The Immortal Player

The Advance Force 1 consisted of Ragas, Clara, Sabrina, and Faunia with the lead of Pedro. The five of them would be the ones responsible for clearing dungeons.

On the other hand, The Advance Force 2 consisted of Aks, Lony, Roval, Yuson, and three of Pedro's Demi-human slaves. They were led by Aldo—who would act as the temporary head manager of the Adventurer's Guild Branch in the Axutar Village.

Of course, to provide ease in managing and establishing the branch, Pedro had even assigned some of his human slaves to accompany Aldo and act as his helper or apprentice in managing the Adventurer's Guild Branch on Axutar Village.

This way, in case they needed to move to another stronghold, there would be someone whom they can leave to be the head manager of the Adventurer's Guild in that stronghold. Well… Not just an ordinary Head Manager, but someone whom they have great control to be the head manager of that branch.

That is why, Pedro's human slaves were, one by one, given a chance to work under Aldo and even Weyron to learn how to manage a branch of the Adventurer's Guild. With all of that set and prepared, Pedro and the rest of the Advance Force 1 and Advance Force 2 arrived at the Axutar Village's Teleportation Portal.

"Looking for a party! Purpose: Travel to the Tarala Kingdom!"

"Buying Silver Coins for One Dollar! Go to the village's bar and find 'ScaryTomato' if you are interested!"

…

The players were rowdy and had completely occupied almost every single space in the village. Add up with the non-stop appearance of new players in the teleportation portal. It was chaotic to the point that the volume of the crowd might even beat a highly anticipated concert by a very famous singer.

"What a crowd…" Pedro could not help but force out a smile as he and everyone else from the Advance Force get pushed along the flow of players.

That said, after a few seconds of being lost in his thought, Pedro could not help but glance towards Faunia in the hopes that she isn't irritated. Fortunately, for some reason, a three-inch gap was maintained from Faunia to the other players around her—including Pedro.

'What's happening?' Pedro asked with a frown deep inside. 'Why can't we get near her?'

At this moment, Pedro could not help but glance at Clara and Ragas who also maintained the same distance to the crowd as Faunia did. Bewildered by what is happening, Pedro glanced back to Faunia and was about to ask how they were able to do that.

However, before he was able to utter a word, Faunia spoke to him telepathically, saying, 'This is called Mana Control, human!'

'Mana Control?' Pedro asked telepathically in response.

Faunia simply nodded in response and replied, 'Yes, Mana Control! The Second Level of Magical Energy Utilization.'

'Magical Energy Utilization? What's that? Is that some sort of skill?' Pedro asked with a frown.

Faunia could not help but sigh in response and said, 'Magical Energy Utilization is the stages of mastery on how a being can fully control its magical energy.'

'Interesting…' Pedro nodded his head out of curiosity. Then, he glanced back to Faunia and asked, 'Can you tell me more about this Magical Energy Utilization? Like how many stages are there, and how can I also learn them?'

Faunia simply glanced towards Pedro for a few seconds. Then, she averted her gaze from him and said, 'The Magical Energy Utilization is as its name says. It is the determination of how one can use or utilize their magical energy and, at the same time, how it should be properly used. In other terms… It is the standard or the basic method on how to use your magical energy properly.'

At this moment, Faunia emanated a strong aura that was able to push those around her more than the three-inch gap that she had maintained earlier. Even Pedro was able to feel the pressure that Faunia had emanated. And while doing so, she said, 'There are currently four major stages of the Magical Energy Utilization that is known both to humans and other beings. The first stage is this… The so-called Mana Outburst!'

'You release your magical energy—whether controlled or not, into whatever purpose you have in mind. For me… This time, I intend to use my magical energy to create a certain distance between me and these little pests!' Faunia said as the magical energy that she emanated became stronger.

Pedro could not help but force out a smile in response. That said, before he was able to utter a word or even ask a question, Faunia spoke again, saying, 'This stage also includes the activation or use of your so-called skills—similar to the majority of that toys that humans and others make. Well… Even you can use it unconsciously, so you can consider it as the basics of the basics!'

