Chương 82: Level Ten

Sieghart woke up feeling unusually full of life. His body felt light beneath the blanket, his mind was clear, and none of the soreness caused by the previous day's training remained inside his muscles. For several seconds, he wondered whether the sensation meant something important was about to happen. Perhaps the universe had finally decided to reward him with one peaceful day. Then he remembered the date. Today was his tenth birthday. Sieghart remained motionless while the realization settled over him.

Almost three years had passed since Mira placed his bounty and the folder containing her investigation upon her desk. Three years since she offered him a choice between remaining with Lunar Arc or leaving to pursue the weakest available leads by himself. The memory of his grandparents returned with the date. Elara always prepared too much food for his birthdays, while Edric pretended the celebration was unnecessary before finding some practical gift Sieghart needed. They had never invited many people.

The farm was isolated, and Sieghart possessed no friends his own age, but his grandparents had always made the day feel important. Elara would bake something sweet even when sugar became expensive. Edric would finish his work early, clean the dining room, and act surprised when Sieghart discovered whatever gift had been hidden terribly. Those celebrations had been simple. Sieghart missed them more than he would have missed any grand ceremony inside the Emberhart estate. He sat up and looked around his room.

The basement no longer resembled the nearly empty space Ronan had first brought him to. Books filled two reinforced shelves, training tools rested against one wall, and several locked containers held materials used for magical experiments. A narrow desk had replaced the old table. Diagrams of runes, mana constructs, and spell formations covered most of its surface. Mira had offered to move Sieghart upstairs more than once.

He continued refusing because the basement possessed thicker walls and fewer neighbors willing to complain about explosions. It had become his room during the most important years of his magical development. Leaving merely because another location had windows seemed unnecessary. Sieghart placed his feet upon the floor and stretched. At ten years old, his body remained smaller than every adult guild member, but the difference was no longer absurd.

Regular physical training and several years of Muscle Reinforcement had improved his frame. He was still lean, but his movements carried more control and strength than his appearance suggested. His crimson hair had grown longer as well. The blond tips along the right side remained impossible to hide without Phantom Image, while his green eyes still identified him as an Emberhart to anyone familiar with the family. Sieghart looked toward the mirror beside his desk and activated the illusion.

Crimson became dark brown, green became gray, and the distinctive fringe changed into an ordinary uneven cut. The disguised face belonged to a quiet apprentice who had worked around Seraphina for several years. Enough merchants recognized that identity for him to move through the city without attracting attention. Almost none knew who lived beneath it. Sieghart finished dressing before his gaze settled upon the small wooden box beside his bed. He had deliberately left it there the previous night.

Inside waited the final part of a progression goal he had pursued for years. His thoughts returned to the conversation that had placed him on that path. Three years earlier, Mira had pushed a folder across her desk and offered him the chance to investigate the attack personally. Sieghart had wanted to accept immediately. Remaining beneath Lunar Arc while other people failed to find answers had become increasingly frustrating.

The folder contained names, locations, payments, and weak trails that might eventually lead somewhere useful. However, Sieghart had forced himself to think beyond that frustration. He was seven years old, even if his mind carried memories from another life. His spells had improved, but his practical experience remained limited. He possessed Phantom Image, yet skilled mages could detect illusions. His emotional control had improved, but anger still affected the environment whenever someone mentioned the attack.

More importantly, Sieghart knew almost nothing about the investigation. He could follow a written address and question obvious witnesses. That did not mean he could identify lies, follow money through several intermediaries, or remain unnoticed while studying dangerous people. Trying to investigate without those skills would warn his enemies that he had survived. They would erase whatever evidence remained and perhaps send another assassin. Sieghart had stared at Mira's folder before withdrawing his hand.

"I'll stay." Mira had watched him carefully.

"Why?"

"I don't know enough yet."

"You could learn from my informants while following the leads."

