"That is why I taught that skill," Ilyana said, using Telepathy.
"... How can you hear me from so far away?" Leon frowned.
"My Sharp Ears skill is at the max level," Ilyana answered, still using Telepathy. "Putting that aside, to learn the mana version of Health Zone, you need to combine Mana Shield and Mana Infusion."
Leon already imagined that, and it was looking forward to learning that one because he would be able to restore his slimes' mana and, thus, make them level up even faster. That skill had been quickly learned since Leon already knew the basics.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Mana Zone.
Cost: 100 mana per second.
Effect: Restores 01 mana per second to all allies in a ten meters radius.
You obtained 01 status points.
The very moment Leon activated the skill, his slimes resumed their attacks to the Ghost-Swords, and he also received several notifications.
Congratulations! The skill Mana Zone has leveled up.
You obtained 01 status points.
Congratulations! The skill Summon Slime has leveled up.
You obtained 01 status points.
Congratulations! The skill Mana Zone has leveled up.
You obtained 01 status points.
Congratulations! The skill Summon Slime has leveled up.
You obtained 01 status points.
...
"Hahaha! Grow my minions! Grow stronger and become my strength!" Leon laughed maniacally.
"Why don't you say the same thing when we level up?" Undine asked.
"You guys, aren't my minions. You are my friends," Leon said.
"Because we are powerful?" Undine asked. "If we were weak like slimes, wouldn't you treat us differently?"
"I would like to think that you wouldn't threat any sentient and sapient being as my minions," Leon said. "But, I guess only words aren't enough to prove that."
In the end, Leon got ahead of himself, and that caused a misunderstanding. For a change, Undine makes a question without using her usual mocking tone. It was clear that she had doubts about Leon's intentions. It was weird considering that he joined his side without much of a fuss, but it was evident that Leon couldn't drop his guard or relax. Otherwise, he eventually would take the path the harvesters took... they killed fragments of spirits to obtain their power and probably still are hunting the original spirits.
Putting such thoughts aside, Leon finally had the status necessary to learn how to summon golems. Still, he was pretty sure that Ilyana wouldn't teach him until he learns all the other skills from the 'emanation series.'
In the end, in no time, Summon Slime reached level one hundred, and Mana Zone reached level fifty. Although Leon wanted to keep leveling up those skills since it was so easy, Ilyana had other plans.
"You probably already know things, but to learn the next spell, you have to combine Mana Shield and Stamina Restoration," Ilyana said using Telepathy. "Now that I think about it, you should learn more skills that consume stamina. Although you rarely will use them, the extra status will help, anyway."
Leon already knew that, but it couldn't be helped since he was stingy and always only looked for new spells to learn... even though the cheapest ones weren't that useful. Regardless, Leon finally understood why he learned Mana Zone so fast... it was because he had a lot of it and because he had a lot of experience using it. The same thing couldn't be said about his stamina, and even though his mana was being consumed, it didn't make things easier.
"If learning how to restore health, mana, and stamina in a massive area is difficult, I can't even imagine how difficult it will be to increase the other attributes. I don't even have buffs that increase my status without doing things like shouting or looking at the enemy..."
Congratulations! The skill Lion's Pride has leveled up.
You obtained 01 status points.
Although Leon was getting tired of spending so much time learning the spells instead of using tomes, not everything was bad news. Even though he was stubborn and prideful, that were his characteristics, those were the straits that granted him such useful passive skill.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Stamina Zone.
Cost: 100 mana per second.
Effect: Restores 01 stamina per second to all allies in a ten meters radius.
You obtained 01 status points.
Three days later, Leon finally received that notification, and he started to question those skills. Although they were useful, their cost was too high, and he wouldn't be able to restore his energy or even increase his own status with them. Those skills would be only useful to someone who would fight with friends and allies, Leon obtained Lion's Pride because that rarely happened. Even considering the extra status he was receiving, it wasn't enough to make Leon felt motivated to keep using them.
"... Whatever, I don't have time to waste with such thoughts. My goal is to kill the bastards who caused my parents' death and those who wanted to destroy Earth."
"It is time," Ilyana said, using Telepathy.
"It is time for another torture session... I mean... training session. Those are getting mixed up in my head since both of them are actually true."
Leon felt like sighing, but he still headed toward Ilyana's castle.