BOOM!
This explosion sounded far louder than the ones before.
The booming sound spread between the trees.
The smoke that appeared was also much thicker.
The part of the tree trunk that had been targeted was immediately covered completely.
Zeldryn and Kera both stared in that direction.
Neither of them spoke right away.
They waited.
A few seconds later...
The smoke slowly began to thin.
Little by little, the tree trunk became visible again.
And...
“...”
Kera stared at the mark left by the explosion.
Then he turned toward Zeldryn.
His usual smile returned.
“That's all?”
!!??
Zeldryn immediately wanted to snap back.
However...
“Hah... hah...”
His body bent slightly.
One of his hands instinctively held his lower abdomen.
His Mana Hole was fluctuating quite strongly after he had used twenty-one particles at the same time.
Zeldryn's breathing had also become heavier.
‘Bastard.’
‘You can still say that's all?’
He had just produced the largest explosion he had ever managed to create.
And Kera's first response was to mock the result.
Zeldryn almost opened his mouth to curse at him.
But suddenly...
!!??
‘Wait.’
There was something far more important than getting angry at Kera right now.
Zeldryn raised his head.
“H-hey, Kera.”
“Hmm?”
“What happened?”
Kera was still smiling.
Zeldryn tried to steady his breathing.
“Why can I use more mana now than before?”
“...”
Kera stared at him for several seconds.
Then...
“Hmmm...”
His smile became even more irritating.
“Should I tell you or not?”
“...”
Zeldryn immediately glared at him.
‘Bastard.’
‘Come on.’
‘Please, I really need the answer this time.’
Zeldryn let out a rough sigh.
“Come on.”
He pointed at himself.
“Why did I suddenly become stronger?”
Zeldryn still didn't understand the change that had just happened.
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Previously, fifteen particles had already been his limit.
Sixteen made him vomit blood.
But now...
He had just managed to control twenty-one.
“Am I some kind of protagonist in a novel who suddenly gets a power-up?”
Kera immediately laughed.
“Ahahahaha!”
Zeldryn frowned.
Kera pointed at him while laughing.
“Yeah.”
“You are the protagonist of a novel.”
!!??
Zeldryn froze for a moment.
But Kera immediately continued,
“In a trash novel.”
“Hahahaha!”
“...”
‘Bastard.’
Kera continued laughing for a while before finally raising one hand.
“Alright, alright.”
“Ahahaha...”
He slowly stopped laughing.
“I'll tell you.”
Zeldryn immediately became serious again.
Kera looked at him.
“Remember the balloon analogy from earlier?”
Zeldryn nodded.
“When a Mana Hole receives too much mana...”
He tried to remember the previous explanation.
“The body can explode?”
Kera immediately pointed at him.
“GOTCHA!”
Zeldryn stared at him.
Kera continued,
“If you keep forcing it beyond what your body can withstand...”
His smile faded slightly.
“Then yes, your body can actually explode.”
“...”
Zeldryn didn't particularly like how casually Kera said that.
But Kera immediately continued,
“But now I'll give you another example.”
He raised one of his arms.
“What do you think happens if a muscle is constantly trained close to its maximum limit?”
Zeldryn listened.
“Not until it's damaged.”
“Not until it's destroyed.”
Kera emphasized,
“But truly forced to work close to the limit it can still withstand.”
“Then after that, you stop.”
“Give it time.”
“And refill it with what it needs.”
Kera looked at Zeldryn.
“After it recovers...”
“What do you think happens to that muscle?”
Zeldryn answered almost instinctively.
“It develops?”
Kera smiled.
However...
!!??
Zeldryn suddenly froze.
‘Wait.’
He looked at his lower abdomen.
Then looked back at Kera.
“The Mana Hole...”
His eyes widened slightly.
“A Mana Hole can develop?”
“...”
Kera fell silent for a moment.
Then...
“KUAHAHAHAHA!”
He burst out laughing again.
Zeldryn immediately looked annoyed.
“What now?”
Kera looked even more entertained than before.
“You really love asking absurd questions, damn it!”
“...”
Zeldryn became even more irritated.
“What the hell is absurd about that, bastard?”
Kera finally started calming down.
