The Extra's Evolution Pathway

I rushed towards her and knelt down. Right at that moment, multiple questions were swirling around my mind, none of which I could find an answer to.

I sharpened my focus. Although I didn't activate [Magic Sense], I could somehow hear her faint heartbeat.

It seemed it was due to my improved physique.

"What is happening? Did she deplete her mana?"

My mind spun back to the earlier moment. At that time, her body had shaken, and the red murderous aura had wavered and reduced.

"Her mana is not enough for the [Partial Transformation]."

It was probably because she didn't level up. Just getting her skill evolved didn't mean her mana reserve would be enough to activate or maintain it.

The memory of me collapsing flashed before my eyes. At that time, I had wanted to activate Lousielle's high-tier ability.

And the consequence was there for me to see.

I brought out the mana potion she had offered me earlier and smiled dryly.

"Who would have thought she would be the one to use it."

After laying her head on my lap, I unscrewed the potion and brought my finger to her lips.

"So soft."

I blinked twice to sharpen my concentration. This was the result of my negligence.

If she had leveled before evolving her skill, she wouldn't be in this mess.

"But who knew she would activate it unconsciously?" My face twisted bitterly in self-defense.

I focused on the task at hand and slowly parted her soft lips.

Doing this, her rows of white teeth opened slightly, just enough for me to pour the mana potion.

Pouring little drops, a little at a time, her body was bathed in a faint blue glow.

"So it works even without swallowing it. That is great."

As long as the potion touched her tongue, the effect would activate.

Just as the last drop of the potion touched her tongue, she started coughing softly in little bursts.

And at the same time, I could feel her heartbeat becoming stronger.

Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, her breath becoming more steady and even.

When she met my eyes, being the dutiful maid she was, she quickly sat up, knelt, and bowed frantically.

My brow furrowed. Seeing her usual demeanor return, my mind became at ease immediately.

Then I opted to ask her about what happened.

I had a feeling that there was something more to it. She couldn't have just activated a skill subconsciously, something must have triggered it.

"You depleted your mana the other time. What happened to you?"

"I don't know. I just felt a sudden power rise in me. Then I felt the urge to tap into that power. That was when my body was cloaked in a light that further invigorated me.

I-It was as if I had awakened a new skill. I could feel every intent of everyone in the castle.

Then there was one killing intent I sensed that made my blood boil. It seemed that was when I lost myself."

Killing intent?

Could someone be planning on taking a life in this castle? Or was it just from the training ground of the Royal Knights?

"Nope, a murderous intent is different. Someone might actually be planning to take a life in this royal castle."

The thought of that made my stomach churn nervously.

Since I hadn't become as strong as a Royal Knight, how would I defend myself if something bad were to happen?

The thought of leaving this castle became stronger—especially for me, who didn't have any backing. An otherworlder. The weakest hero ever summoned.

I slowly helped Fieral up. I should let her know about the skill I evolved so that she would know how to deal with it.

"Fieral, I evolved your D-Tier skill, FERAL, to C-Tier. That was the rise in power you felt earlier."

Her eyes blinked blankly, as if she had misheard. But her race was one of those with the sharpest hearing, so her sense of hearing couldn't be deceiving her, right?

With that thought, her furry ears twitched slightly, as if tuning the sound waves that had just entered them for clearer reception.

Fieral's brain rewound, what her master just said now echoed in her mind.

That was when her jaw dropped, hanging loose from its hinges.

"Fieral?"

I looked at the maid in front of me. I had no doubt that most people wouldn't believe what I just did.

When people were born into this world, they awakened a skill of a specific tier, which could only be ranked up.

By increasing the skill rank from the initial level to rank one hundred, they could evolve the skill to the next tier.

Evolving a skill to the next tier would require years of training for an ordinary person, months of training for a genius like Lousielle, not to mention evolving it beyond that.

So hearing that I had evolved her D-Tier skill to a C-Tier within a couple of seconds was probably the craziest thing she had ever heard.

Fieral's eyes slowly widened and sparkled in awe. Her dropped jaw slowly lifted into a bright smile.

It was as if she was witnessing a god in human form.

Noticing this, I nodded softly, clarifying the claim with a thin smile.

"It seems your mana isn't enough to use it, so I'll advise you to increase your magic pool before trying again."

When I remembered how she had collapsed earlier, I felt I should let her know more about the skill.

If the tier was something she had gained from training for years, she would have already developed a mana capacity strong enough to activate and maintain it.

Since one's magic energy also grows by training with their skills, it was like using it frequently would help expand it, although just a little at a time.

If only I could teach her how to absorb ambient mana… but I myself didn't know any way to do that.

Even the system had told me I just had a talent for mana control. That was all.

Should I say, "Relax your body, then ummmmm?! Change your breathing style like this… ah…"

I guess it's hard to teach others what was a talent for them.

That was actually the truth.

Like someone who had a talent for drawing would find it difficult to teach another person, although not impossible.

But compared to someone who had learned it from another person, that person would be able to teach it almost easily to anyone else.