The damaged tree began to crack at some point since Sigma's power increased. Around the same time, Sabrina went to pick him up again… it was already mid-afternoon, but only now had the others returned, and Ed was starting to make lunch.
"... For some reason, some of the monsters didn't have magic stones on them, but I still can convince the boss to give you a horse," Ed suddenly said while he was furrowing his eyebrows.
"... All of the enemies that didn't have magic stones had arrows or arrow wounds on them," Sabrina added.
At first, Sigma thought that Ed was trying to mess with him and find a reason not to give him the magic stones, but after hearing from Sabrina, Sigma wondered about one thing. If what they said was true and his power was like that, to make him stronger at an insane pace, could it be that his powers absorbed their magic stones?
Sigma wondered if he should tell them about his power to convert mana into experience… that would explain things a bit. Or maybe not. Sigma didn't know yet how the fact that he killed those beasts would make him level up that fast or absorb their magic stones. Then again, Sigma got a lot of experience by killing the bandits, and humans didn't have magic stones… probably.
"I can't explain why, but I guess my attacks did that," Sigma declared.
"... Why can't you explain?" Ed asked while furrowing his eyebrows.
"Because I met you guys three days ago," Sigma replied.
Sabrina furrowed her eyebrows, Eclair didn't know how to react, but Ed laughed a little. It made sense, and they were basically strangers as of now, so it was obvious that he wouldn't reveal his secrets that easily. It was kind of refreshing that he said such a thing so blatantly, but again… Sigma looked like the kind of person who didn't mind voicing his thoughts and reasonings.
Although that was convenient for him, Sigma still felt a bit puzzled by the acceptance that those three showed for his words. While he had lost his memories and knowledge, he still had a basic common sense when it came to feelings, and he knew that they were being a bit too understanding of the situation.
Regardless, the others didn't pursue the topic further, and Sigma did the same. Besides, everyone had to eat soon, and they got busy afterward with other things like looking after their gear after the battle. As for the girls, they just went to meditate. Sigma went to ask for some points when it came to that, and he received an explanation. The skill cost ten skill points, but he learned just by sitting down and clearing his mind.
[Meditation - Lv 01 - (0/10 EXP)
It restores one point of mana multiplied by the level of the skill per ten minutes.]
"Well, this will be very useful… it basically multiplies my mana regeneration according to the level of the skill," Sigma rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Sigma had planned to resume his training, but then he changed his mind and began to meditate. Sabrina and Eclair frowned at that, but they didn't try to stop and question him.
Before long, Sigma lost the notion of the time and then noticed that it was past midnight when he opened his eyes. He just used his remaining mana and kept going, even though he was alone in the living room.
When morning came, Sigma didn't feel that tired, but he had to stretch for a while. He made a lot of progress, but he still wasn't that satisfied.
Sigma - Lv 20 - 339/450 EXP
HP: 85/85
MP: 200/235
SP: 105/135
Strength: 16
Speed: 17
Magic: 46
Endurance: 01
Dexterity: 10
Resistance: 01
Status Points: 15
Skills: Exp/Mana Conversions Lv 05, Dash Lv 03, Power Shot Lv 03
Spells: Heal Lv 01, Appraisal Lv 01
Passive: Craft Lv 03, Archery Lv 08, Cooking Lv 01, Stealth Lv 01, Swordsmanship Lv 02, Spearmanship Lv 04, Meditation Lv 05
Skill Points: 85
"Now things are starting to look better…" Sigma nodded to himself. "Even without fighting, I can get enough experience by transferring with Meditation… for now, the rate is six times better than before, but soon will improve."
Sigma noticed that regular training could also increase his own experience. Still, the rate was a lot slower than that of skills since it wasn't focused on increasing a single one of his parameters.
After all that meditation, Sigma felt like moving his body a bit. Still, when he thought of leaving the house, those three left their rooms at the same time… they looked as sleepy as they could be, but it seemed that they decided to get up early that day.
"What is wrong?" Sigma asked. "You guys definitely aren't morning people, so why leave the bed so early?"
"Boss told us to go see her early… she also said to bring you with us," Ed explained, and then he went to wash his face. "She agreed to give us some horses and a map of the other cities. We have some information to share with them so that we will accompany you."
Sigma furrowed his eyebrows… waa Rose plotting something? It seemed a bit too soon to make one of the Healers go away when they were just attacked. Moreover, why send three of their already small forces on a mission to deliver a message?' She probably had better people specialized for that kind of job… Sigma was suspicious of the situation, but he decided not to voice his thoughts for now.
If anything were to happen, he already had a plan on how to deal with it. He just needed some time to put the plan into action…