Chương 109: 2-7 Hungry for more

Since Josef had already lingered at the bottom of his status sheet, he simply decided to make his way up the list. ☆☆☆☆ Seeker's Sight (Moderate) -> (Exceptional) Only those who look can find what was hidden. With low-light vision and an obfuscated gaze, no detail shall hide from your eyes. Your piercing gaze is impossible to hide, though its origin is difficult to track. The essence of life now lies bare before you, and your eyes peel away the layer to spy underneath.

A straightforward upgrade, which went along closely to how he had used his eyes in the final part of the dungeon. Orienting himself while actively seeing mana wasn't easy when your surroundings were very densely filled with the stuff. Doubly so, when it glowed obnoxiously brightly, like that order affinity mana. He had to spend a lot of the way squinting through that white haze to see the path beyond. Only now, in hindsight, did he realize how that eventually became less of an issue as they pushed onward.

He had thought had merely adjusted, but there was a proper upgrade involved as well. ☆☆☆ Fluid Movement (Moderate) -> ☆☆☆ Fluid Movement (Pinnacle) Increases your Dexterity by 35% of your Intelligence score, rounded up, and marginally amplifies the casting speed of water spells. Unsurprisingly, his most staple friend in matters of 'dodge around this lethal threat without dying' had also improved, giving him an even larger bonus to his Dexterity.

With some humor, Josef noted how his bonus had now outgrown the base attribute. He had truly become a wizard who was magically doping to join the track team. Now if only magic could also automate the dodging itself, so that all of his Dexterity didn't go to waste when he simply failed to notice the threat in time. ☆☆☆☆☆ Mana Stream (Advanced) -> (Pinnacle) All mana shall flow, from one to another. The tide ever grows, stripping even mountains bare. Where does all that mana flow?

Only the sea knows what beast it feeds. As the hunger stirs, the essence of life must flow in abundance.

"Ah yes," Josef mused, "a direct increase in ominousness." He nearly bit his tongue putting that word together, and he wasn't even sure if he got it right. It did, however, feel like just the right expression to voice his concern about his favourite ability's latest upgrade. Considering how it had worked in tandem with his heart, creating an additional internal stream, it was clear where the source of this growth lay.

Hopefully, this combination would remain as beneficial as it had been so far, because he had no idea what to do if it turned on him. ☆☆☆ Abundant Regeneration (Pinnacle) -> ☆☆☆☆ Resplendent Regeneration (Inferior) It only takes encouragement and a touch of magic, and the body will take care of itself. Considerably increased regeneration speed for major wounds, allows the slow regrowth of minor lost appendages. It had barely made the push into the next rank, landing on the embarrassing Inferior-Grade.

Considering he hadn't even noticed the change, nor actively used it, that came as no surprise. Josef was sure it would grow quickly once he used this spell for its newest purpose. And it would see plenty of use in the clinic. No longer would he have to sit around for lengthy amounts of time, reconstructing limbs, but instead slap one spell on the patient and send them on their merry way. At least, once it had grown enough to handle major limbs as well.

Josef hadn't failed to notice how Charly never sent someone with missing limbs down into the basement while he was recovering, clearly knowing full well that Nibbles could do little to help with those. Once he got back into business, there would be many people needing this. ✩✩✩ Restoration (Moderate) -> ✩✩✩✩ Restoration (Inferior) Anyone can use magic to destroy. Undoing that damage is a fine art few are capable of. Survival has always been about competition.

You have begun to alternate bodily structure by nurturing this conflict. Quite fittingly, his affinity had also moved by a similarly small leap into the next rank. The trigger for that was most likely the treatment he had performed on himself and Onyx, which ousted scar tissue by growing a large patch of fresh skin underneath, allowing him to remove the affected area like pulling off a bandaid.

This time, the changed description gave him a few very wild ideas on how he could continue to push this skill to new heights. It brought him one step closer to freely manipulate a body for optimal, butchery-free healing. Perhaps this could even be weaponized, showing this world the very first harmful healing spell. At least, he'd wager that no one else had abused this power for such an endeavor. ☆☆☆ Water (Pinnacle) -> ☆☆☆☆ Water (Moderate) The eternal cycle.

Guided by the claws of a superior mentor under direct tutelage, your connection to the element has been forcefully deepened through their own mastery. At first, Josef was quite happy to see his affinity pushed to the next rank, as that was usually a joyous occasion. However, the joy quickly waned as he repeatedly read through the description. It was better, sure, but what exactly had he gained? Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

That update merely described what was already happening on each of those upgrades. But normally, just like with his restoration affinity just now, that was a side effect from expanding his own experience with the affinity. This time, with Lapis forcefully pushing him to the next level, he had received nothing but the absolute minimum for the accomplishment. It was a hollow improvement that didn't sit quite right with him.

However, if a matter of life and death had been solved with only a comparably small setback like this, then he had no grounds to complain. He would simply have to work harder to improve the affinity on its current rank. Besides, it wasn't like affinities were in short supply for him. At last, that only left those unpleasant red problem-children near the top of his status. ☆☆☆☆☆ Mana Vessel (Moderate) -> (Pinnacle) Your body is a temple made of flesh, mana and blood.

Flesh and blood are but a compromise wrought upon you by mortal heritage. Mana is the source of magic, and magic is the expression of life. Your vessel has been tempered by ceaseless torrents of harmful energies, leaving behind a more thoroughly tempered container. Vessel integrity has been compromised by harmful mana, reducing maximum capacity until its stability is restored. Well, it reached the very pinnacle of the rank before breaking down, which was quite the silver lining.

