While not at all what Lucas had aimed for, a free skill was always good and definitely a cause for celebration. Excited, he ignored the pain he felt surging through his body and quickly began to analyze the words in the skill description.

Skill: Fire Blast (Common)

When you find yourself surrounded by opponents on all sides, your best option might be to blast them all away. Explode the fire within you and take down your foes, but beware, you might not emerge unscathed. Adds a small bonus to the effect of magic while using Fire Blast.

His first impression was that it seemed like a pretty useful skill, especially for dealing with larger groups. But the part about him not emerging unscathed left him concerned. Sure, he probably could knock down others with this, but if he wasn’t able to flee afterward, did he really want to use it? Wouldn’t it be better for him to try to break out of an encirclement through some other way?

Lucas focused on the damage done to his body and was surprised to see it hadn’t been as bad as he expected. Only fifty health points had been taken from him, and the injuries he suffered didn’t seem to limit his movements much; they just hurt a lot.

However, most of the damage he took was on his insides, so he couldn’t give a precise assessment. If something inside him, like his stomach, tendons, or even his heart, got damaged, it would be really troublesome, not to mention deadly.

It will probably be alright if I don’t use it too many times in a row, Lucas came to a conclusion after thinking everything through. When he was about to proceed with his experiments, a thought popped into his head.

Is it possible for me to protect my body with mana? His eyes lit up. If mana could be used to attack, then naturally it should also be possible to defend with it and that could also be a solution for his Toughness issue.

Deciding to revisit this subject later, Lucas resumed his experiment. He still wasn’t convinced he wasn’t capable of pulling it off. Instead of feeling dejected about his failed attempt, he felt encouraged. With every step, he felt closer to his goal, but he realized now that he needed to take a different approach to the matter.

It was clear now that the fireball had a limit to how much it could be compressed before exploding. But what if instead of compressing all the way to the size he wanted, he changed its form and spread out the fire in a more aerodynamic way?

With this idea in mind, Lucas began testing. Instead of a ball, he formed what looked like a small missile. Though impressive, it was still too large for his liking, so he began shrinking it down, carefully compressing the fire. Slowly but surely, a big bullet was formed.

Before Lucas could think about how he should release that thing, the room’s door abruptly swung open. Acting instinctively, he raised a hand and pointed two fingers towards the door, and a rush of fire erupted.

Before the newcomer could say a word, a fire projectile pierced his chest, scorching flesh and limbs. Shock registered on both their faces, as the man fell forward, a victim of Lucas’ improved fireball.

A notification sounded, but Lucas had no time to check it as three others arrived shortly after. Quickly checking his mana, Lucas saw that his new trick had taken a good chunk out of it, about fifty points, to be precise. That meant he could use the skill five more times, considering he had already lost some mana in his previous tests, but that should be enough.

Feeling like one of those mythical Wild West gunslingers, Lucas puffed out his chest, aimed, fired, and missed two out of three shots. Dammit, he cursed internally. The precision of his first shot had been an outlier; it was clear now that his aim was terrible. Although expected given his lack of practice with the skill, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

As a result of his missed shots, two very furious-looking man charged towards him to avenge their sister that had fallen, and Lucas was forced to change to melee once again.

Not long after, when it became clear that they were no closer to avenging their sister and were instead walking toward their deaths, they began to flee. Lucas’ speed, however, was supreme compared to those on the same level as him, and after he finished them off with a few strikes of his blades, he noted they were all lowered leveled than him.

*You have killed Human – lvl 9. Experience earned.*

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

*You have killed Human – lvl 10. Experience earned.*

*You have killed Human – lvl 10. Experience earned.*

Seeing that no one else was coming through the door, Lucas quickly glanced at the long-awaited notification.

New skill acquired!

Skill: Fire Shot (Common)

Combining a highly penetrative and scorching effect, the fire shot is a great starting point for many aspiring spell casters. Adds a small bonus to the effect of magic when using Fire Shot.

No surprise there, but it gratifying to see his efforts acknowledged with an upgrade to his skill. Based on the description, it seemed much better than the fire ball he had learned back in the tutorial. The bonus to magic should come in handy as well.

