The vines are back again, and they are not as aggressive as before despite there seems to be way more of them now. They must have managed to catch a lot of delicious and nutritious preys since their run-in with the Major and her men.
And by preys, I do mean unfortunate people. Other monsters too, I suppose, since monsters are quite territorial, especially in the upcoming days when foods become more scarce.
Since the vines are not aggressive, I will leave them be. Provoking them right now doesn't really benefit me in any form, and I might attract unwanted attention to myself as the result. In addition, by simply being around, the vines prevent other monsters from wandering too close and bothering me.
That is a good thing, considering I have to keep my focus on the task at hand.
After redrawing new set of runes for the Runic Furnace, I begin to smelt down countless fragment of mithril ores to extract the precious magic metal within. It does take a long time as well as lots and lots of resources, and I wish I have a Blacksmith or someone of similar class because they can probably do a much better job than me even with just the Runic Furnace.
Unfortunately, there is no one like that on Earth at the moment. There might be on other planet since Earth is actually amongst the last few worlds to be magically uplifted. That is the term the Rulers had used after they murder untold number of sentient beings.
And while summoning a being from another world is not really that difficult with runes, it requires an absurd amount of magical power to do so. More so since I am currently stuck within a Zone.
I have estimated how much it would cost to form a spatial bridge powerful enough to punch through the Life Zone, connecting Earth and another world, and it will essentially reset my level again. I cannot have that, considering that the Trade Network is very useful at the moment.
Since I cannot contract external help, I will just contract internal one. For that, I would need to awaken my soul.
"Status," I request, and the Status Window appear before me.
I examine my Health, Stamina and Mana. Everyone and everything have Health and Stamina. To have Mana, they must survive the awakening, thus by now (the fourth day), everyone should have Mana.
The System make use of Mana to activate Abilities and Skills granted to the people, and while I suppose that is a good thing, it does make people rely upon the System. And that is a bad thing.
Anyone who is awakened can tap into their magical power without the help of the System. They only require training, and once they can manipulate magical energy, they essentially become a Mage. That is easier said than done, however, as it requires a lot of time and effort.
Magic asides, there are plenty of things that the System does not reveal to the players. Either by design or by omission. Health, Stamina, and Mana are not the only Life Energy a person can access.
There are actually two more type of Life Energy, and both can be used by anyone, being awakened or not. They are Spiritual and Psionic Energy. The power of the Soul and the Mind. It allows people to do inhuman feats in the ancient past. Actually, some people still manage to do inhuman feats right now with or without realizing it.
I should tap into my Soul first to awaken Spiritual Energy.