Level Up

Whoosh.

A notification rang out that his level had risen, and vitality surged through his entire body. His stamina, depleted from the recent fight with Jinhojang, hadn't fully recovered, but he could feel both his physical energy and mental fatigue easing somewhat.

"Suddenly... my body's filling ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with power?"

Kim Jehyun murmured in wonder, staring down at his hands.

—You've leveled up. That's one of the perks of leveling up. You can think of it as growth in your realm.

The partial recovery of your stamina and mental strength is because your realm has grown.

"Oh...."

Jehyun's eyes sparkled at Alkasha's words.

Growth in one's realm.

A puny human's realm was too insignificant to properly inherit a dragon's power.

But through leveling up, he could gradually elevate that realm, even if just by a tiny amount.

"That's incredible."

Jehyun shivered with excitement. The sensation of his realm expanding was indescribable—a thrilling pleasure that spread through his whole body.

"It says to allocate stat points? ...Ah!"

Tilting his head at the message floating before him, Jehyun suddenly realized something.

"Status window."

"Oh...!"

Jehyun's hunch was right. The term "stat points" had jogged his memory of possessing a Growth System, and he'd immediately opened his status window to check.

—As expected, you're quick on the uptake. Each level up grants you 5 stat points. Allocate them to raise your abilities in line with your growing realm.

"Damn, that's awesome!"

Jehyun instantly grasped Alkasha's explanation. His heart pounded with excitement.

From now on, he wouldn't just grow stronger through training alone. He could elevate his growth even further by allocating stat points.

"But why did I level up? Did beating Jinhojang do it?"

—Yes. Combat builds experience toward level ups. But it wasn't just that fight. The experience from your recent training, plus the battle just now, pushed you over the edge.

Jehyun nodded at Alkasha's explanation. He'd asked about leveling up before, and the response had been "you'll know when the time comes." Now it all made sense. He had a feel for the mechanism.

"Alright, then how should I allocate these stats?"

As he gathered his things to head back to the dorm, Jehyun pondered his options. Before leaving, he glanced at Jinhojang, out cold in the distance.

'He won't die, so he'll crawl home on his own.'

The guy was trash. Jehyun had no obligation to look after him. In fact, he planned to deal with him properly soon.

The grudges from his past life wouldn't be settled with just this.

'And now I have the power to do it.'

Confidence welled up from his clenched fist—something he'd never felt before.

Jehyun shoved Jinhojang from his mind and hurried back to the dorm.

Click.

Back in his room, he stripped off his dirty clothes and took a quick shower. All the while, he agonized over his stat allocation. It would shape his growth, so he had to be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠careful.

'No matter how much I think, the answer's clear.'

Fresh from the shower, Jehyun sat on his bed and made his decision.

"All in on Magic for now."

He needed to form a Mana Core, so pumping Magic was essential. He'd considered other stats, but nothing offered as much immediate benefit. Plus, weren't mages supposed to have sky-high Magic anyway? That's how Jehyun saw it, at least for now.

"Alright, let's raise those stats."

Bravely opening his status window, Jehyun put one point into Magic.

Hummm.

As his Magic rose, he immediately felt the surge. It wasn't dramatic, but the increase was tangible.

'This is...'

Emboldened, Jehyun grew even more confident. He was close to completing his Mana Core.

'One more!'

"Ah...."

A pleasurable moan escaped Jehyun's lips as he added another point to Magic. The rush of mana was exhilarating, beyond anything else.

'I can do this.'

His eyes gleamed. With each Magic stat increase, his intuition screamed that the Mana Core was within reach.

'All remaining points into Magic.'

Jehyun went to dump the last two into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Magic.

But...

"...Huh?"

Jehyun blinked in confusion at the message. He couldn't raise Magic anymore.

Alkasha spoke up, seeing his dismay.

—This is what I meant earlier about balancing your body. You're no ordinary mage. To handle a core like a dragon heart, your physical balance must keep up.

