Levi waited with baited breath, but the rampaging monster turned silent after a while. Maybe it thought that its prey had escaped out of the town? Levi hoped so.

With the threat of being consumed by monsters hanging over his throat, Levi dimmed the lantern’s luminance, and focused back on the book. If he wanted a chance to survive, he had to awaken.

His attention returned to the pages, but it was difficult to focus. His fingers trembled, teeth itched, yet he forced himself to continue.

He glanced over a few words before they settled. “Everyone knows that to harness mana, one has to observe the element of their choice. But that is such a basic and crude method of mana mastery. Ask yourself this: why settle for less, when you have the world of mana at your fingertips? Of course, it is not an easy process. If it was, everyone would do it. Pay close attention to your surroundings. All around you, is mana. You may not be able to see it, but that’s because you’re not paying close enough attention. Mana is everywhere. Mana is everything.”

Levi pondered on the wizard's words.

Now, if he could feed his Birthright pure, unadulterated mana, what would the ranking of that be? Rare? Epic? Legendary?

Levi became giddy just thinking about it.

Pay close attention, Levi repeated in his thoughts. His gaze fell to the lantern. That was magical, wasn’t it? He watched it closely. Minutes turned to hours. He noticed that very fine specs moved towards the lantern. Like dust, but even smaller. Honestly, if it wasn’t so dark, it would be impossible to notice. But Levi did, and he watched how the dust coalesced into the small, purple gem.

At first, Levi thought the magical gem was like a battery. It stored mana, and because of that, turned on when he turned the dial. But he was wrong. It wasn’t storing mana, it was absorbing it.

However, no matter how hard he focused on the specs of mana, there was no description to accompany it. Did that mean it wasn’t an Ingredient, or was it because it was so fine, that he couldn’t truly see its true form?

Let’s summon my Birthright and see if I can do something, Levi thought, closed his eyes, then… paused. There was no instruction manual. He thought of the words, ‘Seed’, and ‘Birthright’. But nothing happened like it did with his System.

It wasn’t until his eyes grew heavy, and the thought of sleep entered his mind, did something strange happen. Almost falling asleep, he found himself looking deeper in his body. It was an alien sensation, but it felt like his consciousness was slipping away. Almost entering a lucid dream, Levi finally called out to it.

“Birthright.”

Upon his call, Levi’s eyes snapped open. Hovering in front of him, was a marble sized brown seed. Levi cupped it in his hands. It felt magical, and warm.

So this is inside of me? Kinda strange to think about, Levi thought with a small, half deranged smile.

After playing around with it for a little while, Levi picked up the lantern and placed it right in front of him. Levi lowered his seed to the purple illuminating gem. He placed all his attention not on the lantern, but the fine dust that was being sucked into it.

Eat, Levi commanded in his mind. It didn’t work. He frowned. “Work you little shit, you better give me powers before that monster tries to eat me alive or I’ll throw you into the toilet where you belong–”

He felt the seed answer his call. His Birthright began absorbing the energy. However, he felt the connection to the lantern–his original target he wanted to devour–dwindle. Instead, the Birthright was absorbing something else. Afraid he’d lose the connection of whatever he was trying, Levi continued, sweat beading from his forehead–for just under an hour.

Reaching the hour mark, only then did a change occur.

The brown seed cracked, revealing a gleaming, pure blue. It was so pure, that if Levi ever imagined what the ice of heavens looked like–this was it.

You have fed your Birthright an Uncommon Ingredient.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

| Your Magic has increased by 6.

| Your Mana has increased by 2.

Talent of the ArchMagus has activated…

| Increasing Tier of Ingredients by 1.

You have fed your Birthright a Rare Ingredient.

| Your Magic has increased by 8.

| Your Mana has increased by 4.

Huh, so it increased the total points by 4? So the higher tier the Ingredient, the more Stats they give. Interesting.

Your Birthright has evolved.

You have reached Tier 1 - Novice.

You have fully awakened.

