Basic tier crystals

As Gary screamed in pain, blood began to trickle down his arm. The Red Velvet Ant was only a basic-tier beast, so it was strange to see someone as skilled as Gary get bitten.

Ian was the first to reach him, grabbing the ant with both hands and using all his strength to pull it off. As the creature's sharp front teeth tore free from Gary's arm, droplets of blood splattered through the air.

"Hold it still for me," Gary said.

Ian gripped the ant tightly by its sides. The creature struggled, its legs flailing in an attempt to break free, but Ian's grip was too strong. Without hesitation, Gary picked up his sword from the ground and sliced the ant clean in half.

Sylvia and Kyle rushed over to examine his wound. Two deep punctures, about the size of ping-pong balls, marred his arm. Fortunately, the injury wasn't too deep.

"Do you think you can fix it?" Kyle asked.

Sylvia inspected the wound closely.

"It should be okay," she replied. "I'm not a mage, so there's a limit to what I can do."

"I'll start with first aid. You do what you can," Kyle said.

As Kyle cleaned and disinfected the wound, Sylvia sat nearby in a meditative state, focusing on something unseen. After Kyle finished bandaging Gary's arm, Sylvia quickly placed both hands over the bandages.

"What's she doing?" Dan asked.

"She's using her Ki to help Gary heal," Ian explained. "I haven't learned how to do it yet, but Sylvia is a fast learner. By infusing her Ki into his body, she can activate his cells and speed up the healing process. It's not as effective as a mage's magic, but it's better than nothing."

Meanwhile, Monk tugged on Ray's arm, motioning for him to follow. The two of them moved slightly away from the group to speak in private.

"Do you think Gary's been acting strange lately?" Monk asked, his eyes drifting toward their injured friend. "He would never get hurt by something as weak as a basic-tier beast. And he hasn't been himself during training either. I think you should talk to him."

"Me? Why me? I'm not good at this kind of thing," Ray replied.

"If something's going on, he won't listen to us," Monk said. "But he respects you, Ray. You don't have to do much—just ask him if something's wrong and try to help."

Ray studied Gary more closely. The dark bags under his eyes were becoming more pronounced. His sleep-talking had also worsened. Perhaps Ray did owe Gary this much—after all, Gary had looked out for him for years.

Once Sylvia finished healing, the group continued collecting basic-tier crystals. Their time in the forest was nearly up, and they began making their way back toward the entrance.

Ray had managed to collect ten crystals—five obtained through the system and five he had carved out himself. It wouldn't be long before he had enough money to upgrade his equipment.

As they exited the forest, they spotted Lancy waiting for them. Several other groups had also finished and returned.

After waiting for the last teams to arrive, Lancy pulled out a brown sack and addressed the students.

"Remember, you all need to donate ten percent of your crystals to the academy as a tax."

A few groans and complaints rumbled through the crowd, but everyone quickly lined up and dropped ten percent of their collected crystals into the bag.

When Ray's turn came, he placed one crystal inside.

"Only one, Ray?" Lancy questioned.

"Well, I only got five crystals," Ray replied.

"Only five? Impossible. If I find any more on you, boy, you will be punished."

Lancy proceeded to pat Ray down, checking every pocket and compartment for hidden crystals. But in the end, he found only five.

With a grunt, Lancy gave up. "I guess you really are that useless."

Ray remained quiet, but inwardly, he smirked. Five of his crystals had been obtained through the system and stored in its inventory. He had no idea where they physically went, but they only appeared when he wanted them to.

"Where did you hide your other crystals?" Monk asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"That's a secret," Ray replied with a grin.

Monk and the others had seen him slay more than five beasts, so they knew he had some kind of trick up his sleeve.

After a long day, most of the students either returned to their rooms to rest or visited the blacksmith to sell their crystals and purchase better weapons for their next hunt.

Ray, however, had something else in mind.

He climbed to the roof of the building and opened his system inventory.

Including the four basic-tier crystals he had physically collected, along with the one intermediate crystal, he now had enough to max out his basic-tier points.

This needed to be done somewhere secluded. He wasn't sure what would happen once he reached one hundred points.

When the wolf he had encountered before maxed out, it had taken an entire year for its evolution to complete.

Would the same happen to him?

Would this evolution change his form? Would he return to being a dragon?

One thing was certain—these crystals would make him stronger.

Ray selected Yes, absorbing them one by one. As he did, notifications appeared before him.

<83 Points>

<88 Points>

<92 Points>

<96 Points>

Only one crystal remained.

The points gained seemed to be random—somewhere between 1 and 10. He needed four more points to max out. Would this last crystal be enough?

He absorbed it.