Chapter 33 : It was Just an Advertisement!

Ragna was walking through the black forest while thinking about the matter regarding Lily and her potions. No matter how hard he tried to think, the answer never came to him. He decided to let the matter rest for a while.

After a few minutes of walking, he could finally see the encampment which was set up by the army. It now had a proper gate and barricade surrounding the camp with the gate inside. There was also a cafeteria and medical camp being built. Overall, the base had decent facilities and was enough to support the needs of the expedition.

Ragna entered the gate and he could immediately find the rest of the players there. Most of them were tired and beat. There was also a slight dispute between team members. It seemed like not all players in Astral Realm could fare as well as Ragna did.

There was still quite a bit time left before the designated time. Ragna decided to stroll inside the camp to see how well the facilities were. It was at this moment that he suddenly heard someone calling him.

"Hey, Ragna isn't it? I'm Luki from before" The man greeted Ragna with a smile, but there was a hint of grief plastered on his face. Naturally, Ragna could perceive this. He had been able to slightly see through people ever since he was little. His childhood was too harsh after all.

"Hey Luki, yeah it's me" Ragna answered with a smile. He had quite a good impression toward the man in front of him. Luki looked like a young adult in his mid-20s, he was someone who gave off a nice feeling to people around him.

Luki was about to say something when he realized a strange thing in Ragna's status. His eyes went wide with disbelief when he saw Ragna's level. Early that morning, the screen displayed 'Level 10 Mage', but now it suddenly changed into 'Level 16 Mage'!

What kind of leveling speed is this!

Bro, are you on stimulants?!

"What the hell?! How come you're suddenly at level 16? You raised 6 levels in one day?!" Luki exclaimed with a loud voice, startling other players around them.

"Sssshhhhhttt!" Ragna quickly asked Luki to lower his voice. Luki immediately realized what his mistake was and covered his mouth. Unfortunately, some players already heard him and were secretly eavesdropping them by now. Secrets regarding game were highly in demand no matter where you went. Especially one that could raise your level by 6 in a short span of one day.

Ragna quickly looked around and realized that the players have surrounded him.  Naturally, they maintained some distance as to not alert Ragna. But how could he be oblivious to the situation? Everyone was pretending to mind their business while silently eavesdropping him. Some players even took an in-game photograph of him to make sure that they wouldn't forget his appearance. They looked like a pack of hyenas with eyes full of greed.

Luki realized the situation and gave Ragna a sorry look. He knew that he had given him a heap of trouble by saying that. Even though it was unintentional, he still felt some guilt toward him.

Ragna quickly racked his brain to find a way out from the situation. In his mind, he already came up with a few reasons, but none seemed good enough. He had to make sure that no one doubted him.

Obviously, speaking was easier than actually doing it. A few second passed and he couldn't figure anything out. His back was slowly drenched with sweat. Fortune was always accompanied by its counterpart. Today he reaped a lot of benefits, and because of that, God may have sent him some misfortune and suffering too. Currently, it was about his fast leveling speed, and before, it was about the potions.

Wait.. potions?

Aha! Why didn't I think about it earlier!

Ragna quickly cleared his throat. Contrary to what other people expected, his lips formed a smile. Then he swept his eyes toward his surrounding and loudly said;

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"Ahem, well the truth is I was being chased by a group of monsters. They were ferocious and savage, leaving me without any option other than to run. At some point, my satiety was nearing its end. It was a moment full of despair back then.." His tone was filled with sorrow.

Then, his eyes brightened "But suddenly, I found a strange place and managed to get into it! But no matter how you see it, it was a dead end. There was nothing inside! But strangely, those monsters couldn't get in. They could only watch me from outside without being able to enter. Of course, I too, couldn't get out. They stared at me with their blood red eyes, craving for my flesh"

"Then, a thought came to my mind. I chanted a spell and released it toward them. The spell hit and they still couldn't get inside, leaving me unharmed. I could safely grind at that place! I was ecstatic at first, but then I realized that my mana couldn't support my continuous consumption. If I didn't hit them once in a while, the aggro would disappear and they would loiter around the place outside my range to regenerate. It was an unwanted outcome."

Ragna cleared his throat again, sweeping his gaze toward the people who were attentively listening to him. He grabbed one of his mana Potions from his bag "Luckily I had bought this amazing Potion before! It restores 360 mana points in one gulp and also increases innate regeneration rate by 10%! Because of these potions, I didn't even need to think about preserving mana again. I went all out and destroyed them. After hours of grinding, I raised my level 6 times!"

"That's why you need to buy this Special Mana Potions! I ensure you that mana consumption will no longer be an issue! Special discount for this time only! 15 golds apiece and 140 golds for ten!" He ended his long speech with his dignified smile on his face.

Everyone was dumbfounded!

D*mn! This bro was actually advertising a potion?!

Luki was watching the scene with wide eyes. Only he knew that it was a made-up story. The fact that Ragna could come up with such story in no time was heaven-defying!

In fact, he might have started to believe that the story was actually real...

Everyone who was earnestly listening nearly spat some blood, there were some people who even laughed on the spot. If Ragna's objective was to promote a potion, then his story couldn't be believed at all. He may have collaborated with the man who was exclaiming loudly to garner everyone's attention. The fact that he raised 6 levels in one day was obviously a lie.

Naturally, some people still had some doubts. However, after they thought it through, it really was impossible for someone to raise his level from 10 to 16 in one day. They may have believed it if it was from level 0 to 6. Every ten levels, the difficulty in hunting monsters would increase considerably. That was why, the leveling speed of top players was starting to slow down, narrowing the level gap between player.

To compensate that, players would undergo a leap in power every time they broke through 10 levels. Players could change class change at level 10 and at level 20 they could gain new skills.

Seeing the crowd dispersed, Ragna couldn't help but silently praise himself. This bro's acting skill was indeed worthy enough to gain Oscar. Maybe he had lied a bit, but that was inevitable due to the circumstances.

Wait, did he really lie?

Chased by Blood Wolves and entered a strange place? True!

Safely hitting them with magic from inside? It happened!

Gulping a mana potion and not worrying about mana consumption? True!

Raising 6 levels in one day? True again!

Wait.. that was not true, this bro actually raised 16 levels in one day!

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Author Note : A refreshment chapter for you all in case you guys have been bored with the fighting! BTW, it's not short at all!!!