The moment that the last spear-tongue fell dead, Nick felt a rippling pulse of warmth building below his heart. It was his energetic core condensing and expanding at the same time. A sensation that he had last felt back in the safe room after allocating his free attribute point to boost his magic.
He surveyed the hillside to make sure that nothing nasty had arrived while he was preoccupied, then sat down to catch his breath, trying to figure out what was going on inside him.
I just leveled, he realized. That feeling is my magic attribute going up again. Nick hadn’t expected to be able to sense it so clearly when he leveled up. But after a moment’s reflection, he decided that it made sense.
His old class had only given him free attribute points, which didn’t create any sensations until he decided to spend them. But a point in magic was included every time that he leveled his Kineticist class. Next time, he would pick up a point of dexterity as well.
He was a little worried about what that would feel like. The sensations from raising his attributes one at a time were powerful enough, and he suspected that boosting two at once would be even more extreme. It reminded Nick that he had another free point to spend the next time that he opened his menu. He decided to ponder how he wanted to spend it until he camped for the night, then check his skill gains and cash in the free point at the same time.
This Kineticist class is amazing, he laughed, took a drink from his canteen, and then rose back onto his feet. He was thrilled to have acquired so many perks from upgrading to an uncommon class, as Survivor had only been basic, the lowest possible rarity.
Although to be fair, in Nick’s case, the Survivor class had lived up to its name. The trait that came with it had been useful, even before it had been enhanced and fused with his bloodline, and the skills it granted had helped him to endure the dangers of the wild.
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I will never forget you Survivor, he addressed his old class as he slid his pack onto his back. You were my first, and you will always have a special place in my heart. Although he was cracking jokes to amuse himself, most of his attention was fixed upon that fading point of heat originating from his energetic core, gently throbbing in time with his heartbeat.
It was important that he took advantage of the opportunity. To do everything he could think of to learn how to sense his mana pool at will. At present, he could only feel his reserves when casting a spell or when his magic attribute ticked up. Right now, it was easy for Nick to do the math and keep track of how many spells he could cast at any given moment. But the equation changed every time that he leveled or raised his magic by another point.
This counting method would become increasingly obsolete as he delved deeper into the magical arts, which he firmly intended to do. Further complicating matters, he was learning how to fine-tune how much mana he put into his darts. Thus, he needed to know instinctively, without having to stop and think, how much gas he had sloshing around in his tank at any given moment.
In a similar vein, he was hoping to learn how to sense his health and stamina pools at will. Perhaps even track the accumulation of experience, so that he could predict how close he was to reaching the next level. His health and stamina were tied to unique physical sensations, and Nick thought that he would be able to figure it out eventually.
He had already made some progress back in the safe room that he could build upon now. Experience, however, was far more elusive, and he had no clue how to perceive it, if such a thing was even possible to begin with.
Either way, it was a problem for another day, so he drew his analysis to a close and returned his attention to the task at hand, retrieving his equipment and then taking a closer look at the remains of his opponents.
After stretching out and taking another long drink from his canteen, Nick went to retrieve his jacket, which had been flung out into the distance by the frog’s tongue. Fortunately, the grass was relatively short on the hilltop, so it wasn’t too hard to find.
He spotted the garment five minutes later, driven deep into a clump of brush. He gave it a quick once over, pleased to see that the leather was unscathed by the powerful impact.
Note to self. The jacket is better protection versus slashing and piercing than against a high-velocity bludgeon. He donned his armor then decided to break for lunch. After all, more meat than he could eat had just been delivered to his door.