My job? Killing monster boars.

Pay? 1 to 2 silver per piece.

Bonus? Level ups.

A problem? They are heavy.

Solution? Hire a group with a skill similar to Kim's [Gravity Well] to carry them.

Price for that group? Thirty percent of every boar delivered.

God damn it.

But there is one thing I like about them. They use some glowing stone that they use their skill on and then put it on the corpses. At that point, the stone works like a medium, slowly releasing some mana to keep the skill active even without their presence.

Sure! It lasts only for a while, but it's cool as hell!

It amazes me and I want one.

But I am instantly rejected. Something about a trade secret.

God damn it.

To be honest, I might fall in love with this world for real. It's full of magic and its uses that fascinate me so much. After spending a few days here, I feel as if we used sticks and stones on the first floor.

You know, like monkeys, trying to figure out how to ride a bike, while here they are flying around in jets.

I love it.

I dodge to the side using absorbed kinetic energy, and a small bead made out of my mana forms near my shoulder then flies at the monster.

Unlike during my fight with the Cinderbear, there is damage as it hits the boar's eye, blinding it.

I form a few more and send them at the monster, distracting it while I move to its back.

I cover the blade of my sword in an oscillating mana and finish up the monster.

[You have defeated a Boar - lvl 19]

[Lvl 29 > Lvl 30]

Then I check my stats after putting everything into mana, obviously.

Lvl 30Strength: 13Dexterity: 14Constitution: 39Mana: 79

Good!

The not rounded-up number on mana slightly annoys me, but hey, it's only a matter of time.

Huhuh.

Finally, my mana is twice as high as my constitution.

I do not have a problem!

Anyway, after a few days of hunting, I was able to gain 3 levels and a grand total of 36 silver. That's surprisingly a lot and makes me wonder what on earth the soldiers are doing to be paid only 1 gold a year.

Oh, and I also removed Sophie's construct from my head. I already remembered its patterns, and I am sure the rest is only about some experimenting and practice until I create a construct of my own.

So yeah, I removed it. You know, just to be safe.

It totally wasn't because of my too-high mana.

It totally wasn't that I had to let one of my Focuses run permanently and keep my mana under control and then couldn't fight because the other part of my mind focused on keeping her construct isolated.

Pfff.

That would be stupid.

"…"

So yeah, anyway.

The construct is gone, and I can finally think of doing all sorts of things that do not align with Sophie staying alive.

Indeed, I haven't forgotten, and the next time we cross paths, she'd better make me an offer I can't refuse or she'll be out of luck.

“Boss. We are done here!”

[Mass Manipulator - lvl 23]

The man's group members are even lower level than me, and they move the corpse away.

Judging from previous experience, I should get a silver and a half for one of this size. Before their cut, obviously.

“Aelric, I will need some better-paying jobs.”

“I thought the same! This seems too easy for you.” He starts smiling with that creepy smile that scammers like to have.

“How about Weredeers? Their antlers are really expensive right now, and people always pay a good price for them.”

The were-what?!

“Oh, sorry! Do you know deers?” After I nod, he continues, “Weredeers are something like bipedal deer. Obviously much more dangerous. They like to use body-strengthening magic and some ranged attacks made out of mana. Quite similar ones to yours.”

Oh? That sounds interesting; maybe I can learn a thing or two. From a monster, again.

People on this floor are learning magic since they are young, they even have schools for this, mentors, and all this stuff.

Meanwhile, I am here smashing two stones against each other, hoping something will happen.

“As before, get me as much information about the monster as possible. Levels, variants, skills, weaknesses, plus a map of the area. I will pay, as before.”

“Yes!” he says with a smile, and I am sure that I am paying him a premium.

But right now, I am almost sure that I don't even have to save up money to give them all back.

In the past few days, I did talk to Aelric a lot; I even bought a lot of information from him, and it looks like there is a war going on.

You might ask, how can that cause the end of the world, which is the objective of this quest?

Well, it's obviously because of goddamn humans.

Especially some individuals possessing overwhelming power.

Champions, Paragons, Absolutes. They call them many names, and every kingdom possesses a few of them.

People rumored to be powerful enough to wipe entire nations off the face of the Earth. Living monsters able to delete entire cities if they wish to do so, some of them may even be able to take it a step further.

That's what I think is the objective: to watch the war play out, to watch these insanely powerful humans destroy everything.

The reason? Hell if I know.

Maybe it's to show us something? Teach us a thing or two? A warning as to what can happen?

