Discovering the Source of the Mana Fluctuation

Kirou finally got up after lying on the floor for a few minutes. His abrupt actions startled the two women resting beside him, but he paid no attention to that as he had a system message going off in his head at the moment.

[System Message: You have leveled up.]

[You are at level 12]

{Name: Kirou}

{Race: Werewolf(Lycan/Human)}

{Class: Weapon Master}

{Subclass: Crafting Master}

{Weapons: Gunblade Tonfas, Beginner Knife, Wolf Claws, Enchanted Steel Chain, Threaded Wires}

{Armor: Swampland Leather Armor Set (vest, pants, gloves, boots, crocodile helmet), Mysterious Bead(???)}

{Level: 12}

{HP: 720/720 (420+100+200)}

{MP: 600/600 (350+100+150)}

{Str: 44 (24+10+10)}

{Int: 27 (22+5)}

{Def: 58 (23+10+10+5+5+5)}

{Const: 35 (25+10)}

{Dex: 25 (20+5)}

{Agi: 25 (20+5)}

{Luck: 55/100}

{Skill Points: 35}

{Fame: 2600}

{Money: 1000 g/21 s/50 c}

After he leveled up, Kirou reverted to his human form so his stats reflected that form. As for why his level jumped twice, his experience bar was already at 99%, so the trio's next kill would have given him the level up. That being said since the trio killed a boss, he was gifted just enough to boost his experience bar twice.

Both women were staring at Kirou while he was lost in thought looking at his stats. After a minute or two of this, Navi got tired of waiting and got close to Kirou. When she tapped his shoulder, Kirou turned to face her with a somewhat confused expression on his face.

"What's up, Ms. Navi?" When Kirou asked this, he could see that the women had a strange expression on their faces. He wasn't sure what it was but he had a feeling it had to do with the skill he used on Rodrick at the end.

Instead of asking about the skill itself, however, Navi asked about something else, "How are you feeling now, Kirou?" While Reya hadn't said a single word yet, Kirou could tell that she too was worried about him.

Releasing a sigh, Kirou faced both women and said, "I'm doing fine now. The only reason I collapsed in the first place is because of the skill I used on the boss at the end. While it did its job, I got hit with the backlash of the skill since I used it on a stronger target forcefully."

After hearing his words, Reya was the one who spoke next, "But why? Considering it's your skill, I'm sure you knew you would have been hit with the backlash if you forcefully used it. If that's the case, then why?"

Kirou smiled at both women before answering, "I'm not the kind of guy who'll watch a team member die in front of me when I can save them. Don't get me wrong, I am by no means a selfless hero but I will help as long as it's within my power when it comes to my team. If put in the same situation again, my actions would remain the same, for both of you."

After saying his piece, Kirou went over to Rodrick's corpse and starting to dismantle it. Since his back was turned to both women, he didn't notice their current expressions. While Reya was staring off into space, thinking about Kirou's words, Navi had a blush on her face while replaying a specific line inside her head.

'If put in the same situation again, my actions would remain the same...'

This line was repeated quite a few times in her mind before Navi slapped herself with both hands and shook her head to remove that thought from her mind.

'That was just Kirou running his mouth. I'm sure he doesn't mean it. Or even if he does, he doesn't mean it in that sense. Calm down, Jia Rong.' Those were her thoughts as Navi slapped herself a few more times to calm down.

Both women were woken from their stupor as Kirou called out to them. Seeing the other's expression, both women shared a giggle before walking over to Kirou, putting their previous thoughts on the backburner for now.

"What's up?" asked Reya as she got closer. With Navi with her, both women could see a weird expression on Kirou's face.

"It seems like the system has managed to come up with a way to get back at me," said Kirou with a wry smile on his face. Hearing his words, both women adopted a bewildered expression on their faces.

"How?" asked Navi.

"Take a look." Following those words, Kirou shared the system message he received as soon as he touched Rodrick's corpse.

[System Message: Dungeon bosses cannot be harvested. Touch the corpse again to loot items.]

