To achieve the most optimal Role Advancement you can, you will need one more level in Devouring Phantasm and two more in Avatar Reinforcement. It is my recommendation that we tackle Avatar Reinforcement first.
“Why’s that?” I queried.
I do not know what we will have to do to meet Devouring Phantasm’s next requirement, but we would have lost ourselves in our Connection if not for the time granted to us by your barrier, he explained.
“That’s fair. Any specific type of training you’d like to try out, or just go punch some monsters?”
Yes and yes.
“Huh? That’s not very descriptive.”
You, and I do mean you, will punch monsters, yes, but not with your fists.
I frowned. “Karl, I’m not as good at using the katars as you are, I–”
You will punch them with fire, Karl finished.
“...You have my attention.”
I wish to test the extent of my aspect’s effects on you. As we grow, dragons become capable of more and more magic. The production of dragonfire’s catalyst is fueled by Mana, though it is a biological trait inherent within us dragons. We have a natural affinity to all magic, but especially fire magic. I want to watch you manipulate fire.
“...I really don’t think I can do that, man.” Summoning dragonfire had been hard enough, and that was something dragons could do from, what, birth?
Karl’s presence within my mind suddenly gained a certain weight to it. Are you aware of what summoning dragonfire as a mortal means?
“Uh…” Was it something special that only dragons were supposed to do? “No.”
You replicated something inherent within us dragons with pure Mana. Kenny, I cannot do that. All dragons use dragonfire in one way and one way only– they fire it out as a breath attack.
A bit of cold sweat dripped down my back. “I’m sure it’s not that impressive, it’s just the Skill, y’know?”
I felt my Echo friend glare at me. No. Setting objects you touch alight was “just the Skill,” with only a bit of encouragement and instruction from me– which, by the way, was all made up in the moment– you bound your mindset, Mana, and heartbeat together to produce true dragonfire. “You must think like a dragon!” Did you really think that meant anything at all? I had no expectations that you’d succeed, I only hoped you would gain a level in the Skill.
“So… now you’re going to try to shove magic down my throat as well?”
Any other mortal would be overjoyed at the opportunity to receive tutelage from a dragon as experienced as I!
“Give me a list,” I told him with my blandest tone possible.
Excuse me?
“I want a list of the magic you can teach me, and then I want to pick.”
…Fine. During my time as an Ancient Dragon, I was renowned for my mastery in a number of manipulation Skills, including Fire, Sin, Hellfire, Light, Divine Fire, Space, Dimensional, and Oblivion manipulation.
I grinned. “That’s actually a great selection. Which one would you say is the coolest?”
Karl grumbled. By your standards? Most likely Oblivion.
“Then I pick that one,” I said with a grin.
Are you sure? Karl asked. It’s the most difficult to master by far.
“Absolutely, gimme.”
A second passed. Then another. And then Karl started laughing.
“What?” I asked with a frown. “Did I do something wrong?”
You walked right into my trap is what you did. What knowledge do you think is required to learn Oblivion manipulation?
“Oh no.”
The first and easiest of the prerequisites? Fire manipulation.
I scowled. “You were gonna teach me that first no matter what, weren’t you?”
It is the one dragons have the easiest time with, and it is the least dangerous to fail with. Of course I would test your aptitude with a dragon’s bread and butter first.
“This is abuse.”
No one will ever believe you, Karl informed me with a supervillain-esque tone. For all they know, I’m just a figment of your imagination, and you’re out of your mind.
“Fine, whatever, just teach me the magic already.” He’d already had me head to a nearby pond for what were now obvious reasons. If I somehow set myself on fire through my barrier, I’d be able to douse the flames before they could cause any real damage.
Criss cross, he instructed.
“You already told me that everything you said was garbage, I’m not doing that.”
That part wasn’t. It helps you focus, and aligns your Mana Veins.
“I seriously doubt that, and I don’t even know what those are.”
You will find out soon, Karl said mysteriously.
I dropped into a seated position in the grass. “Happy now?”
Very. Now stretch your arms straight in front of you with your palms forward. And before you start questioning if I know what I’m doing, don’t forget that in addition to my vast wealth of personal experience with magic, I was once a scholar specializing in magical research, including that of the human body.
