-200 [Legendary] 201-400 [Mythical] 401-800 [Heavenly] 801-1600 [Divine] 1601-3200 [Transcendent] 3201-???? Bonuses are not taken into account when distributing characteristics: +10 characteristics for an aspected core with a basic element (ice, fire, light) +15 stats if you have a rare ability (blood magic, time mana, space mana, holy mana) +20 stats if your mana is combined with soul energy (curse magic, necromancy, demonic energy, holy energy) Other bonuses may apply. Max Race and Class Level: 1-100 [Common] 1-200 [Uncommon] 1-400 [Rare] 1-800 [Special] 1-1000 [Epic] 1-1000 [Legendary] 1-1000 [Mythic] [If there is a Heavenly or Divine skill, the 1000 level limit is removed and the evolution in the race is opened.] Upon reaching the Heavenly skill, the evolution is opened, granting immortality and upgrading the race to the Legendary level. Upon reaching the Divine skill, the evolution is opened, granting immortality and skills related to faith and followers, upgrading the race to the Mythic level. 1-1200 [Epic] 1-1600 [Legendary] 1-2000 [Mythical] 1-2500 [Celestial] 1-3000 [Divine] 1-???? [Transcendent] Class Multipliers: +???% skill development speed +???% understanding of own class [Common] -25% [Uncommon] -50% [Rare] -75% [Special] - 100% [Epic] - 125% [Legendary] - 150% [Mythical] - 175% [Heavenly] - 200% [Divine] - 225% [Transcendent] - 250% Unique Class +10% Class Multiplier Class Bloodline Progenitor +10% Class Multiplier Unique Skill +10% Own Growth Rate Unique Race +10% Skill Growth Rate Unique Affinity +10% Understanding Warrior and Mage Class Rating: Apprentice Mage [Common-Special] Mage [Uncommon-Epic] Great Mage [Special-Legendary] Archmage [Legendary-Heavenly] Exarch [Mythical-Heavenly] Monarch [Heavenly-Divine] God of Magic [Transcendent] Warrior''s Disciple [Common-Special] Adept [Uncommon-Epic] Elite [Special-Legendary] Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.Master [Legendary-Heavenly] Grandmaster [Mythical-Heavenly] Monarch [Heavenly-Divine] Technique God [Transcendent] Achieving classes: (An important addition: upon reaching Spell level 4 or an active skill that increases stats by a percentage when first choosing a class, skill requirements are reduced to [Uncommon] level.) Sword Disciple - Mastery of the sword [Uncommon] and the use of techniques. Sword Adept - Use of complex endurance or life force techniques for a active skill that increases characteristics by percentage. Sword Elite - Use of a special aura or [Special] level skill in sword mastery. Supreme Elite - Manipulation of soul energy Master - Use of soul energy in techniques, perfect combination of them Grandmaster - True Domain Monarch - Soul ability God of Technics - ??? Apprentice Mage - Must be able to cast 1st level spells, Have the skills [Meditation] [Uncommon], [Mana Sense] [Uncommon], [Mana Manipulation] [Uncommon], [Casting Spells] [Uncommon]. Mage - Must be able to cast 1st-4th level spells and have skills [Meditation] [Rare], [Mana Sense] [Rare], [Mana Manipulation] [Rare], [Casting Spells] [Rare]. Great Mage - Must have great power over his element and cast 1st-7th level spells, as well as have control over his aura through manipulation of soul energy. Archmage - Must be able to use soul energy in his spells and do it perfectly. Exarch - Must have a true domain. Monarch - Soul Ability. God of Magic - ??? Everyone who has a God class becomes the strongest in the category they choose. No one can have two identical God classes that rule over the same Enhancement Skills: Types: Arcane - mana... Spiritual - soul energy or spiritual power Physical - vitality and stamina Mental - mental energy Other types... The mage can increase mana power and mana regeneration for a while. Mages can also theoretically increase any stat, but the main enhancement skills include Mental Control, Willpower, Intelligence, and Perception. A warrior, with the help of an enhancing skill (which works mainly on endurance), can increase: strength, agility, constitution, intelligence, perception and occasionally other characteristics. Mental magic, enhances mental control, willpower, intelligence, wisdom, perception. Spiritual enhancements include all stats. It all depends on the skill and the user. Active Stat Boost Skills: [Common] 1-10% [Uncommon] 10-25% [Rare] - 25-50% [Special] - 50-100% [Epic] - 100-200% [Legendary] - 200-300% [Mythical] - 300-400% [Heavenly] - 400-600% [Divine] - 600-800% [Transcendent] - 800-1000% Basic Stat Enhancement Skill: [Common] 1-10% [Uncommon] 10-25% [Rare] - 25-50% [Special] - 50-100% [Epic] - 100-200% [Legendary] - 200-300% [Mythical] - 300-400% [Heavenly] - 400-600% [Divine] - 600-800% [Transcendent] - 800-1000% Skills that can work together are not multiplied by each other, but are added together based on the base value of the stats. For example: Strength 100 +50% base skill [Rare] = 150 +50% active skill [Rare] that works with stamina = 225 +50% active skill [Rare] that works with mana = 300 This may not work due to the incorrect combination of skills, or have a limitation on the user''s constitution, their Soul Force. Bane: Demonic Energy ¡ú Angels, Humans, Elves (Deadly Effective) Demonic Energy - Cursed Creatures, Undead, Horror, Void Creatures, Doppelgangers. (Effective) Demonic Energy ¡û Demons (Easiest to counter your own element) Holy Mana ¡ú Demons, Undead, Cursed Creatures, Horror. (Embodiment of Evil, Cursed Existence) (Maximum Effectiveness) Holy Mana - Doppelgangers, Evil Dragons, Monsters, Void Creatures. (Essentially Evil) (Hits hard, but not maximally hard) Holy Mana ¡û Angels, Humans, Elves. (Good) (Essentially Useless)... Mana Core Levels: Lesser Mana Core - 1-10,000 MP 1:1 Mana Core - 10,000-100,000 MP 1:1-10 Great Mana Core - 100,000-1,000,000 MP 1:100 Heavenly Mana Core 1,000,000-10,000,000 MP 1:100-1000 Divine Mana Core 10,000,000 MP 1:1000-10,000 Transcendental Mana Core 100,000,000 MP 1 Chapter Chapter 1 Nick came to after a series of unpleasant sensations. He could not understand what was happening to him at that moment, it was as if he was locked in something that was slowly squeezing him. Because of these sensations, his throat was constricted and he realized that he could not breathe. Nick panicked greatly and tried to open his eyes, but he did not see anything, he floundered and tried to break free, but after a few seconds he realized that he was not suffocating and stopped. Nick came to the conclusion that he did not need to breathe, stopped panicking and began to think about what was happening to him now. The last thing he remembered was lying in an ambulance after being hit by a car, it was a serious accident, the impact was such that he was thrown 15 meters further down the road. Luckily, the ambulance arrived quickly and he lost consciousness at that moment. Which led him to unpleasant thoughts about hallucinations. Suddenly he was thrown out of this space, he saw a light and a group of people wrapping him in a towel, he had to quickly turn on his new reincarnated brain to understand that he was reborn, immediately began to scream like a baby. Among the many noises, he could not understand what the people around were saying. Nick turned his head to see how he was being handed over to mother, she was a very beautiful woman and this almost distracted him from the pleasant green light that was coming from the hands of one of the people dressed in white. Just by looking at mother''s face, he immediately realized that she was getting healthier right before eyes. Nick very quickly came to the conclusion that this was healing magic. At that moment, his brain exploded among a bunch of possibilities: Magic, magic, magic, magic, magic, magic, magic. It took Nick a few minutes to calm down and think about everything. He began to think about the many new opportunities for his growth, but his new body failed him and he fell asleep. *** Nick woke up in the middle of the night checking out his new little hands, he quickly noticed the girl dressed in a maid uniform and how quickly she left to call someone. The new language she spoke was very different from his native language. Nick was once again convinced of his new position as a Reincarnator. He tried to take a closer look at his surroundings, but other than hard wood and soft white light that shone from the ceiling, saw nothing. His bed was very well made, he tried to feel the blanket, with limited success due to his very weak hands, he felt that it was very soft and warm, even unrealistically soft. This is what he thought magic clouds should be like. Nick''s stomach twisted and he felt a strong feeling of hunger. Now it became clear to him why he woke up in the middle of the night. Well, damn, now I''ll have to put up with myself for the next three years. The door to his room opened, he saw his mother enter, in anticipation of food he tried to raise his hands so that she would feed him. His mother, as he expected, picked him up in her arms and he was able to enjoy her beauty again, her hair was a normal shade of brown, her eyes were light blue. However, her facial features were normal, but something about them attracted him. At this moment, Nick did not think much about it because he was very hungry. His mother quickly unbuttoned his shirt and pulled him into her arms. *** After 15 minutes, Nick was placed in the cradle, he started to feel pretty good. Memories of a past life began to surface without conscious awareness. Nick was a simple person, he didn''t have many hobbies, he mostly went to work, came back from it and sat down to read various novels and manga. He had to keep himself in shape after he realized how detrimental it was to his health. He remembered some happy and sad moments, having decided that he didn''t need to become sad, he started thinking about new possibilities. Overall, this situation was very familiar to him and if he reincarnated, then in most cases there had to be a reason for it, after all, he lived in a world without magic and was a relatively ordinary person. Damn, I hope this isn''t some kind of apocalypse that brave heroes need to stop. Damn, I''m sure that it will be like this, but why hasn''t some god come to me and given me a task? It gives me some relief, but I''m sure it won''t last long. After these thoughts he fell asleep again. *** Early in the morning, he woke up with light shining into his eyes. Nick noticed the windows and was very surprised that they were made flawlessly. It was a work of art, such clear glass could not have been made in any other era of his world except the current one. Which led to the idea that it was made with magic. While Nick was thinking about the nature of glass and how it could be made with minimal effort, his mother came in and gave him another feeding session. Nick was still amazed at how beautiful and elegant she was. I was definitely born into a noble family, and such behavior would hardly be possible in my world. She moves too nimbly, too gracefully, too beautifully. There is definitely magic involved. If this were LittleRPG, her charisma stats would be very high. Nick was changed and left in bed under the care of a maid. He decided to do the most important thing a novice reincarnator could do, namely, try to see mana. Nick gathered all his mental strength to do this and stared intently at one point in his field of vision. He did not look at anything in particular, but at the space itself, as if he wanted to make a hole in it with his mind. It took him not much and not little, 10 minutes of his time. At this point, he decided to stop. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. If I don''t see mana in the air, I''ll try to look at the maid, the main thing is not to get stuck on one approach and not to get upset. Nick thought encouragingly and decided to turn his attention to the girl in the maid''s uniform, who looked to her 20 years old.The girl''s blond hair was neatly folded into a bun, her face was very neat and beautiful, but Nick did not feel the same charisma that his mother had. She noticed his gaze and decided to do nothing. After examining her, Nick began to try to feel the mana that should be in her, he spent 10 minutes on this, but did not succeed. The only thing he got was the girl''s strange look. Hell, if it were that easy, everyone would be a mage, well i can of course do the simplest thing. Nick began to think of the world as a video game, imagining a notification appearing in front of his eyes, mentally speaking, a status. "Status" Name: Dylan Ghostblade (Nick Miller) Race: Evolved Human [Rare] Lv. 1 Class: Blocked Class: Blocked Health 40 HP 0.04 HP/hour Mana 30 MP 0.02 MP/hour Endurance 30 ST 0.4 ST/hour Statistics: Strength 2 Dexterity 2 Endurance 3 Vitality 4 Constitution 4 Intelligence 31 Wisdom 23 Mental Control 21 Willpower 31 Perception 11 Charisma 2 Mana output 5 Mana 3 Mana Regeneration 2 Luck 11 9 free attribute points Titles: Otherworldly Reincarnator [Legendary+] Racial Skills: Quick Learning [Uncommon] Low adaptability of characteristics [Common] Minor adaptation [Common] Small Mana Core [Common] Skills: Empty Possible skills: Knowledge of language (English) [Common], Driving cars [Common], Observation [Common], Hand-to-hand combat [Common], Leg fighting [Common], ... Nick''s status appeared before his eyes and he eagerly began to read it. The first thing he noticed was his name and surname, Dylan Ghostblade. He liked his new name and surname, but to be honest, it sounded too fancy for his taste. It definitely spoke of his family''s higher status than that of an ordinary noble family. His stats looked normal for a Reincarnator, especially his high mental stats. He could tell that his other stats were below par, and that his luck stat was way too high, which in his opinion was also clear, he was a Reincarnator, he was lucky. But the fact that his magic stats were so low made him furious. I want to become a mage, why so few? Why? Having calmed down a bit, Nick turned his attention to his race, the Evolved Humans. The text window appeared before his eyes again. Race: Evolved Human [Rare] 1-400 Lv. Evolved Human is the evolution of your species, descended from Race: Human [Uncommon]. Evolved Human is an order of magnitude better than the average man in every way. For 1 level you get: Strength +1 Dexterity +1 Stamina +1 Vitality +1 Constitution +1 Mental Control +1 Willpower +1 Intelligence +1 Wisdom +1 Perception +1 Charisma +1 Luck +1 +9 free attribute points Well, that explains a lot. But why won''t an evolved human give me a magical characteristic? That seems like a setup! Very disappointing. Nick continued to look at his status, everything was generally clear to him. Probably, classes were blocked due to age or level in the race. There were more characteristics than he thought, why do you need 4 mental characteristics? After concentrating a little, new windows popped up. Intelligence - determines how quickly you can process information. Wisdom - determines how good your memory is. Mental Control ¨C determines how accurately you can control various energies. Willpower - determines the strength of your mind. Nick read the pop-ups and realized that these would be his main stats, but what exactly was meant by the power of your mind, he wasn''t sure. Looking at the stats further, he focused on the last six. Perception - determines how accurate all your senses are. Charisma - determines how other beings see you. Mana Output - Determines how much mana per second you can extract from your core without damaging it, and how much unaspected mana you can infuse into your body without damaging it. Mana - Determines the size of your mana reserve. Mana Regeneration - Determines how quickly you can restore and regenerate your mana. Luck - determines your luck ???. After reading the definition of each stat, Nick realized that they didn''t tell everything he wanted to know. If Mana Output was how much you could squeeze out of your Mana Core and hold in your body, that didn''t explain exactly how much Mana you could hold in it without getting hurt. After all, it made sense that if he put all of his Mana into his body, nothing would happen to him because otherwise he would already be dead. He was sure there was more Mana in the air than the Mana Output stat suggested, but he felt fine despite that. And that meant the description didn''t tell the whole story. The Mana stat was pretty clear, but the Mana Regeneration stat was a little unclear. If Mana Regeneration was how much he could produce passively, which was 0.02 per hour, then Mana Recovery was how fast he could absorb it from the air, but it was unclear how much more that number was than Passive Mana Regeneration. Nick started thinking about the luck statistics and decided to stop with great disappointment, as he was unlikely to be right about anything because of these question marks. Instead, he decided to test his racial skills. Rapid Learning [Uncommon] - As a human, you have the skill that you need most to get to the top of the food chain. The skill allows you to learn different things and skills very quickly. Adaptation of Minor Attributes [Common] - With this skill, you can develop your attributes by repeatedly performing actions; after receiving a certain number of attributes, this skill will stop working. Minor Adaptation [Common] - As an individual, you can adapt to a certain extent to various things that are harmful to you and through this develop certain skills. Lesser Mana Core [Common] - This skill determines the size of your mana reserve and the speed of its restoration and regeneration. None of this told Nick anything about the very unusual abilities of his rare race. The only thing that made him happy was his title. Otherworldly Reincarnator [Legendary+] - You have seen death and survived it to be reborn in a new body and in a new galaxy. The title gives a greater connection to the mana of space and the ability to better sense the energy of death, and also gives greater speed in learning any new languages. Nick decided to pay attention to the last line: possible skills. Among them, he saw a bunch of actions from his past life, and as far as he understood, he could make a skill out of everything and develop it further. But among this whole system, one could see a significant drawback. What prevented someone from requesting a whole bunch of different skills? After all, this made any person superhuman in everything. He was sure that there was some limitation on the number of skills, although Nick did not understand where this limitation came from, maybe from characteristics, maybe from the level in race and classes. Nick continued to think about his status until he fell asleep. 2 Chapter Chapter 2 Nick woke up on the third day of new life and straightaway began to examine status. Among the possible skills, he did not see anything even remotely useful or magical. Such skills as speed reading, concentration, heightened attention were very good in his opinion, but what should he do with them as a three-day-old child? And without knowing the limit on the number of possible skills, he didn''t want to risk screwing up anything. He considered it acceptable, the usefulness of [Common] level skills was extremely low for him at this point. Also it was unclear how to develop his race, most likely, he received the first level solely for his existence. While Nick was lying in his cradle and looking at the windows, mother came into room and fed him. With that, the daily routine was over, because instead of putting him back to bed, he was taken for a walk around the mansion. Looking around the mansion, he was again extremely impressed by the work done. Everything was perfectly clean, the corridors were made of wood resembling oak with windows inserted. Occasionally, paintings came across along the way, but they were difficult to appreciate in passing. Passing by a large number of maids and a man dressed in a tuxedo, apparently his new butler who also radiated dignity and elegance with his whole appearance, he was very surprised by the fact that he had a sword hanging on his belt. In appearance, the sword was in an elegant scabbard beaten with blue fabric with a blue hilt, the sword looked very much like an ordinary one-handed sword with a small guard in the European style, about one meter long. The butler stood in front of the large double doors with a pair of identical one-handed swords carved into them, half drawn from their scabbards. The man opened the doors elegantly and greeted Nick''s mother. The conversation passed too quickly to be properly understood. Nick''s mother walked through the doors and he saw seven people sitting at a large long table, the interior was impressive, but he did not see anything too special except for the table overflowing with very appetizing food. Nick reproached himself for thinking that he could try any of this. So he began to look more closely at the people sitting at the table as they approached him. At the main place of the table sat a handsome man of about 30 years old, to the right of him was empty, it was to this place that his mother approached and also elegantly sat down on a chair while the butler pulled it out for her. To the left of his father sat another man who looked to be in his early 40s, this man could not be described as very memorable, but there was a certain steel in his eyes. He looked like his old combat instructor who trained him in the army, in a word, creepy. Next to him sat a woman who also radiated charm like his mother, but it was not so noticeable. Next to him sat a young man who looked to be 16 years old, behind him he noticed a maid who held a sword for him. The other three were girls from 20 to 15 years old. As far as Nick understood, they were the daughters of the woman who sat next to the combat instructor, since they looked like her. At first Nick thought that he imagined it, but the children had hair that was slightly blue at the edges. Looking closely, he realized that his father also had a dark blue tint at the ends of his hair, like his brother. A real noble family, even a clan and everyone has a distinctive feature, these are the most real cliches I have ever seen. While everyone else was talking and apparently looking at him with great pleasure, Nick broke out of his thoughts and stopped clinging to his mother so tightly. The first thing he decided to do was to start yelling at his father for reasons that were very clear to him. Why he was still nowhere to be seen, any excuses were meaningless to him, and while he was throwing a tantrum, his mother handed him over to his father. Of course, Nick had to come to terms with the loss of his double pillow. To look into his father''s eyes, his the eyes were the most ordinary of those he had seen today, and although father was attractive, he was far from as good as his mother. Therefore, Nick quickly came to the only correct conclusion. Combat classer, I see, I see. The name Ghost Blade can speak of many abilities and I''m sure one of them is stealth. Most likely, my father''s charisma characteristic works to make him relatively invisible and unattractive. If I had met him on the street, I would hardly have looked at him a second time. Cunning, very cunning. Nick smiled brightly at his father, and while the others were happy about it, Nick was making his own plans for this sword style. Breakfast passed quickly enough and while the others were chatting pleasantly, Nick was thinking about his future martial art. He didn''t have time to notice how he was handed back to his mother and went to his bed. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Unfair children''s brain, how difficult is to maintain concentration. *** Meanwhile, in the main cathedral of the holy church, a meeting of the highest ranks was called. In the huge main room with glass walls and ceiling, at a huge round table sat the Pope, the Saint, four Cardinals and eight Archbishops, as well as the most powerful holy Paladin of the church. This meeting was called because of a message from Gods. This caused a heated argument among the present. "And we''re just going to allow a bunch of Reincarnators to live in hiding? Is that what you''re suggesting, Your Eminence? We need to immediately begin an operation to find and identify them, so that we can bring them up according to our teachings and laws." Said one of the archbishops. "Dear Archbishop, you are very much mistaken in the best actions for us, these are people with an already developed worldview and if we act as you say, it will not end well for our church. Many Reincarnators will harbor a strong grudge against us. And if the church does this, its authority will greatly decline, which cannot be allowed in the current circumstances." The Pope answered. "I fully support Your Eminence decision, we cannot set the Reincarnators against us, because in the future we will need all of them to fight the [Archdemon] who is already breaking into our World." Said saintess supporting the pope''s decision. "Forgive me, your holiness, but how are we going to train the Reincarnators to help us if we don''t announce their existence?" asked the paladin. "It''s very simple Yuriel, we will not train Reincarnators and we will not actively search for them, they themselves will come to the army when they want the world to remain intact. We will announce the demonic invasion to the public in due time and they will have no choice but to join us in the fight." With this, the Pope declared the most important meeting in the last millennium over. *** While the meeting was going on, Nick decided to do the most important thing for a Reincarnator again, namely, try to feel his mana. He began to breathe systematically and imagine his mana core, because the skill will not lie, his has it. This is how his weekly routine went, Nick had nothing to do except meditate, feed and sleep. And finally, he managed to start "seeing" his mana core in the lower abdomen, it was so small that he was not even sure that this is it. In his mind, it was a ball with a diameter of one centimeter and inside it he began to see a blue gas-like liquidity. Due to excitement, his concentration suddenly stopped and he was thrown out of his imaginary space. At the edge of his field of vision, he noticed a small icon and immediately concentrated on it. Congratulations, you have unlocked two skills: Lesser Meditation ]Common], Lesser Mana Sense [Common]. Without a second''s hesitation, he immediately took these two skills. Congratulations, you have acquired two skills: Lesser Meditation [Common] Lvl 1, Lesser Mana Sense [Common] Lvl 1. Ahahahaha, I finally set out on the path of a true mage. And it took about a week of my time. And you thought I would give up because of this? Never! Without thinking twice, Nick tried to use both of these skills, but in the process of concentrating, he fell asleep again. Waking up from someone entering his room, he saw his mother and father. He was quickly fed, changed and kissed on the forehead, from which he fell asleep again. Waking up the next morning, Nick began to mentally complain about his stupid body. Every time I do something hard I quickly fall asleep and how can I become an arhimage?! Having calmed down a bit, he reconsidered his status. Just thinking about it. Name: Dylan Ghostblade (Nick Miller) Race: Evolved Human [Rare] Lvl 1 Class: Blocked Class: Blocked Health 40 HP 0.04 HP/hour Mana 30 MP 0.02 MP/hour Endurance 30 ST 0.3 ST/hour Statistics: Strength 2 Dexterity 2 Stamina 3 Vitality 4 Constitution 4 Intelligence 32 Wisdom 23 Mental Control 21 Willpower 31 Perception 11 Charisma 2 Mana output 5 Mana 3 Mana Regeneration 2 Luck 11 9 free attribute points Titles: Otherworldly Reincarnator [Legendary+] Racial Skills: Quick Learning [Uncommon] Low adaptability of characteristics [Common] Minor Adaptation [Common] Lesser Mana Core [Common] Skills: Lesser Meditation [Common] 1 Lvl Lesser Mana sense [Common] 1 Lvl Possible skills: Language Proficiency(English) [Common], Driving a car [Common], Observation [Common], Hand-to-hand combat [Common], Leg Fight [Common], ... His intelligence stat had increased by one point, which made him very happy. Nick decided not to spend his free stat points for now, since it would be strange for a child to see it, and he didn''t want to explain to anyone in the future why he spent them. Well, this is how my life begins in a new world. Meditation and self-knowledge, what have I come to! 3 Chapter Chapter 3 After acquiring the skills of meditation and mana sense, Nick began to practice diligently, but his success in this was limited. He could definitely look at his mana core, but he did not advance further than that. The world had not changed fundamentally for him, and he could not sense anyone''s mana except his own. At first, he tried to discern mana in the air and in other people, mainly in his maids and mother who often visited him lately. So he spent two weeks trying to develop his skills, this could not be called a success, since Lesser Meditation [Common] increased to Lvl 3, and Lesser Mana Sense [Common] to Lvl 2. If Nick admitted this to himself, it would greatly disappoint him, but he did not give up. The development of a new language skill was also not very successful, he could not make out anything except his name, and only because it was the most frequently spoken word he heard. Today mother deigned to take him outside, in the backyard of the mansion he saw nothing magical. In his opinion, although everything was beautiful, he did not find a drop of satisfaction in it. There was a well-kept garden with some blue flowers, a small number of wooden gazebos built under large trees. But as they walked through the entire territory of the mansion and his mother explained something to him, his gaze caught on some remarkable tree. It stood at the very edge of their territory, not reaching the stone wall 4 meters high. It did not look special, but Nick felt some drop of peace in it, the tree actually looked alive. Nick could not understand why he thought so, but he knew that this tree was special. Looking at it for the rest of the tour of the garden, he noticed how it moved under the pressure of the wind, which in fact should not be possible, since he did not feel the wind around him and did not see that the other plants even slightly moved. When he was put back to bed he fell asleep and was slightly less depressed about his failure to learn magic. The next day Nick decided to throw a tantrum at his mother so that she would take him for a walk in the garden again. This plan had its place of success. Of course, he had to spend a lot of time for his mother to understand what exactly he wanted without revealing himself as a Reincarnator. When he was led through the garden again, he began to stretch his small hands to the tree and of course his mother led him to it. Closer the tree looked like a maple from his old world, it was about 25 meters high, which was normal growth for this tree, but its crown was unnaturally large and widened greatly at the base. It was very pleasant to be near the maple, even the air for some reason seemed cleaner. Nick''s heart warmed up next to it for some reason. Even his mother, standing there, just quietly admired the surrounding landscape. And for the first time Nick really wanted to sleep of his own free will. He woke up already in bed, again looking at the maid who was on duty at his bed around the clock. Poor thing, do they even feed you? I can imagine how incredibly bored I would be to constantly look after a child, it''s really scary and terrifying In the following days, Nick often tried to beg for a walk to the tree, sometimes he succeeded, and sometimes he did not. His father came to him three times to "visit his favorite son" and talk about some nonsense that he did not understand at all. One day, Nick counted the days spent in his prison of the mind and realized that he was already one month old. As today a wonderful banquet was arranged for him on this occasion, he saw more of his relatives, which was surprisingly easy to determine by their slightly dark blue hair. Nick counted more than 20 people in this banquet hall, while people came up one by one and greeted his mother and father. As far as Nick can understand, this was some kind of gathering of their clan. I just don''t have the courage to call them all a noble family, there are too many of them and almost every one of them had a sword with them. And why doesn''t anyone think that a magical massacre is about to begin? Oh, was I right?! Nick noticed how one of the maids took something out from under her dress and threw it at his father''s feet, but what was most surprising was that the bomb exploded just a little, it looked more like a loud firecracker than a deadly weapon. And before Nick could even blink, three representatives of his family were standing next to the maid with naked swords that were near the poor maid''s neck. The maid began to blush and the only thing he noticed was how her head fell. Amazing, so the Phantom Sword Style specializes in speed. I literally didn''t see anything except how her head was no longer attached to her neck. Isn''t that too strong? And those three people seemed to have teleported. I''m pretty sure there''s some kind of magic formation in the mansion that makes magic difficult to use, but doesn''t work on swordsmen at all. How clever, very clever, I like it. His father began to give some orders in a firmer voice and soon the banquet continued as if nothing had happened. Alas, nothing interesting happened during the entire event. Nick was taken back to his bed, but this time the butler stayed in the room with him instead of the maid. Surprisingly, Nick did not want to sleep yet and began to talk like a baby to the butler. At first, the butler did not answer at all, but later, like everyone else, he succumbed to his charm. He began to tell Nick about something, gesturing with his hands and sometimes making funny faces. Nick was really happy, because of how much the man had changed from an elegant butler to an ordinary cheerful uncle. An unfamiliar maid entered the room and was immediately cut in half. The butler''s face turned cold as the maid began to move. The man slowly pulled out his blade and somehow activated it so that it began to glow with a soft white light, after which the maid was cut into 12 more pieces, a putrid black mist began to emanate from her body and the corpse began to decompose right before his eyes. The butler said one word, after which he immediately spat on the floor. "Undead!" Even without knowing his language, Nick understood that he was talking about a necromancer or the undead. So there is necromancy here, in principle nothing unexpected, but why the formation did not work on the necromancy spell was unclear. The butler took a metal plate out of his jacket, and a blue barrier immediately appeared near the door. By that time, only ashes remained from the maid''s corpse. Nick heard people running along the corridors, but other than that, no strange sounds. Soon Nick fell asleep despite his slight panic. The next morning his mother greeted him along with the old maid and the butler. The day had not changed much, but no matter how much he begged his mother, she did not take him outside. It''s nice to know that people are worried about me, and it''s also nice to know that the pathetic undead can''t defeat my clan, ahahahaha, prepare yourself for a quick death, death worshipers! When I grow up, I''ll start a personal vendetta, but of course I have to wait a little. Alas. The new day passed just like all the previous ones, it was completely dedicated to training with mana. *** Last night, after the assassination attempt on Dylan Ghostblade, Virion Ghostblade: Patriarch of the Ghost Sword Clan and Count of the Holy Kingdom, called a council among his clan. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. "Does anyone have any idea who could have done this and how they managed to get into the mansion? And even more so, bring the undead here?! We have a holy field constantly turned on on our territory precisely because of this dirt!" Virion asked in rage. "Master, we examined the bodies, the first woman was a blood mage and wanted to commit sacrificial suicide, she was accepted into our service two months ago. And the second maid had been in our service for more than five years, in the ashes of what was left of her we found metal dust and Master Rimel, our glorious artifactor, suspects that it was a special item that isolates and hides the undead from the holy field. He assures that mass production of this artifact is impossible." Answered Gerit Ghostblade, the man in charge of all security in the mansion. "Although this is good, investigate the city and pay a decent compensation to the deceased maid, also give her children the right to learn the art of the ghost blade from Master Rayon if they show potential. Strengthen the security of the mansion, I want it to be patrolled at all times, and also maintain a constant anti-magic formation. Enlist the help of the holy church inquisitors to find the necromancer, he should be somewhere in the city to counter the formation, find his refuge and bring him to me. Whoever copes with this task will receive a Ghost Blade [Special+]. *** Another 4 four months of tireless training in mana sense passed and today he was able to raise the Lesser Mana Sense [Common] skill to Lvl 5 as well as Lesser Meditation [Common] to Lvl 5. It was really hard, his willpower and mental control stats jumped by one point each, and his strength, agility, endurance, constitution, vitality and perception stats increased by two points. Thanks to this, he was able to feel the mana in his body just a little bit, basically the mana that was in him was completely static, it only moved with the blood. And to understand this, in his opinion, it took him too much time. In these four months, he was able to slightly learn the language and take the Language Proficiency (Ramiast) [Common] Lvl 1 skill. Now he knows that his mother''s name is Limia, his father''s name is Varion, his butler''s name is Benedict, and his personal maid''s name is Maria. Two weeks after the assassination attempt, Nick was allowed out into the garden in the presence of his mother, butler and two more guards. One was definitely a mage, as he walked around with a large staff with a light blue crystal on top, and the other was another representative of his clan. On every walk, he asked to go to the tree and sometimes his mother would say all sorts of comments that he almost understood, "something about how much I like this tree and blah-blah-blah." During all this time, the tree slightly changed the color of its leaves to yellow, and then to red. Now the leaves are slowly falling off as winter is approaching. As far as Nick understood, the seasons in this world are almost the same as on earth. During these four months, a healer mage often visited him, the first time was right after the assassination attempt and then regularly every week, he apparently came before, but he was unlucky to see him. The next time he came Nick was sure that he would be able to at least feel the effects of healing magic on his body, all previous attempts to feel at least something were disappointingly unsuccessful. He practically stopped seeing his father, he was apparently very busy investigating the assassination attempt on him and as far as Nick understood the investigation was not progressing quickly, even with the help of the church. He knew about this because after the assassination attempt three nice priests came to him and in his opinion completely dipped his entire room and himself in holy mana, all this glowing performance took place under the supervision of his father, apparently he did not trust either the church itself or the priests themselves, which was actually a very big plus for Nick. Since in his opinion all Reincarnators should be devilish heretics for the average church. What was most depressing during all this time was that he did not receive a single level in the race. And this should have told him something. Either the race could only be developed through killing, or his three normal skills weren''t enough to even raise him one level. The same thing happened with his magic stats, they hadn''t increased at all during all this time. Today Nick spends time in his room under Maria''s supervision. Naturally, he tried to get a better look at his mana core and try to manipulate it, but of course it didn''t work at all. Now Nick thinks that it''s more because of the stupid magic formation that blocks magic than because of his own failure. This stupid shit is preventing me from manipulating my mana and how the fuck am I supposed to become a fucking mage?! Fucking warrior clan! In disappointment, Nick began to cry to somehow drag away his anger. Maria immediately began to calm him down and he could no longer behave like a little child, after all, he still had some pride. He did not think of what to do, he began to crawl to the maid and try to get her somehow to cheer himself up. But just at that moment, when he grabbed her hair with his hands and began to put it in his mouth, his mother entered the room. She laughed extremely cheerfully and began to joke about the maid, but Nick did not care at all while he was chewing her hair. Damn, it''s really delicious, when will they feed me normal food?! I''m ready to pour my characteristics into my physique to make it happen! His mother snatched him from the maid''s arms while Nick was dreaming about his own and led him to some part of the mansion. In the new room he saw a man and a woman who were sitting in the living room behind a large sofa, and in their arms was a child of the same age as him. The man and woman looked like typical mages, especially because of the same blue pendant on their necks. Their blond hair was slightly blue when the light fell on it, which was the same with the child. He was handed to the man and woman in turn, while they said something about how cute he was and blah blah blah, all Nick''s attention was focused on their child. The most remarkable thing about him was that he looked at the living room as if it were nothing special and he gave his mother and himself only the most disinterested look. Damn, man, you''ve almost given away that you''re a reincarnator. God, how come you haven''t been burned at the stake yet if you''re so obvious. At least show some visible interest! Nick and his new friend were placed on the carpet between the sofas so that they could both play and while the other child was in his own mental space, Nick began to make very evil plans about him. Very quietly, Nick approached him, but before that, he completely dipped his hand in his saliva and while the other child did not understand what was going on, Nick wiped his hand on his face. The boy''s face first reflected complete incomprehension of what had happened, then true horror appeared on face, and only then the strongest disgust. While Nick laughed at him with a sincere childish laughter, the other child tried to get up and hit him and Nick, of course, moved slightly to the side, because of which the child fell head down, but he did not cry, instead, pure rage and indignation were reflected on his face. And before he could do anything, he was picked up by his parents, who were also laughing at him. A minute later the child calmed down and Nick decided to crawl up to him, while the parents were talking enthusiastically about something. Nick gathered all his verbal skills and said one word in English. "Fool" The shock he saw on the boy''s face made him laugh even harder, and then cry. The boy couldn''t figure out what had just happened, but after a while, waves of insight washed over him. The boy asked in English. "Reincarnator?" But because of the loud laughter, Nick couldn¡¯t answer right away, he only nodded and watched as relief, and then the strongest shock, first appeared on the boy¡¯s face. Oh, today went so well, I haven''t laughed so sincerely in a long time. It won''t be funny to bother him anymore, what a pity really. And while their parents were talking, Nick decided to pester his new friend''s parents. He decided to try his favorite trick: lick his hand and then hit them with it, but it didn''t go as he expected. Instead of hitting them with a slippery hand, his hand landed completely dry, and all the drool flew into his face. And now it was another kid laughing, not him. Damn, water mages, I knew they were water mages. It was obvious! But how does she manipulate water while in an anti-magic formation??? Nick let his guard down and also got a slippery hand on the back of his head while the other kid laughed. And so for two hours the boys fought each other with slippery hands. At the end of the parents'' get-together the other child''s mother completely removed all the drool from the entire room with her magic. That was how Nick said goodbye to his new reincarnator friend. 4 Chapter Chapter 4 After meeting his new friend the Reincarnator. Nick began to spend his time at a now pleasant pace, mainly meditation and practicing the sense of mana. Occasionally he tried to control the mana, but he never succeeded. Now he was absolutely sure that the formation in the mansion was to blame for this. He spent the winter and autumn mostly sitting in his mother''s office, while she sorted through various documents. Occasionally his beloved friend Liam came and they played with different things, including with his mother''s water magic, her name was Firel, and every time she arranged unforgettable performances with the help of water manipulation. This was very fascinating for Nick and Liam, these were flying swans and flying wyverns, once she arranged a whole water theater, then Nick was able to make sure that the formation really worked, since Firel looked exhausted. He very clearly hinted to Liam that they should not talk about reincarnation, even in English. So 10 months passed after the attempt on his life, Nick learned to walk, which made him very happy, now he could afford a slow walk around the mansion accompanied by Maria and Benedict. During this time, he gained a level in the race, and also decently, in his opinion, raised his statistics and skills. Name: Dylan Ghostblade (Nick Miller) Race: Evolved Human [Rare] Lvl 2 Class: Blocked Class: Blocked Health 110 HP 0.11 HP/hour Mana 80 MP 0.04 MP/hour Endurance 90 ST 0.9 ST/hour Statistics: Strength 7 Dexterity 7 Stamina 9 Vitality 11 Constitution 10 Intelligence 38 Wisdom 28 Mental Control 28 Willpower 36 Perception 18 Charisma 4 Mana output 5 Mana 8 Mana Regeneration 4 Luck 12 18 free attribute points Titles: Otherworldly Reincarnator [Legendary+] Racial Skills: Quick Learning [Uncommon] Low adaptability of characteristics [Common] Minor Adaptation [Common] Lesser Mana Core [Common] Skills: Lesser Meditation [Common) Lvl 9 Lesser Mana sense [Common] Lvl 9 Language Proficiency (Ramiast) [Common]Lvl 10 Possible skills: Is hidden The hardest thing for him was to somehow increase his magic stats, but as far as he understood, they grew naturally. Now that summer had come, he often went outside to sit under his favorite tree, it still brought him pure pleasure. Nick could not stop admiring it. Just sitting in its shade, he felt better and healthier. Therefore, accompanied by Maria, Benedict and two guards, he often meditated next to it. It was on one of those days that he tried to manipulate his mana and immediately froze. Did I succeed? Nick looked at the top right icon and there he saw that he had unlocked a new skill. Congratulations, you have unlocked a new skill: Minor Manipulation of Mana [Common]. Of course, Nick didn''t think for a second and immediately picked up this skill. Congratulations, you have acquired a new skill: Minor Manipulation of Mana [Common] Lvl 1. Nick stood up and started laughing out loud, his joy knew no bounds, the people present started looking at him strangely, but it didn''t bother him in any way. He was finally able to get this ill-fated skill. Having calmed down a bit, Nick decided not to tie anyone to his successes, since it took him a really long time and effort to at least unlock this skill. It would be strange for people that he was able to get it. Now his magical characteristics will finally be able to grow. Nick sat down leaning against a tree and fell into meditation. Nick began to manipulate his mana with particular joy and it was surprisingly easy. He began to pull mana from his core and circulate it in his body, in his opinion, he took about one eighth of his mana and began to practice this. About two minutes later, Nick began to notice that his mana was becoming less and less, and when the mana was completely over, he took a closer look at his body. All the mana he had been manipulating had been completely absorbed into his body. Nick didn''t feel any worse and it was about 10 units of mana, so he decided that his theory about the mana output stat was correct. Nick decided to continue trying to manipulate his mana in his body, after an hour of such exercises, his body had completely absorbed all the mana from his core. Now Nick was faced with the question of how exactly he could replenish his mana. If he relied entirely on the mana regeneration stat, it would take forever. He quickly calculated in his head and it would take about 80 days, which was extremely unforgivable. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. How can mages become mages with such mana regeneration? After all, my mana reserve is just miserable! To get 4 MP per hour, you need to invest 400 attribute points in mana regeneration and this is about 20 Lvl in the race. And what can you do with such mana regeneration? Probably nothing, so it takes 20 hours to restore my mana reserve with such regeneration? And where is the balance in this? Damn, Nick, think logically! If everything was so bad, no one would bother to insert an anti-magic formation in the mansion, there must be some trick to this! Nick focused on his mana regeneration stat Mana Regeneration - Determines how quickly you can restore and regenerate your mana. Now I just need to figure out how to start restoring my mana. I''m sure it needs to be taken from the environment, but I haven''t reached the level where I can see mana outside my body. And even more so, influence it, it''s hard, hard, how hard it is to become a mage! It''s a nightmare! Nick was again mentally depressed and only the presence of the tree made this moment bearable. He really couldn''t afford to wait so long for his mana to recover or invest all his stat points into mana regeneration, as it would basically be the worst stat investment solely for this purpose. After waiting for a while, he began to meditate again, trying to sense the mana around him. And as sad as it was for Nick, he didn''t succeed on the first try. Looking at his status again, he noticed that his Minor Manipulation of Mana [Common] skill had grown to Lvl 3, which brought him great pleasure, but in order to raise this skill to at least Lvl 10, he would have to practice mana sensing extremely hard. Back in his room, Nick spent the entire time thinking about how best to use mana recovery. After all, he was sure that there must be some technique, rather than just putting all the mana you can catch into the mana core. The next morning Nick decided to go and have lunch with his family, for him there was now a special chair in which he loved to sit and delicious food. Naturally, he was seated next to his mother, despite all the noble rules that honestly made him feel sick. Inventing all sorts of nonsense instead of practicality is how civilizations collapse. What normal person would even remember all the stupid rules of etiquette?Although thanks to a high wisdom indicator, it may not be as stressful as in my world. You just throw all the statistics into wisdom and you become a wonderful office worker, hmm, really convenient. While Nick was thinking about his own, most of the relatives who lived in the mansion had already arrived for breakfast. Nick''s father decided to choose this time to tell about the progress of the investigation. "The investigation into the assassination attempt has not yet been completed. The necromancer who settled in the city hid through the sewers and left through the city''s wastewater, the divination magic of the Holy Church could not find anything except the traces he left behind when climbing out of the river, his mana signature was identified as one of the commanders of the Undead Eminence. This necromancer had been in the city for about half a year and did not stick his head out. He had an artifact, or the ability to completely block his infected mana, an approximate calculation of his level gives a classer Lvl 300 [Special]. Which is very serious for us, a necromancer of such power could destroy a not big city. What?! Not a big city?! And such crap is walking free?! Of course, I have no idea how strong a small town is, its approximate population, and so on, but isn''t that too much?! But certainly not from one fucking person?! There must be a trick to this, otherwise necromancers would have taken over the world. I understand that the special level must be unrealistically strong if I suffer so much to advance my usual skills, but not that much? Let''s say a necromancer must have weaknesses, but what are they? Different novels have different weaknesses, for example, they can''t hit physically strong if the second class is not a fighter, if I were a necromancer I would take the magic class, of course. Then mana regeneration, do they spend their mana to maintain corpses or not? Do they need direct mental control over the undead, or not? How unbearable does life become if you are a necromancer, considering that my father mentioned infected Mana. Then, can the undead use their original skills, or do they only get the body? So many questions, and I can''t ask them! Damn it! While Nick was asking himself questions, Varion continued the conversation. "Thanks to the strong presence of the Holy Church in the city, it was completely searched for the caches of necromancers and other heretical nonsense, and we thank the gods, found nothing more." Nick continued eating and in the background tried to think of what else could be taken as an example of heretical nonsense. Definitely demon worship, then maybe some evil god worship? Hmm, flesh mastery? Like reverse healers, maybe summoning evil spirits? Oh right, damn magic. Maybe fate magic? If it exists? And if it does, I''m sure it''s pretty useless against me now, except to identify me as an Otherworldly Reincarnator. What else? Disease magic? Maybe poison magic, but hardly, I''m sure sacrifices, blood magic? Mind magic? Nothing else super heretical comes to mind. Oh right, how did I not think of soul magic?! A truly heretical thing! Nick liked many types of the listed magic, but for now Nick did not understand what his father meant by heretical magic. It could be magic aimed exclusively at murder, perversion of life, simply morally unacceptable magic, or what the church itself calls blasphemy and because of this any users of this magic are kicked out. Nick was extremely curious and if of course the church forbids him to use some magic, then of course he can try . Breakfast then passed without any interesting things and everyone went about their business. Nick was thinking whether he should do something interesting or not? But having come up with nothing, he went to his favorite tree. And began to practice the feeling of mana, this time he decided to concentrate it on the tree. Having spent time like this until lunch, he decided to return to this activity later. It would be more logical for Nick to take and sit near the magician and try to feel his mana, but he did not want to be accidentally caught doing this. If it turned out that he had the skill to sense mana, it would be impossible to explain it to him. When Nick came to the tree after lunch, he noticed that its bark in the place where he usually sat had become softer. Without understanding it at all, Nick began to look even more closely at his favorite tree. And indeed, the bark had become softer, Nick could not yet understand this change, except to attribute it to the fact that the tree was alive or it was semi-sentient, he could not simply explain it by the fact that his practice of sensing mana was causing such ridiculous destruction. And now it became much more comfortable for him to sit. Nick concentrated on his thoughts and decided to try to simply transfer them to the tree. He tried to feel sincere gratitude for this. But he did not notice anything special. The rest of his day passed just like all the others before it. After a month and a half, right on his birthday, he was able to start seeing the surrounding mana. But he would call it more of an active sense, it didn''t extend far, about 20 centimeters from his body, but it helped him a lot. Now, like every reckless young man, he started trying to take control of the surrounding mana. He couldn''t measure exactly how much mana he could control, and it didn''t matter to him. The main thing was to try to shove the mana into the core. And it really wasn''t as easy as he expected. Just shove the mana into the core didn''t work, he had to surround the entire core with mana and try to keep it there for as long as possible, or rather, it became increasingly difficult the longer he continued, Nick finished after 7 minutes of concentration, and it left him completely drenched in sweat. It was really hard, and even his willpower meter went up by one point. Of course, the first time he didn''t notice any difference in mana regeneration at all. But the important fact is that his skill has reached a very decent level. Skills: Lesser Meditation [Common] Lv. 14 Lesser Mana Sense [Common] Lv. 12 Language Proficiency (Ramiast) [Common] Level 15 Minor Mana Manipulation [Common] Lv. 8 I wonder how many skills the average person has? I''d like to learn a lot more skills, but I won''t be that reckless. Nick rested a bit and decided to do it before lunch. Since there was a dinner party planned for the evening, which Liam was supposed to attend. He honestly wanted to know how much mana the descendant of mages would have. He was a bit unlucky in this regard, but he would have a strong mage body and a second class of melee. Because of how quickly his mana was restored and how much effort it took, he was sure that somewhere along the way he would be caught without a drop of magic. Nick knew how mages died in novels. In a good mood, he went to his first birthday party. 5 Chapter Chapter 5 Before coming to the banquet hall, Nick was brought to the dressing room by Maria, he was quickly changed into a new tuxedo, it was dark blue for a one-year-old child. In Nick''s opinion, it was absurd, why dress a child in such an expensive thing? But even he understood that it was supposed to show the status of family. But considering how father spoke about that necromancer, Nick did not think that they needed to prove anything. After all, if this necromancer could defeat father, he would definitely try to do it and not hide like a rat. Arriving in the banquet hall in Maria''s arms, Nick began to look at many new persons, now he could even understand what people were talking about, but for his own cover he used only the most basic words. The first thing he noticed in the banquet hall was that no one had a weapon, not even the members of his clan, which in his opinion was a very stupid decision. Nick tried to start controlling his mana and was again able to make sure that the formation was working. Nick did not fully understand the main reason for calling such a large number of people. After all, they could just as easily arrange a holiday only for themselves. Coming closer to his father and mother, Nick saw a strange man completely dressed in a white cassock. It was a fucking priest, Nick did not like the way this man looked at him at all. Hatred was read in his eyes, or maybe strong envy. Nick did not care. Why is this bastard looking at me like that? What does he even want from me? He looks like someone who was caught trying to do something indecent and now everyone knows about it. What definition does his class fall under? I need to know! In theory, holy magic is not applicable against me, but I''m sure these bastards have did something to maintain their advantage against people. Nick continued to insult the priest in his head, but he didn''t show that he noticed how the priest was looking at him. The main thing for Nick was not to stand out. Walking straight up to his father and mother. Varion took a spoon and tapped his glass to draw everyone''s attention to him. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first birthday of my son Dylan Ghostblade, I have high hopes for him as the future of the Ghostblade clan. We are all gathered here to celebrate this wonderful day, Hooray!" Thanks to my father for the short and clear speech, very convenient. Most of the guests also didn''t give a damn about all this, but do they really come here just to come? Unreasonable nobles, oh, when will I grow up and give these assholes a fair trial. As soon as Varion made the announcement, all the people returned to their business. Nick simply lay in Maria''s arms and chose what food he wanted by pointing his finger and saying "yum, yum," for him it was really convenient and today''s food felt even tastier than usual. Soon Liam approached Nick in Firel''s arms. They began to communicate with their eyes, Nick said that he was fine and pointed at the priest, then clenched his fist and hit him on the knee, saying as if he was a bastard. Liam turned his gaze to the priest and saw a nice kind guy, but Liam was not deceived, any priest at a meeting of the highest nobility must be a bastard. Of course, the reincarnators admitted the possibility that the church in this world is positive and benevolent, but both did not believe in it. It was impossible to become at the top of the state without the power to crush every dissenter. Actually, after their nice conversation, a young girl approached them, With long blonde hair filled in a large braid, she looked very beautiful and Nick almost could not take his eyes off her, her charisma was much stronger than his mother''s. "Hello young lords, I am Lita Lifewarden, the Great Mage of Life. Lady Firel, it is a pleasure to meet you at this celebration, I see your son is completely like you. He will become a wonderful water mage." The girl looked to be a little over 20 years old, but considering her life magic, Nick realized that she was an old lady with a good body. Nick, of course, as well as his dear friend, did not react to this in any way, or at least tried to do so. The charisma that this woman had was incredible and they had to put in a lot of effort to suppress their reaction. Seeing their reaction, Lita simply smiled and continued talking to Firel as if she had not noticed anything. "I am also glad to meet you at this celebration, Lady Lita." After exchanging pleasantries, they began a more relaxed conversation. "Lady Firel, when do you plan to teach Liam magic? My son Jake recently had a son, Maks, and we''re not exactly sure when we''ll teach him magic, could you give us some advice?" "Hmm, we will train Liam as soon as he can talk, it is important to teach magic from an early age to increase his affinity with water. Both me and Theurge were trained that way. And as a result, we are one of the strongest water mages." Felicia answered Lita. "That''s true, but your magic can''t be called elementary. You specialize in controlling different waters, like your famous holy weapon magic. I know that this technique is difficult to use, after all, manipulating holy water will never be easy. But you''re right, and our two disciplines are quite similar to each other, since life mages specialize in healing and controlling plants. In fact, we have already started teaching Max some easy life magic spells, and he is doing great at it. But of course I am waiting for your advice. I hope you''ll send us some letters and come visit with Theurge and Liam. We''ll have more time to talk." He woman looked around, looking for someone, and when her gaze stopped on that same priest, she decided to say goodbye. "It was nice chatting with you, A little, but I have to go. Our children more likely will study in the same class at the Royal Academy, I think they will have a great relationship." Lita said with a sweet smile and left. Nick began to be wary of this woman. First of all, he was afraid of her extraordinary charisma, for this was still strange for him, Nick was not used to it at all and could not resist it in any way. Throughout the entire conversation he had to hold back and not stare at her as if she were the most beautiful girl in the world. The conversation itself and the way Lita was acting seemed strange to him too, but he couldn''t quite figure out why. The only thing he could figure out was that she thought he was will get along her grandson, Nick didn''t know what she wanted to say this. His intuition told him that this woman somehow knew that they were special. But how exactly she understood this was unclear. She was a Great Mage of Life, his stats were very weak, as were Liam''s stats, so she could hardly estimate their life potential, unless her life magic saw deeper than just life energy. Maybe she could sense the souls of other people. For Nick, this was a very likely explanation. The party continued and people approached Firel a couple more times, the evil priest glanced at them briefly, but did not dare to approach. Nick would have been happy to stain his clothes. Anyway, the event ended on a beautiful note, namely, a performance by a very famous bard. While people were whispering among themselves, he was able to hear that the bard''s name was Richard, he was born into a family of merchants and through pure skill in playing various instruments, he was able to earn himself fame as the main rising star of the Holy Kingdom''s music industry. People around him quietly said that he had an epic bard class. Nick was interested in this, if a level 300 Necromancer [Special] could destroy a small city, then what could a bard with an epic class do? Not far from him, a handsome young man of average build with black hair came out on stage, giving everyone a wide smile. He was wearing an elegant black suit with a white shirt, when the audience could appreciate him, the screen behind him parted to the surprised murmur of those present, there was a magnificent looking piano. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "Hello ladies and gentlemen, I am Richard Durrell, I have taken on the role of performing the music that young Mr. Dylan will definitely like. Today I will be performing a sonata on the piano. I am sure everyone will enjoy my story about a brave hero." The bard came and sat down near the piano, he was in no hurry, slowly lifting the lid of the piano, Richard smiled at the audience again, without a second''s hesitation he began to play. And the way he played, drew everyone into the story he created, the music itself gave away all his emotions and desires, and the perfect performance and his own writing of such works made him a genius. All the skills he possessed worked for the sake of one moment: to give the listener and himself new experiences and impressions. His sonata told of a brave hero who, despite everything, was able to overcome all difficulties. The music conveyed his experience to everyone who listened to it. People could unmistakably understand the whole story of [Hero of Geran], this man was an unremarkable boy, but in the battle with the orcs he was able to reveal his potential, after this clash he went to his goal, fought formidable enemies, conquered beautiful ladies, experienced unimaginable situations, was the owner of his own luck. And after all the hardships he had to endure, he reached the very last one. It was a great evil dragon, he wanted to destroy his entire kingdom because of the princess the hero was in love with. But the hero did not give up and in the battle with the evil dragon, he fought for 7 days and 7 nights. He fought until his bones stopped regenerating, he fought until his stamina completely dropped, he fought until he lost the last drop of life force. He fought until he almost completely burned his soul. Thanks to his endless willpower, [the Hero of Gerana] was able to defeat the [Evil Dragon]. Being on the verge of death, in the arms of his beloved, he remembered his entire life and did not regret anything. The Hero of Gerana would be glad to live his life again and not change anything in it. As the hero whispered his last words to his beloved, "Live, my love," his body was enveloped in golden power, and the [Holy Goddess] herself resurrected him for his heroism. The Hero of Gerana vowed to continue to cleanse evil and filth in the name of light and justice. Through his vow, he became an [Archangel], and together with his beloved, they entered heaven, where they lived happily ever after. Nick''s thoughts were spinning in a crazy typhoon, it was the most soulful thing he had ever heard, this playing can only be compared to divine providence. The emotions he experienced could not pass immediately, his playing on the instrument conveyed the meaning of the notes, in each part of the melody there were genuine emotions: fear, triumph, joy, happiness, determination, sadness, relief. Nick seemed to have experienced a second life told by someone else. The bard played this melody for about 20 minutes, but everyone who heard it froze in place, in the illusion of history. After thinking about what happened, Nick realized that this could be called a mental attack and it was catastrophic by his standards. Looking at his father, he saw that even he could not resist the music. And now the strongest classer Nick had ever seen was a bard?! What''s the point? How can a bard be the strongest person? I find myself believing it, this bard needed quite a bit of time to prepare. And against any combat classer one on one he would be useless. But with this guy you could defeat armies. Ahahahaha, and his playing on the instrument does not fall under magic or martial arts. This is something special, his playing could not be blocked by the formation and even he looks tired, and extremely satisfied. After his stellar performance, Richard bowed to the audience and everyone, without exception, began to applaud. People were still in their thoughts and feelings, trying to separate them from their real ones. "Thank you for listening to my performance, I hope I did not leave anyone disappointed. I also thank the House of the Ghost Blade for inviting me today and allow me to present Dylan with my personal gift from the bottom of my heart. It is a music box that contains a part of my power." The bard walked up to Dylan and handed him the the box in his hands. Looking at it, Nick didn''t see anything special, but later he was going to study it properly. Richard paused, looking at Dylan carefully, he didn''t say anything, After a pause, he said goodbye to the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen, until we meet again!" The bard was taken backstage, and now Dylan could take a closer look at the neat wooden box with a carved image of the bard holding a violin. Nick was very impressed with this man. At first, when he picked up the box, it did not seem particularly beautiful to him, but upon closer inspection, there were such detailed patterns on it that it was mesmerizing to the eye. He could not wait to listen to it himself. As the event drew to a close, he was given more useless gifts. He saw nothing particularly meaningful and decided he could look at them tomorrow. He wondered how he could implement something similar to bardic magic. If Nick had to explain what he thought of bardic magic, he would say that the bard put pure emotion into his music and thus was able to convey the effect of the story. It was impressive, but Nick did not know all the limitations of the bard. So he stopped wondering and went to bed. *** The next morning Nick got up and started looking at the presents that were now lying around his room. There he saw a bunch of useless toys and a few meaningful presents. The special presents were good. From Liam he got a bracelet that his family wears and without thinking he put it on. Among other things he saw a couple of books that he didn''t need considering his age and the fact that he couldn''t read. He also saw a bracelet that was supposed to be a gift from his parents, the metal bracelet looked ordinary, touching it he found its roughness pleasant, more like powdered, unpolished, gray steel. But this bracelet was for an adult hand, without thinking he fastened it on his leg and watched as the bracelet shrank and stayed on his leg. Taking it off again and putting it on his arm, the bracelet now fit like a glove. Although his hands were still very small. There were a lot of other things there, but he didn''t understand their purpose at all, so he left them lying there. After that, Nick went to have breakfast with his family, where they tried to explain to him what these things were for. The pendant was needed to breathe underwater for a while and create a water barrier, while the bracelet made him invisible and hid smells for a while. They needed to be regularly charged with mana after use, which he, of course, could not do. Finally, in the morning, he was able to get to his tree, the formation was disabled and now he dedicated himself to practicing mana sensing and mana control. Nick could already surround his core with mana for about 10 minutes. And this is still not enough to somehow speed up the restoration of mana. But this is all he needs for meditation at his tree. *** A year and a half passed, all the time he was too stubborn in his training. His stats grew just incredible, he also received an improvement in the quality of the meditation skill, received two new skills: minor poison resistance [Common], minor psychic resistance [Common]. Although he did not notice any health problems, he still took the skill. He developed a small mental resistance due to training with the bard''s box. But the most important thing he got was a +3 level in the race. Name: Dylan Ghostblade (Nick Miller) 2.5 years Race: Evolved Human [Rare] Lvl 5 Class: Blocked Class: Blocked Health 170 HP 0.17 HP/hour Mana 130 MP 0.08 MP/hour Endurance 150 ST 1.5 ST/hour Statistics: Strength 13 Dexterity 13 Stamina 15 Vitality 17 Constitution 16 Intelligence 45 Wisdom 34 Mental Control 39 Willpower 47 Perception 25 Charisma 10 Mana output 10 Mana 13 Mana Regeneration 8 Luck 15 45 free attribute points Titles: Otherworldly Reincarnator [Legendary+] Racial Skills: Quick Learning [Uncommon] Low adaptability of characteristics [Common] Minor Adaptation [Common] Lesser Mana Core [Common] Skills: Meditation [Uncommon] Lvl 105 Lesser Mana sense [Common] Lvl 25 Language Proficiency (Ramiast) [Common] Lvl 33 Minor Manipulation of Mana [Common] Lvl 28 Low Mental Resistance [Common] Lvl 11 Low Poison Resistance [Common] Lvl 4 Possible skills: Is hidden Now Nick could maintain the meditation in an active state for three hours. To do this, you need to completely surround your mana core with world mana and try to let your will influence it so that the recovery process goes faster. Such a simple manipulation increased his mana recovery tenfold. That is, he restored about 0.8 mana per hour. Which was still not much, but it reduced the recovery time of his mana reserve from 67 days to 6 days and 7 hours in active meditation. Nick still did not understand where all the mana needed to power the formation in the mansion came from. After all, it must have been a colossal amount of mana and even a thousand people like him would not be enough to fill it for at least an hour. This only said what kind of monsters the mages were in this world, or how good the technological progress was. This told Nick only one thing: he still had a very long way to go to become at least an ordinary mage. 6 Chapter Chapter 6 Now, in addition to meditating and practicing mana control, Nick had to master Maria''s language lessons. Which, thanks to his skill, was not difficult at all. So, seeing Dylan''s progress, Maria began teaching him to read. The lessons were very easy, but Nick did not pretend to be a super-smart child, so instead of studying, he mostly teased her. He also did physical exercises with a small stick every day under Benedict''s supervision. The old butler wanted to teach him how to swing the stick correctly. The fact that Nick was stronger than an ordinary child did not mean that he needed to be taught how to fight yet. Nasty old man, why teach children to swing a stick, I''m only 2.5 years old. Is he completely crazy? Or is this how all children are raised? Nick often thought about his own stamina, he did not understand why stamina was recovering so slowly, despite the fact that there were so many. But even because of active training with a stick, his endurance fell by a maximum of 20 units. And he still felt very tired. Nick decided that in order to fully use endurance, special skills are needed. He really wanted to use this natural potential of his body, but could not understand how. He tried to conceptualize endurance as mana and tried to find it in his own body, but it was useless. He also often took etiquette lessons that he really did not like, and he deliberately did not study anything at all. Nick believed that even geniuses could not be perfect in everything, so he was more happy to skip all the lessons. Everything was so-so in the family and Nick didn''t like it at all. His father was often away all the time and Nick didn''t see him at all, he tried to talk to his mother every day and demand her attention, but she was also busy in her office. The other children either weren''t interested in him or were busy with their own training. Nick was bored and a little sad, he spent most of his free time at Maple as always. What made him very happy these days was connected with Liam, he tried to come to Nick often. Mostly they fooled around like real children, but sometimes they could talk to each other about their past lives. Nick learned from these conversations a short history of Liam''s life. He died at 28 from a blood infection, was the son of a family of lawyers and lived quite decently, not taking into account the fact that he was an avid gamer. He got blood poisoning when he went on vacation to the river with friends. In the river, he cut his stomach without noticing it. The cut was not deep or big. But because it was not immediately treated with disinfectant, Liam caught the disease. Subsequently, he died very quickly, literally a week later, the sepsis was too strong. Liam clarified that he died in 2028, and Nick died in 2024. So Nick was for some time in complete fear that some god had gathered them for a mission he needed, or that their reincarnation was a monstrous accident, which he of course did not believe. Nick really wanted to spend his free attribute points at this time, but he couldn''t bring himself to do it. His main choices were mana regeneration or willpower and mental control. Nick knew that the faster he invested these attribute points, the faster his skills would grow. But now he was stopped by the logical thought that the higher his attributes, the harder it would be to use his racial skill: Adaptation of Minor Attributes [Common] - With this skill, you can develop your attributes by repeatedly performing actions; after receiving a certain number of attributes, this skill will stop working. The skill didn''t say that the higher his stats were, the harder it was to increase them, but it seemed very logical to him. *** A new council of church hierarchs was convened in the main cathedral of the Holy Church in the holy capital of Alexandria. ¡°Dear Cardinal, we are ready to hear about your successes in finding reincarnators,¡± said the Pope of the Holy Church. "Your Eminence, we suspect 8 people of reincarnation. Mostly, they are children of noble families of the kingdom. But we are not entirely sure of this. Each child had an abnormally strong soul, and we are also absolutely certain that a reincarnator was born in the House of Scarlet Blood. Your Eminence, I understand that vampires deserve a place in the nobility, but are we obliged to continue to tolerate these damned creatures, especially leaving the Reincarnator in their hands? "I understand your concerns, but as we have discussed, we will not pursue our conflict with the vampires any further. Hard times are coming, and we will have to choose between needlessly slaughtering our vampire allies and fighting the demons for our own survival. I believe the choice is clear, and as before, the vampire reincarnator will remain under the supervision of the House of Scarlet Blood. Now continue with your report." "Yes, Your Holiness, we suspect the reincarnation of Dylan Ghostblade, son of Count Varion. Liam Changeable Water, son of the Great Mage Firel Changeable Water. Lita Lifewarden''s grandson, Jake Lifewarden. Viscount Jared''s son, Alister Kitherius. We also suspect that the House of Unbreakable Stone and the House of Holy Water have reincarnators as their primary descendants. In the House of the Enlightening Flame, the son of Duke Kindroth may also be a reincarnator. "Okay, okay! It''s time to open the sacred vault. We will generously gift all the people on this list in every way possible so that they can continue to grow into the future of our world. Any new suspects will also be added to the list of those we will help in every way possible. Take out of the vault anything that will be useful for the growth of the children, and also make a list of all the skills we can give to a child with a strong enough soul." ¡°But Your Holiness, how can we distribute our holy treasures without being convinced of the righteousness and devotion of the Church?!¡± "I''m closing our meeting! Everyone, get to work!" Dad couldn''t stand any more arguments, he stood up from his seat and walked out of the office, walking along the terrace, he knew exactly what all his decisions would lead to. But could he have done otherwise? If he hadn''t helped all these children full of potential, would they have had a chance to win? The gods wouldn''t have declared a threat if it was insignificant. The [Guardians of the World] would have to deal with the [Archdemon], should they prepare for the worst, or would the guardians not consider demons a serious enough threat to interfere with the natural law of the world. If he could talk to the other guardians, he would have chosen the best option. But with the exception of the [Sapling of the World Tree], he didn''t know how to contact to the other guardians of the world. *** Two and a half years had passed, and Nick was now holding a heavy wooden sword in his hands and learning the ways of the phantom sword under Benedict''s tutelage. He tried to control his sword with extreme precision, but as always, Benedict did not like much about his stance. Nick''s body was completely bruised from the butler''s soft blows. Standing in front of Benedict, Nick moved forward as fast as he could. He feinted to the right and struck with his sword, but as always, it was easily blocked. Benedict moved to the left and found Nick wide open, throwing a blow that Nick managed to block with great difficulty, the next blow caught Nick in the forearm, causing him to drop. Standing like a beaten dog, Nick waited for the butler to tell him. "Your swordsmanship is mediocre. But what I can praise is your footwork, you can move really fast when you want. But to master the phantom sword style, it is not enough to just move fast, let''s start over, sir." Nick knew all this very well, but even if he was a master of the sword, he could not keep up with Benedict''s attacks. He guessed that this was done on purpose, so as not to leave him time to think, and to use only sword techniques. A new sparring match began, and instead of running towards Benedict, Nick decided to try to catch him in a mistake. Unlike all the training before, today he had metal daggers with him. In his past life, when he was young, he was very interested in throwing knives, and now that his body was strong, he could easily and accurately throw knives. Benedict decided not to move quickly, but calmly approach Nick. Nick quickly lunged with his sword, and when the butler blocked it, he accurately threw the dagger at him with his other hand. Nick did not think that anyone would guess that he got a dagger from somewhere and did not expect Benedict to parry it with the same ease. "Young Master, cunning is always needed in battle, but you lack many skills. For example, how to properly carry a hidden weapon. I knew from the beginning how many daggers you had, no special skills are needed for that. Your throwing technique is much better than your sword art. Which should say a lot about me as a teacher. So today we will spar until dinner. Nick''s face was blank, he expected his knife to be blocked and knew he would be punished for it. But he couldn''t expect him to give himself away so stupidly. The sparring began again with a quick swing of Benedict''s sword, Nick decided to keep his distance and try to strike only with a clever feint. On another swing of the sword, which he avoided, Nick quickly moved forward and again threw his dagger almost closely, Benedict dodged, which prevented him from bending his hand with the sword in time. Nick''s next blow was aimed at Benedict''s wrist, but instead of pulling the hand towards himself, the butler straightened it completely straight. Thanks to this, the blades met parallel and Benedict''s skillful feint was enough to completely disarm Nick. This old man will give me a heart attack, he is very good at predicting all my movements. And he easily parries something expected from a child. "Well then, we will now begin to repeat the basic sword stances again. Sir, take the first stance and begin the basic movements." Without saying a word, Nick took a stance. Feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, sword held in front of him with both hands. The first stance began with a simple swing, the second stance was a lunge and swing of the sword, the third stance was a lunge with the sword and a two swing, the fourth stance was two parallel swings, and so on. These were relatively simple movements to understand, but the further the stances went, the more difficult it was to make them dynamic and strong. Each subsequent stance required even greater speed and force of movement. The main trick of sword fighting was simple, you need to put into each strike not only the strength of your arms, but also your body and legs. A lunge was a simple movement only in appearance, you needed to move, which added strength to the strike, turn your body in the direction of the strike, and only then strike with the sword. These three actions had to be synchronized to achieve a strong and correct swing of the sword. Many of his days passed like this since he was 4 years old. which put a lot of pressure on his endurance. Only through special food his stamina regeneration increased, if not for that he would not be able to get up the next day. A qualified healer was also needed, but not to ease the pain or cure him, but to regularly replenish his life force. Nick understood why he was not treated properly, it was done so that his body would develop better than just roll it back to its original state. After the sparring, Nick went to the bathroom to wash off all the sweat, and then joined his family for dinner. Today, his entire main family was gathered. His father came with his mother, his father''s brother Rayon and his wife Lucille along with their four children: David, Cassandra, Alexia, and Chloe. What did not surprise Nick at all was that all the children looked beaten up like himself. His father''s older brother was the head teacher of the fencing school and of course all his children had a combat class. His wife was some kind of scientist-mage from some noble family. All their dinners were held in a peaceful manner and calm conversation. "Dylan, how are your training sessions with Benedict going?" Varion asked. "Okay, today I wanted to catch him by throwing a knife at him, but Benedict knew that I had them. For this I got a very long training session." "Haha, why are you like that? Benedict wouldn''t be our butler if he couldn''t see hidden weapons. I hope your progress in mastering the phantom sword style is decent. Tomorrow, a tutor is coming to us who will teach you the knowledge that you will soon need. I know how much you don''t like etiquette lessons, but I think you can tolerate it." "Of course, father, I would like to ask you to hire me a magic tutor." Varion looked at Dylan, shrugged and nodded. "Of course, you need to know all the habits of mages perfectly in order to cope with them perfectly." Nick got a little nervous and began to fidget on the spot, having gathered his determination, he told his father what he had not wanted to mention for a very long time. "Father, I want to become a mage and have a second class of ghost sword art." Varion looked at his son carefully and thought about his words. His face did not show what he was thinking, his shock was only given away by the fact that he fell silent for more than a second. Be a mage?! The main heir of the phantom sword would be a mage? And no noble class? I should have foreseen it with the way he looked at Mrs. Firel''s magic. But to become a mage, you need more than just desire. "Okay, we''ll find you a magic repeater. But I''ll set you a condition, if you can''t reach the mage class by the age of 15, you''ll choose the Phantom Blade class as your main class. I hope we understand each other, Dylan?" "Of course father, thank you very much." Nick had noticed a lot about the people around him over the past few years. Classes were not equal. Class 1 roughly gave the owner 100% of the class multiplier''s ability, class 2 gave 80%. That 20% made all the difference between classer battles. A simple table popped into Nick''s mind. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. +???% to class skill development speed +???% to understanding your own class [Common] -25% [Uncommon] -50% [Rare] -75% [Special] -100% Nick learned from various books that in theory a person can have more than two classes, but he never learned how to unlock another class. Actually, Race gives the same thing, but only skills compatible with it. Nick was able to add resistance skills to the race. Mana sense and mana manipulation skills look compatible, but he could not add them to the race, which at that time was a good decision, since they would have been intended for his class. The day after tomorrow with his family, Benedict took him to another place on the mansion''s grounds that he hadn''t been to before. It was near the District School. Entering the building, Nick smelled a strong stench. The smell was like sour, putrid decomposition. Walking through the corridors, they came out into the arena, which was in the open air. Looking at the butler, with a question on his face. Benedict answered him. "All the members of the Ghost Blade Clan, around your age, are going into their real battle. But you don''t have to worry too much, they''ll just be goblins." Goblins? Goblins? When I''m five? You''re all crazy ! Taking Nick by the arm, Benedict jumped down to the arena and put Nick on his feet. Saying "Good luck sir," the butler jumped back into the stands. Realizing that there was no point in protesting against this, Nick began to look around the arena with greater determination. Not far from it, he found racks with real weapons. There were also swords that looked more like daggers, which of course were for him. Taking a sword from the shelf, Nick heard the gate rise and a goblin ran out to meet him. It was a small a bastard little over a meter tall who constantly screamed in his ugly voice. But no matter how small this goblin was, Nick was even smaller. Without wasting much time, Nick began to walk towards the mad goblin. When he was already close to him, Nick made a quick lunge and slit his throat. Nick immediately jumped back a short distance and happily watched as the vile creature pressed his hands to his throat. The goblin could no longer scream and was gradually losing blood, after only 5 seconds he fell and did not move anymore. Benedict started screaming from the stands. "Sir, I can only be proud of you. You were ruthless, so be prepared for two more goblins. Our patriarch''s record at your age was 4 goblins killed at once. Good luck sir!" Damn psychos! Nick had already begun to hear the next pair of goblins. And while they were moving towards him, he was stealthily glancing at the goblin he had killed. It was an ugly green child with lightly sharpened claws and teeth. They were most likely not of a high level, since killing the first one was no trouble at all. Having noticed the new addition, Nick also began to move towards them deceptively slowly. The goblins were not completely brainless creatures. They were looking at the goblin he had killed and were talking about something in a language he did not understand. The language consisted mainly of growls and screams. Apparently having decided something among themselves, the goblins went their separate ways and began to surround Nick. Hmm, so goblins are more like evolved, barely intelligent, hairless, green monkeys. Nothing unexpected. Still deceptively slowly moving forward, Nick waited for the right moment. He needed to allow himself to be almost surrounded and quickly strike the first goblin to death. Having made the same fast, in his opinion, lunge with his sword, he missed and hit the goblin in the arm. With a failed plan, Nick abruptly returned the sword stuck in the bone, under the sweet cries of the goblin and moved to the left side of him, leaving the encirclement. Nick was lucky that the goblins underestimated him, especially his speed. The second goblin ran right behind him, abandoning the one-hit technique, Nick began to chop his sword at the limbs. The first blow cut off the hand of the goblin behind him, and the second cut the ligaments on top of the knee. While the second goblin was also screaming hysterically, the first goblin decided to jump on him, Nick did not have time to move away and only raised his sword to impale the goblin on it. The goblin began to scratch him hard while he was on top of Nick, even the sword stuck in his stomach did not stop him. Nick had to somehow catch the dagger and stick it into the goblin''s neck several times. Having thrown the goblin away from himself, Nick managed to get up just as the second one was approaching him. A couple of deadt blows and the goblin was killed. Nick got away from the two-on-one fight with a whole bunch of deep scratches. He was in simple clothes, which did not protect against cuts at all. Wincing in pain, he began to hobble to the stands to heal his wounds. "Young master, you are a great guy, but you shouldn''t have let the goblins surround you. And our tournament today is not over yet, of course you deserve to be a member of our clan, but to be its master. You need to at least defeat three goblins. Good luck, young master." Benedict said with a big smile. Damn, sadistic bastard, what the fuck is everyone thinking? Insane! And how am I supposed to defeat three goblins? Nick whined, he didn''t like the idea of ??fighting three goblins with such terrible wounds. He wasn''t worried at all that the goblins would kill him, but they would definitely hurt him. So he threw daggers first. But it was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, he was hurting the goblins, on the other, these primitives weren''t stupid enough not to take an iron dagger. The goblins were getting closer, Nick could hear them perfectly well, the stupid monsters couldn''t even shut up for a second. These three were as small as the last ones. When they were 10 meters away, Nick threw a dagger and hit a goblin in the chest. But it was useless, the dagger got stuck in the bone, and the goblins tore it out. This wounded goblin ran even faster and more furiously. Nick calmly walked towards him, when the distance between them was a couple of meters, Nick lunged with his sword blow and another, and another. The first blow was blocked by his hand, the second by his dagger, the third hit him in the chest, and the fourth in the neck. Nick quickly backed away from the dying goblin and waited for the next ones. The goblins decided to use the same tactics as the last pair. So Nick followed Benedict''s advice and rushed towards the goblins with great speed. The first goblin hesitated greatly, but managed to prevent the sword from hitting him in the neck, the second goblin simply pounced on Nick, growling and screaming furiously. Nick hit him only once in the arm when he noticed that the second goblin was also rushing at him. Nick began to walk around the goblin so that the second goblin ended up behind the first one every time, which was surprisingly easy. The first goblin in his rage did not pay any attention to the tactical advantage at all. So soon he was cut down by a series of blows, Nick decided to experiment with the close goblins. He led him closer and closer to the weapon rack, until the goblin noticed the weapon. Nick allowed him to take it. The goblin chose a large sword for him, but he looked confident enough to grab it with both hands. Nick realized that the goblins were stronger than him, but the question was, how much stronger? Nick decided to cross swords with these goblins in a duel of strength and was completely defeated, almost dropping his sword. The goblin was much stronger than he expected. These creatures could break his bones if one of them grabbed him. No longer in the mood to play with his food, Nick pretended to swing the sword, and the goblin fell for it. The next blow cut his wrist, and the last blow cut his throat. Breathing heavily from all the effort, Nick was able to completely relax. As he walked, Nick looked at his notifications. And he was pleased to see that he had received messages about killing creatures. You killed [Normal Goblin] [Common] Lv. 19, Claw Fighter [Common] Lv. 20] ¨C Extra experience gained for killing an enemy higher than your level. You killed [Normal Goblin] [Common] Lv. 19, Claw Fighter [Common] Lv. 19] ¨C Bonus EXP for killing an enemy higher than your level. You killed [Plains Goblin] [Common] Lv. 17, Clawed Fighter [Common] Lv. 18] - Extra experience gained for killing an enemy higher than your level. You killed [Normal Goblin [Common] Lv. 19, Claw Fighter [Common] Lv. 16] ¨C Extra experience gained for killing an enemy higher than your level. You killed [Normal Goblin] [Common] Lv. 17, Claw Fighter [Common] Lv. 16] ¨C Extra experience gained for killing an enemy higher than your level. You killed [Normal Goblin] [Common] Lv. 14, Claw Fighter [Common] Lv. 15] ¨C Extra experience gained for killing an enemy higher than your level. Congratulations, you have reached Level 1 in Race [Evolved Human][Rare] Lvl 7 > Lvl 8 For 1 level you get: Strength +1 Dexterity +1 Stamina +1 Vitality +1 Constitution +1 Mental Control +1 Willpower +1 Intelligence +1 Wisdom +1 Perception +1 Charisma +1 Luck +1 +9 free attribute points Well, they turned out to be weaklings, and I only got one level, what a pity! "Status" Name: Dylan Ghostblade (Nick Miller) 5 years old Race: Evolved Human [Rare] Lvl 8 Class: Blocked Class: Blocked Health 270 HP 0.27 HP/hour Mana 190 MP 0.11 MP/hour Endurance 250 ST 2.5 ST/hour Statistics: Strength 23 Dexterity 24 Stamina 25 Vitality 27 Constitution 27 Intelligence 51 Wisdom 40 Mental Control 45 Willpower 53 Perception 31 Charisma 14 Mana output 12 Mana 19 Mana Regeneration 11 Luck 18 72 free attribute points Titles: Otherworldly Reincarnator [Legendary+] Racial Skills: Fast Learning [Uncommon] Low adaptability of characteristics [Common] Minor adaptation [Common] Lesser Mana Core [Common] Low Psychic Resistance [Common] Lvl 28 Low Poison Resistance [Common] Lvl 15 Skills: Meditation [Uncommon] Lvl 144 Lesser Mana Sense [Common] Lvl 55 Language Proficiency (Ramiast) [Common] Lvl 75 Minor Mana Manipulation [Common] Lvl 61 Disciple of Sword Mastery [Common] Lvl 38 Knife Throwing [Common] Lvl 26 Hehe, soon I''ll be able to crush stones with my hands, I just have to wait! 7 Chapter Chapter 7 After the battle with the goblins, Benedict approached Nick along with the healer. "Young master, you did well. But you shouldn''t face 4 goblins yet. Now you need to rest and get yourself in order for dinner. The whole family will be watching the recording of your fight today and you can be sure that they will be as proud of you as I am." When Benedict finished talking, the healer had already dealt with all his wounds, the man bowed quietly and left. Nick and Benedict went to the mansion, on the way Nick thought that he did very well. He defeated 6 goblins and three of them together, pride was pouring out of him as he walked. But Nick could not compare himself to an ordinary person, since he did not know how many characteristics an ordinary person had, so he asked Benedict about it. "Benedict, how many characteristics does an average person have?" "Hm, good question sir. Common people have the [Uncommon] race, it gives 11 characteristics per level. For common people, the race increases the level due to the skills acquired, time and kil. For each year, a person gains one level on average. Then, up to 15 years old, people acquire many characteristics due to the skill of minor adaptation of characteristics, on average, this is 35 characteristics in each point. Common people also mainly get the [Common] class after 15 years. But we will count with the [Uncommon] class. The [Uncommon] class gives a maximum of 20 characteristics per level. And so a 20-year-old person with the [Uncommon] class will have an average of 125 characteristics in each indicator. But this honestly does not say much. If it is some kind of combat classer, his level will be higher accordingly, or if a person has two [Uncommon] classes, his characteristics will be about 200 in each indicator. It is difficult to estimate how many characteristics person can have, and this is not the main thing. Goblins had characteristics of about 70 in physical indicators and they couldn''t even beat you in yours. We evaluate people mainly by their classes. If it''s a certain famous class, then everyone knows their skills roughly. [Special] class is basically the pinnacle that an ordinary person can reach after many years of experience. The higher the rarity of the class, the harder it is to level up. Although young master I wouldn''t even say that considering that you are level 8 in the race." "What? You can see what level I am? How?" "Young master, it''s no secret that you develop your skills by sitting by a tree. And your training began earlier than our patriarch, because of your level. Today, you will have to tell your father how you got such a high level in the race. And how much skill training you needed to do it." Benedict''s last words did not sound good. Did Nick do something wrong? He thought that his development went unnoticed, but he should have guessed that there were evaluation skills in the world. He really fucked up about it. Arriving at the mansion, he went to take a shower, completely immersed in his thoughts. Afterwards, he decided to skip lunch and go to the tree. He sat for a long time and thought about how to explain to his father the number of his skills. Each subsequent level that he raised was more and more difficult for him. And now, after killing creatures that were formally stronger than him, he received only 1 level. And even then he thought that he would get another level relatively soon. When evening came, Nick collected his thoughts and went to dinner with his family. This time when he came, the children and Rayon''s wife were not there. His father, mother, Rayon and Benedict were sitting there. "Have a seat, young master." "Thank you Benedict" When he sat down at the table, a lump still formed in his throat; after finishing the meal, everyone began to wait for what he would say. "Ahem, I have been developing the skills of mana sense, meditation, and mana manipulation for a long time." His statement caused absolute silence at the table. Everyone was very surprised. "And how are you feeling, son? Is everything okay, do you have any weakness, or maybe you are constantly upset about something?" His mother asked with great concern. "No, of course not. Why should I feel bad?" "My son, people cannot have many skills. Skills are stored in our soul and the stronger and more skills, the greater the burden on the soul. This can cause various pains, disorientation, general weakness, changes in personality, expenditure of vitality and so on. It is very dangerous to have three skills at such a young age. People 20 years old have an average of 6 skills, and exceptional people of the same age can have 12 skills. Soul power is a very important thing, of course it can be increased in various ways and over time it certainly increases on its own..." Varion paused with a heavy expression on his face and looked at Limia, having waited for her quiet permission, he continued. "We admit to you, we know that you have greater soul power than ordinary people and we also know that you are a Reincarnator." This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. An even more eerie silence hung over the table. Nick did not begin to imagine that he would soon inevitably die, it was clear to him that if they wanted him dead, it would have happened a long time ago. "So why didn''t you tell me before?" "It''s simple, we didn''t want to pressure you with this. By giving you the illusion security, we protected you more than if we had admitted what we knew. I''ll tell you why you reincarnated. The gods who lived in our world long ago learned of the danger that awaited it. We call the world Ramiast in honor of the god who discovered it. We humans, elves, dwarves, beastmen conquered this world. Previously, it was inhabited exclusively by monsters and we won a piece of it for ourselves. The world is under the protection of the [Guardians of the World], we do not know how many guardians there are and we do not know where they are all, but they exist. The gods cannot intervene and stop the threat in the person of the Archdemon, so they collected souls from your old world and reincarnated them, but this process did not go very well. The first souls they wanted to reincarnate disappeared. The gods carefully chose people who would suit them for this matter and the loss of souls to an unknown destination was a great blow to them. Therefore, the gods contacted with strong enough people and offered them offspring in the form of reincarnators. Your mother and I could not have children, this is because I received a soul wound, which I barely survived. This cannot be healed except by a [Guardian of the World], or a god. But instead of a complete healing, the Goddess put your soul into the vessel of my blood son, who would never have been born. I am 150 years old, I am a holder of the [Epic] class and because of the soul wound, I could not have children, all my children were dead at birth, they cannot form a soul. Therefore, you were our divine gift. Which must serve a higher purpose. The gods do not know whether to interfere with [Guardians of the World] and therefore count on reincarnators. Liam is also a reincarnator and we know this, our families have been friends for many years, and to be honest, he did a bad job of pretending." Varion finished. This had to be thought through, Nick was right about it being his divine purpose. But the fact that the gods managed to lose the souls of the reincarnators was just ridiculous. "Dylan, I want to tell you something too. You were 25 in your past life and we know that you can''t be raised from scratch, but rest assured, you will always be my son and I will always love you. For me and your father, you will always be a child no matter your age." Limia said. Nick realized what his mother had said, but he didn''t know how to respond to it, he sat for a few seconds thinking about it and decided to change the subject. "Okay, but how do I increase my soul power and gain the skill of evaluating people?" "Hahaha, okay, we won''t talk about it any further. All people get identification when they turn 15. This is a common skill that all people get at some point. And people mainly increase their soul power with titles. There are a couple of easy titles that everyone can get. For example, [Giant Slayer], to get this title you need to kill someone alone, 10 levels higher than you with the same rarity in race or in the highest class, then 25 levels, then 50, 100, 200, 500. Or earn a mastery rank. Classes are made not only by level, rarity, but also by mastery. In our case, it is the art of the sword. To become a disciple of swordsmanship, you need to have an [Uncommon] skill, then you become an adept of the sword with a [Rare] skill, then everything is divided into styles. You can be an Elite of the sword [Special] or an Elite of the sword [Epic]. I have a class [Supreme Elite Phantom Swordsman Lv. 400] [Epic] and have an epic title. The same goes for mages. Mage''s Apprentice gives an [Uncommon] title, Mage gives a [Rare] title, Great Mage gives a [Special] or [Epic] title, and Archmage gives a [Legendary] title, as well as like [Sword Master]." Nick was pleasantly surprised that the title gave so many bonuses. And the fact that the identification skill was so widespread both upset and pleased him. "Okay, that''s simple enough." "Of course, but we will also find you a better appraisal skill, because we can give people skills, and you will also need a status change skill so as not to cause various problems later." Nick was very surprised that someone could be given a skill. "But how can you give someone a skill? It''s horrible!" "Haha, of course you can. But this has many limitations. Of course, you can even give out mastery skills, or any other, but they will be more difficult to develop, they may not take root in the soul and there are a lot of problems. But skills up to the [Rare] level can be easily given away. Of course, no one can give away mastery skills, or it takes a really long time to develop their full potential. In general, you will receive two rare skills and alchemical mixtures that increase the strength of your soul. I think you can also be given mixtures that increase your other attributes. "And magical characteristics too?" Nick asked hopefully. "Of course, but remember that our agreement remains in force." "Fine!" "Now you can run to bed, good night." Afterwards Nick said goodbye to the whole family and really ran off to bed. Today had been a busy day, and he didn''t even remember how he wanted to brag about the recording of the fight with the goblins. 8 Chapter Chapter 8 A man in his forties walked through his house, his slippers slapping loudly down the hallway. He had some chips and a cola in his hands, ready to sit down on the couch and turn on his new favorite program on TV. Tonight he would watch a new show about a spider monster, a reincarnator. Who might not have a chance to survive at all. Watching new events that he hadn''t foreseen, "because it would be boring." He patted himself on the back for the idea. He was a [God of Magic], which included one of the most complex concepts in the universe. He was a god of chaos. And he wasn''t a weak god at all, it was just impolite to interfere in someone else''s [Transcendent] territory without their permission. He, as befits a god of chaos did unexpected and unforeseen things, at this moment he stole the souls that were in the lesser ones gods and reincarnated them at his own discretion. The first soul he placed into a [Normal] rank spider monster. This type of monster had little potential, and technically he would send the reincarnated one to death, but if she survived, she would receive his blessing, which could take various forms. The second soul he placed into the son of the most powerful necromancer in the world, Ramiast, the Chaos God knew a lot about the planet the reincarnators grew up on, even more than they did, thanks to the [Divine] Omniscience Skill. The man he reincarnated was a very kind soul, and the Chaos God wanted to see if the man would maintain his beliefs despite the horrors he would have to witness. The next soul was an ordinary girl in every way except for her soul power, but that didn''t matter to him. He decided to give her the body of a Cursed Nox, they were a race of beastmen bred by an evil god only to mindlessly kill everything and everyone. The race was an [Epic] rank and was cursed by some god to have negative luck. The curse itself could not be lifted as long as the Nox existed as a race. In the world of Ramiast, they led a miserable existence, with more potential than most sentient races, they lived in a place with almost no mana and did not try to evolve at all, instead rejecting themselves as killers by birthright and quietly farming in the wilderness where no one could find them for a long time. But, knowing a small glimpse of the future, the Chaos God knew that this world would not last long now, due to the Archdemon''s attempt to conquer it, all the leaders of the evil organizations were also gathering forces to unite against one of the sides... The fourth soul was so evil that it confused the God of Chaos a little, he thought for a long time what to do with this soul and decided that he would give him the body of a monster, and the ability to turn into a human would be given to him when he grew up a lot, ... if he grew up a lot. The God of Chaos wanted to see if he would remain a wild monster who wanted nothing to do with humanity, or if he would decide to control his impulses and live among people. The fifth soul was sent to live with a poor, devout priest''s family. The God of Chaos just thought it was funny, she could have become anyone, but he honestly did it on purpose. Reading various novels on earth, He really liked one cliche that appeared in many works. He couldn''t wait for new events to begin, this love story. He decided to give the sixth soul a great power, just to see how it would affect this person. Although two [Legendary] skills could not be called great power for a god, for a human it would be very decent. The last, seventh soul he placed in the son of the richest merchant in the holy kingdom, this man was very greedy in his past life and so from the God of Chaos he will receive the legendary ability of greed, without the demonic aspect. This ability will work through killing other creatures, where for each creature killed he will steal some characteristics for himself. The ability had many drawbacks, but if used correctly, he can easily raise himself to the [Legendary] class. Sitting closer to the sofa and watching the spider fighting for her life, the God of Chaos began to smile, he has not been so passionate about something for a long time. *** When I remember my birth, I shudder at those terrible memories. I was born a little spider and for a long time I couldn''t get over the horror of everything that had happened. In my past life I wasn''t afraid of spiders and I didn''t like them at all. Becoming a spider was a huge shock for me, but it was made even more powerful by the sight of spiders eating each other and the sight of my healthy mother, who also decided to have a snack with a couple. I couldn''t move from fear until my brother came up to me and started to tear off one of my legs. In the face of danger, the old human instincts of "fight or flight" flared up, and I bit my brother on the head, lashing it with my chelicerae, the spider died instantly. And I ran on all "seven" legs, looking for a place to hide. Because if I were a spider, leaving the cave would be the stupidest decision of my life. Running further and further along the tunnel, I thought about how there was practically no web here. Having mastered my fear, I decided to stop and think about why there was no web near the spider''s nest. It''s simple, either they hunted in a different way, or something scared the spiders away. Remembering that I was getting out of the web and I have a good build for a spider, one could assume that these are both options. But the fact that there was no web at all seemed unlikely to me. Remembering that spiders can be scared away by different smells, I tried to breathe somehow? Yes, everything is fine, my lungs are like a spider''s. But I did not feel anything at all, except for the rotten air. Surprisingly, this smell did not seem unpleasant to me. Deciding to think some more about what could have scared the mother spider from this direction, I decided to assume that she simply hadn¡¯t had time to get here. Changing my pace to a more calm and careful one, I walked on. The tunnel was going down at a slight angle, which I didn''t like at all. Because if I couldn''t feed, I would die, and I also needed more food to regenerate my leg. As I continued walking down the tunnel, I began to smell a completely unfamiliar smell, it was strange. I had never smelled anything like it in my life, but it didn''t make me anxious. Around the next corner I saw an ant, it was strange, although no stranger than me, I had strange proportions, like a spider, my legs seemed to be stronger than a normal spider. This ant looked like a normal black ant, but was the same size as me, which made me very wary. If there was one ant, then it was logical that there were more. The ant looked around until it caught my scent with its antennae and began to emit a different scent. I realized that the scent I was smelling was the ant''s pheromones. The ant was quickly approaching me, and I knew that ants can eat almost anything and kill many different insects if there were enough of them. And such a large ant could kill me alone. As it approached, I did what I had to do as a spider. I jumped on it and tried to bite, injecting venom. The ant tried to grab me with its jaws, but it failed, just as I failed to bite through its exoskeleton. On the second try, I managed to drive the chelicerae into its shell and inject the poison. Then, without waiting for the ant to come to its senses, I ran in the opposite direction. I would have been easily eaten by these ants if I had stayed in the cave. Running back, I met my relative, he looked very well-fed, with a completely stuffed belly. Deciding that he would serve as my line of defense against the ants, I did not touch him. And the spider also decided not to bother with a new hunt. Running further, I noticed my mother from afar, she was 100 times bigger than me and was sitting calmly in her web. She, like some spiders, did not have bright colors, but was completely black. The only thing that was different in color was the tips of her chelicerae, they were blood red. I realized that as a spider I was at the top of the food chain, even among spiders. My eyesight was excellent, my sense of smell was excellent, I had large chelicerae and strong venom, my exoskeleton also seemed strong, if I could grow to the size of my mother, I could live my life in peace. Quietly walking around her, I went the other way from the tunnel. I really didn''t want to go outside, but I didn''t see any other way out. Sooner or later, one of my relatives or the ants would eat me. I ran past numerous well-fed spiders and saw a light. Coming out of the tunnel, I realized that as a spider, I was much larger than I should be. I compared my approximate size with the surrounding grass and it turned out that I was about 6 cm long. Remembering the main spider, her size was about 40 cm long and even more wide. I thought that I had ended up in a prehistoric era when the percentage of oxygen in the atmosphere was higher, which allowed spiders to grow to such sizes. But I was convinced otherwise by a chameleon that appeared out of nowhere and ate a butterfly flying past. I immediately ran and hid under the most inconspicuous blade of grass so as not to tremble with fear anymore. The chameleon was practically invisible. As far as I knew, such a disguise was basically impossible to develop. I checked the place and still couldn¡¯t see the chameleon there. It was really scary. Stopping to think about everything that happened today, I realized that there was no point in thinking ¡°logically¡± in this world. I was a reincarnator. Logic was now, by definition, irrelevant. Now that I could think about it all, could I assume that magic existed? Or not? Sure, everyone dreamed of becoming a sorceress as a child, but what could be worse than a magical spider? Maybe I could reincarnate as a human? How did I even die? I don¡¯t remember anything at all, oh¡­ what a pity. I need to somehow prove that magic exists in this world, or not. The chameleon was good, of course, but maybe it was just such an advanced species? And I ended up on a planet where everyone got super evolved? If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I spent a lot of time just sitting and thinking, only after sunset I decided that I needed to fill my belly. Having tuned into the "apex predator" mode, I went in search of food. Now it would be very easy to have dinner with the brothers, I was not at all embarrassed to engage in cannibalism, damn I''m a spider now, but I got lost and do not remember at all where this place was. Making my way through the grass below, I was looking for some small creature, even a beetle. After wandering around, I found a small caterpillar, but fearing that it might be poisonous, I did not eat it. My next dinner was in the form of a worm. An ordinary worm, about 4 cm long, and I was about four times larger. Having attacked the poor worm, mercilessly, I began to devour it and, as expected, it tasted almost disgusting. I was very hungry and I had to overcome myself. After snacking on the worm, I went in search of new prey and, alas, I found a huge praying mantis, it was even bigger than my mother. Somewhere around 60 cm tall, I was lucky that it did not notice me and just sat peacefully. While examining it, I noticed its claws, they looked too scary... Imagining various pictures, I was even more horrified, such a praying mantis could have a cat for a snack and not even get full. Quietly moving away from it, I continued to look for food and found it in the form of a large beetle. It looked like an ordinary bug, but I did not think that this thing would be too dangerous. The back of its body did not look like it had a flamethrower, and there was no thin tube in front to drink blood. I quietly approached him and gathered my strength to jump on him, and so the battle began. It was harder than I thought, I could not bite through his exoskeleton. So I chose another strategy, namely wrapping him in web. The beetle fought me for a long time, and I wrapped him more and more in web. When he could not escape me anymore, I began to bite him and after two minutes I was able to bite through his exoskeleton and watch the beetle writhe from my poison. After carefully observing what my poison did, I realized that it was something that Dissolves living tissue. It looked very unpleasant, but tasted surprisingly good. After a snack, I decided to go to bed, finding a good place, I dug myself a hole and fell asleep there, being a happy spider. The next morning, I wasn''t awakened by the sounds of my body being eaten alive, which pleased me greatly, and I went hunting again. Thanks to my exoskeleton hardening too quickly after I woke up, I survived, but now I''ll have to shed it regularly to start growing to my mother''s size. Inspecting my stump, I was relieved to find that my limb had started growing. I also looked for new food while walking through the grass. Half an hour later, I was completely full of worms. So, deciding to stock up on canned food, I went in search of larger prey. Having found ants, I weighed the risks for a long time. They would be a good snack, perhaps even enough for more than one day. But today, I decided that I would catch them another time. Going the other way, I found a small praying mantis. Considering their non-venomous nature, it was an easy choice, a small bite was enough to drink it dry. So I walked until evening and did not use the web at all. True, I was still very hungry, almost all the time. Therefore, I often had to eat all sorts of living creatures. Today I decided to build my new den, I dug a cave of my size and bombarded the whole thing with web. It was a kind of protection against anyone who would want to feast on a defenseless and cute spider. The next morning my leg had grown more than half as much and I went hunting again. Having found various worms to snack on, I decided to set up a full-fledged web near my den, I tried to make it so that it would not be visible from above. Having spent half a day on my new protection, which also doubled as a trap, I went hunting again. Thinking about it all, I decided that now I would have a mission - to save up a lot of food to shed my exoskeleton and grow big, big. Hunting all night, I managed to collect 8 worms, 4 beetles, 6 ants, 1 butterfly and 3 praying mantises in the hole. I started eating and even with great pleasure, having eaten my fill, I instinctively understood how to shed my exoskeleton. It was surprisingly easy, after I started eating again, I ate all my savings and fell into hibernation. When I woke up, I was twice as big, with new hardened chitin. Now I had to repeat the same process again, many, many times, to come out like my mother. As soon as I got out of the nest, I knew that next time I would definitely have to expand it. *** Hmm, in these three days of my life, I still haven¡¯t become convinced of the existence of magic, which upset me a lot. After a week of hunting, nothing interesting happened, and just when I wanted to convince myself that this was just a strange world and throw away all hopes and dreams. Something glowing flew over my head, like a transparent bird from the wind. It really surprised me. Now I was absolutely sure that magic exists. Trying to remember what novels about magic existed, I decided to study Meditation and Mana Vision. Between breaks for hunting and practicing Mana Vision, I realized that it did not bring any progress. Trying to remember what was in different novels, I began to say all sorts of words, but when you are a spider, you can not talk. It was more like screams from your worst nightmare. After trying many other methods, I almost gave up. After the third exoskeleton shed, I increased in size to 24 cm. Now I was a very strong and intelligent predator. Having attacked a large praying mantis, which was 1.5 times bigger than me, I bit it and waited for it to die from the poison. Life was gradually getting better and my plans were to slowly grow and survive, so that I could eventually become the queen of the forest, the largest spider, the apex predator, the divine beast. Breaking away from my thoughts, I noticed something very strange in my field of vision. Congratulations, you have reached a new level in the Arachnid Sicarida race [Common] Lv. 2, you have been granted access to the system. Develop your race and classes to reach a higher level. Race: Arachnid Sicarida [Common] Level 1-100. The Arachnid Sicaridae are a race of spiders that specialize in potent necrotic venom, have strong chelicerae, a tough exoskeleton, and superior perception. For 1 level you get: Strength +0.5 Dexterity +0.5 Stamina +0.5 Vitality +0.5 Constitution +1 Toxicity +1 Intelligence +0.5 Perception +0.5 +1 free attribute point Name: Sarah Brown Race: Arachnid Sicarida [Normal] Level 2 Class: Blocked Class: Blocked Health 15 HP 0.015 HP/hour Endurance 15 ST 0.15 ST/hour Statistics: Strength 1.4 Dexterity 2.7 Endurance 1.5 Viability 1.5 Constitution 2 Toxicity 5.3 Intelligence 40.3 Wisdom 35.9 Mental Control 20.8 Willpower 23.9 Perception 15.5 Charisma 1 Luck 10 +1 free attribute point Titles: Otherworldly Reincarnator [Legendary+] Racial Skills: Necrotic Poison [Common] Lv. 4 Arachnid Sicarid Physique [Common] Lv. 6 Growth [Common] Lv. 2 Low Poison Resistance [Common] Lv. 1 Skills: Empty Possible skills: Stealth [Common], Fight [Common], Web Weaving [Common], Observation [Common], ... "What???!" - Screams of absolute horror. 