I grinned, it was three levels, not two, that I gained. This was far quicker than hunting in terms of grinding exp, but the problem was my stamina, I can't continue this for as long a period as I could while hunting. Of course I could work on my sexual stamina and build it up over time, but I would be more efficient to find a skill that simply allowed me to ejaculate as many times as needed.
With those thoughts in mind, I called open 'Seducer's Shop'. Last time I had browsed its inventory I had only seen a fraction of the things on the list, instead choosing to skim through it and disregard anything that didn't catch my eye. This time I looked more closely, especially at the skills. Thanks to that I found two skills that would be of use to me.
[Skill: Self-Reflection
Type: Passive
Activation: Upon thought
Effect: Through serious self-reflection you are able to see the deepest parts of your soul. You will be able to see a constant heads up display, showing important displays such as mana and location. Upon request you will be able to see your status page. Allows for easier viewing of mana within one's body.
Extra Information: Heads up display can be toggled on and off by thought. ]
[Skill: Stamina
Level: 1 (0/1 Overexertions)
Type: Passive
Activation: Upon Overexertion
Effect: Dull fatigue and allow your body to move even in the grips of exhaustion. All delayed exhaustion will be released all at once upon skill end. Level increase will increase the amount of dulled fatigue and reduce skill penalty.
Extra Information: Applies to semen generation and sexual stamina.]
Fortunately, they were a combined seven hundred and fifty points, the exact amount I had right now. So I purchased them immediately. Two notifications instantly appeared in my vision on a holographic display just like the one that displayed Hannah's stats.
[Skill: Self-Reflection Unlocked]
[Skill: Stamina Unlocked]
Accompanied by those notifications was a heads up display just like one that you would see in a video game, showing my mana and health in a numerical amount with a mini map as well. Although it was a little odd not being able to specifically look at any of those, they were all constantly stuck in my peripheral vision considering that the display moved with my eyes. Calling up my stats worked perfectly as well, so the only thing to do was test out the 'Stamina' skill now.
I pushed myself out of bed. I was tired, but not to the point of overexertion yet. So I decided to go hunting. It would be a good way to test both of my skills. This time, I pushed into the 'Junior' level forest. Typically this wasn't accessible until you reached level twenty five, which is the base level required to access the 'Junior' course. Most Juniors were over that level, some even reaching level forty, but it still was the minimum level.
Luckily, the border between the two was neglected, the guards hardly stopped anyone who wished to pass between the two. Especially when compared to the 'Senior' border, which was locked down as tight as possible until you showed proof of your skills. I wasn't there yet, but I would be able to hang in the 'Junior' section so long as I was careful.
I brought a rental sword with me, the same type of sword that I used in practice, the only difference being this one was real, while the other was wooden. It wasn't my first time using a sword, I used one every time I hunted, but it was the first time they allowed me to take a manasteel sword.
Manasteel, a metal created from combining basic steel with a large amount of mana before reforging it into a weapon. For some reason the process of reforging the metal bound the mana to the steel, causing it to mimic the properties of body strengthening on the sword. In other words, it was stronger, faster, and more durable than normal steel. It also repels outside mana, making it good for use against mages. It wasn't as good as mithril or orichalcum, but it was a mass producible alternative. It was also a necessity when up against higher level beasts and monsters, as they used magic of their own.
Hence why they lent it out to me when I told them I was entering the 'Junior' forest. I was excited to test out my new 'Light Magic' as well, even though I wasn't proficient in spell casting. I had seen James teaching Jez multiple times, so I was thinking of trying to copy the things I saw there but I was unsure of if it would work or not.
Ignoring my doubts, I decided to try to copy a spell I had seen James use before. I raised my hand above my head. "Holy Light." I spoke while calling upon my 'Light Magic' spell. My long dormant mana slowly flickered alive, crawling through my body towards my hand. I could literally see the mana thanks to the 'Self-Reflection' skill, it was a black mass congealed within me. Finally the mana reached my hand and burst out.
However, instead of a brilliant golden light like James, mine was a dark black that gave off a purple light that illuminated its surroundings. It seemed that it was affected by mana color. I pondered for a moment, thinking about how all of those related to the church had a golden mana. Even Jez, whose class was 'Saintess', had a golden mana. The other mana colors were no different, each pertaining to a specific type of class. Even Hannah's mana wasn't black, it was instead a dark blue. Blue was indicative of a mage class, with its brightness changing depending on what type of mage class.
