Immediately after regaining my consciousness..."Ugh...?"
I groaned and slowly opened my eyes.
And upon doing so...
-Meep!
-Hello, young human!
I found myself staring at Pyro and Zephyrus, their faces absurdly close to mine.
Super close, in fact...
"Hello, guys."
I greeted them as I pushed myself upright, rubbing the back of my neck.
We were still inside the right room.
The mini boss wouldn't respawn for a long while, and since no other monsters spawned in this area...
It was basically a safe zone.
Anyway, as I was enjoying the peace...
-You're too weak!
Zephyrus blurted that out suddenly, his voice cutting through the quiet.
"...?"
I just looked at him, dumbfounded.
-Your mana pool is too low! What a disaster!
He continued, his complaints relentless.
And hearing his words, a faint frown appeared on my face.
"My bad."
I muttered.
Your journey continues with empire
But ignoring my response entirely...
-Forget it, come and follow me!
Zephyrus declared that and promptly flew off without waiting.
"..."
I watched him for a moment.
But after a while, with a short sigh...
"Haaa..."
I stood up and went after him.
-Meep!
Pyro perched himself comfortably on my shoulder...
And it wasn't long before we came to a stop.
"Hm?"
We had reached a wall, and in front of me hung a slightly tilted painting of a woman.
"Nice painting."
I said absentmindedly, observing it.
And then...
-Destroy it.
Zephyrus's voice broke the moment.
"Huh? Why?"
I asked, blinking at him.
-Just do it.
But he gave me no explanation. Just an order.
"Fuuuuck..."
I sighed but decided to comply.
Walking up to the painting, I placed my hands on its frame and gave it a firm pull.
"Huh?"
But it didn't budge.
I tried again, harder this time.
"Gurgh...!"
But still...
"..."
Nothing happened!
"What the fuck?"
I muttered under my breath, glaring at the stubborn thing.
'Now I see why it didn't fall off earlier when the room shook like crazy during my fight with the Giant Boar.'
I thought grimly.
Then, annoyed, I opened my mouth...
"[Wind Blade]"
And cast that magic!
FWISH—!
A sharp gust of wind erupted from my right hand, slicing through the painting cleanly!
And maybe because I'm contracted with a wind spirit now...
'Whoa...'
The output of my spell got stronger!
Moving on...
I returned my focus to the now-exposed wall.
And there...
"Is that a vault?"
I saw a tightly shut safe, it was hidden behind the painting.
"..."
I glanced at Zephyrus, who hovered beside me.
-...
And he just gestured at the vault wordlessly, urging me to open it.
Curious, I placed my hands on the safe and began fiddling with it.
I tried various methods to opening it.
But even after a few minutes of trying...
"...?"
I wasn't able to open it!
It just made me curse in frustration!
And just then...
-Just destroy it.
Zephyrus's voice came from behind me, unbothered.
-Meep!
Pyro agreed to his words, nodding enthusiastically.
And hearing their words...
"Meh."
I just shrugged and gave up on finesse and prepared to brute force it.
Just in time, there is something I want to try, after all...
'I want to try that skill I used on the Giant Boar again.'
The skill I used in my swords to kill the mini boss!
Though...
'I don't have a sword right now.'
I could go and retrieve one from the spoils I got fighting the Kobolds...
I had left them just outside the hallway.
'Nah.'
But that's too much effort.
So instead...
Fwip-
I pulled out one of my throwing daggers.
"This might work."
I muttered, gripping the small weapon.
-Ugh, hurry up...
Zephyrus groaned impatiently.
"Just wait."
I retorted.
"Fuuuuu..."
Then I took a deep breath.
And with such high concentration...
"[Lit On]"
I muttered those words!
Fwwp—
Fwwwwp—
Sparks started appearing from my dagger.
And after just a few seconds...
SWAAAA—
Its blade was engulfed in raging fire!
The fire surged violently, licking at the air with a hunger that made it seem alive.
"Heh."
A small chuckle escaped me as I admired my handiwork.
The technique was something I had cobbled together, inspired by the fantasy manhwa and manga I used to read back in my old world.
In those stories, they called it weapon aura—an enhancement by channeling mana into a weapon.
In my case, I added a little twist, infusing the mana with fire to amplify its cutting power.
It was the exact boost I had desperately needed during my earlier battle with the Giant Boar.
Anyway, now it just looks like I'm using an elemental sword...
But who cares?
-That's a decent skill you have there.
Zephyrus complimented, looking at the flaming dagger in my hand
Hearing his words...
-Meep!
Pyro chirped in proudly.
