Chapter 100 - - 100: System Grimoire

Chapter 100: Chapter - 100: System Grimoire

"System Grimoire welcomes the new host."

I heard the same mechanical voice inside my head again, and almost immediately after those words disappeared, a translucent panel appeared directly in front of my vision.

It looked remarkably similar to the status interfaces I remembered from the game, except that this time I was not looking at it through a player’s perspective.

I am the one being evaluated.

<System Interface Loading>

Host Name: Kai Shen (Human)

Profession: Mage

Level: 52 (78/100%)

Attributes: Wind (Grade A), Water (Grade A)

Mana: 156 + 312 (Two A Grade Attributes)

Total Mana: 468

Strength: 114

Agility: 121 (530+ Using 5th Sky Step)

Endurance: 178

Mental Strength: Spirit Lake (Peak)

Abilities: Wind Manipulation (Innate), Water Manipulation (Innate), Storm (Magic Core), Horizon Eye, Eight Sky Steps(5), Gale, Water Barrier, Ozone Barrier, Water Arrows, Wind Slash, Storm Spear, Piercing Wind Needles, Storm Curtain.....

I stared at the panel for several seconds.

*Level 52! Damn, even I am amazed.*

I had expected my level to be somewhere around the high forties, perhaps even touching fifty if the System Grimoire calculated things differently from the ordinary methods used in this world, but I had not expected it to already display fifty-two.

The number itself was interesting, but what surprised me even more was how high my overall statistics had become.

My physical strength had already reached 114, my endurance was 178, and my agility was naturally 121, although the number currently displayed beside agility had an additional value because I can use the eight sky steps up to the 5th one.

The system appeared to be taking all my current abilities into account rather than simply displaying my natural statistics and that is useful information.

However, the most important number remained my level.

As far as I remembered, the player character—the heroine—never went beyond level fifty during the original game.

When the heroine obtained the System Grimoire, her level was generally around forty-three or forty-four, depending on how many quests the player had completed before reaching this event.

Even after completing every available quest and reaching the end of the main storyline, the heroine and the capture target would only reach level fifty when they confronted the Villainess.

That meant my current level was already higher than the maximum level the heroine could normally reach in the entire game.

*Well, now that I think about it, both Elena and Hina in this timeline are probably stronger than they were during this event in the game as well.*

The thought was reasonable.

The original story has changed considerably since I arrived in this world, and neither Elena nor Hina is following exactly the same progression they had in the game.

Hina have already demonstrated considerably more awareness than the original heroine should have possessed at this point, while Elena’s development had also changed because of my interference.

Still, I did not spend much time thinking about these because there was something else on the panel that has caught my attention.

At the very bottom of the interface, beneath the list of abilities, another sentence is displayed.

**Next Evolution: Level 60 (Grand Mage)**

I stared at those words.

*This is new.*

I distinctly remembered the System Grimoire from the game, and I had never seen this particular line displayed there. The heroine had obtained the Grimoire at a considerably lower level, so perhaps that was the reason.

*Maybe the heroine simply had not reached the required level to unlock this prompt.*

That was the most reasonable explanation I could think of.

Perhaps the System Grimoire only displayed the next evolutionary stage once its host reached level fifty-one or higher, and because the heroine never exceeded level fifty in the game, the information had never appeared for the player.

If that was the case, then this is something completely new. More importantly, the wording was quite direct.

Level 60 — Grand Mage.

I looked at it for another few seconds before deciding to test the system itself.

"So does it mean that if I reach level 60, I will become a Grand Mage?"

I asked the question aloud.

I had no particular reason to expect an answer, but the original System Grimoire had an AI-like function that allowed the player to ask questions and receive simple responses from it, so I wanted to see whether that function has remained intact.

Fortunately, the answer came almost immediately "Affirmation. Once the host reaches level 60, he will become a Grand Mage."

*So it really is that simple?*

Of course, becoming a Grand Mage would not necessarily be as simple in practical terms as those words made it sound.

There is still the matter of reaching level sixty, and the difference between level fifty-two and level sixty could potentially represent a considerable amount of effort.