Nobody I had seen so far had black mana, nor had anyone seen the correlation between the classes and mana color. At least there were no records of it in all of the literature I had read. It was quite peculiar, but just like my other confusions regarding this world's statuses, I dismissed my concerns. I canceled my spell, allowing the mana to dissipate into the surroundings. I checked the mana amount on my display and the number had decreased. It seemed to be functional, not that I doubted it to begin with.
I would also never get lost with the minimap in my vision, so I didn't worry about keeping track of my position, instead my entire focus went to the forest around me. I wanted to make sure I kept a vigilant watch. This was the correct decision, as I quickly ran into a monster. It was a tiger-like beast, except it was far larger than the tigers I knew back on Earth. It was also probably far stronger, but I was as well.
I brandished the manasteel sword and charged forward, throwing caution to the wind. I probably could have snuck up on it like I had in the 'Freshman' forest when I was still level one, but I felt that in order to truly test my capabilities I needed a full frontal assault.
And that's exactly what I got. Noticing my approach the tiger whipped around towards me, baring its fangs. I wasn't deterred, continuing to rush forwards towards it. Once I got close, its clawed hand shot out, faster than the eye could see. I reacted just in time, tuck and rolling under the claw while keeping the momentum of my run. I transitioned back to my feet quickly bringing my sword up in an upwards slash. The tiger flinched back a moment too late, my sword making a small cut along its snout.
The tiger backed away, far more wary of me this time. However I decided not to play fair. Once more I called mana into my hand and raised it above my head. I had already recognized the feeling and sight of the mana moving within my body so there was no need for chanting the spell anymore. A bright light grew in my hand, one far bigger than the one I made before. The tiger squinted his eyes and dashed forwards, instinctively feeling that whatever I was preparing was too much of a threat to allow me to finish.
But it didn't matter. I brought my hand down violently, thrusting it towards the ground. I was copying the first spell I had ever seen, the one James had shown in the church right after we were summoned. 'Light Bomb'. I remembered to close my own eyes before it detonated, blinding the tiger. I took advantage of the tiger's blindness to leap forward, thrusting my sword deep into its eye socket. It died instantly.
I pulled my sword out and sighed, I still couldn't get used to the feeling of stabbing through flesh and bones. As I was lamenting on my own woes, I heard a cute scream break out nearby me. I turned towards the source, but it wasn't in direct view. I decided to take a look, rushing silently through the foliage of the forest until I came across the scene where I had heard the scream from.
There was a man and a woman there, the man was tall and built, like a male version of Oephilia, while the woman was dainty and small. The girl was obviously the one to make that scream, unless the man's voice was far higher pitched than it looked. Surrounding them were three of the very same tiger-like beasts I had just fought. This time the beasts weren't letting their guards down like the one I fought did. Mana was flowing off the tigers, coating their claws in a galing wind. The man stood in between the three tigers and the woman, who was holding a staff up and gathering mana.
She seemed to be a mage, and she was gathering for a spell. However, the tigers struck first. They rushed forwards in unison, two sending an attack at the man, while the third leapt past him towards the woman. The man stopped the two and reached out towards the third, using pure mana to grab the hind leg of the third and pull him down. However, he couldn't make that mana rope last, after all reaching out with pure mana was incredibly taxing and not all that practical compared to using actual magic.
The tiger rose, realizing its leg was no longer constrained, and once more pounced on the woman. To her credit, she didn't stop gathering mana as the beast approached, instead continuing to work on her spell and trust her life to her tank. Unfortunately, her tank was too busy with two that he wouldn't be able to help with the third.
So I did.
I burst out of the thicket with my sword raised above my head like a javelin, before throwing it will all of my might into the tiger currently running towards the woman mage. The sword hit true, stabbing deep into the tigers side and knocking him to the ground. It couldn't get up easily, as the impact of that sword hitting it probably broke a few of its ribs, not to mention the sword was stabbed deep inside its chest.
The woman finally finished gathering mana and spoke. "Chain Lightning" A massive bolt of lightning sprung out of her staff, passing through the tiger I had hit before bridging to the other two tigers as well. All three of them got cooked at once.
The mage brought her hand to her head and whipped away some sweat with a satisfied smile. "Hmph. That was easy." She said.
I looked at her dumbfoundedly as I approached, did she not realize that she would have died without me? The man seemed to have the same thoughts as she ran up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders before shaking her violently.
"What part of this was easy! You almost died!" He spoke with fervor. I nodded as I finally reached the tiger corpse and pulled my sword out. "If not for him you wou-!"
The mage cut him off, speaking over him. "But I didn't, right?"