9 Chapter Chapter 9 The next day after a frank conversation with his relatives, Nick woke up in a good mood. He was glad to know that he did not have to deceive anyone and they really loved him like a son. Nick did not want to admit it to himself, but he considered them his family and loved them too. Now Nick knew about the limitation of the number of skills, this limitation came from the strength of his soul. But he still didn''t understand when to stop with obtaining more skills. He already had 8 skills, which should be a very large number for his age. So he decided to continue to take the skills that he found useful, before he was still hesitant about taking the skill Pain Resistance [Common], but now he definitely decided to take it since he already had a legendary title. Congratulations, you have acquired the skill Pain Resistance [Common] Lv. 1 Deciding to go on to breakfast, Nick went to the bathroom and then made his way to the dining room, where all of his family members had already gathered. Sitting down at the table, his father addressed him. "Dylan, your magic tutor will be coming to see us this afternoon. She is a young girl who has the class of Secret Mage [Rare] Lv. 200 and Magic Teacher [Uncommon] Lv. 173. I hope you will find a common language with her. Her name is Alice Verst. She was notified of our agreement with you, so until she arrives, you will be training with Benedict. Your new skills and alchemical mixtures will arrive soon." "Thank you father, I can''t wait for my magic practice to begin!" After tomorrow, Nick went to train with Benedict. The new skill of pain resistance was very helpful against Benedict. Now, when he got a random blow, Nick could hardly stand it. While sparring with Benedict and defrosting the forms of the Phantom Sword art, Nick thought about how best to use tactics against the butler. Nick did not know the weaknesses of his instructor, and whether he had any, considering that he was of an unknown level. Nick knew that there were only two holders of the [Epic] class in the clan, they were his father and Artifact Master Rimel. Therefore, it would be logical to assume that Benedict had a special class, but what level was he? Realizing that there was no point in guessing, he concentrated on training. As it continued, Nick more and more noticed a certain rhythm in Benedict''s attacks, he was sure that this was done on purpose, so he began to move according to this sequence. After every few quick blows, Benedict stopped for a second and then continued to strike. The more hits there were in quick succession, the longer he took. "Benedict, why are you retreating after a series of blows?" "Young Master, you''ve finally noticed. This is the main weakness of our sword art. At the highest levels, we can''t attack continuously, it puts a lot of strain on our constitution and makes our stamina consumption much greater. So we regularly have to take short breaks between attacks. This is something we teach children from a young age so that they don''t use our techniques without a break, otherwise they can easily die." "Are there any other downsides to our sword technique?" "Of course, young master, there is one more significant drawback, but you will not learn about it until you reach the Sword Elite." "Benedict, please tell me about your level and class, if of course you want to do this?" "Of course, you don''t have to worry, young master. I don''t have any secrets from you. I am [Phantom Sword Elite Lv. 335] [Special] with the [Phantom Sword Art Elite Lv. 623] [Special] Skill, my second class is [Great Butler Bodyguard Lv. 400] [Special]. Your father is a class one level higher than me [Supreme Elite Phantom Swordsman Lv. 400] [Epic]. His Phantom Sword Art allows him to hit intangible objects, like ghosts, spirits, mana constructs. I can only do this with my sword." "I understand, but how does father do it?" "As far as I understand, he concentrates his aura on the sword and thus can hurt everything spiritual. He also tries to develop his sword art to the level of Master, so he does not increase his class further. Master is the next level of sword art development, which is on par with Archmage. To develop this level, you need to be able to control your soul, which is not easy for anyone. We know that there are 5 Archmages from our four races and 10 Weapon Masters. There is also a Grandmaster of the sword in our kingdom. Very little is known about her, only that she is a [Mythical] class holder and has lived for over a thousand years." "How many epic and legendary class owners are there?" "Hmm, epic classes, I could be wrong, but there are no more than a thousand of them, it is unknown how many legendary classes, but definitely more than 20. And only two mythical ones are known. These are the chief elder of the elven domain and the grandmaster of the sword." "What do you need to get an epic or legendary class?" "It depends on what pit you are going for, to get an epic weapon mastery class, you just need to have one epic skill, the exact requirements are unfortunately unknown to us." It was already approaching lunchtime and Nick decided to say goodbye to Benedict and hurry to his first magic lesson. "Thank you for the lesson, I''ll go learn magic." "Of course, young master." Rushing to take a shower and find his new teacher, Nick thought about their conversation. So, it means that you need more than just one epic rank skill to get a stronger class, interesting. Maybe you need to somehow build your path exclusively from this skill, for example, my father is primarily a swordsman, but from Benedict''s words, he has an epic class aura, which allows him to combine aura and sword art to achieve an epic rank in sword art, or he developed his main skill in another way. Maybe he has a couple more epic skills, but I won''t know until I ask him about it. It turns out that in order to develop a class, you need to have a main skill higher than the class rarity. Or achievements and the path laid out for them can also play a role. After taking a shower, Nick went to the room for his magic lessons. He managed to arrive before his new teacher. After waiting for 10 minutes, the door opened and a young girl of 20 years old came in. She quickly walked to the table and began to lay out her books. "Hi Dylan, I''m Alice Verst and I''m going to teach you magic." "Hello." After her quick arrival, she briefly examined him and decided something for herself. Nick thought that she decided that he was a small, arrogant brat who thought that magic was fun and easy. He also looked at her more closely. Alice looked like a young woman, 170 cm tall, with neat features, black hair and green eyes. "Let''s not waste time, what do you know about magic?" "Nothing?" Apparently Alice did not expect such an answer at all and it was very obvious from her, considering that she froze while laying out the books. "What do you mean nothing at all?" "Yes" Sitting down on the chair in front of Nick, she lost her temples in anticipation of a headache from Nick''s training. "Okay, let''s look at everything briefly to begin with. The world consists of conditional components that together form our world. There are three varieties: material, energetic and spiritual." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. "Yes, it''s simple." "Okay, a human being is made up of a material body, various energies, and a soul. A human being has vitality, stamina, and mental energy. These are things that every human being has, but to become a mage, one must have a mana core. Some people are already born with their own mana core, and thus discover magical characteristics. Do you have a mana core?" "Yes." "Okay, this makes things a little easier, you don''t have to forge a mana core. To start preparing for the Apprentice Mage class, you need to have the skills: mana sense, mana manipulation, and meditation. Having these skills, after some time you will be able to develop the skill: spell casting. And only then will you have the opportunity to choose the Apprentice Mage [Uncommon] class. Therefore, we will begin teaching you these skills." "I already have the skill of mana sense, mana manipulation and meditation." Alice looked surprised, because it was very rare for a five-year-old child to unlock all these skills. "Okay, what level are they?" "Hmm, skill Meditation [Uncommon] Lvl 144, Lesser Mana sense [Common] Lvl 55 §Ú Minor Manipulation of Mana [Common] Lvl 61." Alice tried to hide her shock, but she failed, when she chose the class of Secret Mage Apprentice, she had 7 skills of unusual rank and was considered almost the top of the magic academy. But in order to develop all these skills, she had to train tirelessly and drink an unrealistic amount of mana potions. She could not imagine how being a 5-year-old child could get an unusual skill. "Now I understand why I had to sign a soul contract to get a job here. Well, that''s very high and I''m sure you know it Dylan, why didn''t you develop your spell casting skill?" "I couldn''t find the spell books in the library." "Okay, okay! We''ll get started on this today!" "Ahem, I don''t have any mana." "It''s okay, I have mana potions, what''s your mana reserve?" "190 MP." "It''s certainly not much, but for your age, it''s very good. I think you can restore your mana reserves twice without getting hurt. Let''s go outside and I''ll show you a couple of simple spells." After a short walk to Nick''s favorite tree, Alice pulled out a glass vial with a blue liquid inside. Measuring it out with a pipette, she gave Nick what she decided was the right amount to drink. "Mana should be restored within five minutes, here is the spell book. Today we will start with the first level spells of the wind element. To perform the first level spell gust of wind, you must first convert pure mana into aspected wind mana and then perform the spell. To do this, you must weave these constructs in the textbook from your magic. Spells can consist of different components, mainly this is a mana conversion construct, a spell form and various additional constructs that can perform different functions, for example a form that allows you to remotely control the spell. Each spell is a mixture of forms responsible for a specific action of the spell." Nick looked at the textbook while Alice explained what the spell consisted of. He already understood all of this, various novels covered this topic well on the Internet. The textbook showed a simple spell design, but in order to perform it, he needed to create a mana transformation structure, which was much more complex. This form looked like an air ball of threads of different thicknesses, the fact that in the textbook this form of magic transformation was shown from three angles on 10 pages did not please him at all. "You might get very confused seeing spells for the first time, but that''s what I''m here for. I''ll create a spell, and you try to get a good look at it with your mana sense." "Fine." Nick concentrated on his mana sense and began to look between Alice''s outstretched hands. In her hands, the shape of the spell was not quite clear and understandable to him. It was more like a transparent haze of light blue color. Nick could not see anything between her hands. "Sorry, I thought your mana sense would be able to see it, I''ll do it better now." Light blue threads became visible in the air, which roughly formed this structure, each thread was visible to the naked eye, which greatly surprised him. Seeing this, Alice decided to explain it to him. "Mages can compress mana, and so it becomes visible to the naked eye. I am unable to compress the mana further in this structure, so I will hurry up and take a closer look." Realizing this Nick focused more closely on the structure and seeing it in its entirety, thanks to this he began to better understand how it was depicted in the textbook. It was indeed a bundle of threads of varying thickness in the shape of a cloud. Looking at it carefully, he tried to create this shape between his hands. Slowly his magic began to separate into threads and make this shape, when he was able to make it a third, he did not have enough control to hold it together. Alice dispelled her spell and began a new lecture. "Now I understand your skill level, it was not bad. I admit honestly, it is not the best starting spell because of the difficulty of creating the air mana transformation form. And you did it incorrectly, your mana sense was not enough to see that the construction in the form of the spell is sometimes hollow. The spell is not only made of threads, but also of hollow tubes. Now you will begin to build a simple first-level spell, a force strike. It is made entirely of un-aspected mana, so you should be able to handle it." Alice took out another book and opened it to the first page, with the simplest form. It looked like a ball that in section consisted of straight threads inside the structure. Nick was a little angry why she did not give him the simplest spell right away, but he almost understood that she needed it to compare the speed of his growth. Alice silently created this spell between her hands and waited for him to do the same. Nick concentrated his mana sense and was able to perfectly see the whole spell, after five minutes he was able to repeat it exactly. "That''s good, well done, it was very fast. Now the only thing you need to do is activate the spell with your will, some mages when casting spells pronounce it to better pour their will into the spell. But basically it doesn''t matter, since mages can''t manipulate and feel their will to the level of a [Great Mage]." "Why can''t we see our will?" "It''s simple, we just can''t, some advanced magicians can sense someone else''s will as well as their own, but will is more like a state of mind or soul, as each one prefers to understand it." Alice squeezed the spell tighter and cast it. "Power Arrow." The spell transformed into blue light that hit the tree and made a small dent in it, about 10 cm in size. Nick decided that he needed to explain something to Alice. "Miss Alice, please don''t break my favorite tree." "Okay, okay, get started already." Nick focused even more on the spell and willed it to be used. "Power Arrow." His spell glowed brightly with mana and flew towards the ground. It managed to touch the ground and only slightly pressed the grass. Nick was almost upset, but in the corner of his vision he saw a new notification. "Well done, it''ll do for the first time. Your spell had such a bright light because it was imperfect, done correctly the spell remains completely invisible to normal vision. Now take the spell casting skill and drink a new mana potion. You still have a lot of training ahead of you if you want to do something significant with these 50 mana." Congratulations, you have unlocked the new skill Casting Minor Spells [Common]. Congratulations, you have acquired a new skill Casting Minor Spells [Common] Lv. 1 Finally , now I could unlock the Mage Apprentice class, how hard would it be to unlock the Mage class at 15? And what''s wrong with these spell forms anyway, why are they so clunky? "Miss Alice, are there other forms of magic?" "Of course there is, there is Rune magic, Circle magic, word magic and many other types of magic. But in our kingdom we mainly use three types of magic, the magic that I showed you has no name, but for convenience we call it form magic. The second magic is Rune magic, many blacksmiths and rune mages use it to enchant various objects, or simply create spells just like us. And the last magic is holy magic, it is used by priests, paladins and so on. It is very similar to form magic, but it has many differences, which is why it was elevated to a separate type of magic. Although personally I believe that this was done by the church in order to have a monopoly on it." Nick wasn''t surprised at all that the church ruled over its holy magic, most likely holy magic is also divided into shapes, runes and circles like the rest. It''s just that the church decided that it was too special to use "other" magic except its own. After drinking another bottle of mana potion, Nick looked more closely at the form of the power arrow spell and noticed where he had made a mistake in the past. When Alice showed him again how to create this spell correctly and shot it at the ground. The ground flew in all directions, as if something very heavy had fallen there. His second cast of the spell was more successful, but there was still too much light. His spell sank the ground by 2 cm. Which in his eyes seemed like a success. Nick put about 70 MP into this spell, which left him with enough for two more of the same weak spells. The second and third attempts went the same way and Nick began to feel morally drowned, as after a long time of collecting mana and meditating. He had a slight headache and Alice decided to end today''s magic lesson. "You''re doing great, after a few months of training you''ll even be able to use elemental spells. But I want to tell you not to count on becoming a full-fledged mage right after you join the class. You still have to decide what kind of mage you want to be. I could have become a mage at 15, but I chose the path of a secret mage''s apprentice, it was also [Uncommon] level. But it gave a class multiplier for other schools of magic. Anyway, we''ll talk about this later, you can go rest, see you tomorrow!" "See you tomorrow, Miss Alice." 10 Chapter Chapter 10 The next day, Nick''s family was joined by Alice at breakfast. She felt uneasy, though, because a legend was sitting next to her. Varion the Ghost Blade was a legendary warrior in the previous war against the undead. Where he was able to kill the Lich [Legendary] being only Lv. 280 with the [Special] class. After that, the nobility gave him only one nickname [Mage Killer] and for this, as Varion himself said, he received the [Epic] title. He was truly a living legend, for which he was hated by everyone, from the nobility of the holy kingdom to the Eminence of the undead. And she was lucky to train his son, who himself would soon become a monster comparable to his father. After breakfast, when the children went to training, Varion asked Alice to stay and talk about his son''s training. "Miss Alice, I thank you again for taking on the task of teaching my son, it is difficult to find a mage like you who would specialize in more than just one school of spells." "Of course, Sir, it is a great honor for me to teach your son." "That''s good, I''d like to ask you, what are his chances of becoming a mage at 15? I know it''s hard to understand after one lesson, but I ask you to think about it." "No problem, it''s not hard for me to answer your question, he will definitely be able to become a mage at 15, he has more talent for it than me. It''s hard to find someone so talented." "That''s certainly great, but I''m sorry to hear that. See, we made a bet that if he couldn''t become a mage by his 15th birthday, he would choose our family''s swordsmanship as his main class. But I''m not asking you not to train him as you see fit, I just wanted to tell you about it. Thank you for taking the time to tell me." "You''re welcome, Mr. Varion." After such an ambiguous conversation, Varion left Alice to ponder the appropriate training for Dylan. *** On the training ground, Nick was trying his best to stop Benedict''s retreat. He had caught the rhythm and was now trying to match his technique with his own. This time, he not only wielded a real short sword, but also tried to catch the butler with a well-aimed throw of daggers. Due to the fact that his strength was much higher than that of an ordinary person, he could already wield a real sword well at a young age. But the most important thing he was trying to do today was not to develop his own style, but to gain a skill that would allow him to roughly understand how his opponent reacts to various actions. The battle was very difficult for him, his stamina had already dropped by a quarter, and given that you need to wait 100 hours to earn a full stamina pool, this was a lot. After a successful sparring with Benedict, Nick went to the bathroom, and then had lunch to start learning magic. For today''s training, Alice took with her only one book of magic, from what was written on the book, Nick understood that these were sound magic spells. "Hi Dylan, today you will be learning the sound magic spell after a little practice with the force bolt spell. I want you to try practicing in every spell school as an arcane mage. Plus, today we will talk about the different options for the mage and mage apprentice class." "Thank you very much Miss Alice." "First try to make a power shot with the mana you have left, don''t worry if you can''t do it, try to stretch your mana or make the spell as small as you can and shoot it at the earthen wall." Alice stretched out her hand and said "Wall of Earth" where an earthen wall 2 meters high and wide grew in front of Nick, having walked around it a little he saw that it was about 40 cm thick. Shrugging his shoulders Nick tried to create a power shot from two mana, but no matter how hard he tried, it did not happen and the mana dissipated in his hands. "It''s okay, don''t be upset. Take the mana potion and start practicing." After drinking the mana potion, Nick decided to make sure that his spell would be better than yesterday, after a complete rest he felt better than ever. Therefore, he built his spell for a long time and made sure that there were no defects in it in his opinion. "Arrow of Power." His spell was a faint blue color, which looked much better than yesterday, when it landed it was able to leave a 6 cm diameter imprint on the wall. With such a spell it would be convenient for someone to put a wait, but nothing more. The second spell was worse than the previous ones, with the third spell Nick left a trace slightly deeper than the first. "Okay, not bad. Here''s another mana potion and now let''s go through the tutorial. This is a sound magic spell, it uses unaspected mana, so it should be easy for you. The spell is called remote talk, but we''ll change it a little, remove the remote control part, and you''ll use the sound of the wind. All together, this gives you a first level spell. I''ll leave you the book so you can figure out how to change the spell to change its sound. If you want that, of course." Instead of a book and pictures, Alice created a spell between her hands and waited for Nick to be able to figure it out. Nick looked at this spell, but it looked like something perfectly round, and inside it were various straight and distorted lines that resembled how music is recorded on earth. Looking at the spell, Nick realized that it was responsible for recording various sounds and playing them back, it was quite simple with his education. In his past life, Nick earned money by repairing various electrical equipment and knew perfectly well how speakers and microphones worked. Nick thought that he would be able to figure it out better later and began to make this spell, it was smaller than the power arrow spell, but the accuracy of how he would depict part of the sound with his mana was important in it. After 10 minutes of precise control of the spell, he decided to cast it. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. "Play sound." It sounded more like a wind hissing loudly, or like the wind blowing on tightly packed leaves on a tree, but it was a success. Alice was pleased with his spell, too. "Well done, it turned out better than I expected, and I expected a lot. It even looked like the wind. Hmm, maybe I should think of another spell for you? No, I know. I''ll make up a spell for you and leave it like that for a minute, and then you can try to repeat it from memory." Alice, without waiting for Nick to collect his thoughts, composed a spell between her hands. Nick had never tried to construct different spells so quickly before, and when his time was up, he screwed up the spell, so that nothing even happened. "Okay, we''ll try that tomorrow too, now calmly repeat my spell." Nick began to calmly repeat the spell and after watching it carefully, he cast it. "Play sound" the sound was like a light wind that was near him. "Really good, at this rate you''ll need to become either a sound mage or an illusion mage. Okay, let''s continue with the previous conversation about the requirements for the mage and mage apprentice classes. As I said yesterday, I chose the Arcane Mage Apprentice [Uncommon] class instead of the Mage class. I did this because I wanted to develop several schools of magic. The Arcane Mage Apprentice [Uncommon] class gives me a class boost to the learning speed of all schools of magic in my skill list, not just shape magic like the Mage [Uncommon] does. Although the Mage Apprentice is technically below the Mage class, this is not entirely true. To become an Arcane Mage [Rare], you need to have a spell creation skill of Lv. 201 and have at least 3 other schools of spells in your skills that are not lower than Lv. 101. I specialize in barrier magic, divination magic, and force magic. Thanks to the fact that I chose the Arcane Mage Apprentice class, I was able to easily reach the Arcane class mage. In general, to become a mage of any kind, you need to have a high level of spell casting skill, but this does not work a little in the case of a mage of any other element. To reach the Fire Mage class [Rare], you do not need a [Rare] level skill. You need several skills of an uncommon level. You need the skill of mana sense, mana control, meditation, spell casting and the skill of the School of Fire Magic [Uncommon]. This is all you need to become a mage of any other element, in addition to the fact that you need to be able to cast a 4th level spell. In general, in the society of mages, ordinary mages are not respected at all. Such people are either considered too indecisive in choosing a preferred school of magic, or untalented. Then there is a fairly easy way for any elemental mage to improve his class in stats per level. It''s simple, you need to tune your mana core to the mana of a specific aspect and thanks to this they get +10 characteristics per level in the class." But even more elite mages in our gradation can get +15 characteristics per level from tuning to a specific element, for example blood mages, space mages, holy mages." To Nick, it all almost made sense. And so he decided to ask about the necromancers. "And necromancers, how much do they get if they aspect themselves?" Alice listened to his question with a serious expression on her face. And decided to answer. "If a necromancer aspects his mana core with undead energy, he himself becomes undead. Some can perform a ritual and become a lich, which is the best choice for the undead. But if they don''t, these crazy people become even more abnormal. They can accept a variety of undead races, or even die from it. And so all forbidden magic gives +20 stats per level in the class if you aspect your core. It can be cursed energy, demonic energy, undead energy. Everyone is so afraid of this magic, because it consists not only of mana, but also of soul energy. Holy mana works very well against all of them, but in order to develop holy mana to the level of compatibility with soul energy, you need to become an angel, answering your question in advance, this is impossible due to something related to the church." "Angels exist? I thought they were fairy tales." "Angels exist, and not only angels in general. Today I will finish your magic lesson, go have a good rest." Instead of going back home, Nick sat down near a tree and decided to check his status. "Status." Name: Dylan Ghostblade (Nick Miller) 5 years old Race: Evolved Human [Rare] Lv. 8 Class: Blocked Class: Blocked Health 270 HP 0.27 HP/hour Mana 190 MP 0.12 MP/hour Endurance 250 ST 2.5 ST/hour Statistics: Strength 23 Dexterity 24 Stamina 25 Vitality 27 Constitution 27 Intelligence 52 Wisdom 41 Mental Control 46 Willpower 54 Perception 32 Charisma 14 Mana output 12 Mana 19 Mana Regeneration 12 Luck 18 72 free attribute points Titles: Otherworldly Reincarnator [Legendary+] Racial Skills: Quick Learning [Uncommon] Low adaptability of characteristics [Common] Minor Adaptation [Common] Lesser Mana Core [Common] Low Mental Resistance [Common] Lvl 28 Low Poison Resistance [Common] Lvl 15 Pain Resistance [Common] Lv. 3 Skills: Meditation [Uncommon] Lvl 144 Lesser Mana sense [Common] Lvl 63 Language Proficiency (Ramiast) [Common] Lvl 75 Minor Manipulation of Mana [Common] Lvl 66 Disciple of Sword Mastery [Common] Lvl 38 Knife Throwing [Common] Lvl 26 Casting Minor Spells [Common] Lv. 5 11 Chapter Chapter 11 Nick decided to spend time meditating early in the morning. With his improved mana control skills, it became easier for him to use active meditation. Today, he decided that he would spend his spare attribute points. But he didn''t know how yet, so he would ask Alice for advice. During breakfast, Benedict took out the recording of his battle with the goblins and played it as an illusion on the wall. Many smiled and laughed at him for his foolish antics, and for allowing the goblins to surround him, father praised his bravery and a good fight with three goblins. Alice, however, did not take it very well and sat with a nervous smile on her face the whole time. And Nick understood her perfectly well. Who in their right mind would throw a child out to goblins. After breakfast, Alice joined Nick in training with Benedict. She advised him to try to use his mana sense constantly, and he was happy to try it. His mana sense was at best half a meter from his body, and if he did not concentrate on the chosen place, he could barely see the mana. But this did not stop him from trying. The sparring with Benedict went even better than yesterday, Nick could finally sometimes guess the moment to throw a dagger at Benedict. He no longer waved off daggers as if they did not exist. Nick liked that he could more or less be a nuisance to Benedict. While working on his prediction skill, Nick decided to do movements that didn''t make much sense but made Benedict pay attention to them, so he was able to almost hit Benedict with a dagger when Benedict lunged and threw two knives at him. Thanks to the throwing skill, this became very easy at a distance of up to 4 meters. After training, Nick stayed with Alice and listened to what lesson he would have today. ¡°Well, today I will teach you how Mages develop their willpower and mana control. Close combat between Mages is primarily a battle of willpower and aura. Mages get the Aura skill when they choose their class, Aura can be developed on their own, but it is very difficult for everyone and only a few can handle it. And if they can get the [Aura] [Common] skill, then they get another skill provided by the class. The next skill, if I am not mistaken, is the [Parallel Thinking] [Uncommon] skill. An extremely powerful skill that allows you to divide your attention and cast two spells at the same time, at the cost of a small amount of stamina. Only gifted Mages can master it on their own. Now, in close combat, a Mage must prevent another Mage from casting a spell. This is done thanks to Aura, since in Aura your control over Mana is much better. The stronger your Aura, the easier and faster you can suppress your opponent¡¯s control over Mana. But in a duel of forces it works very poorly, it must be used very cleverly. Aura must be attacked either suddenly, or not attacked at all, but protect the structure of your physical spells." "So you can basically ignore the mage''s aura, of course it works both ways, so it''s important to know physical defensive spells, or have defensive artifacts. Magic that relies more on the mana effect in such fights is not very effective, because it gives more time to the other mage to dispel someone else''s spell, since such spells usually take longer to cast and require more mana." "Okay, now you know the basics of close combat, now try to control your mana despite my attempts to hinder you with aura." Nick simply nodded and pulled out the last of the mana he had managed to prepare that morning. He carefully took control of it and pushed it out between his hands. He immediately felt his control over it begin to weaken, he felt something slippery slipping from his hands. Trying harder and harder, he completely lost control of it. "Hmm, you need to work more on mana manipulation, you couldn''t completely control it. But it''s still good for the first time. Here''s a mana potion. Now you''ll try to reproduce the sound of the wind again, and then you''ll struggle to control the mana again." After drinking the mana potion, Nick felt mana flowing into his body again and seeping into his mana core from all over his body. He hadn''t noticed it the first time, but it was a good hint to practice active meditation. After preparing himself, he nodded to Alice and she showed him the same spell form, with all the characteristics of wisdom, he couldn''t remember this spell as it had many components that formed a single whole. The force arrow spell was easy to remember, several lines that were woven into a clear sequence inside the mana ball. Nick managed to reproduce the sound of the wind on the first try, and the sound was excellent. He didn''t yet understand how he was able to construct this spell so well, but he hoped that with time he would understand it. Alice nodded in satisfaction and told him to pull out the mana and practice willpower again. Nick was having a hard time, he knew that Alice was trying to pull his control along the edges of his mana cloud, which was causing his control to gradually weaken, Alice left him with a little control over his mana, and when she took control of everything, it was abrupt and instantaneous. It turned out that she gave the mage the illusion of control over his own mana, until she abruptly turned it off completely. It was clever and Nick liked it. It reminded him that the outside world was a very cruel place. And he couldn''t wait to get there himself. Now that he understood this, he could resist, but still, after a couple of minutes, he gave up control. Although it was hard for him, he could fully invest his willpower. Alice smiled at him contentedly. "Well done, you figured out my tactics quickly, but in the thick of battle, other mages usually assume they have more control over mana due to their mana specialization. This works, but only when you have aspected mana. While it may seem like I''m bragging, wizard mages are very good duelists due to the wide variety of spells they have. As a Force Mage, I''m very good at close range." "Which mage will you face the most difficult fight?" ¡°Ha, Dylan, you don¡¯t understand. Arcane Mages don¡¯t use force, but tactics. Otherwise, it¡¯s very difficult to defeat someone who specializes in one school of magic, even though we have more attribute points per level than any basic mage, we can¡¯t win by force. But to answer your question, manipulator mages are the strongest against me. It takes more mana to create a powerful shot than it does to block it with water. If a water manipulator can react in time and put up a circular defense against me, I will lose because my spells need more mana to have the effect I want, if I start gathering a lot of mana, a water manipulator can definitely stop me. Earth mages are a little easier because their defense is a little slower than water mages. But if they manage to reflect my attack, I am also more likely to lose. I''m very good against wind mages, they don''t have enough time to compress their mana so I can''t break through their barrier, and fire mages lose to me 100% of the time, I might even be able to beat a Great Mage who recently switched to that class." If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "What about rarer mages, like saints?" "Pfft, holy mages, it''s the same as me, but with healing magic and worse. I would have a chance to defeat them somewhere around 3 to 1 in my favor. And that''s taking into account their knowledge of me, because few holy mages know how to use holy magic for prediction magic against humans. They have a different specificity. And so they fought me with force constructs, just like me. Okay, start meditating and restoring your mana, and I''ll watch you." Nick began trying to replenish his mana reserves, much like a mana potion did. He would pour ambient mana into his body until it barely held, then draw mana out of his body, but only the mana that wasn''t fighting him for control. He would then surround his mana core with this mana and wait, while moving the ambient mana through his body, much like blood circulated. "This is actually very advanced. You emphasized this by seeing how mana potions work. I haven''t told you how mana potions work, so listen up. The principle of mana potions is actually very simple, they purify mana so much that it is converted almost immediately, it is limited only by your Mana Output and Mana Regeneration stats. The potion causes the mana in it to replace the mana inside your body, and the mana inside your body with a large admixture of pure mana is sent to your core, where your original mana is diluted. This makes the spells you cast become much weaker, and so they are only used for training, or as an emergency item. If you drink a lot of mana potions, the mana it sent to your core will heavily burden it until your mana regeneration stat drops completely and the core cracks. Having your core crippled is practically a death sentence. for a mage, only arcane healers or someone from the very top of the church can cure him. And even then, you are unlikely to be able to fully restore your mana core. You will lose many mana capacity stats. If you did not know, then after you gain a large amount of mana in the stat, the mana core is physically formed in your stomach and grows to a certain threshold. This threshold depends on your body size and then, in order to increase the mana volume, mages need to be able to compress the mana inside their core to the required threshold. It happens that a mage with, say, a mana reserve of 50,000 MP cannot fully actively restore it because he is not able to shove new mana inside his core, or, conversely, it happens that one of the young mages suddenly decides that he is the smartest and shoves more mana into the core than it can handle, as a result, he either cripples himself or kills himself. The only thing that can store mana is our body and soul, but their energy capacity is small compared to the mana core. So remember that when the mana core stops growing, your mana stats will strengthen it so that it can withstand more mana pressure and not burst." "Thank you, Miss Alice, for the warning." ¡°Returning to your meditation technique, this technique is standard for all mages, so the skill may well rise to [Rare] level in the coming years.¡± "Is it really that simple, Miss Alice?" "Yes, it''s that simple. But to bring meditation to the [Special] level, a mage needs a really advanced technique. That''s why it''s not revealed to mages, and maybe even to Great mages. In general, few people have this skill, although it''s very useful. The Great Meditation [Rare] skill increases mana recovery speed by 10 times and in addition adds +1-50% to the recovery speed from this. That is, if your mana recovery speed is 1 per hour, then with all this it will be 15 mana per hour, with active meditation. In fact, with your skill, you can get the same increase of up to 25% if you try and perform this technique correctly. But do not forget that meditation will work as long as there is the surrounding mana in the required amount." "Miss Alice, do you really not know a better meditation skill? Or someone who does?" "Many meditation techniques are additionally built for their bloodlines, where each mage has an aspected mana core. Therefore, these techniques cannot be discarded and used by anyone other than the bloodline or another aspected mage. As an Arcane Mage and someone who did not grow up in a noble family, it is difficult for me to find or develop the technique myself. And now after my lecture yesterday and today''s lesson, you must choose which mage class you want for yourself. Of course, I will not allow you to choose a normal mage class." Nick answered Miss Alice with a smile. "Don''t worry, Miss Alice, I don''t want to be a mediocre mage. I want to become an Arcane Mage like you, but use more schools of magic than you do." "Hmm, I didn''t expect that answer. I thought you wanted to become a water mage." "No, you''re not entirely wrong, that would be my next option. But being a secret mage sounds better and safer." "I agree, the magic of divination has saved my life so many times that it is impossible to reach my level at a young age just by shooting pigeons." "Who were you hunting, Miss Alice?" "My toughest fight was against another water mage, he was a little higher level than me, but considering my complete incompatibility with him, I decided to run. I flew for a long time on power spells from him and covered myself with a barrier from his attacks, where at some point I was lucky to hide behind the corner of the mountain, where I prepared the strongest spell I was capable of. At that time, it was a level 4 spell "Spear of Power", as soon as he jumped out from behind the corner, I used the spell closely and was able to break through his defense. A little more and I would have been left without mana at all. I was just lucky then that the mage underestimated me. The second time was when I, together with a group of adventurers, was hunting a rare monster of lvl 400. But as it turned out, this monster was [Special] lvl 400. Half of the team died, and the monster eventually died from poison and heavy blood loss. "It was a special kind of poison salamander, so they are not known for their strength and speed, but they have Regeneration [Epic] and Poison [Epic]. We were lucky that the salamander had no resistance to our poison, and its regeneration was ineffective against it. It took a lot of wounds and poison for it to die. But it was a very difficult fight, I was not at all suitable for it, and I was only taken because of my divination magic." "That''s sad, Miss Alice, I wanted to ask you, can you melt the stone with a power spell?" "Haha, you are a smart boy. Where did you read that? I can do it and I use it often. Only it works well against very hard and durable objects, against the salamander it was very ineffective and also dangerous. Against water mages it is useless, even though it is a 5th level spell, any water mage can either take more water under control or cool it instantly. And the steam explosions are very unpleasant. With that, we will end today''s lesson, I will go." "Goodbye, Miss Alice." Nick remained sitting under the tree and began to think through a strategy for fighting the water mage, being a force mage. 12 Chapter Chapter 12 The next day after breakfast Nick decided to invest his stat points into willpower, mental control and mana. He thought that would be his best investment as long as he was using mana potions to replenish his reserves. Now his stats looked like this. Statistics: Strength 23 Dexterity 24 Stamina 25 Vitality 27 Constitution 27 Intelligence 52 Wisdom 41 Mental Control 66 Willpower 74 Perception 32 Charisma 14 Mana output 12 Mana 47 Mana Regeneration 12 Luck 18 0 free attribute points His biggest limitation now was his Mana Output stat, as he could only pull 12 mana out of his core per second. Which was bearable for now, since he wasn''t trying to speed cast spells, but was trying to learn how to cast. With that much mana, he could easily cast about 10 spells per mana pool. During his training with Benedict, he honed his sword technique by performing different forms of movement. The only thing he thought he was good at was running fast with a sword, but he didn''t see a new skill being offered, and he didn''t want one anyway. His main goal was still the predicts skill, but he never got it. After training with the butler, Nick and Alice stayed behind to talk about the new spell for the day. "So, Dylan. Today we will review the 1st level water spell "Water Manipulation", I think you should be able to get the mana conversion construct. This form is considered one of the simplest and it is even simpler than the air mana conversion form. Here, take the mana potion. I adjusted the dosage, but now you can only replenish your mana supply one and a half times, due to the low constitution stat and mana output, I can''t give you more." Alice took out a mana potion and a book that she handed to him, Nick drank the mana potion and put the book in his bag. He was actually just collecting Alice''s books and was not going to read them, "for now". He had more important and interesting things to do than spell forms that he would not be able to understand and reproduce. Alice created a structure between her hands that looked like a water tornado. This did not seem simple to Nick at all. This spiral was made up of a lot of dense mana and only inside the structure was something similar to the structure of air mana. "Don''t worry, you''ll soon realize that it''s much easier than creating an air mana construct." Nick decided to take her word for it and slowly began to assemble the structure between his hands. He tried very hard to do it the first time and spent about 100 mana, half of which dissipated in the process. But he got it right the first time, in about ten minutes. Nick was very pleased. "Now watch as I pour mana into the structure and also activate it with willpower." "Transformation of water mana." Alice began to pour mana into the tornado, where it spread and swirled in different places and at the very bottom came out not the usual mana, but mana of a bluer color. Nick could even tell that it was water mana, by her feelings. He tried to do the same. "Transformation of water mana." Nick also tried to pour in mana and he even succeeded, but his conversion ratio was at best 1 to 2. Alice''s was probably 9 to 1. Having spent 100 mana on the transformation, he had water mana in his hands, which felt completely his, he liked this feeling. The mana was very calm and obedient. While Nick admired her new mana, the mana transformation construct dissipated. "Okay, now there are two ways to manipulate water. First, you can pour in your mana and try to control it with your willpower, or you can create a spell and use it to manipulate the water. Which do you want?" "I just want to manipulate water, but what''s stopping me from doing the same with regular mana?" "It''s nothing really, you can manipulate everything with pure mana, but if you want to manipulate something specific better, it makes sense to transform your mana and it will become much easier. Anyway, I''m not asking you to constantly transform mana to manipulate something, it was just a good lesson in mana construction." If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. "Thank you Miss Alice." Alice handed him a flask with water inside it and Nick squeezed all his mana to pour it into a small volume of water. The harder he squeezed the mana, the better his control over the water became. On his first try, he was able to lift about 100 ml of water into the air and began moving it in different directions, flowing down his hand, and anything else he could think of. After about a minute, his control began to gradually decline until he could no longer control the mana and it dissipated. "Dylan, to manipulate any object, be it earth or water, it doesn''t matter. You spend your mana on it all the time. The longer you control the water, the less mana remains in it. Let''s say you burn wood to get heat. Do you understand my analogy?" "Yes, Miss Alice, I wanted to ask you. Is it possible to manipulate another person with ordinary mana?" Alice decided to close her eyes to this question that undermined the morale of all the magicians and answered. "Yes Dylan, an experienced mage could control a child with pure mana, but the older a person gets, the more mana is needed to overcome a person''s resistance. It gets to the point where it is impossible for a mage to take control of someone unless he wants to burn that person from the inside with mana overload. There are mages who specialize in controlling people. In our kingdom, such mages are taken very seriously and all sorts of checks are carried out to ensure that such a mage does not abuse his position. These can be Mind Mages, Blood Mages, Healing Mages, Secret Mages and Soul Mages. All other owners of the branch of control magic that applies to people are illegal. These are Dark Mages, Necromancers, Flesh Mages and many other prohibited classes." "What about bards, they can control people, can''t they?" "Yes, you are right about that, but only very strong bards can do that and they get the same permission from the government." "Thank you for the explanation, Miss Alice." "You''re welcome, now you can try to control water with un-aspected mana." Nick began to pull a lot of mana out of his core and for the first time felt a slight tension in his stomach and hands. Alice noticed this and answered him. "This is a slight mana overload, finish your exercises and we''ll go to the mansion. I heard that Miss Firel and Mr. Liam might be coming today." Nick smiled and began to put more effort into practicing mana control. He put in all the remaining mana and was able to control about the same amount with water mana. Which was about 1:2, considering that he spent a lot of mana on the transformation form, he did not see the point in it. Alice, seeing this, decided to explain it to him. "Hmm, that''s because you drank a mana potion. If you use the mana from your core that you restored through meditation, or through regeneration. You will notice a significant increase in control using water mana. It''s just that right now your mana doesn''t have all the potential of your willpower in it, and therefore the difference is almost imperceptible. The stronger your willpower is, the easier it will be for you to control water using water mana than if you simply controlled it with pure mana. Understood?" "Yes, Miss Alice. Would you like to meet Mrs. Firel and Mr. Liam with me?" "Of course, it''s not every time you can meet the Great Water Mage." As they walked to the mansion, Nick decided to ask Alice about Liam''s mother. "Miss Alice, do you know what Mrs. Firel is remembered for in terms of her magic." "Of course, I''m surprised that you don''t know. The Changeable Water family is famous for their famous "Water Weapon" spell. They manipulate water by adding various elements to it and sometimes changing its composition. This family even shared their "Holy Water Weapon" spell, which is now used not only by the church, but also by the rest of the nobility. Mrs. Firel herself, as a Great Water Mage, was able to become famous in the battle against the Rukh lightning [Epic] 457 Lv. She was able to easily defeat this cruel monster. Her water magic was impenetrable to the Rukh lightning magic and when he decided to engage her in close combat, she cut off his wing with a special water blade spell. The monster was defeated very easily thanks to this spell, although Mrs. Firel did not say what level this spell is, many think that this spell is level 8 or higher. It is also known that Mrs. Firel has an [Epic] class, but no one knows the exact name or level does not know." "Mmm, interesting." Nick and Alice went into the mansion where they were invited to dinner, when they arrived they saw Miss Firel and Liam. Miss Firel had not changed at all in the five years that Nick had known her, as had all people who were over 20, but Liam now looked completely different. Firstly, his hair had acquired the color of light blue water with interspersed completely white shiny hair. As his parents had explained earlier, this was a sign of great affinity with the mana of water, even more than his parents and many other ancestors. His eyes had also slightly changed color, if before they were blue, now they had acquired the color of his hair and were light blue with white lines. In general, Liam looked like a real magical person, in addition to the unusualness of his hair and eyes, his face was incredibly beautiful, Nick was sure that Liam would never have problems in the future with finding a girlfriend for the night. Nick was almost jealous, although he still preferred his father''s appearance, handsome and inconspicuous. As dinner began, small talk ensued between the families. Nick''s mother bragged about him training both the art of the phantom sword and the training of a secret mage. Firel told him that the change in Liam''s appearance was definitely related to the beginning of his training as a water mage. She even told him that he was already able to cast the second-tier spell "Water Arrow" and was able to unlock the Water Magic Mastery skill. Nick knew that Liam was 8 months older than him and such an advantage was really big in this case, but he swore to himself that he would catch up with him faster in this. After dinner, everyone left and Nick invited Liam to his room for a private conversation. "Liam, tell me what your plans are for life. I didn''t ask you before because I thought it was too early, but considering that we need to choose classes, I decided to ask you about it." "Yes, I agree, we need to start this conversation. I''m going to get two mage classes and combine them into one. I want to get a family class of Variable Water Weapon Mage [Rare] and Diamond Dust Manipulator Mage [Rare]. This way I''ll get a class that will be much stronger, I checked everything I could in the family library and such a class combination is possible. But for this I need to level up both classes to level 100 and develop the schools of water magic and diamond dust to the [Rare] level. In general, it''s feasible, what are your plans for your class?" "My class will be simple, I will be a secret mage. I am not ready to give up all the advantages of various magics for the sake of one thing. Even if I could use time magic, I would still become a secret mage. It seems to me that people do not see that you can use different schools of magic in one spell to get the desired effect. Or it is so difficult that only a few use it." "Okay, I like it. Being an arcane mage and a fast swordsman seems good. I plan on taking a melee class later, but I don''t know what weapon I''ll specialize in yet, there''s still a lot of time for that." "I agree that every battle mage needs a melee class. Actually, you and I are going to the academy together and after that I will gather my own group of adventurers, are you with me?" Nick extended his hand to Liam and he laughed and shook it with more force before hugging Nick. "Of course, why are you even asking?! I would never abandon my beloved friend!" 13 Chapter Chapter 13 Nine years had passed since Nick started learning magic from Miss Alice. Nick now looked like someone from the cover of a martial arts magazine. His body was heavily trained and hardened by various sword exercises. Over the course of nine years, he had been able to develop many skills to a higher rank, and had achieved the skill level to become a [Rare] Arcane Mage and [Rare] Phantom Sword Adept. Everything was going well. He looked at his status again. Name: Dylan Ghostblade (Nick Miller) 14 years old Race: Evolved Human [Rare] Lvl 22 Class: Blocked Class: Blocked Health 1310 HP 1.965 HP/hour Mana 1470 MP 1.12 MP/hour Endurance 1400 ST 21 ST/hour Statistics: Strength 120 Dexterity 135 Stamina 140 Vitality 131 Constitution 127 Intelligence 146 Wisdom 135 Mental Control 150 Willpower 172 Perception 131 Charisma 40 Mana output 112 Mana 147 Mana Regeneration 112 Luck 32 126 free attribute points Titles: Otherworldly Reincarnator [Legendary+], Rare Skill Holder [Rare]. Racial Skills: Fast Recovery [Rare+] Quick Learning [Uncommon] Low adaptability of characteristics [Common] Minor Adaptation [Common] A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Lesser Mana Core [Common] Low Mental Resistance [Common] Lvl 40 Low Poison Resistance [Common] Lvl 18 High Pain Resistance [Uncommon] Lvl 105 Skills: Great Identification [Special] Lvl 401 Fake Status [Special] Lvl 401 Meditation [Uncommon] Lvl 180 Mana Sense [Uncommon] Lvl 156 Language Proficiency (Ramiast) [Uncommon] Lvl 143 Manipulation of Mana [Uncommon] Lvl 178 Phantom Sword Mastery [Uncommon+] Lvl 144 Casting Spells [Uncommon] Lvl 154 Arcane Magic [Uncommon] Lvl 120 Magic of Predictions [Uncommon] Lvl 102 Magic of Stone [Uncommon] Lvl 115 Awakening of the Ghost [Uncommon+] Lvl 101 Ghost Flicker [Uncommon+] Lvl 102 Rough Calculation [Common] Lvl 36 Lesser Stamina Manipulation [Common] Lvl 25 Lesser Life Force Manipulation [Common] Lvl 11 Nick was now a monster. Thanks to feeding on all sorts of alchemical preparations, he had at least 80 stats in each stat besides luck and charisma. He had somehow managed to develop a skill in his race like his father''s. Only his father and he, out of the entire Ghost Blade Clan, had this skill. It was the skill Rapid Recovery [Rare+], it increased the recovery of vitality and stamina by 50%. Which was too overpowered in his opinion. This skill could not be developed by an ordinary human, only by an Evolved Human. This skill could also be obtained by other races, but it was unachievable for an ordinary human. His pure stats were now roughly equivalent to a human with [Uncommon] Lv 70 class. The way he developed his skills was controversial to his relatives. If he focused on one future class, he would be able to develop some basic skill to [Rare], but he believed that in the long run he would be stronger with two classes. The only thing he didn''t do to obtain the mage class was to cast a tier 4 spell. But he believed that if he distributed the remaining stats, he could do it. Tier 4 spells cost around 1000 MP, and his main problem was that he couldn''t cast the spell accurately enough. His willpower was enough to accurately use 1000 MP, but his lack of mental control and wisdom prevented him from casting it. He was able to develop several ghost sword techniques, which eventually allowed him to combine swordsmanship with knife throwing into the best Mastery skill. With the clan''s techniques that were passed down through generations, he obtained the skills Awakening of the Ghost [Uncommon+] and Ghost Flicker [Uncommon+]. Awakening of the Ghost [Uncommon+] 101 Lvl - the skill allows you to use a technique that increases strength, agility, constitution, perception and intelligence by 10-25%. The technique for its work consumes stamina and greatly burdens the constitution. Cost 30 ST/m. Ghost Flicker [Uncommon+] 102 Lvl - the skill allows you to use a technique that dramatically increases your movement speed. The technique for its work consumes stamina and greatly burdens the constitution. Cost 20 ST/s. Nick decided to take only these two techniques for his skills. Nick could have taken any other technique as his skill, which would have allowed him to perform it with greater ease. But his father warned him not to rely on skills to use all the Phantom Sword techniques. He was given a few more techniques to choose from. For example, the Phantom Strike, a technique that allowed him to move quickly and deliver an instant sword strike at short distances, or a rapid attack technique that uses a large number of sword strikes. But he decided to perform all the other techniques manually, that is, to independently manipulate the stamina inside his body for the Phantom Sword techniques. Contrary to misconceptions, when he uses a skill that manipulates stamina, he himself has to do it, but thanks to the skill, it becomes much easier. Therefore, using the skill Awakening of the Ghost [Uncommon+], he can use the same Phantom Strike at the same time as the skill, which makes this combination incredibly deadly at his stat level. As a mage, he decided to use three schools of magic for now: Arcane Magic, Divination Magic, and Stone Magic. The Arcane Magic skill, although relatively weak, helped him with all spells that used pure mana. The Divination Magic skill was needed for faster and more accurate spell casting. For example, he learned to cast the 3rd level spell "Life Detection", without the skill of this spell school, his success in casting dropped sharply, as did his speed, and considering that the Arcane Magic skill helped with better casting of this spell school, since it used mostly pure mana, his mastery in this school of magic was significantly higher than that of an ordinary mage. The last skill he decided to choose was Stone Magic, for long-range attacks and good defense against something powerful. He planned to use the 3rd level spell "Stone Wall" for defense, along with the 3rd level spell "Arcane Fortification". The two spells cost around 1000 MP in total, and he needed to spend at least 10 seconds to cast them together, but thanks to this, he could defend against most tier 4 spells. The stone wall, which was already made of strong stone, was further strengthened by another arcane spell. This combination was something that very few spells could penetrate. Overall, he was very satisfied with his build as a mage and a warrior. The last significant upgrade to his status were two "gifted skills" - Great Identification [Special] Lvl 401 and Fake Status [Special] Lvl 401. The first skill allowed him to identify anyone who did not have the [Special] status hide skill or an epic class. The second skill allowed him to customize how his status would appear to the person who rated him. Only someone who had [Epic] Identification could break through his disguised skill, which his father assured him would be very, very rare. In this regard, he agreed with Liam to register with the Adventurers Guild in the city where his father rules and go on his first mission. It will happen very soon and he could not wait for it at all. Nick was simply praying to the gods for something interesting to happen. 14 Chapter Chapter 14 In the morning, Nick meditated near a tree and tried to collect a large amount of mana for the road so as not to use mana potions. He and Liam thoroughly prepared for their first mission. Nick acquired two artifacts that changed the color of hair and eyes. He considered that it was much better to be a handsome teenager than a very prominent son of a noble family. Without these artifacts, everyone could recognize him and Liam, although they did not appear in public, they were well known among noble society. The second thing he acquired was a good sword made of mana steel. As far as he knew, adventurers preferred to use exactly such swords, they were easy to make, did not require much care, but most importantly, they did not cost much. Every adventurer had such a sword, well, if you count rich novice adventurers. For Liam, he bought a staff that had about 7000 MP. In order to use the mana stored in the staff, it must be filled with your own mana, fortunately Liam had long been charging this staff with mana and now it was completely full. Nick was upset that he could not carry the staff with him either, it would be very unlikely that a swordsman had good mana management skills at his age, without being specially trained, or without a good pedigree. He also took a good leather armor from the storage, which looked like ordinary. Only an experienced merchant with a specialized appraisal skill could estimate that the armor is worth much more than it looks. Nick agreed to meet Liam at his mansion and then go to the city of Neuton. Nick stood up from his seat and walked towards the estate''s exit gate. Just as he arrived, he saw Liam, deciding to size him up so he wouldn''t screw up with his status. Name: Clayton Reeves 17 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 26 Class: Water Mage Apprentice [Uncommon] Lvl 53 Class: Not Selected Nick could easily break through the hidden status when he knew about it, but that was not his goal. The assessment did not give any errors, so Nick was satisfied. He looked at Liam''s status again. Name: Liam Changeable Water 14 years old Race: Human attuned to water mana [Rare] Lvl 23 Class: Blocked Class: Blocked Nick was very upset that he did not have a race that would help him to be a mage. And Liam''s race gave 14 characteristics per level more than his own. But thanks to his physique training, this gap was not so big. Liam had about 200 characteristics more than him. Nick did not think that characteristics were the most important thing, since his chance to defeat Liam was quite high, due to his greater speed. After checking his status for the last time, he approached Liam. Name: Virs Isuel 17 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 29 Class: Sword Mastery Apprentice [Uncommon] Lvl 58 Class: Not Selected "Hello, are you ready to go into a world full of dangers and adventures!" "Yes Dylan, I''m ready and don''t start making a comedy out of it. Today you and I are just going to complete one task and register in the guild." "Ha ha ha, you speak as if you think nothing will happen, it''s obvious that something interesting will happen." "Okay, call it whatever you want, let''s go. I want to go home today, not spend the night at your mansion." "You''ll see, I''ll be right!" Liam and Nick left the mansion through the back door and turned on the amulets to change their hair and eye color. Nick wondered how they worked and it turns out it was more complex than just an illusion. This amulet worked as something that constantly sent out healing that changed the pigments in their hair and eyes. This could easily be resisted with mana, or life force, which negates the effect. In general, it is also possible to resist healing, or reverse healing. Nick tried to assess the outside world after leaving the mansion. Everything was quite normal, green grass grew everywhere and there were some green trees. Without wasting time, they went to the city of Forestford. It was a city that was located on the territory of Count Varion, it positioned itself as an ordinary city with a large industry for the production of food and other plant products. The city was also famous for woodworking and weaving cotton fabric. In general, it was a large city with a population of about 200,000 people. Naturally, it was impossible to live quietly and peacefully in the magical world. Wild animals and all sorts of weak monsters walked near the city. Actually, this is what adventurers are for, they are paid to get rid of all sorts of problems. There were not so many wild animals or monsters outside the city, but the further you move away from civilization, the more of them you meet along the way. After 20 minutes of fast walking, Nick and Liam approached the gates to the city. Guards met them in front of the gates. Name: Galan Darn 39 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 50 Class: City Guard Swordsman [Uncommon] Lvl 123 Class: Carpenter [Uncommon] Lvl 63 Name: Rick Barien 45 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 57 Class: Vigilant City Guard [Uncommon] Lvl 136 Class: Forest Bow Hunter [Uncommon] Lvl 160 Nick was surprised that these people had such a high level. Having quickly calculated using the Approximate Calculation skill, he realized that the first one had about 400 characteristics in all indicators, and the second one had about 600. But these were guards and they most likely did not have a mana core. In general, in terms of characteristics, the first one was 2 times stronger than him, and the second one was 4 times stronger. But he was sure that he could defeat the second guard, because at high levels, the quantity and quality of skills are important. It is easy to tell what skills they have by their classes. The first one had the Sword Mastery skill [Uncommon], and the second one had some skill related to vision, or evaluation, also [Uncommon] level. Perhaps they had a couple more unusual skills, but this would have little effect against his 13. From this, Nick concluded that although the guards were dangerous, they were not particularly dangerous for him. "Hello, please introduce yourself and tell me why you are in town." "Hello, we want to join the adventurers'' guild." This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Okay, come in and don''t make trouble." Nick had imagined the conversation with the guards in roughly the same way. One guard looked them over and, not seeing anything suspicious, simply let them through. Nick was glad that there was no deep entrance fence to the city, or anything else. This meant that the city was ruled by truly kind people, or simply smart ones. Nick didn''t know yet which ones. As he walked through the city, he noticed that most of the houses were made of wood and had glass windows, the streets were paved with smooth cobblestones, and overall everything looked very clean. The city felt peaceful, even though it was a stone wall. Nick saw many fruit trees and well-kept flowers. He liked the view, all the people they passed did not look poor. So as Nick walked, he often assessed the different people. He saw many different classes, mainly: Cooks, Weavers, Woodcutters, Carpenters. All of these were [Common] level classes, about every ten people he saw someone with [Uncommon] class. The most memorable one he saw was a man who looked to be 40 years old. Name: Reginald Vont 90 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 93 Class: Outstanding Spear Adept [Rare] Lvl 213 Class: Senior Army Officer [Uncommon] Lvl 140 This guy was strong by the city''s standards. It was obvious that he had decided to stop his advancement up the military ladder and live a peaceful life. Using the skill Approximate Calculation, he found out that his average stats were about 1000. This was a lot, although he calculated based on the almost maximum possible stats per class level, he had no doubt that his physical stats were above 1000. Actually, this is the spread of stats for different class rarities per level. [Common] 1-10 [Uncommon] 10-20 [Rare] 20-50 [Special] 50-100 [Epic] 100-200 Walking to the main street, Nick saw a large building nearby with a sign saying "Adventurers'' Guild." He pulled Liam by the hand and they entered the building together. Nick often imagined how this moment would look like, he thought that as soon as they entered the guild they would immediately earn the attention of all sorts of thugs and other nasty things. But in practice, it turned out to be much less exciting. Inside, they were met by a calm atmosphere, many people were looking at the sign with tasks, and others were just waiting in line. Further into the hall, he saw pleasant tables with chairs on which people were sitting and talking about something. Inside the guild, no food or drink was served, which Nick suspected contributed to the calm working environment. Without thinking twice, he and Liam stood in line to see the administrator. Naturally, Nick was evaluating the different people inside the guild along the way. Everyone had unusual classes and even a couple of rare ones, but he did not see anyone above Lvl 200. And in general, most of the people looked young. Nick suspected that there was simply no more serious work in this city, since everything above the rare rank was handled by members of his family. As much as Nick wanted to avoid drawing attention to them, he was wrong about one thing, people aged 17 had a class of around Lvl 30. He already knew that he would turn yellow for not bothering to find out what the average level was for ordinary people at that age. Approaching the administrator, Nick assessed her. Name: Karen Roykhim 28 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 30 Class: Adventurer''s Guild Administrator [Uncommon] Lvl 56 Class: Not Selected The girl looked to be about 20 years old with dark hair and pretty features. She smiled at them pleasantly and started a conversation. "Welcome to the Adventurer''s Guild, how may I help you?" Nick decided to speak for Liam, as he was generally very uncommunicative with strangers. "Hello, we would like to register with the adventurers'' guild." "Mmm, okay. Please fill out the forms and come to me when you''re done, I''ll take you to the examiner." "Thank you." The girl handed them two forms along with pens and they went off to fill them out. The form was pretty simple. Nick had to fill in his name, place of residence, class name, answer a couple of simple questions like what would you do when a monster attacked someone and so on. It took them about 20 minutes to fill out the form. Luckily, Nick had thought through his backstory better and filled in the address of one of the clan''s trusted workers, which is what Liam did as well. When they approached the administrator again, she led them to another part of the building, to the training ground, reading the forms along the way. "The forms are filled out correctly, but you still have to go through an interview and get approval from the guild examiner." There were several people in the training room who were training with different weapons. Among them was the examiner. The girl addressed him while Nick was evaluating him. Name: Rex Theroux 28 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 70 Class: Sword and Shield Adept [Rare] Lvl 173 Class: Martial Arts Instructor [Uncommon] Lvl 120 "Rex, we have newcomers joining us, come here, you will check them out." "Okay Karen, you can go." The examiner stared at them and mentally assessed them. "Hmm, have the high nobility really come to visit us? I can''t imagine what the high nobility finds interesting in the life of an adventurer." Nick and Liam put on a stone face and simply decided to deny everything. "What are you saying sir, we are very far from nobles. We just live in a rich family and decided to earn some money." "If you knew anything about our profession, you would understand how stupid this sounds. You won''t be able to earn enough for a training sword on your first missions. But I don''t get paid for this, so I''ll just explain to you that your fake statuses don''t matter considering how expensive your equipment is. No one in their right mind would wear new clothes to their first meeting with the guild." "Yes sir, we understand, we just wanted to be more prepared." "It doesn''t matter, you with the sword will spar with me and show me the skill of strengthening, and you with the stick will cast a couple of spells." Nick approached the examiner and he snatched the nearest training sword for him. Having caught the sword, Nick went on the attack, using only basic sword techniques and relying on the skill of approximate calculation in predicting the examiner''s attack. The man, in turn, easily took his blows and occasionally counterattacked. This was just a warm-up fight for both of them. On the level of Nick''s characteristics, he moved like the best champion of his world and was twice as fast and strong. "Okay, use the enhancing skill." Nick decided to use the single strong strike skill. By manipulating stamina, he was able to increase the strength of his next strike by about 15%. But the examiner blocked it just as easily. "Not bad, for your level. You pass, send a mage. I''m counting on a spell that can damage the training dummy." Liam and Nick walked up to the line where 25 meters were marked. The examiner waved his hand and Liam began to assemble his spell. He participated in the spell "Water Arrow" level 2. "Water arrow." His spell easily traveled 25 meters and left a small dent in the tree. "Almost good, try something else." Liam frowned slightly and decided to cast his level 3 spell, "Explosive Ice Arrow", but after getting kicked by Nick, he decided to change his spell. "Ice arrow." His projectile crashed into the dummy and left many light cuts on it. Liam deliberately did not cast his spells very quickly and most likely that is why the examiner decided that he was not satisfied with one spell. This time the man nodded his head contentedly. "Okay, let me read you the list of the guild''s demands and you sign it, then there will be a long lecture on how to act in different situations." Entering a small room, they read a document that explained the obvious rules, there was only one interesting point in it. That in the event of a monster attack on the city, adventurers are obliged to defend it. Having signed everything, they listened to a long lecture on why adventurers are adventurers and not mercenaries. The examiner spent an hour referring to mercenaries as complete trash and extolling adventurers. Finally, after all the torment, they went to the guild hall to choose the first quest for enrollment in the ranks of the guild. They were given the opportunity to choose a first-level quest. Standing by his daughter and looking at the various quests, Nick would look for something that was both interesting and quick. He saw many different quests for finding all sorts of plants, killing wild animals, and helping to protect caravans. There were either no monster hunting quests, or they were of a higher level than the one allowed for their first quest. Adventurers also had different ranks, but he didn''t announce what class level they were, but rather explained their merits and the number of quests they had completed. There was bronze rank, iron, silver, gold, platinum, mithril, and then he didn''t know. Most likely it was something like that. Nick decided to choose the quest to accompany a merchant to the nearest city, it was 100 kilometers to the south, he needed to meet the merchant in half an hour at the southern gate. Nick expected to finish the quest and make it home for dinner, it was now about 10 am, so he thought he could handle it. Having decided on the quest, Nick and Liam left the adventurers'' guild and went to the southern gate. 15 Chapter Chapter 15 Nick and Liam came to the southern gate of the city and began to look for the caravan they needed. The task said that there would be 4 carts pulled by horses. Looking at a small market, they saw a man who was managing the loading of just such a stagecoach. Nick appreciated it. Name: Byron Fart 50 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 60 Class: Merchant Caravan Manager [Uncommon] Lvl 123 Class: Disciple of Sword and Shield [Uncommon] Lvl 75 Nick decided that the man had a good level, and overall he looked 30 years old. Approaching him, they introduced themselves. "Hello, my name is Virus Isuel, and this is my friend Clayton Reeves. We have taken on the task you left at the adventurers'' guild." The man noticed them and greeted them with a slight smile. "Welcome, I''m always happy to have additional help in protecting the caravan. I see you''re new adventurers, so I''ll explain everything briefly. Your job will be to look out for threats and get rid of them if necessary. It''s all really simple, but there are many nuances to our work, you''ll quickly get the hang of it along the way. In the meantime, wait for the caravan to gather with the other adventurers, they''re standing by the first wagon." "Thank you sir." Nick appreciated how high the charisma of this man was, he seemed like a nice and kind person. But Nick did not miss how the merchant examined their equipment. He probably also decided that they were some rich brats. But Nick thought that it did not matter for now, he was not here to constantly whine about how everyone thought he was a fool. He did not care, and by the way Liam was involved in everything, he did not either. Nick often thought that Liam did not like it, but he was simply a much more serious person than he was. Approaching the last cart there were 6 people. Nick of course appreciated them all. Name: Lyn Winston 35 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 45 Class: Swift Hunter [Uncommon] Lvl 143 Class: Archery Adept [Rare] Lvl 102 Name: David Rassenbaum 43 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 51 Class: Sword and Shield Adept [Rare] Lvl 150 Class: Martial Arts Apprentice [Uncommon] Lvl 134 Name: Justin Allbrook 25 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 30 Class: Disciple of Sword and Shield [Uncommon] Lvl 60 Class: Not Selected Name: Kristen Bell 26 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 29 Class: Ranger [Uncommon] Lvl 53 Class: Not Selected Name: Mark Terow 26 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 31 Class: Apprentice of Spear and Shield [Uncommon] Lvl 56 Class: Not Selected Name: Roland Inter 23 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 36 Class: Spear Adept [Rare] Lvl 35 Class: Not Selected As far as Nick could tell, these were the average adventurers in this city. But the last guy clearly stood out from the rest. The main difference in what class you get at Lvl 1 with [Uncommon] weapon skill depends on whether you can use techniques. Techniques are basically spells for fighters, but they only use stamina. So the fact that the last guy had a rare class meant that he knew how to use a technique before he was 15, which was very unusual among ordinary people. Techniques also vary in level like spells, but their gradation is much smaller. To get a rare class, it is not enough to use the basic stamina boost, you need to be able to use a real technique. The adventurers were dressed in various types of leather armor and had weapons to match. Nick and Liam walked up and greeted them. "Greetings, I am Virus Isuel, and this is my friend Clayton Reeves. We are new adventurers, so we will be counting on your guidance." Everyone turned their attention to them and the oldest man responded to their greeting. "Yes, hello to you, my name is David Rassenbaum. I am in charge of the caravan''s defense. And while there is time, I will listen to your possibilities." "Of course, I have a basic enhancement skill and an enemy analysis skill [Common]. I also specialize in fast movements." "Mmm, I can use spells up to the third tier related to the water element." This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. "Okay, okay. That''s enough for me. The job should be easy, there shouldn''t be any high-level monsters within this distance. It should be a round trip, so we should arrive here in the evening. In the meantime, you can chat with my colleagues." "Thank you sir, we will be under your care." When David left, Nick decided to immediately approach Roland. He was too curious about how an ordinary guy could get a rare class. "Hello, my name is Virs, how did you get to the spear adept?" "I see you lack delicacy in many matters." Roland didn''t listen to him and just left. Nick thought about going to the other adventurers, but he could tell from their looks that they didn''t want to talk to him either. So he decided to stand with Liam and wait. "Clayton, what do you think of them?" "Nothing special, they are Iron or Silver level adventurers. It doesn''t matter that they may have a few rare skills. Veers, we are on a different level, when we get our classes, we will be at the top of our generation." "You don''t understand something either, these people can kill us, and when we get our classes, two such groups can kill us. What I''m getting at is that no matter what level and rank we are, we''ll lose to the number of extras." "You''re right about that." Ten minutes later, the merchant announced their departure. Nick and Liam climbed into their places in the cart and their first task began. A neat stone road led from the southern gate and after about two kilometers, a solid forest began. Nick''s brain loudly told him that the forest was a very bad idea, that there would be magical predators in the magical world, that the forest was the best place for an ambush. Nick''s smile became aggressive, he really wanted to experience the real thrill of battle, unless of course someone from the clan was sent to keep an eye on him. The ride was easy, the carts moving at about 30 km/h. As they passed through the forest, Nick did not notice anything out of the ordinary. There were many trees and even some animals, but the assessment said that they were either [Common] or [Uncommon] rank, their levels also did not indicate a threat, and they were not at all aggressive. This could have bored him, as it did Liam. Liam leaned against the seat and assembled some spell. Nick glanced at it only briefly and from what he saw, he realized that it was a level 3 spell "Freezing Ray". But Nick was expecting something interesting on the trip. About halfway there, they saw a huge moose. Race: Elk Giant [Rare] Lvl 60 The elk was about 7 meters tall and had such large antlers that they looked more like a tree. Nick read in books that magical animals and monsters had much higher base stats, and the larger the creature, the higher its base stats, but this was not always true. When they passed by the Elk, it only cast a lazy glance at them. This type of elk was basically peaceful, Elk Giant attacked only when they felt threatened. Nick decided to calculate the average number of stats and he got 500 for 14 indicators. In theory, the main defender of the caravan could handle it alone, but for him it would be a very difficult battle, but Nick was not completely sure of this. Their further journey passed without incident. Having stopped in the city of Farn, they helped with unloading goods and loaded new ones. The trip took about 3.5 hours, the same will be the same back. Having left the city, their not at all difficult journey began again. For two hours, Nick begged the gods for something to happen, and about 20 kilometers from the city, they met a group of priests. Nick caught a glimpse of what he was missing and saw a notification in the corner of his vision about the opening of a new skill. He tried to hide his smile, but his crazy smile was visible to everyone. The merchant decided to stop and most likely help the priests. There were about 12 of them, they had three carts, on which the emblem of the church and the holy kingdom were beautifully placed. Pretentious bastards. What are they doing here? But who am I kidding, I know why they are here. Nick leaned over and whispered a few words to Liam. "If I attack, don''t hold back. Hit them with your deadliest spells." Liam nodded silently at his request. At the same time, the merchant began to talk. "Dear ministers of the church, can I help you with anything?" The merchant really tried to be respectful to the priests and contrary to Nick''s belief that everyone trusted the church implicitly, the merchant tried to use all his charisma for this conversation. The priest who came forward answered him with a slight smile. "Yes, dear merchant, we were given instructions to escort two young men to the church." Nick decided not to listen and attack, but the caravan''s main guard stopped him. Nick was pushed hard with a shield, causing him to crash into a tree, he barely had time to use body reinforcement to avoid ending up with a broken back. Liam had the ice dart spell prepared in his mind, but during this time he slightly rebuilt the spell and sent it at all the people. It was not fatal for people of their level, but damn it was effective. The older adventurers were able to dodge, but the younger ones and the merchant were not so lucky, they were riddled with ice shards. When Liam cast his spell, a dome of golden light formed around the priest and all the ice darts simply smashed against him. Liam immediately decided to increase the distance and turn on his family artifact. Water streams formed around him, which just in time redirected the arrow flying at him into the tree. Nick decided not to trifle and turned on the armor, its main enchantment was the dispersal of kinetic force. The next thing he did was to start casting the earth spear spell and strengthen it with kinetic magic. But he was not given such luxury. There were 8 people with a sword and shield and three more priests around the priest. Name: Fabio Selisto 130 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 135 Class: Holy Priest [Rare] Lvl 193 Class: Holy Mage of Magical Constructions [Rare] Lvl 178 "Fuck, what a twist!" Several golden chains instantly flew at him. Before he could cast a spell, Nick used [Ghost Awakening] and [Ghost Flicker] to dodge. He managed to create some distance due to the dash, but it was a minor advantage against a bunch of approaching chains. He activated the invisibility artifact when he was out of sight. His skills were draining his stamina a lot, but he still had about 15 minutes of active combat left. The chains passed him and wrapped around a tree. From afar, Nick saw Liam casting a level 3 spell, "Ice Field", against him were several priests and many people with a melee class. Class: Acolyte of the Sword and Shield [Uncommon], Class: Faithful Sword Shield Adept [Rare] These were the main classes he saw. These men were strong, the rest of the priests except for the first one were not worth his attention. While Liam was fighting off people with ice spells and a freezing field. A priest approached him, but he did not know it. Using a technique, Nick tried to cut off the bastard''s head, but like Liam, he crashed into a holy barrier. At such a close distance, he would not have been able to hide. The priest did not waste time and wrapped him in chains. Nick looked closely and it was a mana construct, this type magic is very expensive and the longer the object remained solid, the more magic was required in the spell. "And why did you have to do this?" "Because you have no right to take us anywhere." "No, no, what are you saying. We just came to give you an invitation, but now we have to defend ourselves and you two will be arrested for attacking church members." "Pfft, ha-ha-ha-ha. Do you really think that''s how it''s going to be? God, you''re such a fool!" "It''s okay, I think you should think about how to behave with older people. It should be with respect." Nick was completely wrapped in chains and gagged. He could see Liam struggling to do anything while surrounded by warriors in metal armor. He tried blunt attacks with compressed water and held a freezing field while his protective barrier redirected and reflected the attacks of the opponents, but it was useless. He couldn''t do any significant damage and his willpower was slowly draining until he miscast a spell and the knights broke through his barrier. Liam was captured by two [Rare] class users. The rest of the priests were healing the people they had injured, again nothing fatal, but they weren''t hindering them in the fight. Nick noticed one of the priests handing over money to a merchant, due to the "silent detention". Nick wasn''t worried about anything bad happening to him or Liam, but he damn well wanted to see hat will happen to the priests soon. Nick could not understand at all what the church was trying to achieve, because no matter how you look at it, it was all doomed to failure from the start. They were put in carts, shackled in some kind of restraints, Nick felt that this should somehow block his skills. Deciding to check which skills did not work, he was right, he could not manipulate stamina, mana and life force at all. But all his other skills worked. He decided to open his list of available skills and saw something that made him laugh so hysterically loudly that even the senior priest felt uneasy. Reincarnator''s Madness [Special][Unique] - As a person who is obsessed with the genre that your life has become, you can predict certain events with a certain probability. This skill is dependent on your luck stat and can be combined with the skill Rough Estimate. 16 Chapter Chapter 16 Nick took his new skill and tried to use it. But he didn''t succeed, after reading the skill description again, Nick decided to predict what could happen himself and the skill began to help him with this. It rejected some events that he thought about and added more weight to other possibilities. In general, it was a prediction skill that relied on the user''s thought process and the amount of information available to him. What he considered the most likely event was a cruel punishment of the priests, they would not even get to the church. After 10 minutes of driving, a portal opened not far from the city and 4 people came out of it. Nick''s smile grew wider. Name: Gareth Ghostblade 200 years old §²§Ñ§ã§Ñ: Evolved Human [Rare] Lvl 200 Class: Phantom Sword Art Elite [Special] Lvl 400 Class: Noble Fortress Defender [Special] Lvl 300 Name: Benedict Kinseth 225 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 200 Class: Phantom Sword Art Elite [Special] Lvl 336 Class: Great Butler Bodyguard [Special] Lvl 400 Name: Reynald Breathing 90 years old Race: Human attuned to air mana [Rare] Lvl 200 Class: Air Mage [Rare] Lvl 300 Class: Great Tactician [Special] Lvl 310 Name: Walter Traveler 82 years old Race: Mana-Tuned Human [Rare] Lvl 200 Class: Space Mage [Special] Lvl 300 Class: Arcane Mage [Rare] Lvl 300 The priest was surprisingly calm, Nick expected him to be in a state of extreme panic. The priest ordered the carriage to be stopped and then got out of it to meet the people. "Hello, what brings the esteemed House of Ghostblade to us at this moment?" The priest asked with a slight smile. Gareth Ghostblade, the one in charge of all security for the family''s estate, answered. "Members of the esteemed church, I am sure that there is a perfect explanation for why two young masters of famous houses are in restraining shackles. And I hope that you can explain it to me clearly." Gareth behaved calmly and the people around him too, only Benedict showed visible anger. "All simply respected gentlemen, these people attacked members of the church and therefore we are taking them into the custody of Archbishop Raiheim." "I know you''re telling the truth, but how do you explain that you met them outside the city?" "We were, of course, returning from carrying out our sacred mission. And when our groups crossed paths, these young men attacked us." "I believe you, but you have two options. Either you give us the young masters, or you try to tell the church how you and the others were left without hands." Gareth announced his demands as if he was telling someone about something inevitable, but the priest, on the contrary, reacted aggressively. "You are threatening the church?! Unheard of! I will tell the Archbishop about this! And for attacking a member of the church, you will face the Inquisition!" The priest did not believe what Gareth said at all. Nick understood this, no one attacked members of the church for no reason. And it did not matter who it was, everyone would be awaited by the Inquisition on the orders of the Pope. But Nick knew why they were here, and therefore Gareth knew too. Apparently, the Archbishop really wanted to meet them and therefore decided to rely on the reputation of the church. Most likely, he expected to keep them on a leash for some time, for unknown purposes. "It doesn''t matter, you''re too small to understand what''s going on right now and it doesn''t matter at all. I''ll give you 3 seconds to think about it. Time''s up." "You will only take these children if you kill me." The priest said this with a smug smile, but he did not expect Gareth to carry out his threat. A moment later, a dozen blows hit the golden barrier that appeared. The priest had to invest a lot of mana to protect himself, but a moment later, the Space Mage cast a dispel spell and the barrier cracked. It did not matter what the priest did, he already found himself with his hands cut off, and in the next moment, the hands of all the other ministers of the church were also cut off. The priest and his retinue could not believe their eyes, all of them had their hands cut off, they were all bleeding, but they were not in danger of dying in the near future due to their tall build, many were crying loudly, some were begging for mercy, it was a massacre in the literal sense of the word. But Gareth and the others showed no mercy. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Benedict, go and free the young gentlemen, and in the meantime we''ll give them a healing potion so they don''t die from bleeding." Nick took great pleasure in seeing the priest heal his open wounds where his hands had once been. His face no longer showed complacency, now he knew for sure that he should not have taken on this job. Gathering all his resolve, the priest spoke. "Dear Gareth, you''ve got what you wanted, you can go." "Alas, but you are right. As much as I would like to cut you with the cursed blade. It would be considered too cruel. Do not forget to mention this to His Eminence. Farewell." Nick and Liam had long since been untied and were watching the whole spectacle. Nick wanted to know exactly how the church felt about it. The space mage created a portal and they crossed it with the others. The priest who remained in place could now show his anger. "How dare they! They cut off all our hands. The Church will not forgive them!" The priest took a pendant from his pocket and pressed one symbol. A voice came from the pendant. "Yes, I''m listening to you Fabio. Everything went well?" "No Archbishop Rayheim, Gareth Ghostblade has arrived along with three other [Special] class users. They cut off all of our hands and took the children. Archbishop, please report this to His Eminence, they must be punished by the Inquisition!" "Tsk, Phantom Blades, I didn''t expect them to put up such resistance. But you''re right, this is something to tell His Eminence." *** Later that evening, the Archbishop called a meeting in the main church of the holy capital, Alexandria. Almost all the senior members of the church were present. "I am officially beginning our meeting. Dear Archbishop Rayheim, why have you called this urgent meeting?" said the Pope. "Yes, Your Eminence, I regret to inform you that a group of priests was attacked by the House of the Phantom Blade. They brutally cut off the hands of all the church members who were there." A deathly silence fell over the hall. Even the Pope did not know what to say. This attack could be interpreted in many ways. Treason against the Holy Kingdom, open war with the Church, or any other reason. But usually the Church considered it a declaration of war. But there was no point in that, there was no reason for such a strong House to openly attack the Church, it was simply stupid. So the Pope did not rush to conclusions. "And what prompted this attack?" "The priests were transporting young master Dylan Ghostblade and young master Liam Changeable Water. They attacked the same priests for no reason." "Okay, but why would they attack priests? Are you not telling me something?" The Archbishop swallowed the saliva that had accumulated in his throat and continued under the stern gaze of His Eminence. "Yes, Your Eminence, I have sent the priests to escort the young gentlemen to the church for a talk." "Okay, so what were the kids doing at that moment?" "Ahem, they registered under fake names in the adventurer''s guild and went to do the introductory mission, they were met by priests outside the city after the mission. Then they were attacked by young gentlemen." Pope rubbed his temples and decided to ask again to be completely sure of what he had heard. "You, against my orders, wanted to contact the supposed reincarnators and tracked them down for this purpose. After which the priests were rebuffed by the House of the Phantom Blade?" "Yes, Your Eminence, But I didn''t expect the House of the Phantom Blade to react like this. Showing such aggression towards the church is unacceptable to anyone!" In his 1,000 years of leading the church, no one had disobeyed his direct order. The Pope was very angry, which did not suit his status at all. He tapped his fingers on the table and decided to give a clear example of why no one had done this before. Activating his [Mythic]-level skill [Holy Supreme Authority Church], he spoke. "By the authority vested in me, I deprive you of the title of Archbishop and appoint you an acolyte for your crimes against the Church." When Pope spoke, Archbishop Raiheim knelt down, his body began to convulse, blood began to flow from all his orifices, at the end of his speech, he lost consciousness due to intense agony. In the hall, all the high-ranking officials of the holy church were very scared, they had only heard about the possibility of Pope having such a skill, but had never seen it in action. Only Yuriel remained calm. "Tell him that he is being transferred to the Yateya Fortress. I want him to have the right to earn forgiveness in the battle against the monsters. Heal everyone who was injured by the House of the Phantom Blade, and also send a sincere apology to their House and the House of Changeable Water for what happened. I declare the meeting closed." Name: Rayheim Zorin 252 years old Race: Human attuned to holy mana [Rare] 400 Lvl Class: Acolyte [Uncommon] 1 Lvl Class: Holy Mage of the Purifying Flame [Special] 400 Lvl *** After Nick and Liam came out of the portal, they were met by their mothers Firel and Limia. They looked at their wounds with concern and asked how this could have happened. After a long conversation that they were still children and it was too early for them to go outside since they could not protect themselves, they were sent to their rooms to rest. After Nick had a good night''s sleep, he went out for a family dinner. His father was at dinner and he announced what everyone was so worried about. "Pope personally apologizes for what happened and asks for our forgiveness as a church. The guilty Archbishop has been punished and demoted to the status of Acolyte, and he has been sent to the fortress of Yateya to atone for his guilt." Isn''t that great? "But it still shows how much you two matter. You will not go out again without such stupidity without open protection. And until your 15th birthday you will not leave the borders of our estates." "What??? But that''s not fair!" Nick turned on his new skill, but it didn''t work. He couldn''t predict anything at this point. Nick noted with great regret that he still hadn''t fully figured out the skill. He had nothing to counter his father with except stupid objections, so he decided to agree with him. "Dylan, this is not up for discussion, you will resume your training soon and I expect great success from both of you." 17 Chapter Chapter 17 The next day, Nick went to meditate near a tree. He had a little less than a year left until he came of age, and during that time he had to learn how to cast a level 4 spell, which was not difficult. So he decided to improve his skills in mana manipulation, endurance, and life force. Nick did not know how to use life force well except for strengthening and sharply increasing physical characteristics, but he knew that there was much more potential in this. Among various books, he read that blood mages and plant mages should include life energy in their spells. In permitted magic, life energy was used to manipulate and strengthen living matter. So he decided that in the near future he would try to develop the skill of manipulating life force and, during meditation breaks, try to get the Mage''s Aura skill. In the practice of manipulating life energy, it was important to control it very precisely; in magic, life energy could act for all sorts of spells from overcoming limitations to burning your life for greater physical strength, or for the most powerful spell. Such magic was called sacrificial and was essentially forbidden due to its great potential. Some forbidden schools of magic that used life force could include sacrificial rituals. These rituals filled the victims with life force for some monstrous spell. Such rituals and sacrificial magic could give the user all sorts of advantages, among the main ones was a technique that was strictly guarded. This technique allowed the conversion of life force into mana. In theory, the user could convert his life force into mana and thus have a larger reserve and regeneration. After all, the conversion of life force did not involve the mana core and could be almost instantaneous. But in this case, Nick did not want to use such magic, he was interested in the very potential of strengthening living objects, he believed that burning life force or lifespan for mana was a stupid decision, of course, it was possible to get more mana in an emergency, but Nick planned to learn how to use life force more effectively. He planned to become a Secret Mage and nothing could stop him from using blood magic or plant magic spells. Nick began to manipulate the life force inside his body, but not to use it for techniques. He wanted to increase his control, in this practice it was important to capture as much life force as possible, but this was the main problem with this magic. The more you take life force and use it for techniques, the easier it is to lose control over it and just burn your life for some stupidity. This required great mental control and high perception, so that if you lost control, you could stop the technique in time before you died because of it. Nick was taught life force manipulation only because in the future he should have a strong forbidden technique of the clan. But of course he saw another use for it. In meditation, Nick ran the life force through his body and while he did not feel any changes, he decided that it was too boring. So he put his hand on the tree and tried to give it life force. Nick was ready to stop the life force in time if something went wrong. He began to slowly pour life energy into the tree and there were no changes. But he saw how his health points were slowly falling on the status screen. Having poured a quarter of HP into the tree, Nick stopped there. Still no changes were visible in the tree, but it did not matter, the main thing was that he had iron control over the life force. Having stopped there, Nick began to try to develop the aura of a magician. This skill is given for obtaining the magician class, but if you develop it earlier, you can get a rarer skill. Any person had an aura, it represented his willpower and control over mana or other types of energy. Nick could even say that the aura was a kind of its own space where its owner had more influence, this could reach any skills and characteristics, but the most striking example would be the Bard''s Aura, it greatly increased his charisma if the bard wanted it. In general, there were many types of aura and they depended on what you would use it for. Nick, as a mage, of course wanted to develop this skill to the Mage''s Aura, thereby better controlling the mana within the aura. The most difficult thing in mastering the Aura was to feel it, it was like trying to taste the taste in your mouth, or see the eye from the inside, feel how your nose smells. In general, people get so used to their aura that they cannot feel it. Nick began with the practice of meditation, this was the main and most successful way to try to feel his aura. Nick sat for a long time and tried to think about different things, provoking a change in mood and aura, thereby trying to feel it. As time went on, Nick began to understand that he was mostly too calm to notice the changes that were reflecting on him. So he decided to remember something that would really change his mental state. He remembered his past life, how it was and what experiences it brought him. He remembered his parents and how he missed them in the first days of reincarnation. He thought a lot about what happened after his death and the only thing that distracted him from this was thoughts about magic. Looking back, Nick began to understand why he was so fanatical about this. He had lost everything that was dear to him and did not want to admit this fact to himself, so he was so fixated on magic, he did not want to notice how much he suffered at that moment. The next thing he remembered was how his new family admitted that he was a reincarnator, at that moment it was very scary, but after that he felt great relief about this and joy that his new family loved him as much as the previous one. Remembering various touching moments from his life, Nick spent time like this until the evening. Opening his eyes,he saw a new notification. Congratulations, you have unlocked the new skill "Aura" [Common] Congratulations you have acquired a new skill "Aura" [Common] Lvl 1 Who would have thought that in order to acquire this skill you need to face your decisions in life. Having felt his Aura, Nick simply began to understand that it was there, where his sense of mana was and where his control over mana extended. Nick was sorry that he could not see the Auras of other people, but only feel their impact. If it were so, he was sure that it would help him in many ways. Thus began his long practice in Meditation, mastering the Aura and controlling the life force. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. A month later, Nick was able to achieve the ability to cast the 4th level spell "Kinetic Spear", this spell was essentially an evolution of the spell "Arrow of Power", but was much more powerful. Thanks to its casting, he was able to turn manasteel armor into a pile of rubble. Before that, his strongest spell combination could flatten and dent it, but not tear the metal apart in an instant from pure kinetic force. He noticed that his spell was even stronger than Alice''s, but after a series of tests, this was only true at a distance of up to 10 meters. Nick believed that this was the difference in how a person imagines their magic. With the same spell and amount of mana invested, his spell hits harder the closer the target is, and Alice''s spell retains its penetrating damage for about 50 meters until it also begins to lose power. After 6 months, Nick was meditating and began to pour not only his life force, but also his mana into the tree. He had an idea that the will should be more controllable and tangible than other magicians were used to thinking. He had noticed this for a long time, but after a series of Alice''s lessons, he was convinced that his understanding of the world affected his spell more than he thought. This can be explained using kinetic magic as an example. His "will" makes spells weaker the further they are and stronger the closer they are to him. This also works with all the other magic he owns. When he creates the "Stone Wall" spell and strengthens it with the "Secret Strengthening" spell, he does it better than Alice, his wall is just a little stronger. This was even more noticeable in prediction magic than in other types of magic. His third-level "Echolocation" spell is several orders of magnitude better than Alice''s spell. Based on this, he decided that the Willpower characteristic is needed not only to enhance the quality of his mana and spells, but also to add some kind of additional property to them. At first, he began to experiment with the spell "Power Arrow" he not only tried to change its structure, but also tried to add more of his will. And he actually achieved a lot, his spell changed and can now better transmit kinetic momentum to the target of his spell. But it takes too much effort to use it for such low-level spells. Firstly, the spells that he changed with his will require additional mana for their effect and the stronger the effect, the more mana is required. Secondly, this leaves him morally very weak. But Nick was convinced of his theory and in the correct application, this magic will be catastrophic. After all, in the sense of mana, such a changed spell looks like just a stronger spell without additional effects. He decided to ask Alice about how to change a spell with will, but she had never even heard of such a thing. She said that a mage could make a spell stronger, or add some command to it with will, but not add a completely new property. She also said that mages often use will to control plants, or mana constructs. The only thing she could compare his changed spell to was spirit magic, or magic that relies on soul energy, but on a much smaller scale. From what he knew about spirit magic and magic that uses soul energy. This magic also creates an additional property, but it requires a spiritual essence to use it. If his spell that he learned to do only slightly increases the transfer of kinetic energy, then a spell that will use soul energy can completely transfer its kinetic force, or in any other inexplicable way change the spell. Experimenting further, he realized that he could slightly change the spell in this way. For example, he poured his will and additional mana into the "stone shot" spell, from which he was able to obtain a spell that breaks into equal parts upon impact. But later he was in for a disappointment when his mana sense skill grew, he realized that he either changes the mana that the spell consists of, making it stronger like ordinary magicians, or adds a subconscious spell to the one he performed. For example, the spell "stone shot" he used to think that it works as an additional property that cannot be predicted, but now he knew that when it hits, the internal structure of the spell that is in the stone changes to reflect the resulting effect. So he came to today, this was his next experiment. For several months he had been pouring life force and mana into the tree, into which he tried to put more will. Every day he began to feel the tree better and better. During this time, he could say that the tree was really alive and could experience emotions. He also felt its mental state, namely a state of complete calm and peace. He poured everything he had into the tree in order to try to do what he wanted all this time, namely, to get new opportunities for his magic. During this time, he achieved that he could control the mana and life force of the tree. Therefore, he began to manipulate it for the effect he needed. A wooden stick began to grow from the tree, Nick used spells from the school of plant magic and with its help he grew himself a wooden sword. With the help of all his will, he made the tree understand what he wanted, namely, that this part of the tree was very hard and sharp, and that the tree put all its power there. Nick felt that he was missing something, the tree did not refuse him, but it was in no hurry to help him with this. And Nick dove inside himself to find what was missing to manifest his will. He knew that his soul had to be strong and that the energy of the soul was necessary for this kind of magic, will is first and foremost the strength of the soul. Beginning to feel what he had not noticed for so long, he saw it. His soul was inside his body, opening his eyes he felt it as clearly as never before. Inside his body was not only mana, life force and endurance, but also soul energy. It flowed there just as calmly, but never mixed with anything. He took the smallest part of it and put it into the tree along with all the remaining mana. The tree responded and thanks to his new spiritual sense he was able to watch how the spiritual power of the tree flowed into his new sword. This process did not happen quickly, but when it was all over he took the sword in his hand and it easily moved away from the tree. Nick felt that this sword was spiritually connected to the tree. Looking at his notifications, he was pleased. Congratulations, you have unlocked a new skill "Lesser Spiritual Sense" [Rare] Congratulations, you have unlocked a new skill "Lesser Soul Energy Manipulation" [Rare] Congratulations, you have made a spiritual contract with the undeveloped spirit of the Great Maple. 18 Chapter Chapter 18 Nick took his new skills and was surprised that he was able to develop the skill of manipulating soul energy and spiritual feeling. Usually, people develop these skills when they become Great Mages. After all, to become an Archmage or Master, you need to be able to use techniques or spells with soul energy. But Nick understood that it was not as easy as it might seem. He did not use a spell with soul energy, he made a pact with the spirit. Nick decided to ask his father later what the requirements were to become a master, because everything could not be so simple. Looking at his status, he saw an interesting change in skills and stats, and immediately distributed the stat points to Willpower, Mana, Mana Regeneration, and Mana Output. Name: Dylan Ghostblade (Nick Miller) 14.5 years old Race: Evolved Human [Rare] Lvl 27 Class: Blocked Class: Blocked Health 1420 HP 2.13 HP/hour Mana 208 MP 1.55 MP/hour Endurance 1510 ST 22.65 ST/hour Statistics: Strength 130 Dexterity 145 Stamina 151 Vitality 142 Constitution 137 Intelligence 156 Wisdom 145 Mental Control 163 Willpower 245 Perception 143 Charisma 45 Mana output 155 Mana 208 Mana Regeneration 155 Luck 37 0 free attribute points Titles: Otherworldly Reincarnator [Legendary+], Special Skill Holder [Special], Contract with the Emerging Spirit [Uncommon]. Racial Skills: Fast Recovery [Rare+] Quick Learning [Uncommon] Low adaptability of characteristics [Common] Minor Adaptation [Common] Lesser Mana Core [Common] Low Mental Resistance [Common] Lvl 40 Low Poison Resistance [Common] Lvl 18 High Pain Resistance [Uncommon] Lvl 120 Skills: Reincarnator''s Madness [Special][Unique] Lvl 401 Great Identification [Special] Lvl 401 Fake Status [Special] Lvl 401 Great Meditation [Rare] Lvl 201 Manipulation of Mana [Rare] Lvl 201 Mana Sense [Uncommon] Lvl 190 Language Proficiency (Ramiast) [Uncommon] Lvl 160 Phantom Sword Mastery [Uncommon+] Lvl 161 Casting Spells [Uncommon] Lvl 180 Magic Arcane Will [Rare] Lvl 201 Magic of Predictions [Uncommon] Lvl 108 Magic of Stone [Uncommon] Lvl 122 Awakening of the Ghost [Uncommon+] Lvl 104 Ghost Flicker [Uncommon+] Lvl 105 Stamina Manipulation [Uncommon] Lvl 120 Life Force Manipulation [Uncommon] Lvl 111 Aura [Common] Lvl 25 Lesser Spiritual Sense [Rare] Lvl 201 Lesser Soul Energy Manipulation [Rare] Lvl 201 Of the outstanding things, he was able to get a new title, which of course did not have much weight, but was very pleasant. He was also able to develop the skill [Magic Arcane Will]. Most likely, it simply allowed him to better invest his will into spells, which was still very useful. Then his skill [Great Meditation] increased, most likely because he was able to obtain spiritual sense. In the possible skills, he saw [Wood Magic] and [Spirit Magic] - certainly, this was impressive magic and it had great potential, but he was not interested in it now. Therefore, he did not take the skills. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Nick really wanted to try using a spell with soul energy now, but he had no mana at all. Everything that was in the tree for some reason used a sword. At least he could carefully examine the sword. It was not very heavy and had a great balance, it looked like his usual sword and felt the same. In his magical sense, the sword was very bright, it had a large amount of mana, even more than he gave the spirit for 5 months. Half of this mana was intertwined with spiritual energy into a secret reinforcement formation, it was an exact version of the spell he uses to temporarily strengthen stone walls, but in the sword it worked constantly, due to the fact that it was supported by the spirit''s spiritual power. The other half of the mana was just in the sword, but he could not understand what for. What could the spirit use to help him in battle? Nick thought that it could be some kind of shapeshifting, or something else related to the tree. He decided to try using the free mana in the sword and it easily succumbed to his control. He sat down on the ground in front of the tree and turned on his soul sense to understand how much soul energy he had and how he could use it. Soul energy was strange, he could not understand how much or little he had and how quickly it was restored. After checking the statistics, he did not have any additional characteristics related to the soul. Nick tried to control as much soul energy as possible. At the same time as he pulled mana from his sword, he wove a spell that contained 25% of his willpower and about 500 mana. Deciding not to waste time on trifles, he fully charged it with all his remaining will. The spell he was doing was the "Stone Spear" spell, he decided that it was easier to check the destructive power of the spell than to try to understand its effect. When he took control of the surrounding stone and cast the spell, he realized something he could not understand. The spell was ordinary, of course, it exploded violently upon impact, but this was the effect of his will. Coming closer to the stone fragments, he noticed that the stone was more intact than usual. Looking closely with his spiritual sense, he saw the remnants of soul energy that were gradually dissipating. Shooting the stone with the spell "Arrow of Power" he broke it, but not as much as he expected. Are you telling me that in order to use soul energy in spells I need to know how to do it, and not just pour it in and hope that it works? That''s kind of lousy, I spent half a year struggling to unlock a skill that slightly strengthens the stone? Okay, I went too far here, the magic of secret will is very good and I''m even more happy with this development than other skills, but this is just disappointing! I hoped that at least once everything would be simple. Damn, isn''t there something similar in using soul energy to using life force? Well, if I''m still standing, then everything is fine. Looking at himself with his soul feeling, Nick was convinced that his soul energy was less, but overall everything was fine with his soul. It still looked like a yellow fog with veins in which golden soul energy flowed. Hmm, there are skills in the soul, but I can''t see anything. Most likely, my feeling is enough to understand only that I have a soul and where the soul energy is. After all, I''m not really sure that all this has this color, maybe my subconscious determines the color palette. I''ll think about it some other time. I need to go and visit Master Rimel, at the same time I''ll ask him to evaluate the sword and its capabilities. Mmm, in another week Liam will turn 15 and they will finally tell us why we didn''t go to the academy, like all decent nobles. *** Liam turned 15 today, revealed his status but saw what he had been waiting for so long. Congratulations, you can choose the classes offered to you. Ice Mage''s Apprentice [Uncommon] +15 Apprentice of the Holy Diamond Dust Mage [Uncommon] +19 Apprentice of the Arcane Mage [Uncommon] +19 Mage [Uncommon] +20 Apprentice of the Mage of the Variable Water Weapons [Rare] +22 Ice Mage [Rare] +27 Holy Diamond Dust Mage [Rare] +35 Arcane Mage [Rare] +38 Mage of Variable Water Weapons [Rare] +40 Liam was pleased, of course he already knew what classes he was supposed to have, but it was always nice to confirm. Concentrating, he read the descriptions of the classes he had chosen. Class: Variable Water Weapon Mage [Rare] - As a Water Mage, you know all too well how changeable water can be, and your path only embodies this. Not content with manipulating water in its three states, you have chosen to alter its composition for more adaptive attack styles. With your [Adaptive Water Weapon][Rare++] skill, you can infuse your water attacks with a variety of attributes, tailoring your attacks to the enemy. For 1 level you get: +40 Mental Control +10 Willpower +10 Mana +5 Mana output +5 Mana regeneration +5 +5 free attribute points Class: Holy Diamond Dust Mage [Rare] - You have chosen to specialize in physical attacks that are infused with holy mana. You become a real threat against all impure beings that stand in your way. To develop this class line, you need to develop the holy magic skill. For 1 level you get: +35 Mental control +5 Willpower +10 Mana +5 Mana output +5 Mana regeneration +5 +5 free attribute points Unlike Nick, Liam didn''t want to be a Arcane Mage at all. He just wanted to be the strongest and thought that a fairly broad specialization suited him. Congratulations, you have chosen the class [Variable Water Weapon Mage][Rare]. You have the skill [Mage Aura], and you have been granted another skill [Parallel Thinking][Uncommon]. Congratulations, you have chosen the class [Holy Diamond Dust Mage][Rare]. You have the skill [Mage Aura] and the skill [Parallel Thinking]. You have been granted another skill [Compressing Holy Mana into Diamond Dust][Uncommon]. Name: Liam Changeable Water 15 years old Race: Human attuned to water mana [Rare] Lvl 27 Class: Mage of Variable Water Weapons [Rare] Lvl 1 Class: Holy Diamond Dust Mage [Rare] Lvl 1 Health 1230 HP 1.23 HP/hour Mana 3100 MP 2.3 MP/hour Endurance 1230 ST 12.3 ST/hour Statistics: Strength 113 Dexterity 120 Stamina 123 Vitality 123 Constitution 140 Intelligence 195 Wisdom 185 Mental Control 245 Willpower 243 Perception 200 Charisma 90 Mana output 180 Mana 310 Mana Regeneration 230 Luck 37 +10 free attribute points Titles: Otherworldly Reincarnator [Legendary+], Rare Skill Holder [Rare], Mage of Variable Water Weapons [Rare], Holy Diamond Dust Mage [Rare]. Racial Skills: Better Water Mana Conductivity [Uncommon] Quick Learning [Uncommon] Low adaptability of characteristics [Common] Minor Adaptation [Common] Lesser Mana Core [Common] Low Mental Resistance [Common] Lvl 21 Pain Resistance [Common] Lvl 13 General Skills: Great Identification [Special] Lvl 401 Fake Status [Special] Lvl 401 Language Proficiency (Ramiast) [Uncommon] Lvl 166 Apprentice of the Spear [Common] Lvl 56 Disciple of the Shield [Common] Lvl 45 Observation [Common] 100 Class: Mage of Variable Water Weapons [Rare] Lvl 1 +75% to skill development speed, +75% to understanding your own class. Class Skills: Meditation [Uncommon] Lvl 199 Manipulation of Mana [Rare] Lvl 230 Adaptive Aquatic Weapon [Rare++] Lvl 225 Mana Sense [Rare] Lvl 210 Water Magic [Rare] Lvl 201 Casting Spells [Uncommon] Lvl 140 Ice Magic [Uncommon] Lvl 135 Mage Aura [Uncommon] Lvl 101 Parallel Thinking [Uncommon] Lvl 101 Class: Holy Diamond Dust Mage [Rare] Lvl 1 +60% to skill development speed, +60% to understanding your own class. Class Skills: Diamond Dust Holy Mana Manipulation [Rare] Lvl 201 Diamond Dust Magic [Uncommon] Lvl 190 Compress Holy Mana into Diamond Dust [Uncommon] Lvl 101 19 Chapter Chapter 19 Today was Liam''s birthday, Nick was sitting quietly under the great maple tree and meditating. He was waiting for Liam to come to him. Nick was very excited about Liam''s classes. By the evening he was finally able to meet him. "Hello, are you finished?" "Ha-ha, you''re still asking?! I waited for you all day, what could you do for so long?" "Hah, I was dragged to use my magic, you know, the feeling was completely different than usual, you''ll soon go what I''m talking about." "It doesn''t matter, tell me what classes you took and what skills you got?" "Hah, you''re too impatient. I chose [Mage of Variable Water Weapons][Rare] as my main class, and [Holy Diamond Dust Mage][Rare] as my second class. As I said, I plan to combine them, and with my rare race, I''ll become the pinnacle of our generation." "Hah, it''s like you think other Reincarnators aren''t like us!" "Mmm, you''re right. From the skills, I got Parallel Thinking [Uncommon], it actually splits your thought process into two, very convenient for casting spells. The second skill is Compress Holy Mana into Diamond Dust [Uncommon], it allows me to pump diamond dust with holy mana more powerfully and quickly, nothing special, but very useful." "Strong, show what characteristics you get from classes and from your race." "Okay, from the race I get +35 stats per level, from the first class +40 per level and from the second +35 per level. That''s it, exactly." Liam created his status screen on the ground using diamond dust. Race: Human attuned to water mana [Rare] 1-400 Lv. For 1 level you get: +35 Strength +1 Dexterity +1 Stamina +1 Vitality +1 Constitution +1 Mental Control +2 Willpower +2 Intelligence +1 Wisdom +1 Perception +1 Charisma +1 Mana output +2 Mana +2 Mana Regeneration +2 Luck +1 +15 free attribute points Class: Variable Water Weapon Mage [Rare] For 1 level you get: +40 Mental Control +10 Willpower +10 Mana +5 Mana output +5 Mana regeneration +5 +5 free attribute points Class: Holy Diamond Dust Mage [Rare] For 1 level you get: +35 Mental control +5 Willpower +10 Mana +5 Mana output +5 Mana regeneration +5 +5 free attribute points "Not bad, even very good!" "Yeah, I''m going to some important place for my parents tomorrow to train, so I just stopped by for a bit." "It''s a pity, I wanted to ask, do you know anything about when we''re going to the academy?" The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. "Yeah, mom said they''re looking for as many people as possible who have the potential to get the [Rare] class at level one." "I see, what do you think they will teach us at the Academy?" "I have many assumptions, but we will definitely be taught how to fight monsters, people, evil spirits and learn higher-level spells." "Yes, I think so too, I hope they won''t try to control us." "Don''t worry, one of the archmages is taking care of it. So everything will be fine, but it''s time for me to go home." "Yes, I''ll walk you to the portal." That''s how Nick and Liam said goodbye at the portal. *** Today Nick turned 15, recently he received a message about the academy that after receiving a class he should go to the capital Alexandria. Royal Academy, that''s what awaits him. Without wasting time, he opened the status. Congratulations, you can choose the classes offered to you. Disciple of Sword Mastery [Uncommon] +10 Stone Mage''s Apprentice [Uncommon] +15 Apprentice of the Mage of Divination [Uncommon] +15 Apprentice of the Arcane Mage [Uncommon] +19 Mage [Uncommon] +20 Mage of Divination [Rare] +27 Stone Mage [Rare] +27 Soul Energy Manipulator [Rare] +35 Arcane Mage [Rare] +38 Adept of the Art Phantom Sword [Rare] +40 Mage of Arcane Will [Rare][Uniquely] +46 Nick was glad to see so many classes, but the most surprising thing was that he got a unique class. Nick read in the library that these are people who first opened the class and use it. He did not know what bonuses were given for this, but he was sure that they were significant. He was also pleasantly surprised by the [Soul Energy Manipulator] [Rare] class. Soul Energy Manipulator [Rare] - You have just embarked on the path of true power, this is the first step of classes that subsequently allows you to use your soul energy with great force. For 1 level you get: +35 Mental Control +6 Willpower +6 Intelligence +6 Wisdom +6 Perception +6 +5 free attribute points The description was so-so, but he was sure it was true. It was supposed to be a niche class that would later evolve into something powerful. But he wasn''t interested in it. Mage of Arcane Will [Rare][Uniquely] - You are the one who was able to develop the skill [Magic of Arcane Will], you are not the first owner of this skill, many Archmages used it before you, but you are the first one who built his path through it. As the owner of the [Uniquely] class, you get +10% to the class gain multiplier. For 1 level you get: +46 Mental Control +8 Willpower +10 Mana +10 Mana output +5 Mana regeneration +8 +5 free attribute points Adept of the Art Phantom Sword [Rare] - You have embraced the path of merciless slaughter. As a Phantom Sword Arts, you have superior skills that reflect your speed, stealth, and lethality. Kill your enemy before they even realize it. For 1 level you get: +40 Strength +5 Dexterity +7 Stamina +7 Vitality +4 Constitution +5 Intelligence +2 Perception +5 +5 free attribute points The descriptions of these two classes made his soul tremble, he liked it and he could no longer wait, Nick quickly chose the classes he needed. Congratulations, you have chosen the [Mage of Arcane Will][Rare][Uniquely] class. Your [Aura] skill has been changed to [Lesser Arcane Will Aura] skill, and you have been granted the [Parallel Thinking][Uncommon] skill. Congratulations, you have chosen the [Adept of the Art Phantom Sword][Rare] class. You have been granted the [Accelerated Perception][Uncommon] skill. Name: Dylan Ghostblade (Nick Miller) 15 years old Race: Evolved Human [Rare] Lvl 27 Class: Mage of Arcane Will [Rare][Uniquely] Lvl 1 Class: Adept of the Art Phantom Sword [Rare] Lvl 1 Health 1470 HP 2.205 HP/hour Mana 2190 MP 1.61 MP/hour Endurance 1590 ST 23.85 ST/hour Statistics: Strength 136 Dexterity 152 Stamina 159 Vitality 147 Constitution 144 Intelligence 159 Wisdom 146 Mental Control 172 Willpower 256 Perception 149 Charisma 45 Mana output 161 Mana 219 Mana Regeneration 161 Luck 37 +10 free attribute points Titles: Otherworldly Reincarnator [Legendary+], Special Skill Holder [Special], Contract with the Emerging Spirit [Uncommon], Class Line Progenitor [Legendary][Uniquely], Mage of Arcane Will [Rare], Adept of the Art Phantom Sword [Rare], Holder of the Unique Skill [Special][Uniquely]. Racial Skills: Fast Recovery [Rare+] Quick Learning [Uncommon] Low adaptability of characteristics [Common] Minor Adaptation [Common] Lesser Mana Core [Common] Low Mental Resistance [Common] Lvl 40 Low Poison Resistance [Common] Lvl 21 High Pain Resistance [Uncommon] Lvl 140 General Skills: Reincarnator''s Madness [Special][Unique] Lvl 401 Great Identification [Special] Lvl 401 Fake Status [Special] Lvl 401 Language Proficiency (Ramiast) [Uncommon] Lvl 168 Life Force Manipulation [Uncommon] Lvl 111 Lesser Spiritual Sense [Rare] Lvl 201 Lesser Soul Energy Manipulation [Rare] Lvl 201 Class: Mage of Arcane Will [Rare][Uniquely] Lvl 1 +90% to skill development speed, +90% to understanding your own class. Class Skills: Magic Arcane Will [Rare] Lvl 206 Great Meditation [Rare] Lvl 204 Manipulation of Mana [Rare] Lvl 203 Mana Sense [Uncommon] Lvl 199 Casting Spells [Uncommon] Lvl 189 Magic of Stone [Uncommon] Lvl 132 Magic of Predictions [Uncommon] Lvl 121 Lesser Aura of Arcane Will [Common] Lvl 27 Parallel Thinking [Uncommon] Lvl 101 Class: Adept of the Art Phantom Sword [Rare] Lvl 1 +60% to skill development speed, +60% to understanding your own class. Class Skills: Phantom Sword Mastery [Uncommon+] Lvl 168 Stamina Manipulation [Uncommon] Lvl 143 Awakening of the Ghost [Uncommon+] Lvl 108 Ghost Flicker [Uncommon+] Lvl 106 Accelerated Perception [Uncommon] 101 Lvl Nick liked the look of his new status, looking at it he was a little disappointed that he couldn''t add soul related skills to his class. It was a shame, apparently to do that he would have to weave them more closely into his magic. The title [Class Line Progenitor][Legendary][Uniquely] gave another +10% to his class multiplier, which he really liked. The skill [Life Force Manipulation][Uncommon] he could add to his second class, but he didn''t want to do that. It was better to learn another school of magic and then add it to his main class. Looking further he found one interesting notification. Congratulations, you have been granted access to the Skill Shop. Your achievement in creating a [Uniquely] skill has allowed you to purchase a skill of the same rarity available to you in the shop. Nick couldn''t believe his eyes, he saw a bunch of different skills, some worked due to endurance, or life force and even soul energy. There were a lot of them, but he immediately noticed a pattern. He could not acquire skills that gave him innate knowledge. Let''s remember that he could not acquire a skill of another sword style, or a skill of knowledge of some school of magic. He acquired skills that helped him in any school of magic, or specialized skills of evaluation. All this was very strong, and he could not wait for the moment when he went to the academy to learn about the most powerful skills. 