"Wake up!"

  Eric slowly opened his eyelids after hearing his alarm bell.

  It was completely dark.

  Eric sat up on his bed.

  After a few moments of drowsiness, he was fully awake and started to get excited.

  The day had finally arrived to regain his freedom and experience a forest of this world for the first time!

  He swiftly made his way to the bathroom and took a quick shower. Since he was going on a few days’ journey, there was no guarantee when he could get a nice shower in the forest without being attacked by alligators.

  Eric had heard rumors and read in books, and eventually made sense that wild animals in Celestia were probably a little bigger than on Earth—just like how he always felt the skies here were a lot higher than Earth’s. So, he was looking forward to having some exotic dance with wild animals. Hopefully, they also shared the same passion as him!

  After getting dressed, Eric picked up his large bag.

  He had prepared a small tent and some other necessities. He didn’t take any of his 'treasures,' only 10 gold coins in case he met other humans and needed to trade something—though the chances of that were very low.

  After that, he lifted one side of his mattress and took the dagger that was silently lying there.

  It was his 12th birthday gift, which he obtained by threatening Bella Noll that he would steal her Juliane otherwise. Both Lyria and Livy had also successfully obtained the same birthday gift with the same threat. So now, they finally had their own personal weapons.

  Eric had also obtained a set of throwing knives from another threat—ahem, from another birthday. He had packed those inside his bag and would take them out after entering the forest.

  After strapping the dagger to his right waist, Eric headed downstairs quietly.

  He first went inside the kitchen to steal some fruit—something he was already quite an expert at—and then slipped out of the orphanage without alerting anyone.

  It was still dark, with moonlight lighting the path.

  Eric swiftly moved southeast.

  The orphanage was already at the south of the town, and he knew of a gap in the wall nearby where there were never any guards around.

  After leaving Ringwood Town for the first time, Eric took a deep, deep, and much deeper breath. He felt his 7-foot monstrous lungs were really awesome.

  He was extremely excited; this outing reminded him of his days when he secretly used to sneak out of school with his backbencher friends.

  There was still less than an hour before dawn, and there was still a journey until the forest officially began. So, Eric decided to walk while chewing the fruit he had robbed from the kitchen earlier.

  Delicious! Fruit was indeed the Devil’s best creation!

  "Riya, why are you so quiet? Are you still depressed?" Eric asked while checking out the mostly empty field. There were a few houses—or rather huts—around, but everyone was probably asleep, as he couldn’t see anyone.

  "Nope, I’m fine," Riya replied calmly. "But you should be more vigilant from now on. It’s better if we talk less during this outing so you don’t get distracted."

  Eric nodded and understood Riya’s point. But he was still relaxed until he reached the forest, as the view was clear until then.

  He continued asking, "How are your ‘studies’? You never told me what you were studying so much that it consumed that much energy from me."

  Eric wasn’t joking. Over the last few years, Riya had been doing something crazy—something he had no idea about—and in the end, he would become extremely hungry with energy deficiency. Thankfully, she only drained most of his energy before every meal, so he only ended up frightening all the workers with his omnipotent stomach.

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  Riya hesitated about whether to talk about this or not. The reason she hadn’t informed Eric before was that he might develop too much hope, and she might end up disappointing him—which would lead to her being unable to focus due to depression and pressure, making him even more disappointed in her.

  So, Riya had hidden everything from Eric and never discussed her 'studies' with him. But she had already mostly finished her work, which was why she was hesitating about whether to speak of it or not.

  As things stood, it still wasn’t a 100% guaranteed confirmation until Eric became a Mana Wielder. Talking about it now, only to fail to fulfill her promise in the future, would be heartbreaking for her.

  Riya thought deeply and, in the end, decided to explain properly—since hiding it wouldn’t be reasonable anymore, especially since she had already completed her observation and experiments in the Mind Space.

  So, with a reluctant voice, Riya answered, "I was studying your biology and human mechanics thoroughly—far more deeply than you or any scientist from Earth could imagine. I was trying to find ways to help you, pushing beyond the limitations of a Mana Wielder."

  "Ho… interesting. And what did you find out?" Eric asked while taking a bite of an apple. He could guess Riya hadn’t succeeded from her tone.

  Riya snorted. "I didn’t fail! I’ve figured out almost everything, but… how to explain… I’m lacking ‘hands’ to make any changes right now."

  Eric laughed. "So you want to grow more hands?"

  "That’s not what I meant!" Riya glared at Eric in disdain, pausing before continuing. "I can’t touch or do anything to your body right now—I can only observe. Through observation, I’ve figured out a lot of things. For one, I can see how to increase your strength, reflexes, constitution, and even intelligence. Basically, all the basic stats Grandma spoke about—and I figured it out even before she mentioned them! But no matter how much I can see, there’s no way of improving anything because I’m incapable of interacting with your body. Do you understand how frustrating that is?"

  Eric’s eyes widened.

  Wasn’t this a little too amazing? Would his dream of becoming the Unlimited Final Boss finally come true?

  Riya quickly doused Eric’s hope. "Don’t forget, I can’t do anything. Also, it can’t grow nonstop. I have a feeling there’s an end to it even after becoming a Mana Wielder. Just like now, you’ve almost reached the end of Mortal limits."

