Immediately after regaining my consciousness... I groaned and slowly opened my eyes. I found myself staring at Pyro and Zephyrus, their faces absurdly close to mine. Super close, in fact... I greeted them as I pushed myself upright, rubbing the back of my neck. We were still inside the right room. The mini boss wouldn't respawn for a long while, and since no other monsters spawned in this area... It was basically a safe zone. Anyway, as I was enjoying the peace... Zephyrus blurted that out suddenly, his voice cutting through the quiet. I just looked at him, dumbfounded. -Your mana pool is too low! What a disaster! He continued, his complaints relentless. And hearing his words, a faint frown appeared on my face. But ignoring my response entirely... -Forget it, come and follow me! Zephyrus declared that and promptly flew off without waiting. I watched him for a moment. But after a while, with a short sigh... I stood up and went after him. Pyro perched himself comfortably on my shoulder... And it wasn't long before we came to a stop. We had reached a wall, and in front of me hung a slightly tilted painting of a woman. I said absentmindedly, observing it. Zephyrus's voice broke the moment. I asked, blinking at him. But he gave me no explanation. Just an order. I sighed but decided to comply. Walking up to the painting, I placed my hands on its frame and gave it a firm pull. I tried again, harder this time. I muttered under my breath, glaring at the stubborn thing. 'Now I see why it didn't fall off earlier when the room shook like crazy during my fight with the Giant Boar.' Then, annoyed, I opened my mouth... A sharp gust of wind erupted from my right hand, slicing through the painting cleanly! And maybe because I'm contracted with a wind spirit now... The output of my spell got stronger! I returned my focus to the now-exposed wall. I saw a tightly shut safe, it was hidden behind the painting. I glanced at Zephyrus, who hovered beside me. And he just gestured at the vault wordlessly, urging me to open it. Curious, I placed my hands on the safe and began fiddling with it. I tried various methods to opening it. But even after a few minutes of trying... I wasn't able to open it! It just made me curse in frustration! Zephyrus's voice came from behind me, unbothered. Pyro agreed to his words, nodding enthusiastically. And hearing their words... I just shrugged and gave up on finesse and prepared to brute force it. Just in time, there is something I want to try, after all... 'I want to try that skill I used on the Giant Boar again.' The skill I used in my swords to kill the mini boss! 'I don't have a sword right now.' I could go and retrieve one from the spoils I got fighting the Kobolds... I had left them just outside the hallway. But that's too much effort. I pulled out one of my throwing daggers. I muttered, gripping the small weapon. Zephyrus groaned impatiently. Then I took a deep breath. And with such high concentration... I muttered those words! Sparks started appearing from my dagger. And after just a few seconds... Its blade was engulfed in raging fire! The fire surged violently, licking at the air with a hunger that made it seem alive. A small chuckle escaped me as I admired my handiwork. The technique was something I had cobbled together, inspired by the fantasy manhwa and manga I used to read back in my old world. In those stories, they called it weapon aura—an enhancement by channeling mana into a weapon. In my case, I added a little twist, infusing the mana with fire to amplify its cutting power. It was the exact boost I had desperately needed during my earlier battle with the Giant Boar. Anyway, now it just looks like I'm using an elemental sword... -That's a decent skill you have there. Zephyrus complimented, looking at the flaming dagger in my hand Pyro chirped in proudly. I ignored the two of them. I took a simple stance instead. And with quickness... I slashed the dagger in my hand horizontally! The small vault was opened! I cut the top part of it. I said, looking at Zephyrus. Then, with a smug smile on his face... -Quickly, collect everything from the inside! Zephyrus exclaimed that. "Just give me a sec." I said, placing my left hand inside the vault. And after a few moments... I got my hands on three yellow pearl looking things. -Those are enhancement pills, it'll help you increase your mana pool and overall stats! Zephyrus shouted that! 'I can't believe I get to use these on myself.' I thought, looking at the enhancement pills in my hand. 'Though, Zephyrus said that I could only use one of them at the moment.' He said that using all of them immediately would be a waste because it wouldn't be effective. -Sit now and meditate! Zephyrus is now giving me instructions. I silently complied with his words. After all, he's telling me the proper method to consume these enhancement pills... I sat down in a lotus position and closed my eyes. I started meditating. My breathing became rhythmic and my mind became clear. Then, after a few minutes of being like that... I heard Pyro's and Zephyrus' voice. I swallowed one of the enhancement pills! It was hard, the pill was as big as a pingpong ball! Anyway, after consuming it... My mana started to run wild! And my body started absorbing a huge amount of mana in the surroundings! -Concentrate, don't lose your control! Zephyrus exclaimed, his words was easily said that done... This was much harder than when I was making a contract with him! My face cringed in pain. I want to stop meditating and start rolling on the ground! It feels like my whole body is on fire! Which was a lot for me to say because I have fire resistance from contracting with Pyro! "ARRRRRGH!!! FUCK!!!" My whole body was covered in sweat, and my throat is dry. I was dehydratedas fuck. I heard Pyro's worried voice, but I can't respond to him. I was too focused on controlling the mana entering my body! And then finally, after a few minutes of suffering... A small explosion sound was heard after that... And a weak shockwave was produced after the excess mana around me dispersed in the air! And when things calmed down... "Haaa... haaaa... haa..." I immediately tried catching my breath. I was exhausted as fuck! I already passed out twice, but with my condition... I wouldn't be surprised if there will be a third time. "Haaaa... Haaa.... Urgh...!" My body aches a lot more now than before. And also, I'm hungry as fuck again! I'm starting to feel dizzy now. Pyro and Zephyrus approached me, they were happy for my success. I couldn't really answer them right now verbally... So I just weakly smiled at them. I then dragged my body that feels heavy as fuck to the nearest wall, and there... I leaned against it and rested, looking above the ceiling of the room. Though, I opened them up immediately because I was feeling sleepy. 'I need to eat first.' I thought, but to be able to do that, I need to recover my strength first to move. So while I was resting and doing nothing... 'I might as well check my stats.' I decided to check my stats. And with high curiosity... I opened my status window. Wind Element: Level 12 (80%) Fire Element: Level 12 (69%) Spirit Magic: Level 10 (8%) Dagger: Level 11 (41%) Cooking: Level 10 (1%) And what I saw immediately made me feel a lot better! I ranked up, and all my stats are now within the 30s! Well... except the mana stat. Though, its gap with the other stats are slowly closing in! I was so happy about my improvement that I became relaxed. And because of that short moment of relaxation... It's my third time passing out now.