To obtain Tier 2 - Apprentice, acquire a Birthright seed, reach Level 20, then absorb two more Ingredients.

Levi sucked in a deep breath. All around him, he could see specs of blue as if he was in a room that hadn’t been dusted for years. He blinked, and they disappeared. Blinked again, and they reappeared.

So this is mana? Levi swished his fingers through the air and watched the mana part through the gaps in his fingers.

You have obtained the Path Skill – Incite (★): Encourage a target to perform an action they wouldn’t usually commit. Whether it’s to pacify, encourage, or incite them to riot.

| Targets are 10% more likely to listen to your commands.

| Progress to next Level-up → 0/1,000xp

Levi laughed. Awesome, he thought in childlike excitement. Okay, maybe it was worth it after all? His words held power.

Status.

Levi Caddel

| Birthright Tier: 1 – Apprentice

| Class: Mage

| Path: Inciter

| Job: N/A

| Level: 1

| Titles: Otherworlder, Caller of the Round Table

Attributes:

| Strength: 6

| Vitality: 7

| Dexterity: 8

| Magic: 14

| Mana: 10

Skills:

| Incite (★)

Despite being exhausted, and having his nerves pulled taught, Levi couldn’t help but break out into a tired smile. He had magic. Magic.

He had never experienced something like this before. It was exhausting, downright terrifying, and lonely. But survival felt good. Progression felt good.

I shouldn’t stop here. While the night has taken over, I should try and learn some magic… If that’s possible, Levi thought through a long, drawn out yawn. Rubbing his eyes, he turned his gaze back to the book.

As Levi delved deeper into the tome, he stumbled upon a passage that spoke of harnessing the latent mana in the air to create a potent weapon – a bullet of pure mana. The text described a delicate process of concentration and manipulation, akin to weaving threads of magic into a deadly projectile.

"Focus," Levi muttered to himself, tracing the intricate diagrams etched into the pages. "Concentration is key."

Closing his eyes, he reached out with his mind, sensing the faint currents of mana swirling around him. But no matter how hard he tried to call upon the mysterious energy, it didn’t listen to him.

“Damned, stupid thing–”

The moment his words were uttered, he felt the mana listen. His words pierced the veil, echoing against the wall. He felt the magic that they held. That’s right, he was an inciter, not a magic wielding mage, then?

He shook his head. The System. Damn, I’m tired. And so, Levi focused on the area where it showed his new Path and Class.

Class – Mage: A wielder of mana, adept at shaping it into diverse elemental forms for offence, defence, illumination, and illusion mastery.

Path – Inciter: Your voice holds power, use it to provoke your enemies into situations where you reign supreme.

So, I’m like a bard? However, with his concentration broken, the cold assaulted him all at once. He rushed to grab his blankets–

A loud, ear piercing roar shook the core of Levi’s being. It was coming from down the street. It was close. It roared again. It was coming closer.

Shit. Can it detect mana? Not good!

Levi, with quiet steps, rushed to the living room where the door was. It was surrounded by spears. The door was pinned with a large metal plate. Two long pieces of nailed wood kept it in place. Then, something slammed the door with enough force to jostle the hinges securing the door to the frame.

Shoulders lurching, Levi quickly turned the light off, plunging himself into a void of darkness. Bang. Bang. Bang. It continued, the metal warping under the pressure.

Go away. Please, go away!

Levi willed with everything he could, prayed to any god that listened. He was never a religious man. But on this day, this night, he was the most devout of them all. He hated to admit it, but he even fell to his knees, and hoped to the gods that his preparations were enough.

By chance, or perhaps some form of divine intervention, the sun rose from the mountains. The rays peeked through the gaps in his defences, dust–not mana–floated, highlighted by the illumination. It brought with it a saving grace of warmth that relaxed Levi’s shoulders.

The monster was gone.

You have been invited to the Round Table.

| You will be summoned in 7 days.

What?

Levi stared at the words hovering in front of his heavy eyes. He squinted just as the sun moved in his path.