20 Chapter Chapter 20 After choosing a class, Nick went to breakfast. At breakfast he met only his mother, with Benedict and Maria standing next to her. Sitting down at her place, his mother started a conversation with him. "I see you were able to successfully choose both classes, I am very happy for you my son." Limia said with a gentle smile. "Thank you mother, where did all the others go?" "Father is busy with something important, Uncle Rayon is recruiting new recruits for the Phantom Sword School. Children, go to the academy with Lucille. You are also going today. Right after breakfast, you went through the portal to the capital, Benedict and Maria will go with you." "Finally, you also studied at the Royal Academy, Mother? Did you like it there?" "I''ll tell you honestly, Dylan, I didn''t like it there. While I was studying there, I was the middle child. I studied in the direction of managing noble lands and I wasn''t exactly a star." "I understand, mother, do you think I should take more security with me?" "No, of course, there won''t be any problems for you at the academy, unless you start them yourself, of course. And please don''t get into fights. I don''t want you to be known as a wild child." Limia said with a thin smile. "I can''t promise anything, mother." Nick answered, also smiling slightly. He really didn''t think he could avoid at least one fight. "Haha, at least you''re being honest with me, but I really ask you to try." "Of course, I will do everything in my power." "Okay, now you can go get ready." After saying goodbye to Limia, Nick went to his room to pack his things. He had recently received a spatial ring as a gift for his 15th birthday, but unfortunately it didn''t have as much space as he would have liked. The ring was a [Special+] level and only had two square meters of space. It had to be occasionally charged with his mana if he used it often. It was filled with many potions and artifacts. Nick changed into his new clothes that Master Rimel had made. It was a [Special] level Royal Academy uniform, it didn''t offer any special enhancements, but it was as durable as enchanted manasteel armor. Next, he hid a few knives in the lining of his clothes and attached two swords to his left side. The first was the [Ghost Sword] [Special+], it allowed him to cut spiritual objects and cut mana that had not yet been used for a spell when activated, and of course this was all in addition to the fact that it was very durable and could cut trees with a simple blow. The second sword was the [Great Maple Wooden Sword] [Rare+], the one he created thanks to the spirit. In this place, he mainly stored mana and life force. The volume was about 10,000 mana and an unknown amount of life force. When he brought the sword to Master Rimel, he examined it and suggested that the sword could change shape without losing its strength, and Master Rimel also suggested improving it. He could insert a core of not aspected mana and a core of life mana into the sword, thereby increasing the amount of resources that he could store in it. But Nick refused this, he himself wanted to do this in the future. And he doubted that he could fill the sword with mana, if he couldn''t fill it completely anyway, with his low regeneration. Now he could get about 235 MP per day, and that was on the condition that he sat in meditation for about 10 hours. All thanks to his [Rare] skill. Greater Meditation [Rare] - By collecting mana from the environment and circulating it through your body, you surround your mana core with this mana. This increases your mana regeneration by 25-50%. After getting ready, Nick looked at himself in the mirror. He really did look like a "spoiled young master", which brought a smile to his face. Which made it even more reminiscent of that image in his head. Come to think of it, I really am an arrogant young master. Sigh, no matter how funny it is, I need to start controlling my mischievous nature... Well, I''ll at least try to do it. After leaving the room, he and the others came to a portal built to their estate. Portals can only be controlled by three classes of mages: Rune Mage, Arcane Mage, and Space Mage. Walter was waiting for them near the portal. "Young master, you will finally be going to the academy. I am very happy for you." "Yes, thank you Walter." ''Without further ado, I will now begin opening the portal.'' The portal was built from Mithril, a large number of runes were carved on it, and a large number of space mana cores were also fixed in it. Nick watched with interest as Walter activated the portal, he did it with the help of some space spells. Nick watched and regretfully noted that he did not understand absolutely anything, the forms of the spells were too complex for him and even with all his concentration he could not understand much. The portal opened and Nick, along with Benedict and Maria, passed through it. On the other side, they were met by a couple of people in a rich reception hall. They were teleported to the Royal Academy. Nick immediately assessed the people there, there were five people. One Mage and four Warriors in rich golden armor with the royal Emblem. Name: Viranes Traveler 231 years old Race: Mana-Attuned Human [Rare] Lvl 400 Class: Space Mage [Special] Lvl 356 Class: Rune Spatial Mage [Special] Lvl 305 Name: Hidden Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 200 Class: Royal Guard [Special] Lvl 340 Class: Elite Sword and Shield [Special] Lvl 330 Name: Hidden Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 200 Class: Royal Guard [Special] Lvl 318 Class: Elite Sword and Shield [Special] Lvl 336 Name: Hidden Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 200 Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Class: Royal Guard [Special] Lvl 335 Class: Elite Sword and Shield [Special] Lvl 315 Name: Hidden Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 200 Class: Royal Guard [Special] Lvl 332 Class: Elite Sword and Shield [Special] Lvl 324 In Nick''s opinion, it was impressive, 5 [Special] class users could temporarily hold off almost anyone who came out of the portal. Especially with their equipment, in fact, Nick was also sure that there were hidden formations somewhere around here. While Nick was thinking about this, the Space Mage called out to them. "Welcome to the Royal Academy. Are you young Lord Dylan?" "Of course, why this question?" "Mmm, just a formality. Let your escorts introduce themselves, and we also need documents for permission to stay within the walls of the Royal Academy." "I am Benedict Kinseth, I have served the House of Ghost Blade for over 200 years, and I am also the escort of young master Dylan Ghost Blade." Benedict introduced himself and handed over some papers. "Mmm, it''s okay. You''re next, maid." "I am Maria Redvist, I have served the House of Ghost Blade for over 50 years, and I am also the escort of young master Dylan Ghost Blade." "Okay, everything is fine. There are no problems with the documents either. You can pass, enjoy your stay at the Royal Academy." The Royal Guard retreated and they were free to pass. As much as Nick didn''t want to believe it was just a formality, he knew they''d been lie-detector tested. That was damn clear. This was a clear example of how you need to watch what you say and to whom. It was unpleasant. Coming out of the portal hall, they found themselves in a long corridor. Nick understood why all the precautions were needed and there were a hell of a lot of them. The corridor stretched for 200 meters and was only 4 sisters in diameter. Coming out of the corridor, they were met by a pleasant garden, where the Administrator was located nearby. Approaching him, Nick introduced himself again. "Hello, we arrived at the academy through the spatial gate, please tell us where to go next, I have entered the first year of study?" "Of course, young Lord. Further beyond the garden, you should go into the reception hall, where the commission for new arrivals is located." "Thank you." Nick walked further into the garden and noticed that he was still inside the building, a completely glass roof had been built over the garden. Nick was already surprised at how unreasonably large the academy was. After walking another 200 meters through the garden, he saw more double doors that were open. Entering, he saw the same beautifully furnished room. Before he had time to look around well, a young man immediately approached them. "Hello, may I accompany you to the admissions office?" he asked with a friendly smile. "Certainly" So Nick was led through a bunch of corridors and rooms. Now he really couldn''t understand why they were building something so big. This wasn''t an academy, but a real fortress. Five minutes later, the young man led them into one of the rooms where five people were sitting, only now he noticed that all the people he saw were wearing a strange uniform. Most likely, it had some kind of designation, but Nick didn''t want to explain it now. There were three men and two women sitting at the table. It was hard for Nick to understand who of them was a warrior and who was a magician, or even assign them some kind of classification. Before he could identify them, a woman with blond hair and blue eyes addressed him. "I believe you are Dylan Ghostblade. We have a few questions for you. Your escorts may remain." "Of course my lady, I can answer a couple of questions." The woman smiled, as did most of those present. "How do you feel about the demon?" She asked this question with a smile and Nick decided not to show off and answer honestly. "I haven''t met demons and from what I''ve heard they are quite cruel creatures." "Yes, you are right. Next question, how do you feel about the undead?" "Very negative." This question made him remember his first assassination attempt, Nick was increasingly not liking the topic of this conversation. "Well, let''s skip the rest of the questions, I don''t see the point in them. As far as you know, you were invited to a special class at the academy that recruits owners of strong and rare classes. So we won''t give you an exam considering that you are the owner of two [Rare] classes at once. Come to me and pour your mana into this item." Nick did as he was told. He walked up to the table and poured mana into a metal structure with a bunch of runes engraved on it. The woman pulled out a black card with his name and age written on it, as well as his class number and what year he entered. "It was nice meeting you, classes will start tomorrow, but in the meantime you will be shown to your room. Goodbye young Lord Dylan." Nick thought this meeting was strange, what did these people want from him anyway. Grimacing at himself for not canceling them, he went to his room. *** Meanwhile, in the room right after Nick left it. "And what do you think about him?" "I thought that I shouldn''t leave my fort just to look at the young people. But seeing that he has a unique class, I changed my mind. In general, it would be interesting." A young man with black hair spoke up. "What are you starting, you are the most powerful spatial mage in the world, it was nothing for you to come here for a while." "Yes, yes. I don''t care." "I think he has the potential to become someone great even without that monstrous soul power. But that''s not what we''re talking about here, is it?" Said the oldest man with orange hair and eyes. "Yes, you are certainly right, Archmage Ronan, what do you think of his character?" "I have nothing to say about this, it''s too early to talk about it, but considering that he attacked the priests without any hesitation, it doesn''t look good for us." "Does it really matter? The guy knew the priests were coming for their souls. What difference does it make?" The healthy man said. "Just because you don''t like Yuriel doesn''t give you the right to insult the church." The blonde woman replied. "Leave me alone, you holy core bastards are all too arrogant." "And I hear this from someone who only knows how to wield a spear?" "Stop it! Aren''t you tired of all this? Soon we will have to train this generation and put all our efforts into it, and you are quarrelling like cats and dogs." The archmage spoke. "Unlike all of you, I know exactly what class Dylan is." The last woman to speak was the one who was the closest person to becoming the fifth Archmage. "And what does his magic do?" the Space Mage asked with interest. "It''s simple, he pours his will into his spells, and he is not limited to one school of magic, unlike those who can pour their will into magic. He is the progenitor of a class line." After these words, there was a quiet silence at the table, all squabbles ceased and everyone thought about what this could mean for humanity. "Has anyone ever heard of a class line progenitor?" asked the Space Mage. "No, I don''t remember that." She replied. "And why are you so sure that he is the Progenitor of the class line?" "I have never seen such a class in the archive." "So what? It might just be a unique class." "You may be right, but it''s better to assume it now and it seems to me that such magic could well be worth a new Class Line." "Okay, okay. So our hopes depend on these children?" asked the Space Mage. "Who knows, maybe the Guardians of the World will kill the Archdemon as soon as he comes out of the portal. But it''s better to be prepared for that." The Archmage replied. "Okay, I have to go, I''ll report to the commander about our conversation." The space mage opened the gate and left. The others also began to disperse. 21 Chapter Chapter 21 Nick left the commission office and followed the man to his room. The people in that office were strange. But he remembered their appearance well, in the future he would ask about them. When he walked through the academy, he did not notice many students, and those he noticed were above level one hundred. Which led him to think that this was a building for senior students. Having reached his room, Nick decided to meditate and accumulate more mana and life force in his sword. Syria and Benedict lived relatively close to him and also went about their business. Nick could not fall asleep for a long time and brightened up his thoughts about the future. The next morning, Maria wake up him in and helped him quickly get ready for his first class. She even cooked his favorite food for him, fried meat with lots of tomatoes and fried potatoes. In a good mood, he went to the room he needed. On the card that they handed him, you could see where his classes were and what time they would start. Nick almost suspected that the digital era had begun in this world. Entering the room, he saw about 30 people and a teacher, he came almost the last one and took the first suitable seat. Looking at the people and evaluating them, he was glad to see that everyone here had a [Rare] class. Some were without a second class, some had another. But among the entire class, only 4 people had two [Rare] classes. Five minutes later, Liam entered with another student with blue hair. And so he counted 32 students, a teacher and his assistant. Seeing that everyone had gathered, the Teacher decided to start their lesson. "Welcome to the Royal Academy, I am Elton Lauren and this is my assistant Heather Dinar. I don''t have any status blocking skills so feel free to evaluate me." Nick didn''t need to be told twice. Name: Elton Lauren 189 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 200 Class: Great Arcane Mage [Special] Lvl 400 Class: Elite of Hand Combat [Special] Lvl 300 Name: Heather Dinar 50 years old Race: Mana-Tuned Human [Rare] Lvl 200 Class: Arcane Mage [Rare] Lvl 200 Class: Soul Mage [Rare] Lvl 200 "Perhaps some of you are wondering why you will be trained by the Great Mage in your first year. And I will answer you, you were all gathered today to be taught and prepared for the future war against demons. You are the elite class of this year of study. That is why everything turned out this way. But in order to begin our training, it is important to be of a higher level, but today our lesson will not be about that. Demons are our future enemies, the church has the strongest prejudice and hatred towards them. Soon they plan to invade our world, in order to stop this threat, it is important to be able to work in a team. After all, adult demons will be at least at my level. Therefore, your first lesson will be about how to survive in a group against monsters." Nick thought he was misheard at first. Looking around, he realized that was far from true. Some were happy with the situation, some were horrified, and some, like him, couldn''t understand what the new teacher had said. At the front row of tables, a blond guy raised his hand and the teacher happily invited him out. "Forgive me Mr. Elton, but don''t you think it''s stupid, if one of us dies you will be severely punished for it." "Yes, my prince. You will be right, so each of you will wear a ring that, in case of emergency, will immediately teleport you to the healers. And if necessary, they will put your soul back into your body. So do not worry, I will immediately interrupt your questions about all the unnecessary little things. You will be sent to a place full of bloodthirsty monsters of the [Rare] level at every step. And they will send you not for one day, but let''s say for an indefinite period. I will also take away from you all the equipment that you did not create yourself, or not higher than the [Uncommon] level. And if you still think that I am joking, you will have to realize something." The next thing Elton said did not please the absolute majority of children. "I don''t care who you are, what family you are from, or what lineage you represent. Don''t even try to scare your classmates with this. You will all pass this selection without exception, if it makes you feel better, then Archmage Ronan and the Commander-in-Chief of Humanity are responsible for all of this. So if you, my prince, strongly disagree with their actions, I can only allow you to talk about it with his majesty. Everyone in the room was stunned, if Nick and Liam had experienced this kind of treatment in the past, most of the kids had not. Nick was happy about it like a child, he had almost forgotten the situation he was in. And something told him that his main problem would not be monsters. "Okay, we''ll leave your introduction for later. Now come with me to the portal. All the equipment you need has already been prepared for you." Nick liked this turn of events, but most of his classmates whined about how all of their mana was stored in other items that couldn''t be used in this test. But Nick was calm, he made the sword himself and no one would take it away from him. Approaching Liam, he greeted him and the girl next to him. "Hey Liam, how are you? How was training with the family?" "Hello Dylan, nice to see you. Training went well, but nothing special. This is Norn Bruxon by the way, she''s from another noble house that uses water magic." Nick looked at her more closely and couldn''t form a first impression. She was tall for her age, had blue hair and blue eyes. She was quite cute in appearance, Nick couldn''t immediately decide whether he liked her or not. So she received the benefit of the doubt from him. "Yes, nice to meet you, I''m Dylan Ghostblade." Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. "Nice to meet you Dylan." She replied with more of a smile than he thought necessary and he immediately decided that he didn''t like her. Deciding not to focus on it Nick continued talking to Liam. "So how do you feel about us being thrown into an unknown place?" "You know, Dylan, maybe it''s for the best. We''ve gotten too used to the benefits of civilization. And as a Mage, I''d be more of a burden in the group in such an environment." "Yeah, you''re right about that. We didn''t put much into the mana regeneration stat. It''ll be tough, but I think that''s the whole point. Aside from teamwork, we''ll learn everything. I hope the prince won''t be our leader." "Why? Did he displease you in some way?" "No, that''s not the point. It''s just that if the leader is not the one who is the best leader, but simply the one who inherits this status, things could get really bad. Although perhaps the prince would be taught how to properly lead people. It would be interesting to watch." "I don''t feel the same feelings as you, it will be a big headache." While Nick and Liam were talking, they just came to the teleportation gates. They were guarded by the same royal guards and the same space mage. "Viranes, greetings. We need a teleporter without a gate on the other side, I have a spatial anchor for you." Elton said and took out a metal dodecahedron with runes engraved on it. "Okay, the portal will open in five minutes." "Okay, respected students on the other side, you will give us your equipment and receive new ones in return. Also, I will not be happy to tell you that from then on, you will be on your own." Nick was even happier about this, he was of course sure that they would be constantly watched and some sort of evaluation would be conducted. No one would stop him from doing whatever he wanted. But other people were not happy about this at all. Nick even saw how one boy almost burst into tears. He decided to evaluate him, since he did not believe at all that someone would treat it like that without even seeing it. In general, Nick thought that he was overacting. Name: Seth Knightley 15 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 48 Class: Shadow Construct Mage [Rare] Lvl 2 Class: Not selected Nick could understand why he was so worried, his magic would be one of the weakest for fighting monsters, but he could hide. With this thought, Nick realized that some mages would be almost useless. If he could now understand the guy, then Norn was really getting on his nerves now. She was openly hitting on Liam. If you skip all her broken delirium, it was all about how hard it would be for her without her favorite staff, in which she had accumulated all her mana. She strongly appealed to pity and used all her charisma characteristics so that Liam would begin to calm her down. Nick listened to her conversation with Liam. "Liam, I''m so scared. What if some monster eats me?" A little more and she would have burst into tears too. Nick really hoped that Liam would not take her words seriously. But how wrong he was. "Don''t be afraid, this is unlikely to happen. After all, not everyone here is a magician and there will be someone to protect us." In his mind, Nick had already cursed his friend, he at least hoped that Liam thought of her as a child who just needed help. But Nick still decided to talk to him about it alone. The portal opened and Elton led them through the portal. "Come in and do it quickly. We have a schedule." On the other side, Nick could see a couple of stone houses and a solid wild forest. When Eton said that it would be bad, Nick did not count on a wild forest, but this was to be expected. When everyone passed through the portal, Elton spoke again. "These houses contain your provisions for the next two weeks and your new equipment. There is armor in your size, various weapons and staves with cores of different elements. But before that, you must remove everything that is higher than [Uncommon] rank and give it to me. You can change clothes in the house in turns, but I would start to get out of the habit of doing this. If someone bites your head off while you are alone, you will definitely have to go to a mind healer afterwards. And if someone keeps an item that they should not have made, you will be severely punished. And believe me, you do not want to be punished." Elton was a serious man and Nick believed him. He was also sure that the Great Magician did not throw words to the wind. But of course he would like to see how someone would be punished. Being either the smartest or the bravest, Nick approached Elton first. "Hello, respected Teacher Elton, I am Dylan Ghostblade. To avoid any misunderstandings, I made this wooden sword myself." Nick pulled his wooden sword out of its sheath. Elton first looked at Nick and then assessed his weapon. "Indeed, hand over everything you have except this sword and knives." "Of course sir." Nick, without further objection, took the sheath with the Phantom Blade from his belt and handed it to Elton, he also took off all the amulets and bracelets he had. Activating the spatial ring, he carefully put all the unnecessary things there, in addition to the uniform. "I''ll be right back sir." "I won''t keep you." Ignoring Nick entered the building and chose the largest backpack for himself, looking at the racks with weapons, he thought about whether he needed another sword or not. A spare sword would be very nice, but he did not know how to fight with two swords yet, and if he did not use it, it would only hinder him. Therefore, Nick limited himself to 10 more throwing knives, in addition to the 6 that he had. This was certainly a hell of a lot, but he knew that he would definitely lose a couple. Among the equipment except for leather armor there was nothing, it was clear. No matter how superhuman you are, you will not be able to move normally in the wild forest in full steel armor. Having chosen a suitable set for himself, he went to change. He immediately folded the clothes in his spacious ring and left the building already as a real adventurer. In leather armor hung with throwing knives, with a sword on his belt and with a large backpack. Approaching Elton, he handed him the ring without further ado. "Well done Dylan, I hope you pass this test with the same dignity. And all of you, hurry up and change your clothes! I''m not going to wait here for you until tomorrow. You still have to go and kill one nasty monster today. So, march!" Now Nick could see how some ran like headless chickens. This made him laugh, but he tried with all his might to hold it in and not get involved in an unnecessary conflict. Another ten minutes passed in this way, during which Nick managed to overcome himself and not laugh at people. Elton immediately built them up. "Line up in three rows of ten people. Now I''ll explain to you, your task for today is to finish off the Cursed Ent [Rare] Lvl 40. I don''t care about your excuses, that you''re all level one and so on. How to do it is up to you, the only thing I care about is that you don''t burn the forest to hell. The Ent is located to the north, about 15 kilometers. Heather and I are moving away from here, see you soon!" So Elton and his Assistant flew away with the help of the flight spell. There was complete silence among the group, this brought a big smile to Nick''s face. 22 Chapter Chapter 22 Nick stood and thought about the best solution. He understood that a competent leader must appear among the people who would create a strategy and lead them against the monster. While he stood and thought, the prince approached him. "Greetings, Dylan Ghostblade, I am Prince Evander. Please accept this ring for yourself." Nick took a closer look at the prince and assessed him. Name: Evander Holy Sword 15 years old Race: Human Attuned to Holy Mana [Rare] Level 25 Class: Holy Mage [Rare] Lv. 1 Class: Holy Sword Art Adept [Rare] Lv. 1 Nick estimated that the royal family also lacked imagination. Looking at the prince more indulgently, Nick decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. If only because he was good looking, with blond hair, golden eyes, and of course because he had two [Rare] classes. Although he was ineffective against humans, against the damned Ent he would be the strongest. "It''s nice to meet you, Prince Evander, thank you for bringing me the ring. To be honest, I had forgotten about it." "It''s okay, it''s okay Dylan, you can just call me Evander, there''s nothing wrong with that." "What do you say, Evander, what are our plans for Ent?" "I would say that you first need to determine his primary attack type and body type. Without that, most can get seriously injured." "I agree, Evander, this means we need to send a scout, but who?" "I mean Illusion Mage Linella, Shadow Construct Mage Seth, and you. You''re the only ones who can do this." Nick now regretted not having developed more stealth. His phantom sword art combined several skills: sword art, knife throwing, and stealth. But he had never had to use stealth before. Although I don''t think it matters, the main thing is to get close and cast a couple of divination spells. "To be honest, I haven''t been developing stealth, and have been focusing more on speed. But of course, I can get close and cast a few divination spells." "Well, that''s great, thanks Dylan." The prince said with a smile. He continued talking to other people, and Nick decided to go to Liam and ask what their plans were. "Liam, how bad do you think it would be to fight a damn ent?" "If only I knew. He could be a different species. I think the main expectation is that he''ll have either cursed or poison attacks." "Hmm, do we have someone who specializes in poisons?" ¡°Yes, I saw an alchemist among us, that guy over there,¡± Liam pointed at the nondescript guy with glasses. Name: Alistair Kitherius, 15 years old Race: Human [Unusual] Level 43 Class: Alchemist [Rare] Lv. 6 Class: Not selected "Not bad, he''s already level six, strong. Okay, do we have healers? Without them, we won''t last as long as the teachers want." "Yes, you are right, but we have very few healers. Look at that girl with black hair and the guy with pointy ears, they are the only full-fledged healers." Name: Max Laifwarden, 20 years old Race: Half-Elf [Rare] Lv. 18 Class: Life Mage [Rare] Lv. 4 Class: Not selected Name: Katie Mercer, 15 years old Race: Mana-Attuned Human [Rare] Lv. 18 Class: Arcane Healer [Rare] Lv. 3 Class: Not selected "Damn, what should I do? Wait, is that a vampire?!" "Yes, Dylan, she''s a vampire." Name: Cassandra Scarlet Blood 15 years old Race: Young Vampire [Rare] Level 35 Class: Blood Mage [Rare] Lv. 10 Class: Blood Claw Arts Adept [Rare] Lv. 9 "And she has such a high level? She''s so damn strong! Maybe she has healing magic?" "I guess blood magic can do a lot. But things are going badly for us, two healers for 32 people will be a nightmare. We need to think carefully about their protection, without them we won''t last a week here." "You are right." While they were talking, the prince attracted everyone''s attention. ¡°Greetings, classmates. For those who don¡¯t recognize me, I will introduce myself. I am Prince Evander, and I propose a strategy to defeat the cursed treant.¡± When there was no objection, he continued. ¡°I propose that we move out now, our scouts, namely Seth the Shadow Mage, Lynella the Illusion Mage, and Dylan the Secret Mage, will go ahead to warn us of the treant¡¯s location and approximate capabilities. I know that cursed treants come in different types, but one thing you must all agree with me on is that it will most likely have either poison or cursed magic. Based on the scouts¡¯ testimony, we will formulate a plan later, but for now, we need to protect our healers and alchemist. I need volunteers for this role.¡± At first, no one responded, but then a boy with two swords on his belt stepped forward. Nick immediately sized him up. Name: Nathan Spellsword, 15 years old Race: Mana-Attuned Human [Rare] Lv. 20 Class: Adept of the Art of the Magic Sword [Rare] Lv. 7 Class: Not selected Nick knew of this family, the only one in the kingdom that did not use spells or normal techniques. Nick remembered that this family could create some kind of aura of power that emanated from the sword and dealt cutting damage. It was not some cool art or techniques from soul energy. It was a mixture of mana and stamina, stitched together to make a strike at medium range, reminiscent of a sword swing. In Nick''s opinion, it was neither good nor bad. The main drawback of this art is that you need to invest in magical and physical characteristics equally. After all, if the mana power characteristic is not high, you will not be able to make a strong strike, if mana regeneration is not high, you can strike with a sword once a week, and so on. If this person went the way of an ordinary warrior and a separate mage, he would not have such problems. Since all the moves or spells he uses require both mana and stamina, it puts him on par with mages in terms of damage output. But of course, he had his advantages, he could destroy a bunch of mages or warriors of the same level at close range if he had full stamina and mana, but he would quickly run out of it again. In his head, Nick marked him out as useless. "I can offer protection, Prince Evander." After he offered it, Liam did the same. "Okay, I think for now you and my comrades will be enough to protect them. Now, I think it''s time for us to go." Nick walked forward and noticed an attractive girl who looked like an underage slut and a shy guy. Realizing he wasn''t getting the best pairing, Liam smiled. Name: Lynella May, 15 years old Race: Human [Unusual] Level 45 Class: Illusion Mage [Rare] Lv. 2 Class: Not selected "Hey, hey, handsome. You''re Dylan, right? You want to go out and have some fun tonight?" Lynella asked. Nick wasn''t a guy who thought about his dick all the time, but he admitted to himself that he was attracted to her. She didn''t look her age, she was wearing short, sexy clothes that showed off her figure well, her face looked very bright due to the large amount of makeup, her hair was tied in a tight ponytail. Just the way he liked it, if he didn''t know she was an illusion mage, he would have definitely missed it. But now he had a clear goal, and he was not going to sleep with children. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "Next time, I''ll move 10 meters forward, you follow me. When we start to see signs of the damned ent''s presence, I''ll count on your abilities." "Okay," Lynella said, winking at him. Seth simply nodded. So his walk began. Thanks to his greater agility, he moved very quickly and quietly, leaving almost no traces. His companions, although they moved silently, Seth because he covered his feet with shadow mana, and Lynella because she muffled the sound with a spell, they were not fast at all. The forest was wild and completely overgrown with trees, they had to move on roots, or short grass. Nick noticed many tracks, scratched trees, pressed paw prints. After 10 minutes of walking they saw a Deer, but it was not an ordinary one at all, its fangs were visible, the horns were much larger than usual and more reminiscent of a forest of thorns, and the eyes were red. Race: Predatory Deer [Uncommon] Level 37 Nick stopped with a gesture and they waited for it to pass. Nick wasn''t afraid to kill the deer, it would be easy, but he didn''t want the noise or the smell of blood. Nick hadn''t read about the animal and didn''t know if they hunted in packs or traveled alone. The safest choice would be to wait. The deer smelled something, but he didn''t hear them and went west. As they walked, they didn''t see any animals or even insects, although there should have been plenty. After an hour and a half, Nick began to notice a sharp reduction in the vegetation, there was less grass, the leaves on the trees were starting to fall and dry. Nick decided that now was a good time to cast a divination spell. He stopped and motioned for the others to do the same. He had time to think about it. He couldn''t just go and find the cursed energy, unfortunately he didn''t know such a spell, also he couldn''t constantly maintain the spell "Life Vision", even though the trees were drained of their life force, he wouldn''t be able to see the cursed treant, it couldn''t be some kind of sound spell either, he wouldn''t be able to tell the difference between an treant and a tree at a glance. There was also no way to use a spell that would allow him to determine where a large amount of mana was, it would be too expensive for him. So he decided to cast the 3rd tier spell "Invisible Eye", it was an expensive spell, but it would allow him to see the treant from a long distance. Thanks to his new skills [Parallel Thinking][Unusual] and [Accelerated Perception][Unusual]. He could cast the spell and move with it, and thanks to the accelerated perception, he could process the information faster. After quickly casting the spell, he waited until it increased the distance between him and himself. Deciding that this distance was enough, he gave a signal with his hand and they started moving again. Nick mentally manipulated the spell to quickly find the ent, he searched a large area but found absolutely no living thing. So he began to move faster, along the way he could see how all the plants were getting worse and worse, about two minutes into his run his invisible eye saw many dead trees and a small tree about 8 meters with black leaves. Stopping, Nick regretfully noted that in 2.5 minutes he spent almost 700 mana. He quickly examined the tree, he did not notice anything special. If there were living trees here, he would not have guessed that it was an ent. Dispelling the spell, he turned to the group. "I found Ent, he''s about 350 meters north of us." "Wow, you''re cute, and what does he look like?" Lynella asked, and Seth just remained silent. "A small tree, 8 meters high, with black leaves stands in the middle of a pile of dead trees." "I think it was obvious. Any special signs?" "Nothing special, I need to come over and take a look." "Well then, let''s go." Approaching the line of sight, Nick examined Ent. Race: Cursed Life-Draining Treant [Rare] Level 40 "Damn, that looks bad, he definitely has life-sucking magic." "Yes." "Let''s go warn the others." So Nick Linella and Seth set out to join the group. They had to walk about a kilometer, and when they got close to the group, Nick deliberately stepped loudly on a branch so that there would be no unexpected spells cast in their direction. Nick knew that most of the people were new to the forest, and decided to be overly cautious. The prince noticed them first and struck up a conversation. "Glad you''re back, Dylan. Did you find Ent?" "Yes, it was a cursed life-sucking drant [rare] level 40. It was about 8 meters tall and had black leaves." "Mmm, this is bad, can I burn it?" ¡°No, there are a lot of dry trees around, if we try, a fire will definitely start, and we will hardly be able to put it out.¡± "It was worth a try. I certainly don''t want to engage him in close combat, but throwing spells at him isn''t an option either, it would be too expensive for us. Trying to attack him with holy magic alone seems like an equally bad option. Anyone have any ideas?" Nick himself thought about a suitable strategy to fight Ent. There were several main problems, Ent could have many characteristics even for his size and be very strong and durable. Another problem was his cursed magic, it sucked out life force, it could either be dodged, or blocked, or of course purified with holy magic, but it would be terribly ineffective. The third problem was Ent''s normal magic, he could strengthen his body, or control roots as spears and whips. Nick went through several strategies and decided that the most optimal would be to choose a small group of people and kill Ent with them. The prince during this time came to the same conclusion. "Okay, we''ll gather a group of 10 people and kill Ent, who wants to come with me?" Nick raised his hand, as did the vampire and the girl who had been pestering Liam, and they were joined by the stone mage and five weapon adepts. Name: Brandon Stoneshield, 15 years old Race: Human Attuned to Stone Mana [Rare] Level 20 Class: Stone Mage [Rare] Lv. 3 Class: Spear and Shield Disciple [Uncommon] Lv. 7 Name: Norn Brookson, 15 years old Race: Human [Unusual] Level 33 Class: Water Mage [Rare] Lv. 2 Class: Not selected There were four guys and one girl. Unlike the guys, who were all clear, they were of the normal human race and had a weapon adept class, she was more interesting. Name: Ariana Kilsten, 15 years old Race: Evolved Human [Rare] Level 31 Class: Adept of the Art of Unpredictable Shot [Rare] Lv. 2 Class: Not selected She was the first person of his race he had seen outside of his clan, and she was also the first person he had seen who was skilled in the art of archery. She must be strong. "Okay, we''ll go there, and you all stay here and be on the lookout. Dylan, lead the way." Nick walked silently towards Ent and stopped after five minutes to let him know he was close. "He''s about two minutes away from us." "Okay, Brandon will be in the vanguard, if things get really bad, put up a stone wall, the rest of the melee fighters will stand next to Brandon, Ariana, I don''t think you need protection. I''m with Norn, we''ll protect you from the cursed magic with holy spells." Nick wasn''t worried about Ent being a threat to him because of the Saint Wizard''s protection. Based on his skill [Reincarnator''s Madness], he estimated that Ent had about 300 stats across 15 attributes, not counting the Luck and Charisma stats. Ent had two additional stats, Life Force Regeneration and Endurance. He was actually a weakling, but he was a troublesome opponent against people who were smaller and didn''t want to waste mana on him at all. But that was Nick talking about his stats, as for his skills, he didn''t know them. Approaching the Ent to a distance of 50 meters, an arrow hit him, which pierced half of his length, an orange energy wave burst out from it, which made the Ent howl in pain. A face distorted with pain and hatred appeared on the tree, its upper branches began to transform and take the form of hands. At this moment, he received another shot, this time in the eye, the second wave of orange energy made the Ent even more angry and he began to dig himself out of the ground, but it would take him a long time. Not wanting to move in formation, Nick activated [Ghost Awakening], which increased his stats by 15%, he quickly broke free and approached the Ent. He tried to grab Nick with his hand, but was left without fingers, noticing that the Ent had a liquid resembling blood, Nick was encouraged. He managed to make two more cuts on his hand, as the vampire rushed into the fight. She created claws of crystallized blood on her hands, which left deep cuts, but she was not as fast as Nick, or rather she could not keep up with his speed and did not notice the blow of the ent, which sent her flying. Nick was sure that there were several broken bones. Noticing that the ent was starting to take them seriously, Nick retreated. Roots burst out of the ground and immediately headed for the main targets. Nick managed to dodge, and Brandon was able to block the roots with a stone wall, but after a strong blow, they began to bend around the wall, where they met with the adepts of the weapon. Nick again went into close combat and began to inflict a lot of small cuts on the ent, while arrows were flying at him from afar, the ent tried to catch him, but for him it was unsuccessful while he fought with the others. 20 seconds passed and the Vampire came to her senses, Nick, using the skill [Parallel Thinking], watched as her back twitched, and the bones fell into place, even the sunken ribs were like new. Damn, what an expensive skill. Nick was giving it his all, he was burning through as much stamina as he could, at this rate he could fight for about 9 more minutes. The vampire returned to the fight, she was casting some kind of spell and came closer to cast it. Nick turned around just in time to see her compress her blood in her hands to fire it. He knew the spell, the 4th level "Compressed Blood Spear" and knew it would be damn strong. It took the vampire about 7 seconds to cast the spell. Because she misjudged her strength, she missed slightly and almost cut Ent in half with a strong stream of blood. Nick had enough perception to notice that the cut went through about half of Ent''s body. At that moment, Ent screamed, causing everyone to stop, it was a mental attack using cursed mana. Nick was hit by Ent''s hand and was thrown back hard, the others were less lucky, they were pressed against each other and almost crushed. The prince managed to come to his senses in time and attack Ent with a holy beam. Which distracted him. Nick stood up and limped towards the prince, he hadn''t taken much damage but it hurt like hell. The treant stopped his attacks, the leaves slowly started to fall off him, crumbling into dust and flying in all directions. Norn erected a barrier of water with holy mana around himself, looking at what was outside, he didn''t feel much danger. The barrier was still there, only the archer was behind it. One of the roots passed through the barrier and crashed into Brandon''s shield, he was able to withstand the blow, but because of it, black dust got inside. Nick admitted to himself that he wanted to see what she was doing, and did not create a barrier around the man right after she touched him. From what Nick could feel, this thing was destroying life force, like water extinguishes fire. With a quick barrier spell, he protected everyone again. The prince decided not to stand around doing nothing any longer, and started casting the 4th tier spell "Holy Spear". It was one of the most expensive spells Nick had ever seen, in pure mana cost. To physically manifest mana, even for a second, you need twice as much mana. So the spell cost at least 2000 MP, which meant that the prince had invested most of his stat points into mana regeneration, or the amount of MP. No one in their right mind would cast such an expensive spell. It took him 15 seconds to cast the spell, while they all fought off the roots together. His spear passed through all the barriers, because Nick poured his will into the barrier so that it would let the holy mana through. And it crashed into Ent, who tried to launch his mental attack again, but nothing happened. For 20 seconds, Ent did not attack them and when the black dust settled behind the barrier he, the vampire, and the archer attacked at the same time. The vampire gouged out the last eye, the archer hit the center of the table and released an orange flash, and Nick, gathering all his strength and stepping over the threshold of his physique, chopped off his torso. Ent died... Congratulations, you have defeated [Cursed Life-Draining Treant][Rare] level 40. You will receive less experience for winning in a group. Congratulations, you have reached Level 1 in [Phantom Sword Arts Adept] [Rare] > Lv. 2. Nick felt bad, he had used up too much stamina and overworked his body. Damn, everything hurts. But we only have one wounded, so I think it''s worth it. It remains to be seen if the healers can heal him. The prince also came to his senses after such a powerful spell. "How is everyone holding up? Are there any serious injuries?" Nick and the Prince looked at the entire group together, Nick could see the remnants of the curse on the hand of the swordsman who had fallen under it. This was due to his [Spiritual Sense][Rare] skill, not his Mana Sense. Looking at the others, he found no problem. After activating the [Reincarnator''s Madness] skill, he found that the vampire had little life force. This indicated that her regeneration skill was devouring life force like crazy. Not noticing any problems, he remained silent. And the Prince continued. "Well done everyone, now we''ll follow the others and stay here for the night. It''s unlikely that monsters will bother us in the cursed area." Nick thought it was a surprisingly sensible idea from the prince. They rested for about 10 minutes and then began to move. 23 Chapter Chapter 23 Nick enjoyed the fight and while they were resting, he approached the corpse of Ent. Watching the various wounds, he saw a hole burned through with holy mana. It was the only spell that could completely pierce the trunk of Ent. Watching the branches that were completely without leaves, he saw how the curse that was in them was dissipating. There was no more danger in the black dust that was everywhere and he sighed with relief. Coming closer, he tried to pull out the arrow that was in the tree, but due to severe pain, he was unable to apply any force at all. Nick spent about half of his stamina and 1200 MP today. He also overloaded his constitution too much for the final blow, this was the most unpleasant consequence. His stamina will recover to its full value only after 33 hours, and to restore his mana will take about 53 hours in meditation. Damn, I think I got the main lesson. It''s about distributing your resources. I can''t imagine how long it will take for the vampire and the prince to recover. At least I have 2000 MP in my sword. And I still have almost 1000 MP in my mana core. Nick noticed his life force level had dropped by 30%. Ah, was the blow really that strong, or could he draw out life force with the touch of his hands, and I didn''t notice? It''s good that the sword is full of life force. Having drawn the life force from the sword, Nick restored it to its full value, which made it easier for him to move, but his body still hurt terribly. An archer approached them, and she also looked bad. She hadn''t received a cursed attack, but she was terribly exhausted. Nick looked at the others and saw that most of them had leveled up, all except Norn. Nick couldn''t tell if it was because she hadn''t done much damage, or because she hadn''t received any experience at all. Nick planned to find out in the future. After a 10-minute rest, the Prince stood up and spoke. "I suggest we go, and bring the rest of the group here later. I think the Alchemist might be able to extract something useful from the Ent later." The others also stood up, two adepts had to carry the archer, since she could not move her legs at all. Nick wanted to suggest that one of them go and translate the others, but he himself did not want to do this, in case someone was attacked alone, he would have little chance of fighting back. And it would also not be safe to split the group. After 15 minutes, they reached the rest of their classmates, they were on a small hill with no trees. The prince approached and spoke. "Hello everyone, we were able to kill the Ent, but we have some wounded. Healers please check on them." The whole group quickly gathered around them and started asking different questions. Nick didn''t care and didn''t really listen to anything, he paid attention to what the Half-Elf was doing to heal the cursed wound of the Sword Adept. First, he covered his entire hand with life mana and began to make strange patterns with mana, these were not full-fledged spells and Nick could not understand them. The Elf manipulated the life mana for a long time and when he decided that this was enough, the life mana that completely enveloped the hand was completely absorbed into it, leaving no traces of the curse. According to rough calculations, this cost about 1200 mana, Nick thought that it was not expensive for such a wound. Noticing that the Secret Healer looked at everyone else and approached him, he waved her off. "Thanks for your help, but I''m fine, it''s better if you and the life mage try to do something with the vampire and the archer, they suffered the most." The girl didn''t argue with him and went to the life mage. Together they began to examine the archer, they cast a couple of small spells and the girl began to feel better. Her pale cheeks became normal, the trembling in her fingers stopped and she stopped feeling so much pain. Then the healers approached the vampire and Nick eavesdropped on their conversation with the help of a small sound spell. "I know you''re low on life force and need good blood to recover. So stop sitting there and go try begging someone for blood." The Half-Elf said. "I don''t want to, it''s better to catch some animal and drink from it." "You may be right, but with each passing day you will become weaker and weaker. The sun is already limiting you, soon you will definitely have to drink blood." "Okay, I''ll think of something." Now Nick knew that she was indeed limited by the sun a little. That would explain why she didn''t seem that strong for her level. And in his opinion, she was completely lacking in the perception stat, or the intelligence stat. Considering how easily she took his blow. By activating the [Reincarnator''s Madness] skill, Nick learned that she would need to drink blood for two days, and also confirmed that most of her stats were on the magic side. Nick roughly calculated her stats and this is what he got. Statistics: Strength 170 Dexterity 170 Stamina 170 Vitality 300 Regeneration of Vital Energy 400 Constitution 300 Intelligence 170 Wisdom 170 Mental Control 190 Willpower 190 Perception 170 Charisma 70 Mana output 300 Mana 400 Mana Regeneration 400 This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Luck 10 By their standards, she was a monster, but her skills were not as strong as he would like to think. She was physically stronger than him, but he did not notice her increasing skill in use, although he was sure that it was there. Her fighting art in his opinion was bad, in general in close combat, without blood magic he was confident in his victory, but he saw her blood magic perfectly well and he knew that in a real fight he would lose to her. Having seen her approximate characteristics, he thought about her skills. Her life force regeneration characteristic was crazy, but as far as he understood the whole point was that she, as a vampire, could use her regeneration only if she drank a large amount of blood. Nick was also sure that she had a blood core, like a vampire. But alas, he did not know the racial skills of vampires to understand whether she had a skill like his, which increases basic characteristics. According to his new calculation, she should have had a lot of blood mana left in her core, but in his feelings she was almost empty of all energy. So, either she came with a completely empty blood core, or her regeneration eats up a lot of blood mana. Which shouldn''t be likely. Too bad I couldn''t figure out how much she spent during the fight. Deciding to hold off on his conclusions, he snapped out of his thoughts and saw everyone already leaving for Ent''s corpse. 15 minutes later, they reached the battle site and Teacher Elton was waiting for them there, along with his assistant. "Greetings, you all did well. But now you have to survive in this forest. In a couple of days, all the remaining curse of the Ent in this territory will dissipate and monsters will start coming here that you will have to fight. Thanks to good teamwork, you were able to win, but you spent an incorrigible amount of resources, 12 people from your group do not have half of the mana and stamina that they should have. Of course, you will all have enough time to restore your stamina a little, but the main problem will be mana. Cassandra and Ariana have no resources at all, the prince has only a quarter of his mana left, the healers have spent more than half of their mana. Therefore, from this day on, do not turn on all your enhancing skills and do not fight at the maximum of your potential. You will have to live here for a very long time, but at the rate we are going today, you will not last here even a week. Keep this in mind." After the teacher''s speech, the prince lowered his head, ashamed of the fact that he spent so much mana and almost did not use the sword. The vampire did not care, Oriana also did not take her failure badly. Everyone who fought did not think that they did something wrong, everyone except the prince. Most who did not participate in the battle did not take it so seriously. Almost everyone thought that they could cope with this test, mainly warriors who quickly restored stamina, but the mages knew better that they would not last long. "Okay, you won''t get any more praise from me, in fact, you won''t get anything from me except advice. Alistair, you can use the Ent tree to make a cursed weapon, or at least you have the opportunity. You won''t be able to use the cursed Ent core for anything else, but if you really are a genius as they say, you are free to do whatever you want with the cursed core. We are leaving again and so that you don''t think about returning to those houses that were before, I destroyed them. Don''t forget, there is only enough food for two weeks, enjoy your survival." With these words, they quickly flew away. Nick walked up to Liam and started a conversation. "Liam, how are you?" "Okay, but I should be asking you about the fight, you look rumpled." "Yeah, that''s right, I took one light hit from Ent, but I''m fine." "Okay, I''m going to meditate and gather mana into the staff, you should do that too." Liam chose the most comfortable place for himself, sat down and began to meditate. Nick really should do this too, but first he needed to eat, so that the speed of stamina recovery would not drop. He approached the corpse of Ent at some distance and began to rummage through the backpack in search of food. It turned out that there really was food for 2 weeks, but there was not much water, about 5 liters in a metal bottle. Among the food he had dried meat, something vaguely resembling very stale bread and some cereal, but it was not cooked. Among the other things that were in the backpack was a sleeping bag and nothing else. This is not thick at all, we need to quickly find clean water, if we use mana to get water, we definitely won''t survive here for more than a week. Nick began to simply chew dried meat and try to chew bread. He had to eat it with a lot of water, since his mouth quickly dried out from such food. In order to eat normally, he had to wait until the meat and bread slightly opened in his mouth and only then could he live everything. At this time, Nick watched as the Alchemist tried to extract the cursed core from the Ent. Frankly speaking, he was not doing very well, first he tried a small saw, then switched to an axe, but all this was unsuccessful. The tree bark was too strong for tools of this level and he seriously lacked the physical strength to at least make a significant cut. Nick expected that a small saw would be strong enough to saw the tree, but it would take a very long time. Now Nick was doubly convinced of how useful his sword was, even without techniques, he could easily leave cuts on the Ent. Nick took the sword out of its sheath and threw it at the feet of the alchemist. He recoiled strongly in surprise. "Take my sword, with it you will have a better chance of getting the core." The alchemist turned his gaze to him and picked up the sword. He began to examine it. Taking it in both hands, he swung it and was able to cut the sword to half of its blade, to get the sword out he had to put in even more effort. "Thank you, they didn''t take it away from you because you made it yourself?" "Yes, I was lucky." "What do you say, it was you who cut it? Can''t you help me?" "Sorry, I put too much strain on my physique, my whole body hurts a lot." "Okay, I''ll go look for someone else." "Good luck." The Alchemist left the sword and went to look for someone who could help him. When Nick finished his food, he saw the Alchemist dragging the Sword Adept behind him. The guy took his sword and began to work with it like an axe, he struck a couple of blows where one piece of wood broke off and so on in a circle. Finally, seeing the cursed core, the guy began to carefully chop near it until he could grab it with his hands. The core did not want to be pulled out just like that, so the Alchemist stopped the adept and began to hit it with a hammer, using some incomprehensible spell. After a couple of minutes, the core separated from the tree. Nick at this time looked at the physique of the Ent, and noticed that his "blood" had hardened and turned into something similar to resin, so that in the trunk of the tree there were many small inclusions of resin that resembled a circulatory system. Nick focused his senses on the cursed core, it was small, in size resembling a ping-pong ball, Nick stood up and approached the alchemist. "Can I examine the core?" "Certainly." The alchemist gave him back the sword and also handed over the core. Nick poured some mana into it and tried to feel how much it could hold. It didn''t remind him of the usual mana cores he had seen, the core was small and by rough feeling there was a maximum of 3000 MP. Nick handed the core back and asked about the obvious. "Why is the core so small and why does it hold such a small amount of mana?" "It''s simple, your mana is not curse energy, the core can probably hold two or three times more curse energy." "And how could Ent afford such a strong core?" "I think the thing is that Ent invested all his resources into developing the Core, and he restored the cursed mana by absorbing the life force of the forest." "Mmm, then we''re lucky." "You could say that." After that, Nick went to restore his mana. Sitting down on the most pleasant piece of land, he began to meditate. Along the way, he thought about where to spend his free attribute points. He had 15 points, and the choice was between endurance and mana regeneration. Deciding to wait with this for now, he simply meditated. So time passed until nightfall, most of them set up sleeping bags and slept in them, some, like him, meditated. Nick realized that the prince had appointed those who would be on duty at night, since he saw that two people had climbed a fallen tree and were sitting with their backs to each other, examining the camp. Deciding to go to bed, he laid out a sleeping bag, climbed into it in his dirty armor and fell asleep. 24 Chapter Chapter 24 Nick woke up early in the morning because the light was shining in his eyes. He wanted to sleep some more, but the brief sensation of pain throughout his body was enough to wake him up completely. His body was in a lot of pain, in addition to what he got from Ent yesterday, overloaded his physique, and he was on the stone almost all night. Nick got out of the bag and began to warm up, today it was harder than ever. Doing a simple stretch, he whined like a grandfather with arthritis. His morning was completely unsuccessful. After 20 minutes, the others began to wake up, no one was in a good mood, even the prince. Nick watched him and saw how Brandon and some Fire Mage were helping him. Name: Rass Cleansing Flame Race: Man attuned to Fire Mana [Rare] Lvl 35 Class: Fire Mage [Rare] Lvl 3 Class: Not Selected Nick knew this family, it was the family of one of the Dukes, but the boy was not the main descendant. Now Nick remembered that the Brandon family was also from a collateral family of another Duke. Hmm, they even found a guard for him in the classroom, why am I not surprised? Most likely the king knew where his son would be thrown. Nick lay back down in his sleeping bag and began to think about what he would do today. Most likely today there will be a general conversation in which they will all introduce themselves and so on, how I don''t want that. I already remembered 16 people, do I need more? What a piece of shit it is to talk to these kids. Nick gathered his strength, opened his backpack and started eating what he had. In his opinion, in the magical world, at least there should be an opportunity to eat tasty food whenever you want. How lousy. Having finished his food, he approached the prince and asked about his plans. "Evander, what are your plans for today?" The prince turned his attention to him and tried to smile at him, but he failed. He looked as exhausted as everyone else. "Dylan, today I plan to gather us all together so that everyone can introduce themselves and say a few words about themselves. We also need to find water, but overall today is a rest day." "I understand, don''t count on me today, my body hurts too much." "Yeah, I understand, it''s okay Dylan. You can go and rest." "See you." Nick decided to walk around their camp and catch the general atmosphere. In general, everything was peaceful and no one tried to mock anyone. But the atmosphere was not the most pleasant, almost everyone looked a little out of it, almost everyone had not slept enough and were extremely unhappy about it. Nick noticed an alchemist who was trying to carve a wooden sword from Ent''s troupe, deciding that he would not bother him, he went on. Everyone was now doing their own thing, the magicians were meditating to accumulate mana. The warriors were training with weapons, and those who were in the last battle were just resting. It would have been an idyll if everyone did not know that monsters would soon descend here and they would not have the to fight them off. The prince held a general meeting, where he made everyone introduce themselves and say a few words about themselves. Nick did not listen to him at all, he was just thinking about his own. When it was his turn, he simply said that he was a secret mage and owned the art of the ghost sword. Which of course was obvious from his status, he hid in it only the fact that his first class was unique. "Hello everyone, I''m Floyd Traveler, my class is Apprentice of the Space Mage, I''m afraid I can''t offer anything to the group, since right now the most I can do is use a spell that sees in space, but nothing more." He introduced himself modestly. "Hmm." Nick assessed it. Name: Floyd Traveler Race: Man Tuned to Space Mana [Rare] Lvl 18 Class: Apprentice of the Space Mage [Rare] Lvl 1 Class: Not Selected Nick was curious, this boy was from the main family of spatial mages of the Kingdom, their family had the rank of Marquis. Apparently their teacher definitely wanted to instill in them the protection of the group. In fact, the Apprentice of the Space Mage was really useless, but what''s worst, he was a burden. Unlike the healers and the alchemist, he had nothing to offer for his protection and in such a situation, he would become the very first victim, along with that humble shadow mage. This was bad for Nick, if the hierarchy began to disintegrate within the group, this could lead to a variety of consequences. Thinking about this, Nick fell into meditation. He meditated all day and only occasionally got up to relieve himself and eat. People began to move away from him when he passed by, this was because he never took off his armor and now stank like God knows who. He did not take off his armor for reasons that were quite understandable to him, he still could not wash himself and wash his armor. He wasn''t going to walk around without them, and he didn''t care that they were "supposedly" in a safe zone. He didn''t waste mana cleaning his armor, because he thought it was complete stupidity. Per day he restored 340 MP in a day and raised his stamina to 80%. By the time he lay down in his sleeping bag, his body felt much better. The next day Nick woke up with the same unpleasant feeling as yesterday, tired and having done a warm-up he began to feel almost at his maximum, only with slight pain in his back and arms. The day today passed exactly as yesterday, after lunch the prince made an announcement. "Hello everyone, yesterday and today our scouts were looking for a river and we found it, it is located 20 kilometers to the south. But there the scout saw several orcs in the skins of killed animals, I suggest that we also save up mana today, and tomorrow early in the morning go to the river." This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Nick completely agreed with the prince, they didn''t have mana and decent weapons, but they needed water and more time to prepare. But not everyone agreed with him. Nathan Spelsword decided to object to the prince. "Prince, perhaps it would be better to go now, collect water and, if necessary, kill any orcs we meet. We have the necessary number of warriors for this task." Now Nick couldn''t understand why Nathan decided to oppose the prince, after all, he also needed mana just like the mages. It really didn''t add up. Nick thought that the motives in this case were unimportant, what was important was how the prince would resolve this situation. He could go the way of dictatorship, or democracy. Nick hoped for dictatorship. "Nathan, you should understand better than anyone how humans don''t have enough mana, it''s best to come as prepared as possible. As long as we have time to safely gather mana, I see no reason to leave here." Wow, is he really that good? Or is it just me? It was logical enough, and he didn''t try to crush Nathan with his authority. "Yes, Prince, you are right, but we could work more efficiently. Most warriors have full stamina and, unlike mages, we cannot store it in our staves." Hmm, maybe he''s mad that he stayed with the others and wants to prove himself. I don''t see any other reasons. "Okay, so what do you plan to do Nathan?" "I would gather a small detachment of warriors and take a couple of mages with me to go fill the empty water canisters. If we meet Orcs along the way, we will not attack them, if they do notice us, we will of course kill them." Nick thought it was a decent plan, except that the mages would have more mana tomorrow, meaning more opportunities. And the likelihood that no one would return wounded would be higher. "Nathan, I still think that this shouldn''t be done, we''ll do as you say tomorrow." The prince put on a serious face and ended the argument. Nathan tried to take the refusal with dignity and simply answered, not forgetting to remind the prince why everyone listened to him. "As you say, my prince." Nick thought it was low, of course they hadn''t officially chosen a leader, but it was clear to everyone that it would be a prince, or some senior heir to the nobility, it couldn''t be any other way. Deciding that all the interesting moments were over for today, he sat down to meditate, but not even an hour had passed before someone got a hard slap in the face and was very angry. Nick opened his eyes and could see how some guy was red-faced from a blow from Linella the Illusion Mage. Of course it looked funny, Nick appreciated it. Name: Harvey Trass Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 30 Class: Spear and Shield Adept [Rare] Lvl 3 Class: Not Selected The guy stood there with a red face and was apparently recovering from such an unexpected blow. He also noticed how all the attention was focused on them. Nick saw how the gears were turning in the guy''s head and how he was thinking about how to get out of this situation. Nick, like probably everyone else, thought that the guy had gone too far with Linella. The guy really tried to think of something to say, but he couldn''t think of anything better than this. "What are you doing, whore? How dare you hit someone who is higher in status than you." Nick shook his head and laughed at the absurdity of this statement, he couldn''t help it. It was just his limit. Many heard his laughter, the guy suddenly blushed even more than before and wanted to say something, but when he saw who was laughing at him, he swallowed. Many could not understand what was so funny about the guy, but Nick realized from Liam''s eyes that he was also having fun. In this world, the noble class gave something similar to mental control, you could not disobey the order of the one you obeyed, without great willpower, mental resistance skills and artifacts. This meant that if the king ordered the count to do something, he would hardly be able to refuse, since he swore allegiance to him. The same thing happened when the viscount gave an order to his baron, or the servants who were in his service. But this spread much further, if you were some kind of nobleman, then this skill also affected all people, but much weaker and it could be significantly resisted. That''s why in the world everyone tries to obey the one who is higher in the noble hierarchy. Of course, the reincarnators didn''t care about the noble hierarchy and they didn''t have much respect for this line of classes. Nick stopped laughing and decided to speak. "Forgive me, you can continue, don''t pay attention to me." The guy decided to use all his courage and answer Nick. "Was there anything funny about it? I am the son of a viscount and she is the daughter of a baron. Was I not right?" Nick decided that he was tired of this and decided to explain something to him. "I''m afraid you may be right, but as Teacher Elton said, if we try to intimidate someone with our status, we will regret it." "I don''t intimidate her with my status, I only say that she must obey me." Nick nodded and stood up from his seat, he slowly walked towards the guy. When he was close, he activated one of his techniques. With a quick movement of his hand he hit him in the head and knocked him out. "Now, I''ll repeat this if Prince Evander doesn''t want to do it. If anyone tries to do the same, I''ll give them a hard time." The people who watched this performance decided to remain silent, all the senior nobles also decided not to interfere. But Nathan Spelsword decided that he needed to stand out. "And what right do you have to hit him?" Nathan asked and walked up to him. Nick wasn''t too arrogant and turned on [Accelerated Perception] just in case. "I''m just showing the noble hierarchy, as he said. Is there something wrong?" "But as you said, we are all students of the Royal Academy and have the same status. And the fact that you hit a student for no reason shows that you have no self-control." Nick knew he was wrong in this situation, but he didn''t want to be right. He didn''t like the system of nobility of this world and he didn''t force himself to submit to it. But he decided to get out of the conflict, if of course he was allowed to do so. "I think you''re right, next time I''ll try to resolve things in a more civilized manner." "I think you should apologize to Harvey for this." Nick turned his gaze to the unconscious boy. Yeah, I may have miscalculated my strength, but he''s a warrior, oh my God. To him need to put more stats into physique. "No, no, I won''t do that. I gave him a chance to find a flaw in his logic." Nathan didn''t like his words at all. He put his hand on the sword in its sheath and tried to use the [Aura of Intimidation]. Nick was surprised that he had received such a complex skill. But he didn''t care, the aura at this level only worked if the enemy really considered you a threat. Nick was of course a little wary of Nathan, but his skill [Mental Resistance] was more than enough to brush off this threat. Nick decided that he would not respond to his threat and simply waited for further developments. Nathan looked into his eyes and saw only cold indifference to his aura, this was enough for him to turn it off. "When we return to the academy, I will file a formal complaint against you, Dylan Ghostblade." With that, he turned and left. Nick thought that the conflict was over and also began to leave, on the way he noticed that Lynella had taken a sexy pose and was cutely twirling her hair around her finger. Nick at that moment decided that he should be wary of her manipulations. This bitch could have set this all up. Nick spent the rest of the day in meditation and fell asleep just as easily as yesterday. In the morning, everyone began to prepare for the meeting with the orcs. Nick admitted to himself that he also wanted to warm up in battle. 25 Chapter Chapter 25 Getting out of bed, Nick estimated his mana reserves at 1800 MP, and 2000 MP in the sword. This was a decent amount, but the fact that he had only restored 820 MP in two days and spent almost all of that time in meditation did not make him happy. His body was almost completely fine, his stamina and vitality were also at their maximum, which could not but make him happy. Nick began to eat dried meat with bread and finished his last water. The next thing he did was walk around the camp using [Reincarnator''s Madness], the skill told him that he needed to put more effort into protecting the healers, the alchemist, and the apprentice of the space mage. He also learned that the viscount''s son did not like his blow and that the healers refused to treat this idiot. Noticing the vampire, he was convinced of his prediction, if she did not start drinking blood today, she would become too ill and would not be able to move at all. Nick could of course share his blood with her, since he had an unknown amount of life force in his sword, but he did not want to act as a feeding trough for the vampire. It was not that he hated her or anything like that. Maybe if they were friends he would agree, but that was not his problem for now. Today should be a great opportunity for the Vampire to have a bite to eat. Looking around the camp, he noticed Linella pestering Seth. But in this case, she had no chance, his antisocial nature extended to everyone. Looking further around the camp, he did not notice anything remarkable. As much as I would like to earn myself more levels, today I will be protecting support. As Nick was about to approach the prince, he just caught everyone''s attention. "Dear classmates, we are going to leave in 30 minutes so be prepared. We will be divided into three groups, two groups will consist of 7 people and the last one will contain everyone else. The task of the two groups will be to scout the surrounding area so that the main group does not get ambushed. They will also be looking for various resources and killing monsters. The two groups are allowed to kill monsters only if they are spotted and they attack first. Meanwhile, the main group will move behind them in the river. In the evening, we will decide whether we can set up a new, more decent camp by the river. Any questions?" "Yes Prince, who will be recruited for the reconnaissance groups?" asked one of the weapons adepts. "I''d like them to be warriors and have two mages with them for cover. Who wants to go on reconnaissance missions?" People were called in turn and the prince made two groups at his discretion. In the first group there were 4 adepts who fought with Ent, Fire Mage, Nathan Spelsword and Linella. In the second group they sent five adepts of weapons, Earth Mage, and Ice Mage. The only one he knew was the guy who had taken it from him yesterday. The prince chose the leaders among the groups, and it was quite obvious that he chose Fire Mage, in the second group the prince chose the Adept of Halberd as the leader. Name: Eugene Harden Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 45 Class: Halberd Adept [Rare] Lvl 4 Class: Not Selected Nick didn''t see anything special about his status, which wasn''t a surprise, it was hard to develop any art for the Weapon Mastery skill to evolve. The Prince gave the command and everyone set off, two groups went ahead as agreed, while the main one waited. Nick moved closer to the healers and the alchemist, in order to protect them in case of emergency. Their group moved out only half an hour later and moved absolutely slowly, the Prince made the shadow mage scout the area ahead for them, while they moved freely. The first hour while they were walking Nick did not notice anything special, but when they left the cursed territory, ordinary animals and insects became visible. The vegetation of the forest was also completely restored, their group was lucky to stumble upon a boar, which was immediately killed by a well-aimed shot from Ariana. Nick did not care as long as someone could skin the beast. Ariana was just about to do this, as the vampire volunteered for this role for an obvious reason. They stopped for a rest and waited for her to finish with this, she coped surprisingly quickly, in just half an hour. The vampire came out of the bushes carrying meat in her arms without a single drop of blood. She cut up the carcass quite carefully, took out all the organs and skinned it. Someone suggested cooking it right away, but that would be stupid. Nick thought that they were already a living beacon because of the smell of blood, and if there was smoke, monsters would constantly crawl towards them. Of course, the prince also refused this idiot. They simply put the meat in backpacks and everyone set off again. After another hour of walking, they came across a river, the others were overjoyed, but Nick found it strange. They should have been warned by the groups that they would soon arrive at the river. No matter how good Nick thought of the prince, he made the first mistake by not stopping the others when they started running towards the river. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "Stop! The other groups should have warned us that we were coming soon." The people stopped and looked at him with confusion, Nick didn''t pay attention to them, but rather listened to the smells, he could smell smoke, but he didn''t know where he was at all. Before he could say this, he saw orcs running towards them. Orcs were considered weak creatures, of course they were about three times stronger than humans in physical statistics, but they were completely lacking in intelligence. Orcs had a [Rare] race and received 24 characteristics per level, some especially smart orcs could have classes that would put them on par with some humans, but judging by Nick''s estimates, they were lucky today, they were absolutely wild orcs. They looked quite stereotypical, yellow skin, large fangs, wild eyes, about 2.4 meters tall. Race: §°§â§Ü [Rare] 40 Lvl Race: §°§â§Ü [Rare] 33 Lvl Race: §°§â§Ü [Rare] 21 Lvl Race: §°§â§Ü [Rare] 50 Lvl Race: §°§â§Ü [Rare] 38 Lvl Nick assessed all the orcs and activated the skill [Reincarnator''s Madness], he calculated what the orcs had on average in physical statistics: Strength 120 +(84¡ª200) Dexterity 60 +(42¡ª100) Stamina 100 +(70¡ª166) Vitality 100 +(70¡ª166) Constitution 120 +(84¡ª200) Perception 100 +(70¡ª166) Intelligence 20+(???) Wisdom 20 +(???) The orcs only posed a threat if they could hit, which was unlikely due to their low agility. While they were moving towards them, Nick was thinking about what to do, he could of course go and cut them all down without much effort, or he could use the mana to level up the Mage class. Having decided that he would level up the Mage class, he began to prepare a spell. "Don''t touch the strongest one, I''ll deal with him." Nick took his sword out of its sheath and began casting a level 4 spell, "Spear of Power," hoping it would be enough to kill or seriously injure the Orc. He spent 8 seconds on the spell, and had to quickly approach the strongest Orc and cast the spell almost point-blank. After releasing the spell, something resembling a blue glowing spear formed in front of his sword, the Orc was caught off guard and received a blunt blow to the chest, his ribs crumpled, and he himself flew toward his fellows. Nick decided that this was enough for him and hurried to quickly retreat to the line of defense of their group. Congratulations, you have defeated [Orc][Rare] Lvl 50 Congratulations, you have reached a new level in the [Mage of Arcane Will] [Rare] > Lv. 2 class. Nick liked the fact that his experience was not cut for being in a group. While he was in the line, the rest of the orcs came up to them and just mercilessly hit their sticks on the shields, their blows were very strong and the front line was bending, but before they could deliver the next blow, they were either pierced by spears or cut by swords. Nick was not at all surprised by what happened, it was natural, although the orcs were much stronger than humans, humans could still withstand one blow and decapitate them with their own. The last surviving orc was pierced by three spears, he was on his knees and in his rage tried to reach the others without success. At first, Nick did not understand why they hit him in other than vital organs, but when the vampire came up to him and sank her teeth into the orc''s neck, he understood. She literally drank him dry, it took her 15 seconds to leave only meat and bones from the orc, without a drop of blood. Next, the vampire drank the rest of the orcs, and now that he could take a better look at her, she really did look better. Nick caught himself thinking that he would not like to be in the place of the poor orcs. "Well, the other groups were most likely attacked as well and that''s why we didn''t get a warning, I suggest we go to the river so Max can assess whether the water is safe to drink." The prince spoke. The group approached the river and after the half-elf said that it was safe, everyone began to collect water in their canisters. Nick was no exception. After collecting water, he moved slightly away from the group and began to look around to find traces of the smoke that he heard. But this was unsuccessful. After 20 minutes, a second group joined them. The Halberd Adept reported to the prince that they were fighting with orcs, which was not surprising. The group had one wound, a man had a broken arm, Nick thought that they were still lucky. After a while, the second group arrived and then everything became interesting. Nathan and the fire mage were dragged in the arms of the adepts with a large number of fractures. Healers quickly ran up to them, along with the prince, the healers began to treat them, and the prince was full of anxiety. "What happened?" The prince asked with great concern in his voice to the completely beaten group, almost all of them had one or two broken bones, Nathan looked the worst of all, his ribs were broken and one arm was almost torn off, the fire mage was badly bitten on his arm where he had half of his bicep missing. The only one who was whole was Linella and it was not surprising. One of the adepts with several broken bones answered the prince. "We met 5 orcs, from Lvl 30-50, but one of them had the [Berserker] [Rare] Lvl 26 class. We noticed it too late, he activated rage and rushed at us. Nathan was able to hit him with several swings of the "aura sword blades", but they were useless. After the first blow, Nathan went flying, only thanks to Linella, we were able to win. She created an illusion that she tricked the berserker and he received a "flaming spear", but this was not enough to kill him. He was able to accidentally bump into Nathan and grab his arm, after several more blows of the "aura sword blades" to the head, the orc died. But he almost managed to tear off arm. The rest received fractures in the fight against the other orcs, one orc was able to get close to Russ and bite his arm. As soon as we killed all the orcs, we quickly came to you" The life mage was able to reattach the arm to the body and restore Nathan''s chest, which cost him almost all of his mana. The Arcane Healer limited herself to weak healing of the fractures and closing the open wound of the fire mage. Damn, what''s next? 26 Chapter Chapter 26 Nick thought about what to do, there could be class holders among the orcs. And a class like berserker was difficult to obtain, you needed a skill that increased the characteristics by a percentage when the user was enraged. In a word, you couldn¡¯t get this class by being angry at everything. Nick also couldn¡¯t understand that the orc had only one class. These stupid animals would hardly have decided to wait with choosing a class in order to get a better one later. This could mean that it was a single individual, or that there were more class holders. Having activated the skill [Reincarnator¡¯s Madness], Nick realized one very, very bad thing. The orcs had a leader, in this case it was an orc who had the shaman class. Alas, the skill didn¡¯t tell him anything more. But among the known classes, shamans were mainly engaged in magic that did not fall under the usual magic of people. Shamanism could strengthen orcs, control diseases, plants and all sorts of such things. Of course, for such classes there was no need for the characteristics of mental control, wisdom and intelligence. Basically, these classes relied on something that gave them strength, it could be the spirits of nature, the spirits of ancestors, and so on. In general, they were in a situation where the enemy had unknown abilities and unknown combat power. It''s hard, if I were here alone I would just leave here and hide like a mouse. But sooner or later they will find us. If the orc leader has a high level, then everything will be even worse. Nick didn''t want to talk about his foresight skill and therefore decided that he would influence events in such a way that they would not encounter the shaman. Now their group was near the river, they were not moving anywhere but waiting for the prince to decide what they would do next. "I think we should stay here and build a defense against the orcs, we can handle a few more and the class holders if they appear again." The prince said. Everyone in the group nodded and without further ado began to set up camp. Nick, in turn, was thinking about what to do. No matter what, he couldn''t defeat a [Shaman][Rare] Lvl 100 or lower. He urgently needed to figure out how to convince the prince to retreat and drag the wounded back to Ent''s territory. At first, he decided to include speculation in his arguments. "Evander, I suggest we take the wounded and retreat to Ent territory, we have no reason to risk the rest in a major battle against the orcs." "Hmm, you might be right Dylan, but I don''t think a couple of low classes will be able to pose a threat to us." "Evander, I disagree with you, if the orcs find out that we have set up camp here and they have reasonable leaders, they will gather a large group and overwhelm us with numbers. And that''s not counting the class holders. You yourself should understand that the Berserker class is hard to obtain and it is not weak at all. They will need 30 orcs and five class holders to completely deplete our resources, and considering that we cannot retreat to a safe place, the battle will turn into a bloodbath." The prince considered his words, trying to find inaccuracies in them. But in this situation, Nick was right. The prince was not a fool and decided to listen to his advice after all. "Okay, you''ve convinced me Dylan." Evander raised his voice and addressed everyone in the group. "I''ve decided that we should retreat now, I know no one likes it, It''s better to send people here for water every day and be on damned land Ent than to expose yourself to danger here now." Many were unhappy with the prince''s words, the wounded and scouts really wanted to rest, and those who were badly wounded like Nathan, or had several fractures, definitely did not want to move anywhere, besides, no one liked the dry land without signs of vegetation. Now many did not care that it would be more logical to retreat to the cursed lands and many would openly express their dissatisfaction if they were not led by the prince. Nick was glad that his bet paid off and they safely began to collect everything they could and go back to the beginning. Five minutes later they were already moving out in formation, those who had broken legs were carried by their comrades, and to Nathan even made a stretcher and he lay on it. After 15 minutes they came across 6 more orcs and this time they did not choose any strategy. Nick, Evander and Cassandra came out to the orcs. The orcs were about the same level as the previous ones. Nick quickly moved forward without using techniques, with a quick swing of his sword, he cut off the orc''s stick, which he did not expect, with the second blow he aimed at the neck, but his blow hit the arm and cut it. Two more orcs approached him from the sides, but he increased the distance and attacked the last one, leaving two to go around from his comrade. The new blow also cut the club and hit the orc in the chest. At that moment, Cassandra entered the fight, she attacked the orc he had wounded first. He had not yet had time to come to his senses, because of the almost severed hand, as claws made of blood tore out his throat. Nick turned his gaze to his orc and deftly dodged his tenacious arms ones, after which he cut his thigh and again moved some distance for the next orc. Nick lunged sharply and again cut the weapon of the third orc, but his momentum was not enough to rip his chest, this orc, unlike the others, tried to throw what was left of the club at him and Nick admitted that this could have been successful, he had to use the technique to become faster and dodge. Finding himself closer to the orc than he thought possible, he cut his neck. Now Nick had the opportunity to finish off the second orc, he was kneeling and trying to hold the wound on the thigh with his hands, growling in his language at the same time. Nick did not listen to him, the orc was delirious due to severe blood loss. Even if Nick had not touched him, he would still be dead. Nick cut off his head and the orc''s body collapsed. Nick turned his gaze to the prince who was fighting two orcs with a sword and shield, he systematically struck blows, and also easily redirected the blows of the orcs with a shield. Nick assessed the level of the prince''s fighting skills, the orcs were no match for him. Thanks to several skills that worked simultaneously, the prince was very good, although his characteristics were half that of the orcs. Cassandra was already drinking her second orc, Nick saw a large wound in the neck and this was enough for him to understand that she killed him just like the first. The prince''s fight was also coming to an end, although the prince did not hit the orcs in vital places, their injuries were accumulating, one orc did not have time to block the sword correctly and received a deep wound on his hand, the other apparently having decided that all the other orcs were dead began to retreat, which gave the prince the opportunity to finish off the first orc. When the orc began to run, the prince stabbed him in the heart with his sword. Their group came closer and they waited for the vampire to finish her snack. Many, like Nick, looked away from this sight. Nick checked his notifications and was disappointed that he had not gained a new level in the class. Congratulations, you have defeated [Orc][Rare] Lvl 32 Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Congratulations, you have defeated [Orc][Rare] level 40. You will receive less experience for winning in a group. Congratulations, you have defeated [Orc][Rare] Lvl 38 Going further into the forest, they did not come across anything unexpected, Oriana was able to shoot a deer, but they did not wait for the vampire to skin it. Having reached the old camp in 2 hours, the prince began his speech. "Well done, you did a great job with the first battle against the orcs. For the next week we will live in this place and send groups that will collect provisions for us and kill orcs. So now you can safely ask for houses, or sleep in the open air, as you like in general. We will count on the healers that they will be able to cure everyone during this week, after that we will decide what to do with the orcs." There was clapping at the prince''s speech. Nick, completely confused, turned his gaze and noticed teacher Elton and his assistant standing there. "Okay, okay, now it''s my turn. It was very reckless to take all the people with you for some unknown reason, I really thought about why you did it. After all, you could have guarded the camp with fewer forces and been safe. But no, you had to take 30 people with you and lay the most obvious trail to your hideout. If Seth hadn''t put so much effort into covering your tracks, most of you would be dead tonight. But no matter how good he is, you will be found in a day, maybe two. It all depends on the intelligence of the orc leader. I will take pity on you and tell you what you all want to know. She is [Orc] Lvl 138 and has two classes: [Ancestral Shaman] [Rare] Lvl 100 and [Orc Witch Doctor] [Uncommon] Lvl 100." The group went silent at these words, many could see how much they had almost screwed up. Nick was once again convinced how damn right he was. "Yes, I can see from your faces that you understand that this would be a massacre. The orcs you met were sent here in search of food, so they did not pose much of a threat to you. The shaman already noticed they were missing and went to find out why these orcs did not return. If you still think that you can kill orcs with impunity, I have to disappoint you. Most orcs with classes have either huge stone weapons or metal ones. So brace yourself, you will all soon have a hard time. But you are lucky that half of the corpses were used by Cassandra, it will slow down the shaman for a while. So you have a day to get the hell out of here. Any questions?" Nick, like the others, thought that they could ask the teacher and Nick decided to ask about the main problem. "What does the Shaman class do?" "Hmm, yes, I knew you weren''t completely stupid. I''ll answer this question. Her class infuses the spirit and will of the ancestors into the orcs, roughly speaking, she is a buffer, she can also cause small weather phenomena such as rain, a larger harvest. But her most dangerous ability is to give skills. The berserker you saw received the skill [Ancestral Fury] [Uncommon] it is a strong skill by human standards, but with a lot of disadvantages. The skill kind of gives control over the body to the spirit of rage that remained after the death of the orcs, in this state it received an increase in all characteristics and a large strengthening of the body. The skill does not cost stamina, mana, or anything else. The main disadvantage is that the orc turns into a mindless puppet, each time and the longer the orc uses the skill it is more and more difficult to break out of the state of rage, the skill undermines all the mental characteristics of the user forever and the longer the skill lasts, the stronger the consequences. So have considering that there are still a couple of orcs with skills that they received from the shaman." Nick thought about it, the skill was really strong, but it was only [Uncommon] level. How many other similar skills were there. The fact that the skill didn''t use the usual resources for them was also strange to him. Nick couldn''t understand how the skill that relied on this school of magic would work. "Teacher Elton, is the shaman''s magic really that strong?" Nick asked. "No, no. I wouldn''t call this magic strong. It relies on spiritual energy, which is summoned with mana and works on it. Let''s say that berserker''s skill was really strong, but that was the ceiling of such a skill. A shaman can summon such effects, but the stronger they are, the more she has to pay for it. Sometimes with mana, sometimes with life force, perhaps lifespan, or any other extraordinary way. In principle, she is very similar to ordinary mages, but with different limitations. What they are, you will learn later if you encounter her. This concludes our lesson today." Before anyone could say another word, their teachers flew away again. The class was confused, everyone was thinking about what actions they could take to survive. The prince took the floor. "We''ll spend the night here today, and tomorrow we''ll move in the opposite direction to the orcs." Nick activated the [Reincarnator''s Madness] skill and confirmed that it would be a truly safe option. Nick examined his status and poured all of his free attribute points into mana regeneration. Name: Dylan Ghostblade (Nick Miller) 15 years old Race: Evolved Human [Rare] Lvl 27 Class: Mage of Arcane Will [Rare][Uniquely] Lvl 2 Class: Adept of the Art Phantom Sword [Rare] Lvl 2 Health 1510/1510 HP 2.265 HP/hour Mana 809/2290 MP 1.89 MP/hour Endurance 1300/1660 ST 24.9 ST/hour Statistics: Strength 141 Dexterity 159 Stamina 166 Vitality 151 Constitution 150 Intelligence 161 Wisdom 146 Mental Control 180 Willpower 266 Perception 154 Charisma 45 Mana output 166 Mana 229 Mana Regeneration 189 Luck 37 0 free attribute points Titles: Otherworldly Reincarnator [Legendary+], Special Skill Holder [Special], Contract with the Emerging Spirit [Uncommon], Class Line Progenitor [Legendary][Uniquely], Mage of Arcane Will [Rare], Adept of the Art Phantom Sword [Rare], Holder of the Unique Skill [Special][Uniquely]. Racial Skills: Fast Recovery [Rare+] Quick Learning [Uncommon] Low adaptability of characteristics [Common] Minor Adaptation [Common] Lesser Mana Core [Common] Low Mental Resistance [Common] Lvl 44 Low Poison Resistance [Common] Lvl 21 High Pain Resistance [Uncommon] Lvl 142 General Skills: Reincarnator''s Madness [Special][Unique] Lvl 402 Great Identification [Special] Lvl 401 Fake Status [Special] Lvl 401 Language Proficiency (Ramiast) [Uncommon] Lvl 168 Life Force Manipulation [Uncommon] Lvl 112 Lesser Spiritual Sense [Rare] Lvl 202 Lesser Soul Energy Manipulation [Rare] Lvl 201 Class: Mage of Arcane Will [Rare][Uniquely] Lvl 2 +90% to skill development speed, +90% to understanding your own class. Class Skills: Magic Arcane Will [Rare] Lvl 207 Great Meditation [Rare] Lvl 205 Manipulation of Mana [Rare] Lvl 203 Mana Sense [Uncommon] Lvl 199 Casting Spells [Uncommon] Lvl 190 Magic of Stone [Uncommon] Lvl 132 Magic of Predictions [Uncommon] Lvl 123 Lesser Aura of Arcane Will [Common] Lvl 27 Parallel Thinking [Uncommon] Lvl 104 Class: Adept of the Art Phantom Sword [Rare] Lvl 2 +60% to skill development speed, +60% to understanding your own class. Class Skills: Phantom Sword Mastery [Uncommon+] Lvl 170 Stamina Manipulation [Uncommon] Lvl 144 Awakening of the Ghost [Uncommon+] Lvl 108 Ghost Flicker [Uncommon+] Lvl 107 Accelerated Perception [Uncommon] 103 Lvl 27 Chapter Chapter 27 After the teachers left, Nick decided that he would actively restore mana all night, he hoped that the lack of sleep would not greatly affect his characteristics. For people, not sleeping was not an option at all, first mental characteristics dropped a little, then the speed of recovery of vitality and endurance, then physical characteristics dropped, the last was a decrease in the pool of vitality and endurance. Nick, as a mage, needed mental characteristics and so that he did not feel tired and inattentive. Nick estimated that now it was better to check how well he could endure a day without sleep with active mental stress than to do it later. And he would not refuse mana. Early in the evening, he spread out a sleeping bag and lay down in it, starting to collect mana. This time he was actively developing this skill, he collected as much mana as possible from the surrounding area and circulated it through his body as quickly as possible. Nick was sorry that he never fully understood how the mana output characteristic worked, of course he could pull 166 MP per second from the core, but he never fully understood how this characteristic affected the mana capacity of his body. He tried to collect as much mana as possible and over the course of several hours of active collection, he was able to fit 450 MP into his body, he felt that this was close to his maximum, but it did not cause a mana overload. He did not delve deeper into this issue, but assumed that in this case, the mana output characteristic and constitution are added together with something in order to give such a result. Continuously circulating mana around his body and condensing it near the core, he was able to achieve the maximum speed of mana recovery, namely 18.9 + 50% = 28.35 MP / hour. But this had its own big minus, he greatly strained his willpower and mental control. When the sun rose he was completely exhausted, his thoughts were moving slowly and he could not figure out exactly what he should do. After a few minutes, he was able to collect his thoughts and see how much MP he had recovered in 11 hours. It was 312 MP, looking at his total resource indicator, he was satisfied. Health 1510/1510 HP 2.265 HP/hour Mana 1121/2290 MP 1.89 MP/hour Endurance 1573/1660 ST 24.9 ST/hour Nick quickly grabbed a bite of the remaining meat, only now did Nick realize that yesterday he hadn''t grabbed himself any tasty food from the roasted boar and deer. Damn, what an oversight. Because of Teacher Elton, I completely forgot about this. Looking around the camp, he could indeed see that people had yesterday we lit a fire. Now the prince was leading the others so that everyone could quickly leave the camp and set off to the approximate location of the river. Nick had not showered for several days, now he was in completely dirty armor and even he was starting to get tired of how he stank. Usually people did not feel it when they got used to their own smell, but due to his high perception, he easily felt it. In his thoughts, Nick simultaneously listened to what the prince was about to say. "Dear classmates, today we will go from here and look for a decent place to set up camp. I want to send five groups of two people so that they can scout the direction ahead of us and, if possible, gain levels and bring us loot. Yesterday I thought about who it could be and chose ten people for this." The prince named the four adepts who fought the ent, he also mentioned Cassandra, Linella, Seth, Ariana, Eugene the halberd adept and him. Due to his inhibited state, he did not immediately understand this, but of course answered to the prince''s request. "You may pair up as you wish, I hope our movement will remain unnoticed." Everyone the prince named began to gather in a group, Nick was also among them. He tried to turn on logical thinking and tried to choose a partner for himself by qualities, but he did not have time to do it. Linella came up to him and hugged him around the waist. "Cute, i''ll be to you, you''ll protect me, right?" She said, making touching eyes. Nick wanted to refuse, but thinking that it would not be the worst option for him, he agreed. He wanted to gain experience, and Linella''s magic could be very useful. "Okay, so I will protect you." He said and winked. Linella smiled in response. She held him tightly in her arms for a long time, until the others decided who would be in pairs with whom. The first pair consisted of the [Adept of the Sword and Shield] and the [Adept of the Spear], the second group had the [Adept of the Spear and Shield] and the [Adept of the Sword and Shield], the third pair had Cassandra and Seth, the fourth pair had the [Adept of the Halberd] and Ariana. The prince approached them again, they briefly discussed at what distance and where they would move, what would be considered a threat. Nick said goodbye to the others and went with Linella to the area assigned to them. He walked calmly ahead, and Linella walked two steps behind him, at first she behaved quietly and did not bother him at all, but after 10 minutes she stopped holding back. "Dylan, how do you like our walk? Does this seem like a date to you?" She asked and walked up to him. Nick wanted not to answer, but then changed his mind. "You''d be right if we weren''t in a cursed forest, that''s romantic to you?" Linella caught his eye and smiled seductively. "Of course, with a guy like you, anywhere would be romantic." She said and gently ran her finger along his arm. Nick held back his reaction as best he could. He was a teenager and couldn''t shake off the influence of hormones. Besides, Lynella knew how to seduce guys, whether she did it like a complete and accessible idiot or she pretended to be one. He didn''t know yet, which was surprising. He noticed that he saw her as a predator less and less now. Treacherous. He thought with a smile, Linella thought that he smiled at her and she responded with her even more seductive smile. Nick decided that something had to be done about this topic of conversation and asked his question. "Linella, tell me about yourself, I heard that you are the daughter of a baron, how did you become an [Illusion Mage]?" "My father is Baron Rhythm Mei [Sound Mage] [Rare] 200 Lvl, [Baron] [Rare] 256 Lvl. When I was a child, I really liked his magic and I also decided to became a mage, during my growing up I began to understand magic easily, but I owned the best at illusion magic. Then when my father found out about this, he invested all the money into training me and buying alchemical mixtures to increase my characteristics. After years of practice, I was able to choose the [Illusion Mage][Rare] class." "Interesting, my story is somewhat similar, I think you''ve heard about my family. My father was disappointed at first that I wanted to become a mage, but after we agreed that if I couldn''t become a full-fledged mage by the age of 15, I would take [Adept of the Art Phantom Sword] [Rare] as my main class. But I was able and now he doesn''t object to my choice." "Seeing you, I would never doubt that you would become a good mage." She said with a smile. As they walked through the forest, Nick examined it for tracks, he tried to listen to sounds and relied on his sense of smell. He noticed something that smelled like blood. Nick signaled Linella to be quiet and stopped. Relying on his sense of smell, he went in the direction from which the wind was blowing. Walking very quietly, he noticed between the trees 150 meters away a flock of crows that were eating a dead deer, assessing them, he was very surprised. Race: Cunning Mana Raven [Rare] 23 Lvl Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Race: Cunning Mana Raven [Rare] 29 Lvl Race: Cunning Mana Raven [Rare] 27 Lvl Race: Cunning Mana Raven [Rare] 40 Lvl Race: Cunning Mana Raven [Rare] 13 Lvl Race: Cunning Mana Raven [Rare] 24 Lvl Race: Intelligent Mana Raven [Rare] 30 Lvl Class: Hidden Assassin [Rare] 18 Lvl Class: Leader Cunning Crow [Rare] Lvl 34 There were about 40 ravens and they were eating a deer, Nick was surprised that among them there was someone with classes. These ravens fell under the category of mana beasts, and of course over time many can develop classes, but for it to be at such a low level, it was rare. Usually such beasts could use basic mana manipulation in order to get some minor features. For example, cover themselves with shadow mana to better hide, or manipulate the air for better maneuverability, maybe strengthen their body with mana. Usually all this was not a problem, but considering that they had a leader and that they were most likely almost intelligent, it could mean a great danger. Nick assessed his chances and thought that he could deal with them using his mana. He leaned towards Linella and gently whispered in her ear. "Look ahead there is a group of almost intelligent ravens with an intelligent leader. We will go there and if they attack us, we will fight back. I hope you have enough strength to resist them." Lynella nodded decisively and prepared for battle. Nick began to move much faster using the weak movement technique "Silent Step". Lynella ran after him using a spell that completely neutralized the sound. They were able to approach unnoticed and they still had 30 meters to the ravens, but one of them noticed them. He began to caw loudly and quickly flew up, which alerted the whole group. The ravens flew up into the trees and watched them silently assessing them. Nick at first lost sight of the leader, but assessing everyone in a row was able to quickly find him. Nick knew that some birds could learn human speech and he was curious if a raven could talk. "Hello to you, I don''t think you''re going to attack us?" There was silence in response, Nick hoped for two possible outcomes: first, the crows would attack them, second, the leader would start a conversation with him. But apparently, if he did not provoke them, they would not attack him. The leader of the crows croaked a couple of times and the whole flock flew away from them. Well, the crows were indeed smart, too bad. Shrugging, he went on, Linella no longer started a conversation with him, but calmly wandered through the forest. Nick was sure that they should have met more large animals, but they did not meet anyone larger and stronger than a squirrel of the [Uncommon] level. Their journey took about five hours, every two hours they returned to the prince and reported on what they managed to find. After five hours, Nick heard the sound of water in the distance and was incredibly happy about it. They came to a river, it ran between large stones, where for the nearest 20 meters from the river there were no trees, Nick really liked what they found. He wanted to go back to the prince to report this, but near the nearest tree he noticed a shadow. A moment later he saw something fall on Linella and she dissolved in pink smoke. Nick expanded his [Aura Mage of Arcane Will] and turned on [Ghost Awakening], [Parallel Thinking], [Accelerated Perception], he was ready to rush at the enemy, but noticed Linella at the edge of his aura who was invisible. When the fog cleared, he saw an unknown creature, it was humanoid, about his height with thick fur had sharp claws like a sloth, its head was disproportionately small in relation to body, he did not see its eyes, but a large mouth with a bunch of sharp fangs and a nose like a noseless monkey slightly frightened him. The appearance of this creature was very wild and predatory. Nick assessed it. Race: Ceros [Rare] Lvl 78 The name didn''t mean anything to him, the creature was no longer confused and quickly attacked him. It was a lightning fast move that he barely managed to block, he bent heavily under the blow and almost dropped his sword. The strength of this creature, according to him, was about 350, and agility even more. The creature struck again and Nick could not block it with his sword, he poured all the mana he could into his left hand and took the blow. His barrier was cut along with his hand, his hand was hanging on by snot. Thanks to a large amount of adrenaline and the skill [High Pain Resistance], he barely felt how his hand was cut off. He managed to use the technique before the creature struck again and counterattacked. He was able to leave a deep cut on his hand, but the beast retreated too quickly. Nick feverishly thought about what he could do, pouring mana and will into the stone under his feet, he retreated a couple of steps. The creature screamed a very loud scream that made him disoriented, his head spinning and he would not have been able to dodge the next blow if sharp stones had not grown from the stone right at the creature''s feet and shot upwards at the creature''s feet. The beast received three small stone darts, two hit the legs and one hit the arm. When he was able to stand on his feet again, he used a weak healing spell to stop the bleeding and began to absorb all the life force that was in the sword. Nick didn''t have time for precise mana calculations and spell optimization, so he cast using only his will. A pink mist formed around him and he rethought everything that had happened. The creature had struck 4 times in just a few seconds and Linella had no chance to intervene earlier. Without wasting time, he left the sword between his legs and threw three daggers at the creature at once, because Linella''s spell had not yet begun to work, the creature was able to block all of his daggers. It moved forward again, but abruptly took a step to the right and struck the air, the beast was not stupid at all and quickly retreated from the pink mist when it realized that it had attacked an empty shell. From outside it, it was watching them and waiting for an opportunity to attack. Nick once again quickly assessed what he could do. The most reasonable thing in his case was to use stone magic, but without a surprise attack, this beast would repel or dodge the projectiles as quickly as it did with the daggers. There was no point in using a power spell, they were very weak and were only good for buying time. Nick came to the conclusion that he had no weak spells that he could use to harm this creature at a long distance. He always relied on his superior speed, but now the enemy was faster than him. Without the illusion spell, he would already be dead. Nick activated the skill [Reincarnator''s Madness] in the hope that it would tell him something, but it was empty. The creature had no noticeable weaknesses that his skill could find. Deciding to wait for Linella, he said what he should have asked much earlier. "Linella, I hope you can create illusions of me that aren''t in this fog so that they move at about my speed." Linella shook her head behind him and replied. "No, I can''t do that. You''re too fast, I can create two copies of you outside the fog, but they won''t move as fast as you." Nick nodded in response. "I think I''ve come up with a plan, create a spell, I''ll pour my mana into it and let''s hope for the best." The beast was still wandering outside the fog and waiting for it to dissipate, it made some unintelligible sounds and licked its huge teeth with a long tongue like a reptile. It took Linelle five seconds to create two copies of it, they looked identical to him, but they did not have his aura. They approached Nick, he put his remaining hand on one illusion and poured his mana and will into it, he did the same with the second one. He used up all his will on the last illusion, but now they looked alive. He thought it through the most successful techniques he knew and prepared to attack. His illusions quickly jumped out of the fog and he was right behind them, the illusions moved with exactly the same grace as him and could reach even greater speeds, they were impossible to distinguish without using advanced mana senses, or something that accurately estimates the weight of a target. The beast dodged the lunge of his illusion and counterattacked, but his clone easily got out of the way. His second copy went around the beast from behind, and he attacked from the front. The beast could not tell who was who, and tried to break out of the encirclement, but his copies blocked his exit. They all attacked at the same time and the beast tried to block and dodge all the attacks. Nick quickly used one of his techniques and abruptly changed the direction of the blade. He was able to cut off the beast''s arm, but it immediately realized that the rest were not dangerous, even ignoring the pain, he delivered his blow, which Nick blocked and rolled from the force of the blow, he twisted his arm and he felt it. He was quickly surrounded by fog, but the creature decided to finish him off and paid no attention to it. The beast attacked him, but struck half a meter ahead, Nick was very grateful for the well-timed illusion. With a quick movement, he set his hand and lunged, he created a weak spell of power on the end of his blade. His strike was blocked by claws, but the blue light that emanated from his blade caught the right eye of the beast. Straining his physique, he poured much more stamina than he could withstand into the next technique. His body blurred and with a quick swing of his sword, he cut the small neck of the creature. The beast panicked and broke out of the fog, his scream deafened him and made him fall, Linella also fell, but she was able to hold on to the fog spell. The beast retreated beyond the spell''s range, but he did not have time to go too far, his movements slowed down, but he was able to get away. Nick was lying down and couldn''t get up anymore, he had lost a lot of blood, his weak healing spell couldn''t close the wounds completely. Using the mana that was in the sword, he healed his wound better, with the help of mana sense he noticed that his hand was torn away from his body, without the large amount of life force that he kept in the sword, he would definitely be dead already. Lying down he heard Linella get up and come to him. She checked his pulse and sighed in relief. "I hope this creature dies, who knew that something so strong could live here." Nick could no longer hold his attention and two minutes after the beast ran away he received a notification, seeing it he smiled and lost consciousness. Congratulations, you have defeated [Ceros][Rare] Lvl 78 . You will receive less experience for winning in a group. Congratulations, you have reached a new level in the [Mage of Arcane Will] [Rare] > Lv. 5 class. Congratulations, you have reached a new level in the [Adept of the Art Phantom Sword] [Rare] > Lv. 5 class. 28 Chapter Chapter 28 Nick regained consciousness, his head was spinning and his body was in terrible pain. At first he couldn''t understand what had happened, but then he remembered that he had been badly injured in the fight with the monster. He was able to open his eyes and tried to lift his head, but it was unsuccessful. A long moan of pain escaped his lips. Linella came up to him and stroked his head. "Forgive me Dylan, I can''t help you now, we''re left here by the river. I didn''t want to put you in more danger. I wouldn''t have been able to fight off the predators with you in my arms. You''re very lucky to be alive." Nick thought about it and admitted that there was some logic to her words. Protecting him in the forest from predators would be a bad idea, but he couldn''t figure out what would change if they stayed here. His head was in a fog and he couldn''t remember much of what had happened, he tried to say something, but his mouth didn''t even open. Nick focused on his spiritual sense and tried to find his sword, it was in Linella''s hands. Nick''s life force was dangerously close to the bottom mark. Gathering all his strength, he said one word in a very hoarse and quiet voice. "A sword." Linella, who was standing next to him, barely heard what he said. Not understanding why he needed the sword, she placed it in his hand and squeezed his fingers around the sword. Nick gathered all the will he had left and tried to draw in the life force from inside the sword. It didn''t work right away and every time he made a mistake, he panicked more and more. Finally, when he managed to pour the life force into himself, his head cleared up and the pain subsided a little. Nick was able to fully remember and think about what had happened. This was his first battle in which he did not have an unfair advantage over his opponent. In the heat of battle, he panicked a lot, but due to the feeling of hopelessness, his rational side prevailed over panic. He clearly remembered that when he lost consciousness, he was terribly afraid of possible death and completely forgot about the ring on his right hand, which was supposed to protect him. Lying down thinking about this, he felt his experiences that were mercilessly suppressed by cold logic. Losing his arm was a bigger blow to him than he wanted to admit. Throughout his new life, he often dismissed his experiences as unimportant, or illogical. He often faced danger with a cold face, or a slight smile on his lips, now he could tell himself that he was arrogant and simply did not face a real threat that could scare the hell out of him. The only thing left for him to do was to overcome his mental trauma, it would take him some time, but he was sure that he could handle it. Nick thought the fight through more carefully and was proud of himself for his tactical decisions and cold logic, he was of course very lucky that his will magic was able to act on Linella''s spell and change it. This slightly raised his spirits despite the terrible pain. After lying down for a while, Nick realized what a fool he had been. What the hell are these well-thought-out decisions? We could have escaped with Linella''s illusion magic after she cast the pink mist... Although the beast could have found us by the blood trail. And when Linella ran out of mana, we definitely wouldn''t have won. God, how lucky I was that I never thought about retreating. If I think about it, my hotheadedness saved my life. But of course the beast might not have found us , who knows? Mmm, live and learn. Next time I''ll try to think it through better. When Nick began to feel a little better, he spoke to Linella. "Linella, how long was I unconscious?" Lynella sat next to him and looked into his eyes while stroking his head. She thought about his question for a moment and decided to answer honestly. "You were unconscious for 3 hours. I hope they can find us, or we''re lost." Damn, in this condition I won''t be able to walk for a few more days, let alone fight monsters. "As I understand it, we hope that they will find us and take us to the camp." "Yes, but our main problem is your severed arm, I''m not sure it can be reattached to the body." "Yes, it will be very difficult to manage without an arm for some time. But let''s hope that my race and my racial skills will be able to make the healer''s job easier, if he can still restore my arm. Where is it by the way?" "She''s lying two meters away from you, by the way, why did you need a sword and how were you able to fight for so long despite such a mortal wound." Nick thought a little about what he should tell and decided that there was nothing special about it, so he would tell the truth. "This sword wasn''t taken from me because I made it myself, it can store mana and life force for me." Linella whistled in response. "Strong and how much life force do you have left?" Nick took a closer look at the sword and was upset by what he saw. "Half of my current pool." "That''s a pity, but how much mana do you have left?" "Only 1000 MP in the sword." "I have a mana pool of 2000 MP, and only 500 MP left. It will last for a long time, but there is no point in creating exact illusions like I did then." Nick was surprised, illusion magic was certainly not as expensive as strength or healing magic, but the fact that she spent so little mana on so many spells put her very high among the ratings in the class. