“How is she?” Grillion asked.

“Stable. For now, at least.” Toby asked as he moved his flipper away from Lily’s hand. “Can you carry me to the chair over there, Gramp? I need to think.”

“Sure.” The old globin did just that, leaving the Lukas sleeping soundly as he lay next to Lily.

The boy made a fuss about wanting to take care of his big sis throughout the night and would make sure nothing happened to her. Only to fall asleep from exhaustion not long after.

“How about you, Gramp? Tired?” Toby asked as he flopped his belly down on the chair.

“Not as much as you. Get some sleep, little Toby.”

Toby shook his head. “There's something I need to do first.”

Grillion nodded. “Regardless of what you need to do. Get some sleep. I’ll stand guard.” The goblin said before walking out of the cave and sitting next to the entrance.

After the battle, they were lucky enough to not get attacked by wild animals that could had been lured in by the smell of blood from the three bandits. Or worse, intelligent monsters that would gladly take advantage of the situation and turn the four of them into their next meal.

Toby closed his eyes and felt his body. Without the tutorial buff, he felt sluggish, as if he were thrown into a mud pit while losing all his limbs all of a sudden. His vision went from almost omniscient to just a regular eye view. The flow of Mana inside him used to feel like a boundless sea; now it was barely a stream. His mind used to be able to process everything so quickly and clearly with godly concentration; now it felt like he was distracted every damn second.

But it was worth it. He could reach that height again. He just needed time. While Lily only had one life. Toby looked at the kids as a light that had never been there before penetrated his soul.

System, how can I get stronger?

[Formulating. Option one: the user can get stronger by Level Up by killing beings that the user has never killed before. Through Level Up, the user can gain stats.

Option two: the user can gain more Life Exp throughout the user’s life and Rank Up. With Rank Up, the user gains access to more powerful Skills and Items from The Shop. Another benefit of Rank Up is that the user can upgrade a Skill’s Rank and improve the Skill’s effectiveness.

Option three: the user can gather strong and reliable companions and create a party. There is a saying in the user’s previous world, "Strength in number"]

Toby took a deep breath. One step at a time Toby, one step at a time.

Is there a threshold or something that changes my fundamentals when I increase my stats?

[For every ten points in any stat, the user will experience a quantitative change as the user’s body and mind adapt to the newfound power]

Toby looked at his stats, the closest he got to the ten-point mark was in [Mind] and [Mana]. But he needed to plan his route carefully. Stat Point was a limited resource he couldn’t afford to waste, like how he panicked and dumped all ten points into [Strength] like before.

Status

Strength: 26 (+0)

Dexterity: 4 (+0)

Resilience: 30 (+0)

Charisma: 11 (+0)

Mind: 18 (+0)

Mana: 9 (+0)

Distribution points: 10

System, is there a Skill that could help me fly or control Mana better? He couldn’t rely on others to move him forever, nor did he know how many points he needed in [Mana] before he could fly like before. It was better to use a Skill for the time being.

[Searching. Rank 4 Skill – Fly found. Denied. The user Rank did not meet the requirement to purchase the Skill]

Is there some kind of skill combination that could do the same at my Rank?

[Searching. Yes, there is a skill combination that could allow the user to mimic the effect of Rank 4 Skill – Fly. The skill combination is Rank 2 Skill – Float and Rank 1 Skill – Push]

How much do they cost?

[A Rank 1 Skill costs 20 Life Exp, a Rank 2 Skill costs 50 Life Exp]

Why the hell are they so expensive? Toby lamented.

[Skill’s cost is calculated based on the lives of millions of beings who once lived in Virelen. It is the average cost according to the formular]

“Right.” First things first, boosting his [Mind] and [Mana] to reach the first threshold was a must. “2 points in [Mind] and 1 point in [Mana].”

