Chapter 75: The Source of XP

Arthur continued laughing like a madman for a long time, and even after he fell silent and his calm returned to him, that strange smile did not leave his face.

He regarded the screen with a strange look, and mocked: "And here I was worrying for no reason. You cunning thing, you were working in the background the entire time, this explains why my strength increased. Let me guess, were you distributing Evolution Points to the attributes automatically?"

The system did not answer; this was something he was accustomed to, so he was not bothered and merely shook his head, showing a little disappointment.

"It seems you have not changed. Never mind, this is not really a bad thing, what matters is that you have returned."

He had been aware from the beginning that the system had some kind of malfunction, but he had decided to ignore it until he increased his strength. There were more important matters that had demanded his full attention, such as survival, for example.

As more time passed his smile began to fade gradually, not because his happiness had lessened, but because his cheeks had cramped. The structure of a wolf’s face was not suited for such a distinctly human expression.

"It is truly comforting to know that all my efforts were not in vain, I am on the threshold of D-Rank, and all I need to do now is wait a little." He let out a short sigh, then went back to lying on the ground.

There was no need to rush, for based on what he had learned from his previous ascension, his physical condition had to be at its best if he wanted to avoid problems and ascend smoothly. Ascension came with many gains, and he did not want to waste any of them.

Fortunately, his body’s recovery rate was very high, so he would only need a few days to fully recover. Until that happened, there were several matters he could occupy himself with, the first of which was examining the many rewards he had obtained.

He directed his full attention to the many screens he had piled to one side earlier, then began scrolling through each one individually, examining its contents very carefully.

When he finished reading the notifications he found himself at a loss for words, for the gains had exceeded all his expectations, and he also noticed some interesting details, especially regarding these two notifications:

[ Error?!?: Item not found?! ]

[ Please consume accumulated Evolution Points before they expire ]

"This is strange, what does it mean by ’Item not found’? In the first place, what is this item, or perhaps these items, that it is talking about? Tsk, it seems this companion’s surprises have not ended yet, and who knows what else it is hiding?"

Even though he felt curious, he did not try to ask the system any questions, for it was clear it would not answer, and without giving this matter any further attention, he directed his full focus to the second notification, which only left him more confused.

’I did not know that Evolution Points had an expiry date.’ He furrowed his brows.

’Thinking about the matter again, what are these points in the first place, and where do they come from? I mean, I understand that for every certain number of XP I gain I receive EP, but there must be some source, for it is not reasonable that all of this comes from nothing.

Because of his parents, Arthur had a great interest in science, and although he failed in his studies due to factors beyond his control, he had extensive knowledge of the field that he had learned by himself.

He understood that there were fixed rules that governed this universe, one of which was that energy is neither created nor destroyed, but rather transferred and transformed from one form to another.

Yes, he was in a different world, filled with magic, and shrouded in mystery, but this did not mean it was exempt from these rules.

’No matter how powerful and advanced the system is, it is impossible for it to generate all this energy without a certain source, it is most likely just a converter that absorbs energy and redirects it, that is why I only gain XP by killing and eating monsters, they are sources, and so are plants.’

The more he thought about the matter, the more logical he found it, for if the system truly had the ability to generate energy from nothing, his strength would continue to increase without him needing to do anything.

"Wait... does this not mean I am able to gain XP from eating energy sources of any kind, not just living creatures? Anything could be useful, even if it were rocks, and especially rocks saturated with mana like the ones I obtained." Despite the cramping in his cheeks, the smile returned to settle on his face.

He took out a small piece of mana stone ore from the "Dimensional Storage," and without any hesitation ate it. It was very hard, but his sharp and powerful fangs managed to crush it into small fragments.

The sound of grinding echoed through the place, and strangely shaped red sparks flew from his mouth. The moment he swallowed the mouthful of mana stone ore, the familiar system screen appeared before him.

[ +4XP ]

"Well, this is not surprising, my expectation was correct." He nodded his head pleased with himself. This was an astonishing discovery, and if he made full use of it, he would be able to increase the speed of his growth.

Despite that, he had no intention of eating the rest of the mana stones he had, it was better to save them, for he did not yet know their true value, and besides, he already had enough XP for now.

Again, his smile began to fade, and in contrast a glimpse of longing and nostalgia appeared in his eyes that increased gradually. Thinking about his parents brought him many beautiful memories.

’Fortunately I inherited your brilliance, otherwise, I would have met my end early in this brutal world. Father, Mother, just rest in peace. Your son here will manage on his own.’

Despite his grim fate, Arthur had never blamed his parents for it, and never harbored any resentment toward them, quite the opposite, he cherished every memory with them, both the good and the bad.

They had loved him sincerely and showered him with affection, but as the saying goes, nothing lasts forever. Overnight, his parents died in a car accident, and his entire world collapsed.

Their car had flipped from the top of a high cliff, and ended up in the depths of a nearby lake. And after weeks of searching, the authorities finally found the wreckage and what remained of them.

In a way, this was a happy moment for him, so he did not burden himself with the sorrows of the past, he ignored these painful memories that had appeared uninvited, and redirected his full focus to what mattered, the system.

"Anyway, I almost forgot about the main interface, I must check it. And here I was, priding myself on my intelligence. How truly ironic that I failed to realize something so obvious until so late."

Forgetfulness and absent-mindedness were traits ingrained in human nature, so he was not bothered, and did not feel that overlooking something like this was a mistake.

Without further delay, he issued his commands to the system, and in the next moment, the main interface appeared, which he had never seen before. Contrary to his low expectations, it contained many things, some of which were surprising, and even shocking.