Unable to lie to myself, I put three points into mana. At this point, it starts to feel as if I'm going to kill myself sooner than my enemies.

It's like I'm drawn to it, you know?

I can't help but seek it, I want more, and I'd even let go of some things to get it.

It's so dumb and illogical, but at the same time, it makes me happy.

Happy and scared at once.

Lvl 19Strength: 13Dexterity: 12Constitution: 27Mana: 39

This can't be good, right? Even now, I can feel my body creaking under pressure as I use more and more mana. Only my control holds it back from wreaking havoc on my body as I continue to strengthen myself.

Dang it, I'd better learn some amazing skills in the future to make use of all this mana. Using it mostly to strengthen my body feels good, sure, but at the same time, it's as if I'm using a sports car just to get to the shop and back home.

Wasted mana lies here dormant, waiting until my skills are good enough.

Soon!

Hopefully...

My perception warns me, and I jump backward just in time to avoid a troll hitting the ground where I once stood.

[Battle Troll - lvl 11]

Its tattoos are red and glowing. The troll grabs his club and swings it at me again. My mana pushes against him, and I lift my empty hand against the club, quickly absorbing the energy of his swing. It slowly slows down until it hits my hand.

It feels as if someone hit my palm with their fist.

I focus, and the absorbed energy explodes against the troll, making him stagger backward. With a jump, I reach his neck and stab my hand through it, the hand coated in oscillating mana. Then I jump backward, leaving the troll to slowly die.

[You have defeated the Battle Troll - lvl 11]

The fight continues for a few more minutes, and then we move once again through the forest, trying to avoid a bigger group of monsters and not stay in one spot for too long.

"Kim reached level ten and got a trait," Tess says after rejoining me.

Telekinetic Reflexes (Passive):

This trait heightens the user's reflexes and reaction time by using their telekinesis to subtly manipulate their own movements. This enhancement allows the user to react more quickly and accurately in combat, improving their ability to dodge attacks and execute precise movements.

"He said it might allow him to fly or give some hints so he can learn to fly in the future. He didn't even check the other traits."

At this point, I don't even know what to say. In some ways, Kim might be even worse than me.

"Hadwin's coming," she stops and falls quiet once again until the man comes from behind the trees, followed by one of the kids from his group, the boy.

His name is either Dennis or Aaron; it's hard to say since they are twins. Usually, that wouldn't be a problem, as I can find out by their mana signature, but the weird thing is that their mana signatures are the same.

The question is, is it because they are twins or is there some other trickery at play here?

Hadwin goes straight to the point. "The monsters continue to attack even from our back, so I think it's better if Dennis stays with you. He and his brother have a connection and can talk to each other. So in case something happens, he can tell you." He looks at me.

Hmm, that's a fairly useful skill, but what about his request? Should I decline?

Coming back to help others isn't such a bother, and Lily, Kevin, and Kim are there as well, and I have a feeling that I owe them at least a bit.

"We can do that, but you know that I won't ensure his safety, right?"

The boy is around 17 years old and not that tall. He has short blonde hair and green eyes. Sure, he does have some muscle, but he seems more athletic than strong. But that can be misleading, as mana can turn even a little girl into a human flamethrower.

"It's okay! I can take care of myself!" he flashes his bright white teeth and smiles at us.

Right here and at this time, while we are surrounded by the corpses of the monsters, his smile feels more creepy than cheerful.

Yup, as I said, no one on the bus was normal, none.

Or are we just getting used to all this stuff?

"Okay then."

"See you later and be careful," the man quickly leaves, leaving us with the boy.

I turn to our newest group member.

"Just stay quiet and near Tess; that's all you need to do." Understanding immediately, he nods and does exactly that as we continue.

During the fights, Dennis stays silent and calm while Tess and I take care of everything.

What makes me curious about him is the thin string of mana going from him towards where Hadwin went.

Is it for communicating with his brother?

Can I copy it?

It's so interesting.

I almost can't feel it, and if Hadwin hadn't told me about it, I'm sure I would have had a hard time even finding out about it. Even now, I have to look really closely to even sense it, and yet most of the time, I don't. Only sometimes, when he sends a really weak pulse of mana through it, probably sending a message.

Is he sending words? Images? Feelings? Sounds?

"Nathaniel..." Tess's voice brings me back to reality.

Oh, I got lost right there. But worry not; I would feel the mana if someone came too close!

"The sky looks weird." She's right; there are more and more clouds, and even the wind is getting stronger. In the past hour or two, our surroundings have started to become more and more quiet.

The silence before the storm, such a thing.

But it's new. During the time we've spent here, the sky has changed only from two suns and a blue sky with a few clouds to an inky black sky with only aurora-like lights on it.

Sometimes we also saw the exact same clouds multiple times.

So seeing them darken like that and more and more of them is kind of disturbing.

"Aaron says we should come back..."

Huh? Isn't that too soon?

"Attack?"

"Nothing as of now, but there are more and more monsters surrounding them, and it's as if they're waiting for something."

I don't like that at all. What is the system planning now?

"Let's go back."

I turn back to where we came from and start walking ahead. This time I don't even check Tess for direction and follow the thin thread of mana leading from Dennis towards his brother.

The clouds are getting darker and darker, and it's getting hard to see, as we can't even see the suns anymore.

The trees are creaking under the wind, and the leaves are wildly flying everywhere. Even with our strengthened bodies, it's slowly getting harder to push through it.

Then the rain starts.

It's cold and falls on us like a shower. One moment there is nothing, and half a second later, we are drenched in water.

The raindrops are weakly tinged in the same colors as aurora-like lights during the night. Pink, green, and blue. They continue hitting our bodies with surprising force.

There are no monsters around us, and that makes me even more nervous.

"We have to hurry," the boy screams, trying to shout over the rain, the creaking sounds of trees, and the wind.

So we push.

At some point, it's hard to track the thin string of mana. The raindrops hold tiny bits of mana inside them, so it's starting to mess up my [Mana Perception] pretty badly, and I let the boy take over and lead us towards the group.

As we are getting closer to the others, I get the same feeling as when the suns disappeared.

For a few seconds, all the raindrops pause in the air as if someone stopped time, even the wind stops.

In deafening silence, I hear the screeches of the monsters.

Then the rain continues, and we start running faster.

"Hurry, please," Dennis says, and I can barely hear him through the rain.

A minute later, another monstrous wave of mana washes over the entire forest, and the raindrops hover in the air without falling.

This time we continue to run through them.

A few moments later, I hear the low, deep growl of a bear, and the rain resumes, silencing the roars of the monsters.

I quickly check the timer.

Time left until forced return: 4y 336d 23h 59m 42s

There are two days left.