One Last System

'I guess if I need to invoke that Mage's Tower again, I will need to use quite a lot of resources,' I thought, trying to take proper stock of the situation.

Between all my tools, improved abilities, and the newly discovered ones, I couldn't really figure out a concept that would involve them all.

'Should I just ditch the spear and focus on being purely a mage?' I thought, trying to limit the number of things that I had to think off at once.

But that didn't appear as a valid concept.

The second I would ignore the close quarters and focus on control instead, I would fall into the trap of being completely useless without a proper range.

Sure, my mage's tower and all sorts of formation would help me in such situations... But I was still reluctant to make this step.

After all, all my class abilities were given to me. They weren't a fruit of my hard efforts that developed in my ability to use them.

If a time ever came when I would be unable to use my skills, I would be left powerless without a spear.

'I guess I need to develop in every direction equally,' I thought, standing up and picking up all of my stuff.

I managed to clutch my mission. And as pressed for time necessary for me to develop as I was, I really needed to take some well-deserved rest right now.

I returned to the camp. Without stopping even for a second, I entered the tent and moved to my compartment.

With the amount of strength that I now had to my name, sleeping was completely useless.

'I bet I could come up with an array that would ward off my need for sleep,' I thought when my consciousness started to falter.

Right now, I needed the mental cutaway, the break from all the troubles that weighed down on my head.

And so I fell asleep.

Over the next two weeks, I pulled up my sleeves, wiped down my forehead, and got into a hard-work mode.

Despite my wish to mend things with Lucius, I was moving out to the forest before he would wake up and then returning way too deep into the night to strike up any conversation.

With my abilities improved by an insane degree, I became the greatest predator in the forest.

And just like I decided before, I obediently hunted down what appeared as a small game to me.

After thinking things through, I realized that there was no point in antagonizing the sect.

Sure, it felt awful to know that I would be taking part in the process of corruption...

But I still couldn't be sure that the Auction Hall organized sponsorship would work. In this unknown world, there were simply too many variables that I didn't know about.

That's why, instead of focusing on gathering the resources that I could personally use, I simply hunted around for anything that came under my radar.

And so, within those short two weeks, I managed to obtain a sizeable pile of resources.

'It looks big enough to fill all my needs,' I thought, separating the haul into three different categories.

First came the quota stuff.

Instead of going for the lowest option, I prepared an amount that would stun anyone who would see it.

The number of cores and other monsters' parts easily exceeded ten times the amount contracted with my quotas.

And that was just the gift that I was going to present to that corrupted piece of shit just to mend the relationship with the sect.

'If this punny gift can make them keep helping Mia, I'm down to do it,' I thought, moving my eyes to the other pile.

This one was designated for the Auction Hall. And in the eyes of others, it likely didn't hold much of value.

The entire pile was made from the bones that I extracted from the small game. Each of the white pieces could be used to make a dildo or as a material for formation setting.

But it was the third pile that I was personally the most interested in. Because it contained all the good loot that I was going to keep for myself.

That's right.

Instead of using those precious materials that I got after two weeks of working super hard, I decided to hold back a little.

Over the course of this period at the camp, I managed to bring my statistics pretty high. Not only did my cultivation rise to roughly the middle ground of my full potential, but I also managed to learn two crucial things.

First, my class-related statistics would increase as I would fight.

By throwing spells at a great distance, I would increase my range. By manipulating several spells at once, I could raise my control. The method of increasing the output was pretty obvious in this scenario.

But there was a massive caveat to this aspect of my growth.

Whenever I wanted to push myself further than those spells would normally allow me... I had to consume my own progression in order to enhance my spells.

By consuming range, I could cast the spells at greater distances and so on.

And looking right now at the pile of resources gathered before my eyes...

All I had to do to advance was to just consume it.

'It's not a good idea yet,' I thought.

People at the sect knew me as someone weak. As an adolescent enlightened, I would already scare them off by appearing before them. Cultivating hard and reaching for even greater heights would end up throwing a wrench in my plans at uprooting the monopolistic position of the sect!

"Are you ready?" Lucius asked throughout the material that separated my compartment from the rest of the tent.

Obviously, there was a formation that would hide my stuff from Lucius' sight were he to suddenly barge inside.

Still, I swept all of my belonging into my ring with a single wave of my hand.

"I'm coming!" I announced.

The two weeks spent on nothing but a diligent hunt made Lucius clearly happier. And whether he knew what I was doing or if he just assumed stuff didn't really matter.

Because right now, I was about to finally push my plans through.

Once the deal with the dildos was fully settled, I could no longer care about my status as the contractor.

Because the one thing that I was sure I achieved already... It was growing strong enough for my contract to be voided!

For me, outside of the need to submit my quota properly to make sure Mia would get everything that she needed, this was the greatest return to the sect that I could imagine.

First, my deal with the auction house would pay off handsomely. Secondly, I could get my duties done and legally leave this unsavory part of my life behind. And lastly, I now could reach what appeared like a pinnacle of strength for the local people!

'I'm sure there are stronger folks out there, but once I break through,' I thought when the reality dawned on me. 'Won't I be able to secure a future for Mia and me easily?'