“Your question is the same as your previous one.”
Zeldryn frowned.
Kera pointed at him.
“Why do you think there are levels among Manholers?”
“...”
Zeldryn fell silent.
Kera continued,
“If the Mana Hole couldn't develop...”
He spread both hands.
“Then what would be the point of Level 1?”
“Level 2?”
“Level 3?”
“And so on?”
Zeldryn began to understand what he meant.
Kera pointed at himself.
“Imagine a Level 3 Manholer like me having a Mana Hole with the same limited ability as yours right now.”
“If that were the case...”
“What would be the point of having levels?”
“...”
Zeldryn didn't respond.
‘That's true.’
Kera turned his body slightly.
“So stupid.”
Then he looked back toward the tree they had been using as a target.
“A Mana Hole can indeed develop.”
!!??
Zeldryn immediately paid closer attention.
“But...”
Kera raised one finger.
“That doesn't mean it'll keep developing without limits.”
Zeldryn frowned.
“Every Manholer has a different limit to how far they can develop.”
Kera looked at Zeldryn again.
“For example, you.”
He pointed toward Zeldryn's lower abdomen.
“Earlier, you used your Mana Hole until it was close to the maximum capability it could withstand at that time.”
“After that, your Mana Hole became empty.”
“You stopped using it.”
“Then you absorbed mana again and refilled it.”
Kera smiled slightly.
“And now...”
He pointed at Zeldryn.
“Your Mana Hole's capability has developed.”
“...”
Zeldryn stared at him.
So that was the reason.
Why fifteen had previously felt like an absolute limit...
But now he could reach twenty-one.
‘So it wasn't sudden.’
There had been a process.
His Mana Hole had been pushed close to its limit.
Then it had been emptied quite a lot.
After that, it was filled again.
And the result...
The limit it could withstand had become higher.
But Kera immediately said,
“But don't start thinking you can just keep doing the same thing over and over.”
!!??
Zeldryn focused again.
Kera shrugged.
“If everyone could keep developing their Mana Hole just by emptying it, filling it, and repeating the process...”
He looked at Zeldryn as though the next question already had an obvious answer.
“Wouldn't everyone easily become a Level 5 Manholer?”
“...”
“Or even higher?”
Zeldryn fell silent.
‘That's true too.’
If it were as simple as ordinary training that always produced improvement...
Then as long as someone had enough time, anyone could become a high-level Manholer.
But clearly, this world didn't work like that.
Kera continued,
“Think of it as a factor called talent.”
He paused for a moment.
“Or luck.”
“Everyone is different.”
“Not every Manholer can become a high-level Manholer.”
Zeldryn listened without interrupting.
Kera then added,
“And don't misunderstand those levels either.”
“Hmm?”
Kera looked toward him.
“A higher level does not mean absolute victory.”
Zeldryn frowned slightly.
Kera continued,
“Under certain conditions, even a Level 1 Manholer can defeat a Level 3 Manholer.”
!!??
Zeldryn's eyes widened slightly.
“A Level 1 can defeat a Level 3?”
“They can.”
Kera answered without hesitation.
“It depends on what they've mastered.”
“It depends on how they fight.”
He raised one finger.
“Battle IQ.”
Another finger.
“Experience.”
Then another.
“Cunning.”
“Deception.”
“The terrain they're fighting on.”
“The type of ability.”
“How they use mana.”
“And many other things.”
Zeldryn paid attention to every word that came out of his mouth.
Kera then added,
“But don't twist that around either.”
“Just because a Level 1 can defeat a Level 3...”
“Doesn't mean every Level 1 versus Level 3 fight will be won by the Level 1.”
Kera looked at Zeldryn.
“Levels still matter.”
“The amount of mana and its capabilities still matter.”
“But those aren't the only things that determine who will still be standing at the end of a fight.”
“...”
Zeldryn fell silent.
That explanation felt very different from many of the power systems he had read before.
Kera turned his body around.
Then said in a casual tone,
“You think this is some romance novel where if someone's level is higher, they're absolutely stronger and guaranteed to win?”
“...”
Kera glanced back over his shoulder.
A small smile appeared on his face.
“No, kid.”
“This is reality.”
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