Chapter 12: Adept
Two items immediately excited Mateo.
He suddenly felt eager to absorb Spiritual Energy again.
If it could become twice as fast, that meant he could absorb 2 Spiritual Energy every ten seconds.
However, he knew he could not do it in a public place like the library if he brought out the Spiritual Neon.
So where would he do it?
Enter an empty house at random?
Unfortunately, he did not see any houses that looked abandoned. And he did not have the money to rent an inn.
He wandered around the small town, searching for a quiet area. Fortunately, the later it became, the fewer people roamed the streets.
Even though there were no parks, Mateo found several small forests within the town.
They were actually just neglected areas, undeveloped land left untouched.
When he entered one of those small forests, he even discovered several dug holes.
He did not bother wondering why there were holes here. He jumped into one of them where he could not see anything.
If he released his fire, even a small amount, the light would be too bright, so he chose to take out the Spiritual Neon instead.
It resembled an ancient Middle Eastern lamp, made from lightweight transparent metal.
Inside it floated a lump of yellow light that seemed to exist out of nowhere.
Mateo could finally see the hole clearly, and he was instantly shocked.
Bones were scattered everywhere inside the pit, clearly human bones because he could see three skulls that looked exactly like human heads.
A black snake was hiding inside one of the skulls.
Its head poked out from an eye socket, staring coldly at Mateo.
"Damn..."
Mateo was not the type to curse often, but he could not help it this time.
Instinctively, he kicked the skull away. Fortunately, it flew upward and landed somewhere outside the pit.
The memory of his own power quickly calmed him down.
Even giant snakes had turned into ashes before they could do anything to him, so why should he fear an ordinary snake?
Still, he wondered whether he should absorb Spiritual Energy in this hole.
But then, he became astonished.
He could genuinely feel the Spiritual Energy around him becoming denser.
Even without actively absorbing it, the energy seemed eager to enter his body on its own.
The sensation felt incredibly comfortable.
’Why should I even be afraid?’ he thought with a bitter smile.
This could be a game, or it could be a real world. If it was a game, then everything here was merely programmed. If it was real, then he was a Magus.
Why would a Magus care about a pile of bones?
After realizing that, he sat down and closed his eyes, beginning to absorb Spiritual Energy.
Instantly, Spiritual Energy surged into his body.
It really was twice as fast. No, even slightly faster than that.
He only needed seven or eight seconds to absorb 2 Spiritual Energy.
The process felt far more comfortable than before.
His body relaxed while excitement filled him as more and more Spiritual Energy entered him.
The absorption even seemed to accelerate the deeper he immersed himself in the process.
DING!
[Magic Realm: Initiate]
[Spiritual Energy: 10,000/10,000] +3,810
[Spiritual Energy Accumulation: 11,000] ×3
(You have accumulated 10,000 Spiritual Energy. You have entered the Adept Realm!)
(Since you absorbed Spiritual Energy with the help of Spiritual Neon, you don’t earn System Points!)
[Magic Realm: Adept]
[Spiritual Energy: 0/100,000]
[Spiritual Energy Accumulation: 11,000] ×10
(Adept Realm: In this realm, your Spiritual Energy becomes ten times stronger. However, to advance into the Archmage Realm, you need more than merely accumulating Spiritual Energy. You must upgrade the bones inside your body into Diamond Bones. Until at least part of your bones are upgraded, you will not even be able to absorb Spiritual Energy!)
Mateo only stopped when he heard the System notifications and realized he had advanced.
He had not even noticed how much time had passed.
After reading the information about the Adept Realm, he frowned.
His power had increased drastically, but there seemed to be a massive obstacle in this realm.
And it was true. When he attempted to absorb Spiritual Energy again, nothing could enter him.
His body could absorb it, but the Spiritual Energy could no longer fuse with him.
Not even a single strand.
Unfortunately, the System gave no further explanation about upgrading bones.
The sky was still dark when Mateo looked upward.
He jumped out while carrying the Spiritual Neon before storing it inside his Inventory.
With his current strength, if he encountered the Golden Gorilla again, he would not run anymore.
But when he checked the time on Earth, he suddenly stopped moving.
It was already 6 AM.
He had a morning class starting at 8.
He exited that world and woke up on his bed, his body feeling refreshed.
Even though he had remained awake inside Magic World, his body on Earth had apparently slept very soundly.
He saw Jack coming out of the bathroom and immediately grinning after noticing him.
"How late were you out last night?" he asked.
"We only had dinner and then went home," Mateo replied.
"Ohh, really?" Jack looked unconvinced.
Mateo could not answer after being doubted like that.
He glanced at the steak box he had brought back and realized it was already empty.
Jack had finished it.
That was a good thing, yet the man continued staring at him suspiciously.
"Did you kiss her last night? You definitely did, right? No couple dates without kissing..."
Mateo, "..."