Still, knowing that there is a clearly defined evolutionary threshold was valuable. At least I now have something concrete to work toward.

I was satisfied with the answer.

But before I could examine the panel any further, things around me began changing as the magical radiance surrounding my body started to weaken.

The strange space that has surrounded my consciousness began disappearing, and the translucent system interface remained visible for only a few more moments before my surroundings gradually returned to normal.

Stone walls appeared around me and the familiar air of the dungeon filled my senses again, definitely not pleasant smell but it is what it is.

I am no longer in the enormous chamber filled with floating platforms. Instead, I found myself standing in the circular chamber where the pillar of magical light had appeared earlier.

More specifically, I am standing directly in the center of the circular carving pattern on the floor. The strange mechanism on the ceiling is still visible above me, while the matching carving remained beneath my feet.

I shifted my attention away from the system panel still floating in front of my eyes and immediately began searching the chamber.

I immediately noticed Aeris sitting near the stone stairs as she calmly watched me. I stared at her for a moment before looking around the room again.

There really was no one else.

A small amount of anxiety immediately entered my thoughts.

"What happened to those two girls?"

I asked the system and the response came without delay "The moment the host obtained the system, everyone else was transported back to this circular chamber."

I let out a quiet breath.

*Thank God.*

I had no idea what exactly had happened during the process of acquiring the System Grimoire, and the possibility that Kajol or Hina might have somehow been trapped inside that strange space had crossed my mind.

At least they were back here.

*They must have left after realizing that staying here would not get them anything.*

That was the most likely explanation. The item has already been claimed, and neither of them had any reason to remain inside this room after that.

I walked toward Aeris and she immediately turned her head toward me. Her cyan eyes remained fixed on my face with an expression that I could only interpret as confusion.

I realized why. I had been standing in the middle of the room talking to an invisible voice.

From Aeris’s perspective, I probably looked like someone having a conversation with absolutely nothing.

"Don’t worry about it." I muttered as I approached her.

Aeris tilted her head slightly.

*Yes, you definitely think I am weird right now.*

Then the next moment another panel suddenly appeared in front of my vision.

<Contracted Beast Information>

Name: Aeris

Species: Spirit Hawk

Level: Mid 4th Tier | Lv. 45 (81/100%)

Bond: Spirit Beast Contract

Attribute: Wind (Grade B+)

Mana: 180 + 123~ (B+ Grade Attribute)

Total Mana: 303~

Strength: 94

Agility: 120 (300+ Using Innate Wind Body)

Endurance: 120

Potential: Mid 5th Tier

I slowly read through the entire panel.

*So I can check her information too.*

In the original game, the heroine did not possess a contracted beast, so the System Grimoire had never needed to display a complete status panel for one.

As far as I remember, when the player examined ordinary beasts or monsters, the system generally displayed only their species and an approximate indication of their level in the form of tiers.

For levels one through nine, it could display the exact level.

Once a creature reached level ten, however, the system stopped showing its exact level and instead categorized its strength by tiers.

The first tier represented levels ten through nineteen, the second tier represented levels twenty through twenty-nine, the third tier represented levels thirty through thirty-nine and so on.

The system could then provide another layer of information by dividing each tier into low, mid, high, and peak stages, which allows the player to estimate the creature’s strength more accurately without revealing its exact level.

That was why I was slightly confused by Aeris’s status. Her panel displayed both ’Mid 4th Tier’ and ’Level 45’.

*Wait.* I looked at it again.

*Should not Level forty-five be high 4th tier if it starts at level 40 goes up to 49?*

This math is not mathing.

I was a little confused by it but I decided not to spend any more time analyzing the panel. The practical examination is still underway.

I have already spent enough time inside the hidden chamber, and although I have obtained what I came here for, there is still a twelve-hour time limit for reaching the boss room.

Moreover I have no intention of falling behind in the examination and risking falling out of class A, just because I have found a hidden item.

I closed the system panel and looked at Aeris "Aeris, let’s go. It is time to speed up."

At my current level and with my current abilities, I am fairly confident that no monster inside this dungeon would be stopping us.

"Let’s finish this quickly."