[Augustus Gray]
[Cultivation Realm: Qi Refinement Realm]
[Mana Rating: One-Star Mage]
Finally, after weeks of intense meditation, I have successfully formed my mana circle in this life.
Relying on my experience from my past life, I was able to accomplish what had taken me over ten years previously in just a fraction of the time.
Basic knowledge of magic and qi gathering is taught during military enrollment, but as they say, knowledge alone is not enough, talent contribute to most of it.
Moreover, It's incredibly challenging to find a place with an abundance of mana to form a magic circle.
But with my determination on surviving, I decided to throw away my pride and rely on my superiors and comrades, the wealthy one, the one with connection, and the absurdly powerful one by being their lovable friend and junior.
'I remembered the day I have to lick their shoes, befriend them no matter how shitty their personality are, be their shuttle boy, it's full of lowly menial tasks.'
Only then, I've managed to progress to the Golden Core Realm and become a two-star mage.
'All for some Spirit Stones and Mana Stones.'
While I was relieved to become a one-star mage this early of the time, this is definitely just the beginning of the journey.
As I realized that reaching two stars is just the tip of the iceberg, and to become a three-star mage has proven to be a formidable challenge due to my lack of innate talent in magic.
Fortunately, my cultivation talent far surpasses my magical aptitude, although it's still considered slightly above average for a human, compared to others.
[18 days 15 hours]
I still have ample time until morning, right? Let me calculate how much time I have left...
Approximately 500+ days until morning!
The fact that time moves five hundreds times times slower here is mind-boggling. With such an extended timeframe at my disposal, even with my seemingly mediocre talent, I'm confident I can make significant progress.
With renewed determination, I resume my meditation, fully aware that I have over a year's worth of time ahead of me. I am resolved to surpass my previous life's achievements and return to where I left off.
Unbeknownst to me, over five hundred days have passed, as I remain steadfast in my pursuit of cultivation.
[Augustus Gray]
[Cultivation Realm: Qi Refinement Realm]
[Mana Rating: Two-Star Mage]
While Augustus had successfully advanced from a one-star mage to a two-star mage, he had been stuck at the three-star mage level for over a hundred days. Despite making some progress, he struggled to maintain two mana circles, and his third circle always collapsed midway during formation.
Before leaving, Augustus had already made up his mind on the type of spell he would choose.
"I've weighed all the possibilities and I will choose this."
[You have chosen "Summoning Spell"]
[Stats System Unlocked]
[Skill Tree System Unlocked]
[Store System Unlocked]
[Quest System Unlocked]
[You can now earn points by doing quest.]
There's a flood of screens that suddenly appeared after that, for now, he decided to ignore these systems and view them later on.
As Augustus returned to his original world, he realized that it was already 7 AM in the morning. A year and a half had passed in the other dimension, but only a night had passed in his original world.
"Brother, wake up! We're going to be late for school," said his little sister, shaking him incessantly, causing him to experience tremors.
"This little monster is still the same as I remember," Augustus thought, yawning from the fatigue that had piled up upon his return.
"Alright, alright, I'm going to take a shower, get out," he said as he lightly carried his little sister out of his room and shut the door.
Augustus's little sister was surprised at how easily he carried her, as if she were as light as paper.
"Did I lose more weight? Maybe I should eat more," Anna mused to himself.
After quickly taking a shower, Augustus made his way to school with his little sister, Anna.
"This is troublesome. I might need to take a nap or drink coffee," he thought to himself as he walked.
Yawn*
"You slept like a rock yesterday. I kept calling you last night and you didn't even budge. How are you still sleepy after yesterday's sleep?"
"I'm in my puberty phase, I need more sleep to grow."
"Huh? Since when is that a thing?"
"It just is for everyone. Maybe you should sleep more so you can grow taller."
"Are you calling me short?!"
Augustus scanned her height and coldly said, "Yes."