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. "Are you that good at magic?" "Yes, unlike the power mages, I just create something from light, but of course precise illusions spend a lot of mana, but the main characteristic of my class is mental control. The rest is not so critical, but after our fight, I realized that I need intelligence and perception if I want to fight such strong monsters. It would be nice to learn a couple of attack spells." "Oh, and I need to learn how to optimize my spells, I''ve developed a bad habit of that. My spells are very powerful, but they cost an inexorable amount of mana.... By the way, I wanted to ask do you, could we escape from the monster?" Nick asked with a sour expression. "I honestly wanted to offer you this, but in the heat of the moment I quickly agreed to your plan. Perhaps we could have run far enough, or maybe the beast would have found us because of the blood. I don''t know, but let''s consider ourselves lucky." "Yes, you are right." Nick was glad to be distracted by the conversation, but because of the severe pain he couldn''t think too much, it was hard for him, so he decided to rest. He might not be able to sleep, but at least he wouldn''t have to strain himself any more. "Sorry, Linella, I would love to talk to you more about magic and tactics, but I''m too sick. We''ll do it later." "Okay Dylan. You can rest now." Lynella said and patted his head. *** The prince who was in the new camp near the river began to worry a lot. Lynella and Dylan had not returned to the group for 4 hours. He asked the other groups to find them, but so far this has not brought any success. Evander understood that they should be somewhere nearby and should be found soon, but he was still worried, in such a situation time was very valuable. Although Dylan and Lynella had their own oddities, he managed to like them. He would be very sorry if the rings worked, in which case he would not be able to see them for a long time. Never mind, the main thing is to continue searching. It''s unlikely that any beast will be able to kill them both. In the worst case, they can always escape. We need to send another group to search for them. *** Cassandra and Seth were looking for the missing couple. She wanted to think that the two were having fun together and had completely forgotten about time, but no matter how bad she thought of this slut, she had to admit that it was unlikely. Dylan, in her opinion, although very arrogant, had enough common sense to understand that such a long sex would make the group send people to look for them. Walking further through the forest, Cassandra smelled human blood, her sense of smell as a vampire for blood was very good. In this regard, she was like a shark and could smell blood at a distance of 10 miles. She changed her pace to an easy run and after five minutes she was able to see from which direction the smell of blood was coming. She picked up the pace even more and began to run quickly, Seth was no longer able to keep up with her and she had to slow down, a minute later they heard the sound of water. Coming out from behind the trees to the river and walking along the stone, she was convinced that the smell of blood was very close. The river went through large rocks that limited its exit to the shore, but because the rocks were not even, she could not inspect the entire area, having climbed the highest rock, Cassandra began to look out for what could have such a strong smell. In the distance, about 200 meters away, she saw pools of blood. She did not like what this could mean at all, there was so much blood that it would be deadly even for people like them. Taking Seth with them, they approached the puddle, having felt it and tasted it, Cassandra was convinced that it was Dylan''s blood. Being a vampire, she had many features and this was one of them, she could easily understand whose blood it was if she had been near this person at least once. Having inspected the place, she saw another handprint not far from this puddle, and Dylan''s blood was splashed everywhere. Having sniffed more closely, she discerned the smell of some kind of animal''s blood. There was not as much of his blood as Dylan''s, perhaps Dylan was able to inflict a few minor blows. Having tasted the beast''s blood, she did not find it familiar. With these samples, she could easily find both the beast and Dylan, but she had already discarded the possibility that Dylan was in this trial, he would not be able to survive the loss of such a large amount of blood, even with his race. Going around the circle, she smelled Dylan''s blood further along the river. Deciding to follow it, they came to a flat area of ????stone, sniffing she was sure that there was about the same amount of his blood, 10 meters from them the illusion dissipated and Cassandra and Seth saw a healthy Linella and possibly dead Dylan. Cassandra quickly approached, she was very angry and began to feel Dylan''s pulse. The first thing she asked was about what she could not understand. "Why didn''t you run away?! With your magic it would have been easy." She asked in rage, she even started to growl in anger seeing Dylan''s injuries. "He''s almost dead, how could you let this happen?!" Lynella could understand her anger so she answered more calmly than Cassandra might have thought polite. "We couldn''t, the creature tore Dylan''s arm off in seconds. He would have found us." Cassandra was taken aback by this statement and it dampened her anger. "And how are you still alive? How is he still alive? He''s been unconscious for a long time? Why didn''t you take him to the camp?" She asked and began to pour blood into Dylan. "Cassandra calm down, he just fell asleep. I didn''t know where the camp was and carrying him in that state would have been a bad idea. Dylan was able to kill the monster with his arm torn off, but as you can see it was hard on him." "And what kind of animal was able to wound him so badly in the first seconds?" "I don''t know. The notification said he was [Ceros][Rare] Lvl 78. The creature was very fast and strong, with big claws. Nick managed to catch him off guard and rip his neck open." "Okay, we''ll discuss that later. Aside from the fact that he has very little blood and his arm is torn off below the elbow. His body was working at its limit, his entire body is suffering from severe overload, many organs are damaged, his wrist on his right hand is cracked, the same arm is twisted, a large amount of muscle tissue is severely damaged. How is he still alive? I see that he used magic to close the wound, but it was not very successful on his part, it does not explain how he survived." "It''s Dylan''s secret, when you wake up you can ask him thyself." At Linella''s answer, Cassandra growled in anger, but decided to remain silent. Cassandra had spent almost all of her mana while silently healing Dylan, and she had only been able to stabilize his condition. Cassandra was not a true healer, so she had spent too much mana and life force on such ineffective spells. She could do nothing with the arm. Picking it up, Cassandra noticed something strange, Dylan''s arm had not lost all of its life force and had not begun to decompose. It was torn and torn, over time it would begin to decompose, but this also meant that it could be repaired. Drawing blood from her hands, she created a spell that would supply the arm with the oxygen it needed. Her blood flew out and sealed arm in a bloody cocoon. Taking the soft red cocoon in her hands, Cassandra felt that her spell was stable, this should be enough to sew the arm back on later. "And that will help save his arm?" Lynella asked. "Yeah, that should be enough. We need to wait until Dylan recovers a bit and then we''ll head to camp tomorrow." Lynella and Seth nodded in response. 29 Chapter Chapter 29 Nick woke up when the sun rose, he was sure that sleeping on a rock was not pleasant at all, but due to the pain in absolutely his entire body, except for his missing left arm, he still could not tell the difference. Looking at his status, he was not at all happy to see that his life force had dropped to 75%, now that he looked more closely, his stamina regeneration had dropped to 25%. Not fun at all. After looking at his status, he noticed a big increase in skills, and of course 30 free attribute points, which he immediately invested in mana regeneration. Name: Dylan Ghostblade (Nick Miller) 15 years old Race: Evolved Human [Rare] Lvl 27 Class: Mage of Arcane Will [Rare][Uniquely] Lvl 5 Class: Adept of the Art Phantom Sword [Rare] Lvl 5 Health 1370/1630 HP 2.445 HP/hour Mana 25/2590 MP 2.43 MP/hour Endurance 881/1870 ST 7 ST/hour 28.5 ST/hour Statistics: Strength 156 Dexterity 180 Stamina 187 Vitality 163 Constitution 165 Intelligence 167 Wisdom 146 Mental Control 204 Willpower 296 Perception 169 Charisma 45 Mana output 181 Mana 259 Mana Regeneration 243 Luck 37 0 free attribute points Titles: Otherworldly Reincarnator [Legendary+], Special Skill Holder [Special], Contract with the Emerging Spirit [Uncommon], Class Line Progenitor [Legendary][Uniquely], Mage of Arcane Will [Rare], Adept of the Art Phantom Sword [Rare], Holder of the Unique Skill [Special][Uniquely]. Racial Skills: Fast Recovery [Rare+] Quick Learning [Uncommon] Low adaptability of characteristics [Common] Minor Adaptation [Common] Lesser Mana Core [Common] Low Mental Resistance [Common] Lvl 44 Low Poison Resistance [Common] Lvl 21 High Pain Resistance [Uncommon] Lvl 160 General Skills: Reincarnator''s Madness [Special][Unique] Lvl 402 Great Identification [Special] Lvl 401 Fake Status [Special] Lvl 401 Language Proficiency (Ramiast) [Uncommon] Lvl 168 Life Force Manipulation [Uncommon] Lvl 115 Lesser Spiritual Sense [Rare] Lvl 202 Lesser Soul Energy Manipulation [Rare] Lvl 201 Class: Mage of Arcane Will [Rare][Uniquely] Lvl 2 +90% to skill development speed, +90% to understanding your own class. Class Skills: Magic Arcane Will [Rare] Lvl 218 Great Meditation [Rare] Lvl 210 Manipulation of Mana [Rare] Lvl 206 Mana Sense [Uncommon] Lvl 199 Casting Spells [Uncommon] Lvl 199 Magic of Stone [Uncommon] Lvl 136 Magic of Predictions [Uncommon] Lvl 123 Lesser Aura of Arcane Will [Common] Lvl 43 Parallel Thinking [Uncommon] Lvl 111 Class: Adept of the Art Phantom Sword [Rare] Lvl 2 This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. +60% to skill development speed, +60% to understanding your own class. Class Skills: Phantom Sword Mastery [Uncommon+] Lvl 179 Stamina Manipulation [Uncommon] Lvl 150 Awakening of the Ghost [Uncommon+] Lvl 113 Ghost Flicker [Uncommon+] Lvl 109 Accelerated Perception [Uncommon] 115 Lvl Nick lay on his back with his eyes open and thought that they had not yet been found, but when he heard Cassandra''s voice, he was incredibly happy. "Are you alive?" She asked and poked him with her foot. Even such a light push was very painful for him. Nick answered her with a hoarse voice. "Why did you decide that I was dead?" "Hmm, maybe that''s because you lost so much blood that you should have been dead?" "I think you''re right, but you saw my race, I had every chance to survive, I''m stronger than normal people." Cassandra threw something that Nick didn''t see. "Maybe so, how high is your life force?" "75%, but stamina regeneration is only 25%. How long ago did you find us?" "Early yesterday evening, it was hard not to hear your blood. As for the arm, maybe Max can attach it back, if he has mana of course. For some reason, your limb didn''t start to die off as quickly as it happens to all people." Cassandra asked with a subtext, Nick thought that this could be due to the Fast Recovery [Rare+] skill, after rereading its description, he realized that this was not the case. Fast Recovery [Rare+] - Your body restores stamina and vitality 50% faster. (The skill does not heal damage directly, it only gives more vitality for natural healing.) "I don''t know, I don''t have the skills to regenerate my body, I only use magic and life force to heal myself." Nick answered, but Cassandra didn''t believe him at all, the level of recovery she saw could be compared to her own, if she were 25 levels weaker. But she didn''t focus on it. "Okay, we''ll be heading to our new camp in 20 minutes. We made you a wooden stretcher yesterday, so take heart, this is not going to be pleasant." "Damn, I knew it would turn out exactly like this, I almost wish you hadn''t come here." "Yes, yes, as you say." Cassandra said and left. Five minutes later, Linella came up to him, knelt down in front of him and began to stroke his head. "How are you feeling sweetie, are you feeling like having some fun yet?" She asked with a silly face and a wink. "Ha-ha-ha!" Nick laughed and winced in pain. When he calmed down, he was able to answer normally. "I appreciate your irony, but it literally makes my heart hurt right now." "Mmm, that''s good. I''ll tell you something, yesterday Cassandra spent a long time healing you and spent all her mana on it, so be grateful. Also, Seth found the monster we killed yesterday, his claws are better than our weapons, so we almost win if they attach your arm." "Yes, that creature''s claws were comparable to my sword. I will repay them in the future, you don''t have to worry." "Okay." She said with a bright smile. Nick and Lynella sat in silence until Cassandra and Seth arrived, carrying a stretcher. They tried to gently place him in it, but it was terribly painful. Nick almost stopped considering himself a man because of the pathetic sounds he made. "Be patient!" Cassandra said sternly, which Linella did not like and she answered her. "He''s not a vampire, he doesn''t have the ability to regenerate, and it''s hard for anyone to cope with the pain of such a serious first injury." "I know, but he has to deal with it." Cassandra snorted and tightened her grip on his shoulders. He was lifted roughly and placed on a stretcher, now Nick could appreciate with mad pleasure how branches of different sizes cut into his back. It was even more terrible than lying on a rock, and he still had to spend the entire trip. "Gentlemen, how long until we arrive at the new camp?" he asked in despair. "We''ll be there in maybe three hours at a slow pace, we''ll need to move further up the river." Seth replied. "Mmm, sorry Seth for not saying hi to you." "It''s okay, I can understand why you forgot about it." He said with almost a smile on his face. Nick wondered why Seth was the way he was. He looked more like a ghost than a man, but he genuinely cared about their group and didn''t refuse assignments. When Nick first met him, he saw him as a cowardly boy, but now he realized that Seth was probably not worried about the boot camp, but rather about the close interactions with his classmates. Nick was slowly carried by Linella and Seth. Cassandra was carrying the corpse of the monster he had killed on her shoulder, Nick assumed that they were not ready to get rid of such a valuable animal. Most likely, they would take it to the alchemist for processing. They walked along the river bank, it was mostly flat and strewn with large stones, but they often had to go around the stones that blocked the way. During the walk, they did not meet dangerous animals, Cassandra grabbed a deer along the way and offered to eat a normal meal. Of course, no one was against it, the deer was cooked on the fire. Nick was incredibly happy with the new food. Of course, up until that moment, he did not want to eat at all, but when he smelled the aromatic meat, he almost choked on the saliva that had accumulated in his mouth. Linella had to feed him with her hands, which she enjoyed very much. Nick saw it in her eyes, but he could not complain since he could not raise his right hand anyway. The roasted deer was almost the most delicious meal he had ever had in his life, even though it was prepared without salt or seasoning. This is what hunger does to a person. Nick watched as everyone else ate the food with the same gusto, even Cassandra couldn''t tear herself away from it. This prompted Nick to ask about her. "Cassandra, why do you need to drink blood?" Cassandra didn''t notice his uncomfortable tone and answered his question. "Vampires are a cursed race, we must drink blood to restore our life force or else we will go crazy. Our stamina, life force, and mana recovery stats simply don''t work if we don''t drink blood. [True Vampires][Special] have an even higher blood requirement than [Young Vampires][Rare], this is because when we evolve, our [Blood Mana Core][Rare+] is transformed into a [Blood Core][Special++], I won''t tell you exactly what benefits this skill gives, but I will say that we transform the blood mana, stamina, and life force inside our core into blood energy. We still have all of our stats and can store the blood mana inside the core, but we aim to transform them into the energy we need." Nick thought about what Cassandra said. Hmm, this confirms my theory that her mana and life force do not recover unless she drinks blood. Very interesting. The fact that her core skill develops later is also curious. Most likely, the main advantage is that blood energy is better than life force, stamina and blood mana. It replaces all the functions of the three and enhances what it was needed for, convenient of course. But this somewhat limits young vampires. If she called her race cursed, it turns out that holy mana will be her the bane. It is also unclear how much time is needed to obtain blood energy and how much stronger it is than mana. Many questions. "Thank you for explaining it to me." Cassandra waved her hand in response. "Everyone in the high nobility knows this, so it''s nothing special. We had a good meal, so let''s get going." They made their way again and an hour later they were near the camp. When they entered the camp many looked at him in horror. Seeing him without an arm and covered in frozen blood was not the most pleasant sight. Someone quickly called the prince and he was already there in a second along with two healers and an alchemist. Evander was completely pale, it was clear how much he was worried about them. "Oh Gods, what happened to you Dylan, you look like a corpse, what happened to your hand?" Evander asked in a quiet voice. "Evander, don''t worry too much, I''m not dying. We were unlucky enough to encounter a [Rare] Lvl 73 monster." "Do you think it was bad luck? I see that you were dying. Let''s go, today we made a couple of wooden huts, we''ll discuss everything there." The prince went closer to the trees, there were two wooden buildings. Whoever made them did not bother with how. The houses were built from wooden trunks, which were slightly sharpened and put together so that they resembled a house, the size was small, about 5 by 5 meters and about 2 meters high. But Nick appreciated how much better it was than sleeping in the open air. Why didn''t we do this sooner? Yeah, it''s hard when we''re all a bit iffy about planning. Nick was carried inside and placed on what looked like a wooden bed. He was first examined by healers who confirmed that he was in a stable condition, then a long conversation began about what had happened. Nick told the prince that they had fought [Ceros][Rare] Lvl 78, that they had not thought of running away, and how they had managed to win. Nick even admitted to Evander that he had used the life force stored in the sword. The prince took their conversation normally and rethought his strategy. "Yeah, and how can you send people into the forest if such monsters can roam there." "I don''t know what advice to give you, but we might as well run into the Orc Leader and still all die." "You''re right, but we still need to think about the best squads. Well, this hut is yours, Linella has agreed to look after you until the healers restore more mana to reattach your arm." "Thank you Evander!" Nick said goodbye to the prince, this day was hard for him. And because of his poor physical condition, he was very tired, closing his eyes Nick quickly fell asleep despite the severe pain. 30 Chapter Chapter 30 Nick woke up from someone entering the hut, quickly getting his bearings he opened his eyes and saw Linella. To do this he had to quickly turn his head, which caused him to be momentarily lost in pain. Damn, when will this stop?! "Good morning Dylan, I brought you some food. I hope you have an appetite." She said with a sweet smile. "Good morning, although I wouldn''t call it good considering everything, but I wouldn''t mind some food." Linella walked over to his bed and placed the plate of food on the floor. "Mmm, great. Hold on, this is going to hurt." She took him by the shoulders and lifted him upright so he could lean against the wall. Nick gritted his teeth against the pain and was able barely to endure it. "For breakfast today we have fried meat along with the porridge that we were given in our rations." "To be honest, I don''t care, the main thing is to eat to get better faster." "That''s right, eat a lot and you''ll grow up big and strong." She said with a laugh, which managed to bring a weak smile to Dylan''s face. Linella cut up pieces of meat in a wooden plate and put one in Dylan''s mouth. Having eaten it, he appreciated that it was very good, the next thing fed him was something lthere was porridge, it was just tasteless, it seemed strange to him, but because of the taste of the meat everything was fine. Linella fed him with pleasure and occasionally they exchanged short phrases about something interesting in the camp. "Your condition has caused a great deal of unrest in the camp. You were already ranked among the top five, and considering that the two of us almost lost to the monster, it has caused a great deal of panic, and now few people want to leave the camp. The prince is trying to calm people down, but when I left, he wasn''t very successful." "Mmm, let''s hope people have the courage. If they don''t, we''ll all lose the test." "That''s if you think about the fact that we really have to go through it. I think we''ll be here either until we lose or until we get rid of all the dangerous monsters in this area. For example, the Orc Leader." "Yes, you''re right, but it could take us years." "Considering that we are a special class, and that each of us will live more than 150 years, this will not be a problem for teachers." "Damn, I don''t want to be here for that long." "I don''t want to either, but if you''ll occasionally brighten up my days, I might agree." Lynella winked lewdly, but Nick pretended not to notice. He wasn''t in the mood for it. The rest of the breakfast was spent in silence. When Linella had fed him, she said that she needed to collect mana and left. Nick was not at all against this, he himself should take up meditation. Without wasting time, he began to collect mana and surround his core with it; unfortunately, he did not have the strength to properly use meditation and get more mana. While Nick was meditating, Liam came into his house, he looked good as always, but his face was sad because of the state Nick was in. "Hi Dylan, how are you feeling? I couldn''t come to see you yesterday, I was in meditation and only heard what happened to you when you were already asleep. I decided not to disturb you at night. How did this happen?" Nick recounted the entire story of the battle with the monster again, while Liam listened with interest. "That was to be expected, of course, the forest is really full of dangers. I can''t imagine what would have happened if the teachers hadn''t cleared it of monsters that we had no chance against." Liam said, to which Nick nodded. "I think they specially prepared this place with monsters that we would be weak against on our own. I''m sure there will be a lot more trouble." "Mmm, that''s right. Right now the main problem is that you overloaded your body with technique to win, when you can heal is still unknown." "Alas, but I had no choice, let''s not talk about sad things. Instead, tell me how your progress in magic is going. I never had time to ask you about it." Liam smiled and told about his success. "I managed to create a spell that performs hydro-abrasive cutting. The spell turned out to be level 4, its cost at close range is not great, but the greater the distance, the weaker the spell." "That sounds powerful, what name did you give this spell?" Nick asked with interest. "I haven''t decided what to name it yet." "I see, then tell me how well it cuts stone?" "Stone is not a problem for this spell at all, when I trained with my parents, this spell cut through enchanted armor made of mana steel [Rare]. But it only worked at a very close range, of course, to do this you need a lot of concentration and a lot of mana. But the point is that I most likely have the strongest spell out of the whole group." Liam said proudly. "I wouldn''t agree yet, Cassandra also has some very powerful spells. And her stats are higher than yours." "Yes, but my spell is much stronger than the penetrating ability." Nick continued talking with Liam and arguing about different things, despite the severe pain in his body he was very happy to talk to his old friend. *** Three people who were supposed to gather provisions for the camp were walking through the forest in search of possible food. It consisted of three Weapon Adepts. Group were lucky to see a flock of wild boars in the distance, who were going to drink. Carefully surrounding them, they attacked simultaneously. The first adept was lucky to pierce the head of a boar with a spear and kill the next one before the flock reacted, the second sword adept quickly cut through the throat of another boar, the third adept was able to catch the fleeing boar by surprise and also cut its neck. The boars quickly ran away in fear and did not even think about revenge. The people were happy with such a large amount of meat. They did not even notice how a couple of insects crawled out of the nearest bush, the insects looked like worms with a long chitinous proboscis and ten legs like arthropods. One of them crawled onto a dead boar and when one of the adepts approached it, it quickly pierced his hand with its sharp proboscis. The sword adept got angry and slapped the bug before he could assess it, the others paid no attention to this. Taking the carcasses of the animals, they skinned them on the spot and dragged the meat to the camp. Race: Triatom Plague Carrier [Common] Lvl 7 A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. *** Nick spent the whole day in meditation, occasionally Linella came to him to feed him and examine his wounds. He had plans for the next few days to get the skill [Healing Magic], for this he of course needed a lot of mana, he meditated for 15 hours and was pleased with the result. Health 1463/1630 HP 2.445 HP/hour Mana 447/2590 MP 2.43 MP/hour Endurance 1126/1870 ST 7 ST/hour 28.5 ST/hour Not bad, I don''t regret investing stat points into mana regeneration at all. But it still takes too long, what the hell? Nick didn''t have time to complain too much about the unfairness of this world, as the prince walked in. He looked surprisingly good for a man who was stuck with a bunch of idiots in the middle of a magical forest, Nick chuckled internally at his joke and regretted it, as the slightest spasm caused agony. "How are you feeling Dylan?" "Like shit Evander, I''m sorry you''re a prince... I feel bad." Evander laughed lightly at his joke. "Don''t worry, in our circumstances we don''t have to mince words. And if you had followed etiquette, I would have gone for a healer." "Haha, oh damn, that hurts. Did you want something, or did you just come to chat? Why didn''t anyone come to see me today except Linella, and Liam?" "Everyone is busy patrolling the area and collecting resources. Today we collected a lot of meat and even found a couple of [Common] level medicinal herbs, they won''t help you of course, but they will be very useful for other people." "I''m happy for you, what else is interesting?" "Someone tried to fish in the river today, but they didn''t succeed. Which I honestly find strange, the river is not very big, only 30 meters wide, but there should be fish here." "If you think I know anything about fishing, you''re asking the wrong person." "Okay, Alistair was able to make a few knives from the monster you killed, he should finish the cursed weapon soon, so you need to recover faster, you''re first in line to use it in action." "Mmm, thanks, but I''ll refuse. Better give it to someone it will really help. It''s obviously not you, not me, and not Cassandra, but there''s still a big choice." "Okay, I won''t force you. The healers are slowly restoring your mana, but I''m afraid it will take them about 8 days to fully restore it, I''m sorry I can''t help you with that." "I''m not offended Evander, so don''t worry. Instead of them healing me, I would have asked them to teach me proper healing magic. It would be much faster than relying on them completely." The prince''s face changed from sad to happy in just an instant. "That''s right, you''re an [Arcane Mage], your healing spells may not be that good, but it would help everyone a lot if you mastered that magic. I honestly hadn''t thought about that. I will ask the healers to teach you magic." "Yes, yes. Sorry Evander, but I''d like to sleep." "Yeah, right, sorry. I''ll try to come earlier tomorrow. Good night." Evander left the hut, and Nick thought about how unpleasant it is to talk to a person when you are lying down. Of course, try to focus your eyes on him, how hard life is. After a series of unpleasant thoughts, Nick quickly fell asleep. *** The next day in the camp, the man who had been bitten by the insect started to have a slight cough. These were all his symptoms and he didn''t pay any attention to it at all. It was rare for people with a tall constitution to get sick, and even if they did get sick, the illness did not show strong symptoms and went away on its own after a few days. This man was used to living in a society where every [Disease Mage] was killed on the spot, where healers in all cities made sure that there were no advanced diseases, and when they were found, the entire city was quarantined. Therefore, it did not occur to him that this could be dangerous, not only for him, but also for all the people who came into contact with him. *** Nick woke up to the healers coming in with his food. He was almost not happy that Lynella hadn''t come to feed him in the morning, but he quickly pulled himself together. Thinking about how he hadn''t gone to the bathroom in a long time, Max interrupted his thought process with a conversation. "Hi Dylan, how are you feeling?" Nick rolled his eyes and wanted to make a sarcastic remark about how bad it was, but after thinking for a bit, he decided to make a sarcastic remark anyway. He knew he was a bastard and he didn''t care. "I haven''t been able to get out of bed for three days now and I''m sick of this question, I can''t answer it other than bad, or that I feel like shit, I''m sick of it. Now I''ll think about how to explain to people that I feel like a bag of bones, but only in other words." His answer was completely ignored and Nick can''t blame them. Max continued as if he hadn''t heard anything. "I hope you''re feeling better, we came to feed you and show you our healing spells, so I suggest you be more polite." Nick didn''t miss the Half-Elf''s subtext and nodded. Max began to demonstrate his life magic healing spell. Now that Nick knew what to look for, he could tell that the Half-Elf''s mana core was attuned to life mana. He was turned into a sitting position and while Max explained the spell, Kaeti Mercer fed him. "This is a tier 1 spell, "Accelerated Healing", it''s not very strong at all, its main function will be to slightly stimulate your natural healing." Max changed the spell form and began a new explanation. "This is a construction of mana conversion into life mana, I hope you put a lot of characteristics into wisdom, we have no place to write down our spells. So you will have to learn them from us quickly." "Fine." Nick expanded his aura and covered Max''s spell with it, he did not try to influence it in any way, but only to see it better. The aura enhanced his mana manipulation skills and mana senses. The spell that was sewn from countless threads resembled a ball that rotated inside itself, Nick found it strange, but very beautiful. Having examined the spell more closely, he saw that part of its design was created from life mana, but upon closer inspection he noticed that it was not life mana, but life force. Such a design fell under a minimum level 3 spell. Now he knew exactly why the [Life Mage][Rare] class gave +40 stat points per level. Thanks to this school of magic, he will be able to add the [Life Force Manipulation] skill to the [Mage of Arcane Will] class, although the [Healing Magic] skill may be enough for him to do this. Having seen the spell well enough, he tried to create it. Nick turned on the [Parallel Thinking] skill and the [Accelerated Perception] skill, this was necessary for better control of mana and life force. He pulled out the life force and mana from his body and began to create a spell, but no matter how hard he tried to create it on the first try, it did not work. The spell dissipated into thin air, he managed to retain all of his mana, but his life force was completely dissipated and he was unable to retain it, he was sorry to lose even these 50 HP. Seeing his failure, Kaeti hit Max on the head with her palm. "I told you he wouldn''t be able to cast that spell on the first try, he needs to conserve all the life force he has, and you''re making him waste it. Dylan, don''t listen to that idiot, he''s had life mana freely available his whole life. It''s better to start with arcane spells, watch this carefully." After Kaeti hit Max, he didn''t look guilty at all, ignoring her blow, he stood there as if it never happened. Kaeti began to create a level 2 spell "Directed Healing" between her hands. Nick was able to make a spell during the fight that was much stronger than this and heal himself better, but he did not receive the skill [Healing Magic] since formally his spell falls under level 1, he just made it so strong that its effect could be comparable to level 3. Nick had not previously devoted much of his time to healing magic, since he always had a large number of different healing potions in his ring, he had not seen the point in it before. The spell was much easier than the life mana conversion construct and he was able to easily create it on the first try and cast it on his right hand, he put 100 mana into the spell and hoped for a noticeable effect. A blue glow of mana spread across his right hand and he felt a good reduction in the pain in his limb, but he did not notice anything else. Turning his attention to the new notification, Nick smiled. Congratulations you have acquired a new skill [Healing Magic] [Common] Lvl 1 Congratulations you have acquired a new skill [Healing Magic] [Common] Lvl 1 31 Chapter Chapter 31 Nick had obtained the [Healing Magic] skill, this should greatly help him in his attempt to heal himself, each skill in the magic school made magic easier to use. Quickly adding the [Life Force Manipulation] skill to the main class, he decided to ask to learn a more advanced spell. "Kaeti, which spell would be better in my circumstances?" "It would be better in your circumstances to learn life magic, arcane healing requires more mana and better skill. Of course, you don''t have time to properly master the school of arcane healing and you can''t waste your life force on life magic, it''s up to you to choose." "What healing spells do you know, Kaeti?" "Hmm, I''m lucky to have learned a lot of spells": Level 1: "Accelerated Healing" "Directed Blood Coagulation" Level 2: "Guided Healing" "Accelerated Bone Recovery" "Accelerated Flesh Healing" "The Healer''s View" Level 3: "Recreation of Nerve Cells" "Flesh Control" "Life Force Manipulation" "Destruction of Bacteria" "Virus Destruction" "Acceleration Stamina Regeneration" Level 4: "Body Reconstruction" "Advanced Healer''s View" "In your case, I would use accelerated recovery on the body every day. I''ll upset you right away, you won''t be able to attach the hand to the body yourself. In my case, this requires two 4th level spells, Max needs one, but only because he has life magic and several skills that greatly help with this." "Okay, Max, do you have any advice for me?" The half-elf looked at him with a flat gaze and replied. "Learn the magic of life." Nick rolled his eyes in response. It was his own fault for asking something so obvious. "Okay, okay. Kaeti, show me the accelerated recovery spells for bones and muscles." Kaeti created a more complex spell between her hands. "To use these spells correctly, you need to know exactly where you are using them. If you cast the spell incorrectly, you may think that you have completely healed over time, but you may still have areas of your body where it does not work. If you use the "Technique" at this moment, you will receive multiple internal bleeding. This can even kill you, depending on how poorly you cast the spells. To do this correctly, you need to learn the spell "Healer''s View". With it, you can evaluate where and how to cast the restoration spell." "As far as I understand, the spell allows you to see the body from the inside in three dimensions?" "Yes, you can certainly try to do this with your sense of mana and aura. But to properly treat other people, this is not enough." "Okay, I get it." Having started to examine the spell, Nick realized that it works on the principle of scanning the body and at the same time changing perception by imposing on it what the spell sees. The spell was the peak of level 2 in complexity. Its casting required significant control, since the slightest change in the spell can incorrectly transmit information about the body. "It''s hard, how did you even learn all these spells before you were 15?" "Before I was 15, I knew 2 1st level spells, 4 2nd level spells, 1 3rd level spell, and a 4th level spell called "Body Reconstruction". I learned the rest of the spells after I got my class, and now I have 3 months left before I turn 16." "Still not bad. Max, you''re 20 years old? Yes? Why did you just enter the academy?" "Half-elves receive classes at age 20, elves at age 30." "And how many spells do you know?" "A lot." "You''re not a man of many words, okay, keep your secrets. But I''ll ask anyway, do you know combat spells?" "Hah, of course. You think my family are twisted healers?" "No, of course not, I''m just curious." "Even I know a few combat spells Dylan, though they don''t belong to healing magic." Kaeti said. "I understand that you need someone else''s protection so as not to use your mana, although you can stand up for yourself? "Of course I can stand up for myself, but wasting our mana on this instead of healing people is stupid for us." Max answered. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "I can''t stand up for myself against someone of my power level. I know a couple of spells, the highest of which is a 3rd level spell, and my mana output stat isn''t as high as I''d like." Kaeti replied modestly. "I see, thanks for your answer." Nick began to recreate the spell that Kaeti showed. He tried to weave it and even pour will into it, but he did not succeed. Trying further, he became very tired mentally, this happened because he did not want his mana to dissipate in the air. Strong control over mana cost a lot of will even for him. It''s good that I have 361 MP left, it will save me 10 hours of meditation. It''s a pity that yesterday I didn''t have the necessary willpower to use meditation correctly and get +50% to the amount of mana. After Nick''s failed attempts to learn the spell, Max and Kaeti left, leaving him alone. He didn''t have much to do, so he went back into meditation, trying to get an additional percentage of mana recovery from the skill. *** For three days, Nick had occasional visitors. He mostly meditated and practiced healing magic. He talked to Evander and Linella every day, and Cassandra also came to visit him along with Seth and Alistair. He had a pleasant conversation with them, and Cassandra brought his hand and showed him the spell she used to artificially support it. He talked to Seth about the correct use of endurance techniques. Nick apologized to him for not being able to teach him more in his condition and to demonstrate his techniques. Alistair came to carefully examine his sword in the hopes that it would tell him how to correctly place the spells and graft the cursed core into a wooden sword made of Ent. On the seventh day after his injury, Evander came to him along with Max and Caeti. He looked very upset, as did the other two. "Did something happen?" Nick asked. "Yes, it has happened. Five people fell ill with the plague. One is in serious condition, and the others are only showing mild symptoms so far." The Prince said regretfully. "And this is a big problem for us?" Nick asked, not understanding. "Yes, the plague is not ordinary, it is advanced. Max and Kaeti cannot cure it, they only alleviate the symptoms and remove the affected areas." "But Kaeti has spells to destroy bacteria and viruses." Nick asked in confusion. "The problem is that these spells are not able to kill only the disease in the whole body. If I were to use this spell on the whole body, it would kill not only the disease, but also all the bacteria. Which would leave the person too susceptible to the same disease, or any other. The spell "Destroy Bacteria" should only be used on completely infected areas of the body that can no longer fight the disease with their immunity. In order to cure the plague, you need a spell that I do not know, now we can only support the body until it copes with the disease itself." Kaeti answered. "And that means I''ll be especially susceptible to the plague and that you''ll have to heal people rather than repair my arm. That''s unfortunate, but is there a real chance we''ll die from the plague?" "Yes, and it''s very high. At first, of course, it won''t cause any particular problems, but when we start actively treating people, we''ll start running out of mana until either enough people die, or they can''t cope with the disease on their own." Max answered. "Max, can''t you cure the disease?" "Among my spells, there is only one that strengthens the body''s immune system, but I don''t have an exact spell to destroy the disease." "This is very bad and what do you plan to do?" "We will, of course, quarantine all those who are sick and hope that the plague has not spread among us too much." Evander replied. "Who got sick anyway?" "The first was Chester Larin [Adept of the Sword], then the people around him got sick. We haven''t figured out what caused the illness yet, but we''re sure it wasn''t because of the river. The main assumption is that they came across the plague in the forest and got infected." "Okay, I''ll take the [Disease Resistance] skill, that''s why you came to me, right?" "Generally yes, but we would like to get your advice." Evander said. Nick used the skill [Reincarnator''s Madness] and he didn''t like what he learned at all. Firstly, half of the camp was infected, he didn''t know who exactly, but he knew that Cassandra, Seth, Evander and Max were healthy. This gave him the idea that Kaeti might be infected, but didn''t know it yet. Secondly, he learned that at this rate, the healers would run out of mana and the probability of several people losing the trials was almost 100%, but that was if he did nothing. Thinking over a strategy, he answered the prince. "It''s too late to isolate only the people who are definitely infected with the plague. We need a full quarantine, for everyone. We need to isolate everyone one by one, or two by two. Max and Cassandra will be the ones interacting with them, it will take something stronger than this disease to infect them. But that puts us in a very bad position because of the amount of provisions. I hope we have enough food for about 4 days, so that we can determine with limited success who is infected and who is not. Healthy people can then be sent out to hunt, but we still need to keep the isolation so that everyone only comes into contact with Cassandra and Max. We should also prioritize Alistair in creating a cure for the plague." "I''m sure it will work, but if some powerful monster finds us, we will be too vulnerable to it. Is it worth the risk?" Evander asked. Nick wanted to answer that there was such a possibility, but if they didn¡¯t do it, someone would definitely go to the academy before the rest. "I think it''s worth it." Evander, Kaeti and Max thought about his proposal. They all thought it was logical, but everyone thought about their circumstances, it was unknown whether the Orcs were still searching and whether they would be able to find their camp during the isolation. Also, the appearance of a strong beast or a group of monsters should not be ruled out. If they did as Dylan suggested, it would greatly undermine their defenses and food supplies. Evander decided to think about it today and decide later. "Okay, we''ll think about it and consult with the others. Have a nice rest." As they left, Nick thought about whether he had managed to convince them or not without revealing his [Special] Prediction Skill. Nick thought that even if they all went to the academy early, he still shouldn''t do it. The potential of such a skill was too great, and if people found out about its existence and found various weaknesses, its effectiveness would drop greatly. Although Nick was currently too vulnerable to the plague, he wasn''t too afraid of dying. With his new [Disease Resistance][Common] skill and the healing magic that he could only use on himself, he knew he could handle it. *** The next day, Evander walked around the camp, carefully checking people for symptoms. As much as he hated to admit it, Dylan was right. He noticed several more people coughing. Deciding that he needed to do something fast, he followed Nick''s plan. Standing on the highest point, he raised his voice and began to speak. "Comrades, classmates, I call your attention to announce bad news. There are several infected with the plague in our camp." Evander saw the lack of understanding of the people and the faces that said "is this really a problem?" The prince was upset that most of the nobles really did not understand this problem, people needed better training to understand the common people and their problems. Without being distracted by his thoughts, he continued. "I see that many of you do not understand the main problem, but I will explain it to you quite simply. Over time, a large number of people will become infected despite their high constitution characteristics. To treat them, mana is needed, which we do not have much of. Over time, the amount of mana that healers use will exceed regeneration. Then the symptoms will begin to worsen until some people either die or recover. To reduce the spread of the plague, I have decided that everyone will be isolated one person at a time for three days." There was a murmur that even the prince found hard to bear, Evander was beginning lto jelly that he had volunteered to be the leader as his father had asked, it was causing more trouble than it was worth. Many objected to his decision and called it unfounded, or simply did not want to agree with him. Now he should show his character so that there would be fewer such incidents in the future. "Silence! I say that everyone will be isolated and this is not discussed. If we do not do this, then everything will happen as I said. You will have time to choose a place for yourself in which you will spend the next three days and it cannot be by the river. Further circumstances you will learn from the Healers." Evander said and left, while the others complained about his unfair and harsh attitude. 32 Chapter Chapter 32 Nick learned from Max that a quarantine had been declared. He was told that each person had their own place to live. Some were lucky enough to stay in wooden houses like him, some simply dug holes in the ground and now live there. Nick was happy with the current circumstances, he tried to use the skill [Reincarnator''s Madness] again, but for some reason it didn''t work. Nick hadn''t yet understood the skill''s limitations, and there was nothing in its description that would help him. He assumed that there was either some kind of cooldown, or a limit on what he could learn from one event. For now, he decided not to find out the skill''s limitations. After talking to Max, he began to heal his body further. Yesterday, he was able to accumulate a lot of mana for his condition in a day. He managed to raise the mana growth +20%, now his mana pool was 825 MP. In the week since breaking the limit of his body, he did not notice any significant healing. If things continue like this, I''ll spend too much time healing. I was warned that if I overload my constitution, the consequences will be serious, but not that much. Maybe the fact that I lost a lot of blood somehow affected it? I don''t know. It''s good that the pain resistance skill evolved into the [Rare Pain Resistance] [Rare] Lvl 203 skill. Without it, I wouldn''t be able to bear the pain so well. Rare Pain Resistance [Rare] ¡ª The skill reduces your sensitivity to all types of pain. Be it physical or psychological. The skill also affects mental attacks that cause pain, or any other techniques. (Does not affect soul damage.) But even with this skill it still hurts like hell, but it''s bearable. It feels like you just got run over by a car, and high perception doesn''t help at all. I''m so sick of this! Nick tensed his body in anger and immediately regretted it. The pain was strong, but again the skill saved him from rash actions. Nick tried to ignore the pain again and it again ended up somewhere in the background. After waiting a few minutes to calm down enough, he drew out his mana and began to weave a level 1 spell, "Accelerated Healing." Having applied it to his entire body, he could see how it worked thanks to the aura and sense of mana. The spell made damage heal faster using the body''s resources. It was woven into the body along with the mana it needed to work, it was important not to fill the body with more mana than it could withstand. The spell would work until the mana ran out. Formally, this spell could kill an exhausted person. The spell would work using his resources for healing, and not for maintaining life. Nick spent 300 MP on the spell, it should work for about 10 hours according to his calculations. He hadn''t used his will in this spell yet, as he wanted to compare the difference later. After the light blue light that had flashed through his body, he hadn''t noticed any difference at all, which was to be expected of course. Now he needed more food if he didn''t want to lose his life force because of this. Max didn''t bother feeding him, he just brought a large amount of food and counted on Nick to eat himself. In order to eat, he had to use weak telekinesis, when he was just starting to learn magic it would have taken a very large amount of mana, but now it cost him almost nothing. His mana had become several times stronger since last time. Dividing his thought process, he used telekinesis, easily stretching his mana for this spell. Today he had fried boar meat with porridge and apples. Mmmm, I never thought I would be so happy with normal food, especially wild apples. After tasting the apples, Nick liked them despite the fact that they were not sweet at all, but very sour. With meat and porridge, they were not bad at all. Having put the plates near the bed, he grabbed a metal bottle of water with a spell and took a sip from it. Having checked his mana pool, he was pleased, in five minutes he spent only 15 MP. Sitting on the bed, he thought about what he should do. Nothing came to mind, there was no point in practicing spells considering that he needed to accumulate a very large amount of mana to use the spell "Accelerated Healing" 24/7. And later when he would be able to use a specialized version of the spell on him too. No other ideas came to his mind, so he began to meditate again. Using telekinesis, he laid himself on the bed and closed his eyes. *** Cassandra walked to her new place delivering food to the "prisoners", this was her new routine now. As one of the two people who could not catch the plague, she had to watch over the camp and do all sorts of boring work. At first she would deliver food, and later she would go patrol the territory. How boring, where is the promised orc invasion? At least it was more fun with them. Entering the wooden house where the first infected was, she met Max who was treating him. The guy looked really bad, he had a high temperature, he was very pale with dark spots all over his body, his cough was very strong and sometimes there was blood in it. Max treats him for the second day and removes the main damage. In this case, the plague destroys the lungs, cardiovascular system and causes organs to degrade. Cassandra was here primarily to help Max heal the patient. Coming closer, blood began to pour out of her veins, with a quick wave of her hand she cut a vein on the guy''s arm, forcing her blood to flow inside. Unlike people who had a basic blood composition, vampires could significantly affect it. Cassandra''s blood is better in all aspects and if she wants, she can make the blood healing without overloading a person with mana. This was the peculiarity of vampires, together with the blood she poured her life force into him, changing it with a spell so that it could merge with the life force of a person without hindrance. Under normal circumstances, it is not enough to simply pour life force into a person to help him, rather it will cause unforeseen bad consequences. To do this correctly, you need to use a spell that makes the life force neutral, this will allow a person to absorb it, but the percentage of life force that a person receives subsequently becomes much less than the original amount. Having finished her business, Cassandra cast a spell that cleansed her of any germs. On the street, she noticed the smell of blood and it was not human blood. It''s just time for a walk in the forest, let''s hope that someone can fight against me. Cassandra did not bother herself with running or even walking quickly. First, she walked around the camp to inspect it for any inconsistencies. She used her sense of smell more to understand whether there was a person in the place assigned to him or not. After making sure that everything was in its place, she went towards the smell of blood. Walking between the trees on the green grass, she examined the forest in search of her prey, she had to do it carefully, without making unnecessary sounds. After 10 minutes of leisurely walking, Cassandra began to hear cracking sounds, coming closer she realized that this was the sound of someone chewing bones. Coming closer and looking out from behind a tree, she saw a lizard about 5 meters long and 1 meter high. He was chewing some kind of animal, but because of the injuries she could not understand what it was and the smell of blood seemed unfamiliar to her. Race: Stygian Hunter [Rare] Lvl 56 She didn''t know the species of this creature and had never heard of it, but it wasn''t hard to tell that the beast was strong and agile due to its strong build. The lizard was covered in dark green scales and strongly resembled a Monitor Lizard, but its paws had large claws and its mouth was a little different in shape, with stronger and longer teeth that were more like daggers in shape. Cassandra considered what she should do. His strength level shouldn''t be too high, even if he has poison, I won''t be hurt by it much, but if he turns out to be much stronger physically than I expected, I''ll be in a really bad way. Coming out from behind the tree, blood claws formed on Cassandra''s hands, each one was 20 cm long. She tried to make them much stronger and sharper than usual to pierce the lizard''s thick scales. A round, slightly elongated green pupil focused on her when she was within 30 meters. The lizard let out a quiet growl and waved its tail in her direction, at the same moment spikes formed from the ground and flew at her. Not expecting a magical attack, Cassandra repelled 3 spikes and dodged 4, but 2 hit her, one caught her stomach, and the other pierced her shoulder. Reproaching herself for stupidity, she pulled the spike out of her shoulder with blood magic and began to restore it. The lizard did not perceive her as a danger and did not even tear itself away from eating. Cassandra stopped her advance, to which the lizard did not react in any way. Only when she expanded [Blood Mage Aura] did the lizard turn away from its food and start watching her closely. Using a movement "Technique", she quickly attacked the lizard. The beast did not retreat and rushed towards her, Xandra knew that in a direct clash of strength, she would never win. Anticipating the attack, she slowed her pace so that the lizard would not collide with her in mid-air. When the beast landed on the ground instead of her. Xandra suddenly accelerated and struck twice at its paws, the lizard hissed and tried to bite her. As soon as the beast opened its mouth, two bloody arrows flew out from its wrists. Reacting in time, the beast closed its mouth and the blood arrows collided with its teeth, upon touching the teeth, they broke against them, leaving no damage, the attack only slightly pushed the lizard''s head back. The beast growled and spat saliva at her, the attack was much faster than the stone projectiles, barely managing to make a shield out of blood, Cassandra took the attack. Her shield was not damaged in any way and the drops of liquid that fell on the grass did not affect her in any way. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Well, at least it wasn''t acid, how much pain there would be. Seeing that the attack had no effect on her, the beast began to gather mana in the ground beneath it. Cassandra interfered with the spell with her aura, preventing it from being controlled properly. Apparently, the beast had never met anyone who actively interfered with its mana manipulation, as it reacted slowly to Cassandra''s quick attack. With a sharp swing of both hands, she tried to deprive the beast of its sight, but it managed to pull its head back and Cassandra''s attack left only deep cuts on its face. The beast''s loud growl shook its insides, but it did not retreat. By delivering quick blows with "techniques", Cassandra was able to corner the beast and force it to dodge her attacks, but no matter how hard she tried, damage deeper than 6 cm simply did not work. A series of ten blows was interrupted by the lizard''s new project. This time, she made it look more like an aerosol than a stream of water. Fearing the saliva, Cassandra retreated, giving the beast the opportunity to attack her. It made a quick lunge and jumped on her like a cat to cling to her with sharp claws. Cassandra used a large amount of her mana for this attack, blood began to flow from her hands forming a solid object in the air, but before she could create it, the beast cut it with its claws, thereby dispelling the spell. Without losing her composure, she took control of her mana and cast a simple spell, "Blood Explosion", while using the *technique" to retreat backwards. The beast gave chase, but before it could get far, her blood exploded behind it. The explosion was unfocused, but due to the solid fragments, it slightly pushed back and riddled the lizard''s back. Groaning loudly, the beast spat saliva at her again, which Cassandra easily dodged. They both stopped and Cassandra began to analyze her opponent''s fighting style. So he is an ambush predator, has good agility, but not outstanding. His strength and durability are no joke, I could not seriously injure him, only anger him, but over time he will still get tired. His saliva most likely has a paralyzing effect. He carries out attacks at a long distance with the help of magic, but it is not yet clear whether he can manipulate another element, or only stone. In general, he fits the description of a young and strong beast that has not yet learned to use "techniques", perhaps he uses techniques, but due to his low statistics for his species, I do not notice it. Cassandra smiled and thought that this would be the perfect opponent for her. The beast began to go around her from the side for a more advantageous position, Cassandra''s plan was still to wear the beast down, or weaken it so much that she could take control of its blood. Changing the claws on her hands, she finished off the blood in them that was under strong pressure. The beast used a "technique" that greatly increased its speed, not expecting this, Cassandra was caught off guard due to the explosive speed. The beast was going to rip her head off. Using both a "technique" of movement and increased blood magic, Cassandra barely dodged the teeth, but it cost her a bitten cheek. Immediately noticing how the poison works, she created a spell that neutralizes it before it spreads too much. The beast did not immediately attack after its attack, apparently it was hoping for the paralysis poison. This time it was Xandra who attacked, using the technique she approached the beast and attacked it with her claws.The beast decided not to dodge but to attack her in response, they exchanged blows. The lizard''s blow left deep cuts on her body, Xandra instead of delivering cutting blows stuck both her hands into the beast''s shoulder, she immediately changed the shape of her claws and the blood that was in them under great pressure hit the creature inside. The lizard growled and slightly swayed in place, but the creature quickly came to its senses and hit her with a healthy paw, Cassandra easily moved away to inspect the damage to the beast. She clearly felt her blood inside the lizard, but was upset that she did not hit even close to the main arteries. If she was so lucky, everything could have ended much earlier. Now she could see the main problem in making the beast tired of minor injuries, it had [Minor Regeneration] [Special] like her. But now she was increasing her blood magic healing, so she barely felt the effects of his claw strike. The wound on her shoulder was almost completely repaired, and the deep cuts from the claws would also heal soon. It cost her a lot of life force, but Cassandra considered it acceptable. The beast had fully recovered from its dizziness and began to inspect its wound, which was not bleeding, apparently causing it confusion about the severity of the injury. Cassandra created new claws from the blood and attacked the beast. Her attacks were simple now, she used techniques to move faster than the lizard and deal light blows to it, while dodging all the attacks. But this was not the main plan. With the help of aura, she tried to control her blood, when she succeeded, the beast noticed this and released a larger cloud of saliva. Although Cassandra could quickly purify the poison, she did not risk exposing herself to it even for a second, quickly retreating and carefully watching the lizard. The beast was at the very edge of her aura and she still had control over her blood inside it, but she didn''t do anything about it yet.The thing was that her attacks would be stronger the closer and weaker the lizard became. Going around the cloud, she moved towards the beast, digging her claws into its side and pouring them inside like blood. Not expecting retribution, Cassandra did not retreat too quickly and received a strong blow from the tail that threw her tree. Damn Techniques, if he used them constantly I would have already run to the camp, but when he uses them so suddenly it really hurts. This is the second time I''ve been sent flying, when will this stop. Cassandra got off the blow relatively easily, her arm was broken in 3 places and several ribs were broken. As she stood up, she felt her control over her blood disappear, she thought that the beast had gone beyond the range of her aura, but he suppressed her control with his willpower. Great, everything is going as it should. Leaning her hand on the tree, she watched what the beast would do. In its place, she would have run away, but the lizard is not smart enough to understand when it has been surpassed. She spent almost all of her life force on rapid recovery and she only had 10% left, but she was sure that it would be enough. Having fully restored her hand, she created bloody claws and attacked the beast. Her blows were even weaker and they were not as fast as before, but she did not need that. The lizard could not attack her with anything other than a simple swing of claws, because it was busy trying to reflect her control over its blood. The battle lasted for about 10 more minutes, it was measured strikes and dodges from both sides. It all ended when the will of the beast began to fade, using the technique Cassandra stuck both hands into the beast and used a spell inside it. All her blood that was inside the beast began to boil and expand. Seeing no need to retreat, she could watch as the [Stygian Hunter]''s eyes turned red, as the blood vessels inside them burst, and as blood began to flow again from all the wounds and holes in her victim''s body. Congratulations, you have defeated [Stygian Hunter][Rare] Lvl 56. Congratulations, you have reached a new level in the [Blood Mage] [Rare] Lvl 11 > Lvl 12 class. Blood Mage [Rare] For 1 level you get: +34 Vitality +4 Constitution +4 Mental Control +4 Willpower +4 Mana +5 Mana output +4 Mana regeneration +5 +4 free attribute point Bonus +10 free attribute point for Blood Mana Core It was a good fight, it''s a pity that there was only one level. Well, the scales are really good , I hope they will make good armor? 33 Chapter Chapter 33 Three days had passed since the prince had declared the isolation. Healers often came to Nick to examine his wounds and give him some advice on spells. He learned the advanced 2nd level spell "Accelerated Flesh Healing" and used it every day. Now he could get out of bed on his own, of course, the pain was terrible, but he was happy with even such a small success. Nick spent three days mainly in meditation, so that he would have mana for his spell later. He received about 500 MP per day, which he later spent on flesh restoration spells. He had time to get used to the spell and learn to effectively pour his will into it, and spend less mana on casting. In a spell in which his will was, he did not notice much difference from a regular spell, but he believed that it gave a better effect. Now the spell "Accelerated Flesh Healing" cost him 210 MP and a little bit of Willpower after 10 hours of work. Nick learned from the healers that 10 people had already been infected, three of whom were not coping well with the disease. For now, the healers had enough mana to keep things under control, but Nick wasn''t sure how long it would last. Nick was completely fed up with the routine he found himself in. My god, next time I find myself in a desperate situation like this, I need to think about other options. Overtaxing my body is simply not an option, but what else can I do? If I had taken the time to learn fire magic, I would have definitely won, otherwise the beast would have run away. It would still be better than this. Sure, my magic skills are still crap compared to specialists, but I just don''t have the time to close the gap with tactics. And of course, relying on artifacts doesn''t help at all. While thinking about this, he heard Teacher Elton''s voice outside. A moment later, he felt mana heading towards him. Nick didn''t know how to react to it, he recognized the signature of the mana and didn''t resist it. The mana completely surrounded him and created a thin barrier on his skin. Nick rose into the air and flew towards the teacher. Looking around, he saw that all of his classmates were in the same situation. Teacher Elton lined them up next to him and began his speech as they floated in the air, each surrounded by their own barrier. "I can say that you have coped with the plague infection acceptably. But of course the 10 people who were infected will not be happy with my assessment. In order to somehow make your "training" easier, I decided to give you some advice. 80 kilometers further down the river there are a large number of medicinal plants. I see how your greedy eyes sparkle. Some of you can''t wait to go and take it all for yourself, but I hasten to disappoint you. The plants are looked after by a [Forest Troll] [Special] Lvl 233, with the class [Forest Druid] [Rare] Lvl 200 and the class [Axe Adept] [Rare] Lvl 200. The troll is intelligent as you understood and very strong, it was he who had to get rid of the damned Ent, but you got ahead of him. He does not know who helped him and you can use this to earn his favor. But I want to make you understand that although the troll smart, he doesn''t like people, for all the obvious reasons. I hope he won''t kill you if you come to him. How to deal with the troll depends only on you, you can steal the plants, or just ask him for help. In any case, it will not affect your final grade. Any questions?" Nick thought about this situation, the Troll was very strong and could certainly help them. But without knowing his mentality, it was hard to say what exactly he would do. In this situation, the Troll could be the only way out. While he was thinking about this, Alistair spoke. "Teacher Elton, can you tell me how the troll will react to the cursed weapon?" "That was a stupid question, Alistair. You all should know that druids despise all magic that negatively affects the forest. The Ent, if someone didn''t stop him, would eventually ruin the entire forest. And a cursed weapon that does the same thing would not be considered good at all in the eyes of a troll." "Thank you for your answer, Teacher Elton." "Okay, I''m not in the mood to listen to your stupid questions. You have to handle everything yourself, be grateful for the help." Teacher Elton waved his hand and everyone he kept inside his barriers went back to where he took them from. Nick went into catharsis because he was sure that this would be a fun adventure, he hoped that the conversation with the troll would go well, since this was his chance to heal much faster. *** An hour later, the Prince gathered all the people who had not been infected with the plague on a smooth forest glade. Even Nick was present, and a stone mage and a fire mage came in after him to carefully translate him. After waiting for everyone to gather, Evander began the meeting. "I think many of you understand why I gathered you all here. I will say right away that we will not try to deceive the troll, or steal the plants we need. We must abide by the laws of our kingdom and therefore we will not even discuss this. We still have to decide how many people and who we will send to meet the troll. Alas, these cannot be healers, despite how useful they will be on this journey. Suggest candidates and together we will decide who can become a member of the group." Hmm, so the two strongest of us can''t take part in this. I can''t because I''m injured, and Cassandra can''t because she''s a vampire. No matter how good I think of her, a druid will probably think of vampires as wild, insatiable monsters. It would also be stupid to send a fire mage for a pretty obvious reason. The best choice would be to send Liam, Ariana, Brandon and Alistair. But obviously they alone won''t be enough, we need a strong close-range warrior. Hmm, it''s definitely not that bastard Nathan Spelsword, despite my personal dislike for him, he''s not suited for long journeys due to his class, of course he may know "techniques" that use only endurance, but what good will they be if they''re not as effective as those of any other adept? Sending a prince might be a good decision, but without a real leader, whenever there''s danger, people will think of themselves first and forget about any kind of cohesion. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Nick decided to speak first. "I suggest sending Liam, Brendon, Ariana and Alistair. I''m not sure about anyone else." The prince nodded at his words. "You''re right, it''s a good group. Does anyone have any objections?" The prince asked and looked at the people Nick had chosen. But everyone remained silent, admitting that it wouldn''t be a bad group. "Okay, since no one wants to volunteer, what about you Matt?" Nick turned his gaze to the guy who fought with them against Ent, Nick remembered him well, but never remembered his name. Name: Matt Bahr 15 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 40 Class: Spear and Shield Adept [Rare] Lvl 4 Class: Not Selected In principle, not a bad choice, he should easily adapt to the team and take the main place of the tank. "It would be an honor for me Prince Evander, I would gladly take a place in the group." He said and bowed to the prince. "Okay, okay. I think five people will be enough. Brandon will be the leader and I want you to listen to him." The chosen people stood up from their seats and approached the prince. Nick assessed everyone before such a long journey, he had to know how quickly they would level up. Name: Liam Changeable Water 15 years old Race: Human attuned to water mana [Rare] Lvl 31 Class: Mage of Variable Water Weapons [Rare] Lvl 5 Class: Holy Diamond Dust Mage [Rare] Lvl 2 Name: Alistair Kitherius, 15 years old Race: Human [Unusual] Level 44 Class: Alchemist [Rare] Lvl 7 Class: Not selected Name: Brandon Stoneshield, 15 §Ý§Ö§ä Race: Human Attuned to Stone Mana [Rare] Level 20 Class: Stone Mage [Rare] Lvl 4 Class: Spear and Shield Disciple [Uncommon] Lvl 12 Name: Ariana Kilsten, 15 years old Race: Evolved Human [Rare] Level 31 Class: Adept of the Art of Unpredictable Shot [Rare] Lvl 3 Class: Not selected Since Nick''s last assessment, everyone had raised one level in the [Rare] classes. He was very curious about how their journey would go. He had deliberately not used the [Reincarnator''s Madness] skill, but he would do so now. As he used the skill, various scenarios began to pop up in his head. Some had more weight in his head, which he assessed as more likely, some had less weight. There were many possibilities, some led to them activating the ring when the troll considered them a threat, some ended in a resounding success and his complete healing. There was even a version of how Teacher Elton teleported in front of them and created a barrier that withstood an unknown attack, after which he fought an unknown monster that he could not see. This seemed strange to him, before the skill either did not work or could not foresee something. A black spot in the shape of a monster never appeared in his vision. Of course you can resist my foresight, but it shouldn''t work on time, only on probabilities. It''s unclear how someone can bypass it, I''m sure there are various skills, but for them to work even against something like this? That''s strong! I bet that now this creature knows that someone tried to find it! Congratulations, you have leveled up the skill [Reincarnator''s Madness][Special] Lvl 402 > Lvl 403 Well of course it was damn obvious, bravo!!! His expression changed, which he hoped no one noticed. As he sorted through the information in his head, Nick prepared to give some advice. "Okay, let''s discuss the main thing. You have to build a friendly relationship with him so that the troll wants to help us. You should not offer him something you can''t give, do not deceive him, do not steal, etc. Do not be aggressive and be honest. Despite the fact that he is a troll, you must treat him as a person, explaining it in simpler terms, be friendly, do not demand what he does not want to do. I can say obvious things, but you must take them seriously. Any questions?" The Prince said, to which everyone else nodded their heads. Nick saw this as an opportunity to speak. "Also do not forget that he [the Forest Druid] treats the forest with respect. I will explain, you can kill animals only for two reasons. The first is when you are hungry, the second is when you are defending yourself from something. Do not kill what you will not eat, if some animal attacks you, think about why it did it. Try not to kill even those who attack you, the druid may have protection in the form of animals that live on his territory and if you kill the wrong animal, the future conversation with the troll will not go well. You can safely kill anyone who has any sign of a curse, you may encounter infected animals, these can be different diseases and if the disease is incurable, you will learn this from Alistair, you can safely kill the creature. Otherwise, just do not catch their eye. Also, you should avoid places where there are no trees and few plants without an obvious reason. Take more provisions with you just in case and the new weapon that Alistair created. Hm, I think the rest will be clear from listed by me and Evander, I wish you good luck!" "Yeah, that''s good advice, thanks Dylan. You''re surprisingly good at handling these situations, where did you learn that?" Evander asked as the others nodded at his words. "Liam and I once registered with the adventurers'' guild under fake names." Nick wasn''t lying. "Mmm, that was my dream too, but alas, there are no low-level adventurers with a holy core. So I would have done the same as you," Evander said with a little regret. "Okay, prepare for the journey. You must leave as soon as possible!" The prince said with a serious face. To which the five responded with a respectful "Yes, my Prince!" Nick laughed lightly at the overall seriousness of the situation. He couldn''t help it, it was funny to him. Five teenagers with serious faces saying that to another teenager. It was really a joke to him. Coming out of his fun state, Nick called Liam over to give him some personal advice. When he approached, Nick spoke in a quiet voice. "Liam, you should know about my skill. Now, if you come across something particularly dangerous, and I''m sure you will. Squeeze the teleportation ring with all your might." Nick leaned closer and created a barrier that prevented eavesdropping close between them. "There is a good chance that someone could break or somehow block the ring''s actions..." Nick said with a serious face. Liam nodded silently and from the way his face darkened, Nick knew that Liam really, really didn''t like this. "Did you find out what it could be?" Liam asked. "No, this creature is blocking my foresight, this is the happened first time. I only found out because Master Elton teleported and fought against it, but I didn''t see anything. Everything was completely unreadable, including the creature''s silhouette." Liam nodded and replied. "Okay, I''ll be careful." "Good luck, my friend!" 34 Chapter Chapter 34 Pow. Liam Liam and the others left the camp. Their path was supposed to be simple, namely to follow the river for about 80 kilometers, where they would later start looking for the Troll. Liam, as a reincarnator, was not prejudiced against intelligent monsters, but he certainly did not find them pleasant either. In his past life, Liam was a stereotypical gamer. Of course, he led a decent life and tried to communicate with his friends in person more often, but his main hobby was games, especially MMO RPGs. This world was very similar to the game, you could assemble a character, find imbalanced clothes for him, and so on, which he found both interesting and terrible. Years of life almost eliminated this difference and now he practically did not notice it. It was moments like this that reminded him of a full immersion game. The "mission" to go find something and make friends with someone just begged to be implemented in some game. But from his bitter experience, he realized that everything is much more real than it might seem at first glance. This was real life and he should have gotten used to it a long time ago. Liam stopped thinking about all the silly things when Brandon started talking. "We haven''t interacted together much, but I''d rather hear your strengths and how you can best fit into the squad." Brendon asked the others as they walked through the trees. Liam answered first, looking around at his surroundings. "I wouldn''t say that I specialize in anything in particular, but my main focus, in addition to water magic and diamond dust, is on holy mana attacks. I can both hit with very strong spells and be very good at defense. My main problem is the problem of all mages, the further away the target, the less damage I do to it. During the entire time we''ve been here, I''ve been able to fill my staff to 10,000 MP and have another 3,500 MP in my core. Of course, as a mage, I''m not particularly strong physically, but I have very good stats." Liam replied. "Wow, I expected nothing less from a person with a [Rare] race and two [Rare] classes. Okay, I''ll answer next. I specialize in defensive combat and can use strong stone magic spells, I can also use transmutation magic on stone to make it stronger, or change its nature." Brandon answered and turned his gaze to the others, Ariana answered next. "As my class name suggests, I am an archer. I am generally very agile, and can use endurance techniques that increase my stats by a percentage. My main attack is shooting an arrow that releases a burst of orange energy upon impact. It is a technique that uses mana and endurance for effect, which directly attacks life force and prevents opponents from manipulating mana and endurance. Thanks to Alistair, I carry a small amount of various poisons. At close range, I use a pair of short swords and have the [Dual Swordsmanship][Rare] skill. I did not choose a second class because I hope to develop this skill to a better option." Alistair was the next to answer. "No matter how badly everyone treats [Poison Mages], you shouldn''t be surprised that this is my fighting style. I''m very good at [Transmutation Magic], so I basically change the air around me by adding poison to it that I''m immune to. I''m also good at [Arcane Magic], and can use a lot of 3rd tier spells. Physically, I''m not strong at all, so I''ll have to rely on you." Liam and Ariana reacted normally, Liam as always with a rather blank face, and Ariana continued to scan the surroundings for danger. Brandon and Matt did not react so well, disgusted expressions appeared on their faces, which they quickly hid. Brandon wanted to say something, but remained silent as Matt spoke up. He did not mention the poison magic, and continued as if nothing had happened. "Unlike all of you, I don''t have any special skills. Spear and Shield are what I''m used to using well, of course I have several techniques and can use a skill that increases stats by a percentage, but I don''t have any combat skills. In short, I would say that I''m a typical warrior with a shield and a spear." Liam of course noticed that the guy was the weakest among them. But he didn''t think that Mat would be a burden. From the priests'' attack a long time ago, he understood what "normal people" could do to "normal classes". Although at that time the priests had much more stats than them, it didn''t change the simple fact. A well-assembled group can defeat someone who is much stronger. Liam thought that their group was very balanced, if they had a rogue and a healer it would be a typical squad build of some game. Although if Alistair had the necessary resources, he could pass for a healer, and Ariana could easily take on the role of a scout. "That''s great, I think everyone knows their roles, but I''ll still say them. Mat, you''ll be the one taking the brunt of the attack, if it''s too strong, I''ll raise a stone wall. Liam and Alistair, you''ll only engage in combat if necessary, in the event that me, Ariana and Mat can''t win using only stamina, you can use spells. Alistair, I''d like to ask you to use poison magic only if we have no other choice. Unlike you, we have no resistance, it could hurt us more than help." Brandon said. They continued their journey in silence, Liam felt that the silence was rather awkward, but for him it was not a problem at all. On the contrary, he liked this peace. Half an hour later they saw an unfamiliar monster 300 meters away from them. It looked like a huge heron, about 4 meters high with gray feathers, its wingspan was huge. The monster was hunting something in the river with its sharp beak. Race: Serminal Heron [Rare] Lvl 22 The monster was relatively low level despite its obvious danger. The group looked at each other and silently decided to keep going. As they approached, the heron only glanced neither once and then continued its hunt. Liam could see that it was hunting fish and frogs. He remembered Dylan''s advice well, so when Ariana wanted to load an arrow, he froze its tip. "We don''t want to kill him just for the sake of experience. We should listen to the instructions of the prince and the others." Ariana didn''t like his actions but she nodded and they all continued walking, leaving the monster to continue hunting. After they walked further, the river became very winding. Liam began to like the forest, he felt some kind of peace in it now. The way the birds sang and the noise of the insects really calmed him down. Walking through the forest, he still did not relax and tried to notice various details. Several nearby trees were scratched by claws, he could not determine exactly what animal they belonged to, but he could guess who it was. Wolves should often be found in such forests, the fact that they had not found one yet was a great success. While he was thinking, Ariana spoke. "We should turn around and go straight along the river bank, so the likelihood of us meeting wolves will be much lower." "Okay, I guess fighting the wolves won''t be very convenient for us." Brandon replied. They continued to avoid other animals as they walked along the riverbank. By evening, Liam estimated that they had covered about 60 kilometers, which was not a long distance, as they often avoided different animals and did not move very quickly. Having set up camp at the base of a large tree, Brandon spoke. "A good start to the journey. I propose that we split the night''s watch between everyone except Alistair. I''ll go last, who wants to go first?" "I want to, I don''t feel like sleeping yet." Ariana replied. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. "Mmm, I''ll take the second turn." Liam said. "Great, we still have a couple of hours to eat and replenish our resources. Even though today was an easy day, tomorrow is the hard part. So I''ll go to bed early, which I advise you to do too." Brandon said. They did not light a fire in the camp, but ate fruits that they found along the way. Liam had almost a full supply of mana, but he still decided to meditate to replenish his mana a little more. When he came out of meditation, it was very dark. The forest was illuminated only by the moonlight, but due to the huge branches of the tree, it was almost invisible. Due to his high perception, Liam easily saw how Arina was examining the surroundings and slightly glancing at him. Everyone else was already asleep in sleeping bags, unfolding his, he also quickly fell asleep. Liam was woken up by Ariana when it was his turn. It was hard to tell what time it was without a watch, but looking at the moon and remembering its approximate path, he was convinced that it was indeed his turn. Ariana silently went and went to bed while he was thinking about his own, he tried to stay alert, but in the low light he relied more on his hearing than his sight. In the distance, he could hear the howling of wolves, which left him with no doubt that they were relatively close. The forest was mostly quiet, but small rustles could be heard somewhere in the distance. Hearing someone carefully walking on the grass, Liam slowly got up and began to look out for the intruder. It turned out to be Fox [Common], she found them by smell, but when she saw them, she quickly ran back. Relaxed, Liam tried to be calm, although the forest was frightening with its unknown, he should have quickly gotten used to it. The rest of the watch passed very calmly. Looking at the moon Liam made sure that about 2 hours had passed, he stood up and grabbed Matt by the shoulder and shook him slightly, in a quiet voice he spoke to him. "Matt, wake up, it''s your shift." Matt''s eyes snapped open, it took him a second to process what was happening. He nodded, but when he realized there was no light at all, he began to whisper. "Thank you, you can go to bed Liam." "Okay, good luck." Liam lay down in his sleeping bag and quickly fell asleep. Liam woke up later than the others, looking around the camp he assumed that nothing strange had happened. Alistair was lighting a fire while Ariana was butchering a couple of some birds for their breakfast. Brandon and Mat were somewhere else. "Good morning everyone, where did Brendon and Matt go?" Liam asked. "Good morning, Brandon went to get some water with Matt." Answered Alistair, Ariana also greeted him with "Good morning." Liam stood up and sat closer to Alistair, he wanted to ask him about the different poisons that he could create with [Transmutation], while Brandon and Mat were not around. Although they were not against talking about poisons, Liam could see how unpleasant this topic was for them. Before he could ask about it, they had already come out from behind the trees. Seeing him, Brandon and Mat greeted him and sat down near the fire, after some time that passed in silence, Ariana finished cutting up the meat and impaled it on sticks, carefully laying it out near the coals. Liam began to get tired of the strange atmosphere that reigned in their group. No one was particularly sociable, the only one who spoke more often than anyone was Ariana, and she was not a verbose one. Liam could not understand why everything was like this, it was definitely not his fault, and the magic of poisons did not seem significant enough to him to cause this. "Why are you all so quiet?" Liam asked. Brandon, Matt and Alistair looked at each other, each of them deciding whether to answer the question or not. Ariana reacted normally and answered easily herself. "You''re not particularly sociable yourself, and there''s nothing to talk about. Or do you want to listen to how to properly cut up a bird?" She asked, not taking her eyes off the meat. "What about the friendly atmosphere? Stories from childhood?" "I was trained my entire childhood to later enter the academy, for this? I don''t know about you, but I was disappointed by this. If you are interested in my life, of course I can tell you in brief." She said and looked at Liam. Liam, of course, wanted to hear more about why these three were acting so strangely, but knowing that there would be no other chance to hear Ariana''s story, he quickly agreed. "Of course, with great pleasure." "Mmm, I am the daughter of Viscount Edward Kilsten, our family was once a Marquis family, but due to some misfortune, our rank was lowered, it happened a long time ago and only my father knows the reason. So in hopes of raising our family''s rank again, my father began to train me very harshly. So years passed until my 15th birthday, he was disappointed to learn that I did not receive the second [Rare] Class right away. The very next day, he began training even more harshly than before, it only lasted for a week, but I was completely exhausted, but my father did not care. Just when I thought that this would never end, a letter came from the Royal Academy saying that I was enrolled in the Elite Class along with the prince and the other little monsters." Everyone listened to her story with interest, and although Liam found it a little harsh, it was not special. Ariana''s face did not express strong emotions as she briefly talked about her life, only a slight sadness. "I was extremely happy about this, as I was expecting some freedom at the academy. The opportunity to make friends also attracted me. Of course, I expected that studying would not be easy. But when I came to the academy, I was sent into the forest with a bunch of idiots, my ideas about classmates were shattered by the fact that everyone basically does what they want and does petty dirty tricks for no reason. I got tired of the gossip of our classmates and the way other guys sometimes look at me. In general, my expectations were deceived and I was left to fight for the survival of a group that I do not like at all." Ariana finished. "I can understand why you don''t like it here, maybe you should try to communicate with someone more often and find common interests with someone?" Brandon said. "Yes, I managed to become friends with a couple of our classmates, but the vast majority are bastards who pursue their own interests, or are just bastards." "Who do you dislike so much from your classmates?" Liam asked. "A lot of people, for example your friend Norn, she''s a real bitch. How come you''re not tired of her pathetic whining and why haven''t you realized yet that she wants to drag you into bed? I got sick of it on the first day." Liam, of course, managed to understand this, but he didn¡¯t know how to tactfully avoid it, so he decided to ignore it for the time being. "Well I can understand that, but is that enough for you not to like her?" "Of course, you just don''t have the same high perception as me. The funniest thing is that before the quarantine, she spent her nights with the guy Dylan hit." Liam was a little upset so he decided he wasn''t in the mood to continue the conversation. He picked up the cooked piece of meat and began to eat in silence. He thought the conversation would end there, but Alistair continued it. "I wonder what you think of Cassandra and Lynella? They''re the other most memorable girls in our class." Alistair said, his eyes shining, but Liam couldn''t figure out why. Is he secretly in love with someone? Ariana took her meat and looked at it, she was in no hurry to answer the question, but thought it over well. "Contrary to all expectations, Cassandra is very decent and kind. Although she gets angry very easily when someone is in danger. In general, I like her, but we have not had the opportunity to get closer. Linella, if you do not pay attention to all her vulgar flirting, is also a normal person. But it seems to me that she has several very strong skills. How she uses illusions is not yet entirely clear to me, her control is very good in magic, when I had to observe her. I suspect that she lured monsters to the others in the camp a couple of times, although I do not know for what purpose." Wow, if I have the [Observation][Common] skill, then she probably has some skill that is much stronger than mine. Alistair wanted to continue asking Ariana about the others at camp, but Brandon interrupted him. "Okay, I think we should stop our conversation here and move on to find the Troll." Alistair shrank, Liam noticed how inspired he was by this conversation. Alistair apparently did not want to contradict Brandon and quietly finished his food, like everyone else. In 2 minutes they were already near the river. 35 Chapter Chapter 35 For the next two hours, Liam and the others walked along the river bank, occasionally they met various animals, but they did not attack them, so the group ignored them. They had about 20 kilometers left to go to the designated place, as a pack of wolves came out of the forest, there were about 20 of them, they looked like ordinary wolves, but they were much larger in size, their fur and teeth were a strange gray color that slightly shone in the sun. Race: Iron Wolf [Rare] 35 Lvl Race: Iron Wolf [Rare] 29 Lvl Race: Iron Wolf [Rare] 15 Lvl Race: Iron Wolf [Rare] 16 Lvl Race: Iron Wolf [Rare] 26 Lvl Race: Iron Wolf [Rare] 15 Lvl Race: Iron Wolf [Rare] 30 Lvl ... Liam quickly began to draw mana from the staff, holding it in his aura, he was ready to use the skill [Adaptive Aquatic Weapon][Rare++]. Brandon and Mat stood behind their shields and extended their spears, Ariana quickly pulled the bowstring on her bow and began to aim it at the wolves. Alistair took out some bags of powder from his armor pockets, they were ready to fight. The wolves growled softly and began to surround them, Liam hoped that this did not stop the battle. Alistair and Ariana stood with their backs to the river, so he did not think that the wolves would attack them first. Near the water, he had a very big advantage, but he did not see a way where he could defeat all the wolves without using a large amount of mana. The wolves came closer and became more aggressive, so Liam used the skill. All the nearby water rushed towards him, forming a water whirlpool. At the same time, he used the skill [Diamond Dust Manipulation], diamond dust began to fly from the bags that were attached to his armor and mixed with the water. After a few seconds, several tons of water moved around him, beautifully refracting the light. The wolves growled as soon as he cast the spell, but did not dare to attack all at once, only a couple of wolves rushed at Benedict and Mat. They blocked the blows with their shields, but both staggered under the onslaught. The weight of the wolves was very large, together with their physical strength, Nick estimated that they were physically stronger than the orcs, which put them quite high in the hierarchy. The next moment, Cassandra shot at the strongest wolf, the arrow hitting him in the head, killing him instantly. Congratulations, you have defeated [Iron Wolf][Rare] Lvl 35 . You will receive less experience for winning in a group. Liam turned off notifications, he kept pouring more mana into the water that was under his control for a strong spell, but he needed time for this. Cassandra shot another wolf again, hitting him in the back. Brandon and Mat fought the wolves, defending themselves with shields and attacking with spears, they were doing well, but in a few seconds they would be completely surrounded and suppressed. Brandon used a spell that changed the ground under the wolves'' feet into liquid mud. The wolves that surrounded them quickly sank into it, thereby buying the necessary time. It took Liam about 7 seconds to cast the spell. The water that was under his control began to gather around his head, inside you could see hundreds of ice darts with very shiny tips forming. Most of the wolves were stuck in the mud, which played into his hands. Liam shot hundreds of darts at all the wolves. They only had a few seconds before ice needles flew at everyone. The ice needles wouldn''t have been so dangerous to the iron wolves if they hadn''t had diamond dust tips that were bound with ice and reinforced beyond measure. Most of his projectiles hit their mark, several wolves were killed instantly, and the vast majority were badly wounded. They whined loudly under his attack, trying to get out of the mud. He saw no point in continuing the fight, this was his victory. Over the noise around him, Liam shouted for the others to retreat. "Let''s leave before more wolves come!" Brandon pierced the wolf''s head in front of him with his spear, he waved his hand in the direction further down the river, starting to run, Liam and the others following him. The wolves did not pursue them, which made Liam very glad that he did not have to spend more mana. After running for a few minutes, they stopped to discuss everything. Liam still had a large amount of water flying around him, which was under his control. He decided that there was no need to use this skill any more, so he began to draw mana from the spell and put it into his staff, while Alistair caught his breath. After finishing this, the next thing he did was to manipulate the diamond dust to put it into the pouches on his armor. The others got tired of watching this, Ariana was the first to speak. "Um, how much mana did you use?" Ariana asked, sounding a bit uneasy. "Well, a lot of course, but not critical. In total, I spent about 1400 MP, if I managed to return the mana that was in the ice, I would have spent about 1200 MP." Liam answered, looking at how much diamond dust he spent. "So, you''re saying that with the amount of mana you have now, you could easily defeat all the wolves on your own?" "Yeah, something like that. But without you, it would have taken more time and mana." He said and looked at the others. Brandon and Mat looked scared, Ariana was angry? Alistair took it calmly. "Are you kidding me? You''re a fucking monster! How can you be so strong? Why can''t everyone else''s spells be this strong?" Ariana screamed. Liam couldn''t understand her outburst, of course he was strong. "So what''s wrong? This is normal for a mage." "But how were you able to penetrate their fur? They have metal inclusions in them, and in my opinion they had a lot of mana, unlike your darts." "Ah, are you worried that I spent so little mana? I didn''t try to strengthen the darts much with normal magic, I created ice that was much stronger and heavier than normal, leaving diamond dust tips at the ends, thereby greatly increasing the penetrating power. I spent more mana to give the darts a big boost when shooting than to create them. Do you understand?" Liam answered, Ariana became a little calmer and answered. "No, actually. Usually, mages add strength to the materials they manipulate by mana constructs inside it. But you mean you did it differently?" She asked, clarifying. Alistair answered for him. "He got this ice by applying a lot of pressure on it and then freezing it quickly. It''s possible that Liam also used transmutation magic to do this. So instead of just strengthening the ice with mana, Liam effectively transformed it to be stronger using less mana. If you understood, I could explain that he changes the crystal lattice of normal ice in this way. This ice is much stronger than normal ice even without a drop of mana." Aleister elaborated. Liam started to have suspicions about his classmate. "How do you use poison magic?" Liam asked. "Formally, this is not poison magic, but simply transmutation. With the help of spells, I change the composition of the surrounding air by adding something poisonous to humans." What are the chances that he is a reincarnator and uses knowledge from our world? Of course, he lived in a noble family specializing in alchemy. They may well have their own table of chemical elements. But people here are more interested in things related to mana than simple physical objects. This is worth looking into later. Too bad I don''t know anything about alchemy, and [Transmutation Magic] uses spells that are completely incomprehensible to me for its effect. It is quite possible that people in this world have advanced much further than us in chemistry using [Transmutation Magic] and various skills, and I just don''t know about it. Yeah... probably shouldn''t immediately label him as a Reincarnator. "Okay, you can give me some advice on that later, does ''poison water'' sound strong?" Liam said and patted him on the shoulder. Alistair felt uneasy and quickly agreed. "Certainly." "I certainly don''t want to interrupt such an interesting conversation about magic, but Liam, don''t you think it was a mistake to kill all the wolves we met?" Brandon asked, causing Liam to freeze. Bitch, bitch, bitch. How did I screw up so bad? "Sorry, I have no excuse. But if I hadn''t used magic, we would have been overwhelmed by numbers. Well, more precisely, it seemed to me that we would lose, so that''s what I did." Liam tried to justify himself. "It doesn''t matter, I understand. My magic would be completely ineffective against them. They absorb blunt damage too easily, but next time, start with simple spells. Try freezing them or something. Okay, no time to waste. We need to leave this place quickly if the wolves attack us again." Everyone agreed and they started running at a light jog at the optimal pace for Alistair. It was still about 20 km/h. An hour of such running was enough to cover a decent distance from the place where they spent the night. On the way, Brandon stopped the group. "I think I miscalculated the distance. If we had to cover about 80 kilometers in a straight line, then we have already covered a hundred. But because the river did not go in a straight line, I lost count. We must have covered about 5-3 kilometers more than we needed to." Brandon said. "No, everything should be fine. We''re roughly in the right place." Oriana said. "Well, I''ll take your word for it. There were no further instructions from the teacher, so let''s search in squares, we''ll walk one square the size of a kilometer along and across and let''s hope that the Troll will be merciful to us." Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Without wasting time, they turned away from the river and began to walk deeper into the forest. The forest had not changed at all, there were still deciduous trees, sometimes you could find vines and strange plants. Yesterday Liam did not notice the alchemist collecting herbs, but today he began to do so actively. "You won''t believe me, but there are actually a lot of medicinal plants here. Usually they are eaten by animals and insects, but here they are practically untouched." Alistair said. "Well, we can confidently say that we are on the right track. And it seems to me that the vegetation here is somehow thicker." Liam remembered the places they had passed and the places that were close to the cursed Ent, and he was indeed able to draw a parallel. The closer the plants were to the Ent, the more they withered, and vice versa, the closer the plants were to the Troll, the better they grew. The group then looked closely at the forest in search of some kind of shelter. Liam did not know where a reasonable troll would prefer to live. Perhaps he would build himself a house of stone, or of wood. Or he would dig himself a cave, there were really many options. They spent only half an hour searching the first square and went to the next one, which was near the river. Throughout the entire territory, they did not encounter animals that were higher than the rarity [Uncommon]. Which was strange considering that they had recently fought off groups of [Rare] creatures. But this did not last long, Ariana noticed a panther in a tree very high up. She began to stutter and raise her finger up pointing at it. "Th-e-e-r-e!" Liam quickly noticed the panther and assessed it. Race: Great Shadow Panther [Special] Lvl 256 "Damn. We''re dead." Liam said and everyone else nodded. They weren''t fooled by the fact that the panther hadn''t noticed them. Cats had very good hearing, most likely she had heard their conversation a long time ago. Liam dropped his backpack on the grass and sat down on the ground, the others did the same. He remembered what Dylan had warned him about, but he didn''t think that the [Great Shadow Panther] was capable of fooling his prediction skill. They sat in silence for about five minutes and waited for the panther to eat them, but in this case, more likely for the ring to work. Apparently satisfied with their despair, the panther moved towards them through the shadows. Liam knew that this particular type of magical beasts, rather, fell into the classification of spiritual. Beasts and people who had a strong affinity with some kind of mana could not hope to change their body into an elemental. Mean, even [Archmage] Ronan who was of the Human race attuned to fire mana could not hope to change his body into a flame elemental. This panther could move through shadows with the help of spells like humans, but she could do much more. She could literally become a shadow and be completely invulnerable to physical damage. Shadow mages specially developed magic that gives a very similar effect, but they will never achieve what this panther can. In this case, shadow mages came up with a spell that allows them to avoid physical damage and move through other people''s shadows. But this only works due to movement in the spiritual plane. The panther did not use a drop of mana to get to them. When the panther was near them, no one flinched. This gave Liam a chance to get a better look at it. It was about 5 meters long and 2 meters high, its tail was about 2.5 meters. Its fur reflected almost no color, its eyes were normal in his opinion, but the sharp pupil was very black. The panther began to walk around them looking and sniffing. It seemed very curious and was not aggressive. It walked around them a few times and even lightly hit Liam with its tail, but even such a light hit knocked all the shit out of him. "Damn, that''s going to leave a bruise." He said out loud. The panther liked his speech, her ears trembled with pleasure and she hit Brandon, but slightly overdid it with force and he crashed into a tree. He was lucky that he invested a lot of characteristics in his physique, otherwise his ribs would have been completely broken. Brandon wheezed and rose to his feet. "Damn beast, eat us already." But the panther was deaf to their requests. She meowed loudly and hit Brandon with her tail again, but this time she calculated the force correctly. The blow simply pushed him back to the tree. She continued to walk around them in circles, examining them even more carefully. Stopping near Matt, she raised her paw and an absolutely black claw appeared from it. Liam was able to see it only because he could not see anything in that place. It was even more than absorbing light. Bending her paw towards Matt, she lightly touched his bare hand and ran it over it. Blood appeared and the panther inhaled its scent deeply. If the panther had a class, Liam would be sure that she was examining them like an experienced meat seller. But he could not understand what she wanted, of course, the panther had a high level of intelligence and wisdom, but this was not enough to become intelligent. Apparently satisfied with whatever it was, the panther meowed and turned into a shadow. Liam exchanged glances with the others, they could of course try to run away, but was there any point in that? Liam didn''t think so and so he stayed where he was. "Well, we hope the rings work, otherwise we really are troupes. Do you think if she drags us into the spirit plane of shadow, will they work or not?" Liam asked. The others gulped loudly. "I don''t know, but let''s hope so." Alistair replied. The panther was gone for about 15 seconds, but it reappeared near them. This time it did not praise them in circles, but climbed a tree and began to lie on it comfortably with its tail hanging down. Liam thought that it was stupid to anger the cat, but he really wanted to check something. Catching himself thinking that he had become infected with Dylan''s madness, he smiled. Liam raised his finger and pointed it at the panther. While the others looked at him in horror, the panther remained calm. Liam cast a holy spell of the 1st level "Holy Light", the light shone from his finger and harmlessly hit the panther. She examined the landing site, meowing loudly. Apparently she did not like something about this, because her tail instantly appeared near him and gave him with such force that he also crashed into the tree. "Damn, that was much worse. You broke a few of my ribs, cat." The panther didn''t pay any attention to his chatter, and then just there and looked at him. Liam didn''t regret his decision to use [Holy Magic], he needed to check it out. Now he knew for sure that the panther in physical form was invulnerable to light and holy effects, which was actually pretty obvious. He wasn''t going to check how vulnerable it was to light in the spiritual form of shadow, for that the cat would definitely kill him. Lying further, they heard some noise similar to stomping. Over time, it became stronger and stronger, until an ugly Troll appeared from behind the trees. It was 6 meters tall and 3.5 meters wide, it was dark green with a very large nose, its eyes were blue like a human''s, it was completely bald, its body was covered in brown growths in some places. Its build was not completely human, its legs and arms were very wide for its height. Liam examined it. Name: Green 170 years old Race: Forest Troll [Special] Lvl 233 Class: Forest Druid [Rare] Lvl 200 Class: Ax Adept [Rare] Lvl 200 When the Troll came closer he began to speak. "WHAT DO THE LITTLE PEOPLE IN THE FOREST NEED?" Liam and the others'' ears were blocked by the Troll''s loud voice, and his colloquial form of their language also sent shivers down their spines. Brandon decided to answer the Troll. "We need healing herbs to cure the people." "YOU LITTLE MAN DO NOT UNDERSTAND GREEN, HE ASKS WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOT HERE BUT IN THE FOREST?" "We were sent here to be trained by other people." "THE OLD MEN SENT YOU TO STUDY? BUT WHAT CAN YOU LEARN IN THE FOREST?" "How to survive and hunt." "OK, YOU SAY YOU NEED HEALING HERBS, BUT WHY WOULD GREENE GIVE YOU THEM INSTEAD OF EATING YOU?" Liam noticed the Troll asking with obvious interest. "We got rid of the damn Ent in another part of the forest, so we hope you won''t eat us." Brendon answered with fear, Liam understood. It''s one thing to think you might be killed, but to be told you''re going to be eaten is really scary. "HM, OK HUMAN. GREEN THINK ABOUT IF YOU ARE WORTH EATING OR NOT. WHERE ARE YOUR OLD PEOPLE, WON''T THEY WANT TO SAVE YOU? GREEN THINKS YOU''RE LYING. The troll asked, rubbing his chin. Brandon was in a delicate situation now, he didn''t want to tell about the teleportation rings, but telling the troll that if he ate them, his teacher would come and start a battle with him wasn''t the best decision either. He didn''t know what to say and the troll started to lose patience. "YOU TALK TO GREEN OR GREEN WILL EAT YOU." Liam decided that there was no need to hide the rings, if it was enough to just take them off and they would stop working, there would be no point in them. "Green, we were given rings that will save us in this case." Liam said and raised his right hand with the ring on his finger. The troll leaned down and took his hand to raise it to his eye level. He began to examine the ring, gently turning Liam with his hands. Satisfied, he put Liam back in place. "GREENE ASKS YOU TO REMOVE THE RING." The troll said and extended his hand. Liam didn''t argue and took off the ring, handing it over. The troll brought the ring to his eyes and began to examine it as well. He tried to squeeze it with his fingers, but it did not yield to the troll''s strength at all. "GREENE CAN''T UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS RING DOES. THAT''S WHY GREENE TRUSTS YOU. TAKE THE RING." He said and held out his hand, Liam took the ring and put it back on his finger. "GREENE THINKS WHY HE SHOULD HELP YOU, OF COURSE YOU KILLED THE DAMNED ENTH, BUT GREEN WAS GOING TO DO IT HIMSELF. GREEN WON''T KILL YOU AND WON''T LET MREU DO IT. YOU DON''T DESERVE ANYTHING MORE." Said the troll. Liam realized that the troll had named the panther Mreu, which was just right for the troll. But he didn''t know what to trade with the troll, considering that he hadn''t left, it was still possible to come to an agreement with him. He thought about playing a dangerous card, but he didn''t dare do it. "Perhaps Green wants something from us?" Brandon asked. "WHAT CAN YOU GIVE GREEN? YOU ARE LITTLE PEOPLE WITHOUT ARTIFACTS, GREEN EVEN FEELS SORRY FOR YOU." "Perhaps you need some knowledge?" "HM, GREEN THINK ABOUT IT. WHAT HERBS DO YOU NEED? GREEN IS HONEST AND WON''T ASK FOR MUCH." "We need a cure for the plague and herbs that heal the body." Brandon said, the troll''s face changed into a strong rage. He swung his fist at the nearest tree, completely smashing it into splinters. Ice armor of frozen air and water instantly appeared around Liam. The others were not so lucky and received a bunch of small splinters in their bodies. Inspecting the others, Liam did not see any critical damage, Alistair was very lucky as one splinter pierced him just below the eye. The troll quickly calmed down and changed his mood. "GREENE SORRY, IT''S HARD TO BE A MONSTER, SOMETIMES GREENE''S MIND FAILS. BUT GREENE WILL HELP YOU CURE THE PLAGUE." The troll said apologetically. Brandon felt much better at these words, but Alistair was quick to get rid of his joy. "There is a young vampire in our camp, we hope that Green will not kill her." Alistair said. The troll looked upset, he was clearly going over his options, he sighed loudly and answered. "GREENE WON''T KILL THE VAMPIRE. GREEN''S MORE IMPORTANT THAT IS GETTING RID OF THE PLAGUE." He replied. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, the troll raised his hand in front of them and cast a [Life Magic] spell, which healed all of the damage without leaving a trace. "LET''S GO TO GREEN''S HOUSE, WE''LL TAKE SOME HERBS JUST IN CASE." He said before turning around and walking away. Liam looked around and did not notice the moment when the panther disappeared, there was a lot of land around them strewn with wooden fragments. Noticing that the troll was already far away, he and the others ran to catch up with him. 36 Chapter Chapter 36 The troll walked very fast due to its large size, for it it was a typical walk, but Liam and the others had to run after it at a decent pace. The troll seemed quite reasonable to Liam for a monster, but its outburst of rage once again proved to him that even reasonable and kind monsters are dangerous. They ran after the troll for about 5 minutes, until it stopped at a large cave. "GREENE LEAVE YOU HERE." He said before entering the cave. Liam began to examine the surroundings while they were able to rest. The cave was made of some dark stone, he had nothing to compare it to so he did not know how good it was, but he could assume that the stone was very strong. The cave was in the middle of a meadow of flowers, it did not fit into the surrounding landscape at all, so Liam decided that the troll most likely made it himself. From a short observation of the troll, Liam saw that he was not bad at magic, considering that he healed everyone without blinking an eye. It was at least strange, where the troll found such a spell, he could not even imagine perhaps the troll even made it himself. They did not wait long for the troll, after 10 minutes he came out with a bag from which a pleasant aroma of herbs emanated. In the hands of the troll, the fabric bag seemed very small, one of the troll''s hands barely fit in it. "HOW DID YOU CAME TO GREEN?" "We came along the river bank." Brandon answered. "HM, GREEN DON''T ASK HOW YOU FOUND HIM, GREEN WANTS TO KNOW." "The teacher told us how to find Green." Brandon answered, rubbing his hands nervously. "HM, GREEN AND MREU DIDN''T EVEN NOTICE THE OLD MAN, WHAT''S HIS CLASS AND LEVEL?" The troll asked with interest while Brandon was sweating profusely from worry. "Teacher Elton [Great Secret Mage] Lvl 400." Brandon answered quietly. "MMM, A STRONG OLD MAN. THE GREAT MAGE IS VERY DANGEROUS FOR GRIN, FIGHTING HIM WOULD BE VERY HARD. BUT PEOPLE ALWAYS HAVE POWERFUL ARTIFACTS WITH THEM." The troll said with no small amount of concern. "TELL ME, LITTLE MAN, IS THE OLD MAN GOING TO KILL GREENE?" "I don''t think so." Brandon quickly responded. "OKAY, GREEN WILL BELIEVE YOU." The troll nodded, thinking about Brandon''s answer in complete silence, while the others were getting more and more worried, after a while he answered. "LET''S GO TO THE RIVER." The group looked at each other and each shrugged. As they walked, Liam considered how strong the troll would be compared to Elton the teacher. The troll had a [Special] race, which gave him much more stats than his level indicated, while Elton the teacher had Lvl 400 and was a Great Mage. He knew many more spells and was definitely much more skilled in magic than the troll. Troll definitely has [Regeneration] [Epic] and an additional stat for restoring life force. It''s clear that Elton the teacher will win, but will he win fighting both Green and Mreu at the same time? I''d definitely like to see that fight. While Liam was thinking about his own, they approached the river and began to walk along its bank, after a while they stopped at the place where their team fought with the [Iron Wolves], many corpses were still lying in the frozen ground, some were missing, other animals had probably already managed to eat them. The troll approached one of the corpses, he cast a spell that made the nearest plant grow and get him an ice needle that was inside the corpse. He took the needle and began to carefully examine it in his hands. "GREENE HAS NEVER SEEN THIS ICE BEFORE. WAS IT YOU, LITTLE HUMAN, WHO KILLED THESE WOLVES?" The troll asked, pointing a finger at Liam. "Yes Grin." "I WONDER, MAKE ME THE SAME NEEDLE." Liam did not argue with the troll. He poured mana into the aura and activated the skill [Adaptive Aquatic Weapon][Rare++]. He took some nearby water from the river, creating a ball of water between his hands. Next, he gave the water more pressure using a large amount of mana. Taking out diamond dust from the pouches, he poured it into the spell. With the help of a sharp freeze and a weak transmutation spell, a needle with a diamond tip began to form inside the water bubble. The final element for this spell was a small mana structure inside the ice needle, increasing its durability. When Liam was done, he took the needle in his hand and dispelled the spell [Adaptive Aquatic Weapon][Rare++], taking out all the mana and diamond dust that was inside. Casting the spell initially required a lot of mana, but he could get it back afterwards, so he ended up using only 40 MP to create a slightly larger needle. Most of the mana was used to apply pressure to the water ball to create the needle inside it. Holding the ice needle in his hands, Liam walked up to the excited troll and handed it to him. The troll took the needle with two fingers, the 20 cm needle seemed very small in his hands. Looking at it, the troll spoke. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "VERY SKILLED FOR SO LITTLE MAN. DIAMOND TIP, VERY ORIGINAL. HOW COULD SO LITTLE MAN LEARN SO COMPLEX A SPELL?" "I was born into the strongest family of water mages in the Holy Kingdom." "GREEN KNOWS ABOUT THE NOBLES, VERY NASTY OLD PEOPLE. GREEN HAS BEEN LUCKY NEVER TO MEET THEM." The troll replied with a little disdain. Holding the needle in his hands, Green began to press on it with his fingers harder and harder until it cracked. When this happened, several fragments cut the troll''s hand and blood began to flow from it, literally in a second the wound healed back. Throwing the needle into the ground between Liam''s legs, the troll spoke. "REALLY GOOD SPELL, GREEN WANTS TO GET TO YOUR CAMP QUICKLY. GREEN IS COUNTING ON YOUR SPEED." Without waiting for anyone to answer him, he quickly walked. Liam, using mana manipulation, picked up the needle and took out all the mana from it. Looking back, he noticed that he had already fallen far behind. He had to run pretty fast to catch up with the group. While the troll walked quickly, the others ran, only Alistair had a hard time, since his physical characteristics were not as strong as the others. The troll did not stop the whole way, while Alistair found it more and more difficult to maintain the desired pace. After a few hours, they reached the camp, where Evander met them with Cassandra. The group stopped, Alistair fell to his knees and tried to catch his breath, and Green cast a spell that made the nearby plants grow quickly and entangle Evander and Cassandra. Liam took it well, but Brandon was angry and scared at the same time. But even so, he knew that he couldn''t change anything. Coming closer, the troll began to examine Evander and Cassandra. The prince did not try to break free from the shackles, Cassandra tried to tear the plants apart, but even all her physical strength was not enough for this. She decided to use spells, but her magic was undermined by the Troll''s aura and some kind of intimidation skill. "THE ONLY THING THAT GREEN HATES MORE THAN THE DAMNED IS THE CHURCH. TELL ME, LITTLE MAN, WHY DO YOU HAVE A HOLY CORE BUT YOU''RE NOT A PRIEST?" "Because my bloodline has given it to me since birth." The prince answered carelessly, to which Green nodded. "WHY DIDN''T YOU BECOME A PRIEST? ARE THEY NOT STRONGER THAN HOLY MAGES?" "I lack faith and I believe that to become truly powerful you should not rely on a deity." "GREENE CAN RESPECT THAT." The troll replied, turning his gaze to Cassandra. "YOUNG VAMPIRE, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I''VE MET YOU, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT YOU HAVE A DISGUSTING CURSE. YOUR RACE HAS MERGED SO MUCH WITH IT THAT YOU NOW CONSIDER IT AN ADVANTAGE, NOT A DISADVANTAGE. I SEE THAT DESPITE THIS, IT HAS HAD LITTLE TO NO AFFECT YOU, WHICH I FIND STRANGE. HOW DO YOU, A VAMPIRE, DEAL WITH THIS?" Cassandra looked at the troll with a little anger, licking her sharp teeth, she replied. "I don''t want to talk about this with a monster." Liam and the others held their breath after her answer. Everyone waited to see how the Troll would react to this. Why is she provoking him? He can tear her apart , she has no instinct for self-preservation? "HM, OK. YOU DON''T HAVE TO ANSWER ME. THIS IS NONE OF GREENE''S BUSINESS, BUT GREENE ADVISES YOU NOT TO DEVELOP YOUR RACE, OR YOU WILL BECOME A MONSTER LIKE GREENE." The troll said and released the shackles. The plants that were very tall before transformed back into small ones. Cassandra and Evander stood on the ground. The prince was glad as the others that it didn''t end in conflict, and Cassandra was thinking about what the monster said. "I am very pleased to welcome Green to our camp." Evander said as he adjusted his clothes. "GREEN DOESN''T CARE, SHOW ME WHERE THE PLAGUE THOSE ARE, LITTLE MAN" "Of course, follow me." The Prince answered and walked towards the camp. A minute later they reached a small dugout. "GET THE SICK ONE OUT, GREEN CAN''T COME IN. YOU CAN STAY, JUST DON''T COME CLOSE." The prince signaled to Cassandra to enter the dugout. A few minutes later she came out carrying the boy who had fallen ill first, with her were Kaeti and Max. The boy looked very bad, despite the treatment. His eyes were sunken, he was covered in sweat, his skin was very pale, some places were covered with black spots from which pus was oozing. Approaching the Troll, Cassandra placed the boy at his feet. The Troll leaned closer and cast some spell, it passed without visible effects. No one present could understand the exact purpose of this spell, even the healers did not know it. Green knelt down and began to take out various herbs and tools from the bag. Taking several herbs, he put them in a bowl and began to crush them with a mortar, later he added water there and thoroughly mixed it until a homogeneous gruel. Nodding, he gave the bowl to Cassandra. "GIVE HIM A DRINK." Cassandra lifted the boy and poured the mixture into his mouth. The boy couldn''t swallow it all at once, so Cassandra covered his mouth and nose with her hands. When everything was ready, Green leaned over and put his hand on the patient''s chest. Green energy began to flow out of his hand, which was absorbed into the boy, thanks to which the man was recovering right before our eyes. After 10 seconds, he was completely healthy, but still unconscious. "HE WILL BE OKAY, THE LITTLE MAN NEEDS TIME TO REST. TAKE HIM SOMEWHERE ELSE AND CARRY THE NEXT ONE." So Liam and the others present began to watch as people were carried out to Green one by one. He often mixed some herbs and gave them to the patients, after which he cast a spell that left everyone completely healthy. All 10 people were completely healed after some time. Green took some more herbs out of the bag and rubbed them in his fingers, he spread the remaining dust on his palm with his finger and added life mana to it. Taking a deep breath, Green blew on his hand. The dust that was in it flew into the cave, with the help of a little Air Manipulation, it flew exactly as the troll wanted. "Why did you do this?" asked the prince. "GET RID OF THE PLAGUE. BETTER NOT TO GO THERE FOR A FEW DAYS." Green replied and raised a thin earthen wall to block the entrance inside. "Thank you very much from me and everyone in this camp, you have helped us a lot." The prince said gratefully, to which Green waved his hand." "GREENE DOESN''T CARE ABOUT YOUR GRATITUDE." Evander didn''t expect that answer, so he stumbled slightly over his next words. "Dear Druid, may I ask you for one more favor?" "HM, GREEN WILL THINK ABOUT IT. ASK WHAT THE HOLY MAGE WANTS FROM ME." "Perhaps you can cure one person, he overloaded his body with "technicians"." Evander asked hopefully. "GREEN WILL LOOK BUT WON''T PROMISE ANYTHING." "Of course." The prince said and happily led him to Dylan''s house. 