[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[AQUIRED NEW SKILL: MANA HEART]
[ ACQUIRED A SHARD OF PRIMORDIAL FIRE ]
[AQUIRED NEW SKILL: FIRE MANIPULATION]
[ACQUIRED NEW SKILL: FIRE IMMUNITY]
[CREATION AUTHORITY(FIRST ORDER)
[MANA UNLOCKED]
[+15 INTELLIGENCE]
[+10 STRENGTH]
[+10 ENDUARANCE]
[+10 AGILITY]
[STATUS]
[Name: Leo Redwood]
[Age:25]
[Strength:28]
[Agility:28]
[Intelligence:30]
[Endurance:31]
[Mana: 6000]
(Average human 10)
SKILLS:
[Immortality(Tier 1): You can't die from natural causes like death from old age or diseases, and all wounds heal over time, but only if a piece of you remains; if not, then death awaits you. ]
[Adaptability(Tier 1): You adapt to any condition as long as you are alive]
[Pain resistance(level 1): Increases pain tolerance]
[Fire immunity: No normal flames can burn you]
[Mana Heart(Tier 1): Mana, the source of all life, runs through your entire body, continuously strengthening you]
[ Fire Manipulation: As long as there's heat, you can control it]
SHARDS:
Primordial flames: The first flames that brought about life and destruction]
AUTHORITIES:
[Creation authority(first order): As long as something is a beginning, your will applies. Only applicable to living beings due to low order and can be resisted by higher beings.]
Leo felt refreshed. His entire body felt full of energy, and he could feel his body getting stronger.
'It seems that wasn't the limit of the upgrade; my strength is increasing at a steady pace, though I don't know how long it will last.'
He then stood up and looked around. The cave looked brighter than before, with bright floating particles drifting slowly in the air.
Leo took a moment to adjust to the new view while admiring it.
'This must be mana.'
As an avid fantasy reader, he knew a thing or two about it. Even the idea of the second heart was something he'd read once.
'Honestly l expected it to be harder, but it went surprisingly well.'
Leo couldn't help but feel a little smug.
'With the two of the hearts merged, my body should theoretically start producing mana-infused blood. And that will in turn strengthen my bones and my body in general.'
Leo flexed his arms, feeling his new strength.
'I wonder how strong I'll be when it's done.'
As Leo was adjusting to his new strength, the wolves in the cave felt a suffocating pressure when looking at him. The only reason they hadn't attacked or run away was the slight bond they felt between them.
Wannabe was also watching his wolf face seemed unchanged, but inside, he was deeply shocked.
'What is this creature?'
He couldn't tell anymore. The creature before him was radiating nature mana like a druid, but everything else was different from the knowledge he had.
'He's mana is almost a quarter of mine, and it's still rising.'
The only creature he knew of with that ability was a dragon, and those went extinct a hundred thousand years ago. He only heard of them from his father when he was a young fifty-year-old pup.
'He also has a piece of our flame.'
Wannabe just stared at Leo, his thoughts more chaotic than before.
Leo, on the other hand, had gotten used to the mana in the air and could ignore it so as not to block his vision.
As he tried to take a step forward, he suddenly shot out like a bullet, hitting the cave wall hard, causing a small tremor to spread across the whole cave.
'Fuck, that hurt.'
As he tried to push himself off the wall, he shot up once more, hitting the cave ceiling and breaking off some rocks. As he fell back down to the ground.
'Okay, let's be a bit more careful.'
He tried to slowly lift himself, but the same thing happened.
This went on for about an hour until he finally got full control of his strength.
The floor was covered in rock debris, and the ceiling was smoothed out.
The wolves who were watching all this just stared at him, a bit amused. Wannabe was smirking, barely concealing his satisfaction.
'What a bunch of sadistic bastards.'
Leo thought while looking at the wolves. He was covered in dirt and mud, but his body was uninjured.
'At least I tested out my endurance.'
Leo tried to shrug it off, but even he knew he was just consoling himself.
With a sigh, he stood up and started walking around the cave. He still had his weapons with him, so he didn't have to waste time searching for them.
As he walked around, Leo kept checking his status window.
'Why is Mana Heart a tier one and not level one?'
