Chapter 106: Another Eye - I

[Mana: 690/690 » 700/700]

[Spirit: 69 » 70]

[Class: Mage (Third Circle » 4th Circle)]

[Engraved Spells: Mana Core (300/300 (x3) | F-Rank), Mana Storage (3/3 | E-Rank), Manakinesis (Lv. 9 | Complete Mastery | D-Rank), (NEW!) Mana Manipulation (Lv. 1 | C-Rank)]

Looking at the three new changes, I could feel delight throughout my body. Even my red blood cells, white blood cells, and a few of my bones seemed to be rejoicing.

Having achieved 4th Circle, I was still keeping up with Earth’s greatest Hunters. They had already breached Level 80, which corresponded exactly to C-Rank in Fleim.

In fact, my recent observations have led me to the following table:

Level 0-19 = F-Rank

Level 20-39 = E-Rank

Level 40-59 = D-Rank

Level 60-79 = C-Rank

Level 80-99 = B-Rank

Level 100-199 = A-Rank

With it, I mostly understood the nature of A-Rank.

Its range encompassed the entire journey from F-Rank to B-Rank and more! As with any levelling system, the higher one’s level, the harder it is to increase—and the greater the growth between each level.

Level 100, in particular, was a turning point. The same turning point that the beings of Fleim would experience when crossing into A-Rank.

Hence, I now had a better grasp of Fleim’s power scaling compared to Earth’s.

It was more or less what I expected—with exponential growth and whatnot.

In fact, it was a little more surprising that the level allotment in each rank—from F-Rank to B-Rank—was twenty. I was expecting more exponential growth every time, instead of starting all the way at A-Rank.

But it made sense.

All of my Spirit stat bottlenecks so far had occurred after the same intervals.

It was also why it felt like Earth and Fleim had people who could fight stronger enemies as long as they worked well enough with others of similar strength.

Absolute suppression did not exist between ranks.

"How curious,"

** *

—Crunch.

A mix of salty sourness erupted between my teeth as I took a bite out of a locally grown fruit.

It was, for all intents and purposes, a pear.

However, it also had tiny wisps of mana crunchies that crackled with sweetness when they dissolved on my tongue.

All these tastes manifested in my mouth in different ways at different times, creating a very vivid experience with every bite.

Walvaskaz, in its long history, had to cater to a myriad number of taste buds, and this peach was merely one of hundreds of different kinds.

I wanted to taste all of the available ones, but a large percentage of the fruits for sale were poisonous to humans. A lot of other fruits were basically hallucinogenic for us, while others would also cause diarrhea until death.

Somehow, I understood what it felt like to be a dog. Imagine being unable to eat chocolate, onions, chives, or garlic. Or even drink cow’s milk because of the lactose.

On Earth, humans could eat basically anything with enough preparation.

Here on Fleim... I needed to become a High Human before I could truly sample the world’s more complex cuisines.

Clearly, Hau’goth had been catering to my biology every time I ate at his restaurant.

Anyways.

[Absolute Awareness] had already blanketed my surroundings.

I could feel every tug on the threads that <Fate> attached to me. Through their vibrations, I could survey the world’s machinations.

This was...

[Divination].

Images that were relevant to me flooded my mind. I saw a few familiar faces, a few familiar places, and several seemingly disconnected events.

After absorbing the information I gained, I took a moment to digest its contents.

Unfortunately...

"Nothing yet, huh?"

It had been awfully silent lately. Many of the events that I’d seen just now were all far away. None of them formed a coherent story of what was going on.

But that was what made <Fate> so terrifying.

It was planning something.

Or...

’Those playing the Game of Walvaskaz have begun to move.’

They were concealing their movements somehow, or setting things up in a way that made it difficult for me to understand.

’If that’s the case, then I’ll act first.’

—Crunch!

After devouring Walvaskaz’ version of the pear, I vanished from the balcony of my Mage Tower.

The [Power of Death] enveloped me in the embrace of anonymity.

When I reappeared, I was standing beside a bunch of familiar faces.

"Yo!"

"Eeek!" Kuvie, who was currently lounging on a tree in Clementine’s garden, jolted in shock.

She was currently in her Nymph form, appearing truly like a tree spirit, with long legs instead of hooves, skin akin to tree bark, and green tourmaline eyes.

Her usually golden-brown fur had taken on hints of plant-like green, almost as if vines were snaking around her body and growing leaves.

"Aventine... since when did you get here?"

I chuckled upon hearing the peeved undertones in her words. "Just now. Did you wait long?"

"...There’s still an hour before we agreed to meet." Kuvie suddenly paused. "Hm? Did you reach 4th Circle already?"

"As expected of the Nymph who’d tracked me down using Life Sense. Your perception-enhancing spells really do flow naturally."

Kuvie just rolled her eyes, taking my words as a form of confirmation. "Tea?"

"I’ll have a cup," I said. "It’s just you, me, and Reazue this time, right?"

The Nymph stretched as she stood up from the stream she was lounging in. The faint fluctuation of mana accompanied her graceful footsteps as she walked on water and stepped onto the central pavilion.

"Yup. Clementine, Taylor, and Lillie have yet to return. It’s been a few weeks now. What did you ask them to do?"

I blinked. "What? Me? I didn’t ask them to do anything."

It was an arrangement of <Fate>. Those three were so tightly bound by its threads that they were drawing a lot of important events wherever they went.

Of course, given my proximity to them, I was also being drawn in. <Fate> wanted me to accompany them deeper into the Empire due to the Vielour Family’s summons.

But I forcefully resisted this particular event for the sake of my studies. However, because of that... one of the Colored Eyes of Bhulmasine had suddenly appeared.

One of my recent Divinations had shown me a glimpse of it in the infinite haystack of treasures and events that was Walvaskaz. One of the threads attached to me had resonated with it.

Now guess where I could find it?

That’s right.

It was...

’...Near the Vielour Family’s compound.’ I had laughed wryly upon receiving this divination. ’Of course. Why wouldn’t a Vielour Legacy Chamber be near one of their territories?’

What a surprise, right? Its fate-based lock had somehow unravelled at this specific time.

Amazing.