65 Opportuinity and Misfortune

"So, it's just us now" A feminine voice came from behind Jason startling him. He had just seen the future him disappear after dumping all that unbelievable shit on him, he was still in a dazed state.

Jason turned around to see a purple-coloured gem floating mid-air with soft purple coloured ripples pulsating on its surface.

"He was always a man who did the impossible, who would have known he would be able to change the past, something that even the most powerful people in the world stay away from. Altering the flow of time is possible but to reverse it should have been almost impossible. It is like forcing a waterfall to flow upwards. When he asked me to help him with this, I had called him a crackhead, but I still choose to help him. In the end, he succeeded but at the cost of his own self." Jason could feel the longing and sadness in her voice. He did not know what to say to console her, the situation was befuddling, she knew a lot about him, but he did not know anything about her as he had yet to meet her in the future. He also did not know what to feel about the sacrifice his future self-made for him.

"Let's leave this behind, he asked me to help you with all that I have and that is what I aim do." Her voice broke him from his thoughts.

"Who are you?" Jason asked her.

"You can call me Ivy" Jason wanted to know more about her identity, but he let it go when he sensed her tone.

"I have some good news for you and one bad one. Which one would you like to listen to first?"

"The good ones first" Jason said.

"You have completed the level 10 upgrade quest and you will receive it's reward from the system when you wake up. This also means you completed your third evolution under the influence of the runes and you are now in the fifth level of mid mortal level. I added 1-9 classification for each sublevel of the power tree so that it is easier for you to understand. The system shop received an upgrade and it has been equipped with many new features."

Jason felt excited after listening to so many good news but he restrained himself as he was preparing for the bad news.

" The bad news is that Your mana circuits are fried and you can't use any ability that needs specific use of the mana circuit. That includes time skip and mana construct ability."

"Jason felt a sinking sensation in his stomach as he heard this, majority of his fighting power depended on his time skip ability, how was he supposed to fight without any ability in a world full of enemies abilities.

"Is it repairable?" Jason asked with a tense look in his eyes, his hands tightened to form fists as they trembled.

"It is curable with a medicine from the system but it is only available when you reach level 20"

"You do not need to worry that much, your body is now actually at the fifth level of middle mortal level and you can still use skills and the system store," Ivy replied with a calming tone to her voice.

"It's what I get for not being powerful enough to face my enemies." Jason said with a now calmed voice. If it was before his fight with the monstrosity and his meeting with his future self, he would complain about not having the time skip ability, but the recent events had made him grow up and have a more mature overlook at things. By no means he suddenly grew a cold and calculating head, but he still gained a new outlook on his life.

He was fed up with not being strong enough to defeat his opponent and he especially hated passing out again and again. It would be difficult to fight enemies without his abilities but as Ivy said, he still had the system, and he was determined to use the system fully this time.

"I have the Against the Heavens Sword Art which should give me 5% of the opponent's mana after I kill the enemy. Will it work now that my mana circuit is apparently fried?" Jason asked as he thought of how to utilize his skills to the max.

"Let me explain the internal power structure in humans, you have mana circuits that enable you to channel your mana through them to perform your abilities, your mana is stored inside your bloodstream and it circulates mana to every part of your body making it stronger than average humans. This is why you may have noticed that you feel the strain on your body when overusing your abilities as it is due to the overexertion of your mana circuits. These mana circuits start simple and they gain complexity as your abilities grow or if you gain a new ability. This stays this way until humans level up to the immortal stage where they have a dramatic change in their internal body structure and then there is no need of a mana circuit. "

"You can still strengthen your body by accumulating and purifying mana inside your body, it is a general norm that the higher the quality of mana inside your body the higher your attack power is. And I can't stress enough on the system store, it is the most powerful tool you have right now."

"What are the new features?" Jason asked with an expectant gaze.

"Well for starters you have Mana Artifacts…"