Leo was starting to wonder if his immortality and adaptability were even unique. He had thought that the tier system only applied to his unique reincarnation skills, but it seemed not.
'Well, if I were to guess, it should be because of their potential.'
The mana heart was continuously strengthening him. It would be a bit of a scam if it were considered the same level as pain resistance.
He also took his time to understand all his skills.
'Considering I got all this from a single crystal from one of the wolves, they should be very unique. It shouldn't be this easy.'
His theory was especially strong because of the primordial shard he got. He could feel a sort of connection to the wolves.
'Primordial is usually the beginning of something if I'm not wrong, and they are usually hella strong. So who exactly was their pack leader, and would he have made such a mistake as thinking that I am a druid?'
But what he was most curious about was the authority he had. It seemed to have been with him since he arrived, but it had felt distant. Now that he had mana, he felt it. He could feel that, if he wanted to, he could manipulate his will and that of others.
Leo had now reached the end of the cave.
'This should be good enough.'
The cave was large enough to accommodate both him and the pack and also seemed stable enough not to collapse.
He didn't know how long it would take to find a stream, so this would be his temporary base until he got used to his increasing strength, which showed no signs of stopping.
He then walked back to where the pack was.
He found Wannabe dragging in the bear's body, which easily dwarfed its size.
The scene was honestly a bit funny. It reminded Leo of the cartoons he used to watch when he was a kid, making him let out a suppressed laugh.
The bear, although dead, was still giving out a pressure that could deter most weak predators.
'He actually fought that thing.'
With him being so close, Leo could feel the pressure from the bear. He turned to look at Wannabe, who was still dragging the body with ease; its earlier wounds were already healed.
This reminded Leo how powerful the wolf actually was, making him shudder slightly.
'Whatever, let's just get the pelt.'
He then walked towards Wannabe, who had already dragged the body to the middle of the pack.
"What do you want, druid?"
Wannabe suddenly spoke, making Leo freeze for a second.
"I want the pelt of the bear you aren't using it right."
Leo answered casually, though his heart was beating hard.
Wannabe seemed a bit confused.
"Why would you want its skin?"
"To wear it, of course."
Leo answered unconsciously as if it were the most obvious thing.
Wannabe took a few steps back while looking at Leo in horror and disgust.
"You want to wear its skin?"He asked in a voice full of doubt.
"Not directly l need to sew them together and dry them to make clothes."
Leo just kept talking as his eyes sparkled.
"With how tough it was, the pelt should be very sturdy."
Wannabe just kept stepping back the more Leo talked.
'This creature wants to wear the skin of other beasts. It's a monster.'
Not wanting to hear more, Wannabe told Leo to take what he wanted and then hurriedly walked away from him.
'Why did it seem like it was afraid of me. Nah l must be imagining things.'
Leo then started skinning the bear. It took hours before he was done and even more to cut out the meat. But surprisingly, he didn't feel tired at all. While skinning, he tried looking for a soul shard, but there was nothing.
After cutting off some meat. He walked further into the cave, leaving the wolves to eat the rest.
'I don't feel tired at all. If anything l feel stronger.'
Placing the pelt and meat down, Leo didn't waste time and walked back towards the pack. He removed the wood he had collected and carried it back.
The process didn't take long since the group was that large.
'Now everything is ready.'
Leo sat down among the pile of wood, meat, and pelt as he placed the wood together to start a fire.
This time, however Leo didn't use the rocks to start the fire; he decided to test out his new fire manipulation.
"Let's see ."
Leo tried to manipulate the mana around him, but nothing happened.
'Yeah, I'm just tired, let's try again.'
Leo tried again and again, but nothing worked.
'What the hell,'
Leo was getting frustrated.
"Come ooooon.Fireballlllll"
He let out a shout as he extended his arm forward, but nothing happened.
Wannabe, who was passing by, looked at Leo blankly.
Leo also looked at Wannabe.
"How about we forget what happened here," Leo said, his voice shaky and face flushed.
Wannabe just looked at him in disappointment and then walked away.
Leo picked up his rocks and stared at them for a while.
'Fuck my dignity.'
He felt like he wanted to cry, but he just started hitting the rocks together as if that would help.
A fire was silently lit as Chuunbyou sat before it, his face gloomy.