A faint smile spread across Alex’s face. His spell had jumped two whole levels at once, showing just how much progress he had made. The expanding mana ring was now stable enough to function as a reliable long-range detection method.
Though he had to keep working on making it less noticeable, or sensitive monsters would use it to detect him back.
"I got Echo Fist Technique!" Tina announced happily. The lingering fatigue in her body had disappeared as the level-up restored her condition.
Alex and the others walked over to them. Kevin was smiling just as broadly, while even Ophelia looked much more relaxed than before.
"I got the Body Reinforcement Spell," Kevin announced. He couldn’t hide the excitement in his voice as he looked at the notification again.
"And I got the Predictive Reflex Technique," Ophelia said. She was still shaking slightly from the close call a few moments earlier, but the smile on her face made it obvious she was pleased with the reward.
The little girl, Charlotta, immediately ran over and hugged her mother. She hadn’t seen how close Ophelia had come to being impaled because, unlike Alex, she didn’t have enhanced vision. From where she had been standing, all she saw was her mother fighting ’coolly’ and winning.
"All of you did a good job. The fights were a bit too risky when you could’ve chosen safer methods, but other than that, everything was perfect. I didn’t need to interfere at all," Alex said.
Everyone smiled faintly, some looking embarrassed at the mention of the word "risk."
With this, Tina, Rae, and Kevin had all reached Level 5. Robert and Ophelia were now Level 4, while Sophia and Charlotta had jumped straight to Level 3 thanks to the experience gained from the battle against Level 10 Doom Bulls.
Everything was progressing smoothly. At this rate, Alex Tutorial Quest would be soon completed.
After making sure the area was safe, Alex walked over to the three Doom Bull corpses and cut open their chests. As expected, the stones inside their hearts didn’t bring up a status screen when he observed them. Even so, he stored them inside his backpack. They might prove useful later.
"Who wants the Gene Potentials? You all defeated these two Doom Bulls, so you can distribute them among yourselves however you want," Alex said as he handed the Level 9 and Level 10 Gene Potentials to Robert.
The group gathered to discuss it, but the decision came quickly. They had already agreed they wouldn’t absorb Low Rank Gene Potentials anymore unless it became an emergency. Since they were now capable of fighting monsters, they would earn stat points by leveling up instead and absorb Gene Potentials from Mid Rank Species in the future.
Alex understood where that thinking came from. They had been influenced by his own decisions, believing that evolving into a Mid Rank Species would be better than becoming a Low Rank one.
It was a strange thing to accept so easily, changing into an entirely different species, but Alex himself was trying to do exactly that. Everyone knew they needed to become stronger, so none of them hesitated.
In the end, Rae accepted both Gene Potentials. The elderly woman absorbed them one after another, likely placing every stat point into Constitution again.
Alex picked up the last remaining Gene Potential and walked toward Zach, the father who had recently joined the group with his wife and sons. Robert quietly followed beside him.
Alex glanced at him, knowing why he was following, and spoke, "I’ll do the talking this time."
"Sure," Robert replied with a nod.
Stopping in front of Zach, Alex held out the Gene Potential. "This is called a Gene Potential. It can turn an ordinary person into an Ascendant by letting you choose a Class. If you want it, though, I’ll ask you to join my faction."
"Can I discuss it with my wife first?" Zach asked after several seconds of looking at the crystal before raising his eyes.
"Of course," Alex replied.
The man walked over to his wife while Alex waited. From where he stood, Alex could see her repeatedly shaking her head while Zach calmly spoke to her. After a while, he held both of her hands, said something softly, and kissed her. Only then did she finally nod with some hesitation.
"Ew, do they really have to do that in front of us?" Caleb, the loose-tongued twin, muttered.
"I think they’re allowed." Robert chuckled.
Alex didn’t comment. A moment later, Zach returned.
"I’ve made my decision. I want to join your faction," Zach said.
Alex passed him the Gene Potential without hesitation. He wasn’t worried about Zach taking it and refusing to join the faction afterward. For the safety of his family, the man still needed to travel with Alex’s group.
The Gene Potential dissolved into Zach’s body. A second later, he looked up in surprise.
"It’s asking me to choose a Class," Zach said.
Alex briefly explained the four Classes and what each one specialized in. There was still plenty they didn’t know, but the basics were enough to help Zach make a decision.
Before the man could answer, Caleb spoke up excitedly. "Dad, choose Mage! Alex is a Mage."
Zach smiled at his son but remained focused on the screen in front of him. Robert looked at Caleb instead.
"I’ve been wondering about something. Earlier you called him ’the Alex Mercer,’ and now this. Do you actually know Alex?" Robert asked.
"Of course I do. Everyone knows him. He’s famous on Dwitter," Caleb replied as if it were obvious.
Robert frowned in confusion and instinctively reached for his phone. Before he could pull it out, Alex spoke, "We’re standing in the middle of a street. You can check it later when we’re resting."
Robert smiled awkwardly and slipped the phone back into his pocket. "Yeah, you’re right."
After another moment of silence, Zach made his choice. "I’ll go with the Warrior Class."
Alex nodded. It was an easy Class to use with good returns. Aura seemed limited to strengthening and tempering the body, but it was also the easiest energy to control, making Warrior the simplest Class to learn.
A sword materialized on the road beside Zach’s feet. It must’ve come from the Reward Box for completing the Tutorial Quest of choosing a Class.
..
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