[Title: Kobold Hunter (White-blue)]
[This is not even a fair fight. Maybe try using a few more spells instead of the easy way out. Anyway, once again, your ruthlessness is appreciated. As the saying goes: killing one person makes you a criminal, killing ten people makes you a psychopath, killing a hundred people makes you a crazy murderer, killing ten thousand people makes you a famous general, killing a hundred thousand people makes you a king, killing a million makes you a hero, and killing ten million makes you a hero among heroes. Continue on this path, and maybe one day, you'll also be hailed as a hero. Don't dream of more. After all, you still need to sleep at night.]
[Effect 1: A slight increase to your overall physique.]
[Special Effect: A sense of smell that the best perfumers in the world would envy.]
[Next Title Improvement: 103/500]
"What a bloody description," Zane thought. He knew the Chinese saying of similar sentiment, but it wasn't that descriptive. More importantly, although he had become mindless to violence, it did not mean he wanted to kill thousands of people, let alone a million or more.
While lamenting the cheeky nature of these title descriptions, the power of causality rushed through every part of Zane's body; he watched in real time as his life energy increased by at least 5%. His muscle fibers became more dense; his bones less brittle, and even his organs seemed healthier. Finally, the power rested in his nose for a few seconds before dissipating. Immediately afterward, Zane wanted to vomit.
All kinds of scents assaulted his nose: the sweat on his and Ricardo's bodies, the blood of the kobolds, the metallic smell of their weapons, the smoky smell of the jerky, the sweet smell of the chocolate, the fresh smell of grass, the pungent smell of animal feces — everything hit him at once. Zane retched as these odors were too much for him, let alone the combination of all of them. He swiftly pinched his nose while thinking, "Is this title supposed to help, or does it want to kill me?"
"Friend, are you alright?"
"I'm fine — just give me a moment," Zane raised his hand to stop him. His nose seemed to be slowly acclimating to functioning at such a high level. Over the next few seconds, fewer odors were detected as his brain learned to selectively ignore most odors to ensure proper operation. After a few minutes, Zane's high sense of smell remained, as he could still smell the sweat from his body, but unless he concentrated and actively tried to smell everything around him, he could function normally. Of course, he didn't dare channel mana into his nose.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm good, thanks for asking."
Ricardo nodded. "We should leave as soon as possible. I live in a cave not too far from here. Do you want to join me? Together, we can hunt more of these creatures."
Zane paused. The idea of cooperating with Ricardo has been on his mind ever since he saw the latter annihilate a team of five kobolds on his own. And after the previous battle, after seeing how the latter could hold the opponents while he safely cast spells, Zane was tempted. However, he had one reservation: trust.
Director Keldithas forbade the North American trainees from killing each other, but Zane can think of a few methods Ricardo could use to bypass this rule. For example, he could stab Zane's limbs and leave them behind to be eaten by bears or these kobolds. For an even more sophisticated move, Ricardo could pretend to cover for and protect Zane while secretly allowing a few attackers to bypass his defenses.
Maybe the Dimension Tower will investigate such an accident afterward, and maybe Ricardo will eventually be punished. But by then, Zane would be a corpse buried a hundred meters deep underground. Ultimately, the knight's mastery of Mana Channeling was above Zane's, meaning if Ricardo suddenly betrayed and attacked him, Zane would be powerless.
"I appreciate the offer, but I prefer to work alone," Zane shook his head. As much as he would like to cooperate with Ricardo to take down that kobold village, the risks involved were too great. As a Mage Apprentice with only two spells, he was too weak in the face of a well-trained knight — especially one who has mastered a long-range weapon such as the spear. Even with a gun at his side, he didn't feel too safe; mages require intense focus to utilize mental energy for casting, meaning Zane wouldn't even be able to react and pull the gun if he were suddenly attacked.
"Are you sure?" Ricardo asked.
"I am."
"Suit yourself then." The knight did not insist. After telling Zane to contact him if he changed his mind, he rushed in the southeast direction.
Zane squinted. "With this speed, he can probably break the human limit and run 100 meters in under 9 seconds. No, it's probably even close to 8 seconds," he thought, feeling more confident about his choice. Being close to such a powerful entity before learning to instant cast is not a wise choice.
Although Ricardo appeared to be a good and hardworking man, Zane did not truly know him. Human nature is a complex thing; one moment, someone might be acting as your best friend in the world, and in the next, they can backstab you. Ricardo has already displayed some jealousy toward Zane after seeing how fast he mastered mana channeling, and that's enough of a motive for Zane to remain vigilant.
After waiting for a few minutes, Zane ran in the opposite direction from his cave for a couple of dozen meters before using the drone to check his surroundings, ensuring no one was following him. Only then did he feel relieved and return to base. On his journey, he began to analyze the new title and its future implications.
"After a few title blessings, my body seemed to be reaching the limit of human capabilities. However, what intrigued me most was the special effects," Zane thought. Two of his titles granted him unique skills or abilities from special effects. The first one proved quite beneficial to his spell casting, but he didn't think the second one was of any use. After all, he didn't work in the perfume industry nor in any places that required sharp smells. As for using it similarly to the kobolds, his perception of life energy and mana is better and much easier to use.
"I wonder what the requirements for special effects were," Zane thought. It's a shame Ricardo refused to discuss anything related to the titles. Hopefully, the Dimension Tower will hand out a few books on the subject after this dimension shift ends. Zane was desperate to truly enter the world of magic and learn everything it had to offer.
Back in the cave, Zane relaxed while practicing his Mana Channeling. He soon discovered that adding more mana to the life energy increases the enhancement channeling provides, but that didn't mean the more the better; if he channeled all his mana to his leg muscles and bones, he wouldn't suddenly become the Flash. Instead, after a certain threshold, the perfect balance of mana and life energy will crumble, instantly canceling out the effect of the channeling.
"It seems I need more practice if I want to fuse a large quantity of mana and life energy. More importantly, the fusion only lasts a few seconds, which is an issue," Zane pondered. More practice was the key to solving both these issues, so he immersed himself.
Mana Channeling Training was easier than spell casting. After the fusion, the mana used in the process will dissipate, but it's only a small amount — especially compared to the amount used in one spell. Even with his small mana pool, Zane could practice for hours before needing to cooperate.
In the afternoon, he headed to the kobold village to continue the hunt. The entire village did not have enough people to qualify for a title upgrade, but Zane wanted to fill as much of the quota as possible. Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan. The village only sent three hunting parties, and Zane eliminated two of them. When he tracked the third, he saw only bodies and Ricardo's retreating.
For the remainder of the day, he stacked the kobold camp, waiting for an opportunity, but no one left the compound. Thinking his luck had run out, Zane decided to come bright and early the next day. Sadly, the kobolds seemed adept at handling this situation, barricading themselves inside. The entire village was on high alert, and the sentry even shot his drone, severely destroying most of it.
Without such a potent recon tool, Zane decided to stay put in his cave and wait until the shift ends. The ambient mana in the environment was abundant, making each meditation session even more rewarding than on Earth. And it may be a psychological reason: Zane felt it was easier to train spell casting in such an environment.
After spending three days and three nights in this forest, Zane received a notification from the Dimension Tower that he would be teleported in 20 seconds; it also warned him to find a safe place for the teleportation to prevent any anomalies. As the countdown was about to reach zero, Zane sighed in relief.
He kissed his amulet and muttered with the highest sincerity, "Thank you, ancestors, for protecting and bringing me home." If not for that shout, he would have become that tiger's food. It's not clear whether he has a spiritual guardian or not, but from now on, Zane decided to be sincere in his praise and worship.