"Oh?" Eric was lost for words, his eyes stung from staring too much at the notifications. "I should get my night glasses," he said as he sniffed.
[If I Intended To Blind You I wouldn't Use A Slow Technique Like The Blue Light From A Screen]
"Thanks for telling. Go on with your messages. I'm pretty bored at this point, to be honest."
[Mana Consumed: 3/3]
[LEVEL UP ACHIEVED]
[Tier: 1 => 2]
[STAT POINTS HAS BEEN ENHANCED]
"Oh. My stats have been upgraded?" Eric was at least happy to hear something good about the system after the failed awakening he so much expected.
[+20 STAT PTS TO BE SHARED ACROSS THE STATS SELECTED BY THE SYSTEM]
[+10 STAT PTS TO BE ADDED TO STATS AS SELECTED BY THE HOST]
"Oh, I finally get to do something for myself? Very good. Not that giving me just 10 points while you take 20 is a good deal, but I'll cook with it."
"Also, I remember I have 50 points yet to be added to my stats. Now, let's see where to put it. Man, these stats are awful, even for a beginner."
[DISPLAYING STATS]
NAME: Eric Abyss
RACE: Human
RANK: Mana Slave
TIER: 2 — (Mana Unit Consumed: 0/15)
AWAKENING: None — (Mana Unit Consumed: 3/100)
HP: 10/10
EP: 7/15
MP: 5/5 (+10)
STR: 20
AGI: 40
EDR: 5
DEX: 10
WILL: 2 (+10)
LUCK: 100
MAGIC: (LOCKED)
EQUIPMENT: NONE
SKILLS: Killer Dash (Rank E)
[!HUNGER LEVEL: 20%]
"Huhhh... I have so many questions."
[Save It For Later]
[MP: 15/15 (Upgraded)]
[WILL: 12 (Upgraded)]
Eric was dumbstruck. The manner in which the system added the points didn't sit well with him.
"Why would you share 20 pts across just two pretty useless stats? What happened to HP? Or Strength? Even Dexterity would have been a better deal."
[Remember, As The System Deem Fit]
[You Have 60 Pts In Total To Add Yourself. Why Bother About My 20 Pts?]
[And Those Stats Are Not Useless. Your Mana Points (MP) Is Pretty Much Your Powerhouse For Skills And Abilities]
[Without MP, You Wouldn't Be Able To Use Your Skills, For Example, "Killer Dash." Notice How 4 MP Was Deducted After You Use Skill Cash Twice? Exactly]
[If You Had Tried To Use Skill Dash Again After Your Gauge Read 1/5, It Wouldn't Work, Since Killer Dash Costs 2 MP. But Now That The MP Limit Has Been Upgraded, You Can At Least Use Killer Dash 7 Times Before Your MP Runs Out]
[MP Restores Automatically, But Faster When You Rest. The More Stress You're Into, The Slower It Restores. It Can Also Be Restored By Upgrading The Limit. The Bar Fills Back Up Instantly, No Matter How Low It Was]
"Okay then, point made. What about the Willpower upgrade? What do I need Willpower for when I'm facing dimwits such as these dead bunch?" He kicked one of the bodies in the gut, snapping the neck into an eerily awkward angle.
[Oh, You Have No Idea. You Will Need As Much Willpower As You Can Muster After Your Transmigration]
"There you go, withholding information. Tsk."
[Here's A Free Piece Of Info...]
[Amount Of Mana To Be Consumed Varies and Is Different With Each Tier. Tier 1 Required You Consume 3/3 Mana For A Tier Upgrade, Hence The Change In Tier Level To Tier 2]
[Tier 3 Requires 15/15]
"So, there's a mini mana consumption bar for tier upgrade and there's a wider one for Awakening."
[Accurate. Tier 2 Requests You Consume 15/15 Mana Before A Tier Upgrade. You Can't Change Tier Levels Without Consuming Mana]
"And how the hell am I supposed to kill 15 people just for their mana? That's some serial killing shit right there."
[Host Hasn't Consumed The Mana From The Last Source Here]
[Mana From Beast Slowly Seeping Away. Host Must Consume]
"Oh, shoot. I think I forgot that one."