I grumbled under my breath, but did as he asked anyway.
Now close your eyes and picture your heart. Using your heart as a focus for your casting worked with dragonfire, so it should work.
I imagined the heart within my chest, beating at a steady rhythm.
Now, picture a flame hidden within your heart. Imagine that, with each pulse of your heart, it grows larger and larger.
I did as he asked, and felt a sudden case of literal heartburn.
Do not lose focus, Karl commanded.
I pushed all my focus onto the flame within my heart, rapidly growing to fill all the available space.
“It’s– too much,” I grunted.
It is critical that you do not release it! Imagine your arteries and veins– push the flame through them. Not all at once, but slowly. It should follow through the stream of your blood.
I did as he asked, and the pain immediately reduced, warmth rapidly spreading through my entire body.
Imagine it gathering within your hands, right in front of your palms, and clasp them around the flame loosely. You don’t want to smother it, but you don’t want it to escape.
I moved my palms into a ball, trying my best to follow along with the instructions. The heat from my body slowly reduced and gathered at a single point– my hands. Then, even that was reduced, but I still felt it tingling gently against my skin.
Now open your eyes, Karl instructed with a smug voice.
Within my hands was a ball of flame, hovering in midair. It didn’t burn me, and it didn’t go out either. It was…
Eye-opening, isn’t it?
“Lame. I can already shoot fire out of my fists. Hate to break it to ya, bud, but dragonfire is way cooler than this.”
Karl spluttered in disbelief. What?! No. You don’t get to disrespect real magic like this. You’re going to hold that ball in your hands and walk into the lake.
“Uhh, no thanks? I’d rather not get wet.”
My legs suddenly started moving of their own volition, and I scowled at them. “Traitors.”
Step after step. Every time I thought Karl was about to stop walking, he just took another step. Then I was chest-deep in water and my flame had completely extinguished.
“Very cool, man. Now I’m wet and there’s no fire magic. Quite possibly the most mature reaction I’ve ever laid eyes upon.”
I’m trying to teach you a lesson, Karl sighed. What if I told you that there’s a way to keep that fire burning under the water?
I raised an eyebrow. “I think I’d probably say I don’t believe you.”
It’s true. Would you like to try it?
“...Fine, but if you’re lying to me I’m just not going to do the whole magic thing.”
No lies, but it may take a few tries.
“Even the flies, with a burger and fries?”
What?
“Nothing.”
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Just get out of the water already.
“Oh, right.” I hurriedly shuffled back to shore, then lit myself on fire with Avatar Reinforcement to quickly dry off.
That ability is a cheat and when you lose it you will be crying if you don’t have magic to fall back on.
I furrowed my eyebrows. “If you’re expecting me to lose the ability, but you want me to practice magic with it anyways? That sounds like it’s going to screw me even more.”
You will possess the theoretical and practical knowledge to perform all of the spells I teach you even after the loss of Avatar Reinforcement, you will simply need to practice more afterwards to regain your skill.
“Will I still be able to conjure dragonfire?”
Most likely not.
“That’s lame.”
That’s life, boy. Sometimes obtaining power means abandoning that which you know in favor of that which possesses far more potential, Karl warned.
“You know, I’ve never had a girlfriend, but if I did and she said that to me I’d leave her on the spot.”
Loyalty to people is worth something, loyalty to a tool is not, he advised.
“You really do just spit out quotes, don’t you?” It was getting to be a bit much, honestly.
I’ve had a lot of time to think of them, and you’re the first person who had to listen to me.
“I mean, I could always just kick you out of Avatar Reinforcement,” I jokingly threatened.
You would never. You’d lose almost all of your stats, your barrier, my dragonfire, practically all of your Skills would become useless… Need I continue?
“Jeez, man, it was just a joke,” I rubbed the back of my neck.
I am aware, now shut up and listen.
Karl proceeded to explain the exact method to produce water-ignoring flames. When he’d started with “Now imagine the fire as white, and empty,” I’d almost completely dismissed the thought that this might even work, but he then instructed me to keep the flame building even as I stole power away from it.
Neither of those things were that hard, but keeping all of that going while I stood up and walked around? That was where the challenge came from.