"And slow them down while revealing that I'm involved." Mira had not responded immediately. Sieghart remembered looking toward the outdated bounty upon her desk.

"I want answers, but chasing the first rumor because I'm tired of waiting would be stupid. I need more skills, better concealment, and enough knowledge to understand whatever I find."

"You're willing to remain here?"

"Until staying becomes less useful than leaving." Mira leaned back in her chair.

"That is a remarkably calculating answer for you."

"I was hoping for intelligent."

"You haven't earned that much praise." Sieghart had assumed the matter was settled. He expected Mira to give him continued access to his basement room, occasional paid work, and whatever reports her agents produced. Instead, she closed the folder and revealed that the choice had been a test. Sieghart's expression had become considerably less patient.

"You could have said that before making me think about it."

"That would have defeated the purpose."

"What exactly were you testing?" A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Whether revenge still controls every decision you make." Sieghart's mana had heated the air slightly at the word. Mira noticed but continued without reacting.

"If you had taken the folder immediately, I would have allowed you to leave. I wouldn't have stopped you or offered more assistance than I give someone with weak ties to the guild." Sieghart narrowed his eyes.

"You would have ignored me because I chose one of the options you offered?"

"I would have respected your choice while refusing to endanger my people by tying them to it."

"That sounds like ignoring me with more words."

"It sounds more polite." Sieghart still remembered the irritation caused by her explanation. Mira had offered him two choices while secretly deciding what each answer revealed about his state of mind. However, her reasoning had been difficult to dismiss. Intelligence work required patience, calm judgment, emotional control, and the ability to watch a target for months without acting too early. Sieghart had possessed very few of those qualities when he arrived at Lunar Arc.

Three years later, he still considered patience unpleasant, although he had become much better at practicing it. Mira folded her hands upon the desk.

"Someone capable of thinking beyond the next opportunity won't become a constant nuisance to the guild."

"That is almost a compliment."

"It is the best one you're getting today."

"And my revenge?"

"Still a problem." Sieghart's expression hardened.

"A minor one," Mira added.

"For now." Apparently, remembering the murders while refusing to let them dictate every immediate decision counted as acceptable progress. Mira did not demand that Sieghart forgive the people responsible. She only required him to remain capable of distinguishing vengeance from self-destruction. If he had chosen to leave and learn directly from her informants, he would have become more dangerous to them than useful.

A skilled informant sometimes spent weeks pretending not to recognize a target, months cultivating one source, or years maintaining an identity before obtaining decisive information. Sieghart's younger self would have endured several days before deciding that burning someone's office might produce faster results. Mira had apparently considered that an unacceptable investigative technique. Since Sieghart chose to remain, she changed the terms of his stay.

He received full access to Lunar Arc's archives, training facilities, and internal jobs. Mira still refused to make him an official guild member, but the practical difference became increasingly small. Sieghart could request materials, earn guild credit, and learn from specialists as long as the instructors agreed. He also received protected access to reports connected to the farm attack.

In return, he completed work for Lunar Arc, concealed his identity, and followed Mira's rules concerning dangerous experimentation. Those rules became longer every year. The arrangement provided Sieghart with knowledge he had wanted since first seeing his status screen. How to gain personal experience. Mira introduced the subject several weeks after their conversation. She brought a purified monster core into the basement and placed it upon his desk.

The object resembled the bloody red core Ronan had removed from the corrupted ridge prowler matriarch, although its color was clear blue. Its surface contained no dark veins. Mana circulated through the interior in steady patterns, producing a soft glow within the room. Mira explained that monster cores preserved more than stored mana. Powerful creatures left traces of their vitality, instincts, and growth inside those structures. Ordinary craftsmen used them to create enchanted equipment.

Certain forbidden practitioners forced the contents directly into their bodies, risking corruption and mutation in exchange for power. Seraphina had discovered a safer method. Instead of consuming the physical core or merging its structure with his organs, Sieghart needed to establish contact and allow his mana channels to draw out only the refined essence. That was something only Seraphina and her descendents could do.