"..."
I ignored the two of them.
I took a simple stance instead.
And with quickness...
Fwish—
I slashed the dagger in my hand horizontally!
And with that...
Thud-
The small vault was opened!
I cut the top part of it.
"Done."
I said, looking at Zephyrus.
Then, with a smug smile on his face...
-Quickly, collect everything from the inside!
Zephyrus exclaimed that.
"Just give me a sec."
I said, placing my left hand inside the vault.
And after a few moments...
"Hmm?"
I got my hands on three yellow pearl looking things.
"What are these?"
I asked Zephyrus.
And excitedly...
-Those are enhancement pills, it'll help you increase your mana pool and overall stats!
Zephyrus shouted that!
*****
'I can't believe I get to use these on myself.'
I thought, looking at the enhancement pills in my hand.
'Though, Zephyrus said that I could only use one of them at the moment.'
He said that using all of them immediately would be a waste because it wouldn't be effective.
Anyway, moving on...
-Sit now and meditate!
Zephyrus is now giving me instructions.
"..."
I silently complied with his words.
After all, he's telling me the proper method to consume these enhancement pills...
I sat down in a lotus position and closed my eyes.
And after that...
"..."
I started meditating.
My breathing became rhythmic and my mind became clear.
Then, after a few minutes of being like that...
-Now! Eat it!
-Meep!
I heard Pyro's and Zephyrus' voice.
And immediately...
Gulp—
I swallowed one of the enhancement pills!
It was hard, the pill was as big as a pingpong ball!
Anyway, after consuming it...
"Urgh...?!"
SWAAAAA—!
My mana started to run wild!
And my body started absorbing a huge amount of mana in the surroundings!
It was painful!
-Concentrate, don't lose your control!
Zephyrus exclaimed, his words was easily said that done...
This was much harder than when I was making a contract with him!
"URRGHHH!!!"
My face cringed in pain.
I want to stop meditating and start rolling on the ground!
It feels like my whole body is on fire!
Which was a lot for me to say because I have fire resistance from contracting with Pyro!
"ARRRRRGH!!! FUCK!!!"
My whole body was covered in sweat, and my throat is dry.
I was dehydratedas fuck.
-Meep...
I heard Pyro's worried voice, but I can't respond to him.
I was too focused on controlling the mana entering my body!
And then finally, after a few minutes of suffering...
SWOOOOSH—!
My mana calmed down!
Boom!
A small explosion sound was heard after that...
Swoosh-
And a weak shockwave was produced after the excess mana around me dispersed in the air!
And when things calmed down...
"Haaa... haaaa... haa..."
I immediately tried catching my breath.
I was exhausted as fuck!
I already passed out twice, but with my condition...
I wouldn't be surprised if there will be a third time.
"Haaaa... Haaa.... Urgh...!"
"Fucking hell..."
My body aches a lot more now than before.
And also, I'm hungry as fuck again!
'I need to eat.'
I'm starting to feel dizzy now.
And just then...
-You did it!
-Meep!
Pyro and Zephyrus approached me, they were happy for my success.
I couldn't really answer them right now verbally...
"..."
So I just weakly smiled at them.
"Ugh..." Sёar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
I then dragged my body that feels heavy as fuck to the nearest wall, and there...
"Fuuuuuu..."
I leaned against it and rested, looking above the ceiling of the room.
And after that...
"..."
I closed my eyes.
Though, I opened them up immediately because I was feeling sleepy.
'I need to eat first.'
I thought, but to be able to do that, I need to recover my strength first to move.
So while I was resting and doing nothing...
'I might as well check my stats.'
I decided to check my stats.
And with high curiosity...
"Status."
I opened my status window.
Swoosh—
=====
Name: Raye Alvah
Age: 18
Year Level: 1
Race: Human
-----
Stamina: 33
Intellect: 35
Mana: 27
Strength: 31
Speed: 31
Talent: 30
Luck: 31
-----
Wind Element: Level 12 (80%)
Fire Element: Level 12 (69%)
Spirit Magic: Level 10 (8%)
Bow: Level 11 (59%)
Dagger: Level 11 (41%)
Cooking: Level 10 (1%)
...
...
-----
Overall Grade: E-
Growth Rate: S-
=====
And what I saw immediately made me feel a lot better!
I ranked up, and all my stats are now within the 30s! Well... except the mana stat.
Though, its gap with the other stats are slowly closing in!
"Haha..."
I was so happy about my improvement that I became relaxed.
And because of that short moment of relaxation...
"..."
I fell asleep!
And you could say...
It's my third time passing out now.