"Sigh...."

A groan escaped Jehyun. He needed Magic more than physical stats right now, so it stung.

—Don't be too disappointed. Once you complete the Mana Core and train, your Magic will grow endlessly. The restriction will lift once conditions are met.

"...?"

Jehyun shot Alkasha a quizzical look.

—Heh. Hold your curiosity for now. I'll explain when you complete the Mana Core.

"Lame."

—You need the Mana Core anyway. Focus on that for now.

Alkasha wasn't wrong. Completing the Mana Core was priority one.

Jehyun allocated his remaining points and resolved to continue training for the core.

'Three points left.'

After some thought, he put one each into Stamina and Agility.

'Stamina will help with Magic training endurance.'

Higher Stamina meant more training time.

'I'd love to dump the rest into Stamina if Magic's capped, but...'

To raise Magic again, he needed balanced stats. Agility wasn't useless either—it lightened the body and sharpened dynamic vision, crucial in combat.

Swoosh.

He felt the changes immediately. Stamina eased his lingering fatigue; Agility made his body feel lighter.

'Next... Intelligence it is.'

For the last point, he debated Strength vs. Intelligence and chose Intelligence.

He hadn't grasped what Intelligence did at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠first.

—Intelligence boosts comprehension, memory, thinking speed—your intellect overall. Magic calculation speed improves too.

Jehyun had been shocked at the explanation. If it enhanced intellect, didn't that mean genius-level insight—one truth leading to ten?

—But Intelligence has the smallest growth per point. It's brain-related, so stat boosts have limits.

Makes sense, Jehyun thought. Massive Intelligence gains would break the world—one spellbook read, and you'd master it instantly, breaking through walls effortlessly. In a way, it was the key stat for ascension, so modest gains balanced it.

—Still, enough Intelligence, and you'll multitask your brain. Once you open the upper dantian, it evolves into Intellect stat, doubling efficiency.

"Multitask the brain? What's Intellect?"

—Multiple thoughts at once. Enables multi-casting. Intellect is...

Alkasha paused before continuing.

—Too complex for now. Just know upper dantian fuses Intelligence and Mentality into Intellect.

"Hmm... Multi-casting sounds tempting. But what's so great about Intellect?"

Alkasha fluttered in response.

—I was simplifying, but if you insist... Dragons' ultimate power, Dragon Word, relies on core Mentality stats. Related to Intellect—leave it at that.

"Oh ho...."

Jehyun let out a low whistle.

Intelligence would prove vital for mastering Dragon Word someday.

Dragon Word.

The term hammered at his heart. He couldn't fathom his strength once he wielded it. Once, reaching high mage was a dream; now, he aimed to fully inherit dragon power. What a difference.

"Whew. First, complete the Mana Core and open the Dragon Mana Road."

Flames of determination ignited in Jehyun's eyes. He took his first step toward supreme heights with dragon power.

* * *

Rumble.

Minutes into mana circulation via Skin Breathing, mana overflowed through Jehyun's body.

Mana absorbed through his skin gathered in his middle dantian, then spread to his limbs, widening mana pathways by clearing blocked meridians.

How much time passed? In a trance, Jehyun sensed mana circulating everywhere except his head.

Whoosh!

The mana whirling inside him raced freely along unified paths. Acceleration built, and his body began glowing gold.

—...Golden mana!

Alkasha, watching, gasped in shock.

The gold emanating from Jehyun meant one thing: he'd received the golden mana blessing.

The same blessing as the supreme golden dragon Arkanios.

This proved Jehyun the perfect heir for Arkanios's power.

Fwaaah!

As Alkasha reeled, Jehyun's glow intensified. Circulation sped up, gold pouring thicker from his body.

—Th-this! No way? Already?

Alkasha recognized the signs and cried out in alarm. Far too soon.

It wasn't just the blessing.

Flash!

As Alkasha exclaimed, Jehyun opened his eyes—gold flickering in his pupils before fading.