The guards scavenged what they could from the frost giant’s corpse.
Even then, it was a pitiful haul compared to the creature’s imnse size. The frost giant had been nearly forty feet tall, its body sprawled across the chamber like a fallen mountain.
There was simply no way to carry that much material, no matter how valuable it might be to the right buyer.
As Mitch activated his [Gather] skill, azure light began to emanate from his palms.
The enormous corpse responded imdiately, its flesh and bone beginning to dissolve into thousands of glimring specks of condensed mana that danced through the air like fireflies.
The process was srizing, each mote of light carrying the essence of the creature’s power, drawn inexorably toward Mitch’s outstretched hands.
But what truly caught him off guard was what ca next.
Not just the body, but the throne itself, that magnificent seat of iron, also began to fade into luminescent particles.
It seed the system considered the throne and the giant as one entity.
[12 x Tier 2 Mana-Infused tal acquired - The purest tier 2 tal, infused to the brim with concentrated mana. Its surface ripples with barely contained energy, a master craftsman’s dream material.]
[A source of energy has been found! Do you wish to absorb it?]
Mitch chose to absorb the tal without a second thought, his heart racing with anticipation. A slow smile crept across his face as he felt the familiar rush of power flowing through his system.
[12 x Tier 2 Mana-Infused tal converted into 8,400 system points]
"What an unexpected fortune," he murmured, his voice barely audible in the now-silent chamber. "Now I can finally afford a new skill."
Mitch opened the creation system panel with a ntal command, the familiar translucent interface materializing before his eyes. He studied the available options carefully, weighing each choice against his current needs and future goals.
Tier 1 skills: Gather (cost 1 point), Inspect (cost 3 points), Small pocket space (30 points), Create common weapon (10 points), Create elent (20 points)
Tier 2 skills: Create furniture (6000 points), Create common armor (8000 points), Create uncommon weapon (10000 points), dium pocket space (10000 points)
Tier 3 skills (locked): Large pocket space (? points) ???????????????????????
???????????????
Mitch scratched his chin thoughtfully. He already possessed a well-crafted piece of armor, and didn’t need a replacent. The furniture creation skill seed utterly useless for their current lifestyle of constant travel and danger.
He could upgrade to a better sword, but the fundantal problem remained his mana capacity.
Without sufficient mana reserves, even the most powerful skill beca nothing more than a party trick. His current mana pool, while respectable, wouldn’t support the sustained use of higher-tier creation abilities.
The only skill that made practical sense was the expanded pocket space. His current dinsional storage was already bursting at the seams with collected loot, crafting materials, and essential supplies.
With a bigger inventory space, he could have carried so much more of the treasure they’d been forced to leave behind in previous encounters.
The mory of abandoned loot piles made him wince, valuable materials left to rot because he simply couldn’t carry them all.
He still needed additional points to reach the 10,000 threshold. Fortunately, Mitch had been systematically collecting monster cores throughout their journey. Each core represented the crystallized life force of a defeated creature, and the system was always hungry for such concentrated energy.
He accessed his current pocket space, the familiar sensation of reaching into folded reality washing over him. One by one, he pulled out the cores he’d accumulated, so no larger than marbles, others the size of his fist.
Each one pulsed with its own unique magical signature.
Converting the cores into system points was almost instantaneous, unlike the ti-consuming process of absorbing their mana for experience points.
anwhile, Leya was tending to a small fire nearby, carefully roasting strips of at they’d salvaged from their provisions.
The aroma of seasoned protein filled the chamber, a welco comfort after the intense battle. She was thodical in her preparation, turning the at at precise intervals to ensure even cooking.
Her focus was entirely on the task at hand, and she hadn’t noticed Mitch’s frantic core conversion process.
The familiar sounds of crackling fire and sizzling at created a dostic atmosphere that seed surreal in the aftermath of their life-or-death struggle.
It was monts like these that reminded Mitch how much his life had changed since receiving his system, the strange intertwining of mortal needs and supernatural abilities.
After converting nearly two dozen cores of various tiers, Mitch barely managed to accumulate enough points.
His finger hovered over the purchase confirmation for a mont before he committed to the expenditure. The skill purchase was irreversible, and 10,000 points represented a significant investnt.
The mont he confird the purchase, new information flowed into his brain like a river of liquid knowledge.
The sensation was always disorienting, foreign concepts and techniques integrating themselves seamlessly into his existing understanding. This ti, he gained an intuitive grasp of space manipulation, understanding how to fold reality itself into useful configurations.
His new skill functioned similarly to the previous version, even requiring the sa modest mana expenditure, a re trickle from his current reserves. The only difference was the dramatically expanded storage capacity: a full 3x3 cubic ters, equivalent to a small room.
[Congratulations! You have demonstrated natural aptitude in space affinity manipulation.]
[Apprentice space manipulation – The size of your spells that create actual spaces is increased based on your mind status, 0.5% increase per mind status.]
"Incredible!" Mitch whispered, his eyes widening as he processed the implications.
According to his status screen, he currently possessed 19 points in the Mind attribute. He imdiately tested his upgraded pocket space, marveling as the dinsional storage expanded beyond its base paraters.
The space grew by almost half a ter, a substantial improvent that would only beco more pronounced as he continued to develop his ntal capabilities.
The discovery that his attributes could directly influence his abilities opened up entirely new strategic possibilities. If he focused on developing his Mind attribute, he could potentially create storage spaces rivaling small warehouses.
After they finished their al and caught a few hours of much-needed rest, Mitch and Leya finally prepared to leave the hidden realm.
The portal that had brought them to this hidden ground shimred to life as they approached, its surface rippling like disturbed water.
The transition back to the material plane was seamless, depositing them beside the ancient portal where they’d first entered the hidden ground.