[Mind increase: 18 -> 20]

[Mana increase: 9 -> 10]

[Distribution point: 10 -> 7]

With the threshold reached, Toby felt like his brain was soaked in a clear spring. Calm, cold, chilling, but most of all, relaxing. The Mana in his body was still a stream, but it was bigger and the water moved faster than before. He could barely 'see’ the same way when he had the tutorial buff. Just five feet around him, but it was better than nothing.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

“Ok,” Toby took a deep breath again and thought of a plan for the future.

For now, we should move away from this place as soon as possible. We can’t risk the chance of being attacked like this again. The best choice should be a relatively safe city or town where there are guards so that whoever attacked us will have to hesitate to do it again.

As for me, I have seven stat points left… Hum, [Magic Hand] is the most useful since I don’t have hands. It also the most versatile tool I have. Ok, I’m ranking it up.

I can buy skills that mimic how to fly. Oh, right. System, can I sell the Skills I bought?

[Yes, the user can use Exchange function in The Shop to sell or exchange Skills/Items the user purchased or acquired. As long as the user doesn’t Upgrade the Skills or Items beforehand]

Huh? Then why is the list blank? I have a bunch of Skills.

[The list is blank because those are Skills the user gained through practice or was created through Turtle System’s support. The user can only sell or exchange Skills or Items purchased from The Shop or acquired from the world of Virelen]

Like this one? Toby used [Magic Hand] and picked up the leather armor the hammer guy wore.

[Calculating. Item does not meet the requirement to be sold or exchanged. The user must gather fifty more Items of the same quality to gain 1 Life Exp]

…This is just daytime robbery, man. Fucking capitalist. I almost died just for two of these, and I needed fifty for one Life Exp.

Toby sighed. Well, that’s a bust.

Ok, new plan. Gather everything I can get my hands on and be a loot goblin. Toby slapped his forehead. I don’t have a cheat-like inventory with limitless space… No, wait. Maybe I do. System, what do you know about The Dark Lord’s Inventory?

[Searching. Failed. The user has used to acquire such information]

Worth a shot. Toby shrugged. But there must be something in that inventory that can help Lily. That woman said they also laid the road, I just need to get stronger and continue their plan to break this damn curse. Right, let’s do that.

Ok, that’s my plan of action. But how should I develop myself?

[Dex] focus isn’t an option. My [Dex] is too low, and it costs too much to bump that up. [Mind] and [Mana] are both important since I need them for Skills. My [Strength] is also quite high after dumping all 10 points into it.

Toby closed his eyes and folded his flippers. He stayed like that for minutes before nodding his head.

A close combatant who can heal his injuries as he fights. I can bump my [Mind] and [Mana] up to compensate for [Dex]. That should be my best choice.

Being the go-getter he was, Toby acted right away. After he took around ten, or maybe thirty, more minutes of procrastination as he doubted himself.

“Fuck it. Let’s do this. Four points in [Strength] and three points in [Mana].”

[Strength increase: 26 -> 30]

[Mana increase: 10 -> 13]

[Distribution point: 7 -> 0]

Toby could feel his muscles grow. If he were a human, Toby bet he must have eight packs by now.

“Get me those Skills that mimic flying.”

[Purchasing Rank 2 Skill – Float and Rank 1 Skill – Push]

[Life Exp cost: 70. Life Exp: 200 -> 130]

Two balls of light appeared in front of Toby and landed on the ground in front of him. When the light disappeared, two parchments with magic circles drawn with ink that had Mana in them showed themselves. After which they turned into light particles and disappeared.

[Rank 2 Skill – Float and Rank 1 Skill – Push acquired]

“Upgrade [Magic Hand] Skill.”

[Upgrading Rank 1 Skill – Magic Hand to Rank 2 Skill]

[Life Exp cost: 50. Life Exp: 130 -> 80]

80 Life Exp. Not enough to Rank Up but enough for one more Upgrade and to buy something for healing. If I remember correctly, a Rank 2 Item cost 40. Shit. Only enough for a Skill upgrade or two healing Items.

Tapping his flippers on the chair, Toby thought about what he should use the rest of his Life Exp for.

Wait, I don’t have to use them now. I can just keep them. Yeah, let’s do that. Toby nodded. Next stop, that black tree.

