CHAPTER 55: MANA

It took quite some time, but Lanz eventually made his way back to the spot where he had first seen the cave tucked away behind the waterfall.

This time, he moved with deliberate care, stepping around the spray of water so he wouldn’t end up soaked before even sitting down.

Once he spotted a decent patch of ground, he wasted no time lowering himself onto it with a heavy plop.

Pulling off his helmet, he exhaled a long, steamy breath and muttered, "Man, Phantom Stride is so tiring to f*cking use."

After a brief pause, he glanced at the system readout in his mind and added, "So, level fifteen, huh," before tugging off both gloves with a tired flick of his wrists.

GROWWWWWLLLLLLLLLL.

A loud, prolonged growl rolled out from his stomach, almost making him flinch.

"Opp, I’mma eat first," he announced to absolutely no one, reaching into his inventory to pull out his bag.

It materialized and inside, he retrieved a can of century tuna, flicked it open, and proceeded to demolish the entire thing without hesitation. And really, there was nothing to feel guilty about, that stuff was just too good to pace yourself with.

When he was done, he gave a satisfied blurp, tossed the empty can aside for now, and slid the bag back into his inventory.

"Where was I... ahh, yes! I turned level fifteen!" Lanz said, more to hype himself up than anything else.

The familiar chime of the system rang in his head, followed by the neat little display.

[USER PROFILE: ZERO

Level: 14 → 15

EXP: 39 / 150]

’What was the reward again?’ he wondered, waiting for the next prompt to roll in.

[Special Loot Box]

[DOES THE USER WANT TO USE THE [Special Loot Box]?

YES / NO]

He grinned at the sight of it.

"Ohh~~~ let’s see what this guy blesses us with," he said, leaning forward and pressing YES without even a hint of hesitation.

A small, ornate box materialized right in front of his chest, hanging in the air as if it had been there all along.

Without rushing, it floated upward until it was level with his face, pausing just long enough to make him sus of it before it opened.

A harsh burst of light spilled out immediately, so blinding that Lanz had to throw up one hand to shield his eyes before the box could sear his retinas into permanent damage.

The glow eventually faded, leaving only the faint shimmer of residual particles drifting away.

Lanz lowered his hand slowly and blinked his eyes open, taking a moment to adjust before the system message finally rolled in.

[CONGRATULATIONS! THE USER HAS OBTAINED A [DEV TIER RELIC]:

Ring of Genorya – ???]

[The user is yet to be qualified to use the Ring of Genorya]

He stared at the notification in disbelief, his face tightening into the exact expression of someone who had been promised cake only to be told it was for display purposes only.

"What the hell? This little f*cker got me all excited and sh*t just to tell me I suck too much to use it?!" he hissed, his voice bouncing slightly off the cave walls as he glared at the floating text like it owed him money.

After a brief pause that could have been mistaken for deep contemplation but was really just him processing the insult, he shrugged in defeat.

"Ahh, who f*cking cares. I’mma still wear it anyway," he muttered, slipping into a lazy sigh as he threw his arms outward in an exaggerated show of indifference.

It was the kind of body language that screamed he didn’t care, even though he very much did — but that was something we were all just going to politely ignore.

He turned his hand slightly, letting the dim cave light catch on its surface, before shaking his head and moving on.

"I’m more interested in the way my mana works anyways..." he said as he rolled bis eyes, the familiar ping of a new system window cutting him off as the next prompt took over.

________________

STR: 20 | AGI: 10 (Affinity) | VIT: 5 | DEX: 5 | INT: 14 | WIS: 5

[Available Stat Points: 3]

[Derived Stat — MANA: 75 / 75]

________________

"Does leveling up automatically replenish my mana?" he asked, one eyebrow raised while his thumb and index finger rested thoughtfully under his chin.

He waited a moment as if the system would politely answer his question unprompted, which, of course, it f*cking didn’t.

"If it does, then that would make sense," he continued, leaning back slightly as he spoke. "I also feel much better every time I level up, kind of like in that Tier 1 Gate from before."

His posture straightened, the thought apparently convincing enough to make him sit up properly.

"But how long does it take for my mana to fill back up..." he muttered, his eyes flicking toward his mana meter.

Then, with the kind of resigned tone that suggested he was already anticipating boredom, he added, "Well, there’s only one way to find out in this situation."

As soon as the thought left his mouth, Lanz reached into his inventory and pulled out the Aged Blade Fragment.

