章 120: Chapter 118 Choosing What To Buy

"Wow," said Joseph, after looking over the list.

They were back in his room, and he planned to goof off until supper time. Joseph really wasn't looking forward to seeing his mom, and possibly explaining what had happened at the Elven forest, but it needed to be done. He was going to spend the entire time checking out what the system had to offer. Stella had disappeared to check up on things, and he had promised not to practice magic while she was gone.

"Does anything new unlock if I get 100 points?"

(NOT FOR HUMANS.)

"What is the limit on attributes for humans?"

(HUMANS ARE CAPPED AT 20 ON ATTRIBUTES, HOWEVER POINTS CAN BE SPENT AND ATTRIBUTES INCREASED PAST THAT LIMIT. SHOULD YOU EVER BECOME MORE THAN HUMAN, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE TRUE STAT. TECHNICALLY YOU COULD EVEN DO THIS WITH MAGERY TO HIGHER LEVELS, BUT IT WON'T DO ANYTHING WHICH IS WHY I WOULDN'T LET YOU WASTE YOUR POINTS WHEN YOU SAID YOU WISHED TO REMAIN HUMAN.)

"Does mana enhancer really do what I think it does? Will I always be in higher mana? Like even in a dead zone, such as the barrier around the elven forest?"

(YES. I'M ONLY ALLOWING YOU TO BUY 1 LEVEL THOUGH AND ONLY FOR SAVING THE ELVEN TWINS. IT IS STILL 50 POINTS.)

"Deal. Stella would kill me if I got daredevil, and +1 probably isn't enough to outrun her. Charisma is tempting but not just yet. High pain threshold wouldn't lessen the pain, so I'll just try not to get hurt and use willpower when I need to. I like combat reflexes. That seems like it would raise my staying alive by a lot. Special rapport with Stella is tempting but I hope to not be separated and I would need to talk to her about it first. Voice is a definite once I can speak runes and penetrating voice on top of that. I'm not there just yet though. Weapon master seems like a large distraction.

"Purchase mana enhancer, intelligence, perception, combat reflexes, penetrating voice, honest face."

(DO WISH TO SPEND 92 POINTS?)

"Confirm."

(I WASN'T EXPECTING YOU TO SPEND ALL OF YOUR POINTS AT ONCE.)

"I wanted to save enough to see everything available before I spent anything. The next 30 points will be for magery, but it isn't looking like I'm going to fix the elven barrier issue quickly so I can make more points before then."

Joseph couldn't help but start laughing. The world was in even better focus with the increase in his perception. He could even see a fly darting around. Some combination of the increased perception and combat reflexes. It wasn't like in the super hero movies, where everything moved in slow motion, but he could see and react more quickly, even if he didn't actually move faster.

The feeling as the mana around him suddenly rose to the next level was thrilling. He literally felt more alive as the mana increased. He had become very sensitive to it after the sickening feeling in the elven forest.

The increased intelligence made him want to reflect on some of his past actions. While he wouldn't judge, he knew he had been doing the very best he could at the time, he still wanted to make sure those close shaves stopped. He had thought he was finally moving ahead safely and then a god had to step in and save his life.

It looked like mana enhancer extended to the edge of his mana territory. If he could ever get mana control to advanced and his territory expanded, then it likely would also.

Stella had shown back up and was giving him a look like he had broken himself again.

"Stella, watch this!"

Before, when he released his mana, it was like watching a constellation. Now, when he did it, it was like the birth of the universe. High mana was awesome!

He started forming little galaxies and whirls of star dust that would extend for thousands of light years at this scale. He literally glowed from all the mana around him.

Then he took the mana, and made a figure of Stella, with all of her mana circuits.

"Is that me?" she asked.

He nodded.

"That is how you look magically. I probably couldn't do that with someone else, but I spent so long learning your circuits to heal the babies, I could probably draw it in my sleep."

"It's beautiful," she whispered.

Joseph laughed. "Yes, you are. I still don't understand this section at all, and these sections I only have an incredibly rough understanding of. That section and that section I have a vague guess at. But it's certainly you. The areas I understand are slowly increasing. I'm not sure I would be able to explain how much help this has been in understanding circuits and magic circles. I still haven't found anything as complicated as your mana paths. Nothing even in the same realm."

"What you did for the babies was pretty awesome, even if you did almost die."

"That rune in the floor almost killed them. I'm surprised they lived long enough for me to get there. If it weren't for you, I would never have been able to save those kids. The elven princess is the little sister I lost in one of my last lives. I don't know how she is here but without you…"

Joseph leaned over and hugged her. "I know she's not my real sister but nothing stops me from adopting them. Dad already said I won't have any other siblings."

He let her go and said, "It will be several years before they are really old enough to play with. Let's be done saving the world by then so we can settle down in my own kingdom."

"Of course, Master Joseph," she said very seriously. "Ready for some cookies? They're still warm."

"Yes, please!" He shoved two into his mouth, barely able to shut it as he chewed. They were his favorite, still warm!