Chapter 52: CH. 52 | Mystic Appraisal

Jack and the other villagers walked off, leaving the scene, while Theo, still shaken from using the Foresight skill, walked along with Thalia guiding him.

"How many lizards did you kill?" Thalia asked, walking slowly, keeping Theo steady.

"Not sure," Theo answered. "Maybe around nine."

"I killed two, and Aya got one," Thalia said.

A mysterious panel appeared in front of Theo’s eyes. He watched his Temporal Status panel show up, the percentage climbing since he’d used the skill with the Eternity Ring buff for so long.

[Warning! Temporal Status percentage has increased]

[Temporal Status: 7%] [↑3%]

There’s no sign of that percentage going back down. What am I supposed to do about it?

Theo glanced back at the others. He’d racked up a lot of kills today, while Thalia and Aya had only gotten a few, and Lily hadn’t gotten anything at all.

It occurred to him that he should help them out before heading back to the city.

There was still time tomorrow morning through midday, and Theo figured he could use it to help Thalia, Aya, or Lily level up. All he needed to find was a level 1 danger zone.

As he walked along with them, a notification panel popped up in front of Theo, informing him about the number of monsters he’d defeated and the rewards for it.

[Congratulations! You have successfully killed a monster]

[Type: Black Ink Lizard (E-Rank)]

[Count: 9]

[Reward: +135exp]

[EXP : 455/550exp] [+135exp]

Even though Theo had killed them, he hadn’t picked up a single item off any of them. Partly because his energy had drained so badly, and partly because he simply hadn’t had time to collect anything.

Still, he figured that just getting the ten Black Ink Lizard skins was more than enough. With that many, he could finish off his guild mission.

Along with the notification about the monsters killed, another panel popped up letting Theo know he’d completed one of his Authority Quests.

[Congratulations! Host has successfully completed the Authority Quest]

[5th Authority Quest:]

[Objective: Kill five monsters ranked above F-Rank after predicting their attacks (9/5)]

[Reward: 50exp || 100authexp]

[EXP : 505/550exp] [+50exp]

[Auth EXP : 0/1000authexp] [+100authexp]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up your Authority]

[Auth Level: 1 →2] [↑1]

[Reward for Authority Level 2:]

[1. Unlock 2nd Skill of Mystic Eyes Authority: Mystic Appraisal]

[2. Improved mana efficiency for the Foresight Skill]

[3. Increased duration and range for the Foresight Skill]

Theo went quiet, still letting Thalia lead him along. His eyes stayed fixed on the notice that his Authority level had jumped to level 2, needing 1000 auth exp to reach the next one through future Authority Quests.

Mystic Appraisal?

A description of the Mystic Appraisal skill popped up in front of Theo, a system panel laying out the skill’s details clearly and precisely.

[2nd Skill of Mystic Eyes Authority: Mystic Appraisal]

[Desc: The ability to view an individual enemy’s status, limited by Authority level. The higher the Authority level, the more of an enemy’s individual status can be revealed. There’s no racial restriction on targets for the Mystic Appraisal skill]

Theo went quiet again, then turned to the side and tried focusing his eyes to use the skill on Thalia. But the moment he tried activating it, his head suddenly throbbed with a sharp headache. Thalia noticed right away and asked what was wrong.

"W-What’s going on?"

"It’s nothing," Theo said. "I just need to rest."

"We’re almost at the inn. You can rest there once we get in."

"Sure."

***

The next day.

Theo opened his eyes and looked up. The ceiling of his room came into clear view above him. The bed beneath him wasn’t exactly comfortable, a little itchy even, but it still beat sleeping on the ground by a long shot.

"You’re finally up, sleepyhead?"

He turned reflexively to the side and saw Avara already in her human form, sitting in a metal chair with her legs crossed, watching him.

The young man shifted over and sat on the edge of the bed, his attention drifting to the morning sunlight pouring in through the window.

"How long was I out?" Theo asked.

"About seven or eight hours since midnight."

"What about that guy you tied up in the forest yesterday?" Avara asked. "You never ended up using him after all."

Theo nodded, agreeing. He’d actually thought about the man’s fate too. He glanced ahead and asked Avara to shift back into crow form, fly out to the forest, and free the man from his ropes.

Avara listened and opened the window of his room, glancing back at him briefly.

"Thalia’s come by a few times to check on you. She’s been acting a little different."

"Thanks, Ava."

The black haired woman nodded, waved her hand, and shifted back into crow form. She flew out of Theo’s room, heading toward the forest near the river.

Theo got up and looked out to see plenty of people already busy along the village road. He also spotted Aya and Lily coming by, carrying a basket full of fruit and food.

"I need to check what my next Authority Quest is."

[6th Authority Quest Locked]

[Level up your individual level to reach level 10 to unlock the sixth Authority Quest.]

He looked at the system panel and read it carefully. Theo let out a quiet sigh. There was no Authority Quest available to him right now, only the guild mission left to worry about.

"Hey, Theo," Lily greeted him, catching his eye.

Not long after, the door to his room opened and Thalia walked in, still dressed in her mage robes. She smiled, clearly relieved to see Theo up and conscious.

"Are you feeling anything off? Does your head still hurt?" Thalia asked.

"I’m feeling a lot better than yesterday," Theo answered.

"Thank goodness."

"We’ve been helping out the villagers get ready for tonight. Even though they turned down our help at first, we still wanted to pitch in."

Aya and Lily came over, meeting up with Theo and asking him the same kinds of questions. Theo smiled and answered them all warmly. Seeing them there made him curious about checking their status through Mystic Appraisal.

Theo took a deep breath and started focusing his attention forward. He looked at each of the three girls in turn, which triggered the skill’s activation right away.

[Mystic Appraisal Skill Activated]

[Status visible: General]

His eyes settled on the individual statuses of Thalia, Aya, and Lily. Their panels appeared right beside each of them.

[Individual Status:]

[Name: Thalia]

[Level: 4]

[EXP: 525/550 EXP]

[Class: Mage]

He could see exactly what level Thalia was at, along with how much EXP she needed to level up and her class. He did the same for Aya and Lily.

Since they were part of Theo’s party, he’d already known their levels, but not their exact EXP totals.

Still, this skill would clearly come in handy someday, especially if Theo ever wandered into territory not marked on Yasa’s map.

He’d be able to identify a monster’s level before deciding whether to engage it or not.

Looking them over, Theo noticed they all had one thing in common right now: each of them needed less than 50 exp to level up.

Theo deactivated the skill and looked ahead, breaking into a wide smile as he called out to them. "Let’s let the villagers handle the preparations."

"You three are coming with me," Theo said.

Thalia and the others turned to him. "Where to?"

"Solo hunting," Theo answered. "The three of you are leveling up today."