Chapter 34
Keith fell into a deep slumber, such that he didn’t stir even when someone shook him repeatedly. His dreams were horrible nightmares. In one, Orcus had swallowed Keith whole, and he drowned in a pool of gastric juices, decomposing. In another, he wandered in a sea of fog, lost and hunted by strange fish-like creatures.
Eventually, lucidity tore through the dreams, and Keith awoke, finding himself back in his bedroom. For a time, he lay still, staring at the ceiling, until he realized he had a warm rag on his forehead.
The puzzlement of how the rag got there stirred his mind into wakefulness.
Someone had been taking care of him.
Keith knew who upon sweeping outward with his mana vision – his mother.
She was currently on the couch in the living room, a book in one hand and alcohol in the other. With a warm feeling in his heart, Keith glanced at the time and saw it was almost afternoon. He tried to get up when a wave of weakness assailed him.
Frowning, he sensed the state of his body and understood he wasn’t sick; he was missing the boosts from a Mana Body. Without it, he felt much, much weaker. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he had lost almost half his combat power.
A Mana Body is so important, Keith thought, growing excited.
Now that he had endured the process of removing his Mana Body, he could finally reap the fruits of his labor and form an even better one.
Keith ignored the sense of weakness and climbed out of bed.
After changing into fresh clothes, he checked his magic tablet and was startled to find three days had passed. Sighing in irritation at the lost time, he headed downstairs and entered the living room.
Mariane glanced up, expressing relief at the sight of Keith. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Keith sat down beside her. “I overexerted myself.”
Mariane was about to hug Keith but scoffed when she heard his reply. “What could you have possibly done to sleep for three days? You didn’t wake up even if I shook you!”
Keith scowled, “What do you mean you shook me? Is that how you treat a sick person?”
“Well,” Mariane glanced away. “I was worried, you know…”
“Sorry,” Keith suddenly felt bad for making his mother anxious.
Mariane faked a snort. “This makes it twice you’ve unexpectedly fallen unconscious. Are you trying to make it a habit?”
Keith laughed. “Of course not.”
“So? What did you do this time?” Mariane pressed, curious.
“I removed my Mana Body,” Keith stated.
Mariane didn’t understand. “Why would that cause such a problem?”
Keith smiled. “Try it yourself.”
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Mariane wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. Closing her eyes, she tried pulling at her Mana Body and immediately hissed. “What the slimeballs.”
“See,” Keith snickered.
“That bloody hurt, you brat,” Mariane playfully punched Keith’s arm. She continued with a question, “I still don’t get why you wanted to remove your Mana Body. Didn’t you have a transcendent grade one?”
Keith shrugged. “I found a way to improve it.”
Mariane looked deeply at her son, wondering what happened to make him want to endure such great pain. She felt like he was hiding something from her. Of course, Keith hadn’t told her he almost died to prevent her from worrying.
Being stared at by Mariane, Keith didn’t budge, maintaining a smile. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Mariane didn’t press further.
“When did you come over?” Keith changed the topic.
Mariane huffed. “Two days ago. An important change is happening, and I wanted to know what you wanted to do. I came when you didn’t respond to my messages.”
“What change?” Keith's thoughts turned toward the Elemental Nation.
“It’s like this…” Mariane began explaining about the alliance between the Innate and Elemental Nations and the requirement that the Innate Nation had to defend half of the Blockade. She paused, then said, “Your father and Ska’dur have already brought a million troops to familiarize themselves with the Blockade. Another two million will go over in five days, and another seven million two days after that.”
Keith was surprised by the news. Things were moving so quickly.
“Your aunt and I are mobilizing during the second wave. Do you want to join us or stay here?” Mariane asked slowly.
“I’ll go!” Keith answered without the slightest hesitation.
“Are you certain?” Mariane’s expression was full of concern. “I heard that Tyranus sends over twenty million monsters to attack the Blockade daily. It’ll be very dangerous.”
“That many!?” Keith’s eyes lit up, thinking of how much experience that was. He wasn’t like everyone else – he had over twenty-five million mana to work with every few days.
With his ability to multicast, the Blockade was a place where his level could skyrocket.
Keith wouldn’t have to waste time searching for monsters; they would come to him.
How great was that?
Unlike Keith, Mariane was conflicted, saying sadly, “You’ve changed.”
Keith rolled his eyes. “People change all the time.”
Mariane fell silent, turning unresponsive.
“Oh, come on,” Keith shoved her gently.
Mariane sighed and downed the rest of her drink, seemingly accepting that Keith was no longer a child. Standing up, she stretched and said, “Alright. I’ll leave now that you’re fine. I need to prepare. You should, too. Who knows how long we’ll be gone.”
“I understand,” Keith followed her to the door and waved goodbye.
Once Mariane teleported away, Keith ate food to sate his hunger and drank some elixirs. Afterward, he withdrew the Heart Calming Tea from his inventory and sat inside the Tranquility array.
It was time to form his improved Mana Body.
Keith spent a short period adjusting his mental state, then swallowed the Heart Calming Tea.
By now, Keith was very familiar with the Mana Body Frisk designed, and with his Mana Manipulation skill at level 743, he drew one array after another with expertise. Feeling confident, he formed the Mana Body in record time.
The moment he finished, it latched onto his skeletal frame and integrated with his body.
At the same time, a surge of power coursed through Keith as a notification informed him the Mana Body had a completion rate of 152%.
Suddenly, a blue shimmer caught his eye.
Keith raised his arm and found an almost imperceptible layer of mana coating the surface of his body. If he didn’t look closely, he wouldn’t have spotted it.
Standing up, Keith inspected his status panel.
[Keith Walker]
Level: 670
Age: 24
Titles: Mana Lifeform, Divine Grade Adventurer, +18 others
Health: 345,000 -> 412,000
Mana: 951,000 -> 1,430,000
Strength: 9,510 -> 11,432
Agility: 9,712 ->11,879
Intelligence: 14,481 -> 17,781
Vitality: 10,367 -> 12,499
Endurance: 10,229 -> 12,345
Skills: Quickdraw, Arsenal of the Desert, +258 others
Keith was immensely satisfied upon seeing his stats.
Not long ago, he had asked for the details of Markus and Ska’dur’s stats to compare himself to them. Even though they didn’t have a Mana Body back then, Keith’s current stats had surpassed theirs. Both Markus and Ska’dur had Mana Bodies now, so Keith wasn’t sure what their stats looked like nowadays.
Thinking of the Blockade, Keith’s eyes lit up, knowing that he’d have the chance to surpass them in levels by going there. Until then, he’d take the next five days to relax and prepare food, backup equipment, and other necessities.