Eric rushed over to the dead beast laying lifeless on the ground a few feet from the dead hunters. From Eric's knowledge about beasts which he was taught along with the other kids at the Motherbase during training, this beast is known as a Velocryx. A formidable predator of small animals, extremely fast, able to climb trees, and is even a good swimmer. It has razor sharp teeth scattered all over its mouth which it uses in snatching animals who couldn't withstand its speed. It steals from nests and caves of other animals, snatching the weaker targets and making away with them before the stronger ones could get it. Lately, their kind has been creating some kind of discomfort to the colony as they have been sighted close to residential areas, which was strange enough since they tend to live deep in the woods where there are lots of prey. The three hunters must have been on the Velocryx's mission which led them to mistakenly shoot Void after missing target. Also, they must have gone back a second time for the hunt and successfully killed the beast before Eric interrupted them.
Eric grabbed the skinny legs of the beast, dragged it closer and repeated the same Mana sucking process he performed against the hunters.
A second later, a faint red energy started flowing slowly out of the beast, and into his stomach through his mouth.
A deep tremor ran through his body as his eyes glowed deep red. The tingling feeling he enjoyed from the mana sucked from humans was absent in the beasts' mana. Something started swirling uncontrollably in his stomach, creating a painful upset that lasted for a few more seconds before coming to a stop. All along, Eric was on his knees and his eyes were closed in pain, but as soon as the swirling in his stomach stopped, he jerked his head up forcefully and yelled. A beast-like sound escaped his gut, deep, guttural and full of fury.
[Beast Mana Successfully Consumed]
[TIER: 2 — (Mana Unit Consumed: 3/15)]
[AWAKENING: None — (Mana Unit Consumed : 6/100)]
"Surprise me. Why does one beast count as 3 mana units?"
[An Average Beast Is At Least 3 Times Stronger Than An Average Human. Also, The Amount Of Mana Unit Gained Depends On The Kind Of Beast The Mana Was Consumed From]
[The Velocryx Will Grant You 3 Units, But A Thornslug Which Is Way Weaker Will Only Give One Unit After Mana Consumption. There Are Also Beasts Who Are Not Up To One Unit, Like The Tonguelings. You Have To Consume Two Or Three To Make Up For One Mana Unit]
"Oooh. That's some info there."
[It's My Pleasure]
[There Are Also Beasts That Can Bestow Upon You 6 Mana Units Upon Consumption But I'm Afraid You Are Not Strong Enough To Kill One Of Such]
'Hmm. Nice enough that I don't always have to kill humans to consume mana and get an upgrade. Beasts are a very good alternative.'
[Also, Beasts Give A Stat Upgrade Depending On The Beast Consumed]
[STAT POINT HAS BEEN ENHANCED]
[AGI: 40 (+5)]
[EP: 6/15 (+3) — You Need To Find Rest To Regain Lost EP]
[Velocryx Is A Beast Adept In Speed And Stamina/Energy, Hence The Selected Stats Upgraded]
"Woah. Beasts are sure some cool stuff, huh? They can even upgrade my stats? Why is mana from humans an option in the first place?" Eric beamed, his expression bright.
[Beware. Human Mana Fills... But Beast Mana Does The Opposite]
"What does that mean?" Eric was alarmed.
[Beast Mana Grants Stat Upgrade, Contains More Mana Than Human's Mostly, And Makes You Extra Strong For A Short While]
[However, Only Human Mana Can Fill Your Hunger]
"There's the hunger again. Can't I just eat something normal when I'm hungry? Why do I have to consume humans?!"
[You Can Eat Something Normal But It Will Only Fill Your Human Cravings. The System Has Claimed You And You Have Become A Mana Reaver. A Mana Eater. So, Nothing Can Truly Satisfy That Hunger Except MANA]
"I'm really sick of this. You mean I have to kill people so I don't die? Does that sound right?"
[I Don't Determine What Sounds Right]
"Fair enough. But what do you mean by Beast Mana doing the opposite of Human Mana."
[Beast Mana Once Consumed, Makes You Strong But It Also Makes You More Hungry]
[Because It Uses Up The Human Mana You Stored]
"So, what you mean to tell me is--"
[Exactly...]
[YOUR HUNGER GROWS]
"Hell no!"