Karl said that I was doing well, but I doubted it. Every time I stood up, it felt like the little white ball of fire would slowly start fading away, eventually completely winking out.
But, eventually… I did it.
Then my dragon instructor had me walk directly into the water to test the flames out.
To absolutely everyone’s surprise, Karl excluded, the flames… held.
I walked out of the water and then dipped the little fire back in, just to make sure. It still refused to be doused.
“Okay, you’ve gotta explain this right now.” A little fire like this perpetually burning beneath water was absolutely absurd, at least in these conditions.
Karl was very smug. Once you’ve learned the basics of manipulation magics, you can begin to replicate their effects with pure mana. What you’re holding now? That is not fire. It is magic pretending to be fire.
I squinted. “So… just changing the color of the fire does that?”
Yes, but do not try it with any other kinds of Mana. The heart may work well as a visualization for fire, but that is due to their metaphysical compatibility in addition to your personal view of magic. That is why starting with fire was a good idea– there’s much less difference between dragonfire and fire verses dragonfire and space.
“I… guess that makes sense?”
We will now continue to practice fire magic until either the sun sets or you gain a level in Avatar Reinforcement for your efforts.
“It’s not even noon yet!”
Oh, I am fully aware. Prepare to suffer.
----------------------------------------
Avatar Reinforcement (Lv. 8) → (Lv. 9)
+3 Mana Recovery
+1 Attribute Point (Human Versatility)
+1 Skill Realignment
Strength or Dexterity or Mana or Mana Regen
Ah, finally, Karl celebrated the notification as I collapsed into the sand beneath my feet.
I hadn’t expected “fire magic practice” to involve much in the way of physically exhausting activities, but boy was I wrong. Karl had wanted me to run across the beach again and again with different objects conjured purely from flame and held together by raw focus.
To my knowledge, there wasn’t even a point to the practice. Every time I’d asked to know why he was having me do it, he just said, You might need it someday.
That’s like getting a degree in World History when your career is Construction Site Manager. Y’know. Just in case.
So, what do you think you’ll be going with here? Karl idly gazed at the options, thinking for himself which might be best.
“Strength sounds nice, but I don’t want a fully physical build. I’m just gonna keep it as Mana Regen.” I mentally selected the choice.
Likely a wise decision. Now, you should check your status.
Not bothering to question him, I pulled up the screen.
Name: Kenny Bert
Race: Human (Earth)
Role: Speaker for the Dead
Strength: 5 (+24)
Mana: 27 (+39)
Dexterity: 5 (+12)
Mana Regen: 22 (+21)
Connection: 8 (Karl)
Passives: Human Versatility, Echo Garden
Skills: Devouring Phantasm (Lv. 9), Avatar Reinforcement (Lv. 9)
Quests: Reintegration (9%), Impossible Task (9/11) (0/1)
I nodded in satisfaction. “Those are some good stats. Was there something specific you wanted me to see?”
Yes. Please select the Impossible Task quest.
“Uhh… alright.”
I did as he asked.
Grand Quest: Impossible Task Requirements Updating…
New Grand Quest: Impossible Task
You’ve agreed to do the impossible to save your world from the impending apocalypse.
Requirements: Attribute Points (9/7), Ascension (0/1)
Quest Reward: +1 Level to All Skills
Quest Series Reward: Primary Skill Selection
My jaw dropped.
“Wait, what happened??” Had something changed such that I could get offworld… early? Had the amount of “Mana points” I needed decreased?
Quests only update their requirements when you open them. I ran the math the other night. You’re currently over requirements because of how much our Mana attribute has increased. The System was increasing the requirement at a rate of one Attribute Point a day, but that stopped being applicable with how high our Mana reached.
“Why didn’t you say anything? We could already be powerleveling in another world!”
I felt Karl smirk. I didn’t want you to lose motivation, and I also didn’t want you to be stuck on your first Role in the next world. Now, I assume you’ll want to go pick up some supplies and let Olive know that you’ll be leaving?
A pang of guilt went through me. I’d been a complete jerk in the morning, and now I was just going to leave her for the wolves? It just didn’t feel right.
