The Reverse Mana System

Alex saw Verenia's expression change from surprise to an energetic smile. For a moment he was considering taking back his question, but before he could, Verenia opened her mouth. 

"No. I am not a dryad or forest spirit. It's just that I can't tell you much about myself before you grow strong enough or it will have some serious consequences for you or I would have."

" When you enter tier seven, you will automatically come to know about me, but I can consider telling you when you reach tier 5." 

Somehow, Alex felt that she really wanted to tell him, but it was best not to tell him before he grew strong enough. There was also that mysterious fluctuation appearing out of nowhere. It was a weird feeling as if the entire world was forcing him to remove this part of his memories. 

Suddenly,  Alex remembered something important and opened his system window..

It was just like what he had imagined.

[Mission name: Resisting Onslaught ]

[Status: Completed ]

[Rewards: 43,000 exp, 1 skill upgrade card, 3 spell learning cards(random draw), 2×4385 exp.]

Alex opened his interface window. 

[Name : Alex Vermillion ]

[Race : Human]

[Level : 7]

[Core : white(48)]

[EXP: 53,070]

[Stats]

[Strength:51]

[Agility: 86]

[Endurance : 73]

[Intelligence: 44]

[Perception : 40]

[Charisma : 70(45)]

[HP : 380/410]

[MP : 80/420]

[Free attribute points: 0]

[Skill points : 12]

Alex had invested 4 skill points in learning 4 new spells; those were: Area Scan, Speed enhancement ( basic), Conceal and Shadow movement.

He also gained 3 intelligence points by learning the first three spells while 1 agility point from Shadow movement.

Alex had now realized that he had to quickly raise his strength if he wanted to stay alive, for that he had to increase his level quickly and also focus on mastering his skills and spells.

A randomly shot fireball was nothing to boast about. He also realized that he had to obtain a weapon as soon as possible.

Although he could use Wind blade as a sword, it left much to be desired, especially as wind blade was a basic spell mainly used for projectiles. 

But there was something else that Alex was more happy about, he had tried to use his skill upgrade card when the system was immature, but it didn't work, but now, he had two upgrade cards and his system had also matured.

Alex decided to level up the spell he had used the most recently.

[2 skill upgrade cards have been used.]

[Spell : Fire stream has been upgraded to level 2.

Fire stream level 2 (basic)]

[Spell : Speed enhancement has been upgraded 

to level 2 (basic)]

Fire stream and speed enhancement have reached upper limits for current levels.

Higher stages will be unlocked once the host reaches tier 1.

Alex knew that he couldn't level up his spells and skills indefinitely due to his low level and low mana capacity. 

Alex decided to check out the weapons in his store, but for some reason the weapons section was still grayed out.

'I assume that I will be reaching tier 1 at level 10, but my immediate power can already reach mid stage tier 1.

Alex also wanted to check out the mental simulations but as soon as he started it, he felt like he would become unconscious, so he decided to keep it on hold for now.

Alex continued his journey with Verenia and would try mental simulations when they were resting. These were like a dream wherein he would be teleported to an stadium like arena where he had to spar with some robot looking holograms.

Although this could not provide him exp, his control over his spells and skills grew by leaps and bounds.

After two more days of walking, Alex was able to see the outlines of a village.

"Be sure to leave this village as soon as possible. And also, you should be careful as this region is the domain of gods unlike your Flenreth Empire, so there will be people all around asking you to pledge fidelity to a God. And if you do it, you will never be able to reach beyond tier 8."

Verenia told Alex.

She also suddenly pressed her index finger on Alex's forehead.

"This is a little parting gift from me, but you will only be able to activate it at tier 4." Verenia seemed a bit reluctant to leave Alex, but finally made her mind and teleported away .

"We will meet again." A fading voice reached Alex's ears.

Alex looked at the spot where she had vanished.

For some reason, he had always felt a sense of familiarity to her, but he still couldn't tell what it was, but he was very interested in what her parting gift was. 

He could see the levels upto level 340 at least, but he still couldn't see Verenia's level. A gift from her would definitely be something worth looking forward to.

Suddenly, a system notification appeared in front of him. 

[You have received the permanent status effect : World's blessing.]

[Effect: +50% mana capacity. ]

'What's this?' Alex was amazed. "Is this the gift she was talking about?" Alex wondered.

Verenia became even more mysterious in his eyes.

Wasn't this something those wise sages gave in old mangas?

After resting for some time, Alex continued on his way to the village.

