Why The Stick!
Leon remained relaxed, though he couldn't deny that a part of him was beginning to itch with impatience. Three hours had already passed… and there was still more to go. He wanted to finish all this quickly.
"Look below you."
Leon did as instructed, lowering his gaze.
What he saw was… a stick.
Black. Long. Thin.
Fragile-looking.
It was pathetic, honestly. One glance at it, and Leon could already tell it was the kind of stick that would crumble into dust with a hard grip. He picked it up cautiously, and the moment he did, he felt it—soft, brittle, and frail. It even looked termite-infested.
"What can I do with this weak and useless stick?" Leon muttered, eye twitching. He couldn't help the words from spilling out.
It just didn't make sense.
He didn't understand.
What was the purpose of this?
Why give him something so… laughable?
He'd even forgotten that he, too, was once treated the same way—cursed, dejected, cast aside, just like this stick.
The Crystal sighed.
It spoke again, this time more serious.
"Leon, do you know… that this little stick can change the outcome of a fight between two powerful cultivators?"
Leon blinked.
"How? Isn't this just a stick? It even looks like it'll break with one swing. How could it possibly…?"
"That's not how the world works," the Crystal replied, calm and patient. "Even the weakest thing in existence can shift the course of fate—a battle, a kingdom, a life. What I'm about to teach you is something even Qi Cultivators tend to overlook. It's a basic principle—simple, yet often dismissed as useless. One day, you might think it's unnecessary. But don't forget... it could be the very thing that saves your life.
While the energies of the Multiverse differ in nature, they also share similarities. Many follow the foundational principles of Qi. If you understand that… then with Mana, you can accomplish far more than most would ever believe."
Leon was quiet.
The words struck something within him.
He'd judged too quickly again. That was his problem. His impatience.
Maybe… there really was more to the stick. Just like there was more to him than being 'No-Talent'. Maybe that was the point.
Still, he hated how this System always beat around the bush. Why couldn't it just speak straight for once?
The Crystal, sensing that things might escalate if it continued to stall, went straight to the point this time.
"Try and open your pores. Manifest the Mana inside you. Make it flow outside. Then try to fuse it with the stick. Just a little infusion… and the stick could become a powerful weapon. If a cultivator loses their weapon, even a stick can be the turning point—if fused with energy. Remember this."
Leon's eyes lit up.
This… this made sense.
He silently scolded himself for being too impatient earlier. Though, honestly, it wasn't all his fault—this System always had a way of irritating him with its cryptic ways.
With his energy mana superior to the normal Qi of this world its effects is bound to be more pronounced.
He took a deep breath and began.
He followed the instructions.
And then—
He realized something.
If sensing the Mana inside him was hard…
And manipulating it within his body was harder…
Then this? This was the hardest yet.
Manifesting Mana outside the body and then infusing it into an object?
Hundreds of times harder.
Sweat trickled down his brow almost immediately.
His focus now had to shift—not inside, but across the surface of his skin, where his pores were located. It was like trying to stretch your mind across your entire body and control it all at once.
But Leon kept going.
He pushed.
He concentrated.
And eventually… he succeeded.
He infused his Mana into the stick.
And to his surprise… the brittle-looking stick began to change.
It didn't glow or transform magically—but its structure… had become solid. Durable. Reinforced with raw Mana. Even a D-rank weapon would struggle to cut it.
"There are impurities inside you," the Crystal explained. "So your Mana is still unrefined. But as you grow stronger, the Mana you produce will become purer. Enhanced. And with enhanced Mana, even this stick could become stronger than an A-rank weapon."
Leon's eyes widened.
"Wow…"
He could hardly believe it.
A weak, dying stick… stronger than an A-rank weapon?
This was game-changing.
If this was possible… then what about swords? Daggers? Spears? If he infused Mana into real weapons?
That was heaven-defying.
He wanted to try more—but he knew it would take time.
According to the System, he'd only be able to properly do those things once he reached LVL 150.
Before he could think any further, a familiar sound rang out in his ears.
┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓
Hall of Skills has been added to Host's System
SKILLS (Basic):
• Mana Sensing – LVL 1
• Mana Manipulation (Compound Skill):
– Mana Condensing – LVL 1
– Mana Infusion – LVL 1
– Mana Manipulating – LVL 1
┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛
┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓
10 Stats Points have been added for creating a skill.
20 Stats Points for completing a hidden mission in record time.
Skill Points have also been added to the Host's system.
To level up a skill from LVL 1 to 2, 100 skill points are needed.
To go from LVL 2 to 3, 200 are needed.
More details will unlock as the Host progresses.
┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛
Leon gasped.
He stared at the notifications with wide eyes. He was excited. Happy.
All this… from just training?
He now realized how important stat points were—and now, he knew he could also use Skill Points to level up his skills.
But how to earn Skill Points?
That… he didn't know yet.
Deciding to check his current stats, he willed the screen open:
┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓
[Supreme Thief System]
─────⋅☾ Host's Details ☽⋅─────•
[Name: Leon Grimveil]
[Title: Supreme Thief]
Fame: 56 (in this world)
[Physique: Supreme Thief Physique]
[Level: 4]
[HP: 1500]
[MP: 2500]
─────⋅☾ Stats ☽⋅─────•
[Strength: 25]
[Stamina: 25]
[Agility: 25]
[Defense: 20]
[Intelligence: 25]
[Perception (Hunter's Instinct): 25]
[Luck: 5]
(Available Points to Distribute: 30)
─────⋅☾ Hall of Skills ☽⋅─────•
[Skills (5)
[Skill Points: 0]
─────⋅☾ Dungeon ☽⋅─────•
Dungeon (You are currently inside)
[Tap, speak, or will it to enter.]
─────⋅☾ Shop ☽⋅─────•
[Locked. Reach Level 15 to unlock.]
─────⋅☾ Mission Hall ☽⋅─────•
[Daily Mission:]
[• Get the Alchemy Pill from the store for your mother (Reward: Supreme Thief Skill + 10 Stats Points)]
[First Mission:]
[• Use your legs and hands as weapons.]
(Reward: EXP x2, Gold Coins +2, 10 Stats)
(Punishment: EXP ÷2, No coins, No Stats)
┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛
After reviewing it all, Leon asked:
"System… can I add stat points to HP and MP?"
"Yes. 1 Stat Point equals 100 HP or 100 MP."
He nodded.
He understood now.
Though tempted to distribute them immediately, he decided to hold off. He wanted to finish his current training first.
"Now… learn to condense Mana into a solid form."
Leon nodded and immediately tried.
But the moment he began, he froze.
This one was on a completely different level.
Even the Crystal had to admit—this skill was beyond Leon's current strength.