It appeared in his grip in an instant, materializing out of thin air with the familiar weight settling into his hand.

He took in a deep breath, steadying himself, and then called out the command without hesitation.

[Crimson Slash – Activated]

The cave was immediately bathed in a burst of shifting crimson light, deep shades mixing with sharper highlights as his blade tore through the air in a clean downward strike.

Before the blade hit the ground, the motion ended with a sudden stop, and from that point of impact, a sharp gust of wind surged outward, rustling his clothes and sending stray dust scattering across the floor.

Without wasting time, he flicked his attention back to his system menu.

________________

STR: 20 | AGI: 10 (Affinity) | VIT: 5 | DEX: 5 | INT: 14 | WIS: 5

[Available Stat Points: 3]

[Derived Stat — MANA: 70 / 75]

________________

And he waited.

*****

After what felt like an unnecessarily long wait — though in reality it had been just under a minute — Lanz finally confirmed the result of his little experiment.

It took exactly ten seconds for a single point of mana to come back.

"Good to know," he muttered, sliding the Aged Blade Fragment back into his inventory with a quick motion before turning his focus to something far more interesting.

"Now for the available stat points..."

He stood there in a posture that practically demanded to be taken seriously, eyes closed in fake concentration, a low hum in his throat as both hands rested firmly on his waist.

It was the perfect imitation of someone weighing an important life decision, even though everyone knew he’d already made up his mind.

"I’m just kidding, these sh*ts are going to INT!" he declared, dropping the act entirely and grinning.

But then, right before committing to the stat allocation, a stray thought slipped into his head and made him pause.

He didn’t even try to hide the smirk that followed.

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... Eh! Let’s try anyway," he decided out loud, pulling the Aged Blade Fragment from his inventory once more.

With no buildup beyond a casual stance, he triggered the skill.

[Crimson Slash – Activated]

The blade flared with a sharp, fire-red light that burst outward in a wide crescent arc, far more dramatic in appearance than the effort he actually put into swinging it.

The air in front of him shuddered faintly from the force.

Without wasting another second, he dismissed the weapon back into his inventory and finally pushed the available stat points where he’d been planning all along.

INT: 14 → 17

The system display updated instantly.

________________

STR: 20 | AGI: 10 (Affinity) | VIT: 5 | DEX: 5 | INT: 17 | WIS: 5

[Available Stat Points: 0]

[Derived Stat — MANA: 85 / 90]

________________

"So it automatically adds the extra mana right away if you dump your stat points in..." he said, his tone picking up in amusement. "Hype~~~."

That small boost in capability might not have been much in the grand scheme, but it was enough to get him imagining all the ways he could shock his future opponents with a sudden boost of mana.

For a few seconds, he lingered there in the quiet cave, staring at the mana meter.

The adrenaline from testing his skills and fiddling with stats carried him for a little while, but eventually, the weight of the day’s fights and running caught up to him all at once.

His eyelids grew heavy, his shoulders loosened, and the rush of excitement dulled into a steady haze.

He let out a long, unrestrained yawn, barely bothering to cover it.

’I didn’t know that I was this exhausted,’ he thought, letting himself sink to the ground without ceremony.

The cool stone floor pressed against his back as his muscles finally stopped protesting, and in the span of a breath, he was already drifting.

Sleep claimed him immediately, cutting off any further plans he might have had.

End of Chapter 55.

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ALT SYSTEM — USER PROFILE: ZERO

Level: 15

EXP: 39 / 150

Next Reward: Quick Sever

Global System Tracking: DISABLED

World Rank Association: UNLINKED

Stats:

STR: 20 | AGI: 10 (Affinity) | VIT: 5 | DEX: 5 | INT: 17 | WIS: 5

[Available Stat Points: 0]

[Derived Stat — MANA: 86 / 90]

Skills:

[Crimson Slash Lv. 1]

[Phantom Stride Lv. 2]

[Instinctive Blade Lv.1]

[Predictive Guard Lv.1]

[Skill Fusion Menu: Active]

[Dev Tree: Tier 0 Access Granted]

[Developer Node – Fusion Core Anchor: Active]

[Skill Slot Available — Unassigned]

Equipment:

Aged Blade Fragment (??? Rarity) (Bound)

Training Ring (+1 VIT)

Bag :)

Ring of Genorya - ??? (NEW)