The familiar forest surrounded them once again, though after their otherworldly adventure, even the mundane trees seed sohow less real.
"We should hurry and get out of this damned forest, Leya," Mitch said, shouldering his pack and checking the position of the sun through the canopy.
"Agreed. I can’t wait to sleep on a proper bed again," Leya replied, her voice carrying a note of longing. "And to see my brother." Her expression softened as she gazed deeper into the woods, toward the direction of civilization.
"You never told you had a brother," Mitch observed, surprised by this revelation. Despite their recent adventures together, he realized how little he actually knew about his companion’s personal life.
"You never asked," she replied with a shrug. "His na is Kael, and he’s only eight years old. He’s been bedridden for the past three years." Her voice took on a pained quality. "He was poisoned back before we moved to Lastwind, the town where we currently live. So kind of magical toxin that the local healers couldn’t identify, much less cure."
She turned to face him directly, her eyes reflecting a mixture of hope and desperation. "If you can... will you try using your healing skills on him? I’ll do anything in return. Anything at all."
Mitch nodded without hesitation. "Of course I’ll try. We’ll figure out a way to help him."
"Thank you," she breathed, relief evident in her posture. "You have no idea what this ans to ."
As they began their trek through the forest, Leya opened up more about her personal struggles.
She shared stories about her brother’s condition, how he’d been a vibrant, energetic child before the poisoning left him weak and confined to bed. She spoke of her desperate attempts to earn enough gold for a proper cure, taking increasingly dangerous jobs and pushing herself to the limits of her abilities.
"The healers in Lastwind are competent with common ailnts," she explained as they navigated around a fallen log. "But magical poisons are beyond their expertise. The kind of specialist we need would cost more gold than I could earn in ten years of regular work."
Hours passed as they made their way through the dense woodland. They encountered several tier 1 monsters along the way, a pack of wolves that were easily dispatched when exposed to Mitch’s magic, and a territorial earth bear that Leya cut with efficiency.
Each encounter yielded a modest collection of cores and basic crafting materials, but nothing particularly valuable.
The forest gradually began to thin as they traveled, the massive ancient trees giving way to younger growth and eventually to managed woodlands.
Eventually, they discovered an old, overgrown road, little more than two parallel ruts in the earth, but clearly a route that had once seen regular traffic.
Following the road proved to be the right choice. Within a few more hours of walking, the dense forest gave way entirely to open fields of golden wheat that stretched toward the horizon.
The crops were well-tended, each stalk stood perfectly straight and uniform, and the grain heads seed to shimr with their own internal light.
Scattered throughout the agricultural landscape were tall watchtowers, each one occupied by a lone guard whose job was to watch for monster incursions.
The guards were clearly awakened individuals, their enhanced senses allowing them to detect threats from considerable distances.
Then Mitch saw it in the distance, and his breath caught in his throat.
Massive stone walls rose from the earth like cliffs, easily thirty ters high and stretching as far as the eye could see in either direction.
The stonework was flawless, each block fitted so perfectly that no mortar was visible. Defensive towers punctuated the walls at regular intervals, and he could make out the tiny figures of guards patrolling the battlents.
"Whoa, that’s incredible!" Mitch exclaid, stopping in his tracks to stare at the imposing fortification.
"You’ve never seen walls that big?" Leya asked, genuine surprise in her voice.
"Never! Nothing even close to that scale!"
"I never questioned you before, Mitch, because you didn’t question , we both have our secrets, but honestly, you’re pretty strange sotis." She studied his expression carefully. "Every town worth the na has walls at least this big to defend itself from monster attacks. It’s basic survival. Where are you even from?"
Mitch felt heat rise to his cheeks. His cover story felt increasingly flimsy the more he learned about this world. "I, uh, was raised in a mage tower outside of any towns or cities. We were completely isolated from the outside world. My... ntors believed that isolation was necessary for proper magical developnt."
"Oh." Leya’s expression shifted to one of understanding. "That actually explains a lot about you. The way you sotis seem confused by basic social customs, your surprise at common knowledge... it makes sense now."
They continued their approach toward the town, occasionally passing other travelers on the road.
What struck Mitch as odd was how these people, clearly ordinary humans without any magical abilities, would step aside and offer respectful nods or even full bows as they passed.
"Why are they doing that?" Mitch asked after a particularly elaborate display of deference from a rchant caravan.
"We’re awakeners and they’re mortals," Leya explained matter-of-factly. "Wouldn’t you show respect toward beings who protect you and could kill you with a casual gesture? It’s just common sense."
"Mortals, huh? I thought everyone would be awakened with a system."
"Only those born with mana roots can awaken at age sixteen and receive their system." Leya said, her tone suggesting this was elentary knowledge. "Maybe one in a thousand people are born with that gift, Mitch. What exactly did they teach you in that mage tower of yours?" She scoffed, but not unkindly.
"Ha ha..." Mitch muttered nervously, making a ntal note to himself. I really need to find a library and learn more about this world’s basic facts.
The closer they got to the city gates, the more crowded the road beca. Multiple smaller paths and roads converged into a major thoroughfare that was paved with fitted stone blocks, a marked improvent over the dirt road they’d been following.
The stonework was clearly magical in nature, as there were no visible joints or wear patterns despite what must have been centuries of heavy traffic.
A massive queue of people waited at the main gates, hundreds of individuals with carts, pack animals, and trade goods. The line moved slowly, with guards carefully inspecting each person and their belongings before allowing entry.
"Co on!" Leya said, veering away from the main road toward a smaller, less obvious entrance.
"But the line is back there," Mitch protested, pointing toward the crowded main gate.
"We don’t have to use the mortals’ entrance," Leya explained with a slight smile. "We don’t need to wait in that crowd. Our ti is more precious than theirs!"
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