Alex was genuinely surprised by the information, but Battle Instinct Spell prevented any reaction from appearing on his face. If beasts really could change their size, then the giant paw print no longer ruled Mia out. He still didn’t intend to tell Stefan that he had only just learned about that possibility.
Stefan continued, "Eventually people will discover that Ascendant animals exist. Whether it’s today or a month from now won’t make much difference. I just wanted to let you know before someone else brought it up."
"I understand." Alex gave a small nod.
Stefan leaned back in his chair before speaking one last time. "I also think everything is only going to become more dangerous from here. That’s why I hope you keep getting stronger. By now it’s obvious that the higher Difficulties produced stronger ascendants, so someone from Hell Difficulty will probably become very important in the future."
The two exchanged a few more thoughts before ending the conversation. Alex then left the room and headed toward the apartment his faction had been assigned for the time. It would only serve as their temporary base until they continued their journey.
The apartment was one of the larger deluxe units in the building. It had a spacious living room connected to an open kitchen, along with several bedrooms that gave everyone enough space without feeling cramped. Even with the entire faction gathered inside, the room still felt comfortable.
As soon as Alex entered, everyone’s attention shifted toward him. The twins were sitting together near the sofa, Zach’s wife rested quietly nearby, and the rescued survivors from Jaelo Supermart had also gathered in the living room. Tina, Kevin, and everyone else was also present.
Alex took a seat before looking toward the three people he had rescued earlier.
Ben. Edward. Sia.
Among everyone they had rescued, these were the three people Alex wanted to recruit the most. After hearing about them from Stefan, he had already made up his mind if they were willing to join. Stefan had also given Alex the first choice since his own faction was already full, and he still had no idea how to level up his faction to unlock more member slots.
Alex could only recruit two more members into his faction, but that didn’t mean all three of them couldn’t travel with his group. One of them could simply remain outside the faction until another slot became available. For now, that arrangement was good enough.
Alex looked at the three of them before speaking, "I’ll be direct. I’m Alex Mercer, a Mage from Hell Difficulty. As you can see, I’m younger than all of you, but if you travel with me, I’ll expect you to follow my orders. If you aren’t comfortable with that, you’re free to leave now."
His words were blunt, but he wanted to make his expectations clear from the beginning. Earlier, he had been looking for anyone willing to join him because he needed reliable people. Now the situation had changed, and there were more survivors wanting to join him than he could actually accept.
"We’ll follow your orders. You’ve already proven that you know what you’re doing, and none of us would still be alive if you hadn’t come," Sia, the female security guard, said without much hesitation.
Ben and Edward nodded in agreement. Seeing that neither of them had any objections, Alex moved on to the next matter. There was still something he needed to confirm before accepting them.
"Do any of you have family nearby? If you do, what’s their current situation?" Alex asked.
"My family lives in another city. I don’t know whether they’re safe. I can’t get in contact with them. As for going to them, it’s not possible due to the distance," Sia answered.
"I’m alone. Edward is too. We grew up in the same orphanage," Ben replied.
"What about the people in the orphanage? Do you want to rescue them?" Alex asked.
"The orphanage closed years ago. After that, everyone went their separate ways," Ben answered with a faint, wry smile.
Alex gave a small nod. He wasn’t asking out of curiosity but because his own priority was reaching his sister as quickly as possible. If someone wanted to travel in a completely different direction, it would create unnecessary complications for the entire group.
"Alright. Then you’re welcome to join our faction. Before that, though, I need what we agreed on," Alex said.
Ben nodded, and asked, "Can we exchange the information somewhere private?"
Alex immediately noticed Ben’s wording. He had said information instead of information and the item, which meant Ben hadn’t told Edward or Sia about the Mana Fruit either. Considering it was an S-Rank item, Alex thought that was a sensible decision.
The two of them entered one of the smaller bedrooms connected to the apartment while everyone else remained outside. After closing the door, Alex sat down on a nearby chair before looking at Ben.
"How many people know about it?" Alex asked.
"Only me," Ben answered.
Alex nodded. "Alright. Then give it to me."
A blue fruit appeared in Ben’s hand, likely taken out from his inventory. He handed it over without saying anything, and a familiar notification appeared before Alex.
[Mana Fruit (S Rank)]
[How much more mana do you need, you manawhore?]
[Effect: Permanently increases Mana by 10.]
Alex ignored the description as always. He read the effect, and confirmed the Mana Fruit was real.
He smiled faintly before taking a bite. He wasn’t worried about the fruit being poisoned because Ben had nothing to gain from betraying him and far too much to lose. The moment he swallowed the fruit, a strange sensation spread through his body. It didn’t feel like eating ordinary food. Instead, it was as though a stream of energy entered his heart.
His mana pool immediately began expanding. The increase wasn’t explosive, but it was steady and powerful, and Alex calmly increased the output of Blood Vitalization Spell to reduce the burden on his heart. Even then, he could feel the pressure on his heart growing stronger with every passing second.
Without hesitating, Alex activated Battle Instinct Spell at full power. The boost to his concentration allowed him to further improve Blood Vitalization Spell, keeping pace with the rapidly increasing mana. Even so, the strain continued to build.
Sweat slowly rolled down his forehead as his heart worked harder to contain the growing mana pool. Despite continuously consuming mana through his spells, the amount inside him barely seemed to decrease. Alex remained calm and carefully reinforced his heart with mana, making sure it could comfortably withstand the pressure. He already knew this could happen, and had been prepared.
Several seconds later, the flow of mana finally came to a stop. Alex slowly let out a breath before opening his eyes, only to realize the Mana Fruit had completely disappeared from his hand. It seemed the fruit itself vanished once all of its essence had been absorbed.
A series of notifications immediately appeared before him.
[Mana: 25 → 35]
[Blood Vitalization Spell has leveled up. Level 1 → Level 2]
..
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