'I see…' Pedro glanced to his hand and pictured out that he was emanating strong energy around him to push the crowd away from him.

In turn, a gap was created between him and the crowd that was almost two-inch away. That said, for some reason, his body started to feel a tad bit exhausted as if he was running. He glanced towards Faunia and asked, 'I can use Mana Outburst so casually? But why do I feel that my stamina is also decreasing?'

'Stamina?...' Faunia shook her head in response. Then, she said, 'You're not losing your stamina, idiot! You're obviously losing your magical energy! Anyway… You don't need to worry. It is something normal! Humans like you—who rarely use their magical energy, would definitely feel the effect of using your magical energy, even if you use it slightly… Just keep on using it and you'll eventually get used to it.'

'I see…' Pedro nodded in response. Then, he added, 'So, it's like when you get used to sitting all day at home… Then, when you go out for a walk, you would tend to feel tired easily. Something like that?'

'You made quite a comparison, human! But you are right!' Faunia said in response.

Pedro could not help but force out a smile towards Faunia. Then, he took a deep sigh to clear the awkward atmosphere and said, 'Moving forward… Can you tell me what are the next stages about?'

At this moment, Faunia retained her cold demeanor—indicating that she did not mind telling more about it to Pedro. Then, she said, 'As I said earlier, the second stage of mastery of the magical energy utilization is the Mana Control! In this stage, you should be able to control and manipulate freely your magical energy. That includes the Mana Barrier that I was using earlier... However, Mana Control is only limited to the manifestation of magical energy without greatly affecting other 'foreign' variables—like the magical energy of other humans or other beings and such. Because using your magical energy to affect 'foreign' variables would lie under the third stage, which is Mana Fusion!'

Faunia could not help but sigh at this part of her explanation. Then, she said, 'It's quite complicated to explain starting from the second stage—Mana Control… I doubt that you'd be able to reach the third stage anytime soon, so… I'd just give you a rough idea about it and the fourth stage in the meantime.'

'It's alright! I understand!' Pedro said whilst forcing out a smile.

Faunia sighed once again before she said, 'Going back… For you to visualize the third stage of mastery of the magical energy utilization—the Mana Fusion, one of its examples is the Divine Enchantments that was done by the wyvern to your toy.'

'Hooo… I see! I see!' Pedro nodded in amazement. Then, he smirked and said, 'It seems like it would take me a long time before I get to craft something on my own.'

'Well… That would depend on the progress that you would make in mastering the utilization of your magical energy, human! I mastered Mana Control for a year, and another year for Mana Fusion back then… So based on my experience… It would take you five to ten years to master each stage respectively.'

'Five to ten years? And there's even a fourth stage on top of that?' Pedro grumbled deep inside.

Faunia simply smirked in response and said, 'The Fourth Stage? You are pushing your luck if you plan to reach the fourth stage of magical energy utilization, human!'

'Pushing my luck? Is there something that would hinder me from reaching the fourth stage?' Pedro can't help but glance towards Faunia with a frown. Then, he added, 'What is the fourth stage that even you think that I won't be able to reach?'

Faunia glanced back to Pedro in response. Then, after a few seconds, she averted her gaze from him and said, 'Do not misunderstand, human! When it comes to the fourth stage, there is even only a limited number of gods and goddesses like us who had mastered it! After all… Not all Divine Beings can manifest the purest form of magical energy! The Mana of Origin!'

At this moment, Pedro and Faunia's discussion was interrupted as they—together with the rest of the Advance Force, arrived outside the village where everyone else is redirected. The soldiers of the Axutar Village kept a strong guard at some areas inside the village—like the Village Chief's Office.

And to maintain order—as what Neerak Axutar had organized before he left with Pedro, the Adventurers were redirected outside the village for proper identification before they could proceed with any matters inside the village—including the visits of any establishments or shops.

And amongst the people managing the adventurers together with the NPC officials from the village, Pedro was able to recognize one of them. This, in turn, made Pedro smirk deep inside and said, 'This old man is really shameless! I killed him once and yet… he still did not learn his lesson! Let's see how long you and your men could retain those thick and well-kept faces!"