The disappearance of the cards felt like a gut punch from the system, especially since one of the rewards had sounded particularly appealing.
'The spin the wheel reward sounded interesting…' Arlo mused, his mind wandering. 'I wonder what sort of wheel it was and what I could get from spinning it… The ability points, on the other hand, might've been useless since I don't have an ability.'
Arlo had seen earlier in the [Ability] section that ability points could be used to strengthen one's abilities. Unfortunately, without an ability of his own, he wouldn't have been able to do anything with the points until he acquired one.
"Although I guess saving up points would be a good idea… but moving on…" Arlo muttered, shaking his head to refocus on the more pressing matter at hand: his stat screen.
[Strength:5] (+)
[Agility: 5] (+)
[Stamina: 5] (+)
[Sense: 5] (+)
[Mana: 0]
[Available Stat Points: 5]
Arlo stared intently at the stat screen, contemplating his choice.
'It has to be Mana, surely,' he thought, his mind set on his goal. 'I want to be able to at least defend myself with spells in case I accidentally drop the book or something.'
Coming to that conclusion, Arlo made his decision.
'Apply all my stat points into Mana.'
[Unable to allocate stat points to the selected 'Mana' stat.]
[You cannot allocate stat points to the selected stat as you do not have a Mana core.]
"Eh? Seriously?" Arlo's eyes widened as he read the notifications. "What the hell is a mana core?"
It was the second time he had heard that term, the first being when the vampire girl had mentioned it. Just what exactly did it mean?
'How do I get a mana core?' Arlo wondered, hoping for a response from the system.
Despite his question, the system remained silent, causing him to let out a dejected sigh. Left with no other choice, he distributed the points into the other stats.
[Strength: 7]
[Agility: 8]
[Stamina: 5]
[Sense: 5]
[Mana: 0]
[Available Stat Points: 0]
After allocating the stat points, Arlo reviewed the updated screen. While still feeling a little down about not being able to increase his 'Mana' stat, the sight of his improved agility and strength provided some comfort.
"I don't feel any different, tho—"
Arlo's words were cut short as a surge of energy rushed through his body. He could feel his muscles bulging and growing denser, his body becoming lighter. The surge lasted for a few seconds before eventually fading away.
"This… this is…" he muttered, looking down at his body in awe.
While holding the book in his right hand, Arlo began to hop on the spot, throwing a few jabs with his left, marveling at the speed with which they shot through the air.
"Oh~!" he exclaimed joyfully.
There was no doubt that he had become nimbler than before, and his jabs felt like they packed a far stronger punch. Seeing this, Arlo couldn't help but grin.
"Hehe~ I wonder just how strong I can get…” He muttered before looking over at the remaining reward he had left to receive.
[Mail.]
[You've completed the 'Quest: Shadow Wolf Slayer'!]
[Completion rewards have been sent.]
[Would you like to receive them?] (Y/N)
'Yeah, I would—'
Instantly, a bright, glowing light radiated from the screen, morphing into four shimmering cards. The cards were blank, devoid of any designs or markings, but unlike the level-up cards, these ones were white and had white waves of energy pulsing out of them.
[Please select a card of your choice.]
'Let's go with the one on the left this time,' Arlo thought, extending his arm to grab the leftmost card.
The moment he made his choice, the unselected cards disappeared, leaving the chosen card shining even more brightly as it revealed its content.
[+4 Ability Points.]
Arlo's eyes began to twitch as he stared at the card. The card vanished promptly, followed by the Ability tab opening, displaying the large ability tree with the title [Abilityless] at the roots of the tree and the freshly acquired points further below it.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
[Ability]
[Abilityless.]
[Available Ability Points: 4]
"This time, not only did it not show the other rewards that I could have gotten, but it also gave me the reward which I needed the least…" Arlo stared at the screen dejectedly before sighing.
What was done was done, and there was no point in stressing about it.
'I wish I had gotten some more stat points, at least…' he thought, preparing to walk down the path with the orb lighting the way ahead.
However, after a single step, Arlo stopped and glanced back at the shadow wolves' corpses. The earth spikes had retracted back into the ground, leaving the lifeless bodies lying there.
"I might be able to use the corpses for something… maybe selling them or even eating them if I can't…" Arlo mused. "How I'll bring them with me is a problem, though…"
There were six corpses, far too large for him to carry on his own. With that in mind, he searched the book for a spell that might work. After a short while, he finally found it.
"Intermediate Class Water Magic: Water Whip," Arlo called out after finishing the chant.
[MP: 65% -> 64%]
Following his words, a ball of water manifested in front of the blue magic circle, and from it, a water whip emerged. The whip wrapped itself around the corpse of one of the wolves.
After confirming that the water whip could drag the wolf without any issues, Arlo poured more magic power into the spell. He watched as five additional spheres of water emerged from the magic circle, each one launching a whip that wrapped itself around the corpses of the monsters he had defeated.
"Good, with this, I should be fine," Arlo muttered, satisfied with his solution as he began walking down the path.
