Level-Up?

"This place never changes"

The three of them lifted their faces, letting the cool wind brush across their skin.

Peep- peep-

The birds hummed and sang as they sat on the tall evergreen trees.

"Phew, there's nothing like fresh earthy air."

Jude inhaled the minty smell of the herbs and grass that polluted the place and continued walking on with light steps as the sound of his feet brushed past the fallen branches.

The Canary Forest, or so it is called, is located exactly north of Shura,

With tall trees that are densely populated and leaves covering the sky, preventing the sunlight from properly reaching the spoil beneath their feet, giving the forest a dark but also majestic and quiet atmosphere.

"Keep your guards up."

Although the forest was relatively safe due to there still being monsters that could endanger their lives, the three kept their guard up, not wanting to be caught off guard.

After walking in the north-western direction for close to an hour with relative ease they finally reached their initial destination.

A sound that never gets old and a sight that always took their breath away.

Water in large quantities plunged down the mountain, pounding onto the rocks that formed the large pool and river that gave the place a surreal and other-worldly feel, bringing tranquility and peace to anybody who happened to stumble upon it.

Momentarily mesmerized for the nth time, the three quickly regained themselves before trying to proceed to their intended destination, but before they could take their first step, Jude felt something that made him stop on the spot.

At first, he didn't hear or see anything, but due to his instincts that had been honed to the hilt since birth, whether it was this life or his past life, warned Jude that something was off.

Turning around, it didn't take long for Jude to notice the living creature that was slowly creeping up on him.

Squeak- Squeak-

"A horned rabbit."

A second later, Julius and Sera also noticed the small monster, but before they or the rabbit could do anything Jude quickly unsheathed the dagger attached to his waist and threw it straight at the horned rabbit.

Spurt-

KAAAAGH-!!

Fortunately, one shot was enough as the monster's life slowly flashed before its eyes and came to an end, an act that Jude had done a couple of times before and was something that he had gotten used to, but this time something unexpected happened that made Jude's eyes widen in surprise.

Jude's body began to glow green as a small green ring appeared over his head. For an instant, his body felt light and his mind felt clear before the green glow began to dim and his mind and body returned to normal as if nothing had happened in the first place.

"What just happened to me?"

<What you experienced just now was a level-up effect.>

"Level-up effect?"

<All life in this world has something known as life energy, also known as mana. By killing another life form, your body absorbs a certain percentage of this mana while the rest returns back onto the earth.>

<When you collect a certain amount of this mana and reach a certain threshold, you will experience what is known as a level-up effect, in which your body will experience rapid growth. This rapid growth doesn't necessarily mean an increase in physical strength; it could be an increase in a plethora of different stats such as magical and mental strength.>

<The stronger the life form, the more mana they possess, and with each level, the threshold gets larger and larger. It is also important to note that the amount of mana a person absorbs differs from person to person.>

<One final thing: this life energy, also known as mana, differs slightly from the mana used to create miracles such as magic.>

"Differs? In what way?"

<You could say this life energy is the purest form of mana.>

"Hmm"

Nodding to himself in understanding, Jude was about to ask another question before a voice interrupted him from behind.

"What are you doing mumbling to yourself all of a sudden? Did you hit your head or something?"

Standing with his arms crossed, Julius looked at Jude with a confused expression on his face.

"I'm coming. Gimme a minute."

(They are acting normally. It doesn't seem like they noticed the level-up effect. Why is that?)

This time, not wanting to act like a psycho, Jude asked the system his question inside his head.

< Although all life in this world can become stronger through absorbing mana from other lifeforms, only you are able to experience the level-up effect.>

(Why is that?)

<That I cannot say>

"...I see"

Perhaps it had something to do with how Jude was reincarnated into this world and, although Jude was slightly disappointed in not being able to get the answers he wanted, there really wasn't much he could do at the moment but shake his head.

Jude returned to where Julius and Sera were standing, and the three of them proceeded to walk toward their original destination before being interrupted by the horned rabbit that came out of nowhere.

Turning their gazes right next to the waterfall, they found a small and narrow rocky pathway, and by following this pathway, which went around the waterfall, the three of them were finally able to reach their destination.

As they walked while conversing with each other slowly, they noticed their voices began to echo. Pressing their hands against the cold, wet stone, their gaze flicked across the unyielding darkness of the cave.

"O Lord, may you grant us light [Torch]"

Singing her small prayer, Sera was able to break the darkness using the divine powers that she had been learning diligently for the past couple of years. She was able to create a small miracle that created a small orb of light in mid-air hovering around the three of them.

Unlike magic, which requires only mana to create miracles, divine magic uses both a combination of faith and mana as its fuel for energy. The more a person treasures God in their heart, the more powerful their divine energy granted by God will be. Only the faithful are allowed to use their powers.

"Serara you've gotten much better since before" Julius praised Sera with a bright smile on his face, as he was very impressed with the rapid growth she had made during the past few years.

"Ah, T-thank you" In response, Sera replied with a bright red blush on her face.

With the pitch-black cave now illuminated, they were finally able to see inside the cave. The wet walls and floor, along with the sound of the waterfall, made up the cave itself. It wasn't large and didn't go very deep either, but to Jude and the others, the cave felt warm like a second home.

After spending a couple of minutes walking through a small and narrow tunnel deep inside the cave, they eventually reached a small room that contained many handmade items and tools, and although the room looked like it had been used by someone before, the three of them weren't surprised as they entered the room with comfort and familiarity.

"This place hasn't changed" Jude smiled as he looked around the room.

Finally, after spending more than an hour walking through the forest, they arrived at the hideout that the three of them had first created a few years ago.