It also answered his question about how improving his body was supposed to work. Since his physical form was now magical by itself, he had to strain it on both ends, like he had accidentally accomplished back in the dungeon. Fortunately, he already had plans for curing the Stillness affecting him, so this should be only a temporary setback. Considering how low it had left his health, he couldn't wait to regain his safety buffer.

☆☆☆☆ Devouring Manaheart (Advanced) -> ☆☆☆☆☆ Gluttonous Manaheart (Moderate) Mana is a type of energy naturally occurring on Aurum, unaspected fuel for all magic. Our hunger is ceaseless and this world is our banquet. Destroy, Devour, Digest. Heartstone has been compromised by foreign mana, reducing capacity and regeneration until its purity is restored. Josef would have really liked to know where those descriptions even came from.

Maybe he could have gotten an answer from Lapis, were she not currently indisposed, but for now, he could only guess. It did somewhat sound as if it came straight from his heart. And either it was unilaterally including him in that statement, or it had started to talk in the royal plural. Neither option offered much comfort. At least he didn't actually feel any different. Sure, he desperately missed his magic and what it could do, but that was an emotion born from necessity, not hunger. He wasn't a mana addict!

But for how long could he tell himself that it would be fine? Josef had already experienced how his heart had acted on its own, and he was concerned on where that path would lead him. Ignoring the fact that the dragoness was probably going to be unwilling to answer his questions after the last meeting, would she even be able to give him meaningful information on how to handle this? Maybe he should try his luck with Onyx, even if he didn't expect the former Drake to know something this specific.

"You're not going to cause trouble for me, right?" he jokingly asked the air, remembering he was technically inside of his own heart at the moment. Naturally, there was no answer. It would have been most concerning if there was. Then, a soft ripple traveled across the oasis, causing Josef's eyes to widen in alarm. However, as nothing else came of it, he realized that this was likely caused by one very upset dragoness trying to protest with too little mana to form a body.

"Well, I'm going out for a bit. Have fun being alone and miserable." Josef had actually next to no practice in manually exiting his domain, as he usually just knocked himself out and woke up outside afterwards. However, following the instructions to enter it, as well as his newfound skill at manipulating the domain, he willed his hand to grab a doorknob in the middle of the air, pulling an exit door open. For a split second, he could feel an old brass doorknob under his palm.

Then he opened his eyes to a dimly lit basement.

"Huh, it worked," Josef was surprised that things went smoothly for once, considering how many headaches his inner world had given him. He hadn't installed a permanent door in there, had he? If he did, that was going to be a problem for his next visit.

"Oh really? And what the fuck have you done?" The voice of a decidedly annoyed reptile came from the far end of his room. Needing a moment to adjust to the dimly lit room, which was weird considering his eyes should have been closed the entire time, Josef looked around to see Onyx stand with his back to a wall, close to the exit into the sewers. Over his shoulder, he carried the pale form of Zippa like a limp sack of potatoes. What the heck was going on?

"Why are you carrying Zippa around like that?" Before the reptile could answer, a panicked squeak cut through the room, "Nibbles sorry, but Boss scary. Boss please stop." The rodent was perched near the top of the basement stairs, looking distraught. Then, Onyx swatted at something in the air, producing a resounding smack even though Josef couldn't see anything for him to hit. Then a tremor reached him, as if something had punched him in the gut, but without the pain.

It felt as if he had suffered some sort of backlash… from his mana. Focusing his eyes to expand his scope of vision to magical energies, the problem quickly became apparent. There was a thick mana appendage lashing out across the room, swaying around like the tentacle of a sea anemone. It took Josef a moment to understand that this compact growth was like his usual mana streams, but instead of arching in wide loops, it folded onto itself for a thicker and more compact appearance.

It was an interesting use of his spell, and one he would gladly try himself in the future. Unfortunately, despite being attached to the origin point of this spell, he was not the one in charge of it.

"And after I just asked you to behave yourself." Josef was caught somewhere between horror and exasperation. Feeling the flow of mana within him, the culprit was quick to find, not that he had any doubt about its identity. From where the appendage was attached to him, there was another stream of mana running within his body, which connected straight to the center of his magic.

Josef had just given his body and heart back enough wiggle room to handle some basic magic, and his heart immediately decided that it didn't have enough mana. All on its own, acting with predatory intelligence. He scowled as he tried to clamp down on his own magic.

"Are you alright?" He asked into the room.

"Did I hurt Zippa?" The reptile must have been right by his side as it started. Considering his already vulnerable state, if anything happened to his friend because of that shitty rock in his chest…

"Stop your damn spell already!" Onyx cursed him out as he stepped away from another wide sweep.

"It doesn't target anyone, just moves around at random."

"Send out patient. Was very scared." Nibbles squeaked regrettably. Forcing his heart back under control with a vice grip, shutting off his mana hard enough to threaten decay to his body for several seconds, it finally acquiesced. Like a beaten beast, hungry and cunning, that gluttonous mind retreated back into his heart.

"I got it under control." Josef breathed heavily. That had been much more difficult than it had any right to be. Worse, though, he knew that this wasn't going to be the last of it. He had, even if unknowingly, fostered something dangerous within. He'd add it to his bucket list of problems. Seeing the wyrm come closer, wary and obviously not completely convinced of their safety, he nodded gratefully.

"Thanks, Onyx, for looking out for him. I owe you one." Considering the two of them hadn't exactly gotten along the last time they talked, he was positively surprised that the reptile had taken care of his friend in this situation. Onyx snorted dismissively.

"It was nothing. Now, explain yourself."

"So, uh, you wouldn't happen to have some experience with having a heart so hungry for mana it developed a mind of its own." Unfortunately, he didn't.