Seeing the message, both women had a blank expression on their faces for a bit. This blank expression turned into fits of laughter as both women started laughing at Kirou's misfortune. As for Kirou, he could only shake his head in disappointment at being hit with that message. While Kirou didn't care about the equipment dropped by monsters normally, with him unable to harvest anything from Rodrick's corpse, he could only release a deep sigh before getting up.

"Since I can't harvest anything from it, you ladies loot it. I'll search around the room to see if I can find something useful." Having said his piece, Kirou left the two giggling elves with Rodrick's corpse while he approached the coral chair to begin his search.

The two giggling women went over the corpse and had Reya loot it while Kirou broke the coral chair and placed the pieces into his inventory.

*****************

The party was currently traveling down the right path from the crossroads they took to get to Murloc Shaman Rodrick's room earlier. The ladies were in a good mood while Kirou was somewhat irritated.

'That damn cheapskate Rodrick and that biased system. How could a boss be so cheap that the only decent thing in its lair was its blasted chair? As for the system, why did you hit me with that message when I'm only playing according to your rules? Just cause you never expected someone to notice this early doesn't mean you should screw them over. I've actually made a loss from the shells I used during that entire boss fight.' Those were Kirou's thoughts as he traveled with the two elven beauties. Apparently, his thoughts were currently being shown on his face as both women continued to giggle whenever they see it as if hearing Kirou's complaints out loud.

"Cheer up, Mr. Wolf. I'm sure we'll get you some materials in the next area," said Reya as she covered her mouth with a hand as she giggled next to Kirou. Navi followed up with it as well.

"That's right, Mr. Wolf. Who knows? Maybe we'll meet some monsters in the next area where you can take out your anger on as well." As Navi said this, Kirou looked towards her with a raised eyebrow, prompting her to ask, "What?"

"Hmm. So you've decided to follow Reya in calling me that as well, Ms. Navi? Interesting." When Kirou said this, he had a mysterious smile on his face.

"What? Is Reya the only one allowed to call you that?" asked Navi in a huff, earning a giggle from Reya.

"Not at all, Ms. Dark Elf. Or maybe I should shorten it to Ms. Elf as I do with Reya?" Kirou said this with a grin on his face, earning a "Hmph" from Navi in response.

"Why not stick to Dark Elf for Sister Navi? It might get confusing if you have to call both of us 'Ms. Elf' and we have no idea who you're speaking to," said Reya with a smile on her face. She was happy to see Navi get along with Kirou.

"The jury has spoken. Ms. Dark Elf, it is. I look forward to working with you from now on," said Kirou as he extended a hand out to Navi. Seeing his hand, Navi looked at it for a bit before extending her own and shaking it.

"Likewise, Mr. Wolf." When Navi said this, she had a genuine smile on her face. Even if it was just a game and he's never seen her show a genuine smile, in reality, Kirou could tell that her smile was real.

"Now that we've become good friends, why not send him a friend request so that you guys can talk later on?" When Reya gave this suggestion, she had a mysterious expression on her face.

"Good idea," said Kirou while Navi nodded. He then opened his menu and sent a friend request to Navi. Navi opened her and accepted it and now both could see each other online.

"Now that that's settled, let's enter," said Reya as she pointed to the next area filled with Murlocs. Just like before Rodrick's room, a squadron of Murlocs was guarding the door. This time, however, Kirou had some steam to work off so he told both women to stay back. He then entered the room with both his wires and claws equipped.

"He should be good on his own, right Sister Yuna?" queried Navi in slight worry.

Reya did a hollow chuckle before responding to Navi, "Sister Rong, you're worrying about the wrong thing here. I feel sorry for the Murlocs."

Hearing her words made Navi confused. It wasn't until she looked at the area where the battle was taking place did she understand Reya's words.

'Looks like him not being able to loot Rodrick did piss him off.' This was her thought as she watched the elite Murlocs suffering a one-sided beatdown from Kirou and two clones.

*************

"That feels so much better," said Kirou as he finished cleaning up the battlefield and harvested all the materials from the corpses.

Both Reya and Navi walked over to him with a blank expression on their faces. Navi was the one who spoke up, "Did...did you have to be so brutal in killing them? Especially that shaman?"

