Free Web NovelChapter 20: The Best Stat Of All
A faint smile appeared on Alex’s face as he read the message. The experiment had worked exactly as he had hoped.
Now the spell was only two levels away from reaching what he believed was maximum mastery.
Everything he had seen so far pointed toward Level 10 being an important benchmark.
The Tutorial Quest required Level 10, and species evolved at Level 10 as well.
It was difficult to believe those similarities were merely coincidences.
Alex was convinced that reaching Level 10 with a spell would represent complete mastery.
Once that happened, his Talent should activate and provide evolution options. The thought made him slightly excited.
He wondered what sort of evolutions he would receive.
Would the Spell get stronger, gain new abilities, or will something entirely different happen?
After resting briefly, Alex used what little mana remained and reinforced his brain again. The difference became obvious almost immediately.
The enhancement felt stronger than before, and maintaining concentration required noticeably less effort.
More importantly, he could push the reinforcement further than before.
His thoughts became sharper. His focus improved, and that increased focus naturally improved his mana control.
The result confirmed his hypothesis perfectly.
Mana was the best stat.
With that confirmation, Alex made his decision.
[Mana: 9 → 13]
He invested all four free stat points into Mana. Strength, Agility, and Constitution had barely crossed his mind.
Through Body Reinforcement Spell, he could already enhance all three whenever necessary.
Mana was different.
Mana increased the fuel available for every spell he used.
It strengthened the foundation of his entire build instead of improving only one aspect of it.
If he was going to specialize, then Mana was the obvious choice.
The increase was immediately noticeable. His reserves expanded significantly, giving him far more mana to work with than before. The feeling was enough that he immediately began testing his limits again.
Alex compressed mana as much as possible and directed it toward his brain. His focus rose to an even higher level than before with more mana.
The world around him seemed to sharpen.
He could hear leaves rustling in the distance. Tiny movements among the grass became easier to notice.
Even Emma’s faint breathing stood out from the surrounding sounds.
Maintaining that heightened state, Alex activated Mana Thread Spell. The thread extended from his fingertip and remained stable. Slowly and carefully, he pushed it further.
The thread stretched beyond four inches.
Eventually, it stabilized at four and a half inches. Alex felt genuine satisfaction at the result. A half-inch increase might not seem impressive, but for Mana Thread Spell, it represented a major improvement.
He maintained that level of concentration while continuing to skin the Ironclaw Badger. Emma guided him through the process whenever necessary, and together they salvaged both the hide and the claws.
Eventually, the work was finished. Alex released the spell and allowed his concentration to return to normal. A dull ache immediately formed behind his eyes.
His brain had been under significant strain for an extended period. The discomfort was unpleasant, but manageable. Compared to dying because he lacked strength, a headache was a minor problem.
As he recovered, Alex checked his notifications. To his surprise, Mana Thread Spell had not leveled up. That confused him slightly because his ability with the spell had clearly improved.
After thinking about it, he came up with a possible explanation. He had expanded the spell slowly and carefully under controlled conditions. There had been no pressure forcing him to adapt.
Perhaps breakthroughs gained during combat awarded more learning experience. Or perhaps the spell simply required much more practice before it could level up. Either way, he had still made progress.
Alex wrapped the salvaged claws inside the folded hide and tied everything into a bundle. As he stood up, he noticed Emma staring at the badger’s remains.
The corpse looked awful.
His butchering skills were practically nonexistent, and the carcass reflected that fact. The body had been cut apart in multiple places, and the entire scene looked far messier than he would have liked.
Alex followed her gaze before looking back at her. Then he noticed something strange.
She wasn’t staring with disgust.
She looked interested.
"Can we eat it?" Emma asked.
"What?" he asked.
He hoped he had misheard her, but something told him that he hadn’t. Emma looked back at the corpse and swallowed.
"Can we eat this badger? It’s a Mid Rank Species, so maybe it tastes better than a normal badger?" she said.
Alex stared at her silently. The look on his face seemed to answer her question before he even spoke. Emma immediately realized how that sounded.
"D-Don’t you want to taste it too?" she tried to tempt him.
Alex remained silent for a moment. The two greatest pleasures in his life were eating and sleeping. If he absolutely had to choose between the two, he would choose eating without much hesitation.
Of course he wanted to try it. A Mid Rank Ironclaw Badger was hardly something people could buy at a supermarket. Whether roasted, smoked, or cooked into a stew, Alex was genuinely curious about how a monster tasted.
Unfortunately, this was not the right time.
"We don’t have any way to cook it. We don’t have fire, we don’t have enough water, and our real bodies back on Earth are still in danger. Right now, leveling up is more important," Alex said.
Emma’s shoulders drooped slightly. She looked disappointed.
Then he added, "Once we’re stronger and have some time to spare, we can try cooking one. We are continuously putting our life on the line. We might as well do that on a full stomach."
Her expression immediately brightened.
"Deal," she said.
After securing the hide and claws, Alex stood up and glanced around the forest. The area had become far too dangerous to remain in.
"Let’s move. This location isn’t safe anymore," he said.
"What do you mean?" Emma looked at him.
Alex adjusted the bundles hanging from his shoulder. "If that thing was a baby, then there’s probably a mother somewhere. I don’t know whether she’ll search for it or not, but staying here is too risky. We should put as much distance as possible between us and this place."
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