37 Chapter Chapter 37 Nick lay on his bed meditating, waiting for Liam to return with the herbs he needed. Over the past few days, Nick saw that his physical stats had jumped several notches, even without alchemical mixtures. This was due to the development of the [Low adaptability of characteristics] [Common] skill into the [Adaptation of Physical Characteristics] [Uncommon] skill. This once again proved how important it was to have the best race. If he were a [Human] [Uncommon], he wouldn''t have been able to develop this skill, nor would he have been able to get the [Fast Recovery] [Rare+] skill, and it would have taken him forever to level up his pain resistance to a higher level. Of course, developing all these skills already justifies the name of my race, but I''m sure that''s not all it has to offer. It''s probably possible to get the evolution of all skills, but the question is, how to do it? Why didn''t my father tell me anything about this? It''s logical that in order to develop the [Minor Adaptation] [Common] skill to a higher level, you need to subject yourself to various "sufferings", and without better pain resistance, doing this is simply stupid. But what about the main skill of our race? Does no one know how to develop [Quick Learning] [Uncommon]? Surely ordinary people can develop it too. Why didn''t my father tell me how to do this, or is it something else? While Nick was thinking about this, Cassandra entered his room, holding a bloody cocoon with his severed hand in her hands. "Hello, a troll has come to see us, he would like to take a look at you. Maybe you will be lucky and he will heal you and attach your hand." Nick had of course foreseen this development, and with the help of telekinesis he had caught his sword, thus making his healing inevitable. He still couldn''t move normally, so he looked at Cassandra with pitiful eyes. "That sounds very good! Surely you can carry me?" Cassandra rolled her eyes at his antics. Without another word, she walked over to the bed and picked him up like a princess. She carried him outside while Nick''s smile grew wider and wider. But when he saw the 6 meter high Troll, his cheerful mood evaporated. Foresight could not prepare him enough for this sight. If it had been any other day, Nick would have tried to run away, the Troll''s appearance was truly terrifying, especially the growths on his face and his very large nose. Of course, Nick immediately appreciated him. Name: Green 170 years old Race: Forest Troll [Special] Lvl 233 Class: Forest Druid [Rare] Lvl 200 Class: Ax Adept [Rare] Lvl 200 From the assessment, Nick saw that everything that teacher Elton said was true, he didn¡¯t know why the troll couldn¡¯t develop his classes to the [Special] level, but he could guess that even he had a hard time fulfilling the necessary requirements, and perhaps he didn¡¯t even know them. The troll didn''t pay much attention to him at first, but when his gaze fell on the sword in Nick''s hands, the troll''s demeanor changed. His eyes glowed green from some kind of spell. Cassandra ignored it and sat him down in front of the troll and placed his hand next to him. Nick supported his back with telekinesis and waited for what the troll would say. "GREENE SEE THAT THE LITTLE HUMAN HAS MADE A CONTRACT WITH THE WOOD SPIRIT. GREENE RESPECTS THOSE WHO ARE LOVED BY THE SPIRITS OF NATURE AND THOSE WHO DO THE SAME. GREENE WILL OF COURSE HEAL YOU HUMAN." The troll said with respect in his voice. Many who had heard the troll before did not hear respect in his voice, even when he spoke of the Great Mage, yes, there was fear in it, but there was no pure respect. The Troll''s voice made Nick''s ears pop and he regretted being brought so close. Thinking about what to say, Nick spoke. "I will be very grateful to you Green, maybe later I can somehow repay you for this." "GREENE WILL BE HAPPY THAT HE WILL CURE A MAN. GREENE HAS NOT SEEN SOMEONE WHO HAD SUCH A STRONG CONNECTION WITH THE SPIRIT OF NATURE FOR A LONG TIME. YOUR CONNECTION WITH THE SPIRIT IS VOLUNTARY. THIS IS NOT SOME KIND OF CONTRACT LIKE THE SPIRITS SUMMONERS HAVE, WHERE BOTH OWE SOMETHING TO EACH OTHER. THIS IS ALSO PURE LIKE GREENE''S CONNECTION WITH THE FOREST." He said and began to take out various herbs from his bag. Nick didn''t know what to answer next. He was just developing magic, the connection was completely random. Moments from his childhood began to emerge in his memory, the moment when he first saw a tree and how it seemed magical to him. In the shade of the tree, he really felt better in his soul, he noticed this, so he tried to conduct all his training near it. Looking back, this is how this relationship developed. While Nick was remembering pleasant moments from his childhood, Green finished grinding the herbs. Bringing the plate and offered to drink it. He immediately agreed. When he brought the plate to his mouth, Nick felt many different aromas and not all of them were pleasant. Gathering his courage, he drank the whole plate in one gulp. It was hard, his throat immediately began to burn, and his stomach twisted very unpleasantly. A notification popped up in his eyes and he became slightly worried. Congratulations, you have leveled up the skill [Low Poison Resistance][Common] Lvl 21 > Lvl 23 The troll placed his hand on him and cast a spell that was completely unfamiliar to him, pouring a lot of life mana into his body. He began to worry again when the life mana completely filled his body and began to cause a mana overload. A moment later, the spell took effect and the life mana began to be spent, restoring his body. With his free hand, Green took his hand out of the blood cocoon and put it to the place where it had been before. Nick watched as he began to pour in even more life mana and weave a new spell. His left hand, which was completely overgrown, began to change, first his skin tore, then his muscles tore. Nick gritted his teeth from the intense pain and minimized the notifications. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Congratulations, you have leveled up the skill [Rare Pain Resistance][Rare] Lvl 207 > Lvl 208 Muscles and nerves began to grow together between the two parts of his arm, Green noticed that his bone was much longer than it needed to be. He tore off the hand that was pouring life mana into his body and created a blade out of thin air at the end of his finger, with which he cut off the unnecessary part of the bone. Nick was almost unconscious from this hellish pain. The feeling of his nerves growing was driving him crazy, if his body felt better he would scream, but he couldn''t even do that, his body simply couldn''t stand such tension. In his thoughts he began to curse the Troll. Fucking bastard, did he forget that humans don''t have high pain resistance? We''re not trolls, damn it! Why didn''t I think it would hurt that much?! Fucking foresight, it wasn''t clear at all that it would be such a nightmare. Nick couldn''t watch his arm heal any further. His eyes rolled back in his head, but the others watched as the bone snapped into place, all the muscles and nerves fused together, and the skin came together without leaving even a small scar. Green took Nick''s body with both hands and placed it on the ground. Nick was still technically conscious, but all his senses were overloaded and he couldn''t understand anything that was happening. Green took out a few more herbs, ground them in a mortar, poured the resulting mixture into Nick''s mouth and poured water inside. Nick swallowed everything unconsciously, when the mixture reached his stomach, Green created another spell, which he placed in Nick''s body, pouring life mana into it. The damage he had accumulated and couldn''t heal properly in the fight began to heal. Green sat for about 5 minutes carefully examining Nick''s body and finding new improperly healed parts. After examining him for the last time, Green was pleased with the work he had done. Hitting Nick on the head with his finger once, he came to his senses. "You fucking idiot, why didn''t you give me painkillers? It was so painful, I''m not a troll, I''m not used to fucking healing!" Nick screamed and quickly got to his feet. "DRUGS ARE BAD AND EXPENSIVE. GREEN PROMISED TO HEAL YOU BUT HE DIDN''T TELL YOU IT WOULD BE PAINLESS. HA-HA-HA-HA, HA-HA-HA-HA." Green said and laughed, patting Nick on the back. Feeling the troll''s light blows, Nick was able to think about everything and understand how good he felt. He also laughed out of joy, accompanied by Green''s very loud laughter. "Aha-ha-ha, you''re a damn joker. Are you really used to this?" Green asked with interest, not paying attention to the people standing near them with their mouths open. "YES, MY BIGGEST PAIN WAS WHEN [Rukh] [Special] Lvl 400 WANTED TO EAT ME. WIND MAGIC REGULARLY CUT ME INTO PIECES AND I REGENERATED AGAIN WITH THE HELP OF LIFE MAGIC." Green remembered with pain. "Damn, I agree it''s not sweet." Nick responded, imagining such a picture. "SO SURE, LITTLE MAN, DON''T YOU WANT TO WARM UP?" "Aha-ha-ha, of course!" Nick said and rushed for the sword. Green looked at this with a big smile on his ugly face. When Nick took the sword, a sea of ??grass began to grow around him, which prevented Nick from moving by grabbing his legs. Well, well, well. It certainly wasn''t unexpected, but it was certainly pleasant. Hmm, plant magic, very interesting. What could I do? Dividing his thought process and activating the [Accelerated Perception] skill, Nick began to create weak spells of power under his feet and move along them using the "technique" of movement. With a few jumps, he reached the required height while avoiding the trees. Green watched him with a slight smile, waving his hand, a strong wind blew towards him. Nick was unable to resist the spell, as it only created the effect of a gust of wind without manipulating it with mana. Very clever, my aura is useless for this. Nick was knocked down by the wind, his weak spells of power dissipated by the pressure and control of Green''s "Aura". Before landing, plants tried to entangle him, but with a few swings of his sword, he cut them all down. Nick began to put much more mental effort into protecting his spells from aura attacks. He rose up again with a few quick movements, successfully dodging the wind and protecting his spells. He had no choice but to attack Green directly, but by all rights it would be pointless, since he could not even get close enough without being caught by the wind. Nick ran in circles dodging the wind until a net of vines shot out of the ground at a very high speed. Any power spell he could cast in the second would be dissipated either by the force of the net''s impact or by his own movement. The only solution was to try to cut the net in mid-air before it entangled him. Ducking upwards, Nick waited until the net was at a comfortable distance, he managed to make one swing of the wedge horizontally when the net completely entangled him. Nick did not take into account that even if he managed to cut the net, it was endowed with a command, would still completely bind him. As Nick fell downwards, he thought about what he could do, his hands were completely bound, the landing promised to be very painful. As he landed on the ground with a crunch, he cast a spell that fired sharp stones and cut most of the vines and left light cuts on him. With a quick movement, Nick broke free, cut the remaining vines. Looking at his mana pool, he was disappointed. His mana was almost non-existent, only enough for a couple of power spells for movement. Having made up his mind, Nick activated all his techniques to the maximum and quickly moved towards Green. Green did not bother him with spells, but simply waited for him with a slight smile. When he was only a couple of meters away, Green waved his hand, it was not very fast, but Nick spent the last of his mana to dodge. Finding himself at Green''s leg, he swung his sword horizontally with all his strength. When his sword sank into the flesh, Nick immediately realized that the troll was stronger than Ent despite the lack of a durability characteristic and that he should have stuck the sword in, not slashed with it. The sword sank 10 centimeters and got stuck when Nick tried to pull it out. What kind of body type does he have to be that strong?! It''s like a paper cut to him! Nick hesitated because he didn''t let go of the sword in time and got a finger in the chest from Green. It was nothing more than a light blow for him to show that he was already dead. "VERY WELL, MAN! A GLORIOUS FIGHT FOR YOU, TRULY! BUT WHY DIDN''T YOU USE THE SWORD''S ABILITIES?" Nick remembered the conversation with the artifact master at the estate and how his sword could supposedly change shape. "I don''t know how to do this yet." "OK, IT''S PRETTY SIMPLE. YOU CAN MANIPULATE IT WITH AURA. THE SPEED OF THE SWORD''S CHANGE WILL DEPEND ON HOW MUCH ENERGY YOU POUR IN." Nick nodded and walked over to the sword, taking it by the hilt. He tried to pour stamina into it and manipulate it with his aura, but it was no use. He didn''t have any mana to try to do that with her. By applying more force to the sword and holding it with both hands, he was able to pull it out. When the sword was pulled out, the wound that was left on the troll immediately closed, but it didn''t heal completely, a visible cut still remained. "Apparently this only works with mana, and I don''t have any right now." "I SEE, IT''S NOTHING TO SORRY. YOU CAN TRY LATER." Nick came to his senses a little and began to look around, examining the different expressions on the faces of those present, they were mostly not positive. Only Liam stood with a smile, noticing his gaze, Liam gave him a thumbs up. Yeah, yeah, people. Oh, how hard it''s all going to be now. They''re going to know exactly how crazy I am. Damn, this could get nasty. 38 Chapter Chapter 38 Nick stood next to Green and thought about how to get out of this awkward situation. Nick was so happy that he didn''t think about those around him, and looking at it now, he didn''t care what his classmates thought of him. The only thing he was interested in was status and the notification about skill upgrades. Congratulations, you have leveled up [Rare Pain Resistance][Rare] Lvl 208 > Lvl 219 Congratulations, you have leveled up [Low Poison Resistance][Common] Lvl 23 > Lvl 29 Congratulations, you have reached Level 1 in Race [Evolved Human][Rare] Lvl 27 > Lvl 28 For 1 level you get: Strength +1 Dexterity +1 Stamina +1 Vitality +1 Constitution +1 Mental Control +1 Willpower +1 Intelligence +1 Wisdom +1 Perception +1 Charisma +1 Luck +1 +9 free attribute points Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Healing Magic][Common] Lvl 49 > Lvl 50 Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Parallel Thinking][Uncommon] Lvl 127 > Lvl 131 Congratulations, you have increased the skill level [Accelerated Perception][Uncommon] Lvl 127 > Lvl 132 Congratulations, you have leveled up [Magic Arcane Will][Rare] skill Lvl 218 > Lvl 219 Congratulations, you have leveled up [Magic of Stone][Uncommon] skill Lvl 136 > Lvl 137 Congratulations, you have leveled up [Lesser Aura of Arcane Will][Common] Lvl 55 > Lvl 61 Congratulations, you have leveled up [Phantom Sword Mastery][Uncommon+] Lvl 179 > Lvl 180 Congratulations, you have leveled up [Stamina Manipulation][Uncommon] Lvl 150 > Lvl 152 Congratulations, you have leveled up [Awakening of the Ghost][Uncommon+] Lvl 113 > Lvl 115 Congratulations, you have leveled up [Ghost Flicker][Uncommon+] Lvl 109 > Lvl 113 Looking through the notifications, Nick was surprised by how many skills had gained a new level. And that he had finally gained a new level in his race. He should have done it a long time ago, but for some reason the circumstances had turned out differently. Of course, it was easy to get several levels by killing creatures without class abilities, but of course it was simply not profitable. Looking at his status, Nick immediately invested all his free stats into mana regeneration. Name: Dylan Ghostblade (Nick Miller) 15 years old Race: Evolved Human [Rare] Lvl 27 > Lvl 28 Class: Mage of Arcane Will [Rare][Uniquely] Lvl 5 Class: Adept of the Art Phantom Sword [Rare] Lvl 5 Health 1600/1660 HP 2.490 HP/hour Mana 0/2590 MP 2.52 MP/hour Endurance 1500/1900 ST 28.5 ST/hour Statistics: Strength 158 +2 Dexterity 182 +2 Stamina 190 +3 Vitality 166 +3 Constitution 169 +4 Intelligence 168 +1 Wisdom 147 +1 Mental Control 205 +1 Willpower 297 +1 Perception 170 +1 Charisma 46 +1 Mana output 181 Mana 259 Mana Regeneration 252 +9 Luck 38 +1 0 free attribute points Titles: Otherworldly Reincarnator [Legendary+], Special Skill Holder [Special], Contract with the Emerging Spirit [Uncommon], Class Line Progenitor [Legendary][Uniquely], Mage of Arcane Will [Rare][Uniquely], Adept of the Art Phantom Sword [Rare], Holder of the Unique Skill [Special][Uniquely]. Racial Skills: Fast Recovery [Rare+] Quick Learning [Uncommon] Adaptation of Physical Characteristics [Uncommon] Minor Adaptation [Common] Lesser Mana Core [Common] Low Mental Resistance [Common] Lvl 44 Low Poison Resistance [Common] Lvl 29 Rare Pain Resistance [Rare] Lvl 219 General Skills: Reincarnator''s Madness [Special][Unique] Lvl 403 Great Identification [Special] Lvl 401 Fake Status [Special] Lvl 401 Language Proficiency (Ramiast) [Uncommon] Lvl 169 Lesser Spiritual Sense [Rare] Lvl 202 Lesser Soul Energy Manipulation [Rare] Lvl 201 Class: Mage of Arcane Will [Rare][Uniquely] +90% to skill development speed, +90% to understanding your own class. Class Skills: Magic Arcane Will [Rare] Lvl 219 Great Meditation [Rare] Lvl 213 Manipulation of Mana [Rare] Lvl 207 Mana Sense [Uncommon] Lvl 199 Casting Spells [Uncommon] Lvl 199 Magic of Stone [Uncommon] Lvl 137 Magic of Predictions [Uncommon] Lvl 123 Lesser Aura of Arcane Will [Common] Lvl 61 Parallel Thinking [Uncommon] Lvl 131 Healing Magic [Common] Lvl 50 Life Force Manipulation [Uncommon] Lvl 121 Class: Adept of the Art Phantom Sword [Rare] +60% to skill development speed, +60% to understanding your own class. Class Skills: Phantom Sword Mastery [Uncommon+] Lvl 180 Stamina Manipulation [Uncommon] Lvl 152 Awakening of the Ghost [Uncommon+] Lvl 115 Ghost Flicker [Uncommon+] Lvl 113 Accelerated Perception [Uncommon] Lvl 132 Nick was happy with his status, but not with the fact that two skills were stuck at Lvl 199. While he was reading notifications and checking his status, most people had gone off to do their own thing. He was still standing next to Green, Evander, Liam and the Healers approached them. "HOW IS YOUR PROGRESS HUMAN?" Green asked with interest. "Not bad, now thanks to your healing I can quickly level up in classes." Nick replied with a smile. "GREEN IS HAPPY FOR YOU, DO YOU NEED ANYTHING ELSE FROM GREEN?" "I don''t think so." Nick said and turned his gaze to the prince. "Thank you very much [Druid] Green, we are greatly in your debt. We would like to repay you somehow, perhaps there is something you may need from us?" The Prince asked. "HM, GREEN NEEDS "TECHNIQUES" THAT MAY WORK FOR A TROLL AND NEW SPELLS." Green answered, pondering. "Of course, we''ll be happy to teach you that. We have a halberd adept and many other weapon adepts in the camp, maybe some of the "techniques" will suit you. Spells won''t be a problem either, but there aren''t many 4th level spells in the camp." "HM, THAT''S GOOD. CAN GREEN STAY WITH YOU?" The troll asked uncomfortably. "Of course, we will do our best to teach you our knowledge." The prince answered with a smile. By the time the troll had cured Nick, any knowledge that the [Reincarnator''s Madness] skill had provided had ended, so he was very surprised to see Elton''s teacher and his assistant near Liam. He, like everyone else, had missed the moment when Elton was there. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. What kind of spell is this? Even when it was supposed to be in my aura, I couldn''t feel it. Green took a very wary pose. Nick found it funny to see the 6 meter giant cowering in fear because of the little man. The others showed different reactions of surprise, but of course no one was very scared, except for the troll. "Prince, Prince, Prince, eh. If someone from the army or the royal power saw you so boldly breaking the law of the kingdom, you would not get off lightly. Perhaps you do not know that it is forbidden to train monsters that are not under your control, no matter whether they are intelligent or not." The teacher''s lightly reproachful tone affected everyone. Green took a few steps back and began to prepare several spells that everyone could see due to the strong compression of mana. Now the troll poured visible green mana into the ground and surrounded himself with a arcane barrier. Not paying attention to this, Teacher Elton continued. "You''re lucky that I, like the other teachers, don''t care at all. So the Troll doesn''t have to try to attack me." Elton said, looking into Green''s eyes. "GREENE FEEL THAT YOU ARE STRONG, BUT HE CAN''T TELL HOW STRONG. THIS SCARES GREENE." He said as the [Great Shadow Panther] appeared from the shadows next to him. "It''s quite normal since I have several [Epic] skills." Elton said with a creepy smile as he looked at them. Green visibly cringed in horror. It was clear from his eyes that he saw no chance of winning at all. He lowered his hands and began to pet the panther, calming it down so that it would no longer growl at Elton. Nick did not know how strong [Epic] level skills really were, but from the look of the Troll, he could tell that it was very strong. If two [Special] level creatures could not defeat him, Nick decided that later he would roughly calculate their stats and compare them with the stats of Elton''s teacher. Maybe they are also wary of unknown artifacts? Not just [Epic] skills. This is worth considering. "Fine, I don''t care what the kids do. If they wanted to teach you something, so be it." Elton said and turned his gaze to the prince. "For anything you teach him, you will not be punished, so relax." He said and waved his hand, which made Evander and the healers breathe a sigh of relief. By the time Elton finished speaking, Green had gathered back all the mana he had used into his core. He looked much calmer than before, as did his panther. "THANK YOU GREAT MAGE." "Nothing like that... So, I''m here to give you instructions so that you can quickly start leveling up your classes. The faster you reach a significant level, the faster you can leave here. So good luck." Elton said and flew away with his assistant. When Master Elton left, the Prince offered Green to come with him and the healers so that they could begin his training. Green said goodbye to Nick briefly and followed the Prince, along with the shadow panther. Liam stayed with Nick, and they were in silence for a while until Liam spoke. "So what are your plans now that you''re healed?" "Ah, I''m thinking of going on a rampage to quickly gain a lot of levels. I''m tired of being so weak." "And who are you planning on killing?" Liam asked with interest. "First I''ll walk through the forest in search of prey, if I don''t find anything significant, I''ll go hunt orcs and to hell with the consequences." "Do you think it will be worth it?" "I don''t know, I''ll think about it some more, maybe something will change. I can also ask Green where I can go hunting well." "Yeah, that sounds like a plan. I''m going to go hunting too, I''m tired of meditating. And the forest is surprisingly nice." "As much as I would like to go hunting with you, for now I will hunt alone. Later, if I find a strong opponent, I will definitely take you with me." "Fine." "So tell me, what happened along the way?" They sat down near a tree and Liam began to recount his journey. In general, there was nothing significant except his battle with the iron wolves. Nick heard Liam cast spells and was convinced that he urgently needed to increase his level so as not to lag so far behind Liam in magic. Of course Nick didn''t think he was fundamentally weaker, since thanks to his techniques and several skills in his race, he was most likely the strongest adept in the camp. Not counting the vampire, since her "techniques" do not use pure endurance. But the feeling of being so greatly surpassed did not give him peace. Then they talked together about different things that had happened over the past few days and argued about how exactly Teacher Elton had managed to get to them. By evening they had separated, first Nick went to the river and had a full wash for the first time in a long time. After washing his clothes, he put them on and walked around the camp wet. Entering the house, Nick noticed that everything was very clean. Not paying attention to this, Nick lay down on the bed, began to meditate, think about tomorrow. Someone put a lot of effort into removing this... His thoughts went into disarray when he noticed Linella in his bed, covered with what looked like a blanket. Her shoulders were sticking out and he could tell they were naked. Waiting until he met her gaze, Linella licked her lips sexily and winked lustfully at him. "I finally waited for you to recover so we could have some fun. I really want to thank you!" Linella said using some ability, her voice sounded very attractive. She opened the blanket and Nick could fully appreciate how good her breasts were, they were exactly the way he liked them. Not too big, about 2.5 sizes. This caused the strongest lust in him. Nick approached the bed, Lynella stood up completely throwing off her blanket, assessing her body, Nick could not hold back any longer. He pulled her to him and kissed her on the lips, Lynella responded with her tongue and an even more passionate kiss. She did not wait much and immediately began to take off his clothes while they were kissing. First she took off his T-shirt, and then his pants. When she began to feel his device, Nick pushed her onto the bed and began to gently suck her nipples and feel her breasts. Lynella began to moan quietly from which Nick became even more excited. He inserted his second hand between her legs and began to look for the right spot, when he found it, Lynella began to moan even louder. They hugged him and started kissing again while he masturbated her. After a couple of minutes of sweet kissing, Linella''s legs tightened and she began to tremble violently, holding back a loud moan. "Aaah, you got me going real quick!" She said grabbing his cock. "Now, it''s my turn! " Lynella said in a too sweet voice, making Nick''s head spin. She picked him up and turned him over onto his back, sitting on top of him. First she felt his muscular chest, her hands went lower and lower until she took his cock and began to jerk him off weakly. "You have a good size for your age!" After her words, she leaned over and began to lick it. For Nick it was very good, he hadn''t experienced such pleasure for a long time. At first, Linella only licked his cock with her tongue and jerked him off with her hands. It seemed to her that this was not enough, so she leaned even further and took his cock into her mouth. At first not very deeply, but then deeper and deeper, until he was completely in her mouth. Liam moaned slightly from this, Linella''s throat squeezed his cock very well, it was very pleasant. Taking the cock out of her mouth, Linella cleared her throat slightly and smiled seductively at him, continuing to suck his cock. Her head lowered slowly, wrapping her tongue around his cock. She put one hand between her legs and began to masturbate quickly, gradually she began to swallow his cock better and better, doing it faster. Nick put his hands on her head and began to help her a little, which she did not mind at all. Linella sucked his cock very skillfully, he did not expect such Mastery at all, it took her 4 minutes to bring him to the peak. When he felt it, Nick tilted Linella''s head more strongly and finished in her mouth. She did not resist at all when she received a mouthful of semen. Changing her position, she sat a little higher, rubbing her crotch against his cock and showing off her breasts well, squeezing them with her hands. Linella made sure that Nick was looking at her face, she opened her mouth wide, depicting "Ahegao". Then she licked her mouth and loudly swallowed all the sperm. Nick was excited even more, he rose to her, squeezing her breasts and kissing her neck. Linella''s head lay on his shoulder, licking her lips, she gently whispered to him. " Do you want to go to more? " Nick nodded, unable to find the words to answer. Lynella pushed him onto his back with her hand, taking his cock, she stood up slightly and began to move his cock along her hole. Exciting him even more, she slightly inserted the cock and began to slowly lower herself onto it until it hit something before reaching halfway. Lynella bit her lips and applied more force until they heard something break and the cock suddenly entered inside completely. Lynella squealed in pain and pleasure, sitting on it she began to sway her hips a little, squeezing her breasts and biting her lips. Nick didn''t expect Linella to be innocent, she was too experienced for that. Of course, he considered healing a possible option, but he didn''t think she should bother for that. He was Linella''s first and yes, that made him very happy. Lynella rocked her hips and waited for the pain to pass, getting used to it a little, she began to rise and fall slightly at a slow pace, moaning loudly. Watching her, Nick became more and more excited. The way her chest swayed from this drove him crazy. When she began to increase the pace, Nick abruptly rose and took her off his cock, laying her on the bed on her stomach. He leaned down to kiss her neck and whispered a few words. "Now it''s my turn!" "Mmm, I''m really looking forward to it!" Lynella replied and blew him a kiss. He lay on top of her, carefully inserting his cock inside, appreciating how beautiful her ass was. At first he took a slow pace, but even this was enough for Linella to start moaning loudly with pleasure. Nick began to move faster and faster and completely fell into lust. Nick was sure that Linella''s moans were heard throughout the camp, but he did not care. He moved very quickly, which made Linella get a lot of pleasure, a minute later Linella''s pussy contracted and she came so that the whole bed was in her secretions. Nick took out his cock, giving her a little time to rest. Linella rolled over on her back, breathing loudly. Her eyes were unfocused, a blissful smile made it clear that she was very pleased. "Why did you stop? I''m sure you know what to do next." Nick didn''t need to be told more, he spread her legs and admired her pussy, it was clean shaven, her lips were open and her soft pink flesh was visible. Lowering his hand, Nick stuck his finger into her pussy collecting as much lubricant as possible, with the same hand he began to masturbate her clitoris. With his other hand he stuck his cock into her. Linella''s eyes focused on him, they were full of lust. Nick didn''t wait and immediately started at a high tempo. Linella began to moan loudly, her head fell and she again fell into unconsciousness from pleasure. He really enjoyed fucking Linella, the way her breasts shook excited him unrealistically, her thin waist all in beads of sweat gave it a special charm. Taking Linella''s breast with one hand, Nick began to squeeze it and rub her nipple with his fingers. He fucked her in this position for 5 minutes until Linella opened her eyes. "I want to change positions, tell me do you want to fuck me doggy style?" She said with a smile. "Certainly!" Nick pulled out his cock, Lynella rose and got on all fours in front of him, raising her ass high. In this position, Nick was able to fully examine her ass and feel it well, for him at this moment she was perfect. Having inserted his cock inside, Nick quickly began to move, holding her ass tightly, when his hips touched her ass, a characteristic slap was heard. Usually he would have put less effort in this position, but now he would not settle for less. He wanted to fuck her so that she would remember it for the rest of her life, in gratitude for her sexy body. Lynella moaned in pleasure as he tried to fuck her hard. Feeling that he was reaching his limit, Nick spoke. "Do you want me to cum on your back?" He said, breathing loudly as he continued to fuck her. "Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! C-Ah!-an! Ah! Ah! You! Ah! Ah! Ah! Cum! Ah! Ah! In-Ah!-side. Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!" Nick decided it was worth the risk, speeding up and applying more force for a few moments he drove his cock as deep as he could and came inside. Lynella felt a bunch of sperm hitting her womb, came with pleasure, and with loud moans. " Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!" Lynella sank down on her stomach, Nick''s cock came out of her, she lay there and wanted to come to her senses, but Nick of course didn''t want to let her go so easily. The sight of her lying with her ass slightly raised, and his sperm flowing out of her pussy, didn''t give him the opportunity to stop. Nick lay down next to Linella from behind, hugging her breast, with one hand he squeezed her nipple, and with the other he inserted his cock into her hole and pulled her towards him. She didn''t quite expect this and moaned loudly. From her moan Nick''s cock became almost stone. "Ah, ah, maybe we should take a rest?" "Of course not." Nick continued to fuck Linella in this position when he came inside again, Linella was already completely squeezed out. But of course Nick was not going to let her go like that, turning her over on her stomach, he continued. The last position was the longest, Nick took out his cock and came on Linella''s chest, he began to touch her chest with his hands and rub the sperm on her. Linella came to her senses and was able to pay only a glance. All she did tonight was moan. Her eyes did not want to focus at all from lust. Nick lay down next to her, squeezing her chest and ass. After a while, Linella came to her senses and was able to speak, without magic in her voice. "What a beast you are, I want the same tomorrow." She said feeling his muscles, the next thing she said sounded quietly in another language. "Ah, you could have done it a little softer, that kid fucked me too hard. Next time, I''ll use less magic on teenagers. But still, it was so good! This world is beautiful." Linella said in English. "Ah, so stupid to reveal yourself to another reincarnator." Nick replied with a smile on his face, in English words. Linella was in complete shock. Looking at his playful expression, she relaxed and spoke. "I agree to the "punishment", sweetie." "Sure, but you''ll have to be on top, I''m sorry, but I really want to look at your breasts from below." "As you say." Linella sat on top of him and inserted his cock inside, jumping on him actively and not holding back her moans. Nick watched with great pleasure how awkward it was for Linella, but he paid more attention to her breasts, which were jumping energetically. Their sex continued for a long time, they received great satisfaction from it. Therefore, the conversation about reincarnation was left for later. 39 Chapter Chapter 39 Nick had sex with Linella until late at night, he didn''t even remember how much time had passed. Remembering the previous evening, he became excited again. Of course, the conversation about reincarnation had to take place very soon. Having expanded his aura, Nick was disappointed that Linella was not in his house. She had managed to go somewhere. Well, she can''t avoid talking about reincarnation. Getting out of bed, he put on the clothes that were on the floor, they had dried overnight and did not smell at all. Having dressed, Nick began to notice the remains of mana that was in the tree. Looking closely, he noticed that it was Linella''s mana, because of the characteristic mana signature. Of course, he noticed that she used some kind of magic on him, but he did not notice the magic in the walls. Nick went outside and walked around the house, finally making sure that it was completely saturated with her mana. There was relatively little mana, but he was able to notice it. On this occasion, he received a new notification. Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Mana Sense][Uncommon] Lvl 199 > Lvl 200 Nick noticed a few notifications about his other skill level increasing in the notification bar, which made him smile wryly. Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Low Mental Resistance][Common] Lvl 43 > Lvl 45 Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Low Mental Resistance][Common] Lvl 45 > Lvl 47 Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Low Mental Resistance][Common] Lvl 47 > Lvl 50 Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Low Mental Resistance][Common] Lvl 50 > Lvl 55 Thinking about yesterday now, he could actually say that something had influenced his decisions. But it wasn''t significant, he would have fucked Linella anyway. Maybe her magic added some charm to her, he couldn''t say more. Nick hoped that it was ineffective against him because of his mental resistance and high willpower. Although considering that I''m going to fuck her anyway, it might say otherwise. To hell with it! Nick looked around noticing a few people walking around his hut, considering that no one was looking at him like a horny pig, the magic that was in the walls most likely served as a privacy barrier. Nick went back into the house thinking about his next steps. So, I need to accumulate a decent amount of mana, then I can go hunting and to commit massacre. Trying to clear his mind Nick began to meditate, because he was not calm at all, it was very difficult and ineffective. He tried to calm down the lust further, but it did not work at all. During his attempts, Linella came to him with wet hair holding wooden trays with food in her hands. Of course, all Nick''s attention was focused on the drops of water that flowed down her and fell between her boobs. Linella was practically naked, Nick did not even know that they had clothes similar to a white dress. He thought that they only got armor and basic clothes. Seeing his gaze directed at her chest, Linella smiled sweetly. "Good morning darling, I brought us some snacks. I hope you didn''t miss me too much while I was gone?" Nick tried to control his lust, if only to decide if this was really mental manipulation and not just his wild lust as a teenager. Holding back his reaction, Nick responded calmly. "Good morning, thank you for the food, I''m very hungry after yesterday." "Of course." Lynella said and handed him the food. For breakfast they had some meat and rice. Nick couldn''t figure out where they got it from. So he decided to ask. "Where does rice come from anyway?" "I heard it was grown by a troll using plant magic. Really useful." "Really." Nick continued eating in awkward silence, and when they finished he didn''t know what to do. He was torn between lust and wanting to know who she was as a reincarnator. Linella solved that problem for him. " Yesterday evening was very pleasant, so I want more! " Linella said, activating the magic with her voice, simultaneously creating a spell that was visible in the walls. Nick could feel the magic that affected his mind, but now that he knew about it for sure and was ready for it, he broke it with the help of aura. He began to look more closely at the walls of the building, making sure that it was a kind of sound magic. Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Low Mental Resistance][Common] Lvl 55 > Lvl 56 Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Mana Sense][Uncommon] Lvl 200 > [Mana Sense][Rare] Lvl 201 Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Lesser Aura of Arcane Will][Common] Lvl 61 > Lvl 65 Looking at Linella''s expression, Nick realized that her magic wasn''t giving her feedback. It was a relief, but he still wanted it to work on him. "Where do you want to start?" He said hugging her. " I would like the same as yesterday! " Nick let the magic work on him, he felt that the desire for sex in him became much stronger than before, and Linella became even more attractive. It''s not strong magic, but damn it''s good! Nick leaned over to Linella and gently pulled her dress down, revealing her breasts. The dress remained on her hips, retaining some charisma. Linella began to take off his T-shirt and feel his muscles while he touched her breasts. With a light movement of her hand, she lowered him to his back and pulled his pants off. " I noticed yesterday how much you liked my breasts, so I hope you like them too. " Lynella sat on her knees and put his cock between her tits and began to squeeze them, wrapping them around him. She made a couple of movements, lowering and raising her breasts, squeezing the cock with them. Having lowered it, she leaned over and licked it well, and then swallowed it completely. Every time he felt her throat with cock, it was incredibly pleasant. Lynella again wrapped her breasts around cock and began to jerk him off, when the cock came out she licked it with her mouth. Nick did not enjoy this more than sex, but the sight of her doing it turned him on no less. Lynella did this for about 10 minutes, occasionally glancing at him to check how into it he was. When she got tired of it, she pursed her lips and spoke with a very cute face. " Maybe you want to do something for me? " Of course, he couldn''t refuse her. Nick got up from the bed and picked up Linella in his arms. Putting her on the bed, he pulled her dress up to her waist so that it elegantly hid her pussy and left her breasts open. Licking his fingers, he began to masturbate her clitoris with one hand and insert his fingers into her pussy with the other. Linella began to moan quietly, closing her eyes and relaxing. Nick did this for about five minutes, reaching the desired point, Linella''s niches contracted and she moaned loudly. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. " Ah! " Coming to her senses after a couple of seconds, Linella spoke. " Don''t you want to come inside me, sweetie?! " Nick lifted her dress without further ado and inserted his cock into her. He immediately began to move quickly, under the loud and uncontrollable moans of Linella. He held her spread legs with his hands and looked with pleasure at her face, and chest. Damn, it will be so hard to break the habit of this. Continuing like this for 12 minutes, Linella came again with a loud moan. Her eyes were unfocused again, pulling out his cock, she turned over on her stomach with her ass high in the air, so that her dress fell on her head. Nick understood her invitation, slightly adjusted her dress, and gently began to touch her ass. Linella began to move it from side to side, inviting him inside. Nick inserted his cock and grabbed her ass with both hands. Moving very quickly, he brought Linella to orgasm again, Nick continued further and felt that he would also soon cum. Having released all the sperm into Linella, Nick moaned loudly, as did she with another orgasm. Nick sat down next to Linella and had to admit that he could have continued like this even longer. Linella changed her position, she lay down on her back and began to squeeze one breast with her hand, with the other hand she climbed into her pussy and took the sperm out of it. Linella brought her hand to her face and under his gaze licked it greedily. Nick really wanted to continue and decided that the conversation could wait. He lay down next to Linella and took her by the neck with one hand, and with the other he stuck his cock into her. Holding her by the neck with one hand and grabbing her breast from below with the other, he continued to fuck her. Her moans began to drive him crazy because of the magic embedded in them. Moving very quickly, Nick began to kiss Linella on the neck, it took him only 6 minutes to cum again at this pace, Linella also cummed at the same moment. Lying together, Nick pulled out his cock and got out of bed, walking around her Nick appreciated how beautiful she was. Lynella was lying on his bed with her eyes unfocused from pleasure and lightly kneading one breast with her hand, her pussy was leaking her secretions along with his sperm. This sight alone charged him up for another time, but Nick decided and dispelled all the mana that acted on him urging him to lust, with this he was able to regain his own control and resist his pure desire for sex. "So maybe it''s time for us to remember what we wanted to talk about yesterday?" Nick said, and his voice made Lynella come to her senses a little and she whispered sweetly to him. " But I want some more sweet! " Nick dispelled her spell with his aura and spoke again. "No, honey, we have to go!" " Please! " This time, Linella put a lot more power into the spell. It almost worked on him, but at the last moment, he managed to dispel it with an aura that he poured his will into. "No, no, get up already." "OK!" Linella said and stopped squeezing her breasts, she sat up and noticed how much discharge was flowing from her pussy, lowering her hand she took as much as possible and began to lick it with a blissful expression on her face. "Come on, stop it already!" Nick said, it was very hard for him to resist this, even harder than breaking her magic. "Oh, come on. If you only knew how delicious it is. I suspect that your race did it on purpose. Although I have not tried other people''s sperm, this tastes like some kind of milkshake. Maybe all the sperm in this world is this delicious?" Linella turned her gaze to him and softened under him. "You don''t have to worry Dylan, I''m only yours until you want someone else... But of course we can discuss a threesome, I like girls too, especially beauties with high charisma." "I''ll take that into consideration." Nick said, adjusting Linella''s dress so that it covered her breasts and pussy. It was too distracting. "So how old were you in your past life?" Nick asked. "Mmm, don''t worry, I wasn''t an old woman. I was 36 and you won''t believe why I died!" Lynella said seductively licking the cum off her hand. "So don''t keep me in suspense, answer. Or else it will all soon end with another sex." " That''s what I wanted! " Nick broke her spell again, and Lynella continued as if nothing had happened. "I fell out of a window when I ate the wrong mushrooms. How funny! I had this really bad hallucination and thought I''d climbed over a fence, and then it turned out it was a window. I only fell 5 meters, and then I woke up in the hospital. The next thing I knew, some guy was picking me up and handing me over to my new mother." "Well, it''s funny in its own way, but I don''t see anything special in it." "Mmm, you didn''t see how colorful and fun everything was at that moment. Oh well, how did you die?" "Huh, I got hit by a car, not very funny. The last thing I remember is being loaded into an ambulance." "Well, nothing out of the ordinary. Do you want to continue? " "A little later, what is this skill?" "Oh, I didn''t even know that it could be resisted. It''s [Word Magic] together with [Mind Magic], in general I can manipulate people in different ways, but most often I arouse lust in others. Hmm, I''ll tell you, since you''re my lover. I have a [Special] skill [Interest Call]. It works through my mana and is almost unnoticeable, you just can''t resist it. If I wanted, you would fuck me for several days! It works in such a way that I can arouse someone''s interest in something, but there are a few restrictions that I won''t tell you about." "Will you demonstrate?" "Of course." Lynella said and lowered her dress, Nick tried to tear his gaze away from her bare chest, but did so only after a second. Lynella found herself on the other side of the bed, and her illusion was dissipating." "So strong, even when I knew about it I couldn''t resist." "You could eventually, but the skill''s main strength comes from its range and stealth. It''s not very strong in direct combat." She said as she inserted her fingers into her pussy. "And what is the range?" "I I don''t know, it affected everyone I saw." "Not bad, how did you get this skill?" "I don''t know, I just found it in the possible skills." "I wonder how many schools of magic you know?" "Mmm, [Mind Magic], [Illusion Magic], [Word Magic], [Shape Magic], [Air Magic]." "A lot, I wanted to ask you, was it you who crippled Nathan Spellsword?" "Hee hee, yes, it was me. I did it with my [Interest Call] skill and mind magic. The orc couldn''t understand why he was so focused on something and a little extra thought was enough to push him to the right place." "Not bad, but how did you dodge that beast when we fought together?" Linella''s expression changed to guilty. "Well, I was a little guilty about it, I found this beast and used a skill on it, I didn''t expect it to be that strong. Later in the battle, I tried to distract it, but it wasn''t very effective." "Mmm, well thanks for that at least." "But learn to see the positive in everything, if you hadn''t fought it so hard, you wouldn''t have been able to fuck me. I admit I liked you back then, but you weren''t special at all." She said and lifted her dress showing her pussy. "Well, next time don''t do it without telling me." Nick said as he reached out his hand and started masturbating with it. " Mmm, go on! " "Okay! You''ve convinced me!" Lynella stood up and leaned her hands on the wall, throwing off her dress completely. She spread her legs slightly and bent her waist down, starting to sway her hips sexily. Nick walked up to her and inserted his cock into her pussy. " As a thank you, we''ll make it quick! " Lynella said and Nick felt her pussy become much tighter. His cock was squeezed very hard, which gave him a new level of pleasure. "I didn''t know you could do that!" He said and started moving his hips. " Me too! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah? " Nick was able to build up a decent speed and was ready to cum after just 2 minutes. "Do you want it in your mouth?" " Ah! Ah! Ah! Cer-Ah!-Ah!-tai-Ah!-nly Ah! Ah! " Nick continued the pace a little more and pulled out his cock, Lynella quickly turned around and got on her knees putting his cock in her mouth. It was just in time, cum started filling her mouth while she held back moans. When Nick finished, Lynella on her knees opened her mouth and did "Ahegao" showing how much he rewarded her with. Nick didn''t want to start sex again, then he quickly got dressed and left, leaving Linella kneeling with an uncomprehending expression on her face. " Well, wait, sweetie! " She screamed as Nick opened the door. The people closest to him looked at him strangely, as the open door broke the barrier of privacy. Ignoring them, Nick walked towards the prince. 40 Chapter Chapter 40 Nick walked at a fast pace and hoped that Lynella wouldn''t chase him for another hour of entertainment , while looking through the notifications. Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Low Mental Resistance][Common] Lvl 56 > Lvl 59 Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Lesser Aura of Arcane Will][Common] Lvl 65 > Lvl 68 At this rate, I''ll quickly raise my mental resistance skill to [Uncommon]. Which is of course very handy considering how vulnerable I am to her [Interest Call] [Special] skill. I think it''s much stronger than she wanted to show me, after all, it should rival [Reincarnator''s Madness] [Special]. Asking around the camp, Nick quickly found the prince''s hut. It was no different from the one he lived in. Knocking on the wood, Nick waited for an answer and entered, lifting the skin of the beastthat served as a door. Inside, the prince was sitting in a meditative pose, apparently Nick had interrupted his mana gathering training. Thinking about it, he didn''t know how the prince''s meditation worked. Considering that he had the [Holy Mana Core], perhaps there were some nuances to this. Breaking out of his thoughts, Nick spoke. "Hello Evander, I came to tell you that I want to go hunting alone." Remembering that Lynella would definitely be waiting for him at the hut, Nick continued. "In fact, I think I''ll do it right now." "Well, if you feel so good, I won''t stop you. But I ask you to be careful." The prince answered with a thoughtful face. "Of course, you don''t have to worry, I''m not going to lie around like dead weight for another week." "Okay, there''s something I wanted to talk to you about, but with all the things going on at camp, I can''t remember it at all. So it can wait until you get back to camp and please do it before the evening." "Of course I''m going." Nick said waving goodbye. "Good luck!" After leaving the house, Nick went to look for Green to ask him about a place where he could find a large number of strong animals. It didn''t take him long, Green found himself near the river growing new plants, along with Max and Kaeti. Looking around, Nick noticed that there were a large number of new plants and a new small stream that came straight from the river. The troll manipulated the plants so that they could grow faster. As interesting as it was for Nick now, he decided that hunting would be much more important. "Hello Green, please tell me if you know of any animals around here that I can hunt and quickly level up my classes." Green turned around with a wide smile on his face, interrupting his spell casting. Max and Kaeti also turned their attention to him. "GREEN FEEL THAT HUMAN MATED WITH WOMAN, GREEN GLAD THAT HUMAN FEEL SO GOOD." The troll said cheerfully. Max took it with a blank face, and Kaeti blushed deeply. "Yeah, yeah, that doesn''t matter. So what about the beasts, or monsters?" Nick asked without focusing on it. "HM, THERE ARE A LOT OF GOBLINS ABOUT 70 KILOMETERS AWAY, THEY ARE CONTROLLED BY ORCS, OR A HUMAN CAN GO FURTHER DOWN THE RIVER AND HUNT IRON WOLVES AND WILD ANIMALS." Hmm, goblins and orcs, or animals? I think I''d better go for the animals. "Thank you Green. I''ll go." Nick wanted to say goodbye but Troll stopped him. "WAIT HUMAN. GREEN WANTS TO GIVE YOU A DRUG SO THERE WILL BE NO LITTLE HUMANS IN THE CAMP." The troll said with an even bigger smile. Nick tried to ignore the looks he was getting from Max and Kaeti, but it was no longer working. Max was looking at him blankly and Nick was absolutely sure that Max might not like him now. Kaeti was looking at her feet with a completely red face, occasionally throwing quick glances at him when she thought he wasn''t noticing. When the troll mentioned the potion, she managed to blush even more, and her gaze became detached and thoughtful. Green stood up and led Nick to another part of the garden, where he began collecting various plants and immediately grinding them in a mortar. When he was done with this, he added a small amount of ordinary mana and created an unknown spell. Green sent the resulting powder into a small bag that he took out from a shoulder bag. "HOLD THIS, THIS HUMAN WILL EAT BEFORE MATURATION, YOU ONLY NEED THE TIP OF YOUR LITTLE FINGER TO BE SURE OF THE ACTION." "Thanks, but I don''t think it was worth bothering with." "GREENE DON''T THINK SO." The troll shook his head. "Well, thanks anyway, I''m going." Nick said goodbye. Walking further along the river in the direction of the troll''s house, Nick switched to a light jog to keep his stamina at full value. Damn, I didn''t ask why Lynella agreed to let me fill her up. Oh well, I hope I get away with it. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Stopping after 20 kilometers, Nick activated the skill [Reincarnator''s Madness]. Many possible events popped into his head, among them were several dangerous ones. The first was how he got surrounded by iron wolves and was unable to escape. The wolves slowly wore him down, when he was completely exhausted, he was teleported by the ring, before his throat was torn out. The second was how he met a huge lizard. After the first strike with claws, he received a message, but was able to run a decent distance in the end, he was still teleported by the ring, since he was dying due to the poison. There were a few similar situations, but not many. Mostly, the hunt went well. Deciding that the risk was worth it, Nick ran on. After 15 minutes, he saw five iron wolves, they were drinking water from the river and did not notice him at all. After assessing them, Nick saw that they were no higher than Lvl 30. Having thought out a strategy, he approached and hid behind the tree closest to them. Nick used the skill [Accelerated Perception] [Parallel Thinking] and [Ghost Flicker], the wolves heard him, but they were too slow. Nick approached very quickly, the wolf closest to him tried to move away, but the swing of the sword cut its neck. Nick estimated how heavy the blow was for him. He took out several knives, using the technique, began to throw them at the wolves, but it was not at all effective. The knives cut into the flesh only a quarter of the length and immediately fell out, one knife hit the wolf''s head, but could not pierce the skull, and bounced off with the sound of a collision metal with metal. Mmm, iron wolves, that was to be expected. The wolves got their bearings and began to growl loudly and whine from their wounds. The wolf whose throat he had cut was choking falling, but was still alive. The wolves did not think long and immediately rushed towards him. Nick continued to throw daggers, the last, eighth dagger hit one wolf in the eye, he stopped and tried to get it with his paw, while the others surrounded him. Nick rushed forward towards the wolf and tried to hit him with his sword, but it missed. Nick was very surprised that the wolf was able to dodge, the next two blows hit the target, leaving light wounds. Another wolf rushed at Nick from the right. Nick jumped back and while the wolf was in flight, cut his stomach. The third wolf tried to catch him by the leg, Nick kicked him in the face and quickly regretted it. The wolf was much stronger and faster than he thought, his leg almost ended up in his mouth. Using his remaining mana, Nick jumped into the water and created a force platform to confuse the wolves and escape from the encirclement. With his next jump, he found himself behind a wolf that was trying to bite his leg. The wolf tried to jump away from him, but Nick managed to deliver two blows to the hind legs, greatly slowing the wolf. Nick was attacked by the first wolf, he entered into a fight with it while the others were approaching him. But due to the wounds he inflicted on them, they were too slow. Nick used several sword techniques, outpacing the wolf in speed. A few seconds later, his blow was able to cut its neck. The wolf was seriously injured not only because of this wound, but also because of a bunch of others. Stepping aside, Nick saw that the first wolf was barely breathing, but he had not yet received a notification. Among his opponents, only a wolf with one eye, a wolf with a large wound on its stomach, and a wolf with wounded legs remained. Nick tried not to notice the noise of the wounded wolves, but when the wolf with one eye howled loudly, Nick realized that he had little time. Activating the skill [Awakening of the Ghost] [Uncommon+], his physical characteristics, perception, and intelligence increased by 20%. Using the movement technique, he quickly attacked the nearest wolf. He managed to defend himself with his paw, but did not expect a sharp increase in strength and speed, the next blow almost cut off his head. Without wasting time, he finished off the rest of the wolves in a similar way and quickly left this place, starting to run back to the camp. Nick looked at his notifications and was not happy with this. Congratulations, you have defeated [Iron Wolf][Rare] Lvl 25 Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Ghost Flicker][Uncommon+] Lvl 113 > Lvl 114 Congratulations, you have defeated [Iron Wolf][Rare] Lvl 30. Congratulations, you have defeated [Iron Wolf][Rare] Lvl 26 Congratulations, you have defeated [Iron Wolf][Rare] Lvl 29 Congratulations, you have defeated [Iron Wolf][Rare] Lvl 29 Yeah, yeah, fuck me. Where''s my level?! Maybe the number and quality of skills the dead have should matter too? Sounds logical enough. And the wolves were frankly weak, the only thing they were good at was durability and strength. But they still had throats and it''s not like their durability mattered to my sword. Following that logic, if I go hunting goblins it might not be worth it unless they have a ton of skills. But they might have classes, so I guess I''ll be happy. Hmm, now that I think about it, I was forced to fight intelligent goblins as a kid. Where did they even get those? Nick ran further along the river, when he thought that this distance was enough, he stopped. His stamina pool dropped by 15%, which was surprisingly high for a short fight with wolves. Inspecting his body, Nick used several techniques and was sure that now the techniques that were not in his skills used more stamina. Damn, I need to train more to do this more effectively. It''s so hard! Nick decided that he would not go into the wolf territory anymore, went and started hunting near the camp, he managed to kill several [Uncommon] boars. By evening, he dragged them back to the camp. The prince still did not remember what he wanted to talk about, so Nick went to the hut to restore his mana. On the way, he smelled himself and decided to go to the river to take a good bath there. Walking along the river, he met several classmates, choosing a deserted place, he completely undressed and entered the river. The water was very cold, his muscles contracted and he made a strange sound. "Oh, bitch, it''s so cold! I hate the damn cold!" He said, rubbing himself with his hands to warm up a little. Nick washed himself and began to get out of the water, for some reason he felt something strange, expanding "Aura" he saw unaspected mana not far from him, he took control of it and began to examine it, trying to decipher the mana signature. He could not do this, as a snake attacked him from behind. Nick managed to notice this, because of the weak mana that it had. He jumped away from it and began to quickly get out of the river. The snake was about 2 meters long, with a strange wavy black-brown color. After the attack, Nick saw two large fangs from which yellow liquid was rolling down. What the fuck is a poisonous snake doing here, they should be rare in water. §²§Ñ§ã§Ñ: Hydrophis Snake [Rare] Lvl 23 Well, that''s ass . Nick used the movement technique and tried to move faster than the snake. In the water, the technique was not effective at all. The snake caught up with him and rushed at him. Nick turned on [Accelerated Perception] and prepared to grab the snake with his hands. It was surprisingly faster than he expected, but still using techniques, he managed to catch it by the head. Using much more force than necessary, Nick twisted its neck with both hands and threw it onto the shore. After climbing out of the river, he immediately took the sword and pierced its head. Congratulations, you have defeated [Hydrophis Snake][Rare] Lv. 23 What the fuck?! Why is it so dangerous? And what made me wary? An unfamiliar mana, or a snake? To hell! Nick quickly dressed and scanned the surrounding area for other mana. He noticed two mana signatures, an unfamiliar one and Linella''s mana. Well, I''ll give you what for if you''re behind this! I should think carefully about her punishment! Nick sighed a couple of times, calmed down and went into the house to meditate. Fortunately, or not, there was no one there. 41 Chapter Chapter 41 Pow. Linella Lynella saw Dylan as he was walking around the camp, looking at the surroundings. She was curious about what he could be doing late at night. So she decided to quietly watch him... Maybe she will go to him later in the evening and relax, after all, she was a young girl and it was quite difficult to control herself. He carried two boars [Uncommon] rank to the conditional kitchen. It was in the middle of a field of color, where in the center there was a grill made of giant stones. There he was met by [Spatial Mage''s Apprentice][Rare]. Poor Floyd, he''s so sweet and smart,and to him has to prepare for these fools. What a shame! Dylan handed over the future provisions without much thought and went in search of the prince. After exchanging a few words with him, he went to his hut. Linelle felt sick at this, hadn''t he noticed how badly he stank? Activating the [Interest Call] [Special] skill, she tried to draw his attention to the smell of his body. A second later, Dylan stopped and sniffed his scent. He abruptly changed direction and headed toward the river. Yes! Dylan hesitated to go and bathe right away, carefully checking where other people could not see him. The way he acts in bed doesn''t say anything about how shy he is, or is it something else? - Linella thought, watching him. On the way, Green, Kaeti and Max saw him. Unlike Nick, Linella noticed how Kaeti looked at him, but he did not pay attention to it. After five minutes of searching, Dylan found a completely deserted section of the river. He quickly undressed and Linella was able to observe his divine body. How much training does it take to achieve this?! Does his race really matter that much?! He really is Apollo! Linelle, as always, indulged herself in watching him, but her lustful mood disappeared when she saw the bushes near her moving. Linelle did not use magic that made her invisible, but with practice, she was practically unnoticeable. 50 meters away, she saw Kaeti, who was trying to observe Dylan. She cast a level 3 spell, "Invisible Eye," and was completely invisible to Dylan. At first, Linella got very angry on her. How dare she watch my boyfriend?! But she pulled herself together and decided not to do anything about it. Linella thought that something interesting could come out of it. When Dylan undressed and entered the river, starting to wash himself in different places, she and Kaeti watched this together. Lynella was very excited and really wanted to join him. She started looking at Kaeti and saw how she was quite embarrassed by this. They watched Dylan for about 10 minutes until he started to come out of the water completely clean. Lynella noticed a snake not far from him and without thinking activated the skill [Interest Call]. Dylan stopped and expanded his Aura, at first he saw mana near him, but after a few seconds he noticed the snake. He dealt with it very quickly and cruelly. Not wanting to give herself away, Linella immediately left, as did Kaeti. She could no longer see Dylan''s reaction, but she did not care, now she had another matter. When it was late evening, she was waiting for Kaeti at her house. She looked quite ordinary, except for her slightly flushed face and the way she was nervously rubbing her thighs. Linelle did not hide herself with illusions, but simply waited for her at the door. Kaeti approached her without unnecessary fear and greeted her sweetly. "Hello Linella, do you have any questions for me? Perhaps you are not feeling well?" "No, I''m fine, but I''d like to talk to you inside." "Okay." Kaeti said and went into the hut, followed by Linella. Looking around she saw nothing special, except a large number of skins of different animals and a pleasant smell of herbs. Kaeti sat down on the bed and motioned for her to do the same. Linella sat too close to her and started a conversation. "Why were you watching Dylan while he was washed myself?" Lynella asked a little jealously. Kaeti froze at the question and quickly began to apologize, realizing who the troll was talking about. "Please forgive me, it won''t happen again, I honestly didn''t want it. It all happened on its own!" She said, hanging her head low. Linella waved her hand, saying that it didn''t matter. "It''s okay, I was just curious because I was doing the same thing." Linella said with a smile. Kaeti blushed deeply and answered briefly. "Of course, I don''t blame you." There was an awkward silence after her words, Linella thought about what she should do in this situation. Deciding that it would be fun to play, she poured magic into her voice and answered. " Of course you can look at him too, he attracts you, right? " Kaeti didn''t notice the magic and how it affected her. This unobtrusive question strongly pushed her to the next words. "Of course, he is so manly and handsome. And also from a famous clan with a rich history." Kaeti answered, covering her reddened face with her hands. How cute! " Do you think he''ll refuse you? Think about it what he could do to you! " Kaeti blushed even more at her words, thinking about her answer. Linella decided not to rush things and quickly leave. Because she thought that her conversation might have been too frank, even if she had used magic to precisely guide Kaeti to the desired result. "In general, you can of course continue to watch him, but if you need advice, you can come to me. " Linella said and winked at her, Kaeti awkwardly threw back, thinking about her words for a long time. Why is my magic so effective against her, but practically useless against Dylan? " I''ll go to my place, think carefully about my offer! " Linella said and used her skill, drawing Kaeti''s attention to her sexy forms. Kaeti didn''t have time to answer anything because Linella had already left the hut. Today she was surprisingly tired and had almost no mana left, so instead of going to Dylan, she went home and meditated. *** In a very ordinary backwater tavern, at a very ordinary table, sat seven people. They drank the cheapest ale, everyone did it with a different facial expression. Name: Evgeniy Lancer This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Race: High Angel, God of "Light and Justice" [Mythical] Lvl 1200 Class: Grandmaster of the Holy Sword Art [Mythical] Lvl 1300 Class: Sworn to the Holy Deity [Legendary] Lvl 1000 Name: Maria Lancer Race: High Angel, Goddess of "Healing and Compassion" [Mythic] Lvl 1221 Class: Archmage of Saint Soul Restoration [Mythic] Lvl 1209 Class: Sworn to the Holy Deity [Legendary] Lvl 1000 Name: Keiran Latius Race: Human of Evolved Soul, God of "Technician" [Mythical] Lvl 1000 Class: Weapon Grandmaster [Mythical] Lvl 1200 Class: Soul Warrior [Legendary] Lvl 1000 Name: David Crean Race: Human, God of "Deception" [Mythical] Lvl 900 Class: Divine Tactician [Heavenly] Lvl 1100 Class: Master of the Art of False Combat [Legendary] Lvl 900 Name: Sion Flamescorcher Race: Half-Spirit of Fire, God of "Incinerating Flame" [Mythical] Lvl 1100 Class: Exarch of the Scorching Flame [Heavenly] Lvl 1311 Class: Master-Slayer Unclean [Legendary] Lvl 831 Name: Barton Starhammer Race: Human, God of "Artifacts" [Mythical] Lvl 1276 Class: Celestial Blacksmith [Mythic] Lvl 1299 Class: Master of Alchemy [Legendary] Lvl 1000 Name: Ramiast Traveler Race: Human attuned to the mana of space, God of "Travel" [Mythical] Lvl 1100 Class: Archmage of Spatial Movement [Legendary] Lvl 1000 Class: Worldseer [Mythical] Lvl 1154 Only the God of Artifacts drank the urine served in this tavern with pleasure. They had gathered here to discuss future plans for their first conquered world [Ramiast]. The God of Justice spoke after a long silence. "Are we really going to rely on the reincarnators? Do you think they can defeat the [Archdemon Envy] [Heavenly] and his army of demons?" "Of course, if we don''t want to invest more resources, this is the only thing we can do." The God of Deception replied. "Even if they do whatever they want? They have no honor or justice at all! They only care about their own selfish desires!" The Goddess of Compassion responded with more fervor in her voice than she had intended. "Seeing how we screwed up their reincarnation and couldn''t even tell them what they were supposed to do. It''s a natural development of events. Of course, we have a backup plan for this, which will cost us a lot of resources..." After a dramatic pause, the God of Deception continued. "Does anyone have any other suggestions?" "Sure, why don''t we ask Him for greater indulgences for us." Asked the God of Artifacts. "Barton, you should know very well that all [Divine Skill Holders] are under strict control and are not allowed to directly interfere in the affairs of most worlds. If we do that, He will issue a [Divine Quest] to the [World Guardians], and I really don''t want to fight those damn [Heavenly Beasts]. Of course, if we win, it might be worth it, but the risk is too great. He might also decide to intervene personally and lock us in prison for several millennia. That would be disastrous for us." The God of Deception replied. Everyone fell silent and put their mugs on the table. It was painful for everyone to realize that their conventional home world was in such a state, and they could not even interfere. This was because of the rules established by a being incomparable to ordinary gods. Even the gods did not want to pronounce his name, so as not to attract unnecessary attention. Of course He was fair, but His policy was basically that the strongest survive. By placing the celestial beings on guard, He would no longer contribute to victory. If the planet could not cope with the invasion, it would be corrupted by demonic energy and He would not deign to do anything. Because He would decide that this was a natural development events, if the planet could not cope with it, it was not worthy of His protection. They had seen similar developments in different worlds and could say for sure that everything could happen the same way this time. "Then we have no choice? We must find the hero and begin preparations to summon him?" The God of Justice asked. "Yes, this will give a really big chance. I know how important Alexander and the kingdom he created were to you, so I am ready, like all of us, to make every effort to save our descendants." The God of Deception addressed Eugene and Maria. "So be it, we will not allow the [Archdemon] to destroy our world!" The God of Justice said with great determination, to which everyone nodded heavily. 42 Chapter Chapter 42 Nick woke up early in the morning, he felt a little lethargic. He meditated during the night and recovered a little over 200 MP. He slept for about 4 hours, which was enough time, but he still didn''t get enough sleep. Of course, it didn''t feel as bad when he checked it last time, but it was still unpleasant. Getting out of bed, Nick began to put on his clothes and armor over them. Taking it in his hands, he felt that it was lighter than it was last time, remembering that he left the knives in the wolves. He slapped his face with his palm, out of disappointment. Excellent! How can you be so inattentive? "Crap." Grumbling to himself, he dressed, fastened his sword to his belt and left the house. After a quick snack in the fresh air, he went into the forest. Yesterday, talking to the prince, he told him that he would go hunting again. But this time he would go kill goblins. Nick started jogging lightly to avoid wasting his stamina. The forest was as calm as ever, he saw a few [Uncommon] level animals, but he didn''t bother hunting them. They wouldn''t give him the experience he needed anyway. After running 20 kilometers, he came across unusual tracks. After sniffing the air, he slightly changed direction and followed the smell of blood. After 5 minutes, he came across a cave inside several large stones. Near it were several puddles and tracks of some huge animal with claws. He stopped and thought about whether he should go into an unfamiliar cave and fight an unknown enemy. He wanted to use the [Reincarnator''s Madness] skill, but it didn''t work. Mmm, there is still a recovery period, unsuccessfully, but oh well. Nick approached the cave and listened for any sounds coming from it, hearing nothing, he went inside. The ground was hard and had almost no rocks. In poor lighting, Nick saw well enough due to his high perception, he began to walk carefully, without making any sounds. The cave went down about 20 meters, and then turned sharply to the right. Turning the corner, Nick saw a bear with really huge paws, it was lying next to a torn corpse. Race: Bear [Uncommon] Lvl 97 Hmm, judging by his physical characteristics, he should be about 1.5 times stronger than me. Apparently, he didn''t notice me because of the strong smell of blood. Do bears drag food to their caves? Who cares. Nick cast a sound suppression spell and cast a thin film of mana on himself to hide his scent. Approaching the bear to a distance of 5 meters, he used the movement technique and quickly stabbed the sword into its neck. The bear woke up an instant before the sword hit its target. It tried to hit Nick with a paw with claws, but his technique allowed him to dodge. The bear quickly stood up and rushed at Nick with a loud growl. Did I miss and not deliver the killing blow? Nick jumped back from the attack and carefully examined the wound on his neck. Blood was flowing quickly from it, he had not cut the bear''s throat, but he had still left a fatal wound. Now I just need to hold out long enough. With all of his enhancement skills activated, Nick charged at the beast himself, stabbing his sword deep into its paw. Nick was at a disadvantage in the relatively narrow cave. The bear would have been able to crush him if it had not been afraid of his sword. The bear charged again, to which Nick responded by retreating and striking the bear''s paw again. Nick used the "technique" of multiple strikes and forced the bear to retreat several steps. His strikes were very fast and precise, and he was able to leave many cuts on the bear. He expected that this would make him retreat, but it had a different effect. Apparently the bear got tired of being wounded and became enraged, as it no longer feared his sword. The bear growled loudly and became much faster and stronger in the next moment. His paw slammed into his sword. There was a loud sound of blade colliding with claws. Nick was thrown back several meters from the force of the blow and dropped his sword. Damn, that beast used a technique! Nick stood up when the bear attacked him again. Using the technique barely managed to escape, Nick quickly cast an earth spell sending dust into the air to blind the bear. To avoid being hit by his own spell, he created a thin transparent film of mana over his eyes. His plan worked, a lot of dust got into the bear''s eyes and nose causing it to lose sight of him. Nick wanted to get his sword, but it was closer to the bear than to him, so he ran out of the cave. Nick could hear the bear chasing him and hoped that the wound would finally have an effect. Running outside, Nick continued to run, he did not know what else he could do against the bear without a weapon and mana. Why doesn''t this thing die or slow down? I really overestimated myself, damn! Arrogance will be the death of me. Turning around, Nick saw a bear 20 meters away trying to catch up with him. But his paws were so wounded that he couldn''t use his great agility to catch him. Nick laughed hysterically to himself, even when he was in that situation, it was funny. He was lucky that he managed to hurt him badly enough that it was just enough for him The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Using his stamina, Nick ran away from the bear for about 2 minutes until it started to slow down and tripped, falling to the ground. Nick was about a hundred meters away from it and was just waiting for the notification to come to him. Congratulations, you have defeated [§®§Ö§Õ§Ó§Ö§Õ§î][Uncommon] Lvl 97 Congratulations, you have gained one level in the Class [Adept of the Art Phantom Sword][Rare] Lvl 5 > Lvl 6 For 1 level you get: Strength +5 Dexterity +7 Stamina +7 Vitality +4 Constitution +5 Intelligence +2 Perception +5 +5 free attribute points "Nightmare, I had to kill 6 [Rare] Lvl 22-30 creatures, and one [Uncommon] Lvl 97. Like what''s the point, damn it! Last time I got three levels in two classes for killing Ceros [Rare] Lvl 78. Of course, he was much stronger than me and I almost died, but I didn''t fight him alone. I urgently need to know how experience is distributed. Why didn''t anyone tell me about this before?!" Nick complained loudly, in his opinion, this was absolutely unfair. Finally calming down a bit, Nick ran into the cave and took his sword. Returning to the bear, he tried to skin it. He knew how to do it in theory, but in practice and without a short knife, he spent a lot of time on it and got covered in blood. Now completely angry at the current circumstances, he went to the camp. Along the way, he stumbled upon small animals and met a flock of [Sly Crows][Rare] along with their intelligent leader. You could say that he was lucky that no one caused him any problems. Back at camp, Nick went straight to the river. He had the misfortune of being seen by almost all of his classmates. Everyone looked at him blankly, and when he got closer, everyone held their noses from his stench. This time Nick learned from his mistakes, he did not look for a deserted place by the river. He just went to the place where the troll was growing plants. He hoped that at least there he would not be attacked by a poisonous snake again. The troll was with Max and Kaeti, he greeted him with loud laughter when he saw the state he was in. "AHAHAHA, PERFUME BELOVED. YOU LOOK LIKE SHIT! AHAHAHA!" Nick walked up to the river and saw in his reflection a man who had just been through a war. There were bruises under his eyes from a bad night''s sleep, his face, neck and hair were covered in blood, the expression of quiet rage that was on him added to the entourage of a maniac killer. Nick grinned at this and waved his hand at the troll and the others. He silently walked past them carefully, without stepping on the plants, and entered the river. Having entered up to his waist, he removed the skin from his shoulders and began to wash it from the blood, watching the surrounding people. Being satisfied, he laid it on the grass, having entered the river again up to his waist, he began to undress and rinse his clothes. Having finished with this, Nick dressed in the river in wet clothes with visible traces of blood and got out of them. Silently waving goodbye to his friends, he walked past them. The troll began to laugh behind his back again, but he did not care. Entering the kitchen, he took some food and went to eat it in his house. After eating, Nick calmed down and began to meditate. He restored his mana to 330 MP, it was early evening and he decided to go have a snack and talk to Evander, or Liam. He needed to know how to distribute experience. He met them at a huge fire sitting not far from each other in a group of classmates. Nick thought for a second about the fact that he had not seen Linella at all today, he was curious about what she could be doing now. Approaching Nick began an idle conversation. "Hello everyone." Everyone looked up from their food and greeted him briefly. Sitting down next to Evander, he continued. "Evander, how are you?" Evander looked up from his food and looked at him, confused. "I think it''s normal, and what about yours?" "Oh, I killed a bear today and decided to hunt in pairs now, or save up more mana. It was risky." Nick replied, taking the offered plate of food. "I told you to be careful, but level 1 can solve a lot for you, so I think it was worth it." The prince responded with a smile. "Perhaps you are right, I actually want to ask what determines the amount of experience I receive in classes." "You don''t know?" the prince asked in surprise. "No, they took me right after my 15th birthday, and before that they didn''t want to answer my questions about classes." Evander shrugged and answered. "Well, first of all, the rank and level of the creature you killed certainly matters. The higher they are, the more experience you get. The quantity and quality of skills are also important, titles also play a big role in this. You can also gain a level in classes by upgrading skills, getting titles and performing actions in the class. For example, mages need to cast spells, bakers need to bake and so on, but this of course gives a meager amount of experience." "You know, I thought about it that way, but I didn''t know that titles played a role in this and that you could essentially get free experience. So if I kill a [Uncommon] rank creature with a bunch of strong skills, I''ll get more experience than if I kill a [Rare] creature with a high level and a small number of weak skills?" The prince nodded and replied. "Yes, that happens sometimes." "Okay, but do you know how to estimate the amount of experience I need to level up?" "Hmm, well the more stats you get for a level in a class or race, the more experience you need for it. I don''t know if there''s a rough calculation of the cost of experience, but I doubt there is. Calculating the required experience is mostly pointless. Sometimes it works completely unpredictably. I heard a story about a man who killed a weak [Uncommon] level snake and got 10 levels in the [Hunter][Uncommon] class for it. He later brought its corpse and it was carefully examined. This did not answer any questions about how the snake could bring so much experience, but it was proven that the man was not lying." "Hmm, that''s really weird." Nick said thoughtfully. Well, it''s clear that the snake was unusual, but people couldn''t understand it. Which meant that it was too unusual. Interesting, I need to remember that. "Thank you for your knowledge, my Prince." Nick replied with a smile. "Aha-ha, nothing like that." Nick''s last phrase lifted everyone''s spirits and they finished eating in friendly silence. Afterwards Nick went home to continue meditating or to get a good night''s sleep, he hadn''t decided yet. Interlude 1 Interlude Pow. Linella Linella met Kaeti when she was walking home. She came up to her and gently hugged her around the waist. She wanted to do this because Kaeti looked so cute. When she felt her touch, her face turned softly pink. "Hey Kaeti, you look a little tired." Linella spoke quickly, not giving her time to gather her thoughts and push her away. "Maybe just a little, I need to restore my mana, I think the lack of sleep is taking its toll on me." Kaeti answered modestly. "Yes, healthy sleep is important, do you want to talk to me at your place? I want to gossip with someone, like girls do." Kaeti blushed a little, and thoughtfully, she answered. "Of course, what shall we talk about?" She asked with interest. "We''ll get home and you''ll find out! I promise you''ll like it!" "Fine." Linella walked with one hand on Kaeti''s waist and let go only when they reached her house. Entering inside, Linella immediately sat down on the bed and beckoned Kaeti with her hand, waiting until she sat down next to her, Linella spoke. "I heard that Dylan came home from hunting today covered in blood, do you know what happened?" Lynella asked harmlessly. "Yeah, he was hunting a bear and didn''t succeed in skinning it." Kaeti said, blushing. "Mmm, and he was swimming in the river near you? Tell me, did you see his body?" "Yes." Kaeti answered hesitantly, blushing even more. "You don''t have to worry, I''m really interested in what you think of him?" "Now that he''s recovered, he looks very good." Kaeti said, rubbing her thighs together. Linella enjoyed this awkward conversation and how nervous Kaeti was. Sitting closer, Linella put her arm around her shoulders and whispered words filled with magic in her ear. " And you are attracted to him? Well, like a man? " Kaeti straightened up slightly and looked into her eyes, searching for something. Not seeing any jealousy in Linela''s eyes, Kaeti lowered her head and answered quietly. "I think so." Lynella smiled mischievously and pushed her onto the bed. " Why are you so hesitant? " She said and lay down next to her, leaning on her arm. Kaeti also turned to face her and was very embarrassed by this gesture. Now Linella regretted that she did not wear her white dress and could not fully demonstrate her forms. She was in shabby armor, like Kaeti. I need to turn up the heat. "I don''t know, he''s your boyfriend isn''t he?" Kaeti said, looking awkwardly into her eyes. "So what? You think he won''t like you?" Kaeti quickly shook her head and stuttered answered. "Bu-ut, wo-on''t you mi-ind?" " It''s all up to you." Linella said with a smile. She put her free hand on Kaeti''s waist and moved to kiss her. The kiss was light and short. It caused Kaeti a little excitement, but when Linella pulled her lips away. Kaeti quickly covered her face with her hands in shame and got up from the bed. "Wha-at are yo-ou doi-ong?!" Linela didn''t answer, but walked up to Kaeti, pinning her against the wall and hugging her around the waist. Kaeti didn''t dare break free by force, but waited for Linela''s next move. She brought her face to her ear and put a lot of effort into the spell. " Dylan is very beautiful, just remember his body, don''t you want to touch him and get his attention? If you really want it, then everything can happen today. " Kaeti got lost in her magic and closed her eyes, during her words she squeezed her thighs tightly and began to breathe excitedly. Seeing this, Lynella leaned down to kiss her and lowered her hand between her legs, rubbing her pussy through her clothes. Kaeti kept her eyes closed and moaned softly. They kissed for about a minute, but Lynella didn''t speak. " So you want this? " Kaeti met her eyes, she was very embarrassed, but the way her hips moved spoke of her wild desire. "Ye-es!" Linella kissed her again and spoke. " Then put on something else. He''s had a hard day today and I think he needs to get his injuries checked. What if a bear hurt him? " "Of course, I should have thought of this before." Kaeti replied dreamily. " Tell me, do you want something more than just to feel his body? " Kaeti''s face flushed even more than before, her eyes began to dart nervously from side to side, thinking about what to answer. "O-of co-ourse-e no-ot! Such an obvious lie, why does she think I''ll believe her? Didn''t she notice how I touched her tender three places? Well, that''s good, it will be more fun! " Okay, then I''ll go change too, I''ll come pick you up in five minutes. So don''t dream about him too much while I''m not around. " "Okay!" Kaeti quickly replied. Lynella walked out of the building and cast a spy spell. Inside, Kaeti stood against the wall, breathing loudly. She squeezed her breasts for a while, and then began to undress. Comparing their shapes, Lynella could tell that her breasts were about a B cup, very round and slender, resembling an apple. Lynella went around the corner and squeezed her breasts too, and put her hand under her panties. Her breasts were about a cup larger and were just below. She was not shy about her new shape, but she wanted to see Dylan''s reaction to the threesome. Kaeti took off all her clothes and began to lightly stroke her pussy. Her thighs were already wet with secretions. After watching her for a while and assessing that Kaeti could really boast of a very attractive ass and pussy, Linella went to change. Quickly changing her clothes, she cast a spell and looked through the door at Kaeti again. She was still masturbating her clitoris and was completely naked, but already with a large amount of discharge. If it weren''t for the spell she cast, her moans would have been very audible. Lynella knocked on the wood and could see Kaeti blushing deeply with embarrassment. She cast a spell that removed all of her discharge and sent it to another part of the room. She quickly put on her panties and a closed green dress. As she put on her shoes she began to cast a spell and shouted back for Lynella to come in. The way she didn''t notice that I created the sound she heard is really funny. Linella walked in with a smile and used the [Interest Call] skill, causing Kaeti to take a closer look at her revealing outfit. "Okay, today we''ll just start with Dylan''s examination and treatment, okay?" "Yes." Kaeti answered, trying to pull herself together. "Well, let''s go, I know he hasn''t come home yet, this could be a pleasant surprise for him." *** Nick went into his hut and saw Kaeti there with Linella, seeing them together he could appreciate that Linella was 10 cm taller than Kaeti. Linella was wearing that white revealing dress that didn''t hide anything at all, through it he could see her erect nipples and soft curves. Noticing her curves Nick was already excited, the day had been hard and he couldn''t wait to relax with her. Kaeti was wearing a long, closed green dress, it hugged her body so that all the charms of her figure were visible through it. Although her breasts were smaller than Linella''s, her ass could compete with her. Her black hair was loose and slightly covered her face. If it weren''t for her refined red face, Nick would never have guessed what they might be planning to do. Nick didn''t want a threesome but at the same time did. He had a hard day and wanted to relax, but just imagining it, feeling his cock hard as stone, made Nick decide that he really wanted it. Kaeti''s embarrassment would make it especially interesting. Lynella came up to him, putting her hands on his shoulder. "How was your hunt, dear?" She said with a sweet smile. "Okay, Kaeti, what are you doing here?" Nick replied and turned his gaze to Kaeti, trying to seem less excited. "She came to examine you, we are of course sure that the troll is a good Healer, but it is always worth making sure of it once again. I also heard that you fought with a bear today, that''s why we are here." Kaeti, who was sitting with a red face on his bed, quickly nodded, fiddling with her fingers, from nerves. "Dylan please lie down on the bed and take off your clothes." Kaeti said in an uncertain voice, and Lynella cast a spell that created a soft light and muffled all sounds in the hut. Nick saw where this was going so he took the bag and ate the herbs. He did it with his back to Kaeti, and received a cute wink from Linela. He decided to play along with her and took off his shabby armor, T-shirt and pants. Among his clothes, he only had his underwear, through which it was clearly visible that his member was ready. Kaeti and Linela looked too closely at how he undressed and especially at his large fold in his underwear, Kaeti even opened her mouth in shock. Not paying attention to this, Nick lay down on the bed with his stomach down. Kaeti came up to him and really cast a spell that examined his body, simultaneously feeling his back and arms, under the excited gaze of Linela. Kaeti did this with a red face and while she continued her breathing became heavier and heavier. "Dylan, roll over onto your stomach, please." Kaeti spoke up. Nick silently turned over and saw her looking at his crotch. Linella was doing the same behind her back, lowering her hand between her legs and masturbating herself. Seeing this, Nick''s penis almost jumped out of his pants. Kaeti''s reaction to the involuntary movement of his penis was very cute, her gaze became slightly detached, she blushed even more deeply and squeezed her thighs tightly between themselves. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Kaeti cast a scanning spell and began to hesitantly touch his arms and torso. When she was about to move on to his legs, Linella hugged her around the waist and whispered very pleasant words to her with magic. " Do you like it darling? " Kaeti nodded and her breathing became very loud with excitement. Lynella leaned down and pulled his pants down, exposing his cock completely. Kaeti covered her eyes with her hands, but made a small gap between her fingers, watching this. Lynella leaned down and kissed her neck, whispering different words that Nick couldn''t understand, but he could feel her magic. Which worked on him too, he couldn''t wait for what was about to happen. Linella bent Kaeti''s face closer to his cock and took it into her mouth herself. The loud sound of her swallowing it made Kaeti flinch and let out a quiet cry. Kaeti still had her hands on her face, slightly closing her eyes, and watched as Linella sucked him, doing this for about two minutes. Linella wet his cock well, looked at Kaeti and took her hands without any resistance from her side, she put them on the cock, clasping it with her hands. Kaeti''s face was completely red, and her mouth was open. Confusion and excitement were visible on her face. When her hands were on Nick, his cock jerked and made Kaeti shudder. Linella took her hands and began to help her jerk him off. At first she was not doing well, she was afraid to take him tighter, but skillful instructions and whispers from Linella quickly smoothed out the situation. Nick was very excited by this, how inexperienced Kaeti was attracted him very much, her small hands gently held his member while she struggled with her embarrassment. Deciding that he was tired of watching, he put his hand on Kaeti''s ass and squeezed it hard. She shuddered and let out a sweet moan, turning her gaze to him, Kaeti quickly lowered her eyes in shame and continued to jerk him off while he touched her ass. Linella let go of Kaeti''s hands and while she continued, she quickly took off her dress, revealing her figure. She leaned over so that Kaeti could appreciate her breasts, and while she held his cock in her hands, Linella began to suck it with a loud sound. Kaeti opened her mouth wider and saliva began to flow from it, noticing this, she wanted to tear her hand away from the cock to wipe the mouth, but did not dare to do so. Nick was thinking about what he wanted to do now, he could continue this farce, or take off all of Kaeti''s clothes and fuck her well. While he was imagining different positions and enjoying the blowjob, Linella stopped sucking him and spoke in a sweet voice. " Kaeti, my dear, try it, it tastes simply wonderful. " Kaeti squeaked something quietly, but Linella did not listen to her. She leaned over and pressed her naked body against her, kissing her on the mouth, she gave her all the ejaculate. Kaeti did not expect this at all and choked, Linella did not let go, and also grabbed her by the ass and began to stroke her pussy through the dress with her fingers. At first, Kaeti tried to break free, but with each passing second she did it more and more reluctantly. When she completely melted in Linella''s hands, she broke the kiss and stretched her to the penis. Kaeti did not hesitate for long and immediately inserted it into her mouth, tasting it. She choked, but wiped her face and continued. While she was sucking him, Nick noticed how naked Linella''s discharge was flowing down her leg and how she was masturbating herself more and more actively. With a loud moan, even more flowed out of her. " Oh! " Kaeti heard this and began to suck even more actively because of the magic embedded. Now she literally could not tear herself away from the cock, even when Linella began to masturbate her pussy through her dress. She just moaned very sweetly and quietly, putting all her efforts into giving a blowjob. This lasted for about five minutes and Nick reached the peak, he bent her head with his hands and finished in her mouth. Kaeti choked hard on his cum while trying to swallow it. Not paying attention to this, Nick stood up and lifted her dress, revealing a view of her ass and black panties, Kaeti wanted to say something and resist, but Lynella kissed her and took her hands, which she placed on her chest. Nick licked his fingers and inserted them into her pussy. Kaeti jumped and moaned loudly, squeezing Linela''s breasts hard with her hands, but she still didn''t let go. Satisfied with the reaction, Nick squeezed her ass tightly, adjusted her panties and inserted his cock into her, entering her up to the head, Kaeti moaned loudly, resisting a little. Linella kissed her again and squeezed her breasts with her hands. Blowing Nick a kiss, she spoke. " You can begin! " Nick moved his pelvis and inserted his cock deeper, breaking her hymen. Kaeti screamed loudly and squeezed chest with hands. Nick chose a slow pace and began to move his pelvis, simultaneously kneading her ass and masturbating her clitoris with one hand. Kaeti began to moan a little quieter. Lynella broke away from her and put her hands on the bed, forcing Kaeti to lean against it. Lynella came up to him, began to touch his body with her hands and kiss him. Then she pressed herself against him and began to rub her pussy and breasts against him, begging him with her eyes to help her too. Lowering one hand, Nick inserted one finger into Linela''s pussy and began to masturbate her. Her moans were louder than Kaeti''s, listening to them Nick became even more excited. He fucked Kaeti for about five minutes under her sweet moans. Sometimes she looked at him with adoration in her eyes and quickly looked away. Taking out his penis, he laid her on the bed. Kaeti''s face was unforgettable, embarrassment fought in her along with the pleasure of sex. Leaning over, Nick tried to copy Linela''s spell with the help of Secret Will Magic, filling his voice with the desire of lust, he spoke. " You''re not leaving here tonight, the most unforgettable night awaits you! " From his voice, Linella came with a loud moan, and Kaeti came with her legs wrapped around him, with a quiet moan. "O-o-oh!" "Oh!" Kaeti met his gaze, having gone through her first orgasm, she looked down at him, her eyes still not collected from the pleasure that had passed and she whispered quietly. "I want you." Nick leaned down, kissing her neck, he took off her green dress and panties, revealing her delicate, absolutely round breasts. He spread her legs wide, showing her pink, shaved pussy. Kaeti woke up from the euphoria of orgasm and noticed that she was completely naked, she wanted to close her legs from embarrassment, but he did not let her do this, so she covered her face with her hands, watching him through the crack. Lynella felt left out, so before Nick inserted his cock into Kaeti, she took his hands and began to suck quickly, tasting Kaeti''s secretions. " Mmm, very good! Darling, I''ll talk to you later about my magic, but right now, of course, we have more important things to do! " She stopped sucking his cock and leaned towards Kaeti''s open pussy. Making sure she was looking at her, Linella began to give her cunnilingus. First, she stuck her tongue into her pussy, running it along the walls. Listening to Kaeti''s moans, she did this for a few more seconds, and then found her clitoris and began to play with it with her tongue, accompanied by quiet moans. Nick looked at this with amazement and remembered for the future, jerking off his cock a little. Deciding that he should not be deprived. Nick moved Linella by the ass and inserted his cock into her. She began to moan with her mouth open, doing cunnilingus. Linella''s pussy was tighter than Kaeti''s, and Nick received more physical pleasure from this, but he also really liked Kaeti, but in his own way. Fucking her, Nick leaned over and took her breasts with his hands, sometimes he squeezed them, and sometimes he touched only the nipples. Nick began to move faster and the moans became even louder, it was difficult for Linella to please Kaeti, but she did not stop. Linella finished first, with a loud moan, heavily staining his torso with secretions, but she still continued to do cunnilingus. "O-o-oh!" When Nick thought he was about to reach a new peak, under their gaze, Kaeti''s legs straightened and she came with a loud moan, like Linella. Kaeti lowered her hands that covered her face, she looked completely out of herself from this bright orgasm, there was almost no embarrassment on her. This almost made Nick come. Lynella was very pleased with herself, moaning loudly, she straightened up and asked Nick to stop fucking her. "Oh! Oh! Darling Oh! I Oh! want Oh! to enjoy Oh! my Oh! cunnilingus Oh! you will Oh! have Oh! plenty of time Oh! Oh! to Oh! Oh! continue Oh! Oh!" She said with sweet moans. But Nick didn''t want to let her go, he continued to fuck her and started to do it even faster, bending her back to Kaeti''s pussy, he firmly grabbed her ass with both hands. Having chosen the pace and angle, Linella no longer tried to protest. While Kaeti was recovering from her orgasm, Nick reached the peak in two minutes and filled Linella. Linella began to moan louder, firmly grabbing Kaeti''s legs, she came. "Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!" Kaeti woke up from her euphoria and became very embarrassed again, she was not sure why she came to her senses, looking at them with a curious and lustful look. Linella quickly woke up from the orgasm and moved away from Nick, pulling out his penis, she quickly plugged her pussy with her fingers, not letting the sperm flow out. Linella leaned towards Kaeti and whispered tenderly. " Now, it''s your turn to give me cunnilingus while Dylan fucks you gently! " Kaeti wanted to protest, but Linella did not listen to her, she turned her horizontally on the bed and quickly climbed onto her face, leaning her hand on her chest. When the objections ceased, Linella sat more comfortably and pulled out her finger that did not allow the sperm and secretions to flow out. Most of it got into Kaeti''s mouth, from surprise she swallowed everything with a loud sound. This caused a sly and lustful smile to appear on Linella''s face. Kaeti did not try to lift Linella from her face and began to give her cunnilingus as she knew how. Under Nick''s gaze, it seemed almost unreal, praising himself for being so lucky, he thought happily. And how can two such attractive girls be so lustful? What is wrong with this world? Nick watched them and paid special attention to their tits, which shook a little under Linela''s moans. Sitting on Kaeti, she collected all the drool and secretions on her face with her finger and licked them, with great pleasure, winking at him sexually. Nick lay down on the bed, spreading Kaeti''s legs, admiring her pussy, he sat down and inserted his cock into her. Kaeti screamed and moaned, but continued to do cunnilingus. In this position, he was uncomfortable, but the fact that he could put his hands on Kaeti''s chest and knead it was completely worth it. Kaeti moaned while he slowly began to move. Over time, he did it faster and faster, under the gaze of Linella, who was sitting opposite him, biting her lips. She jerked herself off with her hands and kneaded her chest, which shook from his movements, with quiet moans. While he looked at her, Nick even thought that he saw embarrassment on her face, but after a second it passed. Nick thought about what he could do to make the girls more happy and came up with an idea. Using power magic spells. Nick placed one hand on Kaeti''s clit and the other on Linella''s clit and cast a spell to send vibrations. He created it on the tip of his finger turning it into a super vibrator. This immediately had its effect, Kaeti''s insides contracted so much that even he had difficulty moving. She began to moan loudly, paying almost no attention to Linella. But Linella didn''t care yet, as she grabbed his hand tightly and began to press his finger on her clitoris. Her eyes closed, Linella didn''t even moan, she simply couldn''t do it, because the orgasm didn''t stop. She was shaking slightly no longer because he was fucking Kaeti, but because of her own muscle spasm. Nick started moving slowly inside Kaeti and after a few seconds, her pussy clenched even tighter with her loud moan. Nick tried to increase the tempo, but before he could do so, he came inside Kaeti. This made her moan even louder. Nick stopped his spell, he picked up Linela and placed her next to Kaeti. Now Kaeti was not embarrassed by anything at all, she was lying and looking at him with a desire for more. Linella did the same, inserting her fingers into her pussy a little. Nick inserted his cock into Linella and began to fuck her, he put his right hand into Kaeti''s pussy and cast a vibration spell. They both began to moan and Linella turned a little, taking Kaeti''s breast and kissing her tenderly. Nick fucked them in turns while they kissed and masturbated their pussies. He got tired after about half an hour. Looking at their sweaty bodies and pussies with secretions flowing from them, he lay down between them. Both girls were very pleased with what happened today, they threw their legs on him and hugged him to fall asleep together. Nick woke up from his cock being sucked. Tearing his eyes away, he saw Linella, who was urging him to action. He looked away and saw that Kaeti was sleeping, lying on top of him. Nick stood up carefully so as not to wake her. He took Linella with his hands and turned her towards the wall, bending her down. He inserted his cock into her, covering her mouth with his hand, so that she quietly moaned while he fucked her. Seven minutes were enough for the first time, when he almost reached the peak, he abruptly pulled out his cock and lowered Linella to her knees. She understood everything without words and inserted his cock into her mouth, giving him a blowjob, after a few seconds he came with great pleasure. Linella showed "Ahegao" and Nick decided that it was time for him to wake Kaeti. Carefully lifting one of her legs, he climbed onto the bed and inserted his cock into her. Kaeti woke up with her eyes wide open, it took her a second to understand what was happening and another second to remember what happened yesterday. She immediately turned very red and screamed that he stopped. But Nick continued, Linella came up to her and began to squeeze her breast. Kaeti relaxed and began to moan slightly when he began to move. Linella kissed her on the mouth and gave her all the sperm. This persuasion was enough for them to continue having fun. Nick inserted a finger into Linella''s pussy and put the other on Kaeti''s clitoris, again activating the vibration spell. The girls began to moan louder, Nick continued to fuck them in turn two more times, completely filling the pussies of both. Nick was very tired again, so he lay down next to them, hugging each of them, squeezing their breasts. Kaeti was very red and very ashamed, but she no longer tried to cover her face with her hands. Magic did not work on her, so it was safe to say that she really wanted it too, she was just too shy. Kaeti didn''t lie near them for long, she was going to quickly get up and leave. But Nick caught her by the ass, starting to touch it. She turned him on again and he inserted his cock into her to her quiet indignation. Linella came up to them and started kissing Kaeti, touching her breasts and sometimes kissing her neck. Under their sweet moans, he filled her pussy again. After that Kaeti quickly got dressed and left completely red, with shaking legs. At first she tried to walk quickly, but when she realized that her legs did not obey her, she began to walk slowly. When she came out Nick turned his gaze to Linella, he pushed her onto the bed, spreading her legs. After admiring her figure, he leaned over and began to suck her nipples, applying a vibrating finger to her clitoris. Satisfied with her moans and breasts, he stuck his cock into her for one more time... Nick lay in the wet bed, now that he could feel it, without two girls on different sides was not so comfortable. He watched as Linella changed her clothes, sending him an air kiss she left promising that she would ask about Kaeti. 43 Chapter Chapter 43 Nick got out of bed and decided to look at the skill upgrade notifications that had accumulated over the past few days. Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Ghost Flicker][Uncommon+] Lvl 114 > Lvl 115 Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Lesser Aura of Arcane Will][Common] Lvl 65 > Lvl 70 Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Low Mental Resistance][Common] Lvl 55 > Lvl 69 Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Stamina Manipulation][Uncommon] Lvl 152 > Lvl 154 Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Phantom Sword Mastery][Uncommon+] Lvl 180 > Lvl 181 Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Magic Arcane Will][Rare] skill Lvl 219 > Lvl 226 Copying Linella''s magic has borne fruit, very interesting. True, I spent a lot of mana and will on it. I need to ask her about how she performs this spell. Nick didn''t meditate to accumulate mana, but went to look for his new hunting partner. Yesterday, while talking with the prince, he was thinking about who to take into his team. He didn''t need another close combat specialist, and the magicians couldn''t go hunting with him all the time. In their class, there was only one person with a ranged weapon class. So he went to look for her. Nick left the camp and began asking his classmates where Ariana might be. After a short search, he found out that she was at home. Nick met her when she was making new arrows, they looked like wooden sharpened sticks with fletching. These don''t look like normal arrows, of course without metal and a blacksmith it''s hard to get something better, but these arrows can at least pierce the skin of some animal? As he came closer, Ariana looked up and greeted him. Nick assessed her at that moment. Name: Ariana Kilsten, 15 years old Race: Evolved Human [Rare] Level 31 Class: Adept of the Art of Unpredictable Shot [Rare] Lvl 5 Class: Not selected "Hey Dylan, do you need something?" Ariana asked casually. "Actually, yes, I wanted to go hunting with you. What do you think about that?" Ariana looked at him and silently thought about something, continuing to sharpen the arrow. "Hmm, I don''t even know, I''m almost out of arrows." "And no one can help you with this?" Ariana looked at him a little angrily and answered. "Do you think a Fire Mage would use mana to make arrowheads? Or maybe you know where a Metal Mage is?" "Yeah, I get it, it was a stupid question. But aren''t your arrows useless?" Ariana nodded at his comment. "You''d be right if it was regular wood. A troll gave it to me, it''s much harder and stronger than regular wood, but still worse than metal tips, so it''s not useless. And if I''m fighting someone strong, I use Alistair''s poisons." "So what''s the problem with going hunting with me?" "It''s not just the arrows, my equipment is very bad, the poisons are almost gone, the bowstring is starting to deteriorate, there is almost no mana, and so on. And these arrows really irritate me, it is very difficult to sharpen them so that the necessary balance is maintained and their flight path does not change." Ariana answered tiredly. "I understand that things are really tough for everyone right now. But if you level up, or get a melee class, everything might change." Ariana''s face became even sadder at his words. Did I say something wrong? "The melee class won''t be in my sights for a long time. My weapon skills aren''t advancing at all, and the techniques I use don''t seem to suit my build. I don''t understand it." Nick appreciated that she was taking her failure quite seriously, and after thinking about it for a few moments, he decided to help her. "How about a little sparring? I certainly won''t brag... Okay, I will brag, I''m the strongest swordsman in our group!" He said and took a heroic pose, placing his hands on his waist, raising his chin high. Ariana looked at him seriously for a second, and then laughed loudly. "Ahahahaha, okay, let''s start sparring." She said wiping the tears from her eyes. Nick walked away a little and looked around for any obstacles, seeing nothing he began to look closely at Ariana and notice all sorts of details. Ariana was very tall for her age, about 180 cm, she was slightly shorter than himself. Her physique was well developed, this was especially evident in her pumped up legs and arms. Looking at her chest Nick estimated that she was about a 2.5 size, shaking his head, he quickly got rid of such thoughts. Nick paid close attention to her hands and saw many cuts on her fingers from the bowstring, and how her physique developed to accommodate this. Her forearms and shoulders did not look too large, as one would expect from an archer, and the cuts on her fingers were not that noticeable. Hmm, apparently she also has some kind of specialized skill in the race. Perhaps she was able to develop [Minor Adaptation] [Common]. Or another skill that develops physique. Ariana took the sword in her hands and waited for him to start sparring, but Nick was in no hurry to do so. He was thinking about what to use the [Reincarnator''s Madness] skill on, he could find out her approximate statistics, or he could see how their sparring would go. Deciding that there was no reason to bother, he simply asked. "Before we begin, please tell me what your characteristics are?" "It''s impolite to ask, but since you''ll be helping me, I''ll answer." She said and began to reread the characteristics from the status window. Statistics Ariana: Strength 116 Dexterity 150 Stamina 214 Vitality 125 Constitution 216 Intelligence 143 Wisdom 120 Mental Control 110 Willpower 124 Perception 200 If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Charisma 38 Mana output 80 Mana 150 Mana Regeneration 151 Luck 31 Hmm, I have 680 more stats. Considering that she has three more levels in her race, and I have 6 more levels in my classes . Alchemy and my [Adaptation of Physical Characteristics] [Uncommon] skill gave me about 460 more stats. God, what have they been feeding me all this time?! "Wow, how did you get so many stats?" Nick asked in surprise, he wanted to look like he was very impressed by this. "I am our father''s hope to raise the clan, didn''t feel sorry for me resources from me at all." Ariana answered sadly. Nick didn''t want to pry into her soul with his questions, so he continued the conversation as if he hadn''t noticed anything. "Okay, first we fight without skills, but exclusively with the sword style." Ariana pulled out her sword, standing in front of Nick 10 meters away, he did the same. The conditions now do not allow for blunt weapons, but Nick could easily stop his blow if he used skills. Ariana didn''t wait and immediately rushed at him. The way she used her agility in movement surprised Nick, it was very good. But not as good as he could do it. Nick moved forward and when they were in striking distance, he waited for Ariana to start swinging. After her move, he abruptly changed his trajectory and went around her to the right, dodging the sword. His sword might have hit her if she had been a little slower in her dodge. Not wanting to give up the advantage, Nick began to throw many quick and light strikes with his sword, waiting for Ariana to make a mistake. At first, she skillfully blocked many of his attacks and even noticed that he was driving her towards a small hole in the ground. But as the sparring continued, she continued to lose ground, each swing of his sword causing her to lose speed and make unnecessary movements. Two minutes into the fight, she made a mistake in her positioning and let Nick get too close to her. He knocked the sword out of her hands, a deft feint he had learned from Sebastian. Nick moved away from her a little, letting her pick up the sword, and spoke. "It wasn''t bad, my agility is higher than yours, and you were able to hold out for some time in defense against a superior enemy. From what I can see, you don''t have any big mistakes, but you should have tried to attack me instead of continuing to defend yourself, even though you saw where it was leading. In my opinion, you need more practice and different opponents so that you can learn from them." "Yeah, I guess you''re right. Don''t get me wrong, I know swordplay isn''t my strong point, but that''s not the point. It''s about using techniques." "Well now, we''ll use skills, I won''t limit you." "Okay, but you might regret it." Ariana said, a smile crossing her face. She rushed at him using a movement technique. Nick activated [Accelerated Perception] and [Parallel Thinking], also using his movement technique, surpassing her in speed once again. Everything happened the same as in the last round, he waited until she started swinging her sword and skillfully calculated its trajectory and speed. Having dodged, he was near her on the left side, when she was completely open. Nick could easily finish the sparring now, but he wanted her time to retreat. "You''re really fast, I remember that, but from afar it doesn''t seem like such a big deal." Ariana said, slightly out of breath. Nick noticed this and thought it was very strange. Why did she get short of breath after using the technique once. After all, Ariana''s constitution was higher than his. Deciding that he would pay more attention to her muscles and how her muscles move, he continued sparring. "Let''s continue." Ariana nodded in response and used the movement technique again. Looking closely, Nick saw that there were visible marks on the ground after her. She used the technique of movement, increasing the strength of the muscles and giving them a slight strengthening to withstand the consequences. His technique relied more on agility, balance and skill in its use than on brute force, which significantly reduced the strain on the physique. Maybe that''s why she can''t develop her sword techniques and mastery to the next level? Continuing to watch her closely, Nick moved away some distance. He began to deliberately reduce his speed so that she could strike him. When Ariana thought he couldn''t dodge, her muscles tensed up before she even raised her sword to strike. Nick stopped and prepared to block the swing, so he got a good look at how her tight muscles suddenly moved with more force than he expected. Considering that his strength was 40 points higher than hers, this strike was too strong for her stats. When the blades met, Nick felt a noticeable pain in his arms, ignoring it, he stepped back and looked at her. Ariana looked bad, the veins on her arms and neck were clearly visible and the way her face and hands were red from the rush of blood could not be something good. Nick raised his hand, indicating that the sparring was over and walked up to her, examining the already visible bruises on her arms. Now he was really surprised. "Don''t tell me you always fight like this? Your techniques have great power, but they cripple your body. Normally, I would say that you overestimate your physique, but that shouldn''t be the case considering that you have over 200 points there. So either the techniques don''t suit you, or you''re not using them correctly." Ariana thought about his words and replied. "Hmm, these are side techniques from the "Gradual Strength Increase" technique that I use to draw the bowstring. When I use a bow, I don''t have any problems with it." "Hmm, then it''s either that you''re not used to releasing power quickly, or that the techniques aren''t working properly, or of course that you''re not using them correctly." Nick answered thoughtfully. "What should I do?" Ariana asked sadly. "Well, you should know that advanced techniques change our physique. At my level in [Phantom Sword Mastery], it can already be felt. I can''t put as much power into sword strikes using techniques as other adepts and strengthening techniques in my case have many nuances, but at the same time, I move much faster using techniques, we can say that in this my art is has no equal." Nick paused and continued the conversation. "I have a theory about this, perhaps your techniques remake the physique for a slow increase in physical strength, and when you try to do it quickly, you overload the body." Ariana thought about his words and went into the hut to get a bow. Coming out, she put an arrow on it and pulled the bowstring using the technique. Her muscles began to slowly contract as she pulled the bow tighter and tighter. Having reached the limit of the bow''s capabilities, Ariana did not rush to shoot, but held the bow taut, Nick saw that for her it took no effort, about the same as for him to use [Ghost Flicker], only after a minute she released the bowstring and shot into a tree. Nick could not understand how deep the arrow went in, since it was bad and shattered into pieces upon impact. But it certainly seemed impressive to him. Not expecting him to comment on it, Ariana took the sword and walked up to another tree. She lifted it high and used the technique, waiting for the muscles to go through the same tension as when she used a bow. Swinging the sword, she was able to drive it 25 cm into an ordinary tree. Watching her, Nick saw how she winced from pain and how on hands new bruises appeared. "Damn, well my theory seems to be correct. It''s all about your build." Arina winced and nodded painfully. "Like a fool, I believed my father that these techniques were suitable for all members of our family. But it turns out I just hurt myself every time." Ariana bit her lip in disappointment and kicked the tree. "Well, don''t rush to blame your father, perhaps if you used these techniques simultaneously from an early age, you could get used to both of them. But apparently, due to your greater skill in archery, this did not happen." "Maybe, but what should I do? Without the right techniques, I won''t reach the required level for a long time." Nick and Ariana fell silent, Ariana thinking about the unfair situation she was in and blaming her cruel father for his training and for not wanting to see the obvious. Nick was wondering if he should try to teach Ariana the techniques of the Phantom Sword Clan. It would be very difficult, but she would no longer have problems with the techniques, since they did not rely on strength. She might never reach the highest level, but in the short term, they would help her a lot. Nick would have to spend a lot of his time on this, and he didn''t know how his father would take it that he was giving advice on the art of the Phantom Sword. Thinking about it, he decided to teach her simple basic movement techniques and a few simple sword strike techniques to start with. "Okay, okay, don''t be sad!" Ariana turned a questioning look at him as if to say "what do you mean?" "Oh, don''t look at me like that. I''ll try to teach you my techniques, let''s see how your physique will react to them." "Really?" Ariana asked without showing any visible emotion. "Yes, indeed." Ariana nodded sharply at his words and patted her cheeks. "Okay, okay. Where do we start?" she asked enthusiastically. Nick took a deep breath and answered. "From the basics, your feet are shoulder-width apart, your sword in front of you." Nick began to teach Ariana the basic movement, thinking along the way where this would lead him. Aaaah! I need to save mana, kill monsters, develop skills, and I''m training people! What an idiot I am! Interlude 2 Interlude 2 Pow. Linella After leaving Nick, Lynella went to look for Kaeti. She went to her house, but did not find her there. After rummaging around the house, she found a green dress and noticed the lack of armor. Deciding to look elsewhere, she wandered around the camp until she found her with the troll and Max. They were trying to teach him new spells, Kaeti looked quite normal if you did not notice her red face, satisfied look and crooked gait. Watching them for some time, Lynella saw how the troll sometimes laughed to himself. Seeing Max''s calm reaction, Lynella decided that Green was more polite this time and did not shout to the whole camp that Kaeti was having sex with someone. Linella smiled cheerfully as she imagined this situation and how Kaeti would react to it. I would like to see her blush and stutter with everyone, knowing full well that everyone knows. But of course I won''t do that. Linella went to her room to restore the mana she had used during the night. Going out in the evening, Linella took some food and walked to the camp. On the way, she saw Dylan training Ariana. At first, jealousy flared up in her, but after a long period of surveillance, she was convinced that it really was just training. The sight of them excited her and she couldn''t help but complain about her stupid teenage body. She wanted sex almost all the time and she couldn''t help herself. Having found tall bushes and having quietly climbed down. Linella hoped that Ariana''s high perception and her skills would not be enough to notice her, it would be awkward for her. Sitting in the bushes, Linella slightly lowered her shorts and began to lick her fingers, slowly inserting them into her pussy and masturbating her clitoris with her other hand. After a while, she began to get more pleasure, not only from her actions, but also from the sweaty bodies of Dylan and Ariana. They looked pretty good together in her opinion, but there was no smell of sex there, now it even upset her more than angered her. Linella muffled her moans with magic and enjoyed the time, occasionally bringing herself to orgasm. Every time this happened, she involuntarily moved the bushes with her legs from euphoria, she was really lucky that she was so good at sound magic, otherwise her moans would have been clearly audible. When Dylan said goodbye to Ariana and didn''t even come inside so she could thank him, Lynella stopped her masturbation session. Thinking about what she should do now. She could go to Dylan, or she could visit Kaeti. Yes, I want to look at her and maybe we will have another threesome! She thought with pleasure, crawling out of the bushes and heading towards Kaeti. When she entered her house, she was not there. This did not upset Linella, but even inspired her. Having undressed, Linella lay down on the bed and threw animal skins over herself, while she waited for Kaeti, she warmed herself up with another session of masturbation. When Kaeti entered, Linella got exactly the reaction she wanted. She froze in the doorway, not knowing what to do, she didn''t even close the passage with skin, which is why her magic was broken and her quiet moans could be heard on the street. Kaeti quickly realized this and went inside, her face was not red, but there was a slight embarrassment on it. Her eyes examined Linella, but not as if it were a lustful beast, but as if someone was getting rid of trouble. Linella caught this change and her mood disappeared, apparently without magic it would be hard to achieve the same effect. Having decided to try to persuade her one last time, Linella spoke. "Sweetie, don''t you want to join me?" She asked sweetly and with loud breathing. Kaeti shook her head too quickly in response and began to answer. "I''m sorry, Linella, but I won''t fall for your tricks anymore." Kaeti said, unconsciously rubbing her lower abdomen with her hand. Linella laughed quietly at her. "Are you going to tell Dylan that today? Maybe you don''t want to because after yesterday everything hurts so much that you don''t want to do anything at all. I admit he''s worked hard on us." She said with a big smile, showing her breasts. Kaeti blushed at her words and began to shake her head, but the longer she did it, the faster she realized that even she did not believe it. "Yes! Yes! You''re right! Everything hurts! I''m happy! That''s why I don''t want it!" Kaeti screamed. