Chapter 27: Completing First Quest

Arlo opened his eyes slightly and noticed the motes of energy revolving around him.

Even through the dim lighting of the room, they shone like bright lights, revealing a level of darkness that he had never seen before.

"They’re so dark...." Arlo mused aloud in shock, but a faint [Hmm, hmm] soon echoed in his head, forcing him to refocus on the task.

"Third rule, suck the Mana into your body through your nose..."

In the next second, he closed his eyes again, his nostrils expanding greatly as he inhaled the dark motes of energy.

Every inhalation sent a wave of pure coldness through his body, but along with it came an acute pain that repeatedly broke his concentration.

He thought it might have been because this was his first time, and his body needed time to adapt to dark magic, but the longer he continued, the worse the pain became.

"Hmmm, but the Grand Elder said this was supposed to be the most peaceful part of cultivating..."

Arlo muttered, unable to understand why his nose was hurting so much.

[Hehehe, you’re an idiot.]

The system suddenly spoke in his head, its mockery evident.

"Why?"

[Why are you using only your nose?]

[Your mouth is also an entrance into your body, as are the tiny pores covering your skin. Even your ears can be used.

[Why limit yourself by only using the nose?]

"But... but that’s how it’s done."

[Yes, for them. They can’t call in such a large amount of Mana because of their flawed hand signal, and the amount they call in should be able to pass through their noses easily.]

[But you’ve called in a much greater amount of Mana, and your nose alone can’t contain all of it. You need to use everything you have.]

The system explained, and Arlo finally understood the reason for the acute pain in his nostrils.

It was as if his nose was simply too small for the amount of energy trying to force its way into his body.

[Also, why did you stop?]

"Huh?"

[Can’t you stretch your hands toward the rain while also opening your mouth to drink it at the same time?]

The question made Arlo re-stretch out both hands once more, causing the motes of Mana filling the room to increase dramatically.

This time, he opened both his mouth and nostrils, and instantly, the Mana in the room rushed toward him as Arlo inhaled through his nose while simultaneously drawing it in through his mouth.

After taking an incredibly long breath, he released the Mana once more and repeated the cycle.

Two hours quickly passed in this state of endless inhalation and exhalation, and with Arlo’s hands still stretched toward the air, the amount of Mana filling the room continued to increase.

[You have achieved the third step!]

The system’s words rang through his mind, but Arlo didn’t take that as an opportunity to stop.

Absorbing Mana and inhaling it felt almost like a crackhead inhaling and exhaling smoke.

It was incredibly pleasurable, and he found himself wanting more and more.

[Good. Now you have to begin the real channeling. I’ll slowly explain it to you while you continue inhaling and exhaling.]

The system spoke as Arlo gave a nod and continued the exercise.

[For a beginner mage like you, there are two important places in your body that you must strive to improve: your brain, where your Black Sun Runic Tattoo is inscribed, and your heart, where your Infinity Joker Bloodline resides.]

[Absorbing Mana into and out of your body as you are now will cause some Mana particles to become trapped within you, and a mage’s affinity is determined by their ability to retain Mana within their body.]

[Possessing two bloodlines gives you an extremely high affinity compared to an ordinary person, and you’ve already accumulated a considerable amount of Mana within your body.]

[So, magnify your attention upon your brain and heart, then direct the motes of Mana within your body toward those two places.]

[Once that is accomplished that, then, you’ll only need to sit here and wait for the remaining four hours to complete the quest.]

"Huuuuu..."

Arlo exhaled deeply before moving away from his kneeling position back to a cross-legged one.

He knew it would be difficult to focus while performing three different actions simultaneously.

Besides, keeping his arms raised for so long had caused a considerable amount of pain, which was impossible to ignore and could easily distract him from the task ahead.

[Focus on your heart first. Follow it as it pumps.]

Arlo tightly closed his eyes and focused deeply on his heart.

BADUMP!

BADUMP!

BADUMP!

The sound of his beating heart seemed to echo directly beside his ears, growing louder the longer he focused on it.

[Done. Now focus on the motes of Mana trapped within your body and simply will them toward your heart.]

[You can figure out where they are by focusing on the cold areas within your body.]

The system explained as Arlo furrowed his eyebrows and began searching through his body.

Thirty minutes passed before Arlo finally found the area of intense coldness within his body, and the system immediately responded.

