Inside Tairy’s house, Michael waited for the commotion to end. The rushing footsteps were louder than ever, but there seemed to be fewer people outside.

  Well, figures.

  By this point, almost all of Bluestone Village was aware of his existence and of the special status he held within the Village, especially among the dark elves. Everything that had happened with Lohann and Derek had become common knowledge long ago. Once someone drew the connection between him and the strange waves of mana that sometimes flooded the Village, it spread like wildfire.

  The people who still come here aren’t trying to figure out who I am or what is going on anymore.

  Instead, they hoped only to talk to him and build some goodwill. It was irrelevant whether they were opportunists or people who just wanted some protection from the strong. He didn’t have the time to care about them.

  Silently, Michael waited. After a while, once everything had settled down, Tairy opened the door and walked inside the house. They looked at each other and nodded at the same time. The dark elf closed the door behind him.

  “Time to choose,” Tairy said as he walked to a chair and sat down. “Start.”

  Michael looked up.

  “System, I want to begin a Skills selection,” he said to the empty air.

  A translucent, blue square immediately appeared in front of him. It was much bigger than all the others before it, but Michael didn’t even flinch. It was only natural for this selection to be more expansive, since he’d Leveled up considerably and reached the third Circle. He scanned the Skills. Active Skills and Passive Skills appeared almost in equal numbers, and there were also a few Hybrid Skills.

  Good.

  With the sheer number of Skill Points he currently had, he would be able to choose, merge, and evolve Skills as he wished. Active Skills required him to be familiar with them to be able to merge them, but Passive Skills didn’t have such limitations.

  I guess we’re about to see if that goes for Hybrid Skills too. A mix of both, probably.

  After giving the entire list one more glance, Michael started. Since he already knew how many Skill Points he was ‘supposed to’ have, he only asked for Tairy’s thoughts a select few number of times, as to match the old dark elf’s expectations. Every other time, he picked according to the knowledge and experience he’d accumulated through fighting in the Consumed Territory. Passive Skills were acquired, then immediately merged with another to create something brand new. In fact, he succeeded even in merging three or four Skills into one, not sparing his Skill Points in the least.

  Michael picked almost every Hybrid Skill he could, taking into account how similar they were to the Skills he already had, so as to increase the odds of being able to merge them, even if they did require some familiarity. He also chose every Skill that could help him get closer to Dual Casting, including some lower-ranked Skills.

  After some time, he finished and opened his Status Window.

  Status Window

  Name: Michael Gray

  Level: 59

  Race: Young Draconic Human (E)

  Class: Newborn Caster

  Job: None.

  Stats

  Strength: 521

  Dexterity: 554

  Endurance: 515

  Constitution: 934

  Intelligence: 1,123

  Wisdom: 1,192

  Free points: 246

  Skill Points: 8

  Active Skills

  Arcane Missile (E); Analyze (F); Mana Barrier (E); Magic Crescent (E), Whisper (F), Heal (E), Twin Casting (E), Arcane Edge (E), Fireball (E), Earth Spike (E), Shroud (F); Eagle Eye (F); Mana Field (E); Earthen Restraint (E); Scorching Ray (E); Wind Blades (E).

  Passive Skills

  Peace of Mind (D), Haste (E), Mana Empowerment (E), Strengthening (E), Magic Penetration (E); Mana Affinity (D), Danger Sense (E), Perception (E), Absorption (E), Resistance (E), Clear Spirit (D), Sharp Mind (E), Amplification (D), Manathirst (D); Greater Efficiency (D), Greater Casting (D), Divided Mind (E), Simultaneous Flow (D).

  Hybrid Skills

  Newborn’s Dragonheart (D), Astral Meditation (D), Resonance (D), Edge of Desperation (D).

  Heritage

  Blessing of Light: Cleansing, Illumination, Lightspeed.

  Titles

  Dragon’s Descendant; Apprentice Mage; Draconic Blessing, Mushroom Hunter, Bluestone Village’s First Star, The Monster of Bluestone Village, Exterminator.

  For all intents and purposes, apart from his Titles, Michael knew he was incomparable to before. His continuous, desperate struggles in the Consumed Territory had borne fruit. However, he felt not only pride, but also dread.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Is this enough?

  Was it enough to go deeper into the Consumed Territory without losing his life? Was it enough for the Abyss? And was it enough to protect the people he cared about from the fate that would almost certainly fall upon them once this Tutorial ended? Michael clenched his fists as he scanned his Status Window. His Dragonheart thumped within his chest, filling him with a pride that he knew wasn’t his own, but he tried his best to ignore it. There was no room for this draconic trait in the current situation.

  He started by looking at his stats. They had increased across the board, and Intelligence and Wisdom had surpassed 1,000. His Constitution was almost past that milestone, as well.

  I don’t think there’s anything outside the Consumed Territory that can even get past my skin.

  There was no need to mention the other humans he’d met. There was no one stronger than him in any of the four Villages apart from the ‘NPCs.’ His Active Skills and spells were now powerful enough to easily get past the defenses of the Forgotten Leaders, and his physical stats supported his movement and new fighting style. All of them worked together to create a synergy that had allowed him to defeat and kill two Forgotten Leaders at the same time, though he hadn’t been able to cleanse the Territories, as he had needed to escape.

  After Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance had surpassed 500, Michael’s body had changed, just like it had happened with Constitution. His muscles, now able to fully bear the burden of his Dragonheart’s empowerment, allowed it to begin to transcend its past limits. Michael put his hand over his chest.

  I’m close.

  He could tell he was almost there. Just a bit more, and he would evolve again. From what he could feel, it would be related to his Dragonheart.

  Even if it doesn’t reach C rank, I’ll take whatever I can get.

