CH 6 Reaching Level 5; Is This What They Call “Cooked”? Then I’m “Well Cooked.”

There was suspicion in her eyes, but also relief. The ability to detect Hushclaws was a game-changer.

“I figured out how to use another skill from my beast,” Ren answered.

He could have kept the Mana Zone entirely hidden. But that would limit him. Mana Zone was too useful to not use in battles. He needed it to farm high-level monsters efficiently. So he framed Mana Zone as a detection ability. Not a casting domain.

The Hushclaws went still.

Notifications appeared.

[Level 2 Hushclaw killed.]
[15 days lifespan gained.]
[10 EXP gained.]

[Level 5 Hushclaw killed.]
[523 days lifespan gained.]
[1000 EXP gained.]

Ren’s eyes flickered.

One low-level. One high-level. It was almost as if the high-level one was supposed to be a distraction while the low-level one, the one harder to detect, was supposed to finish the job.

Am I looking too much into it? Ren thought.

Freya went to collect the Cores and meat from the monsters. She did not salvage the exoskeletons since it would be too much weight to carry.

Ren remained in his earlier position. He was checking his status.

Level 2 Hushclaw only gave fifteen days and ten EXP.

He had expected reduced EXP from lower-level monsters. But reduced lifespan gain as well? That was interesting. The system clearly scaled both rewards based on relative strength. It meant hunting weaker monsters was inefficient.

At the same time, he couldn’t simply avoid leveling up to exploit EXP scaling. His [Name] represented the Domain of Oneself—the core that held all other Domains within it. If his Domains of Class, Elements, and Spells grew too strong while his Domain of Oneself remained weak, the imbalance would cause his body and soul to rupture. Leveling up was not optional. It was necessary. It strengthened the Domain of Oneself.

I need to keep hunting high-level monsters if I want to level up… and if I want to gain more lifespan, he thought.

Ren opened his Status and focused on his Talent.

[Talent: Heir of Demonic Magic]
[Description: You are the last heir of the Empire of Demonic Magic.]
[Effect: You can absorb a portion of Lifespan, and 10 times the normal EXP amount from your target upon killing them. You can use Lifespan to replace Mana and fuel your Spells with Lifespan.]
[Total Lifespan: 85 years, 245 days]

I’m still in net positive of about one and a half years. And that’s despite keeping Mana Zone active at maximum range. This is good.

He had decided to keep Mana Zone active for as long as he could. It trained his mental endurance and allowed him to react instantly to threats. More importantly, it forced him to control multiple spells simultaneously. At the moment, his limit was three active spells at once. That had to improve.

“Here, these are yours,” Freya said.

She handed him the extracted Cores and the wrapped meat. He accepted them and stored them in the pouches she had given him earlier.

“You should sleep now. It’s my turn to keep watch,” she added.

Ren could see the faint hesitation in her eyes. She actually wanted him to keep watch. That made sense, he had an ability to detect the invisible monsters.

“It’s fine. I’ll keep watch. My ability is suited for this place,” Ren said calmly.

“Isn’t it exhausting to keep it active?” she asked, sitting beside him.

“It is. But we don’t have much choice, do we?”

A faint, wry smile crossed her lips.

“You should sleep,” Ren said after a while, noticing she was not going back to sleep.

“I can’t even if I wanted to. I’ve been sleeping barely thirty minutes at a time for the past two months. My internal clock won’t let me sleep anymore,” she said.

He wondered if that was why she invested so heavily in physical stats. To compensate for fatigue. But something didn’t add up. If she had been here for two months, she should have located the nearest Base by now. She could rest safely there.

Why stay awake as if she had no safe place to rest?

He wanted to ask.

He didn’t.

Freya had already proven that she chose what information to share.

“Alright. Do what you want,” Ren said finally.

He closed his eyes and entered meditation.

Five minutes later, blue notifications appeared.

[EXP: 1010 → 10]
[Stats: 0 → 10]

Ten stat points.

He placed three stat points into his [Name].

[You have leveled up. Strength +1, Agility +1, Constitution +1, Mana +4]

Level 4.

His body felt steadier, and more responsive.

Next, he increased [Fire Bullet].

The screen was updated.

[Fire Bullet]
[Rank: Normal]
[Level 3 → Level 4]
[Description: A compact sphere of condensed flame launched at high speed. Emits a scorched scent and leaves a faint heat trail. Base Range: 12m → 14m. Impact: Increased heat concentration that allows it to scorch light armor and ignite sturdy dry materials → strong blunt impact combined with concentrated burn damage, capable of warping light metal and igniting most materials on contact.]
[Modification: For each unit of extra mana added up to 15 units of Mana, the range can be increased by 10%.]

He prepared to negotiate. Before he could begin, a familiar intention surfaced.

Did he want to strengthen the modification?

Yes, Ren replied.

Okay!

Another notification appeared.

[Modification: For each unit of extra mana added up to 15 → 20 units of Mana, the range can be increased by 10%.]

Thanks, he muttered, surprised by its nice personality once again.

He ran quick calculations. The base range was now fourteen meters. With twenty units of lifespan invested, the range could increase by 200 percent. That meant forty-two meters without the Mana Zone. If fired from the edge of his ten-meter Mana Zone, the total effective reach from his position would approach fifty-two meters. That was more than enough to redirect the giant woman’s gaze.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

He still had several stat points left.

Should I strengthen the Water Bullet? he considered.

No.

It was sufficient for suffocation and mid-range control.

If I level Fire Bullet again, the range might hit fifty-six meters without the Mana Zone…

In the end, he chose balance. He placed the last four stat points into his [Name].

[You have leveled up. Strength +1, Agility +1, Constitution +1, Mana +4]

He checked his Status.

[Name: Ren Buttowski (Level 5)]
[Class: Mage]
[Elements: Wind, Water, Earth, Fire]
[Spells: Mana Zone, Wind Bullet, Water Bullet, Earth Bullet, Fire Bullet]
[Talent: Heir of Demonic Magic]
[Strength: 8 / Agility: 10 / Constitution: 8 / Mana: 0 (sealed)]
[Free Stats: 0]
[EXP: 10]

Level 5 on my first day.

I must be one of the fastest—if not the fastest—among the Blue Stone Academy students.

When he had awakened as a Mage, he had almost given up on everything. Everyone looked at him as if he was some sort of monster. Even the “friends” whom he spent years with had turned away from him.

Now, he was likely stronger than most of them.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

Dad would be proud.

He imagined returning to Planet Gamora, stronger than anyone expected. Then he shook his head slightly.

I need to calm down. I haven’t even left this monster territory yet.

Ambition was good. Overconfidence was fatal.

He kept Mana Zone active and continued experimenting quietly.

He discovered something interesting. When he formed an Earth Bullet and held it stationary within Mana Zone, it began to fall after three seconds unless launched. Water Bullet did not.

Why is this happening? he wondered.