On the other hand, after parting ways with Alex, Verenia appeared in front of a shrine-like building that was surrounded by dense forest on either side. An old man suddenly appeared before her and bowed mechanically. 

"Welcome to my humble abode, my lady. How can  this servant serve you?" The old man asked, his head still lowered.

" Please raise your head. You are one of the most powerful gods on this continent, you should care about your reputation. " Though her voice was gentle and caring, it still lacked the energy which it contained while talking to Alex.

Verenia walked past the old man who quietly followed her. After walking past a hallway in the shrine, they reached a room with a throne that belonged to the old man.

Verenia stopped in front of this throne and a big flower grew from under her feet.

She sat on the flower and signaled the man to take a seat.

As soon as the man sat on his throne, his aura changed and became stronger and fiercer. The mechanical look in his eyes was replaced by a kind and aged expression.

"Your lifespan will be ending in a few days. Have you made the appropriate arrangements to those under your command and those who worship you?" Verenia asked.

"Yes my lady, I have already spread this message to all of them and my apostles are also helping them in any way possible." The old man replied.

' This is always the same.' Verenia sighed in her heart. She was suddenly reminded of the teen she had just met and a smile blossomed on her face.

" You truly are special. If only.....sigh!"Verenia whispered to herself.

She turned her attention back to the old man and gently waved her arm.

"It's good then. Here, have this." A tree suddenly grew out of the ground and the only fruit of the tree detached itself and landed in the God's hand.

After talking for a while Verenia took her leave and disappeared from the place.

"Huh!" The old God was startled to find himself in his throne room.

Wasn't he just touring the forest one last time before his lifetime ended?

Suddenly his gaze turned to the fruit in his hand and his entire body began trembling. Tears of joy began to flow out of his eyes.

"She was here! Lady Verenia was here...!" The old man found it difficult to hold back his joy. This... this....

He suddenly rushed to a corner of his shrine and entered some sort of portal.

In another shrine, somewhere thousands of miles away from the forest, the silhouette of the old man appeared from a portal and dashed inside. For a moment , the other gods were startled before recognizing the familiar aura.

" Lord Xidryg. To what do we owe this sudden meeting?" two of the older gods appeared in front of him and asked politely. 

"Take me to the most promising descendents of your clans. Today, I'll pass down my title to the best candidate. " The old man said.

It was the greatest honor for a God to decide who his heir would be, and the fruit in his hand was meant to help him with this.

When the other gods heard this, expressions of disbelief were plastered on their faces.

"No way! You met her?" One of them asked.

"Yes." the old man replied smugly, but he couldn't control himself from grinning.

On the other hand, Alex continued his journey towards the human village. On the way, he couldn't see a single mana beast and this amazed him. This effect was similar to that of Verenia's domain.

After walking for one hour, he reached the outer perimeter of the village. There were a few villagers who were moving around, but when they saw Alex enter their village, they were a little surprised, but that was all. They didn't think much of it and resumed what they were doing.

At the entrance, Alex was also in a delima. He had entered this village, but what next? Going by conventional method, he should find a place to rest, have some food and continue his journey towards the human territories, but that requires money.

And money was something he lacked at the moment, and not to mention that this was some remote part of the gods' territory. Heck he didn't even know what currency these people used.

'Damn! I should have asked Verenia if she had some money on her but then again, what would she require money for?'

Verenia was self- sufficient in everything. She could make beds appear out of ground, grow fresh fruits in just seconds and create streams of water just by waving a hand.

'What a tricky problem.' Alex thought to himself. 

Suddenly, a teenager who appeared to be the same age as himself began to approach Alex.

"Hello sir, how can I help you?" The teenager asked Alex in a respectful manner.

"I was just passing by." Alex replied 

"You can have some rest in our village if you want." the teenager said with his face making a 'I know it all' expression. 

"But I don't have any money on me." Alex replied immediately. He knew that this person may most likely have approached him so that he could earn some money from the outsider, 'but this outsider himself is penniless.' Alex said to himself.

" I see, but I don't want any money. You can just stay at my place. The apostles are coming in two days and I need to prepare to welcome them. You can help me in this preparation as a payment, how does that sound?" The boy said.

Although it sounded a bit suspicious, Alex didn't get any notifications from the system about hostile intentions, so he decided to take the offer and observe this person. The moment he found something suspicious, he would leave this village.

Besides, many of the villagers here weren't very powerful.

So, he could still take the risk.