  He pushed down the anxiety swelling in his chest and looked at his Skills. Michael had chosen to limit the acquisition of new Active Skills and had instead chosen to focus almost entirely on Passive Skills and a couple of Hybrid Skills. After merging and evolving whatever he could, he had ended up with the current list, which included several other D-ranked Skills as a result.

  Without exception, they sought to enhance his current fighting style or build up to Dual Casting. Manathirst and Greater Efficiency, which had evolved from Efficiency, maximized the effectiveness of his already massive mana pool. Mana Wave had become Magic Crescent, and Mana Blade had become Arcane Edge. Even though he hadn’t evolved Mana Field, he had compensated for it by evolving Magic Missile and Minor Heal into their current versions, Arcane Missile and Heal.

  Michael finally turned to look at his Hybrid Skills, starting with the Edge of Desperation Skill.

  I wish I could say I’m surprised, but…

  Was the System trying to reward his desperate struggle? Or was it almost mocking him? Either way, he had acquired a useful Skill. Its information appeared in front of him, overlaid with his Status Window.

  [Hybrid Skill

  Edge of Desperation (D): Over and over again, you have danced with death. You have fought until your muscles tore and your blood boiled. Neither pain nor fear stopped you as you pushed yourself to the edge. Your desperation hasn’t gone unnoticed. Survive.

  Passive Effects: increases all stats as you get progressively more injured, up to a limit of 15%. Increases the effectiveness of all Skills accordingly, up to a limit of 10%.

  Active Effects: once activated, immediately grants the full effects for twenty seconds. There are no conditions for activation.]

  An unconditional buff.

  It was worthy of being a D-ranked Hybrid Skill. The Passive Effects were already good enough, especially because of how dangerous the Consumed Territory was and how much Michael needed to push himself, but the Active Effects were what had really made him want it. He could activate the Skill at the start of battle, trade blows with his enemy, and then rely on the injuries he would have certainly acquired to benefit from the Passive Effects.

  Michael frowned at his thoughts.

  It’s reckless.

  He sat in silence for a few seconds before looking at his other new Hybrid Skill.

  [Hybrid Skill

  Resonance (D): you have taken your first few steps on the journey toward the pinnacle of magic. To be loved by mana is to resonate with it in its entirety, body, mind, and soul. One day, your resonance may overcome the limitations of your physical vessel.

  Passive Effects: increases the effectiveness of all mana-related Skills by 8%.

  Active Effects: once activated, the effects increase to a total of 12%. However, the longer the activation goes on, the higher the risk the user will lose themselves to the mana.]

  Michael read the Skill’s description a few times. A single thought struck him.

  This will change.

  If his Dragonheart evolved, it was likely that this Skill would change too. It was a bit of a hunch, based on the way his Heart had absorbed other Skills at the very start of his journey, when it had first awakened. The justification for this realization was simple.

  This sounds way too much like something the Dragons would be able to affect.

  “Mana-related Skills” was an umbrella term that applied to almost every Active Skill he had, including all spells. His Dragonheart was likely included, alongside several of his Passive Skills. From what he knew, Dragons were the ultimate rulers of mana and magic. It was only natural for him to assume that this Skill would be affected by his Dragonheart.

  Michael gauged his current power level. When Resonance was added to Edge of Desperation, the resulting effects would be great enough to almost overhaul his combat ability, even if only for a limited time.

  I need to know how long I can bear to keep Resonance active.

  Lost in his thoughts, he barely noticed Tairy approaching him.

  “Alright. So, how far do you think you’d be able to go?” Tairy asked as he sat down on a stool. “How deep?”

  “…I don’t know,” Michael replied as he waved at the Status Window, making it disappear. “But much deeper than before. Deeper than twenty minutes ago, even.”

  Tairy frowned as Michael looked at him.

  “We’ve been through this, but don’t go to the Abyss. No matter what.”

  Michael flashed a bitter smile.

  “Yeah, I know. I’ll just do my best in the Consumed Territory. It will have to be enough.”

  Tairy stared at him with a serious expression. Michael tilted his head.

  “You should go visit your mother and friends. Before you jump into the Consumed Territory again and start slaughtering every Forgotten you see. Or before your head gets cut off by facing one you shouldn’t have.”

  Michael blinked and belatedly nodded.

  “…Yeah, I should. But I won’t die, old man. I can’t.”

  Instead of dismissing Michael’s seemingly prideful words, Tairy only shook his head and scoffed.

  “What the hell is going on with you? Why do you need to keep doing this?”

  Michael kept his bitter smile.

  “I just have to.”

  The two of them stared at each other silently. After almost ten seconds, Michael stood up.

  “I should go, then. No time to waste,” he said as he turned around and walked toward the door.

  “Come back if you feel like you need help with anything,” he heard Tairy say as he opened the door. “And remember one thing. If you’re dead, you won’t be able to protect anyone.”

  Michael flinched, then nodded without turning around and left the house, closing the door behind him. He looked up. Unfortunately, there was no blue sky or clouds to greet him. The stone ceiling of the underground was the only scenery.

  He’s right.

  He was pushing himself to his limits to become stronger and able to protect his family and friends from literal gods. But if he went too far, he would simply die a dog’s death, and once he did, there would be no one to protect his loved ones.

  But my death would also mean that the Gods of War would have no reason to target them.

  No, was that even true? Michael furrowed his brow. It was possible that some crazy god would decide to murder everyone he’d ever come in contact with just because he was born with Dragon blood. There was no way to predict the thoughts and behaviors of entities that were so distant from everything he knew. There was no way to tell if they even understood morality the same way he did.

  Michael gritted his teeth and started making his way out of Bluestone. Yellowbright was his destination.

  He just needed to keep working hard. It was the best he could do.