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nAfter absorbing all the basic knowledge he needed, Darius ended his session with Portia. The young lady seemed to want to say something but gave up in the end.

nHer brother had berated her when she had wanted to come with him, so she was aware that Darius would likely not respond kindly to her pursuing and she didn't want to ruin the friendship they had now.

nDarius himself noticed her actions but did not attempt to assist her as that would lead him down a dangerous rabbit hole. He went to his room after dinner and idled on the bed, thinking as he usually did.

nWhen alone like this, he liked to reminisce about Earth. Darius loved his family dearly and wished to know how they were doing, but that did not seem possible.

nHe then thought about his Conversion Points. There were many times in the past where he could have solved minor issues like clothing and washing water with Conversion Points, but that would be foolishness.

nConversion Points were not some plaything and neither was his Transmutation ability. Conversion Points were a strategic resource he used to accomplish tasks that were pertinent to his current circumstances and were often used for things he could not accomplish on his own or do without.

nIt was only in the last 3 days that Darius had used them a bit less strictly because he was indoors and there were no pressing concerns requiring him to throw himself into the way of danger.

nEven then, he still prioritized items and things that were impossible for him to acquire through easier means.

nHis mentality towards his Conversion Points would never change. They would only be used strategically and intellectually, not willy-nilly or because he was feeling creative.

nOf course, that didn't stop him from using the remaining CP he had in upgrading his Iron Spear to a Steel one for 3 CP.

nDarius eventually fell asleep with much comfort.

n...…

nIn the morning, he performed his usual routine of bathing and having breakfast. This time, he wasn't in a rush to spend CP as he would be going out.

nDarius left the manor with a light gait. He paused when he reached the old cart on the outskirts of the homestead and then activated Blink. Immediately, Darius disappeared from where he stood and re-appeared exactly 10 meters away.

nDarius rubbed his chin and quelled his boyish excitement as he performed the spell again. He then did it twice in a row to see what would happen and just as he thought, he only barely manifested as an outline before he was moved again by the second spell.

nEven more excited, he cast the spell 5 times in a row. It took about .3 of a second for him to execute all five casts. Darius then stopped to let his mana refill as he calculated the distance in his mind.

nFrom here to the Lost River was 23 kilometers. Since Blink allowed him to go up to a max of 10 meters and cost 1 MP, Darius could use his 550 MP to move a total of 5.5 kilometers before he ran out!

nOf course, he could make things easier by using a Short Warp scroll, but that would be a waste of 3 CP since he had alternate means. He wasn't in a rush and wouldn't even mind walking to his destination if need be.

nDarius checked his map and the area before him before mentally spamming the Blink spell at its maximal efficiency. Immediately, the young fellow turned into a blurry outline as he raced along the pathway.

nIt looked like some poorly rendered evil demonic spirit was flitting across the landscape, chasing after some innocent prey. It was truly a weird sight to an onlooker depending on their point of view.

nSomeone looking through a screen would find it bizarrely funny how Darius appeared to 'glitch' his way through the surroundings while someone at the location seeing it live would be chilled to their bones and probably traumatized by a ghostly form of a boy appearing for a split second.

nDarius eventually stopped after 5.2 kilometers, just so that he would have enough MP to deal with any issues while he waited for his mana bar to refill. Emptying his mana bar in the wild would be quite silly of him, even if he did have his Lancer Arts.

nHe lay against the body of a tree and focused on the feeling of rapidly blinking across the landscape. Like his other spells, Darius 'auto-cast' them, meaning that he cast them without knowing how they worked specifically, and the execution was handled by the Supreme System.

nAs such, he just had to think of what he wanted and how he wanted it, and the rest would occur as he wished. This was great for a beginner like him, but might be problematic at the higher stages for mages. Adept mages and above almost only used their self-created spells.

nIf he always cast the spells of others that were widely known, he would fall behind his peers. That was why Darius wished to learn more about the Magical Method, but that would come for later.

nOne downside of having more MP was how much longer he had to wait for it to recharge. At level 11, it took him 1 minute to refill his mana bar meaning that he sat there for a short while.

nIn this time, Darius had not been attacked by anything to his slight surprise, although he was unsure whether it was a result of his high Luck stat or the various beasts sensing his increased life level and taking him as a serious threat now.

nWhatever the case, it was a good thing for him. He rose to his feet and continued his Blink Train. Once he crossed another 5.2 kilometers in roughly half a minute, he paused to restore his MP before repeating the same action over again.

nEventually, less than 10 minutes later, he appeared at the bridge where one crossed the Lost River to head to the Plains of the Green. Darius paused to look at the pristine water and the various beasts bathing within.

nOnce his eyes went across the shore, he saw an old friend and his family, the Plains Lion. Interestingly, the fellow looked rather grumpy today. Then again, one of his lionesses had mysteriously disappeared and never returned!

nDarius grinned and walked over to it, slowly raising a finger as he did so.

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