from F-Rank Heir to Dimensional Beast Tamer

After Liam reached the second level, he first carefully checked his surroundings to make sure the area was safe.

He then sat on one of the stone stairs and calmly looked at the wide tunnel in front of him, from which a deep cold and a strange smell emerged.

A strange look appeared on his face, and he sighed,

"I thought this place was just a bunch of tangled tunnels and caves, but I was wrong."

Slowly, he touched the cold stone stairs and said, "Someone built this place."

And in a confused manner, he wondered, "Thinking about it, where am I?

Am I still in the Kingdom of Velmoria, or am I somewhere far away on the continent?"

He looked up at the ceiling and muttered, "If this place has multiple levels, maybe I can go up and get out."

"No, there's no use thinking about that. I need to kill this dungeon's boss, and to find it, I have to keep going deeper."

He furrowed his brows, clearing his mind of all his pointless questions, and focused all his attention on what was important.

A faint smile touched his face as he remembered he had finally reached E-Rank, a rank he had dreamed of for the past five years.

"Well, it happened so quickly, I didn't get enough time to be happy about my achievement.

" His smile widened as he felt a surge of elation.

He calmly said to the System, "Show me my personal status window."

[ — Status — ]

– Name: Liam Draven

– Race: Human?

– Rank: E

– Class: (Undetermined)

XP: [ 1000/ 94 ]

HP: [ 350/ 208 ]

Mana: [ 0 / 0 ]

[ — Basic Attributes — ]

– Strength: 29 (+5RP)

– Agility: 11 (+5RP)

– Endurance: 18 (+5RP)

– Vitality: 35 (+5RP)

– Perception: 12 (+5RP)

– Mana Control: 0

Distribution Points: 7

[ — Skills — ]

Swordsmanship (F) – Mana Body (E) – Horsemanship (F)

[ — Equipment — ]

Necklace?

[ You have an unclaimed gift ]

– – – – –

"Wow," Liam was amazed when he saw how high his stats had become. He quickly began to meticulously inspect the status window to see all the changes that had occurred after his rank increased.

The first thing he noticed was some parentheses next to his stats, and he quickly asked the System, "What is that RP?"

[RP is short for Rank Points. When your rank increases, your personal stats also increase by a certain number.]

[RP was spent automatically. The parentheses are just a clarification of the points' source and number.]

"Okay, I see." Liam nodded his head in understanding.

He then went back to checking his stats, and that's when he noticed that the number of XP needed to reach the next Rank had doubled.

But he wasn't bothered by it; it was obvious that the requirements for reaching the next rank would be harder.

The only thing that truly bothered him, however, was that his Swordsmanship skill hadn't leveled up either.

But there was nothing he could do about it. He knew that skills didn't level up with rank, and he had to train hard if he wanted to increase his skill's rank.

Naturally, the Mana Body skill was an exception to this rule, for two reasons:

The first is that Mana Body isn't a skill in itself; instead, it's a trait that humans gain from birth, called a basic skill.

Because of it, the Ascendants can absorb mana from their surroundings and store it inside their bodies.

Through that mana, they can refine their bodies to become stronger and more durable, which increases their basic attributes.

The main way to absorb mana is through meditation and by drinking enhancing potions, just as exhausting training helps the body absorb more mana through its pores.

However, this depends on the quality of their talents.

For example, if their talent is low, their absorption and refining speed will be very slow, which will limit their future growth.

As for the second reason, the rank progression for the Ascendants with physical classes is directly linked to the Mana Body skill.

When their bodies become saturated with large amounts of mana and reach their maximum limits, a qualitative change occurs that makes their rank increase.

This was basic information that everyone knew, so Liam didn't think too much about it.

Instead, a strange look came over him as he quickly looked at the number of Distribution Points he had, as an absurd idea had just occurred to him.

"What if I add all my Distribution Points to Mana Control? Will I be able to practice magic?"

His confusion was understandable. Ascendants with magical classes, like mages, healers, and alchemists, are completely different from Ascendants with physical classes, like Tanks, knights, and Marksmen.

This difference is clear from birth, as mages are born with a basic skill called Mana Core,

which enables them to store mana and concentrate it inside the Mana Core until it becomes a solid form called a Magical Ring.

The mages' rank, the power of the spells they can cast, and their number are also directly linked to the number of Magical Rings they have.

For example, an Ascendant at F-Rank, who has one Magical Ring can only learn one spell.

As for an Ascendant at E-Rank, who has two Magical Rings, they can learn a maximum of three spells.

However, this depends on their mental strength and intelligence, because for a mage to be able to cast a spell, they first need to understand it.

Although he hesitated for a moment, Liam finally decided to go through with it. He had nothing to lose.

"System, add all points to Mana Control."

[Distributing...]

He calmly took a deep breath, preparing to receive the familiar warm feeling, but contrary to what was usual, nothing happened.

He was surprised and waited in silence for a while longer, but no change occurred.

He was puzzled and wondered, "What's happening? This has never happened before. Is it because I..."

"Agh!"

Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a sharp pain in the right side of his chest that froze him on the spot.

All he could do was groan and stare ahead with wide eyes.

'What's happening?'

He raised his hand and gripped his chest with great force, and due to his inability to control himself, he tore his clothes.

When he realized what he was doing, he lowered his head with great difficulty and looked at the source of the pain.

That's when he saw his chest beating madly, and his veins twisting under his skin like living worms.

"Agh!"

The pain continued to intensify, unwilling to stop, and his chest began to turn black.

Suddenly, several small wounds appeared on his skin, from which a strange black substance with a very disgusting smell seeped out.

Liam didn't understand what was happening, or rather, he couldn't think.

His consciousness became blurry, and his eyes began to close.

Just as he was about to pass out, he quickly opened his eyes and began to vomit the same black substance that had come out of his chest.

Fortunately, the pain then disappeared, and all that remained was a strange feeling of discomfort.

"Phew..."

As soon as his body relaxed, he started breathing madly and shaking.

"What was that?" he could only wonder in fear.

[Distribution successful]

[Current progress: 70%]

Liam was surprised, but also extremely annoyed, so he shouted with a hint of anger,

"Progress of what? What was the purpose of all that pain?"

[Progress of Mana Core development]