Kirou turned around and stared directly into Navi's eyes with a blank expression on his face before speaking and he did so in a surprisingly flat tone, "Yes. Yes, I did."

Both Reya and Navi thought back to what happened to the Murloc Shaman. It was only doing its job and healing the other Murlocs but it made a simple mistake; it allowed Kirou to see it.

***Flashback***

When Kirou saw the Murloc shaman, the women didn't know if it reminded him of Rodrick but they knew it bore the full brunt of Kirou's rage. Kirou and his two clones immediately disappeared from wherever they were and when they reappeared, they had the shaman surrounded. Before the shaman could even cast the water armor on itself, a bunch of wires wrapped themselves around its body. Following that, all three Kirou's retreated in different directions, pulling on the wires which caused the shaman to be stuck in a situation where it was being pulled in three directions. Before the remaining Murlocs could move over to save it, they were greeted by the gruesome sight of the shaman being ripped to pieces by the wires.

Following the death of the shaman, Kirou then turned his eyes towards the remaining ten or so Murlocs. The women could have sworn they saw the Murlocs flinch when Kirou's gaze landed on them. It came as no surprise as to what happened next as Kirou steamrolled them. Some tried to run but they never made it far before a chain would wrap around them and drag them back. It was a gruesome ordeal and the women witnessed it all.

Both women glanced at each other and gave a knowing nod.

'Let's make sure to take him to areas where he can harvest materials from corpses and the environment when we go hunting later.'

***Flashback End***

The trio now stood before the door. They didn't enter immediately as Kirou needed to rest after his mini rampage and wanted to craft a few more shells for his tonfas, just in case.

Having recovered his missing health and with more ammo, Kirou pushed open the huge door to the room. Unlike before where the trio was greeted by Rodrick sitting on his coral chair, they were now witnessing a swirling cloud of mana within the room. Before they could even take a step forward, Navi's quest was updated and it was shared with both Reya and Kirou automatically.

[System Message: Source of mana surge has been located. Updating quest details...]

[System Message: The quest <The Elf Apothecary's Worry> has been shared with your party]

Quest: <The Elf Apothecary's Worry>

Rank: A

Level Requirement: N/A

Description: Recently, a magic surge has been detected a few kilometers northeast of Thousand Wood Village. You are being tasked with heading in that direction to find the source of the surge, investigate the nature of the surge, and report back the findings of your investigation.

Find the source of mana surge: Completed

Investigate the nature of mana surge: Incomplete

Neutralize source of mana surge: Incomplete

Rewards: Advanced Plant Harvesting Kit Blueprint x1, MP restoration pills x15, random skill book (A), 3gold 50silver.

The trio immediately looked over the details of the quest. While Reya and Kirou were both looking at the quest details curiously, Navi narrowed her eyes as she noticed some of the quest details had changed.

"We've got a problem," said Navi as she looked back at the swirling cloud of mana within the room ahead of them.

"What's wrong?" queried Reya as she too stared at the cloud of mana.

Kirou, on the other hand, was looking at the cloud with narrowed eyes and he started equipping all of his weapons. His action was seen by Navi from the corner of her eyes as she too took out her daggers.

"I'm the one who originally got this mission. But it seems to have been updated after we entered this room. I get the feeling we are going to be in for a serious fight." As Navi said this, Reya too realized the direness of the situation the trio was in and also took out her short bow.

In the distance, at the center of the swirling mana cloud, a figure started to walk out. Like the previous boss, this figure was a huge Murloc wearing a robe, except this was a mage's robe. Above his head stood the name Murloc Mage Anderson.

Seeing the trio at the door, Anderson had a smile on his face as he gave them a polite greeting, "Welcome, young ones. I'm afraid that you've seen too much so I cannot let you leave just yet."

Following his words, Anderson waved his staff which warped the space around the trio, pulling them into the room before sealing the doors shut. After this, Anderson started chanting some words with his staff pointing at the trio.

"It seems like a waste to just kill you after you've managed to get here. Why don't we have a chat?" After saying this, Anderson summoned some Murloc elites which sprung to attack the trio immediately.