“Nice aim,” the prince scoffed afterward, not so surprised this time around. This made Lucas think that perhaps this skill wasn’t a big deal creativity-wise and was probably widespread around the multiverse. However, this told Lucas nothing about the quality of the actual skill. It wasn’t because something was popular that it was bad; quite the opposite, actually, it might be an indication of how useful it was. Besides, he already had his blades to fulfill the originality quota.

Lucas considered replying to the prince’s provocation but ultimately decided to ignore him. Part of him felt he deserved the mockery considering how terrible his shots were, but there was no time to sulk over it. He would get better with time. Pushing this thought aside, he considered what to do next.

If I stay here, more people will come after me—maybe even one of Sultan’s “arms”, Lucas thought. Things had changed a little from when he entered the room. Now he believed people knew for sure that something was up, or at least they strongly suspected it, or he wouldn’t have to fight with three opponents at once.

I’ve already learned what I could. It’s time to head out, Lucas decided finally. He chugged down a potion to recover his mana and was amazed by the warm feeling he felt while drinking it.

He had been so involved in learning alchemy and concocting potions that he hadn’t even realized he hadn’t drunk a mana potion until now. The taste was good, but the outcome was better. His mana, which had taken a hit with his recent experiments and use of his new skill, was now back to its full capacity.

Feeling prepared, Lucas left the room after a few rushed words with the prince, who followed suit. In the corridor, once again, Lucas found nobody, so he proceeded to the door at the end of it.

He tried to listen in to see if he could get a feel of the place before he opened up, but he only encountered silence. It could be one of two things: either the sound isolation was exceptionally good, or there were no hurried movements on the other side.

Deciding to find out for himself which of the options was correct. Lucas slowly began to open the door. He peeked inside and found a large room filled with tables and seats. There was a door on both sides, probably leading to the dormitories and the arsenal, as the prince had said. The most impressive thing about the room was hands down what Lucas imagined to be Sultan’s office.

It was a large squared-shaped structure with glass walls hanging from the ceiling at the far end of the cafeteria. The glass was dark, however, so Lucas couldn’t see if Sultan was inside. It gave him a sense of uneasiness, knowing he could be under surveillance from that unknown enemy. Shifting his gaze to the tables bellow Lucas saw three men and a woman seated at a table; they were talking and eating, as if nothing had happened. They didn’t even glance in his direction as he opened the door.

Lucas quickly realized his initial assessment of the situation had been flawed. He hadn’t been discovered. What was more likely was that those three had sessions scheduled at the training rooms, which was why they met him together. Since the room he was staying was the closest to the cafeteria, it wouldn’t be crazy to assume that it was the first door they opened.

However, he didn’t feel regretful. He had done all he could to prepare himself for the final battle. All there was left now was to act.

Slowly, still partially concealed by the door with the prince behind him, Lucas raised his arm and both fingers. He closed his left eye and took a deep breath. This time, his skill came naturally to him. The entire process had been simplified and even optimized, and he barely felt it as the fire left his finger and went through a bald man’s head.

Seeing the gory scene that followed, Lucas felt a chill. He had barely realized it, but by now he had been fairly desensitized to all the killing. He knew that a part of that was due to him not considering them real people but merely images of the past. Deep down, however, he also knew that something was changing inside him, adapting to the circumstances and what was required in this new world.

Choosing to leave the psychological analysis for later, Lucas moved on to his next target right after the shock passed. The three men were now armed and coming at great speeds towards him, but Lucas didn’t let that affect him and fired his second shot. With the man being only a few yards away, this shot was even easier than the first, and a hole appeared on his chest.

There was no time for a third shot, however, as the last two quickly arrived after Lucas fully entered the room, with the prince looking terrified in tow. It almost seemed like he was trying to become one with the walls and turn invisible, which seemed to work, as both of them focused entirely on Lucas.

Lucas made use of his footwork and was like a fish in the sea between both swords that came his way, none of them able to even land a scratch on him. With his speed advantage, it really became unfair for his opponents to fight against him, but Lucas didn’t take that for granted and quickly finished them off with a few well-placed punches to the ribs.

He didn’t celebrate; he knew the real fight was yet to come. Almost as if complementing his thought, he saw two men descend from opposing stairs, right below the glass-walled room above the cafeteria.

One of them was carrying a staff, similar to the one Faruk had, and the other had a big saber lying on his shoulder, coupled with a smug smile. Lucas quickly went to identify them and immediately became serious:

Human – lvl 14

Human – lvl 14