The six water spheres hovered behind him, just outside the barrier, dragging the monsters' corpses along. With this arrangement, Arlo didn't have to worry about dragging them himself.
'Alright, the next spells I'll try will be advanced class spells,' he thought, his mind already planning ahead. 'After that, I'll try to level up a few times before heading back to my world to make some money. My plan is perfect!'
Filled with joy at how well everything was going, Arlo carried on walking, a bright smile on his face. He seemed to be in such a good mood that he failed to notice the vampire watching him from the very top of one of the nearby trees.
‘Hm… he handled those shadow wolves without any problem,’ Vielle mused, her hair swaying beneath her pointed hat in the gentle breeze. ‘Still, walking in the woods right now isn't a good idea. If he sticks to the path, he should be fine… the dungeon is down that way after all. But I should probably keep watch over him for a little longer…’
A thought suddenly occurred to her, and she furrowed her brow. ‘Also, I've been wondering this, but who is he talking to? It's windy so I can't hear what he's saying from all the way up here, but could he be talking to himself?’
After pondering the question for a moment, she shook her head, dismissing the idea. ‘No, of course not. He didn’t look crazy when I spoke to him.’
With that, the vampire gracefully hovered to the next tree, following after Arlo while remaining hidden from sight.
-
"Hm… that's strange. I haven't encountered any other monsters so far," Arlo muttered as he continued walking, his brow furrowed in confusion.
He had been walking for around twenty minutes, and the only other interaction he'd had was with a different group of adventurers who seemed a little shocked when they watched him pass by. He didn't speak to them either, but he could sort of understand why they were shocked.
'A guy walking through the woods, dragging corpses of monsters behind him… Even I would be shocked if I were them,' Arlo thought, a wry smile on his face. 'I'm not the dense type who would assume that something like that is normal in this world just because I'm able to do it.'
Arlo had read countless stories where the characters would be insanely overpowered yet not realize it, thus believing that they themselves were weak. While he didn't know exactly how strong he was, based on what he'd seen, magic wasn't easily accessible to everyone.
Even among the party of adventurers he had crossed paths with, they didn't seem to have a mage in their ranks, as they were also carrying torches.
"I'm sure being able to use intermediate and advanced class magic makes me stronger than your average adventurer…" Arlo mused, "but that's just my take on it. More importantly, where are the monsters?!"
He looked left and right into the darkness of the woods, hoping to spot a potential target. He had been waiting patiently for a monster to appear so he could test out an advanced class spell, yet nothing showed up.
"Maybe it's because I'm walking down this path…?" Arlo wondered aloud. "If I stray from the path and head into the woods, I might be able to find something… but then I'd get lost, I'm sure of it, and I don't want to risk that right now…"
Arlo stopped to think for a few seconds before letting out a sigh.
"Should I just fire the advanced class spell and head back?"
After pondering the question for a moment, Arlo decided that doing so would be the best option. He began flipping through the pages of the grimoire, searching for an advanced class spell that he wanted to try out.
After finding the spell he was looking for, Arlo glanced down the path and then behind him to ensure there were no signs of anyone approaching. Fortunately, the coast seemed clear.
"Since people walk down this path, I should probably avoid destroying it," Arlo muttered, raising his left arm while holding the grimoire open to the desired page with his right. "Let's aim the spell up at the sky."
Taking a deep breath, he began his chant, focusing intently on each and every word. It was his first time chanting an advanced-class spell, and unlike the chants for the elementary and intermediate ones, this one was far longer.
"By the power of the divine, oh forces of destruction and might…"
Midway through the chant, the air around Arlo grew heavier as a bright orange magic circle manifested before his outstretched hand.
"From the depths of the abyss, I summon the embers of oblivion, a force that consumes all creation…"
As the chant carried on, the magic circle began to grow brighter, and the air around him crackled with static electricity. The wind whipped his hair into a frenzy, adding to the chaotic atmosphere.
Arlo's concern for unleashing the spell grew, yet he continued the chant. As it neared its end, another magic circle formed high up in the air above the trees where he was aiming.
One circle, then a second, and lastly a third appeared, each layered and positioned above one another. The circles illuminated the sky as a swirling vortex of dark energy manifested, growing larger and more powerful with each rotation.
"Heed my call… Advanced Class Explosion Magic: Explosion—"
[MP: 65% -> 60%]
KABOOOOM!
The instant the chant was finished, a blinding light flashed, and the sky itself seemed to ignite as a massive explosion detonated and roared, casting shadows across the area.
The shockwave that followed was so powerful that it left the trees swaying, filling the air with the sound of rustling leaves. Arlo himself was pushed back from the wind pressure, and even his barrier seemed to activate on its own as a defense mechanism.
[Explosion Magic Unlocked.]
"Hey… is this some sort of joke…?" Arlo muttered, his eyes reflecting the embers and flames of the explosion expanding in the sky above him. "I-I knew it would've been powerful, but this is on a whole other level…"
Arlo nervously took a step back before glancing at the grimoire in his hands, his arms trembling.
"Just what… what the hell are you?" Arlo asked, his voice shaking.