Chapter 44：A Guise (1/2)
Arthur rode on Kira's back while stroking its back affectionately. He was taking them toward the underground tunnels where they would hunt mid-tier creatures until the night arrives. After that, Arthur would sneak into the camp using Miko's ability to ask Hazel to help him in his quest.
The two descended underground and were met with a giant spider that was a low-mid-tier monster. Its skills were shooting tiny spiders and electrifying webs, and it was a tough foe in such a narrow tunnel. However, the two's teamwork took it down after a short battle.
Arthur was able to block the webs with his protection rune easily and Miko was able to teleport above the monster attacking its eyes. The two then warped it up and killed the monster.
Arthur finally got to use his Earth manipulation skill as he split a rock into mana pieces and used them to attack the tiny spiders.
[Perception increased by 1.]
[Perception increased by 1.]
[Perception increased by 1.]
That was the result after Arthur absorbed the monster's body. His senses witnessed a sharp increase and the dark tunnel looked brighter than before. The only illumination came from the minerals in the walls, but they were enough for them to see.
[Scholar Guardian's Legacy]
[Level: 11 (22%)]
[Strength: 53]
[Agility: 50]
[Stamina: 40]
[Perception: 34]
[Mana: 22/42]
[Abilities: Beginner Runes Wordsmith (13%), Useable Runes: 8]
[Skills: Lesser-Mana Breathing Skill (F), Poison Strike (F), Camouflage (F), Earth Manipulation (E)]
Arthur looked at his legacy while they were resting and drinking water. After he leveled up from level 10, he was given two stats points to use. It seemed levels beyond 10 gave 2 stats points per level, or that is his initial guess. He spent the two points on mana again since it was his most lacking and essential stat.
He had come a long way from the time he didn't even have a skill, three runes, and 10-something stats. He was now a neo-ranker, albeit on the beginning line, but he was a ranker.
”Want to hunt another monster?” Miko asked, and Arthur looked at her with some confusion. She blinked and asked, ”What?”
”Why do you hunt?” Arthur blurted out, realizing others didn't hunt to absorb essence like him. There was a different reason, one he didn't know.
”Oh, same as others. The usage of mana in stressful or dangerous situations would normally cause a slight increase in our internal mana. Pushing ourselves beyond our limits is a way to squeeze out our potential to evolve. Furthermore,” She picked up the core that had appeared from the spider, ”this can be used to make mana potions. Drinking them would also increase our mana.”
As if a lightbulb has lit in his head, Arthur felt enlightened. He had never cared about how they got stronger since he had his cheat-like leveling-up legacy. Now, however, it seemed others also killed monsters to get stronger and reap some benefits.
However, this didn't mean this was the only way to get stronger. Arthur used his lesser-mana breathing technique to replenish his mana faster, couldn't there be a high-end technique to make mana his own?