[Due to the peculiarity of your talent, a different reward is generated.]
[…]
[You have obtained a Skill Book]
Roman raised his eyebrows. He was surprised; he did not expect something like this could happen.
He had never heard of the system directly rewarding skill books.
But this was not the time to take the book in hand. Besides, he could not let everyone know about this, or it would cause problems.
It was already strange enough that a "level 2" like him was still alive despite nine days having passed since the start of the year.
The minimum leveling speed was one level per day. Less than that, and you would face the consequences of the world stealing your mana.
An ordinary human, without special talents or great skills, could only hope to evolve by following Common challenges, killing Common Bosses.
The maximum level achievable for such a person was Tier 2 Lv300.
With a minimum of one level per day, it would take 300 days to reach the peak and stop worrying about the world.
At that point, it would no longer steal your mana.
"Guys—" after the four stopped laughing at the absurdity of the situation, they moved to the main topic.
"How much time do we have left in this place before the one-hour limit passes?" Golia asked, visibly uneasy.
They were all clinging to the same branch, with the dangerous cliff below them.
"If I am not mistaken…" Zun raised his arm, looking at his wrist. "About thirty minutes left."
Everyone stared at Zun with a strange look.
"What the hell are you talking about, idiot!" Tobias laughed lightly. "You do not have a watch on your wrist; stop acting dumb even in this situation."
A light chuckle broke out.
---
Meanwhile, a short time earlier, elsewhere…
Inside one of the largest buildings in the city of Perfectis, at the top of a skyscraper…
A girl with a marvelous appearance was half-naked, having just finished a bath. Her skin shone brighter than the most sparkling jewel.
A furrowed brow crossed her face, but instead of making her look less attractive, it made her even cuter.
She raised her head to check the time.
The clock showed 9:30.
Moments earlier, the sensation of her mana being drained hit her.
Xixi checked her status, her eyes furious. The world seemed to respond to her anger, with mana swirling furiously around her.
Mana: 3550/3600
"What the hell is really going on? Is someone using my mana? Is that even possible?"
Xixi closed her eyes for a moment. Her mana was already regenerating at a visible speed, but she did not care.
Her thoughts were all on why this was happening.
"If someone is using my mana, then it must be a newly awakened one, just like me," she murmured, walking toward her room's window.
The amount of mana used, after all, spoke clearly. Only a low level would have so little.
Unless it was an attempt to mislead.
"However, unlike me, their mana reserves are not that high," she continued, reflecting carefully.
"Yesterday, the total mana that guy stole from me was about 100. Today, it surpassed that, reaching about 200."
She approached her wardrobe. It was enormous.
A sea of clothes, each more beautiful than the last, appeared before her eyes. She picked one at random and put it on.
It was a long green dress. It highlighted her slender figure and curves in all the right places.
"I am really curious to see who this guy is."
She left the house, took the elevator, and went down to the street.
A magnificent-looking limousine was waiting for her.
"Meteorite Association," the girl said bluntly.
Her goal was clear.
Find out who was behind this.
And the only way to do so was to use her status to discover who had entered the Rift around 9:30.
Then, she would investigate them all and uncover everything.
Sure, the culprit might not have entered the Rift, but the chances were low.
Leveling was necessary in this world, and if one did not enter the Rift, the only other way was to leave the city and hunt mana beasts.
But the idea that a low level could even do such a thing was absurd.
---
At the Meteorite Hall…
The four had exited the Rift a few minutes ago.
After returning the Tuner, Roman and the other three sat around one of the many tables in the place.
"Guys, let me treat you!" Zun's voice was loud, almost sing-song. "After all, I was the one who benefited the most from this adventure. Plus, you three saved my life; it feels more than fair!"
Tobias and Golia thanked him loudly, happy. Not dying was the greatest gift, after all.
Roman, however, stood up to go to the bathroom…
Not that he needed to, but he was really curious about the Skill Book.
The three were now used to their friend's bladder issues, so they let him go without much fuss. After all, the plan to save Zun had been his idea.
Once in the bathroom, Roman wasted no time.
"Let us see what the system gave me!" he exclaimed with unmasked excitement.
The Skill Book was in his Item Storage.
With a thought, it appeared in his hands.
---
Fire Dash (Common)
Dash in a direction, releasing fire on the ground along the path.
Minimum 1000 Mana
Maximum 50,000 Mana
---
"Not bad, but I cannot use it…" he lowered his gaze for a moment, only to raise it again. "But it does not matter; after all, I cannot use it today. Not tomorrow, sure… or the day after… but then I will be able to use it!"
He decided to use the Skill Book without hesitation.
The book in his hands vanished, and the skill appeared in his status.
"Good, let us head back. After all, Zun is treating today."
Time passed, and the four, after eating and drinking, decided to go home.
To celebrate further, they would play Cubeblock World all afternoon together.