She's shorter compared to me, but there's still plenty of room for growth since she's just fourteen years old. Although I never really got to witness her journey to adulthood.
I stopped calling my family back due to the stress from the military, and when I finally got out, they were all gone.
While Anna is hitting and pinching me I didn't feel a thing. She continuously complaining cutely, saying things like "You're a meanie" or "I hate you brother," but my mind is elsewhere.
"Hey, you should grow taller than me, okay?"
I gently patted her on the head.
Instantaneously after the pat, she quickly ran away like a tsundere who had just met her crush.
I didn't take offense but only find that her actions are adorable. It's quite refreshing to see her so full of life.
A few minutes passed, and it was getting boring to walk alone without Anna by my side.
Should I chase after her?
If anyone saw Augustus's speed right now, they would definitely see him as a martial artist.
Within a few seconds, he had caught up to his sister, who was 400 meters ahead of him an insane speed achievable only after you become Martial Artist.
Moreover, he wasn't even panting. It was like a casual walk for him, as he activated a movement skill that he had learned in his previous life with his qi.
Anna was speechless when she saw her big brother catch up to her so swiftly.
'Did my brother secretly learn martial arts or something?'
While Augustus strolled casually beside Anna, a screen popped up, indicating that he had learned a new skill.
[You have learned 'Wind Step']
[Augustus Gray]
[Cultivation Realm: Qi Refinement Realm]
[Mana Rating: Two-Star Mage]
[Learned Skills: Wind Step Lvl 3]
STR: 7 CONS: 5
AGI: 4 DEF: 3
INT: 18 MAG: 25
Unique Stats:
Qi: 10
[You have learned a skill without relying on skill book]
[5000 Points earned]
Looking at the newly discovered stats system, Augustus was reminded of the previously discovered features in the system.
"Right, I still have many things to go through. Let's explore them one by one while I have some free time," Augustus thought to himself.
First, the Summoning Spells were categorized by Mana Rating ranks. I could only view the one-star and two-star spells.
"For the one-star spells, there doesn't seem to be much choice available. I guess different creatures have their uses in different situations," Augustus mused.
There were only four type of summoning spells available for one-star:
[Rat Summoning Lvl 1]
[Cost: 200 Points]
[Slime Summoning Lvl 1]
[Cost: 500 Points]
[Goblin Summoning Lvl 1]
[Cost: 800 Points]
[Zombie Summoning Lvl 1]
[Cost: 1000 Points]
They all had almost the same description and conditions: when used, they would summon a specific creature, and the level of the creature summoned would depend on the level of the skill.
Additionally, all the one-star summoning spells were limited to summoning only one creature per spell. Though the cooldowns varied, the cheaper spells had lesser cooldowns than the expensive ones.
As for the two-star summoning spells, they included more varieties of creatures to summon, but they were way more expensive compared to the one-star spells:
[Kobold Summoning Lvl 1]
[Cost: 25k Points]
[Skeleton Summoning Lvl 1]
[Cost: 50k Points]
[Merman Summoning Lvl 1]
[Cost: 50k Points]
[Harpy Summoning Lvl 1]
[Cost: 50k Points]
[Lizardman Summoning Lvl 1]
[Cost: 200k Points]
[Orc Summoning Lvl 1]
[Cost: 250k Points]
[Mud Golem Summoning Lvl 1]
[Cost: 500k Points]
Augustus realized that he only had 5000 points available from activating Wind Step, and while he thought that 5000 points was a lot, the prices of the two-star spells proved him wrong as it jumped way too high compared to the one-star spells.
