Unbeknownst to Luke, his orders had broken the entire ecosystem of the city's hunting grounds.
In the Luminous Forest, a party of five Level 35 Awakeners was carefully advancing on a sleeping Stone-Backed Troll. "Okay, get the bind- "RUN!" The party leader, a veteran Knight, tackled his team's Archer just as a wave of monsters—Goblins, Orcs, Trolls, and even Carnivorous Plants—burst from the trees, fleeing in a blind panic. "Beast Tide! Beast Tide! Formation! Protect the Healer!"
The party scrambled, raising their shields for a desperate, last stand. But the monsters didn't attack. They ran past them, their eyes white with terror, completely ignoring the humans. "What... what are they running from?" the Archer whispered.
A 10-foot-tall being of molten rock, wreathed in blue fire, stepped into the clearing. It radiated an aura of oppressive, dry heat. The party leader's [Appraisal] skill hit it.[Level: ???][HP: ???][Type: ???][Threat: SUICIDAL]
The Lava Elemental ignored the humans. It raised one hand. [Volcanic Eruption]. The ground 100 meters away, where the tide of monsters was thickest, exploded, instantly incinerating dozens of them in a column of blue magma. "That's... that's a Primal Spirit," the party leader stammered, his face pale. "Only an Arch-Mage, a Level 400 or 500... someone from the capital... could summon that." He grabbed his Archer. "We leave. Now. Silently. Do not get its attention. Some old monster is clearing the forest."
The same scene was playing out in the Dark Forest. The two Level 500 Fenrirs were not hunting. They were cleansing. Sköll, the silver wolf, moved like a blur. [Storm-Lightning Fang]. It ran in a circle around a pack of twenty Dire Wolves, and before the lead wolf even hit the ground, all twenty were simultaneously electrocuted, their bodies turning to dust in a flash of blue-white light. Hati, the black wolf, was more sinister. [Shadow-Step]. It appeared beneath a fleeing Ogre, and its [Black-Lightning Fang] didn't just kill. The black-red energy corroded the Ogre, turning it to black sludge.
The Awakeners at the entrance to Area D were now facing a stampede of monsters fleeing the dungeon.
Meanwhile, I was walking downtown, completely oblivious. My phone was buzzing on silent, but the notifications in my mind were so fast I couldn't even read them.
[Ding! Your summon [Sköll] has killed [Dire Wolf (Lv 10)]... 10x EXP...][Ding! Your summon [Hati] has killed [Hobgoblin (Lv 8)]... 10x EXP...][Ding! Your summon [Primal Fire Spirit] has killed [Forest Troll (Lv 19)]... 10x EXP...][Ding! Your summon [Sköll] has killed...]
It was a constant, glorious waterfall of EXP.[Ding! You have leveled up! You are now Level 28!] ...[Ding! You have leveled up! You are now Level 29!] ...[Ding! You have leveled up! You are now Level 30!]
I stopped walking.[Ding! You have reached the level cap (Lv 30). A Class Advancement Quest is now available at the Awakener Advancement Hall. All further EXP gains are halted until advancement is complete.]
"Halted?" I said, frowning. "Well, that's a problem." But a smile was already on my face. Level 30. In two days. My main bottleneck was still mana. My T9 skills were useless. I was on my way to the market to buy some mana potions or maybe some [Mana Capacity] gear.
...Wait. "My talents," I whispered, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. I had been so focused on the SP gain and the 10x EXP, I'd never actually read the full description of my merged talent. I just assumed it was all passive.
"Status... expand my talent."
[Talent: ??? (SSS-Rank)] (Merged from 10 Talents) (All effects are 10x Multiplied by [10x Multiplier System] and [Transcendor] Title)
[Origin Mage (SSS)]: 10x faster comprehension of all magic. All magic skills are 100% more effective.
[Infinite Armory (SSS)]: Generates 1,000 SP per second. All Skill-Grade upgrades are FREE.
[World-Jumper's EXP (SSS)]: Increases all EXP gains by 10x.
[Instant Casting (S)]: Increases casting speed by 10x.
[Colossal Body (A)]: 10x boost to all physical stat gains. (This is what made [Strength Boost] become permanent).
[Lord of Beasts (S)]: 10x effectiveness and scaling for all summoned creatures. (This is why your T1/T7 summons are Lv 500).
[King's Mana (SS)]: 10x Mana regeneration and 10x Mana capacity.
[One Man Army (SS)]: Grants +10% bonus to all stats for every active summon. (10x -> +100% stats per summon).
[Eyes of Truth (A)]: 10x effectiveness for all analysis-type skills.
[Echo of Chaos (SSS)]: [INACTIVE - REQUIRES ADVANCEMENT AT LV 30]
I stood frozen on the sidewalk. I re-read the list.[Lord of Beasts]. That's why they were Level 500.[Colossal Body]. That's why my strength buff stuck.[One Man Army]. I have three summons out right now. "Does... does that mean I have a +300% boost to all my stats?" I clenched my fist. The pavement under my feet cracked with a spiderweb of fissures. "Oops."
But the most important ones were the last two.[King's Mana]. Ten times mana capacity.[Echo of Chaos]. An SSS-Rank talent. And both were inactive, locked behind the very advancement I had just put off.
My mana bottleneck... the key to unlocking it wasn't potions. It was my advancement quest.
I was on my way to the market. Not anymore. I changed direction, my heart pounding with a new, singular purpose. I was heading to the Advancement Hall.
A/N: Thanks for reading, and if you like it, plzz add it in your collection.