14 Massacre
There were 4 Liffox remaining from the original group of 6. William tried to take out another Liffox with his fireballs before they got away, but the largest and second largest Liffox activated their healing element to ruin his plan.
He was forced to give up for now, but he achieved his goal. His eyes flashed with delight while scrolling the System Menu.
———
POTENTIAL POINTS: 100
———
There were no enemies close by and William was somewhat safe in the tree. This was the best moment to upgrade his talents. He made sure the backpack was in a safe place, then secured his own position in the tree and steeled his resolve.
System, upgrade my Fire Affinity.
--Upgrading--
William felt his body heating up like before. The intensity had increased once again, but he held on. The skin on his entire body cracked, his lips turned dry, and his eyes would have watered but it evaporated instantly.
"Ahhh!"
William activated his Life Magic, healing the damage as it was caused to his body, but it wasn't quite enough. The skin continued cracking and healing over and over again as he clenched his teeth in pain.
The branch he was sitting on became extremely hot to the touch, only not catching fire because of the tree's vitality. If he hadn't moved his backpack before initiating the upgrade, it wouldn't have been as lucky.
The burning sensation continued for an hour. Will gave up on using his Life Element in the first 5 minutes to preserve his mana. The experience was painful, but William could feel that it wasn't enough to kill him.
He also noticed that the Life Element actually sped up his natural healing and helped to offset the damage of his upgrade.
———
TALENT UPGRADED
Fire Magic: (C --> B)
Next rank up: 250PP
———
B Rank, let's go! Even without testing the effects, William knew his Fire Magic just got a huge boost. He felt it would take even less time to learn new spells. William could also feel that his natural resistance to heat had increased.
He looked back at the miserable tree he sat on during the upgrade. The first branch didn't catch on fire but was melted where his hands were placed. At the 30-minute mark, the branch snapped and fell to the ground, and William was forced to climb further while enduring the pain.
This process was much easier as his whole body was equivalent to a massive Flame Blade. His hands dug into the tree and it melted like butter, allowing William to scale upwards.
The backpack survived the entire ordeal, which William picked up after healing himself. To conserve mana, he only recovered to 90 health and left the rest to naturally regenerate.
Status.
———
STATUS: ( - )
-Health: 90/100
-Mana: 24/150
-Fame: 3
-Cultivation: None (No suitable techniques)
———
William's Mana was very low, and he only had a few hours before sundown, but the allure of treasure was still holding him back from leaving the forest. It was a hard choice to make, but William decided he would finish off the few remaining Liffox then leave if he had too little Mana.
The group of 4 didn't go far, and William was able to sense their vitality during the entire upgrade process. Three were currently resting together in a clearing, while the fourth was chewing on some herbs.
This was perfect! William prepared a fireball the size of a soccer ball and launched it at the group of 3 from around 25 meters away. The fireball traveled nearly double the speed as before and struck the largest Liffox.
The fiery explosion that followed made William's eyes go wide in shock, as all three Liffox were killed instantly. The fourth barely had time to react to the death of its companions before it was also killed by a massive fireball.
-Defeated Liffox (x3): +3 Potential Points
--Unlocked Title: +1 Potential Point
-Beast Slayer (Common): You've personally killed at least 10 Magical Beasts. +5% damage to Magical Beasts.
-Defeated Liffox: +1 Potential Point
Holy shit! That only took 4 mana each! William didn't have high expectations before, but he now realized that an upgrade to B Rank from C was a qualitative difference.
He partially understood why the book he read in the library said one would need to be a Manamatus before their Magic could reach B Rank. The gap between the two was just too large! His spells were more efficient, stronger, and faster!
Thinking about all the Liffox he killed so far, William was sad that he didn't have a way to take them back. He could use the Flame Blade to harvest their fur, but the fireballs had already damaged their fur beyond repair.
I need a less destructive element. William thought.
The raw damage was very satisfying, and Will did indeed enjoy setting things on fire, but if he was going to be a true loot goblin, everything must be harvestable!
He set those thoughts aside for now and focused on following the vitality aura he felt earlier. Only a few minutes passed when William arrived at another clearing, this time with a massive tree in the center. The wisps of vitality could be sensed emanating from the tree.
If Charlotte were here, she would probably recognize that something was different about this tree well before William.
Another Life Vein, I wonder what happens if I absorb this one. He stepped forward to harvest all the Lifeshrooms, then stuffed them in his now-full backpack. There were about a dozen left in the area, but William already planned for another trip to the forest.
He approached the tree like before.
-Discovered Life Vein: +3 Potential Points
-Absorbing Life Vein...
William's hand became stuck again while the Life Vein was absorbed, then was freed after only a few minutes.
-Absorbed Lesser Life Vein: +5 Potential Points
-Life Element already acquired. Health increased.
William felt a cooling sensation in his body. His pores seemed to expand but there was no change to his physical appearance.
Status.
———
STATUS: ( - )
-Health: 100/150
-Mana: 16/150
-Fame: 3
-Cultivation: None (No suitable techniques)
———
My health increased by half! This was great for William, because he would have a better chance at surviving his magic upgrades.
The upgrade to B Rank almost killed him multiple times if not for his Life Element, so improving that was the next plan. Life Magic seems much more useful now since William learned to sense vitality. If it became strong enough, Will might be able to sense invisible enemies! Well...as long as they weren't undead or ghosts.
It looked to be about an hour before sundown, so William decided to pick a few more Lifeshrooms and return to the village.
His drawing skills weren't great, but William took out his notebook on the way back to create a makeshift map. The general path was plotted out, and large X marks were placed over the Life Veins he found. Judging by the spacing of the Life Veins, William guessed there should be 3 more in the outer ring.
The Inner Ring was still out of the question for now. Even though William was stronger, he didn't want to risk running into another Wind Wolf. Climbing a tree wouldn't save him from the wind blasts.
The path home went without a problem. William killed two more weak Liffox, and even controlled his Mana well enough to salvage fur from the stronger one. Before the sun completely set, William was on the road home.