Disappointed, Augustus decided not to bother reading the two-star summoning spells, as he couldn't afford them. Instead, he focused on the one-star spells and checked out the creatures they summoned:
[Rat Lvl 1]
STR: 1 CONS:
1 AGI: 6 DEF: 1
INT: 2 MAG: 0
[Learned Skills: Sight Link Lvl 1]
[Slime Lvl 1]
STR: 3 CONS:
1 AGI: 2 DEF: 1
INT: 0 MAG: 2
[Learned Skills: Physical Immunity Lvl 1, Digestive Juice Lvl 1, Slime Bounce Lvl 1]
[Goblin Lvl 1]
STR: 6 CONS: 2
AGI: 4 DEF: 2
INT: 6 MAG: 0
[Learned Skills: Dagger Proficiency Lvl 1]
[Zombie Lvl 1]
STR: 10 CONS: 8
AGI: 2 DEF: 8
INT: 1 MAG: 0
[Learned Skills: Poison Bite Lvl 1, Rot Lvl 1]
Rat, the weakest summoning creature with its lackluster stats, didn't seem suitable for battle other than running away from its prey. After all, you could only summon one of them. However, it had an intriguing skill called Sight Link, which allowed the caster to see through the eyes of the rats.
On the other hand, Slime, despite its low stats, possessed an overpowered skill that made it impervious to physical attacks. It could consume foes with its corrosive digestive juice and even had a nimble ability called Slime Bounce, allowing it to leap onto enemies with lightning speed.
The goblin, with its decent overall stats and ferocious nature, seemed like it could be a formidable opponent. Its dagger proficiency made it even deadlier, capable of overpowering a normal adult. Although I'm uncertain if it could defeat a martial artist, given its stats.
Meanwhile, the zombie appeared to be more of a tank summon rather than an offensive one. Its low agility was compensated for by its immense strength and defense, making it a resilient presence on the battlefield.
Considering his wartime experience, Rat summoning seemed to be the most practical choice for Augustus. Slime summoning, coming in as a close second, would be especially useful during the war where mages were rare, and cultivators prevailed.
[You have spent 200 points]
[You have spent 500 points]
"Brother, where are you going?" Anna inquired, catching Augustus off guard as he almost passed by his school.
"Stop daydreaming, I'm leaving you now, hmph," Anna huffed, annoyed at Augustus.
Ignoring his sister's advice, Augustus continue to explore the system.
[Skill Tree System]
[Rat Summoning Lvl 1] => [Rat Summoning Lvl 2]
[Rat Lvl 2]
STR: 1 CONS: 1
AGI: 7 DEF: 1
INT: 2 MAG: 0
[Learned Skills: Sight Link Lvl 1]
[Cost: 200 Points]
[You have spent 200 points]
[You have spent 200 points]
…
[You have spent 200 points]
Without hesitation, Augustus spent his points on leveling up the Rat Summoning Spell, eager to see what new skills it could acquire as it grew stronger.
When he reached Rat Summoning Lvl 10, he unlocked the tree to upgrade the rat summoning skill into different variations, each with unique abilities.
[Stealth Rat Summoning Lvl 1]
[Stealth Rat Lvl 1]
STR: 3 CONS: 1
AGI: 20 DEF: 1
INT: 2 MAG: 0
[Learned Skills: Sense Link Lvl 1, Stealth Lvl 1]
[Cost: 1000 Points]
[Warrior Rat Summoning Lvl 1]
[Warrior Rat Lvl 1]
STR: 10 CONS: 8
AGI: 12 DEF: 12
INT: 2 MAG: 0
[Learned Skills: Paralyzing Bite Lvl 1, Dash Lvl 1]
[Cost: 1000 Points]
The warrior rat's high strength and agility, as well as its paralyzing bite, were tempting to Augustus, who could see its potential in battle.
However, his main goal in upgrading Rat Summoning was to use it for scouting, so he decided to stick to the main path.
[You have spent 1000 points]
Now, with the Sense Link skill, Augustus could sense everything through his rat summoning, and his Stealth ability made him less noticeable when it wander around, which was a huge advantage.
After spending all his points, Augustus was left with only 1300 points, which he decided to save for emergencies.