[Good. Now focus on your brain as well. Concentrate and visualize the Black Sun Sigil on your forehead. That should help.]

The system guided him as Arlo shifted his focus toward the runic image, which began magnifying endlessly within his inner vision.

"I can feel it now..."

[Good, good. You’ve established three connections, and your Mana has sensed the two objects.]

[Now...prepare yourself for the shock!]

"Shock? Wait, what do you mean sho..."

GASSSSP!

Gasps of shock escaped Arlo’s lips as he jerked his head upward, the blue color of his irises rapidly changing to pitch black.

It felt as though volts of lightning were being passed through his body, and the sensation came so suddenly that he had no chance to prepare himself for it.

[Don’t worry, you’ll only be in this state for the next three hours, after which you’ll never feel it again.]

[Stretch out both your hands and inhale even more Mana if you can, but don’t exhale it. Instead, drag it into the flow that’s currently circulating through your body.]

[Do this now and save yourself endless nights of making slow progress at a snail’s pace!]

The system urged him as Arlo stretched both palms toward the air, causing the Mana that suddenly materialized around him to surge forth as though a dam had burst open.

"ARRRGHH!"

Against the sudden assault of such an enormous quantity of Mana, Arlo immediately lost consciousness.

Yet his pitch-black eyes remained wide open, and his hands stayed stretched toward the air as the Mana around him flooded endlessly into his body.

THUUUUUUUMP!

THUUUUUUUUUUUUMP!

THUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMP!

His heart began beating like that of a thousand-year-old monster awakening from a deep slumber, while the Black Sun Runic Mark on Arlo’s forehead once again materialized.

This time, one section of the mark emitted a dark glow, illuminating the room with a strange mixture of dark gold and pitch black.

[Maybe I might have rushed things a little too quickly for him, but...it’ll be worth it for me in the future.]

The system panel flashed, something Arlo couldn’t see due to having been knocked out cold.

Dark blood slowly oozed from his nose, ears, and blackened eyes, while a putrid substance soon began seeping from his pores.

The longer he remained in that state, the more of the foul-smelling substance covered his body, causing a terrible stench to spread throughout the room.

This continued, until golden rays of sunlight peeked through the glass windows, illuminating the room with warm light.

It revealed a figure sprawled across the floor, arms and legs flailed in every direction while his body was covered in a vast amount of, dark, gooey matter.

The burning rays of the sun eventually caused his eyelids to twitch, and in the next second, a pair of crimson-speckled eyes opened as Arlo woke up and immediately pushed himself into a sitting position.

He looked around the room, then down at the strange, putrid substance covering his body, and slowly, his mind began piecing together the events of the previous night.

Just then, the golden notification panel appeared in front of his face.

[Congratulations, Arlo!]

[Mission: Channel Mana Throughout Your Body for 6 Hours has been successfully completed.]

[+100 EXP has been awarded.]

[A new attribute panel has been created: Mana Points.]

"Hmm, so I finally completed the mission!?"

Arlo asked unable to remember how he had passed out the previous night.

[Yes, you did. Why don’t you open your System Interface and check your growth?]

The system nudged him, and Arlo immediately willed for it to appear.

’Activate System Interface.’

[System Interface]

[Name: Arlo]

[Age: 16]

[Title: None]

[Level: 1]

[EXP: 100/100]

[HP: 100/100]

[Energy: 30 (+10)]

[Mana Points: 30]

[Criteria for Leveling Up Accomplished. Would you like to level up?]

The system asked.

"Yes."

The moment he answered, a slightly cold flow moved through his body, causing a strange sense of rigidity to spread through his muscles, though fortunately, the feeling disappeared almost as quickly as it had come.

[Congratulations. Host has successfully leveled up to Level 2.]

[+10 Attribute Points have been awarded.]

[Would Host like to distribute his Attribute Points?]

"Yes?"

[Attributes]

[Strength: 7 (+5)]

[Agility: 7 (+5)]

[Perception: 7 (+5)]

[Intelligence: 10]

[Charm: 3]

[Host can now input his Attribute Points into his stats.]

"Wait, what are those numbers in brackets, like the one beside Energy and the ones beside my other stats?"

Arlo asked, noticing the anomaly in his attributes.

[Those are...]