Reincarnated as a step-dad in a fantasy world

Chapter 32 : Talk about reaching level 4

"You know that even if I gave you those 1000 cores, you can't absorb that many in a week, right? Your body couldn't handle it and would explode," Ava said before continuing.

"The lower your level, the harder it is for your body to contain mana. It's only when you reach level 5 that your body becomes capable of absorbing large amounts of mana. That's also why it takes decades, even for talented individuals, to reach higher levels. Considering what I just explained and your current level, if you try to absorb 1000 monster cores, the only thing waiting for you is death."

Despite what Ava had just said, Alex still wore his smile as if nothing had changed.

Of course, Alex already knew everything Ava had explained. After all, when he learned that he could use monster cores to increase his level like everyone else, Alex had asked the system about the number of cores he could absorb before reaching his limits.

However, contrary to what he had expected, the system informed him that his current body could continuously absorb cores, which astonished Alex because such a thing was literally unbelievable.

He also asked how many mana points he gained each time he absorbed a monster core, and the system explained that he gained 0.1 for absorbing a core from a monster of the same level as him, and 0.01 for a monster one level lower, and so on.

One might think that all he had to do was absorb cores from monsters of a higher level to gain more points. Logically, that made sense. However, that only worked at level 5. Anyone below level 5 couldn't absorb cores from monsters higher than their level, and apparently, even the system couldn't allow Alex to circumvent that rule.

But what the system allowed him to do currently was already too much.

To reach level 4, Alex had already calculated the number of cores he would need, and it was precisely those 1000 cores he had mentioned.

One might think that obtaining 1000 cores was easy, given the casual manner in which Alex mentioned it, but that was far from the truth. For most people, obtaining just 10 cores in one go was astronomical. 

However, it's worth mentioning that Alex was a noble, and moreover, his family members were powerful, so obtaining 1000 monster cores from levels 1 to 4 was no big deal.

Recalling something he had forgotten to explain, Alex said to Ava, "The cores should be divided as follows: 300 monster cores at level 1, 300 cores for level 2 monsters, 300 cores for level 3 monsters, and finally, 100 level 4 cores," he said, still smiling.

"How do you plan to... sigh, you can expect to receive them starting tomorrow," Ava finally decided not to ask too many questions. He had said he would explain later, so there was no need to ask all these questions now.

"Thanks."

When the discussion between Alex and Ava finally ended, silence fell in the room again. But this time, it was Anna who unexpectedly broke the silence.

"Uhh... I still don't understand why I have to attend this meeting; what is discussed doesn't really concern me."

"Don't be stupid; you are literally family by now," said Alex to Anna.

"Yes, he's right, but that's not why I said you should attend this meeting," said Ava before continuing with a grave expression. 

"The reason I said that you should stay is that when we arrive at the location where the competition to determine the future heir of the Eswald family will take place, there may be people targeting the girls. So, it will be up to you and other guards I will choose to protect them."

"Understood, ma'am," Anna replied calmly despite what she had just heard. Alex and Lilia, on the other hand, were furious to hear such a thing.

"Why would anyone want to harm them?" Alex asked through gritted teeth.

"To destabilize our branch of the family," Ava replied calmly. In her heart, she was also furious that someone would want to harm her grandchildren, but she remained composed, knowing that getting angry wouldn't change the situation.

Alex, on the other hand, had very dark thoughts. 'After my father, they now want to target the rest of the family? We'll see about that. I'm going to rid this family of all the trash that plagues it.'

Seeing that the mood was darkening, Amy suggested, "What if we talked about how the mini-competition within the family is going to play out instead?"

"You are right," Lilia said, also wanting to change the subject.

So, for over an hour, Alex and his family discussed the competition, as well as various other topics, relaxing and knowing that the coming week would not be as calm.