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. "Ugh, cool down please. Maybe you''ll feel better in a couple of days." Linella said getting up from the bed and revealing her figure. She bent low showing her pussy to pick up her clothes. Kaeti blushed even more and started squeezing her legs together. Seeing this, Linella grinned and continued. "I can come pick you up another day to go see Dylan. Maybe you even want him alone?" Kaeti began to breathe a little louder and wanted to cover her face with her hands, but caught herself in time. She stared at Linella with an angry look, speaking loudly and decisively. "Linella get out of my house!" "Okay, okay sweetie." Linella replied, slowly getting dressed. To avoid tempting herself, Kaeti turned away and waited for her to finish when Linella passed her. She leaned over and whispered in her ear, using her favorite magic. "I wouldn''t mind if you were alone with him once, mmm, how tender and sweet it would be." Kaeti squeezed her thighs tighter, so much so that Linella heard the leather on her armor creak. She wanted to answer something, but before she could, Linella left the hut. After casting the spell, she watched what Kaeti would do now. Surprisingly, she simply lay down on the bed, without taking off her armor. She was breathing loudly and trying to calm her legs, which were cramping. Her face was completely red, and her gaze was dreamy, she was biting her lips hard imagining a night with Dylan. After watching her for a while, Linella realized that it would not go further and left. *** Nick was meditating when he heard the curtain on his hut open. There he saw Linella in a sexy witch''s image, her face was heavily made up with blue shadows, with black arrows on her eyes, she even changed her eye color to blue. Her lips were also blue and a lustful smile played on them. She had a broom in her hands and on her head was a wide black witch''s hat with blue patterns. Her body was covered in a tight black corset with blue lace, which made her chest stick out so much that he thought it might fall out. Below she had a very short skirt that barely covered part of her hips, on her feet were high black boots with blue lace that ended just above the knee. Nick barely had time to notice this and how sweet she looked. Especially her face, almost exposed chest and hips. Linella cast a blue mist slowly covering the entire room, it was very transparent and slightly illuminated her body, giving it a magical atmosphere. "I came to cast a spell on you today, but if it doesn''t work, you can do whatever you want with my body! " Linella said, taking a sexy pose, she released her breasts and ran her finger over her body as proof. Nick got up from the bed and walked up to her, hugging her gently and kissing her lips, tasting the berries. While they were kissing, Nick put one hand under her skirt, grabbing her ass. Nick was slightly disappointed that her entire outfit was an illusion, but when his fingers entered her pussy, he realized that it didn''t matter. " Oh! " Lynella moaned at his touch. They continued kissing while Nick explored her body, he didn''t touch her breasts yet, as he didn''t want to accidentally ruin her illusion. Her corset was truly a work of art, especially the way her breasts swayed in it. Pulling away from him, Linella pretended to slip and her breasts fell out of the corset, the way they swayed attracted him very much. Nick immediately pulled Linella to himself and began to suck her breasts, lightly squeezing her nipples with his tongue. She began to moan quietly, squeezing his shoulders, after a while they continued kissing and blindly moved to the bed. Linella was on top of him, he periodically kissed her neck and licked her breasts, and they kissed passionately again. Linella was almost at the peak of arousal, so she took him by the clothes and began to pull them off him. Having reached his pants, she quickly pulled them off and sat on his penis. She pretended to tear off her skirt and adjusted her panties, revealing a view of her pussy, now she was wearing boots, a hat and a corset that sank down onto her stomach, not hiding her breasts at all. Linella began to rub against his penis and purr loudly like a cat. "Purr-purr-purr." After teasing him a little and being pleased with his reaction, she stood up slightly and inserted the member inside, purring even louder and rubbing her breasts against him. "Purr! Purr! Purr!" Nick took her breast in his hands and began to squeeze it while she rocked on his cock. As she began to rise and fall on him, she stopped purring, as she could no longer hold back her moans. "Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!" Nick was very pleased with everything, her performance paid off greatly, arousing him so much that he immediately came inside her. Lynella looked at him with a satisfied smile and continued to ride him with loud moans. She bent low and leaning her hands around his neck, she began to kiss him. So she kissed him, while he squeezed her breasts and ass with his hands. After a few minutes, Lynella came, with a loud moan. "Oh!" Being very pleased she got off him and lay down, waiting for him to continue. Nick turned her over and inserted his cock into her, he had to "take off her hat" because it was blocking his view. When he touched it and wanted to take it off, it dissipated in blue smoke. Such special effects and where does she get so much mana or skill from? Nick kissed her neck from behind and continued to fuck her, while she moaned loudly. They changed positions a few more times and at the very end Nick filled her mouth. Being satisfied, Lynella dispelled the illusion, Nick wanted to do it one more time, but his stamina was at 60%, so he decided that everything could wait until the morning. Lynella didn''t want it anymore either, they comfortably hugged him and fell asleep together. 44 Chapter Chapter 44 Nick spent a week teaching Ariana various basic techniques of the Phantom Sword. Her progress in this was decent, she managed to master one movement technique and one quick sword strike technique. In Nick''s opinion, this was really great. He was able to see that her physique easily adapted to the techniques of his clan. Over the course of a week, he had accumulated a decent amount of mana, the additional stats he had gained from the second-class level he had poured into mana regeneration again. So now he had 1790 MP available to him. It was still catastrophically low, but he could not devote more time to meditation. He spent about five hours a day in meditation, and the rest of the time was spent sleeping, studying with Ariana, and having fun with Linela. On the morning of the eighth day, Nick was eating meat and rice with the rest of his classmates. Even such food still tasted divine. He thought about how hard it was without mana potions, if he had them, he wouldn''t have stalled his progress in magic, especially in the skill [Casting Spells] [Uncommon] Lvl 199. The fact that he couldn''t waste his will and mana on experimenting with spell designs made him very sad. After finishing their food, many people went about their business, some went to train, some to get food, and so on. Today, everyone was busy, just like him. Nick went to meet Ariana and finally go hunting. On the way, the prince stopped him and called him along. Nick was worried that something alarming might have happened. "Is something wrong Evander?" The prince nodded and answered. "You could say that Green is leaving our camp." Nick quickly realized what this would lead to. When the troll was with them in the camp, they silently enjoyed his protection and all sorts of services that he provided them of his own free will. If he left, they would first of all open the camp to attack by all sorts of creatures and completely lose the illusion of security. "Damn, this looks really bad." Nick said, shaking his head in frustration. "Yes, I agree, I tried to convince the troll to stay, or to leave Mreu with us, but he refused. He needs to do something at home, and he can''t ask the cat to do something she doesn''t want to do." "Well, that was to be expected. We''re lucky that the whole story with him ended like this." "I agree, Green has most likely already left, but he said that we can visit him in a couple of days." "I see, so you want something from me?" The prince looked him over from head to toe, his face grew more firm and he spoke. "Yes, I know that you are bad at choosing your opponents, so I seriously ask you not to engage in combat with anyone who might find our camp." "But we know very well that orcs and goblins live not far from us. If they see us, we have no choice but to kill them. Of course, they will still start looking for their brothers, but at least this will buy us more time. "I know, that''s why I''m asking you not to go into their territory. We''re really lucky that the orcs haven''t found us yet." "Okay, I won''t go more than 20 kilometers from the camp." "Okay, okay, I''m sorry but I''m worried about it." The prince said with a slight smile. "It''s okay, well I''ll go then." "Yes, good luck in the hunt!" Nick waved goodbye to the prince and went to pick up Arina. When he arrived, she was sitting near her hut, sorting through Alistair''s poisons. Arina wore leather armor over simple clothes that covered her entire body except for her hands and face, and she had thrown knives and pouches of Alistair''s poisons attached to her. She had a 160 cm long bow over her shoulder and a quiver with 40 arrows on her back, most of them completely wooden, but some still had metal tips. Most noticeable thing about her equipment was the black wooden sword in a black wooden scabbard. It was the cursed sword that Alistair had made. When unfolded, it looked like black wood carved into a normal meter-long sword, with a black cursed core embedded in the guard. Alistair had managed to graft the Ent''s main ability onto the sword: if enough cursed mana was in the sword, he could destroy the life force of an opponent by pouring cursed mana into them upon touching the blade. In Nick''s opinion, this was the main nuance, no one knew how to replenish the cursed mana in the weapon, except to pump it with ordinary mana and wait until it eventually becomes such. The Cursed Ent''s Core made cursed mana out of ordinary mana, but to achieve the necessary "concentration" of cursed mana, it really took a lot of time. Now the sword was charged for a maximum of three hits, which was not much, but the strength of the sword''s ability fully justified it, in addition to the enchantment, which made the sword almost as durable as mana steel. "Hello, are you ready to use techniques in battle?" "Of course, and thank you so much again for teaching me them." Ariana said with a slight bow, to which Nick waved his hand. "It doesn''t matter, let''s go. The prince asked us not to go far from the camp, so we will be 20 kilometers at most." "Fine." Ariana readily agreed and they set out into the forest. They both used stealth-giving skills, Nick used [Ghost Sword Mastery] and Ariana used [Hunter''s Steps][Uncommon], it was not a magic skill and did not use any other energy. It simply increased her movement skill and balance, focusing on suppressing sound when walking. During the week of training, Nick asked Ariana about many of her skills and shared his own. Ariana''s known skills: Meditation [Uncommon] If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Sense of Mana [Uncommon] Mana Manipulation [Uncommon] Stamina Manipulation [Uncommon] High Pain Resistance [Uncommon] Recovery [Uncommon+] Art of Unpredictable Shot [Rare+] Unpredictable Shooting [Rare+] Advanced Hunter''s Mark [Uncommon+] Hunter''s Steps [Uncommon] Hunter''s Gaze [Uncommon] Sword Mastery [Uncommon] Advanced Identification [Rare] These were the skills that Arina talked about, it was a surprisingly large number for their age. What he focused on most were a few skills: [Recovery][Uncommon] as far as Nick understood, this skill is worse than his skill [Quick Recovery][Rare] by one step. It accelerated the recovery of stamina and vitality by 25%. Then the [Art of Unpredictable Shot] [Rare+] skill and the [Unpredictable Shooting] [Rare+] skill. The first skill increased her mastery archery, and the second increased her strength, agility, constitution, perception, and intelligence stats. But what he found most interesting was the skill [Advanced Hunter''s Mark] [Uncommon+], which was the same skill she used in the fight against Ent. When her arrow hits, a flash of orange energy is released from the tip, (it''s a mixture of mana and stamina.) The skill uses this orange flash to prevent the enemy from using mana and stamina, putting a "mark" on them, making them very hard to lose. Roughly speaking, the mark increases the sensitivity of one''s own mana that is in the enemy. In Nick''s opinion, this was a very strong build, really, really strong. Under the right circumstances, she would be able to defeat him and even do it very easily. After all, he didn''t have the [Danger Sense][Rare] skill, so it was unlikely that he would be able to sense the arrow with Aura and dodge it in an instant, and in the case of a non-fatal hit, he would have to fight her binding technique. In their hypothetical fight, he would only win by using techniques at the maximum of his constitution. This was confirmed by his skill [Reincarnator''s Madness]. He used it every day when he learned something new about her abilities and strategy. It was always decided by whether he could get to her before she hit him with an arrow. He could fight well against her [Hunter''s Mark], but every time an arrow hit, his body was pierced through, and when the technique took effect, it slowed him down significantly, not allowing him to heal and use stamina for further skills and techniques. Each time, in order to break the binding technique, he had to spend about 5 seconds on it, it all depended on where the arrow hit, if the arrow hit the stomach, he spent more time on it, if not, then less. In fact, such an injury slowed him down greatly, which is why he could not dodge the next arrows and always died. Nick had not yet gotten used to the possibility of dying in the vision of the Reincarnator''s Madness, it was very painful and unpleasant. After many imaginary deaths, his [Rare Pain Resistance] skill increased by one level, as did his [Mental Resistance] skill. Nick began to think that the skills considered his deaths as a form of mental attack. Of course, he did not mind this at all. There were several winning strategies against Ariana. The first was to cover the distance to her very quickly and attack with magic, and then engage in close combat. The second was to hide at a long distance and try to dodge arrows, sensing them with Aura, until Ariana''s resources ran out. Both strategies had about the same success, but Nick was very sorry that Ariana defeated him more often. Nick snapped out of his thoughts and started looking for new tracks, roughly tracking the direction of the camp. They spent about half an hour in the forest and didn''t find a real enemy. There were many low-level [Common] and [Uncommon] animals, but they didn''t attack them. After several hours of unsuccessful searching, they went to the territory of the iron wolves. There they met a pack of 10 wolves up to about Lvl 35. No matter how high they thought of themselves, victory would only be possible if they spent mana, which none of them wanted to do. Having bypassed the wolves, they traveled further through the forest and met a really strong creature. Ariana noticed it first and signaled with her hand to stop and be silent. She pointed her finger at it, Nick tried to take a closer look and only after a few seconds saw something further. Of course, he immediately appreciated it. Name: Pinky Status: Witch''s Familiar Race: Poison Helizar [Rare] Lvl 121 Damn, this looks bad. Nick got a better look at it and it was a thin purple lizard, about 2.5 meters long. Nick gently put his hand on Ariana''s shoulder and gestured that they were leaving. Ariana stopped looking at the lizard and nodded to him. After that, they quickly and quietly left. After 10 minutes, Nick spoke. "What did Identification tell you?" "Poisonous Helizar [Rare] Lvl 121, so what?" Nick didn''t think long and decided to say that he had [Great Identification] [Special]. "I have the acquired skill [Great Identification] [Special] and it tells me that this is the Witch''s Familiar." Ariana turned pale at his words, [Witch] or [Witcher] were almost forbidden classes in the Holy Kingdom. "Bitch! If there''s a witch coven nearby, we''re dead." Arina said with great panic. "I know, but I doubt there''s a coven here. They would have gotten rid of the Troll if that were the case, or things could be different." Nick said and thought about that black spot in the [Reincarnator''s Madness] precognition. He began to structure the information he learned from his magic lessons and different classes. [Witches] when they received the stock class were only [Uncommon] level. To unlock the class, they need to perform a witch ritual. Most of their abilities are based on [Karmic Magic], but have different forms. It all depends on the witches. They can have any magic in their arsenal and often resort to using black, or any other forbidden school of magic. [Witches][Uncommon] level in direct combat are very weak, without rituals, their magic is mediocre, due to the lack of characteristics. But this only applies if the witch is not in a coven. When she goes through the ritual and joins a coven, she gains class evolution to [Rare] level, but most importantly, she gains the ability to take power from other witches in the coven. This ability depends on the ritual, but basically they can increase willpower and mental control by borrowing them from other witches. In this way, a witch can easily increase her stats by 2 or more times, again depending on the ritual. If a witch takes more power than she can handle, her stats may temporarily drop after using it. In the case where she uses even more power, she will begin to lose vitality, years of life, stats, etc., without the possibility of recovery. The price often depends on the ritual. This is what makes [Witches] so dangerous. One witch can use the power of the coven and defeat many mages, paying for it with her life. And the head witch of the coven will be incomparably stronger than the rest and can use even more power, the limitations depend on the ritual. But this becomes their weakness, if a witch uses power, the rest of the witches at this moment have it fall, the fewer witches in the coven, the less power they can draw. The main ritual binds witches together, which makes them vulnerable to some schools of magic. Nick thought quickly, remembering the main information. Now that he could think about it calmly, he decided that the black spot in his vision was indeed a witch, but clearly an unusual one. It can''t be the witch who sent this familiar. Maybe there was a stronger witch here, right when I used the skill? That sounds plausible. "Okay, we need to go to camp and tell the prince about this." "That''s right." Ariana said. 45 Chapter Chapter 45 Nick and Ariana quickly returned to the camp and went to the prince''s hut. Nick knocked and after waiting for an answer, they entered. Evander was sitting in a meditative pose and could clearly see the worry on their faces. Nick did not start a formal conversation, but immediately got to the point of their visit. "Evander, we''re in big trouble. We''ve encountered the witch''s familiar, Poison Helizar [Rare] Lvl 121." Contrary to their expectations, the prince did not panic, only a slight nervousness was reflected on his face. He allowed himself a few seconds to think and answered calmly. "I see your concerns, but I doubt that this is a coven witch. And even if it is, not all witches will pose a danger to us. As for the familiar, this is certainly a dangerous species, but they are chosen as familiars not because of their strong poison, but because of their high intelligence." "Prince, but are you sure about this? Witches are the most susceptible to dark influence and we, as children of nobles, may be of greater interest to them." Ariana asked, to which the prince nodded. "Yes, of course. But contrary to popular belief, witches have many ways to protect themselves from curses and other black magic, thus compensating for the main weakness of the ritual. What is of no small importance: witches are chosen very carefully for the coven, which prevents black magic users from entering their ranks and corrupting the rest. So I am not worried that they are corrupted by dark influence. But you are right, we may be of greater interest to them." Thinking about the prince''s words, Nick and Ariana nodded. Ariana grew up on scary stories about witches, so she was very afraid of them. Nick, on the other hand, had a different opinion about the [Witches of the Coven][Rare], in his understanding, you don''t have to be corrupted by black magic to do whatever you want, and with the easy power of their classes and skills, it didn''t seem that hard to be a little more arrogant and cruel. Hell, I''m almost the same. I got a lot of characteristics, better skills, and teachers. My strength is more due to my parents than my own. And I didn''t have any problems until recently... Oh, and on earth I wasn''t that arrogant. Yeah, that parallel is pretty funny. "Evander, hypothetically, what would we do if we were attacked by a [Coven Witch][Rare]?" Nick asked. "We will fight to the last," the prince answered simply. "So, what are our plans when she finds us?" "We will begin to prepare for defense and in case of attack we will defend ourselves. Perhaps we will be lucky and teacher Elton will decide to intervene." Of course, but it''s foolish to count on it. Nick thought about it, but decided to keep his thoughts to himself. They continued to talk with the prince about how to better build a defense and other important issues. While this was happening, he decided to use the [Reincarnator''s Madness] skill and what he saw made him feel sick. There was a 100% chance that orcs would attack them soon and it would not end well. He had been shown many visions of orcs fighting against them and each time it ended with most of his classmates being teleported. He had only one way out, tell Evander about the vision and immediately go to Green''s territory. But he did not dare to do it. Is it worth revealing my [Special] skill for this? ... No matter how cruel it is, I don''t intend to do that. Of course, my prediction is imperfect, but the probability of someone dying is lower than the consequences of revealing the skill... Ah, it''s hard and sad to be selfish, but that''s life. In the middle of the conversation, Nick went silent for a few minutes, but Ariana and Evander did not attach any importance to it. He tried to make sure that they did not notice his bad mood, so he kept his emotions under control. Pulling himself together, Nick intervened in the conversation and began to give practical advice that in the future would help them accumulate as much experience as possible and kill as many orcs as possible. As he left the prince''s hut, Nick''s face reflected regret; he could not help but think about the consequences of his decision. Even if he understood that logically it was correct, he had not yet managed to convince himself of it completely. Entering his house he saw Linela, but decided to let her know that he was not in the mood today. He decided to do some meditation and advised her to do the same. Linela''s mood dropped significantly, but she treated him with understanding. She quickly got dressed and wished him "good night" and left. Nick meditated all night, simultaneously thinking over the strategy for fighting the orcs. This time he wasn''t very lucky with the exact information about the opponents, but he knew that the shaman wouldn''t fight them, but would give this right to his subordinates, and they would eventually crush them with numbers. He didn''t know how many class holders there would be and how many orcs and goblins there would be in total, but he needed to decide what magic he would use and whether he should try to kill the shaman. He remembered her level and classes that teacher Elton had once named and calculated the approximate characteristics using the [Reincarnator''s Madness] skill. Nick only now noticed how the full skill restrictions worked. He had an unknown number of predictions about the characteristics of other creatures and one prediction about the possible development of events in one day. Apparently, this happened because he combined the [Approximate Calculation][Common] skill with [Reincarnator''s Madness]. Having decided to focus on the characteristics of the orc leader, Nick thought of only one thing. Fuck Name: ??? Age ??? Race: Orc Lvl 138 Class: Shaman of the Ancestors [Rare] Lvl 100 Class: Orc Doctor [Uncommon] Lvl 100 Calculating statistics by race and class: If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Strength 120 +(4¡Á138=552) Dexterity 60 +(2¡Á138=276) Endurance 100 +(4¡Á138=552) Vitality 100 +(3.5¡Á138=483) Constitution 120 +(4¡Á138=552) Perception 100 +(3.5¡Á138=483) Intelligence 20 +(0.5¡Á138=69) +(3¡Á100=300) Wisdom 20 +(0.5¡Á138=69) +(3¡Á100=300) Charisma ??? Willpower 40 +(5¡Á100=500) Mental Control 10 +(3¡Á100=300) Mana output 50 +(2¡Á100=200) Mana 20 +(10¡Á100=1000) +(3¡Á100=300) Mana Regeneration 20 +(7¡Á100=700) +(3¡Á100=300) Statistics: Strength 672 Dexterity 336 Endurance 652 Vitality 583 Constitution 672 Perception 583 Intelligence 389 Wisdom 389 Charisma ??? Willpower 540 Mental Control 310 Mana Output 250 Mana 1320 Mana Regeneration 1020 Damn, two classes and a rare race really give so many stats. And this is despite the fact that her race and classes are mediocre at the [Rare] level. She has 2.9 times more stats than me... Which, if you think about it, isn''t that much. But it''s important to understand what she can do with her skills and how many of them there are. I''ve never seen her magic, so it''s hard to guess how strong it is... It''s logical to assume that she has close combat skills, but I shouldn''t think about any advanced techniques. The main question is whether I can catch her off guard with the others and break through her constitution. Perhaps victory would be in our pocket if she didn''t have the rest of the minions... Yes, it''s hard, but maybe it''s doable, oh how much sweet experience there would be for killing her... What spell would be most effective against her from my repertoire? Nick started thinking about it and decided that the best strategy against her would be to attack with all the strongest in their group, except Evander. If He, Liam, Cassandra and Ariana attacked at the same time, it could very well lead to the death of the shaman. Cassandra would need to hit her with an arrow with the strongest poison and the binding technique, Liam would need to cast the strongest spell of the 4th level, Cassandra would need to cast his "Compressed Spear of Blood", and he would need to get close, stick the cursed sword into her and cast the spell "Power Spear" on her head, giving it all his will. But what to do with the rest of the orcs and goblins? What a headache! Although Linella could very well help with this, it is not clear how tomorrow''s events will turn out and whether we will have a chance or not. Nick continued to think over his strategy and collect mana for tomorrow. *** From afar, high in the sky, Teacher Elton was watching the camp with Heather. He was silently pondering something until Heather interrupted his thoughts. "Professor Elton, do they really need to fight to the death against a horde of orcs? Haven''t they already seen how weak they are, why continue the test?" "I don''t think so Heather, most of them still use the safety of the group, and the troll made their life much easier. So if things continue like this, they will never learn the lesson we want to teach them. The Troll''s departure and the actions of the Orc shaman will serve this perfectly. A fight to the death is what they need to understand how cruel the world is, although for some of the dumb children of nobles even this will not be enough... The higher ups hope to raise warriors who will fight demons, so they have to go through this so that later they do not die the most cruel death, or even worse." "I see Professor Elton, what is your opinion about students?" Elton rolled his eyes and replied. "Heather, you ask me this question too often, I know that you guess that something is wrong with the children and you will be right. I think there is no point in avoiding questions further, among them are the Reincarnators who sent us the seven Gods." Heather nodded with great interest and joy, starting to continue asking Elton about everything. "And who are they? Do they have some kind of unusual ability? Or do they even have a Soul Ability? How could they have attracted the attention of the gods?" Heather continued to speak. To which Elton shook his head and interrupted her. "No, Heather. Stop asking so many questions. As far as I can tell, none of them have any unusual abilities outside of their class, although I may not know about that. The gods chose them solely for their Soul Power." "Is that all? I certainly see 5 abnormally strong souls among them, but is that really all?" "As far as I know, that''s true, but we''re lucky that they''ve been able to grow up so well already. They''re really full of potential, and not only them," Elton said with a smile. "So Dylan, Liam, Cassandra, Lynella and Alistair are Reincarnators?" "Yes, that''s true. But besides them, Ariana, Prince, Seth, and Max are also attracting attention. I can only compare these gifted children and renicantors to the current [Epic] class holders. I hope they can reach that level in the future. That''s our goal. If 9 [Epic] class holders come out of one class, it will be phenomenal and greatly help to the world in the fight against demons." "Is their potential that great?" Heather said with a little respect in her voice. "Yeah, but we need to knock the crap out of their heads and protect them in case of an attack by someone who can break the magic of the rings." Elton and Heather continued their conversation as they watched a horde of Orcs and Goblins move in front of them, several dozen kilometers away, dispersing and surrounding the children''s camp in a wide circle. 46 Chapter Chapter 46 Dylan woke up early in the morning and hurried out of bed, putting on his armor and scabbard. He managed to sleep for about 2 hours last night, which wasn''t good, but he thought it was worth it. Now he had a little over 2000 MP in reserve and a rough strategy against the orc chieftain. Nick left the hut and headed away from the camp to find the orcs. He needed an excuse for how he knew about them, but he didn''t even have to, as everyone in the camp was very restless. Many were quickly gathering their gear and preparing for battle. Dylan was walking around looking around the camp when Lynella ran up to him and spoke quickly, she didn''t seem scared, but she was too collected and serious. "Dylan, the scouts have found many orcs and goblins moving in our direction. The prince is gathering everyone near his hut, let''s go faster." Dylan nodded and ran with her, mentally praising himself for his foresight yesterday. It''s good that the scouts actually did everything that we discussed with the prince. It saved me a lot of time and effort. It was very noisy near the Prince''s house, most of the people were there and everyone was trying to shout down each other. Everyone was arguing about the actions that should be taken against the orc attack. Evander stood in the center and tried to calm everyone down, but it was not very successful, nobody just listened to him. Dylan and Lynella came when the Prince''s patience ran out. "Everyone, calm down!" The prince shouted loudly, seeing that no one interrupted him, he continued. "Many orcs and goblins are moving in our direction, another scout recently returned and reported that orcs are also moving towards us in another direction." After the Prince''s words, there was a noise again, but when he raised his hand, everyone stopped talking. "I dare to assume that the orcs found us some time ago and were simply afraid to attack while the troll was with us. I don''t know how many orcs and goblins there are, but their number is already over 200. The average level of [Orcs] [Rare] is about Lvl 35, and the average level of [Goblins] [Common] is about Lvl 40. And that''s not counting the unknown number of class owners and the orc chieftain. This leads me to the fact that the orcs are ready to deal with us, most likely they completely surrounded us and blocked our path to the troll." Evander gave him some time to think about his words and continued. "I can definitely say that the orc leader is not a stupid monster, since she thought of surrounding us. Alas, but we have no chance of defeating her and the rest of the minions, so we will retreat across the river and try to hide from pursuit." While the prince was talking, Dylan saw all the members of the class gathered around him. He counted them and made sure that all 31 people were accounted for. When the prince finished talking, Dylan realized that he must have been desperate, since he suggested that they just run away. In his opinion, it made no sense, the Orcs on average had more stamina and surely the chieftain would be able to find them, they would just delay their end for a while. So he raised his hand like a good boy and Evander offered him the floor. "Evander, this doesn''t make sense, there are a few people in the group who are exceptionally bad in physical attributes, and sooner or later we won''t be able to maintain the necessary pace to break away from the orcs. They also have more stamina and numbers on average, and that''s not counting the possibility that they might have someone who specializes in searching. Our chances of hiding are very small, so I suggest we swim across the river and fight them after they manage to swim across. This will reduce the number of orcs and goblins we have to fight at the same time and give us a slight advantage." After his words, the people became very restless. "Dylan, you''re just sending us to our deaths!" Norn [Water Mage] said loudly. Looking at her displeased face, Dylan couldn''t help but get angry. Damn, even the useless [Space Mage''s Apprentice] and Kaeti aren''t that scared of this option. Even though not really cut out for combat. Dylan pulled himself together so as not to offend the bitch, he simply nodded and continued talking. "Yes, that''s right. In the current situation, we have two options: leave the mages and those who lack physical characteristics to the orcs, or fight together." Dylan replied and was very pleased that Norn had shut up. Looking around at the others, the mages looked miserable, and the adepts tried to gather their courage for the fight. Overall, he had achieved exactly what he wanted, in such a state it was much easier to persuade the group to a suicidal fight. This of course does not take into account a few people. Among all of them, Cassandra, Liam and Alistair stood out with complete calm and lack of fear. Dylan thought it was strange that Alistair was not scared, but he could not help but respect him at this moment. While the others were talking among themselves, Evander looked sad and thoughtful, having collected his thoughts, he spoke again. "Please calm down. As much as I hate to say it, Dylan is right. We don''t have much time left, so we''ll swim across the river and fight the orcs there, when we can''t handle their numbers anymore, we''ll split up and retreat into the forest." Several people began to loudly object to the prince, but he wouldn''t give in to persuasion. "Remember that we have the rings and real death doesn''t threaten us, so we''ll stick to the plan. Now, everyone, quickly, get going!" Evander turned and walked towards the river, not listening to those who objected to the plan, seeing that no one was listening to them, they gathered in different groups and having no choice, began to stick to the plan. Dylan allowed himself a slight smile, now that the first part of his plan was completed, he should communicate with the strongest and coordinate the attack on the Orc Chieftain. While he was thinking about how to do this, Liam approached him, along with Ariana, Linella and Cassandra. "You can''t pretend you didn''t plan this, so what''s our plan?" Dylan sighed and thought that his friend lacked tact, catching himself thinking this, he realized that he also really lacked it. "Defend against the orcs and kill the chieftain if possible. We should be able to do that if we catch her alone by surprise. If we can''t do that, we''ll split up and run away. If we can do that, we''ll just run away. It''s simple, when I see her I''ll clarify what we should use. For now, we''ll just use our strongest attacks and illusion magic to give me a chance to get close to her and stick the cursed blade into her. Any questions?" "Great, I agree." Liam replied and the others nodded as well. Dylan nodded and walked towards the river, the others were already swimming across it. Before entering the water, everyone took off their armor and clothes, putting them in backpacks. Of course, no one undressed completely, swimming in their underwear, which made Dylan smile slightly. Even in such a situation, people did not get rid of social boundaries, of course, he planned to do the same. Looking at the river, Dylan saw that at this point it was about 30 meters long and the current was very strong, but the water mages helped the physically weak to swim across it easily. Dylan nodded and also began to undress and put his armor and clothes in a backpack. The others who were with him did the same, Dylan allowed himself a fleeting glance at Linella, Cassandra and Ariana. At least there is something good about this. They were in thin underwear, Linella noticed his gaze and winked at him, and Cassandra stared at him like he was an idiot. Embarrassed, Dylan turned away and quickly put everything in the backpack. After making sure that it was watertight, Dylan got into the water and quickly swam across the river, although even with his excellent physique and the fact that he was 4 times stronger than a the strongest person, it was not so easy, the current still fought against him. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Well, that will definitely hold off the orcs. Once on the other side, he overcame his embarrassment and threw away his wet underwear, he tried to quickly get rid of the water with [Strength Magic] and quickly get dressed so that no one would see him naked, but he still managed to get a satisfied look from Linella and a complete ignore from Cassandra and Ariana. When they came out of the water, Cassandra covered her body in blood, and Linella cast an illusion for herself and Ariana, covering their private parts until they got dressed. Liam also covered his view with diamond dust, which actually attracted more attention from others. But he did not pay attention to this, collected the water from those around him and changed his clothes. Everyone in the group had to get rid of wet clothes and water, not because it would be uncomfortable, but because everyone knew perfectly well that in water on wet orcs it is best to use spells that cause cold, if they had wet clothes on, the spells would be just as effective against them. When everyone had crossed the river, the prince spoke loudly. "We will split into several groups and not give the orcs a chance to emerge elsewhere and surround us. If possible, try to use [Ice Magic] spells and do not use [Fire Magic]. When we can no longer hold back the orcs, we will split up and hide in the forest." Evander went on to explain the general plan and select people to lead the various groups, sending their teams to various locations along this side of the river. When he was done, Dylan could only wait for the enemy to appear. About 30 minutes after the prince had gathered everyone near his hut. Many goblins began to run into the camp, they had wooden spears with stone tips in their hands, they were dressed in rags. In general, they were ordinary goblins that he had seen before, Dylan decided that they were looking for them, and as soon as he had time to think about it, one goblin began to scream louder than everyone else and point a spear in their direction. Because of this, the other goblins noticed them and also began to scream even louder and more furiously. Dylan assessed most of the [Goblins] [Common] and saw that they were mostly of a low level, on average Lvl 40, they differed among themselves in build and shade of green. Dylan immediately singled out those who had a class. Name: Gobu-Gobu, 10 years old Race: Forest Goblin [Common] Lvl 38 Class: Wild Hunter [Common] Lvl 23 Class: Spear Warrior [Common] Lvl 18 Name: Dirty Earth 18 years old Race: Forest Goblin [Common] Lvl 69 Class: Rock Thrower [Common] Lvl 50 Class: Spear Warrior [Common] Lvl 43 Name: Ratix, 30 years old Race: Forest Goblin [Common] Lvl 100 Class: Spear Disciple [Uncommon] Lvl 105 Class: Goblin Chieftain [Uncommon] Lvl 31 The goblin chief was special in his opinion, he looked very old, and his skin was wrinkled like a 100 year old man, he had a small beard of gray hair and even his green skin had faded and turned pale yellow. This was not surprising, considering that goblins lived up to 25 years, and his class could not prolong his life much. But of course he could still move normally and quickly, he shouted loudly at the other goblins in his language and looked at them with anger. So, there are already more than a hundred of them. The orcs most likely sent them as cannon fodder, which is very smart for them. The goblins are not a threat to us anyway, they are only needed to deplete our resources. Dylan thought about how many characteristics one goblin could have and activated [Reincarnator''s Madness]. In terms of basic physical characteristics, they were half as strong as humans. That is, they had about 20 characteristics, mental characteristics were very low in the non-intelligent representatives of their species and could not even be assessed. The only thing they were better than humans in was perception, they had night vision and they had about 50 characteristics. Race: [Goblin] gave 6 characteristics per level, and those who had classes, besides the goblin chieftain, did not move much away from this level. Statistics: Strength 20 +1 Dexterity 20 +1 Endurance 20 +1 Vitality 20 +0.8 Constitution 20 +0.8 Perception 50 +1 Intelligence 5 +0.2 Wisdom 5 +0.2 So, it turns out that ordinary goblins won''t be able to cross the river, no matter what level they are. To do this, you need somewhere around 100-120 physical characteristics. You just have to be wary of the stones they can throw. After a few minutes of noise from the goblins, an orc came to them. He looked at the people who were on the other side of the river and let out a loud and drawn out growl in disappointment. This caused a small smile to appear on Dylan''s face. He turned around and began to look for the people, most of whom were about 100 meters away and were not happy about the fight, but were ready for it. Dylan continued to watch the orc and was not at all happy that even more goblins had arrived, now there were about 200 of them. After another two minutes, many orcs began to arrive. They were simply gathering in groups and waiting for the command of the classers, whom he immediately assessed. From the entire place, Dylan counted about 40 orcs and 200 goblins, he did not even imagine how many there were in total. Name: Bud, 30 years old Race: Orc [Rare] Lvl 43 Class: Disciple of the Mace [Uncommon] Lvl 60 Class: Magician of Goblin [Uncommon] Lvl 51 Name: Ryk, 20 years old Race: Orc [Rare] Lvl 28 Class: Berserker [Rare] Lvl 19 Class: Disciple of the Mace [Uncommon] Lvl 43 Hmm, interesting that there is a goblin slave class. More orcs and goblins came and Dylan realized that he was completely right in his prediction, there were about 400 of them in total and that was the ones he could see. The orcs lined up in front of the river when they heard a distinctly female voice. Even he could tell, despite the ugly language. Dylan only now noticed that he hadn''t seen any females among the monsters, which meant that there were even more of them than now. A tall orc woman, a little over two meters tall, came out in front of the river, dressed in the skins of iron wolves that glittered with metal. She had typical orcish features - sharp teeth, a large nose and eyes, yellow skin. Staring at them, she said something in a loud, growling tone, but no one could understand her. Seeing their reaction, she changed her language and repeated what she had said. Name: Hortensia, 59 years old Race: Orc [Rare] Lvl 138 Class: Shaman of the Spirits Ancestors [Rare] Lvl 100 Class: Orc Doctor [Uncommon] Lvl 100 "People, surrender immediately and you will die easily!" Evander emerged from the trees with Brandon walking next to him with a shield and shouted back at her. "We don''t agree with this, negotiations?" The Orc Chieftain''s face twisted in rage and she began to scream at them. "I will eat you alive! And I will give your women to the Orcs, and then to the Goblins to bear children. You will beg for death!" Hysterical, but it was almost effective. Looking around, most of the people had disgusted expressions, like him. Evander didn''t say anything and just went behind the tree again. Just when a huge block of stone flew at him. The Prince and Brandon managed to dodge, but after it hit the tree, they were riddled with fragments of stones and chips. Dylan saw that they were generally okay and counted that the Chieftain used about 500 mana, for this, her magic was stronger than he expected, but not much. When she wanted to scream something again, an arrow flew at her head. The orc raised her hand and put it in front of the arrow, contrary to her expectations, the arrow pierced her hand and a flash of orange energy burst out of it. She screamed and in rage began to say something in her language. Several orcs immediately covered her with their bodies, and the goblins and several dozen orcs began to move towards the river and try to swim to them. Dylan came out from behind the tree and started swearing loudly at Ariana. "Ariana, you''re a fool! If she could be killed with an arrow, I would tell you so, now she''ll be on guard!" "Well, I''m sorry, it was such a chance, I didn''t think she would have time to react." She said, looking out from the bushes nearby. Well, to be honest, her stats shouldn''t have allowed her to react to the arrow, so it must be some skill. I doubt it''s the [Danger Sense] skill, most likely something related to Aura, or some spell. Too bad my senses don''t extend that far. Looking at a bunch of goblins that were quickly carried away by the current and a few orcs that managed to swim correctly, Dylan thought: "This is how it all begins!" 47 Chapter Chapter 47 Dylan activated the [Parallel Thinking] and [Accelerated Perception] skills and was finally able to enjoy the peace. The quick thinking calmed him down because he could think things through properly. He didn''t like the fact that he couldn''t react to the orc chieftain''s spell in time. Dylan put his thoughts in order and looked around once more. Goblins and Orcs were just trying to swim across the river, the goblins were doing very poorly, but the orcs were doing well. The force of the current had spread them out, just as he wanted. On the other side, the goblins and Orcs were collecting stones, he didn''t see Shaman or any other class owners anywhere, which also upset him. Overall, everything is going according to plan, but Ariana shooting the chieftain may have a negative effect on my goal of killing her. Should I use [Reincarnator''s Madness] now and drop out of the fight for a while, or not? Dylan pulled out his sword and walked to the river bank, meeting several orcs, they were no higher than Lvl 50, so they were not his opponents. As soon as they got to the bank, both of them screamed loudly and rushed at him with their bare hands. Dylan cheerfully thought "that they lost their clubs in the water" and used the skill [Ghost Flicker]. The orcs could only watch helplessly as he instantly moved with inhuman speed and his sword cut their throats, the first orc immediately fell in a pool of blood, and the second one managed to slightly move away from the sword and swung his hand at him, but the next blow pierced his brain through the eye. Congratulations, you have defeated [Orc] [Rare] lvl 35. Congratulations, you have defeated [Orc] [Rare] lvl 39. Dylan turned off notifications and walked away a little, simultaneously dodging the rocks that the goblins and orcs were throwing. Their accuracy could be better, but the problem was the grouping of the projectiles, due to the number of rocks, they really did pose a threat, and a hit to the head would be a serious injury in such circumstances. So he went behind a tree and waited for it to stop. Dylan began to look out and watch how his classmates were coping. A few more orcs had emerged a hundred meters away from him, but they were fairly easy to deal with, the goblins had not yet been able to overcome the current, but he was sure that some number would, sooner or later. When the bombardment of rocks stopped, he looked out and was not happy to see that about 40 more had climbed into the water. Watching them, he was happy to hear the prince ordering the ice mages to prepare spells. It took the orcs about two minutes to get to the riverbank and they immediately received several spells that greatly reduced the temperature. These spells were cast by 2 [Water Mages] and 1 [Ice Mage]. Dylan recognized these spells, they were all level 3 and simply reduced the temperature over a large area. It took about 10 seconds for the spell to take effect, ice slowly formed along the riverbank and when the mana reached the orcs, they were covered in a thin film of ice, and their feet that were standing in the water were severely frozen. The spell was not at all lethal, but in such circumstances it did not allow the orcs to use all their physical strength due to severe frostbite. Because the goblins stopped throwing stones, several adepts went out onto the ice and simply finished off the orcs, who, although they tried to resist, could not really do so. At this rate we could do this for a long time, each spell cost about 500 MP and it is unknown how much mana the mages were able to accumulate in their staves. Therefore, until we are surrounded, we can continue to stand here and cope with this without problems. Contrary to his expectations, the Orcs continued to go into the river and swim towards them, as did the Goblins. The battle continued, but he and the other strongest in the group were in no hurry to act, but waited for the Orc leader''s turn. After the second round of "Ice Field" spells. From the trees on the other bank, the largest Orc he had ever seen appeared, with a really big and scary spear. He was almost 3 meters tall, his skin was brown and his teeth were big even for Orcs, he was dressed in animal skins with impenetrable black fur. He stopped near the rest of the Orcs who were standing on the river bank and briefly examined the people. Taking a deep breath, he opened his black mouth and shouted something very loudly, the sound wave that spread had spiritual energy and a small amount of mana. The minds of all the people who heard the scream were dealt a hard blow, in the form of visions of brutal torture, rape of people and a huge amount of pain. Dylan easily brushed it off and expanded his aura to remove the effects from the rest of classmates. But his aura was not very large and he removed this effect only from a few adepts and people who were standing near him. Most of those who received the blow fell to their knees and groaned loudly. One man was just finishing off a frozen orc, but due to the spell, he lost consciousness. The orc reached out and pulled him towards himself, squeezing him hard enough he bent his chest inward. The man could only groan loudly, as the orc smashed his skull into the ice with a strong blow. A black hole in space instantly formed around the man, into which he immediately fell, after which it also closed silently, as if nothing had happened. Damn, that was tough! I expected us to just disappear from the spot before the fatal blow. Is it just me or is it like it takes some fucking resurrection, not regular magic, to put him back together?! Dylan mentally promised himself that he would definitely kill that orc, carefully looking out from behind the tree he assessed the current enemy and the owner of the classes. Name: Rarkhim, 80 years old. Race: Orc [Rare] Lvl 100 Class: Ancestral Spirits Warrior [Uncommon] Lvl 150 Class: Ancestral Spirits Voice [Uncommon] Lvl 100 "Bitch, we''re finished!" Ah, I should have used [Reincarnator''s Madness] earlier, I would have known there would be another monster there. Dylan activated the [Reincarnator''s Madness] skill and assessed how much stats this orc had while he assessed what his attack had done. Statistics: Strength 750 Dexterity 500 Endurance 840 Vitality 500 Constitution 760 Perception 470 Intelligence 310 Wisdom 310 Charisma 40 Willpower 800 Mental Control 40 Mana Output 300 Mana 800 Mana Regeneration 700 It''s not good, but is it fair?! Like what are we supposed to do against this monster?! And we''re lucky he didn''t develop his race and second class further. Like really what? He''s about 4 times stronger than me physically. "Oh, shit! I''ll show that bastard he shouldn''t have come here! Liam, Lynella, you''re with me!" Dylan came out from behind the trees and drew his sword, Liam approached him holding a staff and activating the skill [Adaptive Aquatic Weapon], causing water to gather around him into something resembling a hemisphere. Liam took out bags of diamond dust and simply threw them into the water. Lynella also approached Dylan, but was invisible to the others. "And so the plan is simple, when he tries to cross the river, we will attack him together, and you, Linella, will support us with unexpected illusion spells. I doubt that the orc will be able to discern the illusion, and even if he can, I will think of something." "Okay." Liam spoke up without any objection. To which Lynella simply nodded and stepped outside of his compressed aura. The orc on the other side of the water simply walked towards them on the water, testing the weight of his spear and swinging it forward. To which Liam immediately expanded his aura and poured a bunch of mana from his staff into the river, completely ignoring the orc''s control over the water, causing him to fall into it. Hah, don''t tell me it''ll be that easy?! Liam entered the river and expanded the skill [Adaptive Aquatic Weapon], taking control of the water around the orc with an iron grip. To which the orc responded calmly, he grabbed the spear tighter and activated some skill. He made a piercing movement and from his body flew a white figure of an orc holding a spear and striking. The magic that made up the solid structures of the water and held the orc was completely broken. He activated another skill and began to run from the water as if on solid ground, quickly approaching Liam. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Liam couldn''t do anything in time due to his high speed, but Dylan could. Using all his strengthening skills and parrying technique, Dylan absorbed the momentum of the spear and deflected it to the side. He didn''t have to do it exclusively, he just had to prevent Liam from being fatally wounded. After the weapons collided, Dylan immediately created a force spell on the tip of the sword and aimed it at the orc''s eye. The orc moved his head to the side and a centimeter-long hole appeared in his cheek, which only slightly damaged his jaw. Liam received a through wound to his stomach, causing his expression to be filled with pain. The spear hit several vital organs, but he dealt with it very quickly by freezing the wound. He was able to complete the compression of mana and cast a stronger water construct during this time. Than immediately hit the orc on the head, sending him back into the water. Because the orc had lost his momentum, he could no longer stand on the water and fell down without any resistance, but this did not bother Dylan because he was standing on Liam''s magic. Liam continued to try to crush the orc in the water, but it was unsuccessful. The orc used unknown strengthening skills, which made it very durable. Seeing this, Dylan suggested another strategy. "Let him go, and create diamond needles. You can damage his skin quite easily with them and we need to move away so that Linella''s magic will be more effective." Dylan said looking at his body, the technique had cost him a slight strain on his physique, he didn''t feel it now but he was sure it would hurt later. Looking around he looked closely at Liam''s injury and realized he couldn''t tell how serious it was, but because of how well he was holding up he decided it didn''t matter now. Liam moved the mana constructs that held the orc and in their place created a tier 4 spell "Instant Freeze", this imprisoned the orc in ice, 4 meters in diameter. But of course, they both knew that this would not hold him for long. Dylan used the technique and quickly ran to the shore, and Liam simply levitated on the water. Just when they both got there, the ice cracked so that many people heard it. The orc flew towards them using a movement technique. As it got closer, Dylan could clearly feel the spiritual energy and mana in its body. Liam created a dome around them with many diamond needles. The orc pierced the barrier with a spear, but hit Dylan''s sword. There was a loud sound and Dylan felt his shoulder come out of its socket, but he barely managed to block the blow. The orc was unable to strike again with a spear, as many diamond needles flew at him. He quickly moved to the side, but did not use the technique, as he did not think it would be a serious injury. Dylan quickly adjusted his shoulder and could watch with a mad smile as the orc was pierced by hundreds of darts. The orc''s expression changed frame by frame - surprise, incomprehension, confusion and fear. When he landed on the water and tried to manipulate the water, Liam rejected his control and he fell into the river. Dylan managed to notice how some of the needles completely entered his body in the stomach area, but the orc managed to protect his neck and head. On the water where he disappeared, a red stain of blood was clearly visible. "Don''t freeze him, it will probably slow him down a lot and limit his use of powers and other skills, it will be interesting to see how he gets out of this." Liam nodded, and Dylan surveyed the battlefield. Several class owners were fighting against Cassandra and Evander, but they weren''t particularly strong so there were no problems, but the orcs'' numbers had increased greatly. If before they were killed as soon as they came out of the water, now they had time to regroup in groups. They were still greatly weakened by the cold, but this would continue until they not finished mana, after which they would have to split up and flee into the forest. Dylan couldn''t see what the orc was doing underwater, but he never received any notification, so he was alive. Just when he wanted to get closer and take a look, a large amount of mana and spiritual energy began to emerge from the water, and then the orc himself. His eyes glowed white and the holes that still had diamond needles in them also reflected color. Dylan''s danger instincts screamed at him to do something, so he intuitively activated the skill [Reincarnator''s Madness]. Possible future events flashed through his mind, but he immediately deactivated the skill to avoid being to avoid the next blow. The orc moved towards them and Nick activated the sword''s shapeshifting, transforming it into a shield and standing in front of Liam. Bitch, where did he weaken?! Liam also felt that something was wrong with the orc and sent many diamond needles at him. The orc quickly broke the ice and diamond fragments with his spear and several white spirits occasionally came out of his body, which also reflected the rest of the projectiles. In an instant, a red spirit came out of him and quickly moved towards Liam, piercing the barrier and hitting Dylan''s shield, after which it immediately dissipated. Dylan and Liam were thrown back hard and crashed into the water barrier. Dylan immediately felt that both arms were broken, so he created mana constructs, connecting his bones together. He spent 300 MP on this, and he knew full well that it would not withstand all his physical strength, but he had no choice. Liam began to cough up blood, although he was not hit very hard, all the patches he had created from ice in his body were broken. He almost lost control of the spell, but was able to blindly continue to direct most of the projectiles into the orc, simultaneously closing the wounds. Standing up, Dylan expanded his [Aura of Secret Will] and tried to stop the Orc from summoning spirits and using their power. This had its success, the spirits that used to often appear from the Orc''s body no longer did so quickly and it had a noticeable effect on him. The Orc slowed down and the white ghostly light that poured from his eyes began to dim. But it all came at a price, it drained a lot of Dylan''s will. The Orc that used to systematically beat off many diamond needles could no longer do so and began to retreat, thereby weakening the control of Dylan''s Aura. Dylan only now noticed how skillfully Linella acted. She made the orc dodge the illusions of needles and break the real ones with a spear, protecting them during his attack. Dylan gave a sign with his hand and was very glad that Linella understood him without unnecessary words. An illusion appeared in his place, and he himself became invisible. Using the technique, he went around the orc from behind but did not rush to attack him. He remembered how the Orc chieftain dodged the arrow, although she definitely shouldn''t have. So he focused on his spiritual senses and was able to sense the Orc''s Aura. As he watched him, he realized that he had relied heavily on it, but was still deceived by Linella''s illusions. Thinking about this, Dylan came up with a way to hit the Orc with his sword. He took out a large amount of mana from the core and began to surround the Orc with it, without touching his Aura. When he was completely done, the mana began to move quickly, closing in on the Orc and thereby impairing his senses, or otherwise affecting them. Dylan used the movement technique and got behind the orc while he was still not understanding what he had to defend himself from and whose mana it was. Dylan went around him, dodging the needles and stabbed his sword into his neck. Before he could get away, he was hit in the ribs by the shaft of a spear and sent flying, the sound and pain of multiple ribs breaking made him vomit the contents of his stomach. Lying down, already visible, he could see how the color of the spiritual energy and mana that emanated from the orc, which had previously been white, began to turn red with black stripes. Mmm, phase three! Definitely some kind of suicidal berserker, bitch! But before he could do so, Liam redoubled his efforts and came closer to him. The Orc was greatly "distracted" by an arrow shot at him from behind, which he deflected with his spear. Therefore, he could not quickly move away from Liam, the water bonds trapped the Orc in a shell of water, and later in a dome. The water began to turn redder and the Orc could no longer escape with a deep wound on his neck. His Aura, which began to change, first dimmed, and then completely disappeared when Liam pierced him with hundreds of diamond needles. Dylan was about to breathe a sigh of relief, but he realized he had not received a kill notification. Two seconds later, the orc''s eyes opened and were completely black. Dylan and the others began to hear eerie whispers of an unknown language and saw the orc''s throat begin to blacken and release dark energy and dark liquid into the water. Dylan only needed to see it to know it was a cursed, suicidal attack. He was about to use magic when Linella appeared next to the orc with a cursed weapon. Liam manipulated the holy mana within the barrier in a second and allowed Linella to pass through. She effortlessly reached the tip of the blade to the orc''s throat and activated the sword''s ability. The orc''s throat instantly crumbled into gray dust, and all the cursed energy he had accumulated harmlessly dissipated into the water due to the holy mana. Congratulations, you have defeated [Orc] [Rare] Lvl 100, class [Ancestral Spirit Warrior] [Uncommon] Lvl 150, class [Ancestral Spirit Voice] [Uncommon] Lvl 100. You get more experience for defeating a higher level enemy. You gain less experience for winning in a group. Congratulations, you have gained several levels in the [Ghost Sword Arts Adept][Rare] class Level 6 > Level 12 For 6 levels you get: Strength +30 Dexterity +42 Stamina +42 Vitality +24 Constitution +30 Intelligence +12 Perception +30 +30 Free Attribute Points Congratulations, you have gained several levels in the [Mage of Arcane Will] class [Rare][Unique]] Level 5 > Level 9 For level 4 you get: Mental Control +32 Willpower +40 Mana +40 Mana Output +20 Mana Regeneration +32 +20 Free Attribute Points Dylan looked around and saw that Lynella and Liam were also looking at the notifications, and saw that more orcs were fighting Cassandra, Evander and the others. He looked at the orc''s corpse and decided to ignore it, but he still walked up and took his spear. In the distance to the right, he saw that Nathan Spelsword was fighting a hundred goblins that had finally reached them across the river. After taking only a moment to notice, he had to admit that [Sword Aura] was very effective against them. The blue stripes of the sword cut through dozens of goblins in a straight line without any hindrance, causing many goblins to cry out pitifully and even try to flee. Dylan felt a little sorry for the goblins. He wanted to join the first battle that came his way, but Evander''s loud voice, amplified by some kind of spell, reached everyone. "We''re retreating!" Cassandra then took control of a large amount of blood, gathering it into a sphere in front of her. Alistair stood next to her and something poured into the sphere, after which Cassandra created thousands of needles of blood and shot them at everyone she saw. Damn, it''s definitely something to do with poison. Dylan walked up to Liam and tried to help him walk, but he waved him off and flew on a disk of ice towards the trees. Dylan shrugged, made sure they hadn''t left anyone behind, and ran after him. 48 Chapter Chapter 48 Dylan ran after Liam and couldn''t help but be happy about 10 levels, his movements were much faster now, his perception and speed of thinking also helped a lot. He hadn''t yet assessed how much stronger and faster his spells were, but he could already say that it was significant. Dylan stopped rejoicing and drew attention the pain in his body and the many injuries he had. Although the new constitution stats were helpful, they weren''t as good as he would have liked. Looking closely at the injuries with his various senses, he found seven fractures. Dylan could only see them roughly and that was only because the life force and stamina that flowed through his body was broken in seven different places. They were fractures and he couldn''t even see how the muscle tissue and nerves were damaged, but the intense sensation of pain made him understand how serious it was. God, it''s so good that I have a high pain resistance, otherwise I wouldn''t be able to move normally! Dylan decided that he urgently needed to fix this. Of course, he couldn''t do anything about the pain, but he could fasten the fractures together and restore the flow of endurance and life force in them. He filled the damage with mana and was able to roughly understand how to fasten them, a couple of power spells put the bones in place. Thinking about this, he decided that it was worth updating the mana structure in his hands, after all, he did it too quickly and did not pay enough attention to it. Before proceeding with this, he handed the orc''s spear to Liam, and then removed the mana structure in his hands, wincing in pain. Doing this while running was not my best idea. While his hands were dangling in his forearms, he took a third of his life force, 10% of his stamina, and about 200 MP, carefully starting to weave the mana structure inside. It was not as easy as he imagined, the structure simply did not want to assemble. As a final component, he added will to it and immediately felt how the ribs and arms firmly stood in place, ceasing to move in any way. Checking them, and looking at the various damage more closely, he was satisfied with the work done, such a structure can withstand all his physical strength and even more. Dylan finished the treatment in 10 minutes, continuing to run, listening to the sounds of the forest at the same time, he did not hear anything that would alert him. Therefore, he decided that the orcs had not yet caught up with them, but he had no doubt that they would do so. Dylan now had only one option, namely to follow the prince''s plan and gather in one place. The scouts had previously found a high hill on this side of the river and that was the gathering point. They split up to prevent the orcs from pursuing them at the same time and to get a better chance of survival for several groups. Liam and Dylan had to cover about 30 kilometers strictly towards the sunrise, following the completely unclear landmarks that the prince had mentioned. Dylan had already begun to think that they were lost, but a really high hill appeared in the distance. Now that''s what I call luck. It took another 10 minutes to get to him, Dylan asked Liam to wait for him while he found the others. But after searching the area, he found no one. Apparently we arrived first. Dylan returned to Liam, he was leaning against a tree and renewing the freezing spell again to stop the bleeding. He was very pale, and the red ice that was visible through the hole in his armor did not inspire any hope for a quick healing. Dylan did not know how to support his friend, so he decided to talk to him and examine his wounds. "And how do you feel, how close are you to death?" Dylan asked heavily, sitting down in front of him. "Very much, because of the constant freezing, I have already started to lose life force constantly. If a healer does not fly to me in a few hours, the ring will take me." Liam said and looked at him. There was no sadness or regret in his eyes, but a slight fear was noticeable. "Is it hard to overcome the fear of death, even though you know it doesn''t threaten you?" "Yes, it''s really hard. My body and instincts tell me that I''m going to die soon, it''s hard not to listen to them." "Yeah, I agree, it''s such a creepy feeling... I hope someone will come and fix you up, but there''s no point in relying on them. We got there first, maybe they were attacked on the way or something... I should take a look at you, maybe I can help you somehow." Liam simply nodded and closed his eyes. Dylan knew how much pain there was from such injuries and was already very surprised that he was able to fly for so long. He also praised his composure, he didn''t know if it was possible to get used to the feeling of death, but he hoped that it would not affect Liam too much. Dylan carefully removed Liam''s armor and could see a through wound that had been sealed with ice. This was very bad, the spear was very thick. Therefore, when it hit, it pierced the intestines, completely destroyed the kidney and hit the stomach. Under other circumstances, it would have been an excruciating death from blood loss, but Liam''s magic could somehow counteract this. "Damn, man, how did you do that, I thought I did better when I was blocking the spear." Dylan asked in shock. "I had to spread the [Adaptive Aquatic Weapon] skill to my body and pump it with a lot of mana to keep it under control." "And how did you not get mana overload?" "Racial skill, all the water mana in my body does not overload it much and my Mana Output stats are quite high. But this will not go far, in a few hours the mana will start to overload and I will no longer be able to control the icing spells so accurately." "How much mana do you have left?" "If we could stay longer, I would have collected all the diamond dust and mana from the water, but as it is, it''s only 3000 MP." "Well, that''s still not bad. How many did you have at the beginning?" The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "15.000 MP." "Damn, how much mana do you have left?" "About 10 percent." "Okay, that''s not important now. What''s important is that we''ll wait for the healers, I won''t be able to heal you while you''re in the ice. But there''s no point in removing it, since the most I can do is stop the bleeding. I don''t have spells that restore vital organs, only spells that speed up natural healing. If we remove the ice, you might get worse and your life energy might start leaking out. We''ll only do that when you start feeling mana overload." Liam nodded and closed his eyes again. Dylan wanted to believe that he could help him, but he knew that he couldn''t. Without trained healers, he knew he could screw things up badly, so all his magic was saved for emergencies. Sitting down next to Liam, he looked at his resources and was slightly disappointed. Health 803/1900 HP 2.850 HP/hour Mana 1707/2990 MP 2.89 MP/hour Endurance 1100/2350 ST 35.25 ST/hour He had used many techniques and stat-enhancing skills today, which was why he had used up so much stamina. He had turned off the [Accelerated Perception] and [Parallel Thinking] skills while thinking, and could now estimate their cooldown. If he had used them before and they had only slightly consumed stamina, now his thinking speed had slowed down a bit and his head had started to hurt. Mmm, of course, that''s what I needed right now, although with the rest of my body hurting, it''s hardly noticeable. "Damn, what do you think could have been done better against the orc?" Dylan asked, trying to distract Liam, to which he opened his eyes and shifted his position slightly. "I should have immediately created ice constructs with diamond tips, but I was severely limited by my stats against him at close range. I really lacked the speed of thought and time to prepare spells." "I understand, me too didn''t have enough statistics and time to put together a strong spell." "One problem, if we had prepared spells in advance, and not attacked him instantly. Perhaps everything would have been different, and perhaps he would have been wary of our magic and I would not have been able to catch him with diamond darts." "That''s right." Dylan nodded and continued the conversation. *** After Dylan''s victory over the orc. Pow. Alistair Kiterii Alistair watched in fascination as Cassandra took control of a huge amount of blood and created a sphere in front of her. In his senses, she glowed with blood mana, not only Cassandra''s mana, but also the mana of dead orcs. How I envy specialized mages. Because they can use other people''s mana with such ease. He stopped thinking about it and focused on the task at hand. He needed to fill this blood with the strongest poison he could create, so he pulled out several bags of various poisons and handed them to Cassandra. These were poisons he had created during his time in this horror. He wasn''t proud of their effectiveness, but he figured he couldn''t expect anything better in this environment. Cassandra didn''t bother, she just threw them in and stirred them around with blood manipulation. Alistair shook his head slightly in disrespect for his work and walked closer to the blood sphere. He took a drop of blood from the sphere and tasted it. The way Cassandra looked at him was haunting, her gaze was full of disgust and he just couldn''t stand it. "You''re the bloodsucker! It''s not my fault that the spell I need costs so much mana, it''s easier for me to estimate the proportions of the poison by taste!" Having assessed that the characteristic taste of the poison was almost inaudible, he continued in an irritated tone. "Stir it better!" Cassandra did not argue with him, as she apparently thought he was crazy. Alistair paid no attention to her now and tasted the poison again. Apparently there isn''t enough time for it to react with the other poison, due to the high iron and oxygen content. Or maybe it just stops working so quickly and won''t give me the effect I need? "Alistair, please hurry up." Alistair winced slightly and still couldn''t help but agree with her, time was running out as always. Quickly calculating in his mind what optimal results he could come to, he took out another pouch with another poison and threw it in. Cassandra wordlessly began to stir it while he cast a complex transmutation spell, which was supposed to increase the duration of the poison''s effect. After using it, he tried the blood again and was very pleased with the result. Even with his [Rare] resistance to poison, it worked on him. Alistair almost immediately felt his breath catch and he began to breathe with difficulty. Of course, he hadn''t developed immunity or resistance skill specifically to this combination of poisons, but that said a lot. "Ready." He said heavily and began to cast a special transmutation spell. The poison that had already made his head spin from lack of oxygen began to disappear. Cassandra nodded and finished the spell, thousands of small needles of crystal blood began to fly out of the sphere at every living orc and goblin, after hitting, the blood crystals dissolved and the poison contained in them entered the bloodstream. The poison that Alistair created bound the oxygen and iron in the blood, essentially preventing anyone from breathing. Theoretically, it was lethal to everyone, but the orcs'' huge mass and physique characteristics could counteract it in their own way. He had no doubt that many would die, but this was done primarily to prevent persecution. After Cassandra finished casting the spell, she took his arm and activated the stat increase skill, starting to run quickly. Alistair could only complain about the unfairness of this "training". The lack of proper equipment, ingredients, time and inflated expectations had pushed his mental state to the limit, and the fact that he was now more like extra baggage since he was without a drop of mana upset him even more. But one could find one very big plus in this. He would raise a lot of levels. Congratulations, you have defeated [Orc] [Rare] lvl 35. You gain less experience for winning in a group. Congratulations, you have defeated [Forest Goblin] [Common] Lvl 41. You gain less experience for winning in a group. Congratulations, you have defeated [Forest Goblin] [Common] Lvl 38. You gain less experience for winning in a group. Congratulations, you have defeated [Forest Goblin] [Common] Lvl 45. You gain less experience for winning in a group. Congratulations, you have defeated [Forest Goblin] [Common] Lvl 50. You gain less experience for winning in a group. Congratulations, you have defeated [Orc] [Rare] lvl 23. You gain less experience for winning in a group. Congratulations, you have defeated [Orc] [Rare] lvl 21. You gain less experience for winning in a group. Congratulations, you have defeated [Forest Goblin] [Common] Lvl 60. You gain less experience for winning in a group. Congratulations, you have defeated [Forest Goblin] [Common] Lvl 55. You gain less experience for winning in a group. ... It''s only been a few minutes and he''s already received a lot of notifications, but most importantly, he''s upgraded his class. Congratulations, you have gained one level in the [Alchemist] class [Rare] Level 8 > Level 9 For 1 level you get: Intelligence +6 Wisdom +6 Mental Control +6 Willpower +3 Mana +4 Mana regeneration +5 +5 free attribute points 49 Chapter Chapter 49 Dylan tried to engage Liam in conversation and support him in every way while they waited for the others. After 50 minutes, he heard footsteps and light conversation in human language. Standing up, he told Liam that someone was coming and went to meet them. Evander came out of the forest holding a sword, and behind him were 10 more people. They were Brandon, the Fire Mage, the Space Mage''s apprentice, the Earth Mage, several adepts and most importantly Max. He was very happy to see a healer, but looking at the battered state of the group, he stopped hoping for Liam''s healing. Dylan did not shout at them to hurry here, as it was just stupid. Liam could wait a few more minutes. They quickly noticed him and started walking towards him, some of the adepts were limping badly and the mages looked very tired. Only Max and Evander looked normal, their armor was slightly worn from the fight, but he didn''t notice any injuries. As they got closer, Dylan spoke. "I hope your journey was successful, but I urgently need Max''s help." He said and pointed at Liam. "Of course." Max replied, quickly walking over to Liam, kneeling down. He easily noticed the huge amount of bloody ice that held his insides together. He didn''t ask anything, but immediately began casting a spell from the life mana. The rest of the group reacted to Liam''s injury with different emotions. Some were simply unpleasant to see him dying, others were afraid of the enemy who could deal such a blow. Dylan noticed sincere emotions only from Evander, Brandon, the Apprentice of the Space Mage and possibly Max, he thought that the healer was simply used to keeping emotions to himself. And he did not blame him for it at all. Evander bit his lip hard, but quickly hardened his expression and tried to speak calmly. "How did this happen?" Dylan stopped looking at their group and at first did not understand the essence of the question. What do you mean? Didn''t they see? "The orc we fought stabbed him with a spear." Dylan replied calmly, to which Evander nodded. "Sorry, with our battles we weren''t able to pay much attention to your duel and the fog that rose from the ice made it hard to see anything." Evander answered with sincere apologies. Mmm, there was no fog, means Linella did not allow information to leak. We certainly used strong skills and our battle was as epic as possible, especially with the Orc having so many levels and skills. But why? Perhaps she wanted to keep the secret of her mastery of illusion magic? Or was it something else? The Orc was very strong, most likely at the level of a chieftain, perhaps she did this to hide his death for a while? Dylan thought for a while, because of the cooldown of the two skills for the mind, he thought much slower. So there was an awkward pause and it turned out that he just stood there with a heavy face, silently looking at Evander. He shook his head and apologized. "Sorry, everything is fine. I didn''t turn off the enhancing skills in time and now I''m suffering from it." Evander smiled with relief, walked over and patted him on the shoulder. "It''s okay, the fact that you were able to defeat that orc was truly a miracle, even if you didn''t come out of it unscathed." "Yeah." Dylan said and turned to watch Max. He had to concentrate on the sense of mana so he could see what he was doing now. In Liam''s body, he could feel a large amount of water mana and a tiny bit of life mana spreading throughout his body, doing it over and over again. Interesting spell, I don''t remember him using it on me. It''s very cheap, but how effective is it for diagnostics? Max examined Liam for a few more minutes while he watched calmly. After casting the last spell, Max stood up and walked away from Liam. "I can heal you, but without restoring your kidney, so you might feel bad in a couple of days. But I think you can learn spells that purify the blood, or ask someone for it." In response, Liam nodded with a small smile. "So how do you want me to remove the ice?" "I''ll tell you about this during the healing. How much time do you have before the mana overload?" "An hour, probably, and if you plan to pour a lot of mana into me, less." "Okay." Max said and began treatment, casting a new spell. Dylan was glad that everything worked out well, Evander and Brandon also breathed a sigh of relief. But of course the rest of the group was not so happy about it. Healing Liam meant that Max would most likely have almost no mana, which meant he would not be able to heal others. Evander called Dylan and took him and Brandon for a private talk. He said that they had faced 7 class owners, but the rest were not so strong. Their fight went as well as possible, basically everyone was dealt with by Cassandra, Ariana, Brandon and him. Of course, there were a few more who dropped out. The Ice Mage dropped out and two more adepts. The first one was hit by a huge stone and was immediately taken by the ring, and the adepts were unable to quickly recover from the orc''s sonic attack and were crushed. Dylan accepted this easily and was even surprised that there were no more deaths. Evander spoke about this with great regret, but by the end of his speech he smiled, but his smile was not at all kind. "Floyd was able to put a spatial tracker on the Orc Chieftain. So we''ll know her location." "Oh, great. She didn''t leave our camp?" "No, she moved about 500 meters from there, but no more. Floyd checks the mark every 10 minutes, so we will have enough time to prepare for a new attack." This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "But why haven''t they done it yet?" Dylan asked. "Most likely due to a joint attack by Cassandra and Alistair." "Mmm, yeah, I remember seeing that. But how long will that delay them?" "Don''t know." The Orc Chieftain will definitely be very angry with us, huh, what a fool. If she had fought us straight away, she wouldn''t have had so many casualties. Although we don''t even know how many there are. I saw about 400 Orcs and Goblins. How many could we kill? Dylan wanted to continue the conversation but heard a new sound in the distance. He turned his head and saw a new group. Evander went to meet them and he decided to do the same. Nathan Spelsword led this group, Dylan saw that there were a lot of mages: 2 Water Mages, 2 Fire Mages, a Stone Mage, and in close combat there was him and two more sword adepts. Dylan briefly considered just killing half of them. Oh yeah, the rings. Bitch. He couldn''t explain the feeling he had specifically for Nathan, Liam''s ex-girlfriend and the guy he''d punched. He really didn''t like them, and that was the end of rationalizations for his senseless aggression. He certainly hadn''t intended to actually kill them, but it was nice to imagine it. Stopping his negative thinking, he tried to listen to Nathan talk about his successes. That he had slaughtered over 300 goblins with their squad and that he was very smart and did not use fire mages in battle. How he had raised as many as 3 levels and slain several goblins with a class. How does he do it? He pretends it''s nothing special, but at the same time manages to brag about it. It''s truly a masterpiece. Dylan decided to stop listening to this and go to Liam and maybe learn some life magic. Dylan didn''t miss the way Nathan looked at him, apparently they had developed a mutual dislike for each other. Name: Nathan Spelsword, 15 years old Race: Man Tuned to Mana [Rare] Lvl 22 Class: Adept of the Spelsword Art [Rare] Lvl 12 Class: Not selected Not bad, it might have been a worthwhile fight if I hadn''t used magic. Approaching Liam and making sure that there were no problems with the treatment, he assessed the others. Name: Liam Changeable Water, 15 years old Race: Human Attuned to Water Mana [Rare] Lvl 31 Class: Mage of Adaptive Water Weapons [Rare] Lvl 15 Class: Holy Diamond Dust Mage [Rare] Lvl 8 Damn, the strongest. No doubt about it. Name: Evander Holy Sword, 15 §Ý§Ö§ä Race: Human Attuned to Holy Mana [Rare] Lvl 26 Class: Holy Mage [Rare] Lvl 3 Class: Adept of the Holy Sword Art [Rare] Lvl 7 The Prince is held back by his leadership. If I''m not mistaken, he gained 1 level in his race and 4 levels in his second class after defeating Ent. Very little, actually, but the opponents are not that suitable. Now he looks more like a Arcane Construction Mage, only with holy mana. Because otherwise he is not effective at all. Although he may have cool melee skills, with holy mana. Name: Max Lifewarden, 20 years old Race: Half-Elf [Rare] Lvl 18 Class: Life Mage [Rare] Lvl 8 Class: Not selected Name: Brandon Stoneshield, 15 years old Race: Human Attuned to Stone Mana [Rare] Level 20 Class: Stone Mage [Rare] Lvl 5 Class: Spear and Shield Disciple [Uncommon] Lvl 16 Name: Russ Enlightening Flame, 15 years old Race: Man Tuned to Fire Mana [Rare] Lvl 35 Class: Fire Mage [Rare] Lvl 5 Class: Not Selected Name: Floyd Traveler 15 years old Race: Man Tuned to the Mana of Space [Rare] Lvl 19 Class: Apprentice of the Space Mage [Rare] Lvl 1 Class: Not Selected It''s a shame he didn''t gain any levels, it really is a shame. He assessed the others as well, but on average, everyone gained about 1-2 levels in the class, except for the fire mages, since they were completely unlucky. In the camp, they usually saved up mana and were not even able to use it in battle. Liam looked better now, the hole in his stomach that used to be filled with ice was completely covered with skin. His complexion began to return to normal and no longer seemed deathly pale. But Max still healed him and Dylan could sometimes see him wince in pain when Max touched his stomach. Out of boredom, he sat down next to them and began to examine the magic of life more closely. He immediately admitted to himself that he did not understand the spells at all, they were simply too complex and specific. Thinking about it, Max could well be the most skilled mage of their class, perhaps Alistair was also suitable for this role, since Dylan did not understand anything at all about alchemy and creating artifacts. But he was sure that this was not an easy matter either. It took Max almost an hour to be sure that Liam would be able to function normally and even fight. Just then the last group arrived, they did it so quietly and unnoticed that he didn''t even notice them until they were in his field of vision. Dylan wasted no time in see how much each of them had grown. Name: Cassandra Scarlet Blood, 15 years old Race: Young Vampire [Rare] Lvl 35 Class: Blood Mage [Rare] Lvl 13 Class: Adept of the Art Blood Claw [Rare] Lvl 12 Name: Alistair Quiterius, 15 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 43 Class: Alchemist [Rare] Lvl 11 Class: Not selected Name: Kaeti Mercer, 15 years old Race: Man Tuned to Mana [Rare] Lvl 18 Class: Arcane Healer [Rare] Lvl 6 Class: Not selected Name: Lynella May, 15 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 51 Class: Illusion Mage [Rare] Lvl 10 Class: Not selected Name: Ariana Kilsten, 15 years old Race: Evolved Human [Rare] Lvl 31 Class: Adept of the Art of Unpredictable Shot [Rare] Lvl 9 Class: Not selected Name: Seth Knightley, 15 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 50 Class: Shadow Construct Mage [Rare] Lvl 5 Class: Not selected Dylan only now noticed that Seth''s race level was very high. This could only mean that he had very strong skills or that he had killed a huge number of creatures. Now he could no longer look at him as a gray mouse, but had to admit that he was truly dangerous. When they came closer , Evander smiled contentedly. "Now we can discuss a strategy for attacking the orcs and avenging all those who left." 50 Chapter Chapter 50 Evander started the discussion with the amount of resources each had. Many winced at this point. The Water Mages had no mana at all, since they used other spells in addition to "Ice Field". Max, Alistair, Linella and Nathan admitted that they had no mana at all. Since each used the strongest spells. The rest of the mages had a little more than half of the mana they had accumulated during their time in the camp. Only 3 Fire Mages had fully filled mana cores and staves. The Adepts had about half the stamina each. Well, well, well. It turns out that Cassandra and Ariana still have a pretty good pool of resources to continue fighting. Then comes Evander with 6000 MP. I still have half the stamina and 1700 MP. As sad as it may be, but Liam will not be able to help as much with the mana he has. He will not be able to use [Adaptive Aquatic Weapon] as before. Roughly speaking, he will have enough mana for about 2 spells equal in strength to level 4. Which in the current conditions will be used incredibly situationally. Kaeti still has 1800 mana, which is very little and considering that she is not as good at healing as Max, she is practically useless if someone gets seriously injured. While Evander continued to explain the situations and analyze the various battles of those present, Dylan opened the status. Name: Dylan Ghostblade (Nick Miller) 15 years old Race: Evolved Human [Rare] Lvl 28 1. Class: Mage of Arcane Will [Rare][Uniquely] Lvl 9 2. Class: Adept of the Art Phantom Sword [Rare] Lvl 12 Health 807/1940 HP 2.910 HP/hour Mana 1710/2990 MP 2.91 MP/hour Endurance 1147/2390 ST 35.85 ST/hour Statistics: Strength 194 Dexterity 232 Stamina 239 Vitality 194 Constitution 205 Intelligence 182 Wisdom 147 Mental Control 237 Willpower 337 Perception 206 Charisma 46 Mana Output 201 Mana 299 Mana Regeneration 291 Luck 38 50 free attribute points Titles: Otherworldly Reincarnator [Legendary+], Special Skill Holder [Special], Contract with the Emerging Spirit [Uncommon], Class Line Progenitor [Legendary][Uniquely], Mage of Arcane Will [Rare][Uniquely], Adept of the Art Phantom Sword [Rare], Holder of the Unique Skill [Special][Uniquely], Giant Killer (Lvl 10) [Common]. Racial Skills: Fast Recovery [Rare+] Quick Learning [Uncommon] Adaptation of Physical Characteristics [Uncommon] Minor Adaptation [Common] Lesser Mana Core [Common] Low Mental Resistance [Common] Lvl 69 > Lvl 73 Low Poison Resistance [Common] Lvl 29 Rare Pain Resistance [Rare] Lvl 219 > Lvl 223 General Skills: Reincarnator''s Madness [Special][Unique] Lvl 403 > Lvl 404 Great Identification [Special] Lvl 401 Fake Status [Special] Lvl 401 Language Proficiency (Ramiast) [Uncommon] Lvl 169 Lesser Spiritual Sense [Rare] Lvl 202 > Lvl 203 Lesser Soul Energy Manipulation [Rare] Lvl 201 1. Class Skills: Magic Arcane Will [Rare] Lvl 226 > Lvl 227 Great Meditation [Rare] Lvl 213 Manipulation of Mana [Rare] Lvl 207 > Lvl 210 Mana Sense [Rare] Lvl 202 > Lvl 203 Casting Spells [Uncommon] Lvl 199 Magic of Stone [Uncommon] Lvl 137 Magic of Predictions [Uncommon] Lvl 123 Lesser Aura of Arcane Will [Common] Lvl 72 > Aura of Arcane Will [Uncommon] Lvl 104 Parallel Thinking [Uncommon] Lvl 131 Healing Magic [Common] Lvl 50 Life Force Manipulation [Uncommon] Lvl 121 2. Class Skills: Phantom Sword Mastery [Uncommon+] Lvl 181 > Lvl 182 Stamina Manipulation [Uncommon] Lvl 154 > Lvl 155 If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Awakening of the Ghost [Uncommon+] Lvl 115 > Lvl 116 Ghost Flicker [Uncommon+] Lvl 115 > Lvl 116 Accelerated Perception [Uncommon] Lvl 133 > Lvl 134 Dylan was happy to see the many skill level increases and his stats. Especially the development of the Aura skill. He expanded it and could confirm that it had become larger. Although he could not see it, he could feel it as himself. Mana control became much easier and was now available at a greater distance. But as he confirmed, this was not the main thing at all, with the help of the aura, he could suppress spirits, he did not know how it worked, and it was not important now. What was important was the sharp insight that the skill [Reincarnator''s Madness] caused during the battle, now he could not only use the aura better, but also use the sword correctly. His [Nascent Spirit Sword] [Rare] could change shape without losing durability. He had already made a shield out of it, which helped him a lot, and he could even split it into two thinner swords, but that was absolutely not the sword''s main ability. As a child, he began to develop the skill of resisting poisons and for a long time he could not understand what it was from, eventually simply forgetting about it, but now he knew. It was because of maple pollen, in his old world for allergy sufferers this would be very unpleasant. But here maple pollen could be a damn strong irritant. The maple in which the spirit settled was especially poisonous, if its pollen gets into the eyes and mouth, the enemy will be completely blinded and begin to choke. The sword''s ability was to create a huge amount of pollen that was poisonous to everyone except him. Dylan suspected that the spirit had deliberately developed his immunity to it, but of course he couldn''t understand what the tree was thinking. This had a big disadvantage, since he had to use the sword alone, so as not to expose anyone to unnecessary danger. Of course, it was very easy to resist this ability, you just had to prevent the pollen from getting on your body. For example, cover your skin and eyes with a transparent mana barrier, or just blow the pollen away with the wind, since he had no control over it and would hardly be able to easily get it, since he did not develop the skill "Plant Magic". But it did not matter, since the pollen was absolutely effective against a large number of enemies who did not use magic. Now I just need to find them and massacre them, it''s a shame the ability consumes Mana and life force to create pollen. Now I just need to find out how much, god I hope it''s not too much. Dylan turned his attention back to the conversation when Evander began to speak louder. "Anyone have any suggestions on the best way to attack the Orc Shaman?" There was an immediate silence and Dylan began to look more closely at the people present. Although he thought it was a good idea, some people did not share his opinion. He saw several people who were frankly scared of it, and some simply did not want to do it for various reasons. Only a few people were completely on board with it. Some, like Evander, wanted to avenge those who had been eliminated, and others, like him, just wanted to take advantage of the ring and try to earn a lot of experience. Like Cassandra, who was looking at him, Liam, and Linella very greedily. "Prince Evander, shouldn''t we wait for a while and restore our resources. Then our fighting power will increase a lot." Nathan Spelsword spoke, to which the prince sadly shook his head. "Now is the best opportunity. As you know, Alistair and Cassandra poisoned most of the orcs, many died, but most are just enduring the effects of the poison. It is also unclear when the spatial mark will dissipate, although Floyd is gifted in [Space Magic], he has not learned how to make self-sustaining spells. So now is our best chance." Dylan nodded at the prince''s last words, there was truth in them, but was the orc shaman really alone and unprotected by other class owners? He didn''t believe it, they were lucky that she didn''t immediately realize that they had kill with the black orc, if she had known, she would have crushed them with magic. And she didn''t do it later, since she most likely tried to cure the orcs poisoned by Alistair. Exactly, we have Linella and Alistair to thank for that. Dylan continued to think and listen to the various suggestions. Most of them were pointless, Dylan thought that the best chance to kill her was lost when Liam and Lynella used up the mana in their staves. Now he wasn''t sure that made sense. Without skill, he certainly couldn''t predict the exact development of events, but he could assume that she was currently protected by other classers and was spending Mana to heal the orcs. But did it matter that she was spending Mana, of course not. They had already lost their main force, since without the moment of surprise and Linella''s magic, they would 100% lose. "Evander, as unfortunate as it may be, we won''t be able to kill the orc shaman." Dylan turned his gaze to Nathan and continued. "And we won''t be able to accumulate more resources either, since as soon as she finishes her treatment, she''ll personally go after our souls." "And what do you propose to do?" Nathan asked, trying not to show his anger. "I don''t know." Dylan replied, most were very surprised by his answer and he continued. "What? Even if we just decide to kill the orcs now, they are most likely all near her. It will be a quick death. And if we wait for the moment when she comes for us, we lose our main advantage. And eventually she will find each of us and kill us anyway." Evander reluctantly agreed with his words. "You''re saying that whatever we do won''t make much difference." "Generally speaking, yes." Dylan said. "Okay, I appreciate your opinion, but we''ll have to think about it further." Evander replied a little coldly. "Of course." Dylan felt uncomfortable with Princ words, but he didn''t think he was wrong. The discussion continued, so Dylan decided to meditate, half-listening to what was being said. He hadn''t decided what to spend the 50 stat points on yet, but he was leaning towards mana regeneration or agility. He would only choose agility if he had a good chance of causing a massacre and gaining new levels. But he didn''t know how that would happen yet. Dylan broke off his meditation when he heard Floyd speak excitedly. "Prince, the mark has started moving in our direction, I think it is crossing the river now." Evander nodded in response and turned to Alistair. "You said the poison would last about 6 hours." "Her second class is related to treatment, it''s not my fault." Alistair spread his hands. Evander began to think in the tense silence as the others waited for his answer. He had been trained as a leader since he was a child, and he thought he was ready for it. But the moment of contracting the plague and the near death of several classmates showed him how inexperienced he was. But even in those situations he had a plan, now he had absolutely no idea what he should do and it was weighing heavily on him. Dylan saw this, but he didn''t know how to help him. He couldn''t find a strategy that had a chance of success, but he could at least support Evander and meet the orc leader face to face. Of course, his dark side advised him not to do this, as he would lose the opportunity to escape and later kill orcs alone until sooner or later the ring would not work. But he gently pushed this option aside, as he simply did not like it. Abandoning Evander and the others now would be too much for his conscience. "Evander." He turned to the prince and when everyone turned their attention to him, he continued. "Even though we won''t win, we can face her and laugh about this stupid act later at the academy." His speech came out shorter and much more awkward than he had intended, but it was enough to lift the spirits of Evander and the others. "You''re right, we have nothing to lose except our pride. So we''ll meet her here." Some were unhappy with this development, but who cared if they had no choice anyway. Dylan chuckled to himself and helped the prince formulate a suicidal strategy. 51 Chapter Chapter 51 Dylan put all his spare attribute points into agility. Because he knew he would need it. Now he was with Seth and waiting for the conditional signal. When they saw a light smoke near the hill, Seth began to create a spell. Dylan focused his mana sense to get a better look at it. Seth wasn''t a normal shadow mage, but a shadow construct mage. Which meant he was very good at creating things out of mana, not just the typical cloaking spells. Dylan could clearly see the shadow mana weaving around his body and creating a sort of armor made of shadow matter. But he couldn''t make out the weave of the spell inside at all. This could mean three things: either he had underestimated the ability of shadow mana to hide, or the spell was incredibly complex, or it had a mana construct that impaired perception. But he didn''t think too deeply about it and simply began to examine his hands as Seth completed the spell. They had turned a strange black color, and when he brought his hand up to the shadow, he saw how the armor''s color completely merged with the surrounding background. It didn''t change color, but it made it very hard to notice. Dylan tried to touch it and his hand passed through the armor easily, feeling only a slight resistance, it felt like very soft snow to the touch. "It will last for about 20 minutes, but the longer you stay in the shadows, the slower the spell will degrade." Seth said, to which Dylan quickly nodded. "Yes, thanks for the armor, it will help me a lot." "You''re welcome, and don''t forget that in the light she''s almost useless." "Sure, wish me luck!" Dylan said and ran. The plan that Evander left behind was indecently simple. First, the orcs were distracted in three directions. This was done by him, Cassandra and Ariana. He and Ariana were to lead the remaining orcs as far away from the Shaman as possible, while Cassandra was to lead her to a trap where she would be subjected to a multitude of spells. Of course, he did not believe that this would be successful and most likely they would all die. But they would cope with killing a large number of orcs. Dylan ran as fast as he could, with the increase in agility he ran about 15 meters per second, spending a minimum amount of stamina on it. It took him several minutes of running to start hearing the orcs'' stomping. Therefore, he had to pay more attention to stealth in order to get as close to them as possible. He stopped in front of a small clearing on the Orcs'' path and climbed a tree to better blend in with the foliage and hide in its shadow. From the high tree, he saw many Orcs and Goblins walking towards the hill. There seemed to be even more of them now than he had seen in the camp. Their average level had not changed, but he noticed many more class owners leading the others. When they came out into the clearing, they noticed the hill and the smoke coming from it. Contrary to his expectations, they did not immediately run there, but stopped and waited, talking loudly in their language. A few minutes later, a large group approached, in which he noticed a Shaman with several more class owners surrounded by many Orcs. Dylan immediately assessed them, but singled out a few. Name: Bam Race: Orc [Rare] Lvl 89 Class: Disciple of Hand Combat [Uncommon] Lvl 100 Class: Berserker [Rare] Lvl 22 Name: Thorn Race: Orc [Rare] Lvl 61 §¬§Ý§Ñ§ã§ã: Ancestral Spirits Warrior [Uncommon] Lvl 93 Class: Berserker [Rare] Lvl 30 Name: Gig Race: Orc [Rare] Lvl 78 §¬§Ý§Ñ§ã§ã: Ancestral Spirits Warrior [Uncommon] Lvl 100 §¬§Ý§Ñ§ã§ã: Magician of Goblin [Uncommon] Lvl 58 Name: Ruri Race: Orc [Rare] Lvl 43 §¬§Ý§Ñ§ã§ã: Shaman of the Spirits Ancestors [Rare] Lvl 52 Class: Forest Sorceress [Uncommon] Lvl 100 The Orc Chieftain was surrounded by three large Orcs and one small Orc woman. Dylan was surprised that there was another Shaman there. He guessed that she was most likely her successor. For a second, he thought that Orcs had a matriarchal society, but thendecided that the leader was chosen because of the Shaman class. The Orc Chieftain stopped and the nearest class owner started saying something, pointing at the smoke near the hill. She turned her head and answered loudly. After that, the nearest orcs straightened up and started beating their chests with their hands, shouting loudly. Dylan appreciated how wild it looked and even chuckled at the too simple nature of the orcs. When everyone gathered at the center, the shaman spoke loudly, after a short speech, the orcs began to look even more furious, Dylan saw how they were impatient to find people and crush them. The shaman nodded contentedly and waved her hand in the direction of the hill. The orcs were just waiting for this to rush forward. The shaman remained in the center and slowly walked with her followers. Thanks to this short performance, Dylan estimated that there were about 400 orcs and 400 goblins. This was much more than he expected, but he still decided to finish the test today. The orcs had spread out slightly, which made his job a lot easier. So the chances of the Shaman killing him right away were significantly reduced. Dylan had to wait for the moment when the Shaman passed him, to go down to the orcs, activate his weapon and run away. But that was impossible. Most of the orcs simply ran past him quickly while the Shaman was still nearby, if he went down now it would be a quick death. So he waited for the moment when everyone passed by and climbed down from the tree. Now he did not hold back on speed, began to run quickly, making a small circle. It took him several minutes to catch up with the first row of orcs, about a kilometer before the hill. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. When the closest orc noticed him, he screamed loudly and rushed at him. Dylan did not immediately use the technique, but relied on the new dexterity statistics. He ran at the Orc, deftly dodging the blow of the mace. A quick swing of the sword cut his neck and he rushed to run further. Several orcs who heard the scream ran towards him, but Dylan did not pay attention to them and moved on. Several more orcs saw him and also thoughtlessly attacked him. This time, Dylan used the technique to skillfully dodge since the orc who hit him with a spear was the owner of the class. He was not strong, but he was much faster than the others. Using another technique, he slipped under a huge spear and cut his hands. The orc was smarter than the others and therefore covered his neck, waiting for the other orcs to grab him. "I don''t have time for this!" Dylan said quietly, once again using the movement technique to break out of the encirclement, cutting the necks of two orcs along the way. Before he could get far, several goblins appeared near him, who began throwing stones at him. He deftly dodged and continued running, using techniques to make as many orcs as possible notice him. He ran and dodged, relying heavily on the shadow armor to sometimes hide in the branches of trees and shadows, changing directions. When he estimated that about 300 orcs and goblins were chasing only him, he gripped the sword tighter and began pouring mana and life force into it. The sword needed 600 MP and 400 HP. For it to begin to change its shape. Many holes appeared on it, from which pollen began to fly out continuously. It flew out and immediately surrounded him, bringing the pleasant smell of his favorite tree. He stopped to watch those who had already been pollen-covered and was not at all disappointed by what he saw. The orcs and goblins who breathed in could no longer breathe normally and began to cough heavily, their eyes began to water and swell, and their exposed skin began to quickly turn red. In addition, the pollen that continuously flew out of the sword was well carried by the wind and spread over a greater distance than he thought. He stood in place for only a few seconds, but he already found himself in a dense cloud of pollen, because of which he had to put a transparent mana barrier on his eyes. Dylan smiled and with a satisfied smile and ran to the nearest goblin, cutting off his head. Now everyone was defenseless against him and he began the massacre. Attacking another orc, he heard the goblin fall with a loud splash of blood. The orc tried to hit him blindly with club, but Dylan just had to stop to dodge it. Lunging, he cut his neck and could watch with great pleasure as the orc fell to one knee, holding his neck with his hands, trying to stop the bleeding. He laughed slightly at how easy it was and continued to mercilessly chop off everyone''s heads. *** Ariana hid behind a tree and watched the huge horde. She didn''t want to die, but seeing this, she knew for sure that she would go to the academy today. Having selected several class owners, she took a deep breath and activated the skills: [Unpredictable Shooting] [Rare+], [Hunter''s Gaze] [Uncommon]. Using the technique, she loaded her physique to the maximum, quickly drawing her bow, she began to shoot three arrows per second, barely having time to change targets. Ariana shot the remaining 20 arrows, quickly stood up and began to run in the other direction, trying to feel her hands. "Damn, it was worth it!" Ariana managed to notice how she hit two class owners and several regular orcs, but she didn''t see much else. She hoped that this would be enough to anger the orcs and force them to pursue her. Congratulations, you have defeated [Orc] [Rare] Lvl 65, class [Berserker] [Rare] Lvl 31, class [Mace Warrior] [Uncommon] Lvl 98. You gain more experience for defeating a higher level enemy. Congratulations, you have defeated [Orc] [Rare] Lvl 40. Congratulations, you have defeated [Orc] [Rare] Lvl 32. Congratulations, you have defeated [Orc] [Rare] Lvl 36. Congratulations, you have gained a level in the class: [Adept of the Art of Unpredictable Shot] [Rare] Lvl 9 > Lvl 10 For 1 level you get: Strength +4 Dexterity +4 Stamina +6 Constitution +6 Intelligence +4 Perception +6 +10 free attribute points *** Cassandra was on a tall tree and watched as the orcs from the center split into three directions. The first ran towards the smoke like absolute fools, the second group ran after Ariana, and the third gathered near an incomprehensible phenomenon more like a transparent green fog, not daring to approach it closely. "Well, I guess that counts as a distraction too." Cassandra said thinking about Dylan''s prank. She climbed down from the tree, activated the skill to improve the characteristics and ran to the center, where she had to survive against several high-level orcs. She decided that it was not worth relying on regeneration and created blood armor for herself that completely covered her entire body. She did not strive for any stealth, since she had to make herself the most noticeable target and be much more desirable than other groups. Therefore, she began to create a spell that would spend 4000 MP. This left her with very little mana to lead the shaman to the planned location, but she thought she could handle it. As she ran forward, blood began to pour out of her hands and collect on the fingers of her right hand, making the already large bloody claws even larger and longer than they were. She began to squeeze the Mana of Blood and simultaneously weave the strongest spell she knew. It took several long minutes of full concentration, but she prepared the spells just before she saw a large group of Orcs through the trees and a Shaman in the center. The Orc Chieftain also noticed her at this moment, and absolute rage began to boil within her. Cassandra dismantled the armor that surrounded her face, revealing a cruel, toothy smile. Without waiting for the Shaman to react, she swung her right hand vertically, releasing the prepared spell, in the form of 5 vertical stripes of blood that glowed with an eerie red light. The further the spell flew, the thinner the blades of blood became. The shaman managed to react and raise the earthen walls that were supposed to stop her spell. But the blood went through them like a knife through butter. It crashed into the first line of orcs and cut them in half. Cassandra''s face was covered in blood again and she quickly changed direction, starting to run towards the prepared place. She looked back and saw that her spell had killed at least 40 orcs. You fool, you didn¡¯t have time to strengthen the earth with mana and collect enough stones for protection. Cassandra turned her head and used the technique, starting to run even faster. But it was not enough to completely avoid the Shaman''s spell. The wind rose around her and carried her in the direction of her run, at first she was happy about it. But when she noticed that the wind mana began to take on a humanoid form, her instincts began to scream. Using Blood Magic, she dragged herself forward trying to break free from the wind, but it was not enough, the spirits did not leave her. The first spirit that quickly appeared to her right swung its mace at her and Cassandra took the blow with her hands. Her armor was completely shattered and her hands were crushed. In flight she managed to turn her head back to see another spirit pierce her heart with a spear. She panicked hysterically and tried to dodge and block the blow with the blood that she had enhanced with magic, but it was useless. The spear slammed into her and completely destroyed her heart. She turned her gaze to the third spirit to see an axe hurtling towards her neck. Is this really my death?! But before the axe could reach her neck, a black hole in space appeared around her and instantly slammed shut with her. Cassandra didn''t have time to understand this before she lost consciousness due to her injuries and too much strain. 52 Chapter Chapter 52 Dylan killed many orcs and goblins so easily that he couldn''t even believe it. Now even class owners were just children against him. All he had to do was walk around and cut off their heads or slit their necks without any problems. Occasionally he would come across a strong class owner who would try to hit him blindly with a technique or run away. But it was useless, Dylan would sometimes let them believe that they hit him or managed to run away, but it was just his cruel joke that brought too much pleasure. When he got the first level in the class after killing about 40 orcs, he started laughing loudly, not believing his luck. Out of joy, he doubled his efforts and stamina consumption, dealing with everyone even faster. It took him about seven minutes to raise two more levels. He paused for a second and thought about the very poor visibility. He hadn''t noticed it before because there was always a cloud of pollen around him that obscured his vision, but now it was everywhere. He looked at the sword and realized that it had stopped releasing pollen into the air. Damn, everything is so hard to see that I didn¡¯t even notice. Shrugging, Dylan ran on to find a new victim, he ran in circles through the fog but found no one. So he decided to step out of the fog cloud and try to spread it with weak wind magic spells. As he was about to do so, he saw something brightly flash in his field of vision. Instantly, all the joy and childishness evaporated from him, and he quickly cast a spell that literally pulled him into the ground and buried him. While in the ground, he heard a loud explosion. Narrowly avoiding it, he took a deep breath and choked on the dirt that had gotten into his mouth. Holding his breath, he mentally reproached himself. What an idiot I am, of course a small spark is enough for me to explode, or burn to hell! It''s fucking obvious! Why disperse pollen with wind magic if you can set it on fire from a safe distance and blow me up! Dylan was in no hurry to get out of the ground, as he was thinking about two things. Either everything outside was burning and it was safer to wait it out in the ground, or there were few trees left outside and he wouldn''t be able to hide from anyone. Isn''t it too cruel to blow up everyone who was here? Or was it an accident? In any case, it''s worth checking, I have enough oxygen for a long time due to my high constitution, so there is still time. Dylan wanted to cast the tier 3 spell "Invisible Eye", but he ran into a problem. He couldn''t send it through the obstacles because he didn''t fully understand one component of the spell. After thinking about it for a moment, he extended the aura beyond the ground and began casting the spell there. After spending some time on it, he made sure the mana connection was subtle enough and began manipulating the spell to direct it. Outside he saw that the trees were completely bare of leaves and that some of them were burning. The grass was completely scorched and the nearest orc corpse was very badly scorched and smoldering unpleasantly. Dylan only had to imagine the smell to feel sick. Quickly changing the spell''s view, he saw that the clarity of vision at long distances was very poor due to the surrounding smoke. So he had to look at everything at a relatively close distance, there were many charred bodies lying around, trying to ignore them, he continued searching. Two minutes later he found living goblins sorting through the orc corpses, pointing the slaughter in their direction, not far from them he saw orcs. They turned over the bodies, examining their injuries, sometimes they had to drag the head back to the body to figure out who it belonged to. The orcs did this with a painful expression on their faces, and when someone, as he understood, recognized the killed one, he began to quietly growl and speak in a quiet voice, folding his hands in prayer. This showed Dylan that the orcs were more than just mindless creatures and actually felt compassion. But he didn''t care, if he had the chance, he would have started killing them with the same pleasure. Dylan couldn''t figure out which of the orcs had a class, since [Great Identification] didn''t work with that spell, but everyone was praying and he wondered how the system identified intelligent beings and gave them access to classes. In his opinion, even though the orcs lacked developed consciousness and intelligence, they were almost like humans. Of course, they were more cruel and aggressive, but very similar to humans. He stopped thinking about it and sent the spell on. A few minutes later he found the orc shaman and her retinue also sorting through the bodies, but doing it much more casually. They made no attempt to show any respect for the dead, but simply indifferently examined for wounds and determined the cause of death. Because of this, Dylan could clearly see how the class owners treated the common orcs, to them they were nothing more than expendable material. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Apparently she stopped caring about the number of people we killed. But why did she heal those who were poisoned by Alistair? Or did she just think of them as a convenient resource? Maybe she decided at that moment that healing the orcs wouldn''t be that hard for her. Well, no point in thinking about it. Dylan continued to watch them and suddenly realized that he was distracted by the relationship of the orcs among themselves, and did not immediately understand that the shaman was here, and what this could mean. Did I attract more attention and Cassandra couldn''t get to her in time? Or did Shaman already kill Cassandra and I was next? Damn! Dylan began to think frantically as the orcs searched the area. He quickly moved a spell to his location and began to look for an exit. The area was empty of vegetation and without shadow armor, he could only hide behind the trees and try to run along the burning branches. He began to look for an escape route where there were no orcs that could warn the shaman about him. After searching the area, he found several orcs, a hundred meters away from him. Dylan did not think that there was enough smoke for him to escape quietly, so he remained buried in the ground. Casting a simple spell, he dug a small hole and began to pull in air from the outside to breathe. It tasted burnt, along with the sickening smell of burnt meat. Suppressing the nausea, he began to think about what he could do at this moment. The shaman was definitely looking for it, but could she really find him if she couldn''t feel his spell.? Dylan doubted it, so he sat quietly in the ground, checking the surrounding area with "Invisible Eye". His mana dropped to 800 MP and he began to worry about how long it would last. Of course, with several class levels, he was already spending much less mana on this spell and the closer it was, the less mana it required, but it would last him a maximum of 60 minutes. Dylan continued to sit, contemplating a heroic death. Yes, that''s a good prospect for me. I won''t wait like a rat for her to leave and I attack them. After 10 minutes, a goblin reached the orc that was 20 meters away from him, but Dylan was expecting a large prey. Apparently, that corpse was an unusual orc, so the goblin called someone. A few minutes later, he saw a shaman, along with other class owners. Dylan held his breath, activated all improving skills, and began to prepare a spear of power from the remaining mana, pouring all his will into it. The shaman approached the corpse, but her brows slightly furrowed and her gaze moved to its location. Dylan did not wait any longer, he dispelled the observation spell and cast the spell "Earth Manipulation" revealing himself. He saw that everyone was surprised to see him, he instantly used the skill [Ghost Flicker] and ran to the shaman''s successor. Thanks to [Accelerated Perception], Dylan clearly saw the shaman''s face distort in rage, and then in fear when she realized what he had decided to do. The two closest Orcs with the [Ancestral Spirits Warrior] class quickly moved towards him, blocking his passage. And the shaman began to cast some kind of spell, but Dylan did not pay attention to it, he had previously sworn that he would not overload his constitution, but he decided to do it now. Dylan used the movement technique again and was almost in close proximity to the orc''s spear, he dodged the spear and fired "Spear of Power" into the close proximity. A projectile of blue mana flew out of his sword and slammed into the orc''s stomach, ripping open his insides and sending him flying. Another orc swung his club at him, but Dylan used the technique at the limit of his constitution, was able to dodge and quickly approach the young shaman. At that moment, a bloodthirsty smile appeared on his face and he looked into her eyes, seeing complete horror. The Orc, even with her high stats, was unable to prepare a spell and was completely exposed. In his mana sense, Dylan sensed that the Shaman''s spell was ready and smiled even more. He used another technique and poured his will into the sword. In an instant, the blade of the sword cut off the Orc''s head, leaving only Existential Horror on her face. Congratulations, you have defeated [Orc] [Rare] Lvl 43 , class [Shaman of the Spirits Ancestors] [Rare] Lvl 52, class [Forest Sorceress] [Uncommon] Lvl 100. You get more experience for defeating a higher level enemy. Congratulations, you have gained one level in the [Ghost Sword Arts Adept][Rare] class Lvl 15 > Lvl 16 For 1 level you get: Strength +5 Dexterity +7 Stamina +7 Vitality +4 Constitution +5 Intelligence +2 Perception +5 +5 free attribute points The last technique caused the muscles in Dylan''s arm to tear with terrible pain, he felt all other pain in the body and how his legs no longer responded to his commands. After the blow, he fell to the ground and waited for the Shaman''s spell to take his life, but at the last moment, due to the emotional trauma, she made a mistake in it and it broke harmlessly. The surrounding Orcs were first stupefied, and then screamed at him with grief and rage. The Shaman, with great bitterness, burst into tears and fell to her knees, not wanting nothing undertake. Dylan thought he was going to die from his own injuries when the shaman didn''t finish what she started, but the orc Berserker went into a rage that he couldn''t control, rushed at him and with a strong blow of his hand, smashed him into the ground, turning his chest into mush. Dylan only had time to see a portal open near him and lost consciousness. 