Chapter 100

Leon pushed himself off the ground and raised his left hand toward a nearby tree.

'If I use two skills at once, there's a universal skill cooldown of one second between their activations— that's when my mana recovery kicks in.

If I use Mana Threads alongside any other skill, there'll be a one-second delay before the second skill activates, giving me just enough time to recover the mana I spent.

But... if I create pure mana instead of using it normally, the loss isn't magical —it's physical.

Meaning, within that one-second window, I could activate a skill, and if I'm right, all the recovered mana will surge into it.

If I'm wrong.. well, what's the worst that could happen? I'll just explode into pieces.' Leon thought as shivers went through his spine.

But Without hesitation, he focused his mana into the tip of his right hand's middle finger.

And a droplet of pure mana began to form on his fingertip.

*Tip*

As soon as the notification popped up, Leon immediately channeled his skill.

"Threads," he whispered.

The moment the word left his lips, his entire body locked up. It was as if an overwhelming force crushed him into immobility. His muscles wouldn't respond; even breathing became a conscious effort.

'What the hell? I can't move... my fucking body!' Leon screamed internally as notifications flooded his vision.

"Wha-" Leon barely managed to utter before darkness swallowed him whole. His body collapsed to the ground.

30 Minutes Later...

Blink. Blink.

Leon groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, feeling like his brain had been put through a blender and it's still going on inside his skull.

"Fucking hell... I feel like absolute shit," he muttered, rubbing his forehead and grabbing it tightly.

Forcing himself to his feet, he stumbled into the dungeon and teleported straight to the last room.

"I greet my master..." Elis said, immediately bowing deeply.

Leon winced, pressing a hand to his head as he staggered to the throne and slumped onto it, gripping the armrests tightly to steady himself.

(Adjusting Heart Rate...]

(Adjusting Stamina Levels...)

[Note: Immediate food consumption recommended.)

Leon let out a tired laugh.

"That Notification, system's not wrong... My body's way too weak to handle that much mana. And my level is still not that high either..." he muttered bitterly.

"But... what the hell is Protocol 707? I remember seeing it activate during the wolf attack too.

Is it some kind of safety protocol that goes off when I get in Danger?" Leon questioned in a low voice.

"Leon...? Is that you?" came a familiar voice from the southern corner.

"Yes, It's me." Leon blinked, slowly turning his head.

Relieved, he forced himself up and pulled out a matchbox from his inventory, lighting the candles placed around the throne.

Grabbing one of the candles, he walked over to Olga.

"Here….. eat something," he said, summoning the fruits from his inventory and handing them to her.

"T-Thanks..." Olga stammered before devouring the fruits like a starved animal.

*Nom-Nom-Nom*

"Looks like they weren't feeding you anything." Leon chuckled lightly and grabbed an apple for himself, biting into it.

Olga didn't answer and continued to eat the fruits.

As he chewed the apple, he summoned materials for potion crafting and arranged them on the ground.

"I better slow down with these experiments... or next time, I'll really blow myself up," he spoke in a low voice, turning to Elis.

"Hey, Elis. By any chance can you create pure mana?"

"You mean... Liquid Mana, Master?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah, I think you can call it that." Leon replied with a neutral expression.

"Yes, Master. I can create it easily... but transforming my mana into liquid form will drain me very quickly."

"Don't worry. I'll feed you more mana later. Just fill all these empty vials," Leon ordered.

"As you command, Master," Elis replied obediently, beginning her task.

Leon slumped back onto the throne and closed his eyes.

"Wake me up when you're done," he murmured.

"As you wish master." Elis replied.

30 Minutes Later...

"...ter... Master... Master, please wake up."

Elis' voice gently pulled Leon back to consciousness.

Blink. Blink.

"Hmm..?" Leon opened his eyes and saw Elis' face.

"Master, I've filled the vials with Liquid Mana," Elis reported.

"Good... *yaaawn*," Leon stretched and yawned loudly, standing up and walking over to the materials.

Neatly arranged in front of him were dozens of vials filled with a blue liquid.

"Alright... Let's get to work," Leon said, raising his hand.

"Instant Craft."

(Minor Mana Potion]

"Three hundred Minor Mana Potions. Three hundred Minor Healing Potions," Leon commanded.

In an instant, all the Limin Tree leaves and 300 vials of Liquid Mana glowed brightly, merging to form 300 Minor Healing Potions.

Right after, the Hermit Tree leaves and the remaining vials gleamed, transforming into 300 Minor Mana Potions.

"Ah, it leveled up twic- ...Wait, twice!?" Leon's eyes widened in surprise.

Excited, he rushed over to the healing potions and picked up one from the starting batch.

< Inspect >

(Rank: F)

Grinning, he grabbed another potion from the middle of the stack and used < Inspect > again.

"And this one heals 5 more HP..." he muttered with a smile.

Finally, he picked up a potion from the last batch and inspected it.

(Rank: F)

[Type: Consumable)

[Effect: Instantly recovers 110 HP and heals minor injuries.)

"Ten more HP healed... Just like I thought. The later potions benefited from the skill's level-ups." Leon spoke with a wide smile.

"L-Leon..." Olga voice came from the other side.

"Hmm...?" Leon turned around and noticed that both of her hands are in-between her thighs.

"I-I have to go to the toilet." She spoke with a desperate expression.