Creation system
Chapter 31: Leveling up

Chapter 31: Leveling up

[Tier 2 iron wood sword – A sword made by Mitch through magic ways, it has great mana conductivity. It has a sharp edge and great durability. Sword skills mana requirements -10%, damage +15%.

It has one free socket.]

"I actually did it!". His hands trembled slightly, not from exhaustion, but from the pure exhilaration of successful creation.

With reverent care, he reached into his dimensional pocket space, his fingers closing around the last precious gem in his collection. The moment his skin made contact with it, warmth spread up his arm.

[Tier 2 Lustrous Fire Gem – a perfectly cut ruby that pulses with inner flame, can be socketed into a piece of equipment, bolstering its magical strength and granting it powerful fire aspect attributes! The gem feels warm to the touch and occasionally sparks with tiny flames.]

Mitch frowned slightly as he examined both items. "Wood and fire... not exactly a match made in heaven," he muttered, running his thumb along the sword’s edge. "But even a suboptimal synergy is better than leaving the socket empty."

With the precision of a master jeweler, Mitch aligned the gem with the sword’s socket, the gem and socket fusing with an audible click that resonated through the room.

"Inspect!" he commanded, his voice crackling with residual magical energy.

[Tier 2 iron wood sword – A sword made by Mitch through magical ways, it has great mana conductivity. It has a sharp edge and great durability. Sword skills mana requirements -15%, damage +20%.

The fire gem increases its stats by a certain percentage and adds -10% mana reduction and 15% damage increase with sword fire spells.]

"Incredible!" Mitch’s grin threatened to split his face in half as he gave the weapon a few experimental swings, noting how the blade left faint heat trails in the air. "There are maybe three or four swords in the entire guild marketplace that could outperform this beauty, and those cost a ton of gold.

Meanwhile, I crafted this with materials that cost a fraction of the powerful sword prices."

As twilight painted the sky in shades of amber and violet, Mitch made his way back to the Inn, his enhanced sword securely sheathed in his pocket space.

He found Leya already waiting in their shared room, her emerald eyes lighting up with curiosity as she noticed his satisfied expression.

"Successful day?" she asked, playfully, patting the space beside her on the bed.

"Very, and it seems it didn’t end yet!" he replied with a huge smile on his face.

The days that followed blurred together in a rhythm of disciplined progress. Each dawn found Mitch in his meditation chamber, systematically absorbing mana cores.

His capacity had grown, where once he could only process fifteen cores per day, he could now handle sixteen, his magical pathways having expanded through constant use and his recent level advancement.

On the fourth day of this routine, as he finished absorbing his daily quota of cores, a strange sensation washed over him, the distinctive tingling that preceded a fundamental change in his being.

[Mana storage increased by 1!]

Mitch paused his meditation, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. "Fascinating," he murmured to himself.

"It seems that consistently pushing my mana pathways to their absolute limit isn’t just accelerating my leveling progression, it’s actually expanding my capacity beyond the normal parameters. I wonder if this is a documented phenomenon, or if I’ve stumbled onto something unique."

Two more days passed in a similar fashion. Beyond his core absorption sessions, Mitch spent hours in the guild’s vast library. His afternoons were dedicated to practicing his mana shield technique until he could manifest and maintain the protective barrier without conscious thought.

Evenings belonged to Leya as they explored the city’s diverse culinary offerings at the numerous restaurants.

On the seventh day, as he absorbed his seventeenth core of the session, the familiar surge of advancement coursed through his entire being.

CONGRATULATIONS!

You’ve leveled up!

+1 allocable status point

+1 mind

+1 mana storage

Mitch immediately checked his progression status, mental calculations already spinning through his head.

Level: 12 [343 / 5000xp] (tier 2)

"Let’s see... I need 4,657 more experience points for the next level. At fifty experience per core, that’s roughly ninety-four cores total. With my current absorption rate of seventeen per day..." He paused, doing the math. "Just under six days. Not bad at all."

True to his calculations, six days later found him once again basking in the euphoric rush of advancement. But this time, the system had surprises in store.

[Mana storage increased by 1!]

CONGRATULATIONS!

You’ve leveled up!

+1 allocable status point

+1 mind

+1 mana storage

New spell – Summon familiar

New passive – Mana battery (+50 mana)

Mitch nearly fell from his meditation cushion in excitement. "A new spell and a passive ability? And not just any passive, fifty additional mana is equivalent to gaining five full levels’ worth of magical capacity!"

While other awakeners his age would be throwing celebration parties with their family and friends upon gaining a single level, treating each advancement like the momentous occasion it typically was, similar to a coming-of-age ceremony, here he was treating such incredible progress as just another day.

If other awakeners could see his progression rate, they’d likely cough up blood from sheer envy.

Checking his remaining resources, Mitch counted eighty-one unused cores in his storage. At fifty experience each, that would yield 4,050 points, impressive, but still short of the 6,000 needed for his next advancement.

Mitch didn’t want to test his new spell in the confines of the inn room and risk explaining any magical mishaps to the innkeeper, who had already been remarkably accommodating about extending his stay beyond the original ten-day agreement, not wanting him to spread rumors about the assassin, or worse, directly go to the barracks, reporting the attempt.

Mitch made his way to the guild’s public training grounds. The facility buzzed with activity even in the late afternoon, various awakeners practicing combat techniques and spell work in designated safety zones.

Mitch extended his right arm toward a clear patch of earth and focused on the new knowledge that had been imprinted directly into his consciousness upon learning the spell.

"Summon Familiar!" he called out, his voice carrying the authority necessary for the spell to function properly.