53 Chapter Chapter 53 Pow. Ariana Ariana ran through the forest from a huge number of orcs and goblins. She did not try to break away, because then the orcs might lose interest and go back to the shaman, which she could not allow. "Damn." She said, dodging the flying rocks. She had to hide behind a tree to avoid being hit by the next pile of rocks. She peered out cautiously and began to internally complain about the lack of arrows. If she had them, she could have gained a decent amount of levels. As it was, her only option was to engage in close combat, but she did not do so, since her skills and techniques were not enough. If she decided to do so, the orcs would eventually corner her so that she would not be able to escape, or they would start throwing rocks that she would not be able to dodge at close range. She had been running from the orcs for about 30 minutes when she suddenly noticed something strange. Every single orc had stopped. Blinking in confusion, Ariana noticed that the goblins were still chasing her. She was naturally curious, but not stupid. So, deciding that this would not lead to anything good, she began to run much faster. Ariana heard a loud scream from many orcs and looked over her shoulder, seeing that each orc was emitting a slight red glow. Looking closer, she saw that their eyes were completely red and their muscles were bulging with tension. The next moment, every orc rushed after her and they did it much faster than before. "A berserker state, but how?!" Ariana spoke in shock. Watching over her shoulder, she saw an orc kill a goblin with a swing of his mace as it blocked his path. It happened again a few seconds later with another goblin. Seeing this, the goblins stopped chasing her and began to run away from them. The orcs didn''t pay attention to them, but only looked at her, slowly gaining speed. Ariana swallowed loudly and decided that she would not try to keep the orcs interested any longer. She used the clan''s movement technique "Ghost Sword" and quickly appeared behind a tree. Watching so that she would not be seen while running behind the trees, she slightly changed her direction. The next moment, a wooden club crashed into the tree behind her and bounced off with a loud sound. Ariana began to feel fear for her life and put all her strength into running. But the orcs were relentless. No matter how hard she tried to break away, it didn''t work. At some point, she ran out into an open clearing and immediately realized that this was her end. There were no trees around to hide from the things thrown at her, but she hoped for her luck, since fighting the orcs was not an option. Ariana used a movement technique and managed to dodge the thrown club, so that it blew in front of her face. She was genuinely happy about this and was about to use another technique, when another club hit her and instantly knocked her down. The pain that rushed from her lower back made her grit her teeth. She landed on the ground and stopped several times. Ariana immediately tried to get up despite the dizziness and noise in her ears. She leaned her hand on the ground to stand up, but she realized that she couldn''t feel her legs. Genuine fear ran through her body, drowning out the pain, she turned her head and finally paid attention to other sounds. She saw how the orc was already a meter away from her and how his fist was flying at her head. Ariana only managed to jump back in horror, but it didn''t help her dodge and the orc''s fist hit the target, smashing her head. She instantly lost consciousness and a rift in space formed around her, taking her away. *** Pow. Evander Evander waited in the shelter with the others. Near a small clearing, with the help of mana, they dug themselves a place, leaving many holes for observation and casting spells. Many were very nervous while waiting for the orcs, as they understood that most likely they would receive fatal injuries in order to get to the academy. Evander himself was worried about this, and as time went on, this general feeling of depression only grew. After 15 minutes, Evander realized that something had gone wrong and that Cassandra would not be able to lead the shaman into the ambush. He wanted to hope that she was simply running late, but quickly dismissed that thought. "Let me out, Brandon." He said. "But, my prince, you will be in danger outside." Brandon answered worriedly. "It doesn''t matter." The prince said, shaking his head in disappointment. Brandon looked at him in confusion and Evander decided to explain to him and everyone present why. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "Cassandra won''t come, there''s no point in us being here anymore." Everyone understood what he wanted to say, but everyone wanted to maintain the false hope that he was wrong. "My prince, wouldn''t it be better for us to stay here and hide so that the orcs can''t find us?" Norn asked. Evander looked at her and thought about it. He wanted to be angry at these words, but he didn''t even have the strength for that. He was so tired of everything that he could even agree to this, just so it would stop. Shaking his head, he thought about his answer, so that it would convince everyone. "I''m afraid the teachers won''t appreciate this. If we didn''t have the rings, we could try to hide and leave. But with their privilege, we''ll look like cowards, sending the others to their deaths without even trying to avenge them. We might even get punished for it by bringing shame on our families." Evander was bitter that he had to resort to manipulation. But it paid off, as those who had previously wanted to stay took his words to heart. They agonized over the choice of whether to go to their deaths and emerge in glory, or to run away and leave in disgrace. Many made the choice quickly, overcoming their fear, but others were hesitant. Evander noticed that Liam stood up and looked at the people who couldn''t decide on a choice with an icy gaze, The people around him easily noticed his contempt, Liam turned to Evander without paying attention to them. "If someone wants to hide, they can do so. You won''t stop them, will you, my Prince?" "Of course, everyone is free to do whatever he deems necessary." Liam nodded and turned to Brandon. "Dig us out." Brandon could only nod with a sigh. He cast an earth spell, opening a small passage so that one person could come out. Liam, not expecting anyone, walked outside, looking back a couple of times and seeing no one, he cast a spell that began to collect the surrounding moisture and transform it into water. Evander and most of the group went outside and watched what Liam was doing. Evander thought he was just preparing a spell for the fight. Taking advantage of the fact that he had everyone''s attention on himself, Evander began to think of a new plan of action, silently watching him. A ball of water formed in front of Liam that was constantly refilling, he reached into his armor and took out the last pouch of diamond dust. He activated the skill [Adaptive Water Weapon] and took control of the water. Casting another spell, ice began to form inside the water, throwing a pouch of diamond dust inside, Liam began to create an ice spear with a diamond tip inside. Five minutes later, he reached out and took out a spear of blue ice, with a shiny diamond tip. He checked its weight in his hand, satisfied with that, he went to the tree and swung, hitting it with the spear. The impact caused vibrations to pass through the spear and it began to make a high-pitched sound that carried over long distances. Evander realized what he really wanted to do, the sound would quickly attract the attention of the orcs. Many were shocked by his actions and Norn immediately ran out of the cave and used the spell "ice beam" on Liam, shouting at him. "Why did you do this! We could have come up with another plan!" Ignoring her, Liam blocked the spell with the surrounding water, causing most of it to turn into plain ice. He didn''t answer her, just looked at her with a cold gaze, but that wasn''t enough for Norn. "Do you realize what you''ve done?!" She said and began to prepare another spell. Evander saw this and chided himself for not intervening sooner, when Liam raised his hand, Evander quickly spoke up, stopping them. "Stop! What are you doing?! Norn, please calm down. Liam has no excuse, but your attack won''t solve anything." Liam stopped moving his hand and waited for Norn to respond. She glanced from him to the others and everyone who came out of hiding, looking for support in them, but not seeing her, she lowered her hands, turned around and quickly went into the dugout, holding back her tears. Evander was once again at a loss as to what to do, he had managed to stop Liam from killing him unjustifiably, but he wasn''t sure if that was the end of it. Nathan walked up to Liam and looked him in the eye. "Why did you do this?" he asked seriously. "It doesn''t matter, what matters is what you do with it?" Liam replied without looking away. "You''ve taken away our ability to determine strategy and that''s all you''re going to say?" "Instead of telling me this, you could do it now." Nathan dropped his hand to his sword, to which Liam responded with a cruel smile. "If you take it out, I''ll send you to the academy before the orcs do." Several people in Nathan''s group began casting spells, but Liam just looked at them, doing nothing to stop them. Evander seeing this wanted to just let it happen but being the leader he couldn''t let it happen. Expanding his Aura he spoke using a spell that better conveyed his good intentions "Enough, have you really decided to fight among yourselves, despite everything you''ve been through together?" His words managed to sway some, but Nathan and Liam still stood between each other. After waiting for a while, Nathan nodded and removed his hand from the sword. "You are right my prince, this is unworthy of nobles." Evander sighed in relief and was about to defuse the situation. But he heard a loud scream, looked around and saw an orc with a red aura emanating from him. The orc was running towards them, not paying attention even to the uneven ground beneath their feet, demolishing obstacles in their path. "Oh, shit!" Lynella said, to which Evander thought everyone could agree. 54 Chapter Chapter 54 Evander assessed the orc and saw that he was only Lvl 50 with no classes, but the red aura and the berserker''s behavior were very alarming. Evander raised his voice and began to give orders to form a formation. "Shield adepts, take the blow, spear adepts, hold him back, mages, don''t waste your mana, I want to see how strong he is!" Thanks to his command, the humans stopped hesitating and began to act. The shield adepts quickly stepped forward and extended their shields, the spear adepts stood behind them and prepared to pierce the orc, restricting its movements. The orc moved towards them very fast, growling madly, not paying any attention to the shields. When he got close, he hit the shield with all his might with his club, causing everyone to hear a loud sound of impact and a disgusting crunch. The adept who tried to block the blow broke both of his arms and screamed loudly in pain. And how strong is he? The orc swung again when he could no longer hold the shield, but the adept was pulled back by the adept of the Spear who stood behind him. The orc''s next blow was taken by another Adept of the Shield and was able to block the blow normally, getting off with only slight pain. The next moment, the orc''s limbs were pierced by three spears, but he did not pay attention to the wounds and swung his club again. The Adept of the Shield and Sword who stood next to him, with a quick blow of the blade cut off his hand, but even this was not enough for the orc, he tried to stretch out his other hand in which was a spear and further aggravated the wound. When he did not succeed, he walked forward piercing his limbs and rushed to bite the nearest person. He crashed face first into the shield and the adepts began to deal serious blows to him. Several adepts of the sword rushed forward and pierced his throat, and the adept of the spear pierced his heart. The orc tried to attack furiously until the last moment, until the red aura began to fade and he died. The Spear Adepts were breathing loudly from the effort, it took all their strength to hold back the orc, even though they had a big advantage. Evander wanted to give them time to rest, but they didn''t have it. "Kaeti, look at the fractures. Does anyone have an idea why he was so strong?" Evander spoke, drawing everyone''s attention to himself. "I think it''s the shaman''s magic, I don''t see any other reason." Alistair replied, to which everyone nodded. "Okay, we don''t have much time, so quickly get ready to form up. Kaeti, what''s wrong with your hands?" He said and turned his gaze to her as she sat next to the adept and cast spells. "Two fractures, but I can fix them in a couple of minutes." "Fine." Evander stepped forward and took the first position, despite the fact that his class did not give a multiplier to the [Shield Mastery] skill, he knew how to use it perfectly, he just did not have time to raise the skill to the [Uncommon] level at the time of choosing a class. Looking around, he made sure that everyone took their places, leaving the mages in the center. Nodding to himself, he was pleased that no one else remembered the conflict that led to this. After all, the 3 weeks weren''t wasted. "We move slowly in the direction from which the orc came." His command was accepted and they began to walk. Evander had considered sending Seth to scout, but decided that it would be cruel of him. He had already sent three people to their deaths today and they would certainly die today, but he could not bring himself to ask for it. As they rounded the hill slightly, Evander saw thick smoke rising in the distance. He immediately wondered how this could have happened. But he stopped thinking about it when he heard more angry screams through the trees. Turning his head, he noticed three more orcs rushing towards them, they also had a red aura and showed no hesitation to try and tear them apart. Evander estimated their approximate strength and decided that they were able to deal with them without magic. "Hold your defense and don''t use magic!" The surrounding people nodded and prepared for the inevitable clash. As the orcs approached them, Evander tried to figure out what form this magic was. Although it was definitely [Spirit Magic], he couldn''t imagine how the [Shaman] had enough mana to strengthen all the orcs like that. Yes, there is definitely something strange about this. It may be sacrificial magic, but what is the condition? Evander stopped thinking about it and prepared for the blow. The orcs were already a few meters away from him. He extended his shield, as did the other adepts, looking out from behind it to deflect the blow. The orc in front of him quickly swung and lowered his club. Slightly changing his stance, Evander raised his shield and placed it at the right angle so that the blow would slip off it and hit the ground. The other adepts tried to do the same, but one of them broke his arm again. While the orcs tried to raise their weapons, the back line pierced them with spears. The orc in front of Evander dropped his club after being hit by the spear and struck him with his hand. Evander successfully blocked the blow with his shield, but the orc continued to strike him with his hands. The other orcs were pierced deep enough to be held back and dealt several blows with the sword while Evander continued to fight back with his shield. Having gotten used to the force and speed of the blow, he estimated that he could successfully block with one hand and drew his sword. Waiting for a strong blow, Evander deflected it and slashed his sword across the orc''s chest. He only growled louder and tried to jump at him, but Evander could not give in, as the back line would be completely exposed. Extending his sword forward, the orc jumped at him and pierced himself through the stomach, but was able to grab his shoulder with his hand and pull him to the ground. Evander gritted his teeth in pain as he tried to tear his arm away, but he did not have to experience it for long. The rest of the orcs were killed and several spears and swords slammed into the orc at once, one spear hitting him in the eye and entering his brain, killing him instantly. Evander took a deep breath and kicked the orc away, Brandon came up to him and helped him up, looking at his shoulder with concern. Evander noticed it and started moving it, feeling pain. Deciding that it was nothing serious, he spoke. "It''s okay. Get ready for more of them!" The people nodded at his words and continued to walk slowly towards the smoke. While Kaeti was fixing a new fracture. After a few more seconds, they heard a loud run. From behind the trees, 20 orcs appeared that had a red aura. "Be ready to use flame magic on my signal!" The orcs ran towards them and the Fire Mages started casting 3 level 4 spells "Flame Spear" right above their heads. But the orcs didn''t care, Evander he just shook his head in disappointment, he was sorry that now the orcs were nothing more than dumb monsters. Before, they could at least think. When the orcs were 50 meters away from them, Evander waved his hand forward. And the Mages fired spells, while the front line covered their faces with shields. When the first spear hit the target, it released a huge explosion of flame and heat, causing the other spells to explode. Everyone''s ears were blocked by the explosion and everyone was surprised when, after a few seconds, burning orcs appeared from the flames. There were only a few of them and they were burned beyond recognition, but the red aura made it clear that they were alive. Instead of defending himself, Evander stepped forward and easily cut off the orc''s head, the rest did the same, easily finishing off the last ones. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. The people around him began to breathe heavily from the heat, so Evander changed direction and walked around the dead and those who could not rise, some of them still trying to move towards them. It was pitiful to watch, but Evander did not finish them off out of mercy, and moved on. They managed to move away perhaps 70 meters from the explosion, when they met another orc, and why another one and another. They ran from different directions, surrounding them. "One shield owner on each of the three sides, mages, prepare your spells, more orcs will be coming soon!" The orcs charged into the formation but were quickly killed. Evander saw more and more orcs coming into view. He couldn''t give any orders as another orc was running towards him. Blocking the blow with his shield, Evander dropped to one knee as he didn''t expect the blow to be so strong. The orc swung again but a rock came out of the ground hitting him in the stomach and knocking him back. Evander got back on his feet and lunged, cutting off the orc''s head. He saw that now, in the thick of battle, he could no longer cope with command and therefore gave another order. "Attention, use Magic at your own discretion!" At the same moment, another orc crashed into him, Evander blocked the blow, taking it first with his sword and then with his shield. Because of this, he felt even more pain in his right shoulder, but he gritted his teeth and swung his sword before the orc could raise his weapon, cutting into his chest. The orc roared in rage and rushed at him, but this time a glowing yellow barrier of holy mana appeared around Evander, successfully absorbing the blow. Evander gave himself a little more time to recover and activated his [Angel Form] [Uncommon++] enhancement skill. His body began to glow with a gentle, yellow light and was covered in a transparent mana barrier. He immediately felt how all the pain he had previously had passed and that his state of mind had become much calmer. Clenching his sword in his hand, he dispelled the mana barrier and cut off the orc''s arm, and with a second quick blow, he cut off his head. To Evander''s right, Brandon was fighting another orc and couldn''t get out of the hail of blows, so he lunged and stabbed the orc in the neck. Evander looked back and saw chaos, humans fighting against orcs, but everyone doing it as best they could. Just as he thought about it, a spear of flame flew into a new group of orcs and blew them up. The orcs were growing in numbers, but Evander was completely calm, the skill kept his emotions in check and allowed him to think clearly, despite the injuries to those around him. He hated this part of the skill, but he understood that it was necessary for situations like this. Even though he spent the most time learning magic, he was very good at close combat, so today he was going to go all out and not use magic since it was ineffective. The surrounding people started using magic left and right. Stones, fire blasts and other spells were flying everywhere, mercilessly killing the orcs. While the adepts started using enhancing skills to even out the inequality of forces with the orcs. But their numbers did not decrease, but just the opposite. Evander tried to count their number, but abandoned this idea because due to the surrounding magic and their rapid replenishment, it was pointless. Instead, he was completely drawn into the fight. Evander made a small lunge and feint, but the orc simply swung his club in a circle, not paying attention to the fact that it cut his arm. Evander used a technique and increased the force of his blow, cutting off his arm without hindrance, and with the next blow, cutting off his head. In place of the killed orc, another one immediately came and hit him with both hands on the shield. Evander''s strengthening skill gave the standard five characteristics and a small strengthening due to the barrier of mana, but he strongly felt this blow and how his shoulder began to hurt despite his magic. The orc began to repeatedly strike the shield, driving Evander into the ground. He decided that this could not continue and created several sharp spikes of holy mana on the shield. With the next strike, the orc pierced his hands and continued to strike the shield, despite the fact that with each strike his hands ceased to be recognizable. Another orc joined him and also struck his shield, breaking the mana constructs. Evander gritted his teeth and used a technique to push them both away with his shield. Using another technique he moved forward and attacked the healthy orc, cutting off his arm and immediately blocking another blow. Evander couldn''t cope despite all his abilities and characteristics. In such a situation, he could only accelerate the techniques more and get a powerful load on the physique. Blocking the next series of blows, he was going to do just that, but stopped when several ice needles hit the orcs. Turning around, he saw that Liam was fighting with a spear at close range and helping everyone who was having difficulty with magic. Evander couldn''t help but admire him, before yesterday he had more stats and he was confident that he wasn''t far behind due to the holy core, but now he was behind and he was willing to admit it. Turning around, he barely managed to block the orc''s new blow, but having done it correctly, he used the technique and slashed at his legs. The orc could no longer stand on them and fell forward, right onto Evander''s sword and pierced his throat. Evander wanted to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but the next orc approached him. Evander was more or less accustomed to the fight and occasionally peeked at the other adepts who had kept their formation. He fought and killed orcs, but literally two minutes later he noticed that there were far fewer spells and that the other adepts looked tired. The orcs'' offensive simply did not end. Alistair came up behind him and shouted something loudly while he blocked the blow with his shield. Due to the noise of the battle, he did not hear him at all, although Alistair was very close. Using a technique, Evander cut off the orc''s hand and kicked him, trying to push him away, but it was ineffective. The orc tried to hit him with his other hand while he was open, but he blocked it with a mana barrier. Using another technique, Evander pierced the heart with his sword and waited for the red ura to dissipate. He had already managed to forget that Alistair wanted to tell him something, but the next time he heard him perfectly. "Evander! Look to the right, where there is most smoke, there is an orc standing there and watching us!" Evander shifted his gaze to look for new opponents and indeed saw an orc who was simply watching them from behind the trees. Name: Gig Race: Orc [Rare] Lvl 78 §¬§Ý§Ñ§ã§ã: Ancestral Spirits Warrior [Uncommon] Lvl 100 §¬§Ý§Ñ§ã§ã: Magician of Goblin [Uncommon] Lvl 58 "Oh, this is not good! Quickly tell Ras to use the strongest spell on him!" Evander shouted back. The orc looked at him and Evander could make out the expression on his face. A second ago it had been sad and regretful, but now it was boiling with the same rage. The orc growled loudly, so that everyone could hear it, a red aura began to spread across his body and he rushed straight at Evander. The orc was much faster than the others and covered the distance almost instantly. Evander only managed to create a shield of mana and cover shield with own when the spear strike pierced entire defense. Vanger was lucky that the spear passed right under his hand and did not hit him, but he did not rejoice for long. The orc let go of the spear with one hand and struck the shield with it, breaking it into pieces. Evander tried to prepare a powerful spell, but the next strike of the spear pierced his heart before he even began to weave it. Instead of finishing him off, the orc pulled out a spear and threw it at the group of people, piercing three of them through and through. In retaliation, many ice shards flew at him, but the orc smashed them all with a light movement of his hands. Taking as much air as he could into his chest, he screamed loudly, causing everyone''s eardrums to burst. Evander saw how all the people staggered and some were caught defenseless by a fatal blow the next moment. Evander was terrified, but his eyes began to close and he could do nothing more, his magic did not respond and his strength completely left body. A portal formed around him and sucked him in, unconscious. *** Pow. ??? Liam was preparing his last spell using his spear to take revenge on the orc, but he was hit on the head from behind and lost consciousness. The people who had been holding up well until then began to receive fatal wounds. After Evander''s teleportation, in the next five seconds, all the adepts were "dead". The mages tried to use spells and defend themselves, but were overwhelmed by numbers. All of them "died" with great pain on their faces. Some were torn apart by the orcs, their arms and legs torn off. Some were lucky enough to "die" quickly, but the vast majority fought to the last. He thought about how he could kill everyone here, but he didn''t do it for a very obvious reason. If he did that, people would realize that he had 2 [Legendary] skills and his quiet life would come to an end. So he accepted his "death", the strongest orc who had just "killed" Kaeti and Alistair with a quick blow of his spear was moving towards him. For the sake of decency, he quickly ran at him and made a slide cut over his legs, but was simply crushed like an insect. The orc in his rage even did not notice him. Before teleporting, he could only grin self-deprecatingly despite all the pain. 55 Chapter Chapter 55 Elton and Heather watched the battle from afar and saw perfectly well with the help of several spells of divination magic how everyone fought. Elton was generally pleased with the students'' battle, he would not say that it was especially good, but he did not dare to call it bad either, since everyone accepted "death" with dignity. Even those who were initially horrified by this. "Now I''m sure it''s worth my time to train them." He said as he watched the last student leave for the academy. Heather turned her head with a questioning look on her face and decided to clarify. "Professor Elton, did you ever think that it might not be worth it? They are the children of high nobility and each has a [Rare] class." Elton nodded and decided to clear things up. "That''s the thing Heather. I was a commoner who entered the academy as the most third-rate The Magician''s Apprentice [Uncommon] and I learned everything there. Especially how the children of nobles do not value small things and rely on artifacts instead of developing mastery in magic. And in general, arrogance often ruined many, since over time their development slowed down and they could not admit it." He said looking into the distance. "Were there really no people who relied solely on skill?" "No, everyone had several artifacts which they relied on instead of developing magic beyond its normal limits.. Of course, I don''t argue that they were good at their specialty magic, but they were monotonous and relied on artifacts in every unforeseen situation. That''s why most of them are now dead, they didn''t learn how to solve most things with their magic and died when the artifact was unsuitable, or failed. And that''s not to mention their arrogance. Tch! It''s so sad, those who showed great promise died because of such trifles!" Elton said with a little regret. "I don''t understand, as far as I know, everyone in my class is alive." "It''s because of the war with the Undead Eminence, most of those who couldn''t adapt to fighting against surprise attacks and tricks are dead, and that''s not even counting the countless hordes of undead." "I read about it, but was it really that serious?" "Yes, very, very much so. For example, the entire main branch of the Ghost Blade clan was killed, in addition to the current head of the clan and his brother. And as you know, he is [Mage Killer] [Epic]. "That doesn''t mean much to me, I haven''t seen any members of the Undead Eminence and the Ghost Blade Clan in action." Elton smiled widely and placed his hand on her shoulder to properly convey the message of what he had said. "That''s good. The undead themselves aren''t particularly strong, but their members rely on the most vile magic besides that. And those who see the Ghost Blade Clan in battle are usually dead afterward. Their clan isn''t called ghosts for nothing, because once you see them alive, you''re dead." Heather only nodded slowly in response. Elton clicked his tongue because she didn''t believe him. "Oh, kids these days. They can''t take anything at face value. Let''s fly, we should finish all our business in the forest and return to the academy." "As you say, Professor Elton." Elton cast a flight spell for both of them and gave control of one spell to Heather, having put enough mana into it before. They took off and immediately went to the orc shaman. It took them only a few minutes of flying to find her. She was kneeling in front of her daughter''s corpse and crying loudly. There was no one near her, as the sacrificial magic had driven everyone mad. She paid no attention to them, so Elton decided that he should do something. He cast several [Mind Magic] spells to calm her down and convey the entire messages of the conversation perfectly, while probing her mind to find all the necessary information. The orc calmed down and rose from her knees to look at them with more hatred, but she did not cast any spells. Elton nodded and began to talk, looking down at her. "Hortensia, your magic was completely unnecessary. And all for the sake of killing them as quickly as possible?" Hortensia growled loudly in her own language, but decided to answer clearly. "Yes, they killed my children and my daughter! They should be dead!" "You should have left, of course I myself didn''t realize that they would have enough strength to kill your husband and daughter, but you yourself are to blame for this." Hortensia growled even more furiously and raised her hand to cast a spell, but nothing happened. Her rage subsided and she decided to ask. "How do you know all this?" "I''m a [Great Arcane Mage] with the [Mind Magic] [Epic] skill, you can''t possibly have any secrets from me." He said with a hint of smugness and tried to direct her mind to what she thought was a secret. This answer made Hortensia even more angry and she decided that the conversation was over. Despite the great inequality of forces, she created a sacrificial spell. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Elton and Heather simply watched this, drawing different conclusions for themselves. Elton was surprised by the specificity of [Karmic Magic] in this spell, and Heather looked at Hortense''s soul and saw how it began to blacken. "Professor Elton, she turns herself and all those like her into a living curse of rage, using the power of the spirits." "I see Heather, although not so well, I know the "Soul Gaze", but I only need to look at the karmic threads near her to understand all this" After watching her for some time, continuing to dig into her mind. Elton decided that this was enough and in a second he wove a level 4 spell "Mind Destruction". He extended his hand and a transparent wave of mana expanded from him, flying towards Hortense. Her Aura had already begun to take on red and black colors, but when the spell reached her, the aura began to dissipate and Hortense simply fell to the ground and died instantly. "Okay, there really is a Witches'' Sabbath here. As far as I understand, they were their pets. Eh, and at first I thought they were especially smart and religious orcs. I couldn''t find out what kind of witches they were, but it''s worth reporting." "Konechno Professor Elton." Elton took one last look at Hortensia''s corpse. And began to create a spell that would kill every orc and goblin in this forest for many kilometers. Even for a Great Mage, this was a difficult task considering how much mana he poured into the spell. A blue three-dimensional model of the spell formed in front of him, adjusting it as he saw fit and pouring more mana into it, he activated it. The spell flared and expanded so that a light blue light spread from it at great speed throughout the forest. Elton said nothing more, but simply flew to the next place. Heather also decided to remain silent and went after him. A few minutes later they landed at the troll''s cave. Elton didn''t spy on him, but cast a spell that carried sound through the walls and spoke. "Troll, hurry up, I''m in a hurry." Elton and Heather had only been waiting for a few minutes when a troll came out to them, holding a huge stone axe. With him was his pet [Great Shadow Panther] Mreu. He didn''t look friendly at all, but Elton wasn''t going to kill him. "It''s okay, I came to thank you on behalf of the students and perhaps on my own too." She said, raising her hands in the universal gesture. "WHY ARE YOU HERE?" Green asked, lowering the axe slightly. "Your speech has improved a lot... The children lost to the orcs and went to the academy." The troll growled slightly and answered. "FOOL ORCS, I FEEL SOMETHING DISGUSTING HAPPENED, BUT YOU GOT RID OF IT. IT''S A PITY THE CHILDREN AND NATURE''S BELOVED ONE ARE NO LONGER HERE." "Yes, actually thank you for everything , this is my gift." Elton said and released the prepared spell. A blue light burst out from his hand and hit Green and Mreu''s heads, knocking them unconscious. "Professor Elton, I thought you weren''t going to kill them?!" Heather spoke up with a little fear. "Who do you think I am?! He may be a monster, but he is quite kind, I appreciate that. This spell should give them many new memories of various techniques and other useful knowledge. It''s just that their minds are weak to understand all this without consequences." "I thought that the Troll would be able to give you at least some visible competition along with the panther?" "Perhaps, if I had to protect the children and you from a surprise attack. But he is no match for me and he knew it very well." Heather looked at him again, uncomprehendingly, to which Elton thought again that this generation does not respect the opinion of their elders. And especially the opinion of the Mage of Reason. "Who are you all like?" "It''s not that I don''t understand that you''re telling the truth, Master Elton, it''s just that we''ve always been taught to be very suspicious of Mind Mages." "Okay, it''s time to go back to the academy." Elton said to which Heather nodded with even more joy and anticipation. Elton took a dodecahedron out of his pocket and sent spatial coordinates. A few seconds later, a portal formed in the same place and they calmly entered it. *** Dylan woke up with a start and immediately reached out to touch his chest. After confirming that it was intact, he relived the unpleasant memory and the pain of being crushed. Swallowing, he turned his attention to his surroundings. He was in a normal room, lying in bed, next to a window with a pleasant view of the garden. Dylan got out of bed and He looked at himself, he was dressed in the academy uniform, but not his personal one, but a simpler one. He went to the table on which there was a note and an unknown runic device. On the sheet of paper, in neat handwriting, it was written that he was physically completely healthy, but if he felt morally killed, he should press the red rune on the metal plate. Then it was written that tomorrow morning he would start classes and he should rest. After reading this, Dylan put the note on the table and took the chair that stood next to it. He moved it and sat on it to calmly think about everything that happened, watching the garden. "Damn, dying is such a pain. But I got revenge on that bitch, it felt good." Stopping talking to himself, he thought about his classmates, although he didn''t like most of them, he still hoped that they would endure all the mental hardships well. He certainly didn''t feed himself with the hope that they were alive. Dylan caught himself thinking that he really should worry about them and smiled slightly. Shaking his head with a slight smile, he revealed his status and threw all his free stats into mana regeneration. "Damn, this is really strong. Soon I will be able to kill orcs without any problems, even without techniques. But I guess this won''t count as an indicator now." Next, he opened the list of possible skills and searched for something very specific. In the midst of the battle against the orc shaman, he realized one painfully obvious thing. He had the [Arcane Will Magic] skill and the [Arcane Will Aura] skill, these skills worked perfectly together. One helped him better cast all spells and pour will into them, while the other increased his control over the mana and will in the aura. But was that really the limit? Although only gifted Mages and Great Mages could manipulate will, he had learned to do so even before he chose his class. Why hadn''t he thought to look for the [Will Manipulation] skill? He was just a fool, he had never manipulated will outside of spells before and he didn''t know how difficult it was or if it did anything at all. But in the battle against the orc, Dylan coated the sword with Will and felt like he had actually become better? He couldn''t describe it, but the sword in his hands instantly became one with him. Previously, he had only felt this feeling when he had made a contract with the Nascent Spirit. And it was great, his swordsmanship grew by several levels at once. Having found what he now considered so necessary, he quickly took up this skill. Congratulations, you have acquired the skill [Will Manipulation] [Common] Lvl 1. 56 Chapter Chapter 56 Dylan continued reading the list of possible skills. Scrolling through it, he didn''t see anything that would make him take a new skill right away. The only skills that interested him were the various schools of magic, the Phantom Blade techniques, and various spells. He was thinking about starting to learn a new school of magic and taking a technique or spell for the skill, but he hadn''t decided yet what exactly he would do. Leaning on a chair, he thought about the fact that the Sense of Will skill was not on the list. And he thought about how he felt it. Entering meditation, he looked into his body and tried to feel it, but this did not lead to any results. He did not feel will. Instead, he tried to cast the simplest spell and pour his will into it. He couldn''t describe what was happening at that moment, formally, absolutely nothing else was happening with body and the spell. He didn''t feel the will in it, but he simply knew that it was there and how much more he had left. This Feeling was not supported by anything other than the understanding that it was so. This is weird. It''s more like I made this up. Having released the telekinesis spell, the air that was in front of him spun into one point and compressed into it, after which it instantly freed itself with a small pop and was carried by the wind around the room. Dylan appreciated that the spell had happened as he had wished, pouring in his will. But he had not left the spell with exactly those changes. Technically, the spell had changed during the casting, but only as he could have done. It did not add to him any new power, or understanding that he had not achieved. Dylan began to look out the window with a detached look, thinking about it. During the fight with the shaman, he poured his will into the sword and was able to "understand" it better, but what if he starts doing the same with his body and mana core? He thought about the fact that in his understanding it should already be in them. Because the will is an extension of himself. Shrugging his shoulders, he tried to pour the will into himself. After sitting like that for some time, he realized that it didn''t work like that. He didn''t understand where the will was and how to move it from his body, into it. Looking at his hand, he pulled out some mana and poured the will into it, it happened without any problems. It turns out that it is a matter of principled thinking. It is like a mental block. He put his hand on his stomach where the mana core was and began to pour his will into it. He felt like it was really working but he didn''t notice any changes, but he continued to do it. After a few minutes, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, after a minute he began to breathe heavily, after 30 seconds his vision began to blur and he felt a strong depression and a general reluctance to do anything. With each passing second, his physical condition began to deteriorate. His mouth and throat were completely dry, his heart began to hurt and beat strangely. It did this either catastrophically fast or stopped completely. His way of thinking gradually became more and more strange and alien, so that he stopped understanding himself... He stopped and realized that he was lying on the floor, breathing loudly, trying to figure out what exactly had happened. His heart was pounding in his ears so much that he couldn''t make out his own thoughts. His head was splitting and he felt a strong thirst for water. Dylan collected his thoughts and opened his status, where he saw that his stamina was only at a third, and his vitality was at half. Damn, I was completely healthy. Scrolling through the status further, he opened the list of notifications. Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Manipulation of Will] [Common] Lvl 1 > Lvl 11 Well at least it was simple. Next he tried to understand how much will he had. It was almost empty and as far as he could tell, all that was left was what had been restored over time. Dylan stood up holding his head and tried to remember when the will ran out. But he couldn''t do it, thinking about what happened, he came to the conclusion that his condition was due to the fact that he completely used it up and poured the will so quickly that it did not have time to accumulate. It''s like overexertion. I was using too much willpower and didn''t realize that it was gone. I think I''ll have to do it more carefully, I don''t want to go through that again. Dylan sat on the bed and tried to understand what this led to. Looking at his body, he saw nothing special. Dylan raised his hand and released some mana to create a spell. A simple telekinesis spell made a slight push into the wall. But this was not what he wanted. It did absolutely nothing and cost me so much pain? Dylan grumbled softly under his breath and lay down on his bed. He was very tired, his head was pounding, and he was generally in a bad mood. He had wanted to meditate before, but he had simply given up and gone to bed. *** The next morning, Dylan woke up to someone touching his shoulder. His first thought was to cast a spell and attack, but then he realized he was safe. Without letting anyone know what he was thinking, he rolled over and looked at the intruder. It was a girl in her mid-20s, dressed in a white uniform, her hair was neatly styled, and she had a polite smile on her lips. "Good morning, Young Master. You are expected at class in half an hour, you should take a shower and have breakfast." She said, curtsying. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Dylan blinked slowly, taking that in. There was something about this girl that he really didn''t like. Exactly, the fucking attitude towards nobles. How I hate this politeness. Dylan simply nodded his head and stood up, in the evening he forgot to undress so he was all in wrinkled clothes and had a very shabby appearance, despite the healing done. He turned his head to assess the girl''s reaction, instead of a well-deserved reproach on her face, she had the same polite smile. It''s very annoying. And how many years of practice does it take to build such a face? Or am I being too hard on myself? Dylan walked over to the table and sat down. There was a very appetizing breakfast on it with a variety of food, for every taste. Dylan''s mouth involuntarily filled with saliva and he quickly pounced on the food. His appetite was only hampered by the look of the maid. This was mainly because he felt uncomfortable when someone he didn''t know watched him eat, while doing nothing. Dylan''s appetite disappeared and he calmly finished the very tasty food. He filled his stomach and just sat down, giving time to feed his laziness. The awkward silence that was all this time was very pressing on Dylan and he could not distance himself from it as he always did, so in order to occupy his brain with something, he assessed the girl. Name: Rosa Jorn, 31 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 54 Class: Apprentice of Arcane Healing Mage [Uncommon] Lvl 87 Class: Arcane Construct Mage [Rare] Lvl 43 It''s unexpected that her second class is better than her first. Yes, it''s weird. But overall, her leveling doesn''t make me think she''s special. "Young master, are you going to take a shower?" "No, I''ll go this way." "As you say, young master." Dylan expected that she would not like it, but she showed no emotion on her face and calmly agreed with him. "Where will my lesson take place?" "I''ll show you around, young master. We have 10 minutes left before class starts." Dylan nodded and overcame his laziness to stand up. Looking around the room he saw that his sword was leaning against some cabinet. He clicked his tongue, thinking that they had no respect for throwing away his favorite weapon like that. Dylan walked up to the sword, picked it up and pulled it halfway out of the sheath. Just looking at it and holding it in his hands made him feel much calmer. Dylan fastened it to his academy uniform and started looking for shoes. Opening several cabinets, he saw other clothes, towels, bedding and many different things. Finally finding a shelf with shoes he put them on, Dylan was slightly unhappy that they didn''t bother to bring him his old shoes, they were much more comfortable. After looking himself over from head to toe, he decided that he was too lazy to change clothes and that his first normal lesson would make him look like shit. "Okay, be so kind as to show me the way." "Of course, young master, please follow me." The girl left the room and Dylan followed her. They began to walk down the corridors with others. most of them were dressed in the same white uniform as her, but others were in the simple uniform of the academy. Assessing the different people along the way, Dylan did not see anyone special. All those who wore white were of the Healer class, and the others were ordinary students of the academy. After leaving this building, they entered the garden, where Dylan was able to appreciate the normal life in the academy. Students walked around with books on various subjects and hurried to classes. Dylan saw books on Rune magic and enchantment magic from one student. This greatly inspired him, but when he noticed a book on the "Law Code of the Holy Kingdom" in that collection, he was extremely disappointed. Bitch, do I really have to learn this bullshit?! "Damn, tell me please Rose, are there many subjects besides magic at the academy?" Rose looked at him and nodded, not letting on how strange his question seemed to her. But Dylan was sure it was very strange. "Of course, in addition to the specialization, students are required to study various subjects. For example, the history of the Holy Kingdom, the Law Code, the Basic Teachings of the Holy Church, Mathematics, Etiquette, and so on." Dylan nodded painfully. "Rose theoretically, if a student fails the exams in these subjects, what will happen?" "Hmm, there are mandatory exams that every student must pass. Without it, you will not be allowed to take other classes and may even be expelled from the academy. If the performance is poor in several subjects, everything depends on the average grade of all the subjects the student is taking. If the grade is below half of the maximum, the academy will take some action, in extreme cases, the student will be expelled." Damn, I''m going to have to actually learn this! Dylan thought with great sorrow. A few minutes later, Rose brought him to the classroom and wished him a pleasant day. Dylan nodded and thought that it would not be like that at all. Entering the classroom, he saw his classmates. They were all as beaten up as he was. This brought a slight smile to his face, but when he saw that everyone was really depressed, especially Evander, it stopped bringing him any pleasure. Dylan walked over and sat down next to Liam, he looked the same as always, very good and a little cold. As far as he could tell, the "death" hadn''t affected him at all. "How are you feeling?" Dylan asked with a smile. Liam''s icy expression melted a little and he smiled. "Well, walking around completely healthy has never lifted my spirits so much." Dylan nodded enthusiastically in response. "Don''t even talk about it. So how did it go with the others?" Liam''s mood dropped and he began to tell what exactly had happened. How they had gotten out of the ambush and how they had started fighting the orcs, where he had eventually lost the consciousness. "Mmm, that orc, I remember him." Dylan would have continued the conversation, but Elton, the teacher, entered the classroom with Heather. He looked around at everyone with a satisfied look and went to his desk. "The first thing I have to say is that you are all great, you fought bravely and died bravely. But of course, it wasn''t without its big minuses. That''s what we''ll talk about today, the lesson will consist of a brief overview and what could have been done better. You don''t have to worry, there won''t be anything serious and the real lessons won''t start until a few days later. Still, you all need to come to your senses... Yes, that''s right, after the lesson you can pick up your things from me and go back to your rooms." 57 Chapter Chapter 57 "I''ll start yours training from the beginning. You couldn''t avoid fighting the Ent and you handled it well, sending a worthy squad to fight him. Also, staying in this territory was a good decision. You weren''t bothered by monsters, but you had to pay for it. No provisions and easy leveling up... When you met the orcs, you shouldn''t have attacked them, that was the first serious mistake besides planning." Elton continued speaking while the students listened quietly, he paused to hear objections, but when he saw none he continued. "By killing the first orcs, you put a big target on your back. Although you should have first scouted out their territory and numbers, and not assumed that they were all stupid monsters that did not pose a danger." The prince''s face became even sadder after Elton''s words. Elton naturally noticed this, but decided to leave this problem for later. "After a brief skirmish with them, you wisely decided to leave and handled everything quite well. I won''t take Dylan''s serious injury into account, as it can''t be foreseen and there is some danger in staying in the wild forest forever. This was your second serious mistake, one person was careless enough to get bitten by the [Plague Carrier], and everyone else didn''t think that they could be in danger of getting some kind of disease due to their "high stats". Because of this, you almost failed the entire test. If any of you were about to die because of such a small thing, I would have had to bring you all to the academy." Elton paused again to give the students time to ask questions. Kaeti raised her hand and he gave her a slight motion to speak. Kaeti stood up from her seat and cleared her throat slightly, she looked pale despite being completely healed and everyone could easily tell that she was not feeling well. After clearing her throat she spoke in an uncharacteristically quiet voice for her. "Master Elton, I understand why we should have paid attention to the minor symptoms of the disease earlier, but why would you send us to the academy after the first activation of the ring and not do the same during the battle with the orcs." Elton listened calmly to her question and simply answered. "It''s very simple, such a death was simply not worthy. And this would loudly speak about the fact that you are not ready for this test. Of course, you and Max managed to prevent people from dying from this at first, for which I can only applaud to you, with the amount of resources that you had, it was almost the best outcome of events, of course, the strict decision of the prince contributed to this. Since without isolation you would not have been able to do this." Kaeti had no more questions and simply nodded to Elton, letting him know. Elton''s gaze lingered on Liam as he looked around at the other students. "After my appearance, I gave you instructions to go to the troll and you did it perfectly, winning his favor. When the troll came and cured you all, yours life began to improve and you calmly gathered resources and trained. This was yours third serious mistake, you should have left that place. You did not think at all that the orcs would be able to find you, which was fatal. When the troll left, yours doom was signed." Elton paused for a moment and continued. "I originally thought you didn''t have a chance, but some of you showed phenomenal skill in combat. I''m not one who likes to give praise, but I have to do it again. Liam, Cassandra, Dylan, Lynella, Alistair, and Ariana, please stand up." Elton said, gesturing with her hand. Everyone who was named stood up while the others began to look at them with great interest. Most of the classmates were very confused as the prince was not among them, which was easily seen on their faces. "I will start from the smallest merit in my opinion, to the greatest: Ariana fought against the strongest warrior of the tribe. She also killed many orcs and 3 class owners, brilliantly managed to distract a large number to give you a chance against the shaman. She would not have been caught if the shaman had not used a sacrificial ritual, turning all the orcs into furious monsters. Alistair, thanks to Cassandra''s spell, was able to poison, according to my calculations, about 400 orcs and goblins. Thanks to his poison, you were able to gather together later. To create such a poison, under such conditions, was truly a sign of a genius alchemist, and this despite the creation of a truly tolerable artifact. I''m afraid that even those who reached level 100 in the class would not be able to repeat his feat. Cassandra, in addition to her most powerful spell, killed 4 class owners and was not afraid to confront [Shaman] openly, managing to kill many orcs under her protection. Of course, she was subsequently killed by a summoned spirit, but this is worth a lot. Linella contributed more to the victory over the tribe''s strongest warrior, with her illusions and was able to kill him with a cursed weapon. But most importantly in my opinion, she was able to hide his death from the shaman, at least for a while. You all didn''t see the battle against the tribe''s strongest warrior, but it was Liam who made the biggest contribution. His Water, Ice, and Diamond Dust magic were able to deal him colossal damage, with the support of Dylan, Linella, and Ariana. His skill really deserves special praise, but the most significant thing in the battle was the synergy that everyone present achieved. Later, I will leave the recordings of all your battles for you to see. It''s up to you to decide whether to show them to your classmates. Some of you might be wondering how Dylan got to the number one spot? Right?" The rest of the class nodded as Dylan continued to stand there silently, remembering his actions. His face began to change slightly as he remembered how mad he had been. Elton smiled and looked at Dylan, slightly relieved that he knew what he had done. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. "I think I''ll give him a little more attention since he was able to stand out so much. I won''t pay attention to the battles that happened before the main clash with the orcs and will therefore move on to the beginning of the battle. Dylan was able to repel the first blow of the tribe''s strongest warrior, preventing Liam from being instantly killed, and repel the next two. It would seem that this is unusual? The fact is that this orc''s physical characteristics alone were 4 times higher than Dylan''s. But this is actually a trifle compared to what he did next. Having received orders from the prince to divert the orcs, he did just that. But this was not enough for him and he activated the ability of the spiritual sword. A huge amount of pollen began to fly out of it, which was poisonous to everyone except him. What happened next cannot be called normal, Dylan showed a strong thirst for blood and began to kill orcs by the dozens, without any resistance. Alone, he killed about 400 orcs and stopped only because there was no one." Teacher Elton paused and turned to Dylan. "Dylan, I don''t know where your unjustified cruelty comes from, but you should see a mind healer, this can''t be normal. We''ll talk about this in person later." "Of course Master Elton." Dylan replied. "Okay, I''ll continue. When all the orcs in the immediate vicinity were killed, Dylan by miracle escaped the explosion. The shaman set his pollen curtain on fire and he managed to see the light further and immediately hid underground. Later, he waited for a convenient moment and attacked the shaman''s successor. Dylan brought his techniques to the limit and was able to throw back the two orcs who were protecting her with the help of techniques and the 4th level spell "Spear of Power". At that moment, Dylan showed phenomenal skill and cut off her head with one blow." Understanding of what happened next appeared on the faces of many people. "Yes, the shaman was in despair and then in rage, after the death of her daughter. Dylan was already dead at that moment, as he was killed by other orcs. I hope that you will not blame Dylan for your death, since because of him the shaman began her ritual that subsequently doomed everyone. Now you can all sit down." Dylan received many conflicting looks while standing, but he did not regret anything. In his opinion, he did everything correctly and most importantly, effectively. "The battle that happened after the ritual was good under Evander''s leadership, but it was nothing special." "Well, if you knew everything that would happen and what exactly your comrades are capable of, you would have an incredibly small chance of winning. Of course, Evander''s leadership played a big role in the number of orcs you killed and was very good, his decisions made sense despite the lack of real command experience. My next words will seem very harsh towards him, but you could have done better.. It''s time to ask questions and I will be happy to answer them." Most of the classmates either had no questions or didn''t want to ask them. In general, everyone was still worried about the battle. Max raised his hand, to which teacher Elton gave him the floor. "Master Elton, I have no questions about the battle, but what happened to the orcs and Green later?" "After the last activation of the ring, I killed all the orcs and visited Green, telling him that you all completed this stage of training. I also implanted various knowledge into his mind that would later will help him achieve great success." "Thank you, Teacher Elton." Max replied and bowed slightly. The others were in no hurry to ask questions, so Elton continued. "I had hoped that none of you would be too upset about what happened, but I see that this is far from the case. Tomorrow, various teachers will begin a personal conversation with each of you to discuss your experiences and the various mistakes you made." "Prince Evander, you shouldn''t beat yourself up over your failures either., classes will begin soon where you can really practice leadership and command. The main idea of ??this training was to show you that you don''t know much and reduce your self-confidence, but I never thought it would be so effective." Teacher Elton shook his head and took out spatial rings and the students'' personal belongings from his pockets. "But I hope that you will not be so upset for long, since you all received a significant amount of points that you can later spend at your own discretion and I''m sure this will lift the spirits to all. You can take what belongs to you and return to your personal rooms, I will be here for a while so that each of you can discuss with me the issues that concern you in private." Dylan, along with the others, took his things. Putting the ring on his finger, he went into his consciousness and examined all the items he had. God, how I missed various potions and good equipment. Hell, I wouldn''t go anywhere without a ring again, and what kind of points are these? Well, I can always ask about it later. Activating the ring, a small portal appeared under Dylan''s hand, from where he took out the card that was given to him at the academy, along with a runic amulet. Dylan called Ariana and Linella. "Hi, do you have any contacts?" "Of course." Linella replied, lacking her usual enthusiasm, while Ariana simply nodded. Dylan nodded and showed his, he entered a small amount of mana and a small holographic screen appeared in front of him. "My artifact works on a different principle, I don''t have an ID, so you need to give me yours so that I can allow my search to you." The girls were in no mood to ask how it was supposed to work and simply agreed. Dylan quickly wrote down their IDs and brought the artifact a little closer, two new devices appeared on the screen, which he added to the allowed ones. "Thanks and good luck, I guess. I''ll call you later so we can meet." The girls answered affirmatively. Dylan walked slightly to the other side of the classroom and thought about what he should do next. He should have taken Evander''s and the others'' IDs, but they were in a really bad mood. Dylan didn''t want to seem intrusive, in his opinion, everyone needed to calm down. He admitted that he could be blamed for many of the problems, so he decided to quietly leave the classroom. Taking out the card, he poured mana into it, a slightly different hologram appeared, and Dylan tried to find his way to his room. A few minutes of struggling with the interface, and he was able to navigate the map. As he walked through the academy, he assessed the various students by looking at what they were carrying in their hands. He saw a so many of interesting books and he couldn''t wait to read them all. Especially the books on different classes and skills. Once he got to his room, he opened it by placing the card on the door and immediately hurried to change into his personal [Special] level academy uniform. He felt much better in it. After looking around the room, he lay down on the bed and began to plan his next steps once again. 58 Chapter Chapter 58 Lying on the bed, Dylan thought about the fact that he still had an unused [Special]-level bestowed skill in his hands. He had received it after an unpleasant encounter with the priests for the unique skill [Reincarnator''s Madness] [Special]. He could choose any skill he wanted, but he hadn''t decided to do so until now. Since it was impossible to decide based on the books he read in the manor. There were many skills that tempted him, such as [Great Meditation], which could easily raise his active mana recovery by 50-100% of the base stats. Or a skill from any school of Magic that could quickly increase his skill, due to easy and quick learning. Or a specialized skill of analysis and combat. There were so many wonderful and necessary skills. This choice could change a lot for him, for a very long time. So Dylan approached it responsibly and decided to reread all the books available in the academy on this topic. Dylan got out of bed and walked over to the mirror and looked at himself. He looked pretty good, with a few dark circles under his eyes from being a little tired, but nothing serious. Dylan looked at the ring and decided he needed to cheer himself up. After activating it, a small portal appeared in front of him, he took out the [Ghost Blade] [Special+] from there and hung it on his hip next to the [Nascent Spirit Sword] [Rare]. Next, he took out a metal ring from the portal that was given to him on one of his birthdays and put it on his hand, it was the [Ghost Bracelet] [Special+] that allowed him to become intangible for a while from physical attacks. Stroking it with his hand, he remembered what his father told him about it, these bracelets were made by the first Patriarch of the family and the holder of the title [Ancestor of the Class Lineage]. There were only a few bracelets left, since no one else could imitate his skill. Next he took [Ring of Invisibility] [Rare] and [Necklace of Adaptive Water] [Special]. Having put all this on, he felt much better, looking in the mirror again, he saw in his gaze a confidence that he had not felt before. Of course, he lacked artifacts that increased characteristics, but he planned to solve this soon. After all, his father owed him a significant gift for his fifteenth birthday. And Dylan vowed to knock something very good out of him for his needs. As he was about to leave the room, he remembered that he should contact his parents Benedict and Maria... After thinking about it, Dylan decided that he didn''t want any extra moral burden and left the room. Taking out the map of the Academy, he was able to quickly find where the library was and immediately went to it. On the way, as always, he assessed the students and the academy as a whole with great interest. When he reached the library, he was surprised by the huge double gates made of steel, each door was about 6 meters high and 4 meters wide. The gates were open and on both sides he saw that several people were engraved, who impressed with their wisdom. Dylan stopped to take a closer look at each one, several were holding impressive staffs, others were holding open books. "Hmm, it''s easy to guess that it was either Archmages or other important people who made a great contribution to the creation of the library." Dylan tried to remember their appearance and went into the library. Behind the gates he saw two floors with many shelves full of books, where students were walking around choosing them. Looking around, Dylan appreciated the design, everything was made of light wood with a pleasant warm light. Inhaling the pleasant smell of wood and books, he stopped not knowing where exactly to start, looking around the library. A moment later, an attractive girl in an academy uniform, with black hair and brown eyes, approached him. "Hello, academy card please?" She said looking him over and letting her gaze linger on his swords. "Certainly." Dylan pulled out a card and held it out to the girl. As soon as she saw the card, her eyes widened in great surprise. "Special class." She whispered softly. Mmm, and I hoped that the cards would not show the hierarchy, but what did I expect? And why did she stop me anyway? While Dylan was pondering these troubles, the girl pulled herself together. She smiled brightly and bowed slightly, instantly changing her attitude towards him. "How can I help you, what books are you interested in?" Dylan pretended to think, putting his hand to his face. But he was really looking at her grade. Name: Rin Frinel, 18 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 56 Class: Rune Mage Apprentice [Uncommon] Lvl 41 Class: Apprentice Metal Mage [Uncommon] Lvl 26 Not bad "First, I need all the skill books for the various mage class lines, and then we''ll see." This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. The girl blinked slowly, not fully understanding what he meant. "Um, there are a lot of them and only basic books can be taken from the library without spending academy points." Dylan paused and remembered Elton''s teacher''s words. Of course, I could have guessed right away that something like this existed here and what points were needed for. It was really obvious and the fact that my memory and speed of thinking are much higher than before do not help at all. "It''s okay, I''ll take all the books I have points for." Dylan answered without thinking twice. "Okay, please tell me how many points do you have in total?" Dylan took out the card and turned on the holographic menu, in the very corner there was a number written with the symbol of the Royal Academy in the form of a crossed golden sword and staff. "I have 73 thousand." The girl froze at his words, at first she wanted to ask loudly, but managed to bite her tongue in time. "That''s a very large number of points, enough for any books you want to take." She said instead in a rather calm voice. I had already managed to distinguish myself here, but judging by her reaction, teacher Elton did not spare me points. "Okay, as far as I understand, this is some kind of part-time job for you?" "Yes, I help the students choose books and sometimes help the teachers with various tasks." She said, bowing again. "Okay, but stop acting like I''m so important, I''m out of the habit of it and I''m afraid I don''t want to put up with it anymore." "Of course, please follow me." The girl easily agreed and led him further into the library. Following her, Dylan noticed the stairs leading up and was once again amazed by the craftsmanship of the carving. He didn''t have time to understand what exactly was depicted there, but the quality was incredible. Looking around, Dylan truly appreciated the grandeur of the Library. He was so impressed that he didn''t notice when the girl stopped in front of the section he needed. "Here you can choose anything that interests you." Dylan nodded and started reading the titles of the books. There were many books with similar titles, like "Beginner Mage Skills", "Essential Mage Skills", "Advanced Mage Skills" and so on, from unknown authors. There were also skill books for different schools of magic, skill books for mastering weapon combat, skill books for Alchemists and so on. Reading on, he didn''t see anything that he could take right away and without thinking, everything was surprisingly monotonous and not particularly interesting. "Okay, maybe you have some advice for me?" "Of course, Rurin Lance''s book "The Strongest Skills of a Mage" is very good, it describes several combinations of skills for mages of different schools. Also, Cedric Kirz''s book "Secrets of the Secret Mage" may be very suitable for you..." After recommending the first two books, Dylan stopped listening to her. The titles and authors meant nothing to him. He simply decided to agree with everything she said, while choosing other books that were at least somewhat interesting. *** After 15 minutes, they were both holding about 30 books each. Dylan wanted to put everything in the spatial ring at first, but Rin warned him that it was forbidden. They had to take all the books to the librarian''s desk, where several teachers looked at him very strangely, but without further ado, they wrote down all the books. He touched the card to an unknown rune device and then without further ado, began to put the books in the portal. Repeating this procedure a few more times, he had skill books for most schools of magic, skill books for different types of close and ranged combat. Books explaining what skills different mages mostly have and how to counter them, books for just useful skills. Finally, he thought that he should learn a few new spells and that it was no less important to understand what the basic spells were for each school of magic. So he took even more spell books. His spatial ring was filled to the brim with more than a hundred books. He spent about 8 thousand points on them. During the time he was choosing books, he managed to have a pleasant conversation with Rin, on the topic of Rune Magic. And he took several books on it to understand the main disadvantages of this art. Having loaded the last book into the ring, he was about to say goodbye to Rin, but a guy about his age approached him. "Well, well, well, who do we have here? Dylan Ghostblade, nice to meet you, my name is Cullen Golden Crow, to my friends you can just call me Kel." He said and patted Dylan on the shoulder. Dylan was a little annoyed that someone was so blatantly violating his personal boundaries, but he decided to be gentle with the guy. Cullen was the same height as him, with a decent build, blond, short hair. He didn''t see anything special, except for his wide smile and appraising look, so he used the identification skill. Name: Cullen Golden Crow, 17 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 100 Class: Magnificent Artifact Merchant [Rare] Lvl 25 Class: Warrior-Mage of Mirata Arts [Rare] Lvl 32 Wow... This is unexpected. "Nice to meet you, Cullen." "No need to be so formal, after all, we are both from a special class. When I heard that someone wanted to take the entire library, I immediately came here, but I couldn''t imagine that it would be a first-year student. Ha-ha-ha!" He said, laughing loudly and clapping Dylan on the shoulder. "I''m just getting ready to brush up on the basics, so to speak." Dylan replied, slightly awkwardly. "I already understand, it was nice to meet you. I won''t keep you, we''ll meet again!" Cullen said and wanted to pat him on the shoulder again, but stopped and instead waved goodbye. Dylan stood in a bit of a stupor from this situation, for him it was just unexpected. But still he became interested in who he could be, he had not heard of anyone with the last name Golden Raven. "Rin, what kind of guy was that?" He said and turned his gaze to her as she tried to pull herself together. "Ahem, it was the son of the head of the richest trading firm in the Holy Kingdom." "Thank you and I think I''ll see you later. It''s time to start reading books, otherwise I''ll never finish this." "Of course, see you later." Rin replied and bowed slightly. Dylan shook his head and waved goodbye as he left, but his thoughts were no longer about books, but about the fact that such an important merchant could certainly behave decently and did it for a reason. 59 Chapter Chapter 59 Thinking about Cullen, Dylan suddenly felt angry without knowing why. The thoughts became more aggressive and he couldn''t understand how he didn''t get angry right away when the guy approached him. Cullen did it like they were close friends and he didn''t even bat an eyelid, except he felt a little awkward. It''s strange, usually my character is not at all sweet, but suddenly I started behaving like a good boy. Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Low Mental Resistance] [Common] Lvl 73 > Lvl 74 The notification popped up in front of his face and Dylan felt himself getting very angry, as he always did. It calmed him down a little, but then he was even angrier. That damn idiot used magic on me, or some skill. And without me even noticing. Come to think of it, I didn''t feel any mana from him, even though he had a hybrid mage class. I''ll have to go to the library later and read about his classes. After these thoughts, Dylan''s mood became very bad. He admitted the idea that Cullen just wanted to have a pleasant conversation with him and decided to play it safe by using the skill. But this did not improve his mood. As he walked to his room, he stopped paying attention to those around him. Finally, standing in front of the door, he decided that he should stop thinking about it and decide which book he would start reading first. He placed the card on the door and opened it to find his mother sitting on the bed with Benedict and Maria standing next to her. Thinking that he needed to make at least some effort to communicate, he pretended to be very happy to see them. "How much I missed you, you have no idea! Boot camp was just awful!" He said as he entered in and closed the door behind him. But his enthusiasm was met with cold glances from Benedict and Maria and especially with a creepy smile from his mother. "Good day, young master." Benedict and Maria replied, bowing slightly as his mother silently assessed him. "You were so cute when you were a child, you often lacked attention, and now you haven''t even contacted your mother after such a long separation?" She said, folding her fingers between them, glaring at him. Dylan''s brain began to work a little faster and he activated [Parallel Thinking] and [Accelerated Perception] to try to get out of the situation. "What are you saying, I''ve just been so busy and the rings were just given away. I''ve been thinking about you all this time and I was about to call right now." He said with a disarming smile. "Tch, tch, tch," said the mother, wagging her finger. "Dylan, you''re such a smart boy, but you still haven''t figured out that I have a skill that detects lies. You probably haven''t even thought about us because you''ve decided to do some nonsense again." Dylan began shaking his head vigorously, denying all the accusations. "I took a few books to read, it''s very important for me." "Of course, of course! This could be more important than your mother and the people who raised you?!" She said loudly, pointing her hand at Benedict and Maria. "No, no, no, not at all!" Dylan said, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "Okay, go hug your mother already!" Limia said and spread her arms for a hug. Dylan was glad to resolve this conflict quickly and so without thinking he walked up to his mother and hugged her. But it was a trap. "When you were little we didn''t see any reason or grounds to punish you, but seeing how you behave now, I''m starting to regret it." She said, hugging him a little tighter. "What are you, mom, you raised me well." "No, I don''t think so anymore... But it''s never too late to correct your past mistakes." She said and squeezed his ribs so hard that a little more and they would have cracked. An unpleasant groan escaped from Dylan''s throat, but Limia did not stop pressing on him. Dylan tried to break free, then tried again using skills and techniques, but it was useless. Noticing his efforts, Limia smiled a little. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "You''ve become much stronger than before, but you''re still far from me." She said and put in even more effort. Dylan quickly adapted and instead of breaking free, he strengthened his body with the technique and mana construct. Limia smiled even wider and continued to speak casually. "You''ve become much stronger than I thought, children grow up so fast!" Dylan couldn''t breathe and began to choke from the effort. His mother wouldn''t let him go and he couldn''t think of anything else to do... His last chance was close, Dylan turned his gaze to Benedict and Maria and looked at them pleadingly with eyes full of despair, but they only shook their heads. Crap! Dylan thought as everyone in the room heard a loud crunch, and then another, and another. When he counted 8, Limia let go of him and he just fell off her like a dead body. Lying on his stomach, Dylan felt a lot of pain, but compared to what he had been through, it was nothing. "I hope next time you''ll think twice and call us when you''re gone for a long time. Do you understand me?!" Limia asked loudly and kicked him in the stomach. The blow was much stronger than he thought and Dylan went flying into the wall, leaving a bloody imprint of his body on it. Rolling down, he began to vomit blood, but his thoughts were not about the injury, but about what would have happened to him if he had not raised the level. Lost in thought for a few seconds, Dylan blinked and saw his mother in front of him, who leaned over and asked even louder. "Do you understand me?!" Dylan nodded as best he could, but that wasn''t enough for her and she began to lift her leg again. With his mouth full of blood, Dylan tried to loudly and clearly say that he completely agreed with her. "Yes!" he said and began to cough up blood. Limia nodded and sat back down on the bed, watching him. Dylan glanced at Benedict and Maria, but their stoic expressions made it clear they weren''t going to help. Damn, the uniform only protects against cuts, next time I''ll enchant it to dampen kinetics. What a mistake! How everything hurts because of it. Dylan shuddered as he touched his stomach and decided he wouldn''t do that again. Although resisting the pain helped, the pain was still intense. Activating the storage ring, a portal appeared near his hand, and he put his hand inside and took out a healing potion. As he was about to drink it, Limia spoke again. "While you''re without it, I''ll only allow you to drink it if your life force drops below 10%." Dylan didn''t argue and placed the potion next to his head, immediately opening the status bar. As paradoxical as it was, his health was at 60%. Deciding that he could at least inspect the injuries, he cast the 2nd level spell "Three-Dimensional Healer''s Sight". What he saw did not inspire him that he would live long with such wounds. His liver was torn, as was his spleen, 8 ribs were broken and one even punctured his lung. All this already indicated that he would soon go to the ancestors, in addition to extensive internal bleeding and multiple muscle tears. "Okay, I think that''s where your lesson in good behavior ends, you can drink the potion." Dylan nodded without looking, opened the potion with one hand and drank it as fast as he could. The spell was still in effect, allowing him to watch as his ribs began to snap back into place and his liver and spleen magically regenerated. After a few minutes, the potion''s effects wore off and he was able to stand up, he wasn''t feeling well at all, his head was spinning and his life force was at about 45%. "At least Benedict and I can be proud of the fact that you take our name seriously enough and do not disgrace it with your behavior. Now let''s talk about everything that happened during your training and just dare to leave something out." Limia said, sounding very happy. "Of course Mom." Dylan replied, with an indifferent look, knowing he didn''t want to end up on the floor again. *** Dylan told his mother everything that had happened at the camp and was not happy that he had actually done it. During the conversation, Dylan had managed to roughly estimate how good her lie detection skill was. And so he really hadn''t missed anything, since every time he tried to keep quiet about something, Limia would put her hand on his leg. There was nothing threatening about it, but the clear periodicity of this movement made him believe that he hadn''t made a mistake in his conclusions. Limia listened to his speech with great joy and interest, sometimes reacting to situations by showing various emotions. She was more interested in the moments when he communicated with classmates than those where he fought with someone. Benedict and Maria also listened to him without interrupting, reacting differently to what happened, but both were very engrossed in it. When he had fully accepted what was going to happen next, Dylan told about Linella and their relationship. Benedict smiled slightly, Maria blushed a little, but Limia reaction was what confused him the most. "I can''t believe that my son has become a man so soon! And this is the daughter of a simple baron?! It''s impossible, what did this gold digger do to tempt you?!" Limia said very loudly. Dylan raised his hands to calm her down, but that only drew attention to himself. "I think I should explain to you why you shouldn''t throw yourself at the first girl you come across!" Limia said and raised her hand to strike. Dylan flinched and immediately spoke loudly. "She''s the Reincarnator!" Dylan made it just in time for Limia to stop her hand from touching his face. He felt a wave of air pass over him with much greater pressure, and he hadn''t even noticed when she moved. Fucking High Level. Dylan looked up from her hand to see his mother''s new mood. She let go of his hand and became more thoughtful than he expected. After thinking for a while, she spoke. "Okay, I think this can be forgiven for the first time." Dylan nodded in relief and continued talking. But when he got to the part with Kaeti, his mother wouldn''t listen to anything and immediately sent him flying, screaming "so that he doesn''t dare grow up to be a dissolute bastard." Dylan had to swallow all the excuses and set the jaw so that he could drink another healing potion. The rest of the story made Limia and Benedict proud of him for how he and the others were able to deal with orcs of a much higher level. After that, Limia continued to ask him about various things along with the others for a long time. When it was already very late, Limia said goodbye to him and once again reminded him not to forget about them anymore and not to dare to lead a dissolute life. Having hugged everyone, Dylan closed the door and was able to calmly sit on the bed, looking at several bloody on the walls and pools of blood on the floor. "Damn, at least the clothes are clean thanks to the enchantment." Dylan wanted to start reading books, but he caught himself thinking that he was tired not only mentally, but also physically. No matter how good the potions were, they took substances from the body to heal injuries and strained the body, greatly depleting stamina. Thinking about this, he went to bed and was able to fall asleep very quickly. 60 Chapter Chapter 60 Dylan woke up early in the morning and immediately started reading books. After reviewing many of them, he took the book "Advanced Mage Skills" from some author. There were several interesting skill combinations that he took into account for future battles, but nothing useful for him. The only thing he saw sense in was skills that increased stats due to mana, like techniques did. But the skills listed in the book were very weak and were not worth their mana. He could achieve exactly the same using a minimum of stamina. Of course, he admitted the question of compatibility and that in some situations it could be useful, so he decided to look for decent skills to enhance due to mana later. After reading this book, he took the next one. After reading it, he again noticed a few interesting facts, but nothing more. After all, he was trained by a Secret Mage, so it was difficult to find something good that he did not already know, but he was not upset. Reading another book, the academy card began to glow blue, and after a few seconds, it made a rather pleasant sound. "Diling-diling!" Dylan got out of bed and walked over to the table where she was lying. He picked her up and opened the holographic screen to see a notification. "Damn convenient, this is the closest thing to a phone I''ve ever seen. I wonder why I''m using that shitty artifact instead." Dylan said to himself as he read the message. The notice said to report to a certain office in an hour, where he would have the opportunity to discuss the difficulties he had gone through at boot camp. But Dylan knew, of course, that this would not be a simple conversation. In the forest, he had plenty of time to think that the whole training had started unusually, to put it mildly. Of course, it still made sense, but now Dylan was almost certain that the academy had started all this in order to train renicantors. After all, he had met another one of them in the same class, and this was in addition to his suspicions about the rest of his classmates. And of course it is unlikely that magicians who for more than a century of life have not found a way to distinguish a Reincarnator from an ordinary child. Closing the notification, he simply shrugged his shoulders, thinking, "What will be, will be." And sat down to read on. When the time was coming to an end, he got out of bed, checked his appearance and hung his sword belt. Looking in the mirror, he was surprised at how manly he now looked. Having lived in this body for 15 years, he still hadn''t gotten used to it. But he was glad that his facial features were very similar to his past life. Although how it happened, he couldn''t imagine. Dylan, having tuned in to the conversation, left the room. After a few minutes of walking, he found the right office. Knocking on the door and waiting for permission, he entered, seeing four people. There was Elton, the teacher, the girl who was on the admissions committee, and two people he did not recognize. Unlike last time, he assessed everyone. Name: Elton Lauren, 190 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 200 Class: Great Arcane Mage [Special] Lvl 400 Class: Elite of Hand Combat [Special] Lvl 300 Name: Sandria Holy Sword, ??? years old §²§Ñ§ã§Ñ: Man Attuned to Holy Mana [Rare] Lvl 400 Class: Great Holy Mage [Special] Lvl 310 Class: Great Archon [Special] Lvl 300 Name: Darius Werten, 456 years old Race: Human of Developed Life Force [Rare] Lvl 400 Class: Great Rune Mage [Special] Lvl 450 Class: Headmaster of the Royal Academy [Epic] Lvl 534 Name: Videns Hermit, 110 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 200 Class: Mind Mage [Rare] Lvl 200 Class: Mind Healer [Rare] Lvl 200 The first thing he noticed was Elton the teacher, he was wearing the academy uniform with different insignia that Dylan couldn''t figure out. The second thing he noticed was a blonde woman in a strict teacher''s uniform. She was sitting on a chair, showing all the necessary manners of nobility, which immediately caught his eye. The third thing he noticed was a man, he looked to be about 45 years old, he was wearing a teacher''s uniform with different markings. He had a clean-shaven beard, short black hair and small wrinkles on his face where he smiled. Dylan got the impression that he was a kind person, but he admitted to himself that he expected something more from the headmaster of the academy. After all, he was one of the few [Epic] class owners he had seen. The fourth person was the least interesting in his opinion. Brown hair, clean-shaven face, large glasses, brown eyes. He looked very young, if it weren''t for the clear markings of the teacher and student uniform, he would never have guessed that he was a teacher. Well, well, well. So the blonde is a relative of the prince and also the highest official of the kingdom. And this is actually the Director of the Academy. The oldest person I have ever met. And the Doctor of the Mind... Yeah, the conversation promises to be difficult. As soon as he entered and assessed them, small smiles appeared on the lips of Elton, Archon and the Director. Dylan nodded to himself, realizing that his assessment was not a secret for them at all, and sat down on the chair that stood opposite. He sat for a while in silence while everyone assessed him. He didn''t like this psychological game anymore and he suspected that it was all because of the blonde. After waiting for a while, teacher Elton started the conversation in a casual manner. "How did your meeting with Limia go?" Dylan smiled a little and wanted to make some sarcastic comment, but changed his mind. "Everything is fine, it was a joyful reunion. And I need to send someone to my room to fix and clean the walls." Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Elton accepted his answer with an awkward nod, and the Archon and the Director smiled brighter. Only the Mind Healer did not understand what he meant. "Limia used to be quite irritable, and ruling an entire county hasn''t softened her up. But that''s not what we''re talking about today, we''re talking about how you passed the first stage of training." The Director said, looking at Dylan. Dylan just nodded, waiting to see what would happen next. "Professor Elton, please tell us again about how Dylan got through camp." The Director continued. "Of course." He replied and without delay began with their first meeting. Elton began to describe his first arrival at the camp and how he easily agreed to hand over all his equipment besides the [Sword of the Nascent Spirit], how he easily found a common language with the prince and how he fought together with the others against the Ent. Elton continued to talk about his successes without leaving out the little facts, for example, how he helped Evander to make various strategies and seriously influenced his decisions, how he protected Linella from the attacks of the higher nobility and used violence against him. The picture gradually began to take shape and Dylan saw how the Mind Healer gradually began to admire him. But the Director and the Archon did not change their expressions at all, a slight smile still played on them. Elton continued to tell more and more details about him that made him feel uncomfortable, and when he began to describe his relationship with Linella, and later with Kaeti, he could no longer sit still. Bastards, what''s the point of all this? After revealing these facts, the mind healer smiled awkwardly and continued to listen to Elton with great interest. After a few minutes, Elton began to talk about the main battle, where he noted that Dylan showed good tactical thinking in the fight with his opponents and slightly adjusted the prince''s strategy. Dylan would have been happy if that was the end of it, but Elton began to describe in a very colorful way how he fought hundreds of orcs with a sword and how crazy his behavior was at that moment. Elton later added that all the emotions that Dylan experienced disappeared without a trace as soon as he felt danger, but later reappeared when he decided to attack the Shaman''s daughter, while showing absolutely no fear. "I have nothing more to add on this." "Well, thank you Professor Elton for your observations. How would you characterize Dylan?" the Director asked. "I would say that he behaves like an average young man of his age, not taking into account his high level of fighting skill." "Okay, okay. Dylan, maybe you have something to say?" Dylan thought before he answered, first of all, what did they want to hear from him? That he regretted giving in a little to the madness of the moment? He didn''t regret it, and there was no point in lying with the Archon sitting next to him. "No, dear Director." "Okay, Dylan, now each of us will ask the questions that interest us, and you will answer or not answer, it''s all at your discretion." "Certainly." The Director nodded to the Mind Healer and the endless stream of questions began. The man was primarily interested in how he made decisions and what his personality was like. Dylan answered most of the time, but when it came to his special skill, he asked to start the next question. For an hour, the healer questioned him and finally he was satisfied. "It was nice talking to you Dylan, all I have left to do is check if you have any injuries or abnormalities that I couldn''t find during our conversation. If you allow me, I''ll use mind magic on you?" Dylan had originally expected something like this to happen, so he nodded and adjusted his senses to see his magic. The healer stood up from his place and walked closer to him. Placing his hands near his head, he began to weave a spell of form, Dylan tried to see something but without direct vision, he only felt a strange affinity of mana and nothing more. After a few minutes, the man turned to him. "Dylan, this might feel unpleasant right now, you need to be prepared and calm in responding to the spell." Dylan nodded again and felt the effect of the spell. He slightly tensed up from an unknown feeling and wanted to break the spell with his aura, but he did not do so, as he calmed down after a moment. Dylan concentrated on the sensations that the spell caused. At first there was a very frightening feeling, but then there was nothing remarkable, he just sat and felt small changes in the Mana of the mind. The spell lasted for about 10 minutes, after finishing the Mind Healer sighed and sat down at his place. "Everything is fine, I don''t see any bad changes in the brain. The aggression could be related to the moment, or forced thinking, perhaps his upbringing played a big role in this. There is also a small point about the fact that Dylan seems too goal-oriented, perhaps there is nothing bad in this. But I would just advise him to rest more often and not to dwell on something. It may be worth giving him medication, but I do not think that it is necessary. Also, I do not think that there are any problems with his personality type, he is a teenager and will soon become much calmer." The Director nodded gratefully to the Mind Healer while the Archon pondered his words. "Thank you for your time, Teacher Vidence, you may go and prepare for the next lesson." The Principal said with a polite smile. "Of course, Mr. Director." The mind healer bowed and left the office without further ado. After he left, Dylan braced himself for the most unpleasant part of the meeting. "I think there''s no point in delaying this conversation, we know that you''re Dylan Reincarnator, as are several other students in your class. But you don''t have to worry about that, the Academy will put all its efforts into your training." "I wasn''t worried about it." Dylan replied calmly, which surprised everyone a little. Most of all, everyone was surprised by his calm acceptance of the situation. "Are you aware of the Archdemon''s arrival?" As soon as the Director said that word, the slight smile on the archon''s face disappeared and hatred began to show in her eyes. "Yes." Dylan answered just as easily. "Okay, but you don''t understand what kind of creatures these are?" "Someone very strong, capable of taking over the world once the gods decide to intervene." "One Archdemon could potentially do it, but it''s unlikely. And that''s assuming the [Guardians of the World] don''t interfere, but if he brings an army of demons, he''ll be a very serious threat. I see that you lack an understanding of the seriousness of what''s happening, I''ll have someone bring you books on these topics." "Thank you very much." "Well, dear Archon, do you have any questions?" "No, unless you want to tell me what world you came from, or tell me about a skill you don''t want to reveal, perhaps you could tell me about your unique class?" Archon said with a predatory smile, enjoying Dylan''s reaction. At first, Dylan felt a little relief, which was still reflected on his face, but then each next question made him worry more and more, and this was easily visible through his mask of calm. "Hahaha, I''m just kidding. Don''t worry, everyone has secrets." Sandria laughed brightly, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "Okay, that''s the end of our conversation, Dylan, you can go to your room and get ready for your upcoming classes." "Thank you very much, respected Director, Archon, Teacher Elton." Dylan said as he stood up from his chair and bowed to everyone before leaving the office. As he left, he could only think about how unpleasant people were. In his opinion, this conversation was completely unnecessary for them or for him. Now, I just feel extra anxiety. I''m sure that all the awkward and difficult moments were solely to understand my personality, perhaps to understand whether I will be a danger in the future? 61 Chapter Chapter 61 Back in his room, Dylan thought about his conversation with the Director and the Archon in particular. Perhaps they were no threat to him and genuinely wanted to protect him. But Dylan understood it differently. He, like any other Reincarnator, was not indispensable, and if they became a threat to humanity, or stopped obeying, they would be quickly eliminated. We''re just a great fighting potential, and when their control over us weakens, they''ll just kill us. Hahaha, damn, I wonder which Reincarnator came to the same conclusion and do I know them?... The question is, how to become indispensable? I''m currently weak compared to those who are at least 100 levels higher than me. But my skills and unique class give me a big advantage... Dylan continued to think, trying to control his paranoia. In this case, it was justified, but if this continued, he would no longer trust the kingdom and would consider himself expendable. Yeah, I should stop thinking about that. Maybe my interests and theirs are the same. Maybe the demons will come to kill everyone, leaving no one a chance, and I''ll have to fight them anyway. Or maybe I''ll be lucky enough to survive and win, and I''ll become one of the pillars of the kingdom. It''s too early to think about that. But I definitely need to find out who else has reincarnated. When Dylan got to his room, he immediately started reading to distract himself from his unpleasant thoughts. Half an hour after he arrived, there was a knock on the door, and Dylan wondered who it could be. When he opened the door, he saw a man in a teacher''s uniform with several marks. "Hello Dylan, I brought the books that the teachers recommended especially for you. Once you read the books, keep them and tell Teacher Elton. He also asked you not to give them to anyone else," the man said without much emotion as he handed over the books. "Of course, and thank you very much." Dylan took the books and the man simply bowed slightly and left. With a shrug, Dylan closed the door and went to look at the books. Unwrapping the wrappers they were in, Dylan noticed that none of his senses could see through them. Taking this into account, he pulled out six books. Two had no title and the leather cover gave no indication of the contents of the book. The third book was called How to Become a Great Mage and he was very interested in it. The fourth book was called Advanced Demonology, the fifth book was called Light Worship and Other Religions, and the sixth book was called The World of Ramiast. ¡°It¡¯s very interesting, the director didn¡¯t disappoint me at all,¡± Dylan said with a smile. After thinking for a moment, Dylan unfolded the first book without a title. After reading the first few paragraphs, he realized that this book was about [Guardians of the World]. Holding the book in his hands, Dylan leaned back in his chair and began to read carefully. After all, the biography of such incredibly powerful beings was of greater interest to him. The Guardians of Peace have appeared several times during the time known to civilization, and each appearance has been described by intelligent races. The Guardians of Peace are beings of colossal power, it is not known exactly what the requirements of their intervention are, but intelligent races believe that it requires a great threat to the balance of the world. There are only five known [Guardians of the World]. The first and most revered of them is [World Tree Sapling] [Heavenly], [Elven Guardian], Wicca. It is known that the World Tree Sapling Wicca was raised by the elves after the conquest of Ramiast. It is not known for certain what [World Guardian] looks like or what abilities she possesses, but the elves have mentioned her throughout her many years of existence, as a huge tree that towers for kilometers. The elves also indicated that she has the incarnation of a Dryad and is considered the most powerful nature mage on the planet. No one except the elves knows anything about her other than her title and race [Heavenly], but no one questions this. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! The second known [Guardian of the World] is the [Dragon] [Heavenly], [Master of Dragsterra], Kasteriar. It has been seen twice by intelligent races. The first time was at the dawn of civilization, when the gods ascended and left Ramiast. A void creature known for its Madness [Eerie Whispers of the Abyss] [Heavenly] level 1210 burst into our world. It appeared as a mass of black flesh diameter of about 5 kilometers with many bottomless eyes, open whispering mouths, and thousands of tentacles. It came from space, bypassing the atmosphere, announcing its arrival with an eerie whisper that drove anyone who heard it mad. An unknown magic protected everyone in the affected area. As soon as the eerie one passed the atmosphere, a Dragon, only half its size, flew out to meet it. Casteriar was covered in crimson scales, was about 2 kilometers long and 200 meters high, its wingspan was about 4 kilometers. In different books, it was described how the creepy stopped moving and hovered in the air when it saw the Dragon, a moment later the creepy screamed at the top of its lungs and began to tear thousands of tentacles from its body, preparing for battle. But Casteriar did not pay attention to it when the distance was reduced to 15 km. Casteriar breathed out dragon flames that burned hundreds of tentacles, but for the creepy it was nothing more than a scratch. A moment later, it regenerated and only screamed louder. Casteriar did not stop and flew closer and closer to the creepy, burning it with flames. When the distance was reduced, the creepy tried to grab it with its tentacles, but it was useless. Each tentacle was cut off by Casteriar''s claws in an instant. The gusts of wind from the blows of Casteriara and the Terrible destroyed everything for many kilometers. The Guardian of the World flew further towards the terrible creature, chopping off thousands of tentacles with lightning-fast movements, turning nearby burning forests into dust. But at some point he could no longer cope with their number, stopped and spoke. "Gravity Compression" in the language of dragons, which was later translated by historians. The spell was cast instantly, and all of the tentacles were stuck near the main body, opening a clear path. Casteriar lunged forward with greater speed than he had shown before, and slammed into the Dread, crushing it with his claws and biting with his jaws. It only took a few seconds for the Dread to resist the spell. He began to bind the World Guardian, but the Guardian cast another spell, igniting his scales and breathing fire. The Dread fought as best he could, trying to harm the dragon in any way he could, but his attempts were unsuccessful as he was torn apart. But thanks to his regeneration, the Dread held on. After several long minutes of fighting, the Dread began to gather Mana at the ends of his tentacles and cast an unknown spell. After several strikes from the tentacles, the flames on Casteriar began to fade, and he was forced to retreat. As he flew away and completely extinguished the flames, black marks were visible on his body, which showed the influence of the Eldritch. Casteriar let out a dragon roar that sounded like thousands of lightning bolts. Eldritch began to restore his rounded shape and new tentacles, while the dragon examined him. Eldritch screamed loudly, expressing madness and joy, and began to cast a new spell. A black sphere with many screaming mouths began to form above his body, and as it grew, Casteriar did not take any action. But the next moment, he opened his mouth, and a beam of holy flame burst out from it, burning the Eldritch''s spell and setting it on fire. Eldritch immediately began to scream, proclaiming his despair. Casteriar, meanwhile, began to emit a large amount of holy mana and shine like a second sun. After completing the spell, the beam of light shot out at the Eldritch. A moment later, a third of the Eldritch was destroyed and it began to incinerate from the holy power. Casteryar, radiating even more holy power, entered into close combat with the Eldritch, creating constructs of holy mana on his claws. The rest of the battle was easy for the Guardian of the World, he tore the Eldritch apart while it tried to defend itself and cast spells, but all was in vain, even the regeneration could not withstand Casteryar''s numerous attacks. At the end of the fight, the Eldritch fell to the ground, where it was incinerated by the holy flame, later Casteryar found all the pieces of the Eldritch''s flesh, incinerated them as well and flew away. The aftermath of Casteriar''s battle was severe on the sentient races, as he left behind catastrophic destruction despite fighting in the air. The heat from his magic burned many forests and changed the climate for centuries to come, but it also increased the concentration of mana, thereby developing animals capable of using holy kinship. Casteriar''s second appearance was 4,000 years ago. In one of the cities of the Beastman Kingdom, a [Higher Demon of Hunger] [Mythical] Lv. 900, Class: [Spreading Hunger] [Mythical] Lv. 900, Class: [Derius''s Demonic Arts Master] [Mythical] Lv. 791 was summoned. He reduced the city to ruins within minutes of his appearance using conceptual devastation magic, leaving only the strongest humans alive, who became demonic creatures bearing the sin of hunger. A creature of such power threatened the entire kingdom of beastmen, but in the opinion of the intelligent races and the holy church, it could not be considered a threat to peace. But Casteriar caught up with it. Landing near that very city, he began to burn everything in sight, forcing the demon to reveal himself. He looked like a skeleton with long black horns on, covered in gray skin, 15 meters tall and with disproportionately long arms. His face alone inspired a strong feeling of hunger, his empty black eyes looked straight into the soul to everyone he met. The battle was short, the soothsayers of the time described it as only 15 seconds. When the demon appeared and cast a demonic barrier spell, Casteriar focused his flames on it. The demon held on for the first three seconds, not feeling any changes in the barrier, confident in its invulnerability. As soon as a smile full of happy anticipation played on his lips, Casteriar added holy kinship to his attack. The demon''s barrier collapsed, and he tried desperately to fight back with conceptual devastation magic, but after 12 seconds, he lost the fight and was scattered to the wind. Having finished off the demon, Casteriar consecrated the city and the surrounding areas, cleansing them of demonic corruption. But all the defiled beastmen were killed in the process. 62 Chapter Chapter 62 Aside from these battles, Casteriar is known to the sentient races as the [Master of Dragsterra]. Dragsterra is the largest and most complex dungeon found in the world. It is located on the longest mountain range, in the impenetrable forest of Zarax, inhabited by legendary and mythical creatures. Several people over the millennia of civilization have tried their hand at it, but nothing more is known of them. At the top of the mountain is an entrance to a dungeon where an image of dragonids worshiping the Dragon and several lines on a stone plate in the language of dragons are engraved. "[Guardian of the World], [Master of Dragsterra], [God of the Draconids], [Slayer of the Corrupt], ??Casteriar desires your presence, if you are worthy." Dylan didn''t know what to think after reading these few pages. He couldn''t even imagine something as big as a Dragon, let alone a Dreadful. This threshold of power is something I can''t even imagine. Spells capable of emptying thousands of kilometers, unknown magic that I have never heard of before, physical strength capable of splitting mountains. These are all really legends and myths... If a Greater Demon could last 15 seconds against a Dragon, what could an Archdemon do? I think I should put it on the same level as a Eldritch. The fact that Holy Magic is so effective against them and that a Dragon even uses it speaks volumes. I should definitely study it. Having said this in his head, Dylan became slightly disappointed in life. He was too weak, how did the gods even expect to make a weapon out of him against this? He didn''t understand it. But he decided that it was not the time to sit in depression and continued reading to distract himself. The third known [Guardian of the World] is [Phoenix] [Heavenly], [Desert Calamity], Theia. She was seen when intelligent races were just arriving on the world of Ramiast to conquer it. At that time, the planet did not have a desert, it was full of life. According to information from that time, Theia fought an unknown plant-type monster that had grown to 1000 kilometers. In order to kill it forever, she burned out the forests and everyone who stood in her way, thereby turning the fertile land into a desert and covering the skies with ash, causing an ice age. This caused a lot of trouble for the intelligent races, but the other guardians did not act to correct her mistake. It is not known for certain whether this was necessary and whether she deserves the title of [Guardian of the World] after this, but she is considered one. The fourth known [Guardian of the World] is the [Earth Spirit King] [Heavenly], [Sleeping], Lan. The Earth Spirit King was discovered by the dwarves during their invasion of the world, deep within the earth. They were able to dig up a cave in which they saw a huge glowing stone resembling an eye with many rune. Contrary to the dwarves'' expectation that they would be killed instantly, Lan took the form of a man thanks to an unknown spell and politely began a conversation with them. The dwarves were in great shock, but did not contradict the spirit. Lan said that he was the Guardian of the World, but warned the dwarves that the other guards were not as friendly as he was. He asked how the dwarves came to the world, and they told him everything honestly. After a short conversation, Lan was pleased and gave all the dwarves present his blessing. After meeting him, each dwarf could easily say where the useful resources buried in the ground were, a kilometer away, thereby proving that this really happened. Since then, [Earth Spirit King] Lan has not shown himself to the world. The fifth known [Guardian of the World], the most hated of all - [???] [Heavenly], [Lord of Nightmares], Aspen. The hatred towards him has been growing since ancient times. When intelligent races were able to settle on the continent of Latius, they wanted to expand their territory, but they faced a big problem. The monsters of other territories were too strong for them and they simply did not have the necessary resources for a long war. Instead of getting involved in a hopeless battle, intelligent races decided that it would be easier to try to capture another continent. At first, everything went well, people were able to build a fortress on another continent and everything was really going successful. Until at some point, every ship that was heading to the fort disappeared without a trace, the same thing happened with the ships that were going to Latias. People were in a panic and threw a lot of resources into searching for the monster that did this, after a while they found several of their ships. But what they saw horrified them. People no longer resembled themselves, but turned into cursed creatures resembling sea monsters. Naturally, each of these creatures was only a fragment of something mad. People tried to cure these creatures, but it was impossible. Whoever changed them did it only as the creator himself could, perverting their mind, body and soul. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Further travel to another continent was made by people using only a network of portals. The following years, everything began to return to normal, people built several fortresses on another continent and looked for easy resources. Until the monsters from the depths of the sea began to rage and try to get to land. People fought them and at first received a lot of valuable resources, with almost no losses. This continued for years until people met a new monster. According to legends from other worlds, the monster was very similar to a mermaid. It had the upper half of a man, and the lower half of a fish, used water magic, illusions and reason, but was much stronger and could use the [Polymorph] [Epic] skill to completely turn into a human. During the battle with them, people learned that their creator was the [Lord of Nightmares] Aspen. Intelligent races tried to defeat them, but there was no end to them. No matter how many of these [Special] rank creatures they killed, their number did not decrease. Eventually, the intelligent races gave up on attempting to colonize the other continent and retreated, unable to counterattack and endure endless attacks. These creatures were later called [Aspen Spawn] [Special]. They occasionally attacked the coastal cities of Latias, but never advanced into the interior of the continent. The next thing that is associated with Aspen is a huge storm that happened 20,000 years ago. It destroyed many cities on the continent of Latius and turned the former Beastmen Kingdom into ruins, plunging them into despair. The soothsayers of that time believed that Aspen was fulfilling the duties of the [Guardian of the World] by fighting someone, which is why the echoes of their magic fell upon the continent. After three days, the storm died down and Aspen addressed the strongest beastmen of the continent in a dream. He appeared as a man in black and blue armor with a huge spear that rested on his throne. He evoked a feeling of unimaginable power and had an aura that made souls tremble with fear. Aspen introduced himself and told these people that from now on they should not dare to cross the ocean and he would continue to protect them. Otherwise, he would repeat the storm on purpose. From then on, all attacks from his side ceased and there was no mention of him. Reading the book further, Dylan did not see any specific knowledge about the Guardians. Everything that was written in the book further, only expressed the crazy territories of different people and the author himself. Leaning to the back of the chair, Dylan thought about it. 3 out of 5 guardians are a threat to the world on their own. The Dragon seems sane compared to the Phoenix and the Nightmare Lord. One made a desert on this continent, the other created a new race and almost drowned one kingdom. They are monsters and the Archdemon is probably the same. Dylan''s head hurt from everything he read in the book. So he decided to calm down and spend time in meditation, restoring his mana reserves and filling his sword with it. After meditating for a few hours, he was able to calm down a little and decide that everything written in this book is much higher than his salary and he is not going to kill himself because of it. Opening another book without a title, he saw formulas for various spells in it. Turning to the first page, he realized that these were personal notes on spells from teacher Elton. Turning over it again, Dylan was very grateful to him for such a gift. This book had many powerful and useful spells that he would definitely learn in the future, including Holy Magic. Dylan couldn''t decide what to read next, but after a while he put Elton''s book aside and picked up the book "How to Become a Great Mage". "Sorry, Teacher Elton." The first few paragraphs told what he already knew perfectly well. To become a Great Mage, you need to have the skill Meditation, Mana Sense, Mana Manipulation, Spell Creation and the skill of the chosen school of magic [Special] level. But in addition to this, you need to be able to cast spells with the will put into them and be able to cast a 7th level spell. For Dylan, this was also no secret, he learned this by asking Lady Alice for a long time. The book talked about how important it was to start trying to control your will once you became a full-fledged mage. That it was an integral part of gaining true power. Dylan closed the book with a crazy smile, thinking that the author hadn''t read the book about guardians and didn''t even know what the word meant. He laughed at this and continued reading. The book described exercises on will control. Dylan even found some of them useful, but nothing fundamentally new. Leafing through the book further, Dylan began to see various spells and descriptions of how to properly infuse will and how to use it. Reading this book, Dylan found many useful nuances in the spells and could not be more happy with this discovery. Having finished reading the book, Dylan once again thanked teacher Elton, or perhaps the director, for the knowledge provided. 63 Chapter Chapter 63 After reading the book, Dylan really wanted to practice magic, but his mana was still lacking as always. So he activated the ring and took out the Supreme Mana Potion. This potion was not comparable to the ones he drank as a child, since he was simply not ready for stronger potions. [Supreme Mana Potion] [Rare++] puts more strain on the constitution and core, but in return gives a lot of mana, practically without reducing the strength of the restored mana at his level. Doing the math in his head, he could drink half a potion per day, completely restoring his mana and not straining his constitution. Name: Dylan Ghostblade (Nick Miller) 15 years old Race: Evolved Human [Rare] Lvl 28 1. Class: Mage of Arcane Will [Rare][Uniquely] Lvl 9 2. Class: Adept of the Art Phantom Sword [Rare] Lvl 16 Health 903/2100 HP 3.15 HP/hour Mana 123/2990 MP 2.91 MP/hour Endurance 2400/2680 ST 40.5 ST/hour Statistics: Strength 215 Dexterity 311 Stamina 268 Vitality 210 Constitution 226 Intelligence 190 Wisdom 147 Mental Control 238 Willpower 340 Perception 226 Charisma 46 Mana Output 203 Mana 299 Mana Regeneration 291 Luck 38 +20 free attribute points Titles: Otherworldly Reincarnator [Legendary+], Special Skill Holder [Special], Contract with the Emerging Spirit [Uncommon], Class Line Progenitor [Legendary][Uniquely], Mage of Arcane Will [Rare][Uniquely], Adept of the Art Phantom Sword [Rare], Holder of the Unique Skill [Special][Uniquely], Giant Killer (Lvl 10) [Common]. Racial Skills: Fast Recovery [Rare+] Quick Learning [Uncommon] Adaptation of Physical Characteristics [Uncommon] Minor Adaptation [Common] Lesser Mana Core [Common] Low Mental Resistance [Common] Lvl 74 Low Poison Resistance [Common] Lvl 29 Rare Pain Resistance [Rare] Lvl 223 > Lvl 228 General Skills: Reincarnator''s Madness [Special][Unique] Lvl 404 Great Identification [Special] Lvl 401 Fake Status [Special] Lvl 401 Language Proficiency (Ramiast) [Uncommon] Lvl 169 Lesser Spiritual Sense [Rare] Lvl 203 Lesser Soul Energy Manipulation [Rare] Lvl 201 1. Class Skills: Magic of Arcane Will [Rare] Lvl 227 > Lvl 229 Great Meditation [Rare] Lvl 213 Manipulation of Mana [Rare] Lvl 210 Mana Sense [Rare] Lvl 203 Casting Spells [Uncommon] Lvl 199 Magic of Stone [Uncommon] Lvl 137 Magic of Predictions [Uncommon] Lvl 123 > 124 Aura of Arcane Will [Uncommon] Lvl 104 > Lvl 105 Parallel Thinking [Uncommon] Lvl 131 > Lvl 134 Healing Magic [Common] Lvl 50 Life Force Manipulation [Uncommon] Lvl 121 Will Manipulation [Common] Lvl 11 > Lvl 36 2. Class Skills: Phantom Sword Mastery [Uncommon+] Lvl 182 > 186 Stamina Manipulation [Uncommon] Lvl 155 > 156 Awakening of the Ghost [Uncommon+] Lvl 116 > Lvl 119 Ghost Flicker [Uncommon+] Lvl 116 > Lvl 119 This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Accelerated Perception [Uncommon] Lvl 136 > Lvl 137 Dylan''s mood was lifted by looking at the status. Looking at the stats, he noticed that Willpower had increased by several points. Hmm, Willpower has increased by 3, it has increased before, but never so much. Maybe it''s because I overexerted my willpower in that stupid suicide attempt... Yes, I also need to decide where to invest the stats. While thinking about this, he opened the book "How to Become a Great Mage" to a page with a level 1 spell "Sphere of Light". This spell used willpower to change the brightness of light without changing the spell. Inside the spell, Dylan noticed an additional structure that created this effect. After struggling with the spell for a while, he was able to cast it correctly. At the last stage of the cast, he poured in some will and wished for the light to change intensity every 10 seconds. A ball of light formed between his hands, shining brightly. After 10 seconds, he changed the intensity and the light became much dimmer. Dispelling the spell and drawing in all the remaining Mana, Dylan looked for a more complex spell. Since he was able to do similar things without having an additional structure in the spell. Having found the next spell "Gust of Wind", he examined its construction and read the description. In this case, the additional construction, together with the will poured into it, protected allies and any objects from the wind. It is important that when pouring the will, it was necessary to select objects and fix this desire in it. Dylan had never done anything like this before, so he was very interested. After creating the spell structure, he poured his will into it with a clear desire. After completing the spell, a gust of wind blew between his hands into the stack of books, but did not move them. Watching the spell in action, Dylan noticed that the wind did not immediately stop blowing on the books, it redirected its trajectory as soon as it touched the first book. Dylan thought that the design was surprisingly simple, but most importantly very effective. He suspected that without will, something with the same effect would be unrealistic to put into spells below level 4. Noticing that it was surprisingly late, Dylan muttered something about proper sleep patterns, closed the book, and went to bed. He tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep for a long time, and his worries about the Guardians and how helpless he felt returned. ... Dylan got out of bed in an incredibly bad mood. Last night seemed worse to him than when he slept on the ground in the middle of the forest. And then he was rightfully afraid of an attack by monsters. "Damn, fucking guards, just thinking about their capabilities gives me a headache." Clicking his tongue, he stood up and got dressed, thinking about food. Taking the card and activating the display, he quickly found the right place. Leaving the room, he walked around the academy, as always, looking at the surroundings. After a few minutes of walking, he saw an interesting person. He looked tired to death, pale skin, black hair, large bruises under his eyes. The guy looked at those around him as if they did not exist, while stroking a black snake with bright green eyes that wrapped around his neck. Name: Shin Nivser Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 100 Class: Poison Mage [Rare] Lvl 28 Class: Poisonous Creature Tamer [Rare] Lvl 100 Name: Tasteless Race: Black Labaria [Rare] Lvl 138 Dylan''s eyebrows shot up as he didn''t expect the guy to be that strong. He found it very interesting as his main class was lagging behind. Dylan made eye contact with the guy as he watched, but Shin didn''t even notice him. He walked past, still petting the snake, which was simply enjoying it. Shrugging, Dylan walked on, looking at the people more carefully. But he didn''t notice anyone as interesting and strong. He was convinced that the guy was much stronger than the average level in the academy. Arriving at the restaurant, he assessed its interior. In general, everything was very simple, wooden tables and chairs covered with varnish, the room was also made of light wood. But what he liked was the location near the garden and the large number of large windows. "Really nice." Having sat down at the table, a student of the academy quickly approached him, wearing a stylish apron with the emblem of the restaurant. Having given him a bright smile and having greeted him, she handed him the menu. Having examined it, Dylan quickly chose a lot of meat with baked potatoes. The food was brought very quickly, so that he did not even notice the time, admiring the garden. Having pleasantly eaten, Dylan ordered the next dish. ... Returning to the room, Dylan continued practicing magic. He came across several more useful constructs that he would be happy to learn later. During the training, Dylan discovered one very pleasant thing, any spell with a will construct could change its parameters when he manipulated the spell through the aura. Re-reading the book, the last pages said that especially skilled mages could manipulate spells through the aura. There were many requirements, none of which he had to meet to do this. Perhaps I should understand why my Will is so strong. Or find an explanation for my excellent control over it. Dylan had always been interested in this, but he couldn''t approach it correctly. Since even his tutor couldn''t control his will, and he really didn''t want to earn the attention of more powerful mages at that time. He still didn''t understand where his family formally stood in the kingdom''s food chain. Whether his ability deserved the enmity of Epic class holders or more, he didn''t know. But now it didn''t matter, the academy''s leadership had found out about his unique class, but whether they knew that he was [Class Line Progenitor]. This remained a big question. He had to do something, but he was too hesitant. From what he learned in the book, Mages take years of training to control their Will, but he did it in just 10 years, with almost no stats. Hahaha, if you think about it, I''m quite the monster. Dylan thought with an ironic smile. He clouded over to the back of his chair, took a deep breath, and began to think it all over in his head. If it turned out that his specialty was worth a lot, and he believed it was. A lot of things could happen. But what seemed most likely to him were two options: First, he was under the Academy''s close supervision and training. Which didn''t change anything in principle, but he needed to trust them. If he did, he would reveal all his abilities and his advancement in the future would be very predictable. This would make him vulnerable, because despite the wishes of the Academy''s top brass, he was still more afraid of humans than demons. Second, some crazy asshole will decide that they can copy his trait. Eventually try something. If they succeed in getting to him, of course he be dead. If they fail, they''ll draw too much attention to him and eventually it''ll either happen again or someone will decide to take him out before he reaches his potential. Completely disregarding the war with demons. Both options put him in great danger and, as he reminded himself once again, "the demons are not to blame for this." 64 Chapter Chapter 64 So Dylan decided to wait conversation with father. He was very busy right now and it was unclear when he would be free. After all, his mother assured him that it was very important. After thinking about it for only a second, Dylan realized what he was busy with. His father was trying to advance the class to [Legendary] level. "How strong will he be after?" Dylan said quietly. And threw these thoughts into the depths of his mind to continue practicing magic. After all, all sorts of worries did not improve his concentration at all, and Mana needed to be protected. So he did this until late in the evening and even managed to improve the skill. Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Magic of Arcane Will] [Rare] Lvl 229 > Lvl 230 It seemed too easy for him, but he didn''t dare complain. Dylan fell asleep in a good mood, but after a while guards and possible events that he didn''t want to see at all began to pop up in his consciousness. He tried to fall asleep for a long time and even at some point decided to read one of the books he brought, but quickly changed his mind, since he definitely wouldn''t be able to fall asleep because of this. ... Waking up, Dylan tried to remember when he fell asleep, but he couldn''t. Digging through his memory, he didn''t have any bad dreams, but he still felt lousy. Throwing it out of his head and getting out of bed, he took the book "Advanced Demonology". He wanted to read it yesterday, but wisely decided not to. Demons are creatures that everyone has heard of, but few know how they can differ from each other. All who belong to the demonic race have demonic energy as a substitute for mana, which makes them evil, cruel and selfish in the opinion of most intelligent races. It is because of their inherently evil nature that holy magic and holy mana are so effective against them. Scientists from all over the world, over many centuries, have decided to divide demonic creatures into several categories: 1. Demons. Demons are creatures born on the demonic plane, possessing a demonic essence and mind. Demons have several distinctive features due to which they are one of the most hated races in all worlds. The first distinctive feature is [Demonic Energy]. Demonic Energy is essentially [Arcane Affinity] with soul energy, it contains the entire concept of the race, it is the one that can change any creature into a demon. The second distinctive feature is the [Sin Cultivation] skill. Demons gain their "Sin" as they develop. Sin can manifest itself in different ways, some demons simply indulge with anger, while others seek to enjoy strangers shattered dreams. By cultivating their sin, demons become stronger, their demonic energy often gains the concept of sin. Which can form the terrifying Demonic Conceptual Magic. The third distinctive feature is the skill [Demonic Grip], starting from the Demon rank, everyone gets it and with it can eat souls. First of all, demons love to eat souls because it makes them stronger and speeds up the regeneration of demonic energy, but of course it brings them the greatest pleasure. The skill can develop depending on the concept of sin and change its properties, giving not only the characteristics to demon, but also the skills from the souls eaten. Demons, contrary to the delusions of intelligent races, build communities in which the key position is occupied by the strongest demon in the hierarchy. Any conflicts are usually resolved by extreme violence and the most brutal torture. In the hierarchy of demons, there cannot be a weak and stupid demon at the same time. Demons have a hierarchy that is considered an indicator of the strength and cunning of the demon. Basic development options: 1. Demonic Spawn [???] These creatures are demonic monsters by nature and do not possess intelligence. They can have any body type and race rarity. They are at the bottom of the hierarchy only because other demons see them as easy snacks, due to their lack of classes and brutal intelligence. 2. Lesser Demon [Uncommon] Lesser demons are considered the weakest demons. They do not have their own "Sin", so their magic is weak compared to the rest. As a rule, lower demons die very quickly after their birth, from their own tribesmen. 3. Small Demon [Rare-Special] A small demon is just starting on the path of developing skill sin, but and is not sentenced to instant death, since other demons are counting on enslaving him so that when he grows up, they can eat his soul and develop their own sin. 4. Demon [Special-Epic] Having reached this stage of evolution, the demon gains the skill [Demonic Grip] [Epic], at this point, demons tend to become reckless from the rapid increase in strength and quickly die. Not only the strongest survive, but also the most cunning. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. 5. Great Demon [Legendary-Mythical] Greater Demons gain the [Demon Hierarchy] [Special] skill, with this skill they can oppress demons lower in the hierarchy, but become more susceptible to the same skill from demons on the stages above. At this stage of development, demons are usually interested in other worlds and are looking for a way to get into them. This is due to the fact that other Greater Demons in their surroundings are not potential prey. And obtaining new souls with excellent abilities often contributes to growth. 6. Greater Demon [Mythical] When evolving into a Greater Demon, he gains the skill [Demonic Reincarnation] [Legendary]. Demons can no longer be killed by simply wounding their body. When the life energy leaves the body of a demon, it can release its spirit and possess another being, irrevocably changing their body. Such a death greatly weakens the demon, but over the next centuries, it can fully restore its former strength by eating souls. Therefore, against Greater Demons, it is imperative to use holy Mana and weapons that wound the soul. 7. Archdemon [Heavenly-Divine] To evolve into an Archdemon, the [Heavenly] skill is required, and through evolution, the demon becomes immortal, its soul and body no longer age. It is assumed that this stage of development gives other advantages, but nothing is known about them due to the lack of information. 8. Demon Prince [Divine] Requirements unknown, qualities unknown, skills unknown. 9. God of Demons [???] Requirements unknown, qualities unknown, skills unknown. Closing the book, Dylan rubbed his temples with his hands. The pain in his head only intensified. He couldn''t imagine what this information meant to him now. "Haha, if those fools think I''m going to fall into despair over this, they don''t know me well enough, I''m too stupid for that. That''s right, this should be treated as a delusional story. There can''t be anything to do with the truth, because if something so evil existed, the world would have already been torn apart... Although it has yet to happen. Well, well, well, that''s it, it''s just a very entertaining read." Dylan said and patted his cheeks. Dylan didn''t immediately dare open the book, but after a few minutes of convincing himself that this was the ravings of a madman, he decided to do so. 2. Devils Creatures from the demon world that are related to demons, but are often not considered as such, due to their lack of great cruelty and relative peacefulness. While most demons enjoy killing things for no reason, devils do not feel any attraction to this. Of course, they are still cunning, selfish, soul-devourers, but they still prefer to avoid senseless conflicts. Devils as a type of demons still have three main skills, but for some reason most often avoid developing sin. It is still unknown why this happens, but this is reliable information. The peculiarity of devils as creatures is their way to become stronger, they live by concluding various contracts where their prize is a soul. Contracts are always mandatory and "honest" in their understanding. Honesty is expressed in the fact that the devil will never attack with the purpose of taking the soul, but will definitely try to deceive you in the contract. Devils are masters of [Karmic Magic], [Soul Magic] and [Contract Magic], so any voluntarily signed contract is necessarily fulfilled and is practically indestructible, even for the devil himself. That''s why devils often travel to other worlds and sometimes even become welcome guests. After all, there is no better servant than a devil who wants to get a soul. Devils also sign contracts that are not necessarily always fatal for the other party. A devil can agree to a lesser thing, such as an artifact, forgotten magic, another powerful soul, and other similar things, in order to exchange them later. If you have the impression that devils are the world''s traders, you are right. But they should not be underestimated. If a devil has made a contract to kill something, rest assured that he will carry it out, no matter how much he may not like it. Devils are masters of many schools of magic, in addition to [Karmic Magic], [Soul Magic], [Contract Magic], they are also proficient in [Demon Magic], [Space Magic] and definitely one or more combat schools of magic. Mostly, it is [Curse Magic]. It is almost impossible to survive a fight with a devil, due to how smart and meticulous they are, but it is much more difficult to kill or capture one. The racial abilities of devils are unknown, aside from the three main skills, and speculation that mastery of [Karmic Magic] is in their blood. The devil also has a hierarchy, which depends on the rank in the supposed nobility. The exact positions and supposed merits for the title are unknown, as are the benefits of holding the title. 3. Creatures that were not born in the demon plane, but became such. Demons, like Devils, can turn creatures into demons. They do this for different reasons, demons can do it for fun, devils to fulfill contracts. The goal remains unimportant, what matters is the consequences. The transformation of a person into a demon can happen in different ways. Some turn into mad demonic offspring, while others can become Great Demons, which will significantly increase their strength, but in return they will acquire the madness inherent in all demons. It can also happen much more slowly and unintentionally, due to simple contact with demonic energy. People gradually become more aggressive and bloodthirsty. If the demonic corruption is not cleared in time, the person will become a demon, which is irreversible. 4. Creatures born from the union of two powerful races. (The following is not reliable information. This information is collected from myths and legends.) One famous fable mentions the existence of a half-demon. Technically, this is impossible, because everyone who is exposed to demonic energy until the final end becomes a demon and loses their mind. But I find this theory plausible. When two powerful races mix (in my opinion), it is possible that neither of them will prevail and a half-demon will be born. I also believe that when a sufficiently powerful creature is demonized, a demon beyond the usual understanding can be born. At this point Dylan closed the book, usually he leafed through the authors'' crazy theories, but this time he became curious. And of course he regretted it, since the last words clearly hinted at accepting demonization and even said that this was an acceptable option... Summing up, Dylan decided that he did not want to become a demon and would not try to negotiate with them. According to the book, he would still become food, which of course upset him. He was simply sure that his soul tasted very sweet and Dylan was definitely not going to lose it so senselessly. But of course he liked the image of devils, in the form of an intellectual in a tailcoat, who appear as a creepy merchant with a dubious contract. "Hehe, this is really funny!" Chapter 65 Chapter 65 Dylan laughed and continued reading. It went on to give historical accounts of demonic summonings by various cults and the consequences they had on people. There were many cities destroyed, huge territories infected with demonic energy, and the number of people perverted and killed in these conflicts was measured in the millions. There were several examples of demonic cruelty, and Dylan felt extremely uneasy just reading about it. What he found curious was that the book didn''t mention why demon worshipers summon demons or what ultimately happens to them. But Dylan understood that in the best case scenario, they become demons, and in the worst case, their souls are eaten. The second part of the book was devoted to the fight of the holy church against demons. How valiant and all-powerful the book presented them spoke of the extreme bias of the author. Of course, Dylan understood that they were the best opponents due to the fact that holy magic is a bane for demons. But in every significant conflict, millions died before the church could fight back. The author tried to justify the church to the reader by the large scale of the world, but Dylan thought this was a pathetic excuse. Of course, the current world is many times larger than the earth, but did this really matter to an organization that existed for millennia and had many portals for long-distance travel. He could not understand this. After finishing the book, Dylan was extremely disappointed with it. There was almost no mention of magic and weapons that did not have a holy affinity that were effective against demons. Therefore, Dylan put this book in the church propaganda section, because of this, he did not want to read a book that was supposed to tell more about the organization than he already knew. Closing it and placing it on the table, hoping to never touch it again, Dylan took out the book "How to Become a Great Mage" and continued practicing. ... Pow. Cullen Golden Crow In the academy office, closed even to teachers, sat Cullen. Today he decided to lead the meeting of the Academy Reincarnators as unofficial leader. At a round table for more than several dozen people, he sat waiting for the others and rereading the information he had obtained about the new candidates. Name: Cullen Golden Crow, 17 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 100 Class: Magnificent Artifact Merchant [Rare] Lvl 25 Class: Warrior-Mage of Mirata [Rare] Lvl 32 At the appointed time, the rest of the people began to come in. The first to come, as always, was Shin with his favorite snake Tasteless, despite his appearance as a fan of forbidden arts, he had the kindest character among the others. Of course, he was not sociable, it was very difficult to understand his quiet character, but after several months of close communication, Kallen considered him his friend. Name: Shin Nivser, 16 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 100 Class: Poison Mage [Rare] Lvl 28 Class: Poisonous Creature Tamer [Rare] Lvl 100 Shin said hello quietly and immediately after that, Tasteless hissed, expressing his attention. This caused a slight smile to appear on Kalenn''s face. "Sit down wherever you like, the others are in no hurry to come." Shin nodded in response and chose the closest place in it, sitting down at the table he continued to stroke the snake, quietly talking to it. Cullen did not know how high the intelligence of Tasteless was, but the way the snake hissed and occasionally nodded, made him think that he might open classes soon. A few minutes later, a brunette entered, tall, with sharp features and the grace of a true magician. His gait was extremely slow and smooth, the way he walked with his head down so low often made those around him think about his low constitution. "Hello everyone." He said, taking his seat without further ado. Name: Edgar Steelarm 16 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 100 Class: Poison Metal Mage [Rare] Lvl 43 Class: Rune Mage [Rare] Lvl 10 Four more followed him in. After greeting those present, they sat down in their places and began to make small talk. Ajax and Walter were brunettes, had a strong build and a handsome appearance. Thomas, as always, looked a little sloppy, his black hair was tangled, there were large bruises under his eyes, and his fingers were slightly trembling. If Cullen hadn''t known that he was a Mind Mage, he might well have thought that he was sick, but this was all the excess of very complex magic and many hours of missed sleep. Emilia, as always, looked great, her blond hair was neatly braided, her perfect figure could make any girl envious. At first, Cullen suspected her of mind magic, later of very high charisma, because of how attractive she was. But her cold nature and cruel intellect killed all sympathy in him, now they were exclusively colleagues. He wouldn''t say that she was a bad person, they just had different outlooks on life. Name: Ajax Renworth, 16 Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 100 Class: Lightning Mage [Rare] Lvl 49 Class: Dagger Adept [Rare] Lvl 33 Name: Thomas Merten, 17 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 100 Class: Mind Mage [Rare] Lvl 31Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Class: Arcane Mage Apprentice [Uncommon] Lvl 43 Name: Walter Weese, 16 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 100 Class: Spear and Shield Adept [Rare] Lvl 50 Class: Arcane Mage Apprentice [Uncommon] Lvl 60 Name: Emilia Light, 17 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 100 Class: Light Mage [Rare] Lvl 45 Class: Arcane Mage [Rare] 36 Denis entered last and hurried to take his place. The others stopped chatting and concentrated on the meeting. Name: Denis Unbreakable Stone, 16 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 65 Class: Rune Architect [Rare] Lvl 20 Class: Arcane Mage [Rare] Lvl 32 "I apologize for being late, since everyone is here Cullen you should tell us why you have gathered us." "Of course, of course." He answered and stood up from the table. "As you all know, the new school year has started and I want to congratulate us all, I have found five Reincarnators." He said with a satisfied smile and cast an illusion spell showing them on it with a brief description and their identification. "Three of them are from prestigious noble families, one is from the Baron''s house, and the last one is a vampire from the Scarlet Blood House." While Cullen stood there with a wide smile, pleased with his skills and potential allies, the others quietly pondered as they read the short description. "And what does this mean for us, from the perspective of the academy? We are still unsure of the leadership and whether our priorities align with them." Metal Mage Edgar said. "It''s safe to say that they don''t want us to die soon, although if they could make us slaves with an artifact that affects the soul, things might turn out differently." Tamer Shin said quietly. The rest of the room grimaced darkly, because they knew that high-level criminals under such a collar were truly slaves; no one knew of a more painful and effective method of control. Slamming his hands on the table several times, Cullen spoke. "I think we should stop starting this conversation with every meeting and stop doubting the Academy''s leadership, they have done nothing wrong to any of us and when another Reincarnator appears they provide him with significant support without any obligations. I understand that my words may seem to you as if I have been brainwashed, but at this rate we will not be able to take advantage of all the resources that are offered to us for cooperation, and I am not even talking about training." Everyone looked at him more closely than he would have considered polite, two even casting Mind Magic spells to make sure he wasn''t under obvious influence. Finding nothing, they decided it was either high-level magic or he was truly insane. Cullen stood firm through the two spells and suspicious looks, trying to somehow defuse the situation, he continued speaking. "I understand that most of us don''t trust the academy, the church, and the kingdom as a whole, for many reasons. But everyone should understand that this is a race against time, the Demons can come in a century, or they can break through tomorrow. Therefore, we need to quickly increase our strength, if anyone knows a better option than submitting to the Academy, can they offer it?" No one said a word, so he the continued. "That''s what I''m saying, we have no choice. So our immediate goal is to study at the academy and gather information. If something unexpected happens, we''ll change our plans." The others reluctantly nodded, agreeing with him. Years of searching for information really didn''t yield a place where they could receive better training than the academy connected to the Tower of Mages. Of course, there was the church, but no one even discussed it. Since in order to advance in the ranks, it was necessary to have several skills related to the Faith. "Let''s leave that question aside, how do you rate the new Reincarnators?" Spear Adept Walter asked with interest after reading the entire summary. "Very well, from what I''ve learned three of them are real monsters... for the rest of course. But I''d say they''re pretty strong, I''ve met each of them and in my opinion the strongest of them is Cassandra Vampire. But the others aren''t far behind." "A young vampire means a very strong race, in the future it will be able to create minions connected to the hierarchy of vampires. Which I think the church should not allow, regardless of how it will help in the fight against demons. And of course, most likely it is at the top of the list of "Liquidation of Reincarnators". I would suggest somehow protecting it, but we are all weaklings here, let''s hope that its "relatives" can handle it." Said the Mage of Reason Thomas, emphasizing the word. "Oh, oh, oh! What''s with this vampire racism? Of course they''ll try their best." Cullen replied. "We know that vampires are indeed dangerous and bloodthirsty, prejudice is acceptable. And of course I should remind you that despite your assurances that she is not susceptible to the vampire essence, we should be afraid of her." Thomas replied. "Of course... Any other questions?" Cullen said, not taking his words to heart. "Yes, are you sure that Max Lifewarden and Ariana Kilsten are not Reincarnators, if I''m not mistaken, that''s exactly what the church was betting on." Light Mage Emilia said. "Hmm, they could certainly be suitable, but the Academy does not think so. I used several artifacts to reveal the power of the soul and tried to find at least some tangible karmic connection between us, but it was all in vain, also my skills did not show anything interesting. I do not exclude the possibility that there may be someone who can deceive me and the Academy, but this is unlikely." Cullen answered, the others accepted his answer. Since none of them had the skills and tools to reveal the Reincarnator. For the next few minutes, there was silence. Such meetings were rare, so everyone was thinking about what they wanted to know or receive. Rune Architect Denis began to tap his fingers on the table, which earned everyone''s attention. "How are the searches for the Reincarnators who couldn''t get into the academy and those who were reborn in the Beastmen Republic going? Mine are going extremely poorly, I''ve already lost two people with two [Rare] classes above level 100. What''s most offensive is that I don''t even know how they died in two different cities. I would write it off as an accident, but their disguised communication artifacts were destroyed." The others immediately became even more serious upon hearing this news. "Am I the only one who thought that there was a mole in his house?" Spear Adept Walter said, to which most nodded thoughtfully. "It''s unlikely, but if it is, then this person is high in the hierarchy of my house, and most importantly, he only answers to me, my father, and the patriarch." "So the options are even worse? If this one is ruled out, then either your relatives are to blame for this, or another organization with significant resources." Walter continued. "Yes." Denis answered gloomily, clasping his hands on the table. "You should bring all the documents so that our people can investigate. It is quite possible that we can figure out how they found them, or find another clue." Cullen said to which Denis nodded. "As for the search, I have had no success, anyone who now shows significant achievements at the age of 15-17 is checked, but I don''t have time to check everyone before they disappear without a trace. One thing I can say for sure, someone is creating significant competition for the kingdom and the church in the search for Reincarnators. This of course explains the excessive security of the academy." "I have no success either. But let''s be honest, any person from our world would immediately go underground, or keep a low profile for at least a few years, gradually building up strength and gathering information... But even that is difficult in the current circumstances." Said Metal Mage Edgar. "It''s annoying that we all have to act so passively. It''s annoying that the academy won''t talk to us about their plans, not to mention what they might do to us. I don''t like being powerless at all." Spear Adept Walter said, earning the group''s full support. "Okay, time to stop talking about bad things, I take it no one minds inviting the rest of the Reincarnators to our group?" No one minds, so Cullen smiled widely and continued. "So no one wants to tell us about the new spells and skill combinations?" The discussion then turned to much lighter topics. At first, some of them shared interesting discoveries in magic, and later the others quickly picked up the conversation, even Emilia was closer to the others than before. Cullen felt that with time their connection would change from forced to truly friendly. But most importantly, he was eager to draw new people into their circle. Chapter 66 Chapter 66 Dylan spent several days practicing spells with built-in will constructs. He learned a lot, but it was only applicable as a convenient addition to practice, nothing more. At least that was the calculation, creating a simple construct took too much time, which he could not afford during a fight. He also managed to read the remaining books "The World of Ramiast", "Worship of the Light and Other Religions". The first book opened his eyes to the geography of the world. The planet Ramiast was about 14 times larger than the Earth. Which made him wonder why gravity was so weak and close to Earth''s. Of course, like any normal person, Dylan decided that all this was due to some magical nonsense. He did not even try to explain it any other way. From other books he already knew that there were two continents, they were about the same size and were on opposite sides of the planet, in addition to them there were many large islands and that only two were colonized by intelligent races. Then the book told about the races of the continent and gave them a short description. Previously, Dylan thought that there were only four races - humans, elves, gnomes and beastmen. But besides them, there were also giants, fairies and many others. They were just few in number and almost never met. What he found curious was that the monstrous races were not even mentioned in the book, which again spoke of the author''s great bias. "Worship of the Light and Other Religions" told him about the hierarchy of the church, a short set of rules and duties, but everything that came after that was solid propaganda. Reading this book, Dylan wanted to pull out all his hair and more than once hit himself in the face from extreme disappointment. In his new life, he did not deny religion and deities, as he did before, but he still could not bear to read about the new 10 commandments. Remembering how fanatical those priests were, he could not imagine what the proof of the divine and millennia of creating ideal followers led to. He was sure that now most people would not doubt the actions of the church itself, even if it violated the laws of the kingdom or the framework of morality, justifying it with the most absurd arguments. What was most hateful in the book was the addition "other religions". After all, almost nothing was said about them. Elves worship the World Tree, Dwarves worship the gods of crafts, entertainment and the depths of the earth. Beastmen also worship the Holy Deity Katerina like people. Nothing about other religions... At this point, Dylan closed the book and slammed it into the wall with all his might, and then tried to trample it with mad cries. He spent several minutes like this until he calmed down and decided to practice magic again. ... Early in the morning, Dylan woke up to go to his first real lesson, as yesterday a message about the beginning of formal training had arrived on the card. Standing in front of the mirror, he once again made sure that he had not forgotten anything, he was dressed in the uniform of the academy, with two swords on his belt, his hair had a slight blue tint in the sunlight. Dylan spent an extra minute admiring himself in the mirror with a particularly good mood. Walking around the academy he couldn''t help but think about what the first lesson would be about, maybe they would reveal some incredibly useful skills, or spells. Maybe teacher Elton would tell more about the very basics of magic. Fantasizing about this, he reached the right room and opened the door. Inside was a large auditorium with panoramic windows, looking around he saw that most of his classmates had already arrived and that Liam and Lynella were probably waiting for him together, they looked great as always. Noticing him, Lynella smiled contentedly like a cat who had eaten too much sour cream. Liam, however, gave him a small smile. Dylan wanted to say hello to them, but Lynella immediately interrupted him. "You were in no hurry to contact us? What have you been doing that''s so interesting all this time?" She asked quickly, pouting her lips cutely. "And hello to you too Lynella, Liam is glad to see you." Dylan said and sat down next to her, Liam gave him a small nod. Dylan continued, leaning back in his chair and thinking about what he should answer, deciding that he was not in the mood to lie, he answered honestly. "To be honest I needed a little rest, despite how much more enjoyable it would be with you, I decided to just practice magic and read books." "And what was in those books that you preferred me to them?!" She asked with a little indignation. Rolling his eyes and laughing at her behavior, Dylan replied, "Oh, you have no idea, after my ''conversation'' with management, I received some very interesting, useful, and traumatic books. I guess I won''t say any more." "If it''s that serious, I''m not asking you to, but you should contact me more often." She said and winked at him. Dylan completely ignored the subtext. "Better tell me how you spent this time, in peace and quiet?" "Well, I immediately spent a lot of academy points on higher mana potions and a few other things, bought books on illusion magic and finally got my spatial ring. How I envied you." Linella answered, focusing on the small ring on the ring finger of her left hand. Dylan and Liam were a little surprised that she did not have a spatial artifact. "And how come you didn''t have a ring?" Dylan asked with interest. "Ah, unlike you rich idiots, I am the daughter of a baron in the boondocks. Only my father has such a thing, and even then he values ??it too much and keeps it only as currency. Do you even have any idea how expensive they are and how they are made?" "I asked once, but the answer "complex spatial weaves holding space in the crystal with the help of an etheric Mana grid and a portal array inside" didn''t tell me anything." Dylan shrugged and Liam repeated after him. "Oh, and I''ll call them "Nobles", but to give you a rough idea... Teleportation or Warp are 6th level spells, Portal is a 7th level spell. These spells are about equal in complexity to the creation of a ring, and I''m not even talking about all the resources and the huge amount of quality mana needed to create it." "Sounds expensive, so it turns out you need a Great Mage of Space and possibly a Great Rune Mage to create one ring?" "Exactly so." She said, proud that she was able to personally acquire such a valuable thing. "Liam, what are you going to tell me?" "Mmm, practicing magic, meeting your parents." The next second, Liam''s smile widened and he continued. "The story of your meeting with your mother and the unpleasant conversation with the Archon." This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. "And what was interesting about Dylan''s meeting with his mother?" Lynella asked with interest. "Haha, you''re also to blame for this, by the way, to sum it up. Dylan not only didn''t contact us, but also ignored Mrs. Limia. For this, she slammed him into the wall and forced him to tell everything that happened in the camp, he blabbed about you, then she beat him up again. Listening to this, I almost died laughing." Linella became slightly worried after his answer and looked questioningly at Dylan. "Yeah, I spilled the beans. I had no choice, but rest assured it''s more of a plus than a minus for you." Dylan said, to which Linella''s eyes narrowed dangerously. "Okay, but next time contact us and your mother so that such a situation does not happen again." "Sure." Dylan agreed easily, but he hadn''t really thought about doing so. By the end of the conversation, the last student entered the classroom, followed by the teacher Elton, and Heather. Everyone went silent as Elton walked down to his desk, looking around at everyone with great interest. As he approached, he silently looked at the students for a few seconds until he smiled widely and clapped his hands so hard that a sonic boom occurred. Dylan didn''t expect such strange actions from the teacher, like most of the class, but now everyone was decent and no one even dared to ask why he did it. As well as him, so he just lazily pinched his nose with his hand and blew into it to easily get rid of the slight noise in his ears. Swallowing, Dylan was pleased that the noise was gone and focused on the teacher Elton, not paying attention to the others. After clapping his hands loudly, Elton folded his hands behind his back and began his speech. "I will not tire of reminding you how weak you are, so try to get used to it, perhaps some of you will reach the level that will make me regret it, but this is a matter for the future. Today, I have gathered you to direct your physical and magical classes to the further path of development. It is clear that you should practice techniques, spells, develop your skills, but this is only the beginning. Although let''s not forget that owning a rare class for most ordinary people is just a dream, especially at the first level, but today we are not talking about that." "Further development of rare classes consists not only of leveling up, but also of more complex things. Although nothing prevents you from only developing a level and subsequently being crushed like an ordinary bug on the road. Usually a person of a rare class with sufficient constitution undergoes body reforging. In simple terms, several Arcane Healers rebuild the body, thereby making a person stronger in all respects. The more advanced the healers, the more "free" statistics you get and possibly several other privileges. But for you, everything will be different. You will be spared the harsh consequences of this procedure, which even affects the soul and a very long recovery time and adaptation to a new body. You will be provided with rare alchemical mixtures that will increase your characteristics and improve other criteria of your body without such serious consequences." "Thank you that no one interrupted me on this. In advance, answering your questions. Yes, the mastery of the flesh is prohibited in all countries, so it is very strictly controlled. Believe me, it is really strict control, as well as over the mages of the soul and mind. Answering the second question, you have not used strong alchemical means before because your young body, with a relatively small physique, could not withstand the side effects." "Going further I must note that this is only the first step. Next you will learn how to fight in real team battles, and not in that spectacle that you staged in the forest. You will also be taught tactics, strategy, reconnaissance and other necessary knowledge. Rest assured that you will leave the academy as a completely different person." "You will also be given higher level techniques and spells. For warriors, it is necessary to have a technique of healing, strengthening, acceleration, and rapid regeneration of stamina. Perhaps for the first time, you will learn to use vitality and stamina in one technique. As for magicians..." Elton slowed down in his speech to think about something. "Mages will need to choose another specialization in their class, besides the usual form magic. It could be Karmic Magic, Ritual Magic, Rune Magic, Enchantment, Transmutation, Alchemy, perhaps blacksmithing?" "All this is necessary to expand the capabilities of elemental mages and add more potential due to the equipment made by hand. Or do you think that it is enough to simply create a flame that is stronger than the previous one with each new spell and you will always win? This is far from true. For the same flame mages, there are incredibly many opportunities to increase their strength by preparing for battle. Among the most simple is to buy a lot of flame mana crystals and engrave explosion runes on them, or runes that will release a spell due to the crystal mana. Prepare a spell ritual that is much stronger than your usual, a million possibilities." "The same goes for other mages, even if you aspected your core, nothing will stop you from creating runes or enchantments, although there are many nuances to this, which we will talk about later. And even if you aspected your core and are not sure about all this, Word Magic is incredibly strong in this regard, since with great skill you can significantly increase the power of a spell without spending additional mana on it." "If everything is clear about the other schools of magic, you are probably wondering why study something as obscure as Karmic Magic. In short, it is important to understand whether you have potential in this school. This does not happen often, but if someone is lucky, they will get a new opportunity." "I''ll tell you more, perhaps the most famous examples of this magic are Oaths and Witches. An oath gives the opportunity to impose restrictions on oneself and receive a noticeable increase in the power of magic for this. The most famous example is the Supreme Paladin Yuriel. He swore to protect the weak, to be fair, not to turn a blind eye to evil and to punish the wicked, if I''m not mistaken he only has these four oaths and each of them strengthens all his spells and skills." "I won''t insult Yuriel, but if the user of the oath breaks it, catastrophic consequences await him. Most often, this is a wound to the soul and death. If the user did not intentionally break the oath, he may be able to recover later and use it again, but this happens extremely rarely." "The second well-known example is coven witches. They bind each other''s spirits with a branch of karmic magic, thereby giving the witch the opportunity to use much more powerful spells in need, due to the greater power of the aura and stronger control over the surrounding mana. Also in this case, the witch''s karmic magic becomes much stronger. Of course, such magic has to be paid for, in case the limit is exceeded. This can range from a temporary decrease in characteristics to a torn soul." "In addition, witches use karmic magic as a protective and attacking one at the same time. To be precise, these are some rules of etiquette. If you come to a witch and are the first to show aggression, her magic becomes stronger because you have violated the rules of etiquette, but at the same time the witch cannot openly attack you because if she violates her hospitality, she will lose the additional power of magic. And I emphasize "openly" again, nothing prevents her from adding poison to you until you understand this, she is not formally violating any rules. And the point here is somewhat in order to show aggression and violate etiquette, this can be any little thing, up to the fact that you did not say hello first, or switched to a formal tone, with each such "violation" the power of the witch''s magic will increase. "These are just two examples and I advise you to delve deeper into this topic, because karmic magic is primarily the magic of connections. And the connection can be very insignificant to become fatal for you, because even names have power." Said teacher Elton, turning his gaze to Dylan smiling mysteriously. Damn, don''t tell me that knowing and pronouncing the guardians'' names has such a deplorable meaning for me. Oh, I imagined it, every time someone pronounces my name, my attention involuntarily turns to it. Congratulations, you have increased the skill level of [Reincarnator''s Madness] [Special][Unique] Lvl 404 > 405 Bitch!!! Chapter 67 Chapter 67 When Dylan saw the notification he couldn''t help but complain on the academy management, in the most rude words. He insulted them in his head for a few seconds, while the situation infuriated him more and more. He was furious, how they were neglected and endangered for no reason was simply unacceptable. The Guardians, in his eyes, were divine beings and someone decided to set him up so brazenly. Dylan''s thoughts swirled in a mad typhoon, his eyes narrowed dangerously and his will began to pour out of him with a strong killing intent, his aura engulfed everyone in the hall and made them feel extremely vulnerable despite the presence of the Great Mage. Teacher Elton still stood there with a slight smile, and impatiently assessed him, while most classmates were covered in cold sweat, even Heather''s assistant was slightly nervous from the strength of his emotions and aura. Dylan was furiously considering what to do and seeing no sense in his behavior, he decided to calm down. Having taken control of his emotions, his will stopped flowing at a mad pace, and his aura again began to only slightly cover his body. Watching his actions, Teacher Elton nodded contentedly. At the same time, his classmates tried to control their breathing and glanced at him with different emotions, some with fear, others with curiosity. Only a few people from the entire class were not affected by his aura. "It was a really strong aura..." Ignoring his behavior, he decided to explain everything. "I stopped at the fact that words have power and it is true." Elton paused for a moment and continued. "Dylan reacted that way to my words because he recently read a book about the [Guardians of the World]. It is quite possible that some of you have heard the myths about these creatures and I can assure you that they are quite real and the power of some of them is incomprehensible. But now knowing their names is not as dangerous as it once was. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the threat of the Archdemon is real. Secondly, the names of the [Guardians of the World] are now known by so many people and if something happened to them, we would know about it. We believe that the Guardians decided to sacrifice their pride and give us the opportunity to grow significantly and of course it is unlikely that even the most hated of them will decide to go against the decision of the majority. One way or another, it does not matter, nothing has happened to anyone who knows the name of the guardian over the past 200 years." Teacher Elton lightly tapped his finger on the table and then continued. "But we still did the wrong thing by not telling Dylan about the potential danger, for which I sincerely apologize." Teacher Elton said and bowed slightly. During the speech Dylan calmed down and now was just irritated by the situation. He thought that all this was again done intentionally to bring him to emotions, or something like that. He waved his hand in acceptance of the apology, but Teacher Elton did not continue speaking, but waited until the attention of the others was focused on him. Most of his classmates looked at Dylan with questioning glances, and some with more than a little excitement. Perhaps they thought that he would also apologize for the outburst of anger, but he was not going to do so. Because in his opinion, the anger was very much justified and if they wanted a personal apology, they should contact the teacher, or file a complaint against him. That''s why Dylan did what he often did, pointedly ignored them. Liam and Lynella, who were sitting next to him, quietly chuckled at his petty behavior. Thinking about it, he himself realized how stupid he had been and silently laughed at himself too. Teacher Elton continued when the students dropped the situation. "As I said, Karmic magic can be incredibly powerful and it is perfect for mages, complementing their abilities. Karmic Mages, unlike witches, do not use their abilities intuitively and do not rely on oath restrictions. For us, Karmic magic acts as an excellent source of information. With spells, I could track a person, no matter how far away they are, if I had at least a drop of their blood. I could also see when the karmic threads of people important to me are in trouble and even find out the reason while being many kilometers away. But what is perhaps the strongest part of my magic is the ability to see the skills and titles of most people." Dylan, like most, was very surprised and at the same time scared by this information. Thanks to Elton''s speech, everyone had already forgotten the recent events. Prince Evander only raised his hand with a little anxiety to ask something. Elton motioned for his hand to be lowered and continued. "These are not all the possibilities of karmic magic and not mine in particular. Karmic magic is not some invincible branch of divination magic. No, not at all. Like any magic, it can be protected from. Usually, for young [Karma Mages], the luck characteristic is an excellent defense. I will not talk about it much, since I myself do not know everything, but what I can say with certainty is that the greater its value, the less effective Karmic Magic is. But against magicians like me, this is not enough. There is a defense against karmic predictions from this same school of magic. It is often used by nobles in the form of various artifacts and formations. Artifacts and formations come in different strengths, but most of them are enough to hide from the eyes of the Karma Mage at some distance, or to protect the estate from other manipulations." Teacher Elton paused his speech again, which Evander took advantage of and raised his hand again. Seeing his persistence, he allowed him to ask a question with a slight movement of his hand. Evander stood up from his entire seat, adjusting his uniform so that it looked better on him as always, emphasizing his body. Most people turned their gazes to him and everyone involuntarily thought about his appearance. His facial features were graceful and masculine, which complemented his natural charm and kind nature, and his golden eyes and hair made him completely irresistible, once again emphasizing his royal origin. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "Master Elton, could you tell me about other ways to counteract the predictions of karmic magic?" Evander said, to which Master Elton nodded slightly. "Of course. Some Arcane Affinity allow the user to hide from karma magic on their own. Such as holy affinity, or the Arcane Affinity of the Elusive Space. Of course, passive stealth is not very strong, but a specialized spell against this type of prediction easily solves this problem. Also, karma magic is not very effective against spiritual beings, they are able to passively resist it with the power of their soul. Soul Magic, Curse Magic, Various Conceptual Magic and perhaps a few other types of magic have spells to cancel the effect of prediction. If you want to know about other less common ways to defend against karma magic, Prince Evander, you should consult the library." "Thank you, Master Elton." Evander replied, bowing slightly. Elton looked around the audience and continued his speech. "Speaking of further training for mages. You will also need to learn basic techniques and master the [Stamina Manipulation] skill. No matter how stupid you think it is, it is worth it. The ability to improve perception and intelligence without relying on expensive skills that use Mana will easily compensate for the lost skill slot. Also, mages must master skills that increase characteristics by percentage using Mana and the [Delayed Spell] skill. These are many skill slots, but since you are already 15 years old, you can delete any skill, except for some racial ones. This will give you the opportunity to better feel the limit and decide on the path you will take." "I would like to tell you separately about the skill [Delayed Spell] [Uncommon], at first it allows you to cast a spell on your body and passively support them using mana. At the initial stage of development, the skill has several major drawbacks. The first drawback is that the skill uses a lot of mana, so you can only really maintain the created spell in your body for a few hours. The second is storing the spell in your body, everyone should know that our bodies have a mana limit that depends on the characteristics of the constitution and the output of mana. Therefore, the spell should not exceed it, and it is better not to even come close." "These are fatal flaws that make the skill very situational, but with its further development they will not become. For example, maintaining a spell will eventually begin to gain its effectiveness and cost much less mana, also some development options allow you to store ready spells in the mana core, the skill will allow you to store several spells. In fact, there are a lot of development options and I will not list them, I will only tell you about mine." "My skill allows me to store two spells in my mana core, consuming almost no mana. It''s only a [Rare] rarity, but the skill allows me to hold the tier 7 spell ''Teleport'' and use it in an instant." Rubbing the small scar on his neck, Elton continued. "Even though the spell itself limits my mana reserves, it has saved my life several times." Dylan, like his classmates, thought about the fact that such a skill could really save from almost any spell or technique. But what''s the point of talking about it so openly, he exposed his saving spell and I doubt that someone won''t blab about it. It''s too big a mistake for the Great Mage. Dylan''s thoughts coincided with the others, seeing their mostly shocked expressions, Teacher Elton decided to explain everything. "Oh, don''t worry, I didn''t say anything I might regret." He replied, waving his hands and continued in a slightly annoyed voice. "As unfortunate as it may be, some information guilds already have information about one of my permanent spells. Therefore, anyone with money and influence rivaling mine will easily find out about it. But of course, I won''t talk about my second spell, let it remain a mystery." He finished, slightly amused by their reactions. After giving them a few seconds to think, he continued the lesson. "Well, the last thing I should touch on is titles. My ability to see people''s titles with Karmic Magic is based on specialized spells that can read the karmic threads around you. Occasionally, I can even tell if a title has some kind of bonus or disadvantage. You should know that titles are hard to earn and of course, each of you has them, some more and some less..." Elton thought, his gaze became detached, after a few seconds he continued, which was a long time for the Great Mage. "If I had to explain what titles are, I would say that it is an achievement that the world recognizes, but that is also not quite right. It is hard to explain what titles really are, what I can say for sure is that titles create karmic connections and strengthen the owner''s soul, occasionally they carry abilities or disadvantages." "Your task is to obtain as many titles as possible during your training. Naturally, the Royal Academy will help you do this, we will even have a special lesson where you will learn what titles you can obtain." "I should have touched on the topic of the most terrifying creatures, but that will have to wait until next time. I will just say that you will be learning how to fight the Cursed, the Eldritch, and the Demons. You can briefly familiarize yourself with it in the library, I am sure you will learn a lot. Also, the full training begins, you will receive the schedule later today. With this, the lesson is over, you are all free for today." After saying goodbye, Teacher Elton remained at his desk, watching everyone. The students slowly began to gather and talk about various topics. Dylan also stood up from his chair and started thinking about what he should do. Maybe he should go to the library as the teacher suggested? Before he could think about it properly, Linella grabbed his hand tightly. Looking at her, he saw a sweet smile, but he knew that behind it was a sadist full of anticipation. Oh no, no, no! She won''t drag me down that easily. Quickly finding the only correct choice, Dylan spoke. "Liam, do you want to go for a walk with us? I''m sure we have a lot to talk about." He said as Lynella''s grip on his arm tightened. There was more strength in her than he expected, but he got his way and she let go. Liam pretended not to notice their behavior and responded as if it didn''t concern him. "Of course, I also want to hear your thoughts on the rightness of being in a highly flammable pollen cloud." Liam replied easily, hiding a smile. Dylan rolled his eyes in response. "Sure, whatever you say." Dylan said, waving his hand to push away Liam''s amusement and heading for the exit. Liam and Lynella followed him, but still could not hide their amusement and began to laugh loudly. Chapter 68 Chapter 68 As Dylan left the office, he couldn''t help but think about his outburst. The way he had behaved was pretty awkward, and asking for an apology for it would have been even worse. That''s why he decided to ignore the others, hoping that with time this issue would settle itself. And who should I really blame for this? The academy management? Teacher Elton who has the [Mind Magic] [Epic] skill, or myself for my bad and stupid act. Of course, you can, as always, dump all your problems on a stupid teenage body, but this does not deceive me now. How stupid, damn it. Dylan, distracted for a few seconds, didn''t hear to what Liam asked him. While he and Lynella were walking next to him. "Sorry, I was thinking about my own things." "I wonder what you were thinking? Never mind, you don''t have to answer. Liam asked where we were going "together"?" Lynella said, raising her eyebrows to emphasize the last word. Not only did Dylan roll his eyes, but Liam did the same. They shared a split second of glances, instantly realizing how much her jokes were getting on their nerves. "I suggest we go get something to eat, I think they have a private room for us." Dylan said, ignoring Linella, which of course she didn''t like. "Okay, okay, we''ll see how you sing later." She said, thinking about how she could it arrange. "Don''t make evil plans, it''s your own fault, you can''t be so preoccupied." Dylan simply replied, trying to remember how exactly to get to the restaurant. "If someone else had told me that, maybe it wouldn''t sound so hypocritical," she replied smugly. Dylan shook his head comically in frustration and made a gesture as if to say that he had been caught and wounded right in the heart. "Let''s talk about Master Elton''s second spell?" Liam said, changing the subject. "Okay, okay. I think this is either a mind magic spell or a karma magic spell." Dylan said. "Pfft, that''s too obvious. From what we know about him, he''s reached the level of a great Mage in at least three schools of magic. I think he has a permanent spell that constantly increases his thinking speed. Something like your accelerated perception." Linella said. After thinking about her answer, they both nodded. "You''re right, It''s incredibly hard to give this up. Speaking of which, we do think he told us the truth about his skill. From what we know, the spell can''t be cast forever without effort, it just stores it for later use by consuming a little mana. I think his skill has been changed so that he can maintain spells passively." Dylan said, and both agreed. "According to the lore, you can never trust mind mages and illusion mages. That''s why he''s our teacher?" Liam said, almost holding back a smile, but then laughed when he saw the angry expression on Linella''s face. Raising his hands in a disarming gesture, he continued, "You are still one of us, you know the lore, that''s why you are an exception." "It''s a shame, by the way, if I had skills in another school of magic, I certainly wouldn''t have become an illusionist. Although I''m not saying that I don''t like it now." She answered and ran her hands over her body, increasing her breasts by one size, slightly decreasing her waist and emphasizing her short skirt. Looking at them with a condescending look for the fact that they were staring at her so brazenly, Linella smiled smugly and walked a little faster, brazenly wagging her butt in front of them. Dylan also smiled slightly, not taking his eyes off her. Focusing his efforts on his aura, he expanded it and slammed it with all his strength onto Linela''s spell. As she walked ahead, Linela stopped, feeling Dylan''s aura for a moment, but was unable to react and maintain the spell, causing pink smoke to flow out of her clothes, revealing her real body. Lynella was a little surprised at how quickly her spell dissipated and turned to look at them with a displeased expression. But she was expertly ignored by both boys. Waving her hands to disperse the pink smoke, Linella looked around and saw that she had earned the attention of several people. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and she hurried to catch up with the now smug idiots. When Linella caught up with them, Dylan and Liam were both trying not to laugh and kept their most serious expressions as she silently glared at them. A few corridors later, Liam and Dylan finally managed to hold back their laughter under Linella''s serious gaze. It had been fun at first, but with each passing second it became clear that the petty Illusion Mage would not let it go unnoticed. So Liam decided to change the subject. "I thought that teacher Elton hardly lied to us about his skill, not about the number of spells I mean. Perhaps this is another trick of the Mage of the Mind. Actually, he definitely has a spell that increases the speed of thinking and it most likely comes from another skill [Constant Casting of Spells] [Rare]. And the second delayed spell is probably different and is of a more serious nature. It must be a spell that will take a lot of time and concentration to create. Something that could turn the game around against an enemy of his level." Lynella and Dylan thought about his words and found them to be quite reasonable. "Let''s not forget that he''s still a close-range warrior, but the spells of the schools of Reason, Space, and Karma for the most part don''t have serious destructive potential. Which seems like a big omission for a Great Mage." Linella added, to which they nodded thoughtfully. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. The discussions that followed were purely theoretical. They could not agree on what a person like their teacher would prefer as a trump card. Entering the restaurant, they continued their argument. Dylan claimed that this spell had a large destructive potential of a small radius at close range. Liam spoke about a spell of serious physical destruction. Lynella, however, thought about the spell of the prison of the mind. Between conversations, they ordered a private room and food to their taste. Once inside, they continued to talk about other topics, as they agreed that talking about Elton''s teacher was pointless. Dylan took the opportunity to talk about his recent successes, the books he had read, and his meeting with the Archon. Liam and Lynella listened to him with great interest and were very happy for him. When the conversation reached the archon, they winced sympathetically and told him about their own encounters. After listening to them and filling his belly thoroughly, Dylan leaned back in his chair, trying to get a particularly uncomfortable piece of meat out from between his teeth. "So they look like idiots to all the Reincarnators. I''m starting to think that our views are a little different and that''s why they don''t want to, or can''t, take control of us. What they take for granted, I mean that we will grow and obey them in the future, is more of a product of the local government system. Maybe the question of whether we will obey them is not even on the agenda, which means either good news or very bad news for us." Dylan said. "I also find it strange that Elton the teacher didn''t mention the noble classes and that they also rely on karmic magic. Their ability to control people works because they are higher up the social ladder and that it is backed by a long history and recognition from people. The higher the rank, the stronger the effect. Disobeying a direct [King''s Order] is impossible for a [Rare] class owner, but very difficult for a [Special] class owner. Could that be the case?" Linella said darkly. "Indeed, but it won''t be as effective against us. We are the children of nobles and may also inherit titles in the future. The fact that we are Reincarnators should also play a role in karmic magic, and we simply don''t recognize the local order. All this suggests that control magic based on the orders of the nobility will have much less power. It''s unlikely that they didn''t take this into account." Liam said. "We don''t even realize the power of such magic. So it''s foolish to talk about it, especially about someone of [King''s] position." Dylan said, looking out the window thoughtfully. "I have seen the use of such magic, it practically does not consume Mana and rather instills the idea of ??duty and submission than directly controls the mind. But then again, it was my father [Baron], I also think that the characteristic of charisma, leadership skills, wisdom itself, or mastery of this particular type of magic are important in this. It is unlikely that my father would be able to force even the [Uncommon] class to carry out an openly suicidal and meaningless mission. But he could convince the [Rare] class that following his order is objectively the right choice, playing on their feelings and desires. What I saw is a subtle way of persuasion with a drop of magic, which is even difficult to discern in the aura." Linella said. "Interesting, very interesting. If you think about the mechanics of magic, it gives power to spells due to people''s belief in the hierarchy and History that has been going on for over 60,000 years. Also, the logical part of us can agree with the order and therefore we can be convinced of it, when this happens we will give up more than we were ready to before. I think resisting subtle and intelligent manipulations will be much more difficult than I thought before... I remembered something, before the storm that [Guardian of the World] [Lord of Nightmares] caused, there was a Kingdom of Beastmen, and right after it, it became a republic. I wonder how this happened, should learn more about it." Dylan said. "What was that you mentioned [Guardian of Peace] to us?" Lynella asked, a little nervously. "Don''t worry, if the rules of karmic magic are the same as in fantasy, mentioning titles rather than his real name is the correct way to talk about them. Although, I could be wrong? Anyway, there''s no need to worry about that, I''m still alive." Dylan said and stood up from his chair, spreading his arms wide. The next moment his body convulsed and he fell forward like a puppet with its strings cut. Lynella and Liam were startled at first, but they realized almost immediately that he was joking when he moved his hand to rise up with a wide grin on his face and a "gotcha" expression. "That wasn''t funny Dylan and you shouldn''t tempt ''heaven''?" Liam said, pondering the last word as Dylan sat back down on the Couch. "Or should I say Our lord? Although now I doubt he''s our god anymore. Hmm, who is considered a heretic in this world now? Someone who doesn''t acknowledge the gods, or someone who purposefully perverts their teachings?" "Yes, Liam is right, despite his bout of philosophy. You shouldn''t make fun of it." Lynella added. "Okay, okay, but now you can be sure that nothing will happen to you. So that you don''t get upset with me again." "Of course, of course. Is this what guilt tastes like? It''s kind of cute Dylan, really silly, but cute." Lynella said, to which Dylan pouted. "I suspect it''s all because of my teenage body. I act too stupidly in too many situations. It''s getting annoying." "But it''s funny most of the time. Oh, and the way your aura flared up, it was great." Lynella said. Continuing the conversation, they discussed several other topics and what they should do in the near future. While they were talking, each of them received a notification on their card with the schedule of their classes for tomorrow. Dylan quickly read everything and thought that all the subjects were quite suitable for him: Secret Magic, Healing Magic, Art of Combat, Tactics. Only 4 subjects, but he had high expectations from them. Linella had other subjects: Secret Magic, Illusion Magic, Art of Deception, Tactics. After reading the list, she sat with a satisfied expression on her face. Only by her behavior and subtle facial expressions, Dylan realized that she was most looking forward to the third subject. Liam got the items: Water Magic, Advanced Understanding of the Class System, Art of Combat, Tactics. After seeing his items, Dylan and Lynella were especially surprised by the second one and quickly asked about it. "Liam, you can''t keep something so big a secret from your best friend. Tell me about the second item?" Dylan asked, but neither he nor Liam noticed how worried Lynella was at that moment, trying to keep a happy face. She was very worried that Liam wouldn''t want to share something personal with her and didn''t trust her yet. "Dylan, you know about this, but Lynella hasn''t heard about it yet. The class should deepen my knowledge of the class system and help with my desire to combine both of classes Mage into one." "That''s a very interesting idea, but isn''t class merging very rare?" Linella asked enthusiastically and mentally exhaled all her worries. "Yes, but I hope I can do it. In the worst case, I''ll be a full-fledged mage, but I was ready to go for it." They continued to discuss the topic and how it would look like if the Water Mage and Diamond Dust classes merged. Linella and Dylan agreed that it would be devastating. Chapter 69 Chapter 69 After leaving the restaurant, they agreed to take a walk around the Academy. Surprisingly, no one had yet had the chance to fully examine its architecture, as everyone was busy studying. Walking through the corridors, Dylan recalled his first impression of the Academy, especially how he was greeted by 5 [Special] class holders. He initially thought that this place was more like an impregnable fortress built over 1000 years and developed by Archmages of each era. Just looking around the vast spaces and intricate corridors, he marveled at the complexity of creating something so large and strong. From what he could see, the academy had at least 4 square kilometers of beautifully detailed architecture, and that was only the part he could walk through. Who knew how deep it actually went. Coming out of the last corridor they saw a magnificent garden, looking around Dylan thought this place was familiar. Digging into his memories, he remembered that he passed through this place when he first arrived at the academy. "Do you think the Academy is really the most protected place in the kingdom, or can the Church and the Royal Fortress compete with it?" Dylan asked, while the others admired the beautiful garden and the neat fountain, which even had small fish swimming in it. "Who knows? The Church of Light''s Grand Cathedral looks incredibly impressive, but it doesn''t look like a real fortress. I haven''t seen the Royal Fortress, so I can''t compare it to anything." Liam responded as he took control of some water and created flying swans out of it. His control over them became with each passing second until they were almost perfectly formed. Linella also got carried away by his magic and with the help of small illusions gave them a more lifelike appearance. The swans looked like real ones, but really tiny. Watching them, Dylan expanded his aura and involuntarily realized that it was the construct''s mana. It happened by accident, but Dylan was glad that he could understand who was alive and who was only through aura. Liam made the swans fly near the fountain, swim in it and even drink water from it, bringing his imitation of life almost to perfection. But the swans still did not make any sounds, to fix this, Linella created several spells that accurately reproduced the sound at the right moments. Dylan looked around to see that they had gathered several dozen people who were looking at them with great surprise and also enjoying the masterful performance. Their mental control is truly monstrous, for new mages. Or is it the mastery of magic itself. How do Linella''s spells even work, that she can maintain two spells while looking so relaxed. As for Liam, everything is clear, his stats and mastery are beyond doubt, he does not need additional skills to put on a show. Training would lose all meaning. Dylan came out of his thoughts and noticed small hints of fatigue in Lynelle and Liam. It hadn''t been easy for them after all. The amount of mental effort must really be taxing on the brain. Thinking about it, Dylan realized he wasn''t using spells that relied on constant control and precision, there was simply no need for them yet. After a few minutes, Liam decided to stop the impromptu theater. When the swans flew towards the fountain and were supposed to crash into the water, they seemed to disappear, without creating a single splash or ripple on the water. This earned them applause from several people. Liam smiled lightly, accepting them, and Lynella showed her great pride in front of everyone, holding her head high, enjoying the attention. "It was really amazing, but was it worth showing off your abilities in front of so many people?" Dylan asked as he walked up to them. "Oh, Dylan, have fun. So what if they saw it? In case you don''t remember, we have level indicators and class names hanging above our heads, anyone can find out anything they want." Lynella replied, waving at the crowd. Dylan wanted to answer by telling about the [Status Change] skill, but in front of such a large crowd, he wisely held his tongue. Mmm, Linella should know that there is a shroud in the form of a skill or artifact. For her, revealing abilities is nothing, because she can easily change her appearance and status. Playing to the crowd? Dylan thought as he watched several people approach Linella and Liam to talk. Looking at them, he didn''t see anything special, most of them were [Uncommon] classes, not very high levels, only one person was [Rare] class, but only level 10. Everyone came up and was nicely interested in their magic and specific spells and skills for it. Overall the conversation was always nice without any problems, everyone was polite and courteous, behaving really nicely. Dylan turned away from them to hide a wild smile. This situation was the very definition of deception in his eyes. If they didn''t have [Rare] classes and weren''t part of recognizable families like Liam, Dylan had no doubt that things would be different. Or am I just overthinking it again? Maybe not everywhere is deceitful and the Academy really doesn''t encourage bullying from higher-ranking nobles. Although the Academy hierarchy itself is currently on our side. But I definitely need to find some trouble. Oh, I can already imagine the nobles bullying me and then finding out who I am. Isn''t that a dream?! "Mmm, that feels good." Dylan said under her breath, imagining the situation. While he was distracted, there were fewer and fewer people around them. Looking around, he noticed a tall blond man with great charisma and how he seemed to be trying to hold back a wide smile. He was standing near some particularly gorgeous pink roses, wearing an atypical uniform, with small gold inserts, where you could see woven gold fabric and other insignia. Which he still couldn''t understand. Cullen Golden Crow. If you look at it like that now he looks a little crazy, but at the same time like the most successful merchant. That''s his charisma, or I don''t wrong and he has too much happiness. The main question is, how should I treat him if he managed to use mind magic on me last time? "It''s hard, it''s hard." Dylan said, placing his hand on his chin. Cullen caught his eye and nodded slightly. Dylan greeted him back, which brought a happier smile to Cullen''s face. Why such joy? Maybe he wants to sell me something I don''t need at all. It''s hard to come up with a more truthful answer. Dylan thought as he watched Cullen walk towards him. "Greetings Dylan Ghostblade, it''s a pleasure to see you. Have you finally started taking breaks from training?" Cullen said, extending his hand for a handshake. His casual speech made Dylan turn on [Accelerated Perception] and try to understand him better. His address by his last name caused several very surprised and scared looks from the people around him. This of course easily spoke about his reputation and easily destroyed the friendly atmosphere between Liam, Linella and the people around him. The second question seemed to be about the large number of books he had foolishly taken from the library. But from the expression on his face and the little hints from Cullen. Dylan knew he was more likely talking about the fact that he hadn''t he really left the room except a few times. And finally, his outstretched hand meant little in this world. Perhaps it was a greeting between truly close people, but most people never let anyone get close enough to strike. Classers after all, it''s clear why this didn''t catch on... So, so, so, Reincarnator? Dylan''s smile widened and he shook Callen''s hand without thinking, but with much more force than was necessary. Callen smiled a little wider and added more force to his grip, but only as much as Dylan had applied. Dylan pressed even harder, causing Callen to chuckle a little. Dylan waited for him to respond, but Callen relaxed his hand and broke the handshake. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. "Dylan, there''s no need to use so much force. I''m just a merchant after all." Cullen said with a small smile, pretending that his arm hurt. Dylan nodded in response and of course, he never believed him. "Of course, I got carried away, but I was sure that it wouldn''t be a problem for you." "It''s okay." Cullen replied and turned his gaze to Linella and Liam who had approached them. Lynella was acting more charming than usual, letting Dylan know that she was also wary of Cullen. When she was close enough to them, she extended her hand to Cullen and spoke sweetly. "Dylan didn''t know you had friends besides us at the academy, would you like to introduce us?" Dylan wanted to answer, but before he could, Cullen bowed slightly and spoke. "Oh my lady, I am Cullen Golden Crow, a student in a special class two years above you." He said, taking her hand and kissing it, as was the custom among the nobility. "But I regret to say that Dylan and I are not close enough to confidently call ourselves friends. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lynella May." Cullen turned his gaze to Liam and extended his hand for a handshake. "It is also a pleasure to meet you, Liam Changeable Water, I have heard much about the impressive magic of your house, and I can now say that it was not an exaggeration." Liam shook his hand lightly, nodding in acknowledgment as Dylan tried to figure out how Cullen could carry on the entire conversation around Lynella, and he hadn''t even mentioned her beauty. "It''s nice to meet you Cullen, I''ve heard of your impressive trading conglomerate. I understand you''re following in your father''s footsteps, but you''ve decided to ensure your own safety." Lynella said with a slight smile. It was meant to sound like a jab, but Cullen just nodded enthusiastically, as if she understood him completely. "Of course, in our time one cannot count on the best possible outcome, and with the rumors that the church is now spreading and the new laws of the kingdom, it is foolish to rely on luck alone." Dylan was slightly impressed by how he ignored Linella''s outburst and gave them more information. It made him think about Cullen, he didn''t seem bad, but Dylan still wasn''t sure if he was a Reincarnator. While he was thinking about it, Liam spoke up. "Kullen, if I may ask, your class is [Warrior-Mage of Mirata] [Rare]. What can you tell me about it, it''s rare to hear about a successful merger." Liam asked, to which Cullen nodded enthusiastically and began to tell his story with great enthusiasm. "Of course, this is a very rare and specialized class. It has strict skill requirements, you need to have [Weapon Mastery] [Uncommon], [Mana Manipulation] [Uncommon], [Stamina Manipulation] [Uncommon], a percentage skill of strengthening due to stamina or mana [Uncommon], [Aura] [Uncommon], but most importantly, you need to undergo personal training from one of the owners of this class." "What skills can you take into your class and get a bonus for them, I don''t believe you can do this with any spell or technique." Liam continued asking while everyone listened. Dylan looked around to see if anyone was nearby, but all he saw was that everyone quickly left as soon as they started talking. "Oh, that''s absolutely true. I can''t have the skills of the Magic Schools in it, and I also can''t have specialized techniques like [Phantom Blade Art], but the class allows me to have the skills that the creator of the class, Mirata, had. It''s mainly arcane Magic that specializes in destruction and barriers, but over time, other magic schools like Space, Gravity, Healing should be available to me, but those will also only be specialized Spells. As for techniques, I can have most of the basic techniques and Mirata Art techniques that mainly consume stamina." Kallen said and paused for a moment to think about it. A really strong class, you can have several spells and different techniques. As far as I can understand, this is one of the strongest fusion classes. But of course, he will never be effective with mana due to the lack of skill in magic schools, and his small repertoire of spells does not allow him to quickly adapt to different enemies. These disadvantages need to be covered with various artifacts. Which of course is not a problem for him. "Thank you very much for your honest answers, it was very fascinating." Linella said and continued. "But as much as we enjoyed your company, we must leave." Linella''s polite farewell didn''t bother Cullen at all, it seemed to be of no importance to him. "Of course, but allow me to take another minute of your time." He replied and activated the spatial ring. Liam and Dylan''s faces became momentarily focused, waiting to see what Cullen would get. Lynella, however, kept her polite smile, taking no visible action. Cullen noticed their peculiar behavior and commented on it. "Don''t worry, I''ll just get an artifact that will keep everything said secret." He said and stuck his hand into the portal, a moment later taking out a steel, shiny cube, inscribed with many runes. Twisting it slightly in his hand, he pressed a particularly large rune located in the middle of the cube on one of the sides. The runes on the cube began to glow as mana slowly flowed out of it, forming a similar cube around them inscribed with runes and noticeable even without the sense of mana. While the barrier was forming, three mages poked at it with aura with a little anxiety, trying to figure out what exactly it was intended for. When the barrier formed, any effects noticeable to the naked eye disappeared, but everyone still felt the strong Mana in it. "Well, I would like to do it in a more secluded place, but it doesn''t matter anyway." Kallen said, no longer talking to them as nobles. "The academy is such an annoying thing. Oh, I''m sure you already know... Esteemed Reincarnators, you may welcome one of yourselves!" He said with more joy and bowed. Linela, Dylan and Liam''s faces did not become happy as expected. Quite the opposite. Dylan placed his hand on [Phantom Blade] [Special+] and prepared to use the technique, while the others expanded their auras and began to draw Mana from oneself . Dylan took a step forward towards Kalenn and half-unsheathed his sword. He opened his aura and began pouring mana and a huge amount of will into it. "Oh shit, I''ve been waiting for some crazy guy to show up and say he''s a Reincarnator for a long time! This is the most anticipated move from the Academy, the Kingdom, the Church, or anyone else! You do realize you''re going to have to prove it, right?" Dylan said, stopping and noticing how Lynella and Liam had already prepared several spells. Raising his hands in front of him, Cullen smiled widely, still not revealing his aura or making any attempt to defend himself. "Oh, thank you for not ripping me off and not believing me right away. Honestly, I doubted you for a second. If only you knew how often I''ve been in this situation. But well, you can ask me something that only a Reincarnator would know." Dylan nodded in response and continued. "Let''s start with something simple, what year did you die?" "In 2024 in winter." "Who is the President of the United States?" "It''s too easy, Trump became it." "How good is it?" "I won''t get into politics." Dylan nodded, pleased with his answer. He didn''t know how good it was either, and who knew anyway? Who cared. "Okay, how old were you when you died?" "31. I don''t know what he died of." "Fair enough. Okay, how do you feel about Jews?" Dylan said, making a stone face. "With great respect, actually. To be so greedy as to deserve so many stupid jokes is truly admirable, for me as a merchant of course." Cullen replied with a smile. "Okay, okay. We''ll assume you''re the Reincarnator, but how do we know you''re not compromised?" Dylan said, putting the sword back in its sheath. Cullen spread his hands. "Oh, we haven''t found a way yet. When I say we, I mean me and the other Reincarnators, with your class there will be 13 of us. A significant number, don''t you think?" Dylan nodded, thinking of some way to prove that someone had been compromised, but couldn''t think of anything. Lynella and Liam walked up to him, dispelling the spells and beginning to gather the Mana back into the cores. "So what''s your offer, Cullen?" Lynella asked, speaking in her usual non-flirtatious manner. "Go meet our gang, if you don''t mind, of course." Dylan, Lynella, and Liam looked at each other, mentally communicating. A smile slowly formed on Dylan''s face before he spoke. "Oh, of course, damn it! This will be my first secret society! I can''t wait to have my own special name! That''s a dream!" "I hasten to disappoint you, but we do not have such names. And now please follow me." Kallen answered and pressed another rune of the cube. The barrier dissipated and all the mana quickly flew into the cube, forming bright blue streams. After waiting for all the mana to gather, Cullen went to one of the corridors without further ado. Dylan followed him with complete confidence, thinking that there would definitely be secret names. Secret names, I''ll do it! It''ll be twice as fun! Oh, how awesome! Chapter 70 Chapter 70 Following behind Cullen with Liam and Lynella, Dylan couldn''t get the idea out of his head that he thought was just incredible. Hahaha, secret names, my God. Isn''t that really cool? Everyone has dreamed of being a part of something like that at least once in their life. Secret magical societies that do all sorts of important things, protect the world from unimaginable monsters, evil organizations. Or take it over, doing it from the shadows. Mmm-mm-mm. Dylan thought with a silly smile on his face, but then he became slightly more serious, looking at Liam and Lynella who did not quite share his enthusiasm. Having stopped at the thought, he continued talking to himself. It would be a wonderful and exciting story. But reality is full of disappointments! The current development of events will not be so joyful and easy, eh... So many opportunities and so many dangers . As Dylan continued to follow Cullen, he began to think about the more serious side of the matter. What to do if there is a traitor among the Reincarnators. And I am sure he will appear sooner or later... My Madness is silent, but is it worth relying on? Of course not, I will not make such a stupid mistake. It should be kept in mind that not everyone will be willing to defend the interests of the group, despite threats, torture, or other manipulations. Although again, I do not know the mentality of others. And would I betray someone because of torture, or something I could not refuse? Probably not, but who knows? Mind manipulation is also a significant threat... And here the question arises. Is it worth exposing yourself to risk by participating in something like this, because we are all potential targets and the constant threat of betrayal from others will sit in our heads. I don''t think many Reincarnators would agree to this, unless there is a leader willing to rally everyone, or a big enough benefit for cooperation. Actually, first I need to understand the dynamics of the group, how much this idea fails, and how much I like it. Sounds like a plan. Dylan nodded to himself, he decided on his next course of action. But Dylan was kidding himself about it, even if the group had big problems, he would hardly give up on like-minded people in this world. There had to be a really serious reason for him to even consider it. Dylan understood this perfectly well, but he just didn''t want to admit it to himself. As they followed the surprisingly silent Cullen, Lynella decided to fill the silence with a not-too-serious conversation. Since without activating the artifact, she did not dare to ask for anything meaningful. "Cullen, what can you tell us about the others?" Hearing Linella''s question, Cullen smiled slightly, but did not change his walking pace to answer more politely, still walking ahead. "Actually, a little... If I start telling about us now, of course, it shouldn''t change anything. But I''d better be careful, because the academy is on our side, and the spies inside are "not". Although you may not know, there are many runes among us, constantly watching us and our vital signs. Even something like strong fear can summon several dozen teachers here in the blink of an eye. And so that you don''t get fooled, my artifact is not able to hide us from the academy, but only make it so that our conversation cannot be heard. The management knows about the activation of my artifact and our conversation. There is no escape from this." Linella nodded thoughtfully and asked another question. "So the rest are on the academy''s side?" Cullen turned his head to look at Linella and see for himself if this was a provocative question. Seeing nothing suspicious, he turned and answered. "Not really, but we have nothing against the academy, despite some of their stupid actions, in our opinion. I''ve been studying here for a little over two years and I''m actually happy with everything. The academy really trains us to fight evil, as they said at the beginning. But will we join the Tower of Mages? I don''t know. The conversation about which faction to support starts at every meeting and hasn''t led to anything." At this point, Dylan asked a question that interested him greatly, depending on the answer, he would really decide how much it was worth. "What about the Church, have there been any offers of ''recruitment''?" Cullen didn''t show any visible reaction, but Liam and Lynella, on the contrary, became a little "sharper." "Holy Church, that''s too loud for me, but I won''t say it''s undeserved." Cullen said, choosing his words more politely. "There have been many offers, but they''ve been rejected for various reasons. I''ll explain more about that when we get to our destination. Actually, we''re almost there." After turning a few more times in an unfamiliar part of the academy, they saw a strange hall. First of all, it was unusual for the blue dome inside, and later for the many runes written on it. The group looked at the dome in fascination, while Cullen walked without stopping. "Cullen, I still can''t help but ask you, what is this place?" Liam asked, also carefully examining the runes. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Cullen moved his eyes, briefly examining the space before slowly answering. "I don''t know, the academy says that these runes form a large network of spatial observation of the academy. But I don''t believe them, something so significant would be better hidden. So far, our skill is not enough to understand the true purpose." Answered Cullen, just as they entered a new corridor. After walking a few dozen meters, Cullen stopped in front of one door. To the group''s eyes, it was truly the most unremarkable place they could find. Before Cullen could open the door, Dylan pulled out his card and turned on the map, seeing his location. Surprisingly, it meant nothing to him, the office was far from any significant places he knew. Cullen opened the door and walked inside. Dylan, Liam and Lynella followed him. Inside was a plain room with a large round table inside, where 6 people were sitting. Dylan was disappointed inside, where was all the mysterious atmosphere? In his opinion, they could at least turn off the lights, so that for a few seconds there would be a mysterious atmosphere and he would wonder who was sitting at each of the seats, but they messed it up so badly. Dylan could see perfectly, a simple, blue room with no windows, a table made of dark wood and the same chairs padded with black cloth for everyone. The whole atmosphere was spoiled, beautiful lighting. Now the people inside in the uniform of the academy, did not seem like a "secret society" at all. It was more like a school club. And they really should have decorated the place with something? One table and chairs, seriously? Maybe they moved recently? That would explain a lot. Dylan thought as he entered the hall with a frustrated expression on his face, but it quickly changed when he began to look at those present, especially the "dark magician" with the snake. When they entered, there were a few people talking in the room, and the rest were just listening or messing around. One person noticed them, and then everyone else did. Dylan hesitated, unsure of how best to introduce himself without ruining the impression. He was truly grateful that Cullen had decided this question for him. "Dear friends, I ask you to welcome our new members! New Reincarnators among us, I''m sure everyone is happy about it!" Cullen said, and waved his hand for them to come closer. "This man with two swords, Dylan Phantom Blade, son of the famous [Mage Killer][Epic]. To his left is Lynella May, daughter of [Baron] Chester May. And of course Liam Changeable Water, son of [Count] Theurge Changeable Water. It was a pleasure to meet you." Cullen said, and finished with a small bow. As Cullen spoke, Dylan took stock of the group, and was sure the others were doing the same. The first thing his eyes fell on was the familiar devotee of the evil arts, with his Tasteless snake. He sat with a small smile that spoke volumes about how happy he was to see them, even the huge circles under his eyes and general pallor couldn''t take that away. Name: Shin Nivser, 16 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 100 Class: Poison Mage [Rare] Lvl 28 Class: Poisonous Creature Tamer [Rare] Lvl 100 The second one he assessed was the brunette with sharp features. Edgar nodded calmly when their eyes met. Dylan would have taken him for an ordinary guy if he hadn''t seen his class and full level in the race. Name: Edgar Steelarm 16 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 100 Class: Poison Metal Mage [Rare] Lvl 43 Class: Rune Mage [Rare] Lvl 10 The third thing he saw was a man who would have looked like a real nerd in the old world, but in this world he was a respected Mage. Dylan chuckled to himself, but took it seriously, trying to notice everything important. Thomas had medium-length black hair, with a few highlights. His calm brown eyes smoothly looked over the three of them, without giving away any emotion. Dylan had thought he was funny at first, but with the amount of levels and his behavior, he no longer thought so. Name: Thomas Merten, 17 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 100 Class: Mind Mage [Rare] Lvl 31 Class: Arcane Mage Apprentice [Uncommon] Lvl 43 The fourth one he rated was a very large brunette. In his opinion, the guy was about 190 tall, with a chiseled physique. And he said this when he saw him sitting. The guy looked at them with an interested face, without an ounce of evil intent. Of course, Dylan should have gotten used to the fact that size is not the main thing. But damn it was threatening. Name: Walter Weese, 16 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 100 Class: Spear and Shield Adept [Rare] Lvl 50 Class: Arcane Mage Apprentice [Uncommon] Lvl 60 Fifth, he looked at the gorgeous girl. In his brief glance, she could easily compete with Linella. Her long blonde hair was braided, and her uniform was neatly ironed. Dylan could not estimate how much makeup she was wearing, since it was completely pointless here. In general, he appreciated how much effort she put into her appearance. But the way she looked at them, such a cold look. It was not even pragmatism, but indifference. Dylan even felt offended. Name: Emilia Light, 17 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 100 Class: Light Mage [Rare] Lvl 45 Class: Arcane Mage [Rare] 36 The last one he assessed was the brunette, he had an ordinary appearance, a low build, no significant aura. Dylan mentally added him to the list of artisans. He did not underestimate him, no, it was just clear that the guy was quite soft. But his level and classes spoke of hard work, diligence and most importantly talent. Also, his family name as a member of the family of one of the four [Dukes] of the kingdom had weight in this matter. He did not intend to use it, but everything mattered. Name: Denis Unbreakable Stone, 16 years old Race: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 65 Class: Rune Architect [Rare] Lvl 20 Class: Arcane Mage [Rare] Lvl 32 As soon as Cullen finished speaking, Dylan stepped forward with a wide smile. "Yeah, most of you are mass murderers, right?" He said with a small chuckle. Even from behind, he could feel Liam and Lynella mentally cursing him, saying "what an idiot he is." His words were met with silence and incomprehension. Before, everyone had been putting on serious faces, preparing for a productive conversation. But now, there was bewilderment on each of their faces, even on the faces of the Mage of Mind and the Mage of Light. "Aha-ha-ha-ha, I like him! Have you seen his balls?! I just can''t believe that Emilia has such a face! Ha-ha-ha-ha!" Walter laughed loudly, hitting his fist on the table a couple of times. Chapter 71 Chapter 71 While Walter laughed and the others tried to put on a serious face, Dylan continued speaking under the murderous glares of Liam and Lynella. "No, seriously. You''re only two or one year older than me, and you have so many levels! I had to slaughter a lot of orcs and kill several level 100 classers to get mine. You''re definitely mass murderers!" Dylan said with disappointment and a lot of envy. When Dylan started speaking, he had the group''s full attention. By the time he finished, everyone had collected their thoughts. Dylan''s words made Edgar and Walter laugh loudly, and a few other people allowed themselves slight smiles, except for Emilia and Thomas, who again sat with serious faces. "Ah, finally someone sees it! The academy treats our advancement as a matter of course, although it may take most people half a lifetime to reach our level." Edgar said as she wiped away a few tears that had gathered at the corners of her eyes from laughing. "But seeing your confusion, I can''t help but explain it!" He continued and stood up from his seat. Edgar activated the spatial ring and took out a very familiar thing from the portal. In his hand was a pistol similar to the Desert Eagle, it slightly resembled it in general design, and was made of completely black metal. A joyful smile appeared on Edgar''s face, as did the others who were watching the reactions of the newcomers. Just seeing the gun in Dylan''s head sent a ton of possibilities and questions flying through his head. How did they make it? Why? How do the levels work in classes for killing with such a weapon? A few dozen more questions and feelings flashed through his mind in an instant, and he settled on two. Envy and rage. "I want it! But how does it work with classes? Is that why you have such a high level?" Dylan said and walked closer, his hands unconsciously reaching out to the weapon to touch it and enjoy its weight. Liam and Lynella immediately followed him, their faces lit up with different emotions. Liam was simply curious, and Lynella saw a lot of new possibilities for her and for those who did not possess offensive magic. Such a weapon would perfectly complement her abilities. Seeing their enthusiasm, Edgar, without further ado, pulled out two more pistols from the portal and handed them to the newcomers. The faces of the three were brightly shining with happiness. "To answer your question, yes. So we raised the race level to 100. By killing creatures without using class skills, all the experience goes to the race. Having reached the first step at level 100, we stopped advancing further. But with classes it works differently. Now when we kill creatures without using class skills, the experience goes to the classes, but it is much less than I would like. Apparently there is some kind of penalty, but I''m not sure. Therefore, having quickly leveled up the race, we are now simply developing class skills, using them further as the main means of advancement." Edgar answered while the newcomers were examining the new toys. Dylan listened to Edgar''s answer and examined the gun at the same time. It was surprisingly very heavy. About 3.5 kg, which would be very impractical for a normal person. Looking at it more closely, he noticed runes etched into the steel. Taking out the magazine and removing one cartridge, he saw the usual design, a bullet enclosed in a casing and a place for the striker to strike. He thought that the essence of the technology remained the same, but with a few improvements in the form of a different material and the use of runes. Dylan removed the magazine and pulled the slide back to make sure there were no rounds left, and set the safety just in case. He snapped the light down and shone it down the barrel, seeing that it was rifled. Dylan tried to remember more about this particular gun, but it was a no-brainer. All he could tell was that it wasn''t a copy, but something very similar, but with a completely different design. "Why did you make something like a deagle? It''s not very practical, is it?" Dylan asked, looking up from the gun. "I like the design, and these guns were made especially for me. But you are right, these are not deagles. We can make something else for you, it is not a problem." Edgar replied. "Of course, how do you expect me to hold it? Its handle is so big it''s just creepy." Lynella said, showing how her small hand couldn''t fully close around the handle. "Okay, okay! If you don''t want them, I''ll give you something else. Oh, my God!" Edgar replied irritably and activated the portal again. From it, he took out several smaller pistols, their design was unrecognizable, but they were still black, with runes carved into them. After giving them new guns, Edgar took the deagles and put them back in the portal. After rummaging around in it for a few more seconds, he pulled out several magazines and several boxes of ammo. "The gun is called Reiser, don''t ask why. I''ll give you some bullets, among them there are poisonous and ordinary ones. You''ll figure it out in general, you don''t have to thank me." He said, handing over the bullets and returning to his place. Taking the new pistol, Dylan began to examine it. The design was so-so, the pistol slightly resembled a Glock 19, but nothing more, and was definitely made of metal, but weighed about 2 kg. Taking out the magazine, he counted 18 rounds, caliber about 9 * 19. Having twisted it a few more times in his hand and pulled the bolt, Dylan was sincerely pleased. Having activated the portal, he quickly put the cartridges inside, but left the pistol in his hands. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. "Thank you, that was very nice." Dylan said, to which Lynella and Liam nodded. But Edgar just waved away their thanks. The others who had not participated in the brief introduction to the weapons were still examining them and evaluating them. Cullen, meanwhile, stood quietly to the side, but now he could speak again. "Now sit down, you have questions and we will try to answer them. But I am starting to worry because the other two guests have not arrived yet." Dylan nodded and took the first available seat, Liam and Lynella sat next to him. Cullen also chose to sit at the table. Dylan looked around and thought about what he wanted to ask. "I want to ask what the revolution in the use of pistols will lead to first, and then hear about the other three Reincarnators." He said, looking at Cullen and Edgar. "You may not know, but in this world, even before we came, there were guns and medieval cannons. As far as I understand, they are used very rarely, or by those who primarily have access to the necessary resources. The locals made firearms, frankly speaking, so-so. Due to the lack of technology, they decided that magic is better, so they just create similar consumables. Like a spell staff with a fireball, or something similar, using the same amount of effort." "With our arrival, this changed. First, Edgar personally created a rifle using the ammunition we are accustomed to. Increasing the killing power, range, accuracy, and bullet speed. Only with these modifications could it be easy to kill most [Uncommon] classes and even some [Rare]. But Edgar did not stop there and continued to develop and modify weapons, later we helped him with this. Now what you hold in your hands is conditionally our best technology." "We use magical steel that is incredibly strong and resistant to heat. We also changed the composition of the gunpowder in the cartridges, replacing them with an alchemical mixture of our own production, which is more similar to TNT in terms of detonation force. We changed the composition of the bullet, making it harder and in some cases stronger. We engraved runes that reduce recoil by absorbing kinetic energy. We even made some special guns, like machine guns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, we even have poisonous and explosive bullets." Cullen said with a smile. "The weapon made with our technology is deadly to [Rare] classes without armor that can withstand a burst. This weapon is indeed a threat if we release it to the world, but is it a threat to a group of [Special], or even to one [Epic] class? No. A hit will definitely hurt an [Epic], but when the enemy moves faster than you can aim the weapon, it is unfortunately useless. And we have not yet come up with something that could kill a monster of [Epic] rank, and we have not had the opportunity to hunt [Special], alas, we are still too weak." "To sum it up, using cheap resources and our technology, we could completely change the low-class combat. I mean [Common] and [Uncommon]. Our strongest weapon options would be competitive with [Rare] classes and would even have a significant impact on [Special] rank combat. But it doesn''t mean anything for [Epic] and [Legendary] rank monsters, for a variety of reasons, but mostly it''s more a lack of resources and knowledge on our part." Cullen replied. "That''s what I''m talking about. It has a huge impact on the world and when your technology is discovered it will change forever. What are your plans for that?" Dylan asked. "Hmm, we intend to further develop the technology. And when we become strong enough, or learn of the arrival of demons, we will sell the knowledge to the Church, the Kingdom, the Army, anyone we can basically. By then, we will have no use for it, but it can play a role in the fight against demons." Cullen continued. Tapping his fingers on the table a few times, Dylan looked around at the people around him, trying to understand their thoughts. Everyone looked as if this wasn''t news to them at all and they had agreed on this one way or another a long time ago. Dylan thought about what this whole situation could lead to. Specifically for the Reincarnators, it was bad. People would find out that they were useful not only for the power of their souls, but also for their knowledge. Overall, the technology leak was not fatal for any of them, and was even positive in the sense that now not only the combat classes were dangerous at a low level. It would raise the industrialization of the kingdom, forcing some people to rely on technology instead of magic and faith. This had its advantages, but Dylan also believed that there were many disadvantages that he simply did not see. "That''s all well and good, but it can''t be that the Tower of Mages, the Nobility, or the army aren''t already interested in weapons. What about them?" Linella asked. "Yes, it''s still complicated with them. We tried to hide the use of firearms as best as possible, but you understand, it''s very difficult to do in the Academy. A man from the army actually came to us to see what kind of weapons we have, but he was politely refused. We are also lucky that the mages believe that creating weapons costs exorbitant resources, using the cores of beasts, or expensive metals. They do not yet understand that our weapons are cheaper than creating an artifact capable of storing a level 5 spell." As soon as Cullen finished speaking, there was a knock at the door, and right behind him, a tall, dark-haired man entered. He was tall, with handsome features, he was dressed in the academy uniform and the only one besides Dylan who openly carried a weapon in the academy, attached to his belt were a sheath in which hung two shiny daggers with a slight amount of gold plating. Dylan unconsciously expanded his aura and felt the strong Mana of lightning inside the daggers. Right behind him, Cassandra and Alistair entered the office. Dylan was glad to see them, but was almost not surprised that they were Reincarnators. Instead of looking at them, as they did as if they were seeing him for the first time, he focused on the dark-haired man. Name: Ajax Renworth, 16 years old §²§Ñ§ã§Ñ: Human [Uncommon] Lvl 100 Class: Lightning Mage [Rare] Lvl 49 Class: Dagger Adept [Rare] Lvl 33 How strong. Dylan thought as he watched the newcomers. "I''m very late, I apologize." Ajax said with a slight bow. "It took me a long time to convince them to walk with me." "It''s okay, take a seat." Cullen waved his hand and stood up from his chair. Walking up to Alistair and Cassandra, he bowed slightly, introducing himself. "It''s a pleasure to see you, my name is Cullen Golden Crow, I hope you''ve been told why you''re here. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce two new Reincarnators. Cassandra of the House of Scarlet Blood and Alistair Cytherius, son of [Viscount] Jared Cytherius." He said and turned to them again. "You''re indeed late and we need to explain a few things to you, please take a seat wherever you feel comfortable and feel free to assess each of us present." "So, we settled on firearms and how greedy the mages haven''t been able to get them yet." Cullen said with a slight smile, building up the suspense for the new arrivals. Chapter 72 Chapter 72 Cullen''s words and the sight of a real firearm shocked Alistair, but Cassandra, on the contrary, took it calmly. "What?! You created a firearm! I hoped that no one would do this, because it will fundamentally change the world!" Alistair said loudly, causing surprised looks from those around him. Raising his hands, Cullen decided to explain everything calmly. "First of all, I should say that the new members have no obligations towards us. We came together as a group of like-minded people and were all wary of each other at first. Over time, we became friends and began to really help each other out. Now we have common interests and I hope that we can develop the same friendly relationship." Cullen said, creating a friendly atmosphere and causing a few awkward smiles from the old members. "Regarding low-level firearms, you are mistaken in thinking that this will usher in the era of the steam engine, which will advance technological progress by leaps and bounds. No, not at all. Do you even know how the average person lives? And how middle and lower class society is structured?" Cullen said and looked at the newcomers. Dylan shrugged, he wasn''t interested in anything other than the adventurers'' guild and the wild forest. And he''d only been to the guild once, thanks to that damn church. Liam shrugged as well, his main estate was in a city that was too developed for high-level classers, with a high mana density. The only time he saw normal people was on short walks with Dylan. Cassandra remained silent, until she was 10 years old she only saw her own kind and was under close control and observation. Only after she did not show the usual madness for vampires, she could go out into the sun and barely feel weakened. Of course, she was still strictly controlled until she entered the academy. Alistair wanted to answer something, but hesitated. He spent all his time until he was 15 in the estate trying to combine chemistry and alchemy into a single whole, it had its successes and failures. He often communicated with different people who brought him rare ingredients from different parts of the country and beyond. Only now he realized that they were not ordinary at all, although they looked like it. Looking at the others, Linella was at a loss for words. She had personal security, of course, but she considered herself not far from the daughter of some rich merchant. The fact that the others could not even imagine the familiar world was a shock to her. "Seriously?! You don''t know?! You''ve turned into a how-to. Arrogant young master, right?!" Linella said using word magic. The people around her reacted calmly to her magic. Thomas wanted to dispel it immediately, but the twitching of Kallen''s eyes was enough to make him change his mind. When Linella''s words reached the people around her, everyone couldn''t help but imagine the "Arrogant Young Master" as a very fat and disgusting cultivator. Walter and Edgar started laughing loudly, Cullen and Ajax allowed themselves small smiles, but the rest found it disgusting and grimaced. "Oh my God, I can''t decide whether I like your performance or not! When you have a picture like that in front of your eyes, it''s disgusting! But at the same time, damn, it''s so unusual, it''s breathtaking!" Dylan said, torn between the two. He held out both hands, imagining the options. Looking at the left hand, he shuddered in disgust, and looking at the right, he smiled and twitched with pleasure. He repeated this action several more times, not knowing which to choose. This earned him strange looks from everyone present, except Liam, he was used to it long ago. "Let''s skip that." Cullen said, getting back on track. "I''ll tell you what you need to know. This world has its own era of industrialization, and it''s been going on for a long time, it''s just that everything runs on mana. There are mana engines here that aren''t much different from ours. The communication system is also built on magical theory. Basically, everything you can remember from our world is in this one, it''s just replaced with a magical twist." "The problem with this approach is that in order to use mana, you need mages, specifically [Rune Mages]. You need to teach people a complex art, spend time and resources on it. Also, the mana in the atmosphere is not infinite, you can only install a certain number of such devices without using expensive mana crystals. Another problem is the resources to create at least one mana engine, this requires magical metals, beast mana cores and many other resources, not to mention the mana itself." "In short, this approach is expensive. And anything that uses mana is very expensive, so most people are really stuck in a medieval sword and sorcery society. Where the only way out of poverty is to go into the forest with a sword and hope for your luck." "In general, every person tries to survive as best they can and feed their family with what they can do. That''s why most people don''t have combat classes, but are engaged in various crafts." Several people made puzzled faces, to which Kallen slammed his hand on the table and continued. "Of course, it''s not enough to just want to get a combat class, you need full training, which also costs money, not to mention armor, healing, weapons, talent and luck in the end. We were able to get rare classes because the skill requirements were lowered, in fact, we are still a pitiful [Uncommon] level. I mean, most of us." Kallen said, casually glancing at Ajax. "Okay, that''s understandable. But why don''t we apply the knowledge from our world to make gasoline engines, power plants, modern medicine, and God knows what else? That would open up a much better life for more people." Dylan asked, voicing the thoughts of some. Most of those present smiled at his question, so Cullen continued to explain everything with a slight sense of self-satisfaction. "Theoretically, there is nothing complicated about it, there are people among us with the necessary knowledge. We have created a small power plant as a test thing and it works quite well, although there are some nuances with the presence of mana. The main reason why we did not do this is that the implementation of such a project would take a lot of resources, time and manpower. With absolutely minimal benefits for us. As sad as it is to say, but we are not able to repeat computers as they were before, or not yet. Airplanes, rocket engines, anti-aircraft guns and other advanced inventions of our world also remain beyond our reach. We can only make relatively simple, inefficient electrical installations and engines, which we no longer need in this world." "We certainly plan to do this, but only when the situation with the demons improves. For now, it''s not worth our time, no matter how selfish it sounds." Dylan thought about it like the others. If a group of Reincarnators from noble families said it wasn''t worth it, he didn''t doubt it. It was more a question of ethics, better medicine and cheap labor that didn''t depend on magic would save millions of lives. It would open up a new era of discovery, especially for the crafting classes. But the opposite was also true. Was it necessary to invest so many resources if they couldn''t obtain the most powerful weapon from the previous world? When every drop was important in the fight against the Archdemon, it was not wise to invest in a completely new industry with uncertain prospects. And in general, would nuclear weapons be able to kill, or at least harm [the Archdemon]. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Okay, important question. Theoretically, if we use nuclear weapons against the Archdemon. What will happen to it?" Cullen laughed slightly, he responded to his question easily, unlike the others. This obviously spoiled the mood for everyone. "I think it will be unpleasant for him. We don''t know what the Archdemon can do, but it will at least injure his physical form, which of course won''t be enough to kill him. I can say that no matter how many nuclear attacks of the same power as those on earth we send at him, he won''t die from it. In order to kill [the Archdemon], we need to destroy his spiritual form, and in order to significantly weaken it, it is important to destroy the demonic core, which nuclear weapons are not able to do. There are also a few other points, in the form of a possible hit and other enemy magic, in general, this idea is not feasible." Cullen answered. Cullen''s words were unpleasant for Dylan and the others. They did not question them, but it was extremely disappointing. After this bitter feeling, each of the newcomers asked themselves if they were ready to take on the responsibility of developing the knowledge of the previous world. After thinking for a few seconds, no one dared to do so. "Okay, then I''ll just forget I suggested it. Damn, it''s so annoying to feel selfish when we could make life easier for millions. Are we really an evil club hiding knowledge now?" Dylan said, upset. "Nobody is stopping you from taking your own steps. But overall you''re right, it would slow us down too much." Cullen agreed with him. The room went silent, the mood of most of them falling heavily from such an unpleasant topic. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts and worries. Dylan was thinking about it too, but quickly came to his senses. He was a selfish bastard and he knew it. He didn''t want to do boring kingdom building, why would he even be in the magical world if he wasn''t going to have fun? He wanted to be a real mage and do so much cool shit that even after his death his name would be mentioned with reverence and fear. Dylan leaned back in his chair and looked at the people around him. They were all thinking about something with sad faces. It made him feel sick, they were all selfish bastards, but their consciences were bothering them. What a nightmare! To lighten the mood a little, Dylan decided to bring up the topic that was bothering him the most. "Screw this! We''re not going to be sad all day over this bullshit!" S. "Let''s just come up with a name for our secret club! Without a cool name, I''m not even going to come here! We also need cool names! This is a must!" Dylan said with more enthusiasm than most people thought was appropriate. As soon as he started speaking, everyone in the room focused on him. But as soon as he said his idea, most of them quietly laughed at him and rolled their eyes. The name "secret club" was only liked by Liam, Walter and Edgar. The rest thought it was childish. Even Lynella quietly laughed at him, he didn''t expect such a betrayal from her, and she loves theatrics. "Oh, don''t make those faces! And stop pretending that you don''t like my idea. We are Reincarnators in a new world, it won''t even be considered stupid." Dylan continued to defend his position. To which Edgar, Liam and Walter nodded seriously. "Of course, I completely agree. We need at least a name. How are we going to threaten anyone in the future? We need a strong and formidable reputation as a band, and without a good name you can''t get that. Also, how will people know who they crossed?" Edgar said, supporting Dylan. To which he, with a stupid face, continued to nod seriously with Liam and Walter. Most laughed at their funny behavior, the heavy atmosphere was almost forgotten. "Okay, okay. I don''t see any reason why we can''t actually get a name. I suggest we each suggest names in turn and then we''ll vote on them." Cullen said with a cheerful smile. Dylan had already won in his mind when Cullen agreed with him. He turned his head to meet Linella''s gaze and stuck his tongue out at her in a sign of victory and dominance. At first he wanted to cast a telekinesis spell and hit her on the head, but wisely decided not to provoke her. In response to his outburst, Lynella simply rolled her eyes and ignored him. She turned slightly and began twirling her hair around her finger, pretending not to notice his anger. Dylan could admit to himself that it really did piss him off, instead of getting caught, he smiled sweetly and promised to come up with something really sneaky later. Now he had another important task. He needed to come up with a cool name, but that was the problem. He was not good at naming things, looking around, he realized that he was not alone in this. Most of them sat with their faces full of creative potential, their eyes fixed and staring at one place. While Cullen watched them with a smile. Dylan looked at Thomas and Emilia, seeing that they were thinking about it too, which was a surprise to him. He thought that they would still act like adults, after all, the influence of the group has a greater effect. Dylan really couldn''t come up with a cool name when he thought about it. Common, calling them some kind of group of Reincarnators would be too stupid even for him. And where would all the intrigue be? They also didn''t have much in common, each with a different specialization, although they all used magic in one way or another... Did that help him come up with anything? No. "Heh, does no one have any ideas?" Kallen asked, drawing everyone''s attention to himself. "How about names from our past world. Like the Knights of the Round Table?" No one said a word, making it clear that no one liked this idea. Dylan especially. Knights are supposed to be fair, honest, kind, and so on. Which he certainly didn''t consider himself to be. Besides, most are more mages than knights. Failed. Continue please. "Okay, since no one likes it. Secret Seekers? Isn''t that a good name?" Cullen continued. Dylan repeated in the language "Seekers of Secrets". In his opinion, the name was okay. But he thought it was too common. Like, really, we might as well just call ourselves Reborn. We need something short, something that doesn''t say who we are, but at the same time memorable. How fucking complicated! Dylan thought while the others decided whether they liked the name or not. "That''s better than most, but what about the Pathfinders, or the Trailblazers?" Walter asked. "Pretty big names, aren''t they?" "Well, nooo! That''s too corny! God, I hope you don''t have any ideas with shadows." Dylan said, unable to contain himself. Walter opened his mouth to make his next suggestion, but when he heard the word "shadows" he closed it and clicked his tongue in displeasure. "Can you think of something that makes sense?" Walter replied, folding his hands in front of him and looking at Dylan. Dylan stared back at him, thinking hard. He even turned on [Accelerated Perception] and [Parallel Thinking]. But after many seconds of staring, he still hadn''t come up with anything. Just when he was about to give up and admit defeat, the quietest person in the group spoke up. "Shards, how do you like this?" Shin said awkwardly, causing everyone to blink in surprise. Following him, the snake began to hiss and nod, expressing its approval. Dylan, like everyone else who saw a snake communicate for the first time, was stunned. Instead of focusing on the good name, Dylan assessed the snake to see if it had a class, but saw nothing other than a very high level. Name: Tasteless Race: Black Labaria [Rare] Level 138 "Shards, not bad at all." Cullen said, ignoring the sentient, but not entirely intelligent snake. Dylan snapped out of his stupor and quickly nodded his head in approval. "Okay, okay, okay! It''s decided! My secret name will be "Desire" from now on, I don''t know anything! You can choose your own names, the important requirement is not to be called a spear if you own a spear, you get the idea!" Dylan said quickly, joking with Walter at the end. Walter raised his hands, pointing at him, his feelings hurt, an insult he had not yet earned. But the others just quietly chuckled at him. "Okay, since there are no objections, we are Shards from now on. A symbolic oath would be appropriate, I suppose? But that can be sorted out another time, when we have time and "Desire"!" Cullen said, looked at Dylan, shook his head slightly, and laughed loudly.