  She sighed and continued regretfully, "To be honest, I can see unused potential—energy—in your body even now. If I had to give an analogy: imagine fresh water a meter away, but because you don’t have limbs, you can’t reach it—so you die of thirst. It’s like that. All that untapped energy is being wasted. If I had ‘arms,’ I could direct it to the necessary places and increase your stats quite a bit. And since you’re already near your peak, I could even save some to use when you evolve into a Mana Wielder. But right now, I can only watch it waste away over time."

  Eric halted mid-step, dazed. He had thought Riya was joking or spinning theories out of pity—but…

  Was this way of progression really possible?

  "Where does this ‘stored’ energy or ‘potential’ come from?" Suddenly, it struck him, and Eric answered his own question: "Food?"

  "70% correct—it is indeed food. But if I described it in detail, you wouldn’t like it. So, it’s best if you don’t guess. Just leave this to me… Well, right now, even I’m helpless to do anything about it—despite seeing it and knowing exactly what needs to be done. Sigh."

  In fact, with her help, Eric wouldn’t even need to exercise to gain stats. Of course, control, balance, experience, and skills still had to be trained externally—but directly boosting basic stats was possible for her, thanks to her years of study. She had even studied non-physical phenomena that directly impacted the physical. Overall, it was tremendously hard work—something Eric or anyone would never understand. But studying and doing were two different things. And she still wasn’t 100% certain about a few things until Eric became a Mana Wielder.

  Eric felt goosebumps rise across his skin. He had never imagined such a hack was possible—just by having an advanced, beautiful A.I. secretary inside him!

  Sadly, though, she was crippled. What a pity.

  Riya had originally been pleased with how surprised Eric was by her capabilities and how he appreciated her hard work—but he couldn’t stop himself from mocking her at the end!

  She gritted her teeth tightly. She wished she could come out or Eric could come inside, so she could fill him with her strong love bites!

  Eric calmed down and continued walking.

  While taking another bite of his apple, he spoke: "Riya, that would indeed be amazing—and I’m sure it’s far more complicated than what you’re letting on. But when can you come out of your crippled status?"

  He wondered when his pitiful, beautiful A.I. would receive an update.

  Riya rolled her eyes. She had been touched at first, hearing Eric acknowledge her hard work, but she couldn’t appreciate how he kept pointing out her disabilities!

  What Riya had explained was just a tiny blade of grass compared to the planet-sized work she actually needed to do. It wasn’t as simple as it sounded.

  "The next update can only happen when you become a Mana Wielder and can hold and use your own Mana. The stamina you have is like water to me—you can make great use of it, but I can’t do anything with it. It just slips through my ‘hands’ without me being able to hold it. The only thing I can do with it—or rather, what the Mana Space could do—was what you already know. Overall, everything in the Mind Space is just your ‘imagination’—nothing truly practical or real, like what I’m talking about."

  "But 'Mana' is different. It’s like honey or mercury—thick enough for me to use, though not in great amounts. But it should be enough to make the changes I’m talking about, as long as you don’t resist. Mana can give me the ‘arms’ I mentioned."

  The ‘natural’ Mana flowing inside Eric’s body wasn’t 'his'. He could move it a little with his Mana Veins—but it still belonged to the environment, the atmosphere.

  Only when someone became a Mana Wielder did they hold their own Mana. External Mana then became their own—just like how eating food transforms into personal stamina.

  Eric thought and asked something important as this was too big of a subject: "Riya, since you can do this, is it possible for others to do something similar with an artifact?"

  Riya shook her head without hesitation. "I don’t know what artifacts could do, or how much the world has developed with Mana. But it’s like this: let’s say you’re the richest person on Earth—can you eat a mountain or a galaxy? It’s just like that—a completely different thing than having wealth."

  She paused, then sincerely offered: "Do you want me to send you the information on what I needed to do to increase stats? You’ll understand why I’m saying this. Even with the information, though, you won’t fully grasp it—or be able to do anything—because you’d need a ‘mutated’ soul like mine and the ‘Mind Space’- which is actually useless but very useful in my hands. But at least you’d get the idea. Just a suggestion—the information is massive and, in a way, nonsensical… so don’t hate me if you regret it."

  Eric shook his head without hesitation. Even if the information were book-length, he wasn’t interested.

  Eric was amazed by Riya’s capabilities—but even if she couldn’t do anything, as she’d theorized, nothing would change for him. Excess stats would be amazing, but stats didn’t define him, nor would they ever. Maybe with high stats, he could ‘travel’ much faster, but without them, he’d just need to put in extra effort. That’s all.

  Riya thought a little and held back from informing Eric of her guesses.

  From what she saw, hitting the peak of each stat would change too many things—it would truly touch the core of one’s life, challenging the universe—the entire existence.

  Since she wasn’t entirely certain about all her guesses and calculations, she decided not to speak of it. If Eric were disappointed after raising his expectations so high, she might truly end up crying. That’s why she hid all of it, planning to inform him only when he became a Mana Wielder—after she’d done thorough rechecks. But since Eric asked so nicely, she ended up laying herself bare.

  ‘Sigh… Being a woman, it’s always hard to resist my man’s approach.’

  Riya was certain Eric would beat her up if he heard that.

  Eric reached the forest border and paused.

  He took out his throwing knives and applied lotion to his skin and clothes—something he’d bought from a town shop a few days earlier. This would help repel insects and mosquitoes.

  After finishing his preparations, Eric entered the forest gallantly, with deep excitement stirring in his heart.