Mira did not know about his translucent status screen, but she knew her ancestor had used purified cores to become stronger without suffering corruption. That similarity had been enough for Sieghart to try. The first successful absorption granted personal experience. After years of wondering whether he would remain at Level One forever, the answer had been hidden inside the cores of powerful monsters. The discovery also explained why ordinary kills provided experience only to Black Magic.

Defeating enemies improved the magic used during battle, while absorbing their refined cores advanced Sieghart himself. Mira placed strict limitations upon the process. Every core needed purification. Sieghart could not absorb corrupted red cores, unidentified specimens, or anything harvested from creatures known to affect the mind. The restrictions were sensible, although they slowed his progression considerably. Monster cores were rare and expensive.

Lunar Arc would not give them away merely because Sieghart possessed an unusual method of using them. He earned each one through guild work, traded part of his accumulated savings, or accepted them instead of ordinary payment. Over nearly three years, the experience accumulated gradually. The core waiting inside the wooden box would provide the final ten points. Sieghart opened it. A blue sphere rested within padded cloth.

It had come from a large magical beast defeated by a Lunar Arc expedition several months earlier. The core resembled the one Ronan extracted from the corrupted matriarch in size and structure, although repeated purification had removed every trace of foreign influence. Sieghart lifted it with his right hand. Cool mana pulsed against his palm. The power contained inside the core would have allowed an ordinary mage to cast several spells or supported an enchanted weapon for months.

To Sieghart, the quantity itself meant nothing. Adding a large amount of mana to infinity remained infinity. The essence carried by that mana was different. Sieghart closed his eyes and followed the technique Mira had taught him. He allowed his own mana to enter the core without crushing its internal pathways. The foreign energy responded slowly. It flowed through his palm and entered his arm, traveling alongside his mana channels without touching his blood vessels.

A cold sensation spread from his wrist toward his shoulder. The core's glow weakened as more essence left its structure. Sieghart maintained the connection until the last current entered his body. The blue sphere lost its color. Cracks spread across its surface before the entire core collapsed into pale dust between his fingers. Several notifications appeared. You have absorbed the refined essence of a monster core. Experience increased by 10 points. Level increased from 9 to 10.

A stronger pulse spread through Sieghart's body. It did not resemble healing or Muscle Reinforcement. The sensation reached everything simultaneously, improving no single area while making his entire body feel more complete. Another notification appeared. You have gained 10 Free Status Points. Sieghart stared at the final message. Ten free points. Until a while, his parameter growth had depended upon leveling specific spells.

Fire Magic improved Magic, Mana Transfusion raised Mentality, healing strengthened Resistance, and Muscle Reinforcement increased Strength. Free Status Points possessed no such restriction. Sieghart could place them wherever he wanted. Strength would improve his physical power. Dexterity might strengthen his control, reactions, and weapon handling, while Endurance could solve the limitations of his young body.

Mentality remained valuable for controlling multiple spells, and Resistance had saved his life more than once. He might even discover whether placing points directly into Health or Stamina produced benefits his spells could not provide. Sieghart looked at the dust left by the core. Reaching Level Ten on his tenth birthday felt suspiciously convenient, but he had no intention of complaining about good timing. His grandparents would probably have found the coincidence worth celebrating.

Edric would have asked what practical difference the level made, while Elara would have used it as an excuse to prepare even more food. The thought hurt, although it no longer destroyed everything around it. Sieghart closed his hand around the remaining dust before allowing it to fall into the empty box. Three years ago, he had chosen patience over the first available trail. That decision had given him knowledge, training, allies, and the first nine levels he once believed might remain permanently out of reach.

Now he possessed ten free points and enough control to choose where they belonged. For once, the system had given him something without hiding the method behind another unreasonable mystery. Sieghart opened his status screen. It was time to decide what kind of monster he intended to become.