Before he could access the system Store, his best friend Matt interrupted him. "Since when did you get an EyePhone?" Matt asked, seeing Augustus fiddling with imaginary screens.
Augustus was taken aback but not surprised by Matt's assumption.
An EyePhone? No way, I can't afford that. Besides, I already have something even better installed in my brain. The system.
"Huh? Umm, my birthday?" Augustus replied, trying to come up with an explanation.
"Your birthday is still 4 months away, dude."
"It's an early gift from my parents."
"Anyway, it's about time you got an EyePhone, everyone in the school has one except for you."
"Yep, anyway, see you later, Matt," Augustus said, feeling uncomfortable and deciding to leave quickly.
"Huh? But we're in the same class," Matt protested as Augustus hurried away.
Augustus felt guilty, knowing that Matt hadn't done anything wrong, but he thought it was better to be distant now than regret it later.
"He's been acting weird these days," Matt muttered.
Augustus was finally able to open the system's store, and as expected, it sold various items, although they sounded quite ordinary.
Most of the items were similar to what he could find in the Traveler General Store, such as potions, elixirs, weapons, and armor, as well as basic arrays.
[Store can be upgraded as the user progresses in the quest]
Oh, so I can unlock more items if I complete the quest? This feels more and more like the games I used to play, except it's not virtual reality, it's reality. Augustus quickly accessed the quest system to check the available quests.
[Quest System]
[Progression Quest]
Enter The Martial Seclusion House
[Reward: 100 points]
Enter The Magic Tower
[Reward: 100 points]
Enter The Training Camp
[Reward: 100 points]
[Daily Quest]
Cultivate in the Martial Seclusion House for at least 3 months
[Reward: 100 points]
Meditate in the Magic Tower for at least 3 months
[Reward: 100 points]
Train in the Training Camp for at least 3 months
[Reward: 100 points]
As Augustus saw the rewards for the quests, he finally realized the true value of the points he had spent carelessly.
"Three months for just 100 points? That's too little, isn't it?" he muttered in disbelief.
Just then, a girl approached Augustus timidly. "Umm, August?"
"What!" Augustus snapped, and the girl quickly turned to run away.
Regretting his outburst, Augustus stood up and grabbed her arm, preventing her from fleeing.
Okay, that might be my fault.
"I'm sorry, I was out of it just now. What's wrong?"
The girl looked uncomfortable with me holding her hand, so she decided to pull away before speaking. "You said you wanted to study together last time, so I just wanted to hand you some notes so we could study together later."
"Oh yes, the exam," I remembered.
"Of course, yes please, I would like to study with you," I replied.
"...Okay. Here are the notes."
She looked smart and nerdy, which was perfectly fine, but she also seemed reliable. Her giant glasses and messy hair, not caring about her appearance, gave clues that she studies a lot and works hard.
"Okay, I'll meet you later in the library then," she said, and left before I could even check her name tag and remember her name.
'What's her name again? I should remember it even if I have to crack my own head,' I thought to myself.
"Your date with Julia in the library? What an oddball you are to even like her," Matt said, interrupting my thoughts.
Of course it's Matt, with his busybody habits, loved to gossip about others and make jokes.
With Matt reminder, I now remember Julia. She's a good girl indeed. I used to have a crush on her because she's the normal girl in school.
Other girls would needlessly blab about their family powers, show off their EyePhones and other gadgets, etc.
I also remember I tried to use exam as an excuse to try and get close to her and ended up being called as a freak that's how I got my heart first broken by a girl the first time.
It was a traumatic experience.
Anyway this time I want to really learn from her so it should be fine right?
But before all that... Matt need a little scolding.
"She's a good girl, Matt. And please stop gossiping about others."
"Okay, chill man, I'm just joking. I won't do it again, I promise," Matt said.
I knew Matt meant no harm, but I still glared at him to warn him.
For Matt, It was the first time he had seen me this mad. "I went overboard with the joke there, f*ck," Matt realized.