Chapter 59: Forest!

[Congratulations. You have finally accomplished something that is only supposed to exist in the fantasy world.]

The System itself congratulated Kyle after he successfully unlocked the two abilities.

For the first time, he had genuinely learned something otherworldly.

Until now, most of his training had been limited to martial arts and boxing, which he had learned from the training robot. Those were useful skills, but they were still something that could exist in the real world.

Magic was different.

This was something that shouldn’t have been possible on Earth.

"Yeah, I did."

Kyle smiled for a moment before looking at the description of his newly acquired skill.

Then his expression dropped slightly.

"But do I really need to meditate every time I want to absorb mana? Isn’t mana absorption supposed to be passive? Shouldn’t my mana automatically recover until the pool is full?"

He opened the skill description.

[Novice Mana Absorption Skill]

[Description: Through this skill, the User can absorb mana and store it within the Mana Pool while entering a state of deep meditation.]

[Uses: Unlimited.]

Kyle stared at the description.

"Seriously?"

Unlike the fantasy stories he had read, where people could unconsciously absorb mana from their surroundings and naturally replenish their reserves, his skill apparently had a rather annoying requirement.

He had to meditate.

That meant if he was fighting someone and completely exhausted his mana, he couldn’t simply wait for it to naturally regenerate.

He would need to stop, sit down, enter a deep meditative state, and then begin absorbing mana again.

’That’s pretty damn inconvenient.’

It might not matter much on Earth, where the amount of mana available was pitifully low anyway, but once he entered another world, this could become a serious problem.

Kyle imagined himself in the middle of a battle.

He had exhausted his mana.

His opponent was still standing.

And instead of regenerating his mana naturally, he would have to sit down and meditate.

’Yeah, I’m definitely going to die if I have to do that.’

[Don’t worry. With enough practice, you will eventually upgrade the skill without even realizing it.]

Kyle raised an eyebrow.

[The fantasy worlds you are referring to have extremely high concentrations of mana. Their inhabitants are essentially surrounded by mana in the same way you are surrounded by air. Because of that, their bodies can naturally absorb small amounts of mana without conscious effort.]

[That is not the case on Earth.]

[If those people were brought into your world, they would also have difficulty absorbing mana naturally and would require some form of conscious technique, such as meditation, to gather it efficiently.]

"I see."

Kyle nodded slowly.

The explanation made sense.

He still wasn’t particularly happy about needing to meditate every time he wanted to absorb mana, but at least he understood why.

[Furthermore, this limitation may actually benefit you.]

[By repeatedly practicing conscious mana absorption, you can develop a more efficient method of absorbing and processing mana. Once you eventually unlock subconscious mana absorption, the foundation you developed through this technique will allow you to absorb mana more efficiently.]

Kyle thought about it for a moment before nodding.

"I get it."

He closed the skill description.

"Let’s not focus on mana absorption right now. I have mana, so I can finally start learning Magic Missile."

His disappointment quickly disappeared as his attention shifted toward the more exciting part.

Magic.

[Correct. However, before you begin learning, I suggest that you find a secluded location with an abundance of nature and an environment with as little pollution or corruption as possible.]

Kyle immediately understood what the System was suggesting.

"What do you think about a forest?"

[That would be ideal.]

[The mana concentration may also be slightly higher there, which could help you develop your abilities.]

Kyle nodded.

There was only one problem.

The nearest suitable forest was roughly a hundred kilometers away from him.

----

"Oh boy. It’s gonna be a ride."

*bump*

"These bumpy fucking roads!"

Kyle was thrown a few centimeters into the air as the bus drove over another pothole.

He grabbed the seat in front of him to steady himself before glaring at the road through the window.

He had decided to travel to the nearest suitable forest to practice his mana absorption technique and learn his first magic spells.

The forest itself was unnamed and relatively unknown.

It didn’t have any particularly interesting wildlife, tourist attractions, or popular camping spots, so very few people traveled there.

That was exactly what Kyle wanted.

The forest was mostly made up of dense native trees, with only a few herbivorous animals living in the area.

There were no known dangerous predators in the region, making it considerably safer than the more popular forests where he could potentially run into bears or other dangerous animals.

More importantly, there were fewer humans around.

That meant Kyle could practice magic without having to worry about someone stumbling across him.

He had no intention of explaining to some random hiker why he was throwing magical projectiles through the forest.

Fortunately, Kyle and Lira had already taken an approved week-long leave from work because of the incident they had recently gone through.

So he didn’t need to worry about his job for the next few days.

’Not that I care about that shitty pay.’

Kyle wasn’t taking the leave because he cared about the job.

He was doing it mainly for Lira.

She needed the time to recover, and Kyle wasn’t going to complain about getting some free time himself.

After roughly half an hour more of traveling, the bus finally reached the stop closest to the forest.

Kyle stepped off and looked around. The forest was still several kilometers away.

There was no vehicle connection to the area, so he had no choice but to walk the remaining five kilometers.

"Well, might as well."

It wasn’t exactly a bad thing.

The walk would give his legs some exercise, and after spending so much time sitting inside the bus, moving around felt good.

He adjusted his backpack and started walking.

After some time, the trees gradually became denser.

The sounds of civilization slowly disappeared behind him.

Finally, Kyle reached the entrance of the forest.

"Alright, we’re finally here."

He checked the time on his phone.

It was already around six in the evening.

The sun was beginning to set, and the forest ahead was already becoming noticeably darker beneath the thick canopy.

Kyle looked down at his belongings.

He hadn’t brought much with him.

His phone had barely any signal out here, but that wasn’t a problem.

He wasn’t planning on calling anyone.

And if he somehow decided to stay overnight, he could simply purchase a tent from the System for a measly forty System Points.

"Alright."

Kyle took a deep breath and stepped into the forest.

He continued walking deeper, moving farther away from the entrance and the possibility of encountering other people.

Eventually, the sounds of humanity disappeared completely.

Only the rustling leaves and distant sounds of wildlife remained.

The thick trees blocked most of the remaining sunlight, leaving the interior of the forest surprisingly dark.

Kyle looked around at his surroundings. This was exactly what he had been looking for.

A secluded place.

A natural environment.

And, hopefully, more mana than the miserable amount available in his apartment.

A grin slowly appeared on his face.

"Alright."

Kyle rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"Let’s do some magical shit!"