I also came to think that everyone here is fake, the reason being that I gained experience from killing Emeric, while I didn't get any when I threw Ethan at the Cinderbear back on the first floor.

They may be extremely human-like; there also might be copies of someone that existed, but I am almost 100% sure that they were just created for us to experience.

The flow of my thoughts stops as I feel another presence with my [Mana Perception].

“One more boar.”

Aelric just nods and quickly disappears to the back, rejoining his group while I start walking towards the monster.

[Iron Boar - lvl 28]

The boar covered in red fur. It's not much bigger than the one I just killed, but it feels so much stronger.

I gesture for them to move even further.

I slightly release the hold my [Focus] has on my mana, and it flows wildly through my body.

One part of my mind continues to manipulate and control my mana, and the other focuses on fighting. It still feels weird as my mind splits into two parts, but I am slowly getting used to it.

[Mana Surge]

[Armament]

I feel the strain on my mind as I use two skills at once, and a spear forms in my hand.

It's still translucent and see-through, but thanks to my training, it's much stronger than the spike I used on the Cinderbear.

The boar finally notices me, and its eyes seem to glow as it turns to me. The ground under the monster cracks, and it dashes at me, faster than it has any right to.

I breathe out and bury my feet into the ground.

For a moment, I release my second focus and use it to strengthen my body with [Mana Surge], then reach back with the spear in my hand. I twist my body, spin, and throw the spear at the boar.

Immediately after the spear leaves my hand, it starts losing some of its firmness, but that's okay. I used a lot of mana.

The spear flies through the air, turning into a blurred line of white-blue light.

It burrows itself deep into the monster's shoulder, and its charge staggers a bit before continuing.

At that point, I reach out towards the boar with [Kinetic Redistribution] and absorb its energy, making it slow down.

I groan; the monster is heavy, and the force behind its dash is no joke.

When it's almost within arm's reach of me, I use Hadwin's skill and disrupt the protective barrier around its body. Feeling the mana waver, I redirect the absorbed energy into a thin cone and aim it inside its eye, making a mess out of the inside of its head.

It lets out a long squeal and staggers even more, and I jump to the side as its body slides past me and then stops moving.

[You have defeated the Iron Boar - lvl 28]

I poke the corpse with my foot and gesture at the hiding Aelric.

“Nice job, boss! And you didn't even damage it that much!”

I just nod and move to the side.

Knowing a monster's weaknesses sure helps a lot, and having skills that counter them is useful, but I am still not satisfied.

Yes, throwing a spear made out of my mana is nice, and mana orbs too. I can make them stronger in the future, but somehow they feel… lacking, even as I use my surge to strengthen them.

I need some stronger ranged attacks that will take advantage of my ever-increasing mana pool.

And I also need to create my very first construct.

I need to practice [Disruption] as well. In a world where magic is so prevalent, it seems like a really strong skill, and it almost might help me learn to counter similar attacks that could end up being my biggest weakness, as I rely on mana so much.

Oh, also another [Focus] would be nice!

There is so much to do.

It's fun.

Even though I complain, I am happy.

I put in an effort, and I get rewarded. I gain more silver, and I can take a warm bath at night and sleep in freshly washed blankets. I eat tasty food and drink clean water.

Then there is so much magic to study and watch and so much to learn.

I leave people alone, and they leave me alone as well, not caring if I die or what I do with my life.

I hope it will last.

Weredeers?

Yeah?

Screw them.

God damned system.

Fucking Aelric.

A terrifying call sounds into the surroundings as more and more Weredeers gather at the edge of my perception.

[Weredeer - lvl 26]

[Weredeer - lvl 31]

[Weredeer - lvl 26]

There are three of them circling around me, moving on their hind legs most of the time, and sometimes getting on all fours to move faster.

Their antlers are sharp and glowing, covered in ominous red mana. Their calls hurt my ears, and their skin seems to be glowing, covered in similar tattoos that the Battle Trolls had back on the first floor.

But the main problem is this guy.

[Battle Weredeer - lvl 33]

The biggest one out of them. Antlers sharp enough to cut me apart and a mouth full of sharp teeth. The monster moves on its two legs, and its tattoos are glowing in beautiful white light.

Its eyes look at me like a hunter looks at its prey.

Then, the mana flows out of its antlers, creating a shape similar to that of an arrow. The mana begins to glow in a color similar to its tattoos and flies toward me at a speed that is difficult to follow with the naked eye.