Using his new combo right away [Float] and [Push], Toby flew toward the cave entrance. Without the System’s support and the tutorial cheat, Toby wobbled like a drunk man as he tried to float and push himself in the right direction. Sadly, the first thing he met was the ground. But he still had [Float] so when he touched the ground, he just bounced off like he was in a zero-gravity environment.

“This is kind of fun.” Toby smiled. “No, focus, Toby.”

He focused his mind and controlled the Skills. Remembering the sensation he felt when he was able to perfectly control Mana helped a lot. Slowly but surely, he was getting used to it. When he was stable enough to move without faceplanting, he flew toward Grillion.

“Gramp, I’m going to that black tree. Look after the kids for me.”

“No,” Grillion answered without looking back. “What you need is sleep. You can do that tomorrow.”

“We don’t have time, Gramp. The longer we stay here, the more danger we’re in. More bandits could come at any moment. We need to move.”

“…They weren’t bandits.” Grillion turned back. He raised three bronze tags.

“Bronze Rank adventurers?” Toby squinted his eyes.

“Yes. That’s why we will be safe for now.”

“Why?”

“Attacking civilians is a major crime. Even if Lily had that mark on her neck, they weren’t allowed to attack us like they did. These three most likely took the request from a black market and moved here without letting the gate guards know. The best chance we have at safety is to move to the closest city, Port City Eldium, and report this to the Adventurer Guild.”

Staring at the bronze tags, Toby answered. “Ok. I’ll rest a bit and wake up for my shift so that you can sleep too.”

“You don’t have to do that.” Grillion took out what looked like orange coffee beans from a small pouch on his hip. “These will keep me energized even if I don’t sleep for a night.”

“I don’t know how that works, but I think natural sleep would still be better, Gramp.”

Grillion smiled. “Go to sleep, little Toby.”

Toby nodded. “Ok, good night, Gramp.” With that, Toby floated back to his chair and closed his eyes.

He must have been more tired than he thought since the moment he closed his eyes, sleep found its way to him without any tossing and turning. He laid down, and everything went silent.

The next morning, Toby opened his eyes to the sound of something breaking.

He looked toward the kids. Lily was still lying there, but her complexion was much better than the day before as color returned to her face. Next to her, Lukas was nowhere to be found. But considering the sound Toby was hearing, it was obvious where the boy was.

“Good morning, little Toby. Breakfast ready.” Grillion said as he handed Toby a slice of bread.

“Thanks, Gramp” Toby took with [Magic Hand] and floated the bread toward his mouth. He stuffed the slice into his mouth, almost choking in the process. He swallowed the damn dry thing before coughing a bit.

Grillion shook his head like he was looking at some unruly child before asking. “The tree?”

“The tree,” Toby answered as he floated up. “I’m going now.”

“Have a safe trip.”

Toby flew out of the cave toward the tree. When he saw the drenching Lukas, he stopped and patted the boy on the back.

“Who’s there.” The boy jumped back and pointed his wooden sword at Toby.

When he was the turtle, he lowered his sword. “I’m sorry, big bro Toby. I just…”

“I know.” Toby floated next to the boy and patted his back. “We need to get stronger. Much stronger.”

“…Yes. We must get stronger. Strong to the point that no one would ever dare to hurt our family like this ever again.” Lukas said through gritted teeth.

“…Our family?”

“Oh…Um…Well…If you want to, big bro Toby.” The boy started to fidget.

“…It’s ok… It... feels nice.” Toby slapped Lukas on the back. “Hahaha, cheeky brat. I’m off.” Toby flew away.

“Ouch. That’s hurt.” The boy had tears welling up in his eyes.

“Get back soon, big bro Toby.” Lukas waved.

If turtles had legs, he would be skipping because of how good his mood was. It was such a funny thing. They were fighting for their lives the day before, but they could smile and laugh normally right now. It was a strange yet comfy feeling.

“What do you have in store for me, my seniors?” Toby mumbled as he floated in front of the black tree.