You’re saving your world, Karl reminded me. Some sacrifices must be made.
I pursed my lips and gave a quick nod.
There were still a few hours before sunset, but I’d prefer to get things going as soon as possible, so I immediately hopped in the car and sped off back home.
There weren’t any bodies nor supplies to bury or deposit, so I just quickly rushed into the house and started throwing my things together. Multiple packs of supplies, a tent, a sleeping bag, my trusty shovel, and all my weapons save the deagle, which I’d be leaving with Olive.
Then I stopped to chat with her.
She’d been hiding in my aunt’s old room, so she hadn’t watched me stampede through the entire house to load myself up like an abused camel, but she’d certainly heard it, evidenced by her peeking out through the door just as I arrived.
“Kenny? Is something wrong?”
“I told you this morning I had a quest to save the world, right?”
She blinked at me. Twice. “Yeah? Did you want to give me some details on that or something?”
I grinned. “Sort of. Basically, the quest involves going to another planet– another realm, whatever that means. It’ll help me get stronger faster, and it means I won’t be restricted by the growth limit that Earth’s going to be dealing with. Pretty much, I’m just getting an early start on the higher scaling of a world above our tier.”
She blinked at me three times now. That probably wasn’t a good sign. “I have no idea what you just said.”
I thought for a second, then came up with a good example for her. “You know those isekai stories where the protagonist ends up in another world?”
Her eyes lit up. “Oohhhh, you’re getting summoned to be a hero in another world? That’s sick as a brick my dude. Do you know when you’re coming back? And can you take people with you?”
“Uhh,” my brain short-circuited. “Not exactly summoned by them, more summoning myself to them. I’m doing it on purpose. And then, when I’m strong enough, I’ll be isekai’ing myself back to Earth, and then I’ll actually be a hero. In theory. Does that make sense?”
She nodded vigorously. “Yup, I get it. Keep talking.”
“I’ll be back sometime before the Reintegration quest ends. I’m not sure on the exact date, but I plan to be back before things get really bad. As for bringing people along…” Karl shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t think that’s how it works.”
Her shoulders slumped a bit. “Aw dang, I was hoping I could come along. Oh well, I hope you have fun. Do you want me to watch the house?”
Now it was my turn to blink at her. “You’re awfully accepting of this.”
She shrugged. “I’ve been reading books and watching shows with these sorts of ‘Systems’ for years. When one actually became real? Things don’t really surprise me anymore.”
“Oh. That’s… LitRPG, yeah?”
“Yup! Loved it for a while, stopped reading for a while, but all this stuff got me reading a bit more of it before… uh, y’know.” Her smile turned a bit uncomfortable.
“Alright, I don’t really know how this works but I’m probably going to go to my… garden. Yeah, my garden to do this. Wanna watch?”
She did a little hop. “You bet I do!”
I led her out back and spent a moment pointing out where my plants were, just in case she ended up sticking around at my place for long enough to harvest them.
Then, with a quick goodbye… I hit the button.
“Nine points into Mana, please.”
Notice: Your Stat growth has exceeded this Realm’s limit. You will now be transported to a suitable E Grade Realm.
New Grand Quest: Impossible Task
You’ve agreed to do the impossible to save your world from the impending apocalypse.
Requirements: Attribute Points (9/7), Ascension (0/1)
Quest Reward: +1 Level to All Skills
Quest Series Reward: Primary Skill Selection
Name: Kenny Bert
Race: Human (Earth)
Role: Speaker for the Dead*
Strength: 5 (+24)
Mana: 27 (+39) +9 Pending
Dexterity: 5 (+12)
Mana Regen: 22 (+21)
Connection: 9 (Karl)
Passives: Human Versatility, Echo Garden*
Skills: Devouring Phantasm* (Lv. 10), Avatar Reinforcement* (Lv. 10)
Quests: Reintegration (9%)
Notice: You have reached the maximum level in one of your Skills. You may evolve your Role at any time, or you may wait for your other Skills to reach the maximum level to improve the quality of your Role evolution choices.
Notice: You have reached the maximum level in all of your Skills. You may evolve your Role at any time for higher quality Role evolution choices.
And then everything flashed white, and the world vanished.