As everyone stared at me, the Healer then snapped out of it before jogging over towards the Lancer, kneeling down beside him and healing him.
"Uh, I’m not supposed to involve myself unless you guys are in danger, but I feel like I have to ask...what did you just do? If I’m not mistaken, you’re the one with the failed Tabulization, right?" Spoke up Lector, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, I am. As for what I did, it’s kinda hard to explain, I don’t fully understand it myself. After the Tabulization process failed, I began experimenting with my Magic.
Basically, I just focused on the feel of my Mana and tried channeling it a bunch of different ways. And after months of trial and error, this was the result," I explained nonchalantly.
Okay, I think I managed to pull off that explanation convincingly enough, it certainly helped that I already thought it up in advance.
None of them look like they’re skeptical of my explanation, though they do still look pretty bewildered.
"I see, interesting. I wonder, do you perhaps possess some form of Arcane Magic?" Mused Lector in fascination.
"No way! That’s impossible!" Snapped Trey indignantly.
Well, he’s awfully triggered. What’s his problem?
"The energy he produced wouldn’t fit in any of the existing Magic Classes, so that would be the only explanation that makes sense," Chimed in the Detector.
"No, it doesn’t! Arcane Magic is exclusive to Mages, but he was assessed to be a Combatant, wasn’t he?! There are only Arcane Mages, there’s no such thing as an Arcane Combatant!"
Oh, he actually has some surprisingly sound logic behind his argument.
Yeah, what he said is true, only Mages can possess Arcane Classes, at least as far as the currently available information indicates.
"Well, who knows, maybe I’m the first Arcane Combatant. Unprecedented isn’t synonymous with impossible, after all," I pointed out with a shrug.
"Perhaps, but that’s not the only thing that’s strange about this. Without exception, all Arcane Mages are either Aces or X-Aces, or at least possess the Potential to reach those levels. But you’re just J-Ranked trash," He countered with a frown.
Okay, why’s he choosing now, of all times, to be perceptive?
"Hey, like I said, I don’t fully understand it myself, so I don’t know what to tell you," I responded, playing dumb.
"It doesn’t really matter, does it? If anything, it’s a good thing that he’s more powerful than we thought, it raises our chances of clearing this Dungeon," Reasoned the Lancer objectively.
"Tch, just because he’s got some weird, cheap parlor tricks doesn’t make him more powerful, he’s still just J-Ranked trash," Scoffed Trey condescendingly.
I wanna punch him in the fucking face...
<Understandable, but I would advise against it>
Yeah, yeah, I know.
"We should keep moving, collect the Cores from the ones you killed so that we can move on," Sighed the Lancer, in an effort to calm Trey down.
"Hmph, I suppose you’ve got a point," Muttered Trey, before turning around and heading towards the corpses of the three Sonic Bats he’d killed.
He sliced open their chests with water slashes before prying their Cores out, washing the blood off with his Magic.
Hm...yeah, guess I might as well...
"<Devour>, <Drain>," I chanted quietly, manifesting my Gluttony Skills before heading over towards each of the corpses, first using Drain to absorb their energy before using Devour to consume their bodies.
Hm? Weird, I’m not feeling much of anything from Drain...
<That is because the Monsters are dead>
<Upon death, the Magical energy in the bodies of Monsters faded in approximately thirty seconds to a minute>
<The same applies for Hunters>
<Therefore, it is best to use Drain before your target perishes>
Good to know...so, why am I only learning this now? Wouldn’t been nice if I knew that ahead of time.
<...>
Don’t tell me you forgot. Are you serious right now?
"Uh, what are you doing? They’re already dead, so why are you using those abilities on their corpses?" The Detector asked me curiously.
"The black energy jaws restore my stamina and the white jaws restore my Mana. The latter is especially useful since these powers are pretty Mana-ineffecient," I answered in response.
That was a total lie, of course. But at my current level, I’m not about to reveal that using these Skills makes me stronger.
"Loser. We only just got here, and you’re telling us you’re already low on stamina?" Sneered Trey condescendingly.
He’s being extra snippy, why’s the thought of even the possibility of me possessing Arcane Magic ticking him off so much?
"No, but it makes me feel like I’m brimming with energy, like when you have an energy drink or coffeee, but without the side effects," I informed him dryly.
I mean, I do feel good when I use these Skills, so that reply could maybe qualify as a half-truth? Eh, whatever, I have no reason to justify myself to the likes of him.
"Whatever, let’s get a move on already," He huffed, before marching ahead.
He’s like a child-...well, technically speaking, I suppose that’s exactly what he is. Still, though, seventeen is way too old to be this immature, I’m guessing he’s been raised as a pretty spoiled brat.
By the way, Ai, how much did I gain from using my Gluttony Skills on those Monsters?
<Your MP has increased by one point>
<And you have gained three points to distribute across your physical stats>
<How would you like to allocate them?>
Hm, let’s see...while Agility is my priority, if I put too much focus into it and neglect my other stats, I’ll end up becoming a glass cannon. In which case...put one point each into Agility, Perception and Vitality.
<Very well, I shall distribute the points as specified>
<It is done>
Hey, I think I felt something, just barely, like a slight shift in my body.
<Yes, while the increase is minimal, you are slightly more powerful than you were a moment ago>
Just slightly, huh? Well, considering that it was only five Low Level Monsters, I suppose that’s understandable.
By the way, if I asked a Mage to shoot off a bunch of Spells at me and then consume said Spells with Drain, would that increase my MP?
<Yes, it would>
<However, that would likely require you explaining to them how Drain actually works>
<Otherwise, they would likely get suspicious, or at the very least, confused>
<Additionally, using Drain directly on the target’s body and siphoning off their Mana that way is far more efficient than consuming Spells or other Magic-based attacks>
Got it, I’ll keep that in mind.
Now, then, time to focus up again. Dungeons are said to get increasingly difficult with each subsequent floor, so I can’t let my guard down...