Chapter 224 System evolving once again [2]
Twenty minutes ago…
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Three figures stopped in the middle of the forest.
"That guy must have changed directions, or we would already have seen his tracks." The clocked figure in the middle, who from his physique was a male, said. He was the leader of this group.
"How long are we going to run around like headless flies? Why don't you take out your ‘tracking bee' now?" One other clocked figure, who was also a male, said impatiently.
"Okay." The leader in the middle nodded and reluctantly opened a bag.
Buzz~
A fist-sized, yellow-colored bee appeared in front of them.
This bee was called a ‘tracking bee.' It specialized in tracking people using their aura. Even if the target was a few hundred miles away, it could still find them.
However, to do that, it would need a special type of honey which was very expensive. That's why the leader didn't want to use it until now. But they had been running for around ten minutes and didn't find any tracks of Max, so he didn't have any choice but to use it.
"Give me the aura sealing orb." He glanced at the other figure in the group. She was a female with only half of her face exposed like the other two.
The female waved her hand, and a metallic-looking cubical crystal appeared on her hand. It had Max's aura sealed in it. She gave it to the leader and looked at the bee curiously.<sub></sub>
After taking the metallic crystal, the leader directed his bee toward the crystal.
Buzz~
The bee hovered around the crystal for a while before flying in the left direction.
Whoosh!
The three of them closely followed behind it.
After running after it for ten minutes, they started feeling the change in Mana around them.
"Where is all this Mana going?" The leader's expression became serious because this situation wasn't natural.
"Let's go check it out." The other man said and ran toward the source, leaving the bee and the other two behind.
Boom!
Just then, a loud boom sounded in front of them, and the leader and the female's expressions changed drastically.
Shua!<sub> pᴀɴᴅᴀ ɴ(O)ᴠᴇʟ</sub>
The leader appeared beside the man and dragged him away while simultaneously taking his tracking bee back.
"What? We should check it out. Maybe that guy is the source of this commotion." The man said as he resisted, but the leader's strength was higher than his.
"Are you dumb? How can a new peak two-star mage be the cause of such intense disturbance of Mana? It must be some three-star beast there breaking through. If you want to die, go ahead." The female, who was quiet until now, said coldly before increasing her speed and running in the opposite direction.
Hearing this, the man, although unwilling, followed them.
The leader looked at him and smiled. "Don't worry, with my bee here; we can definitely find him, although it would cost us a lot."
Not only did they feel the disturbance in Mana, but the beast nearby too, and fled away in panic.
On the main peak of the Cloud academy…
An old man in the depth of the main building opened his eyes. His eyebrows furrowed as he murmured, "There's again disturbance in the Mana. However, it's very weak compared to before."
Thinking this, he closed his eyes, not bothering with it.
Unknowingly, Max had avoided his secrets being exposed. If his core weren't unstable when he was in the academy and increased his Mana there, he would have been found out.
However, right now, Max didn't know what was happening around him and had fainted from pain already.<sub> ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕ(ꪫ)ꪣꫀꪶ</sub>
Mana continued to pour into his body for a few minutes before eventually stopping. Following this, everything returned to normal.
***
In a far-away place… In a tattered underground palace covered in darkness…
A good-looking man draped in black clothes could be seen lying on an altar hanging in the air. There weren't any movements in his body, nor was he breathing. He was like a corpse.
Hu~
Suddenly, a tiny part of the altar faintly lit up. Following this, the man's eyelashes trembled, and his eyes opened slightly. At this moment, all of the underground palace seemed to shake. His slightly opened eyes were blood red.
His lips moved unnoticeably, and a very faint sound sounded. "It seems… my efforts weren't in vain. I… will return. Little guy, work hard."
After that, his eyes closed, and he became like a dead man once more.
***
"Cough…!" Max coughed and opened his eyes. He was lying under the tree, drenched in sweat.
"Argh…!" His face contorted in pain when he tried to move his body.
"How come it's more painful than before?" He gritted his teeth, trying to endure the pain.
[It's because of the second awakening of the system host.] Suddenly system's voice sounded in his ears.
"What?" Max was surprised. Not because of the second awakening but because the system took the initiative to tell him this and sounded more human-like.
He remembered clearly that it could only answer the questions he asked after the first awakening. The only time it took the initiative was when he was choosing spells for himself. Even then, It was in a monotonous voice.
However, right now, it had taken the initiative and was more human-like.
"You can converse with me now?" He couldn't help but ask.
[Yes, host. I can. Thanks to the second awakening.] The system replied.
"How many more times will you awaken?" He asked.
[Not sure host. But next time will probably be when the host reaches the mortal boundary.]
"Okay." Max nodded, then commanded in a slightly excited voice, "Open the system."
The last time system awakened, it also evolved, and the shop function was added to the system. He was excited to see what other things might be there.
[Yes, host.]
The next moment his status screen appeared in front of him.
[Name: Maxwell Garfield]
[Age: 18]
[Strength: 80]
[Agility: 80]
[Stamina: 100]
[Vitality: 100]
[Intelligence: 70]
[Mana: 10,000] (Mana enhancement: Allowed)
[Element: Fire (Concentration: 70%)]
[Lust Points: 150,000]
Shop…
"Mana enhancement?" After scanning it, he only found this function in front of his Mana and was confused.
However, suddenly he thought of something which caused his breathing rate to quicken.
