rely holding back from looking through the options, I return to the hideout together with the two girls. Lily leaves to continue restoring her hand, and Tess goes to deal with some peopley stuff. Like the freeloader I am, I move to the corner of the hideout/cave and finally scroll through the notifications.I really want to check the body upgrade and when I open it, the notification pops out:Level 100 status reached. This signifies a further evolution in human potential.A necessary body upgrade is pending, designed to withstand the rigors of heightened strength, dexterity, mana, and constitution.The upgrade will prepare your body, heart, and brain for the execution of higher-leveled skills and support stronger passive abilities.Note: Following the upgrade, your body's requirements for sleep, food, and water will diminish due to the robust support of stats and mana.Well done!Oh my my. Does it mean what I think it means? It does, doesn't it?More mana is on the menu!Well, it neve

have to do that.As I enter the hideout, I spot Lily talking to Cipher and Goldie. Cipher is even smiling at her a bit, while Goldie just stares at the petite brunette. Then Lily notices me, and a big smile flowers on her face. She immediately ignores the duo and comes running to me.I notice a short flash of annoyance on Cipher's face before it disappears as if it never existed. The man then waves at me and points at a few filled bottles near Tess, and I nod at him. Surprisingly, Goldie seems to be even more annoyed than him, and she is not hiding it that well. But Cipher just grabs her arm and pulls her away.Should I beat them up?"Look, look!" But Lily is already here, waving at me with her fully restored left arm. The color is still pale, the same as mine, but she doesn't seem to be angry about it and even confirms it. "In the middle of the restoring, I learned how to give it some color, but I decided to keep it pale." Her eyes keep glancing between her and my arm, and when I try

Sophie tries to catch the sparrows with her [Manipulation], but unfortunately, she was unsuccessful. The moment her mana reaches towards them, they fly away.On the other side, I was able to kill multiple of them, yet every time not much was left of their bodies. My attacks needed to be too fast in order to kill them, obliterating them in the process, barely leaving anything behind.When I try weaker attacks, they just bend around the birds or miss them. The sparrows are even able to sense the mana threads I create in an attempt to trap them.It's annoying, it really is, and more so now that we are without food.Aaron and Lily are sometimes too weak to even walk and need to be carried, although all of this is alleviated by the water that Cipher creates. But he doesn't complain, not to me. He doesn't tell me how dumb of a decision it was to give up the trap. He is too smart for that.His companions, on the other hand, give me angry glances when they think I don't see it.In comparison

A young boy, barely over ten years old, slowly opens the door to the apartment. It squeaks as he closes it and locks it. His face bears no emotion as he looks around.After checking the floor and not seeing another pair of shoes, a small smile flashes on his lips. He quickly takes off his old, battered sneakers and removes his bag from his shoulder. The entire time, he is careful to use only his right hand.Then he rushes towards his room, and his smile becomes even bigger when he notices the light shining under the closed door. Without knocking, he barges in, only to be rewarded by a long, annoyed sigh from a girl sitting behind a table, reading.Her posture is near perfect. She sits without rounding her shoulders and holds the book in front of her to avoid slouching and bending her neck. There is a lamp next to her, shining on the book that she now puts on the table as she turns to her brother.“Nat, how many times…” she pauses and her eyes move up and down her brother.Another long

ceives five javelins made from my mana. I made them a bit denser this time so they should last around twenty minutes. She says they're a bit harder to control because they're made of mana that isn't hers, but it's not that bad.I also give around a hundred small orbs to Kim, which are also made of my mana, and Hadwin gets a mace. That's how we reach the wall and stop in front of it.I can feel mana all over its surface and it's towering like a skyscraper over us, all around the horizon. There are no holes, no gate, the wall is smooth and it doesn't even seem like it was made from bricks. It's just a single massive piece of… something. To test it out, I create and shoot one javelin at it and it burrows itself into the wall, yet the damage is minimal.“Okay, as we said before. Nathaniel and I go first, Tess will support us. Kim, if you will.” Hadwin says.For the last time, he checks if everyone is ready and then we stand on the massive piece of iron platform that Tess and Hadwin did tw