Late at night, Keith laid in bed with a smug expression and felt a tingling surge of satisfaction shoot up his spine as he looked at his status.

[Keith Walker]

Level: 300

Age: 18

Titles: Philantropist, Born With A Golden Spoon, Troublemaker, +10 others

Health: 4,100/4,100

Mana: 5,500/5,500

Strength: 245

Agility: 274

Intelligence: 302

Vitality: 233

Endurance: 239

Skills: Sensory Link, Mind Enhancement, +28 others

He did it.

In two weeks, he went from Level 159 to 300. It was pretty much impossible for anyone else to replicate such an absurd leveling speed for simply one reason: people needed rest. Even if you had some method to heal your Health, Mana took time to regenerate, and there was bound to be some downtime no matter how skilled you were.

There were three key factors why Keith accomplished what he did. First, the Mana Reactor. Without it supplying mana, there was no way Keith could’ve killed as many ants as he did. Second, the orbs. Very few, if any, craftsmen besides Zeidrick could produce such an unconventional weapon, as they simply didn’t have the means to subvert the System’s rules. Finally, even if someone else had the Mana Reactor and orbs, they needed a way to collect the experience monsters dropped. That was where Keith’s Grimoire came in. Without it, none of this would’ve been possible.

While Keith didn’t consider the more profound implications, the reality was his Grimoire provided many incredible abilities. Of all the innate gifts in the world, the most powerful were generally the ones that could subvert, change, ignore, or manipulate the System’s rules. Keith’s Grimoire already had a few functions with this ability, and who knew what he’d unlock in the future?

At the moment, all Keith cared about was how broke he was. He thought that since the Ant Hill Rift was famous for making money, killing ants for two weeks straight would’ve been more than enough to cover the cost of withdrawing experience from his Grimoire. Nope. The reality was Keith needed to sell all his loot to reach Level 300, leaving him just as poor as when he started. Getting a sweet set of equipment befitting his new status was still a few million gold away. Sad times.

On another note, Keith made some gains on his skills.

Mind Enhancement (Mythic) Level 131

Mind Division (Mythic) Level 130

Sensory Link (Legendary) Level 143

Void Shadowstep (Legacy) Level 252

It was clear reaching level 100 drastically slowed further progress. Even after two weeks of non-stop fighting, Keith's skills to control the orbs only grew around 30 levels. As for Void Shadowstep, Keith was pleasantly surprised to find it gained 10 levels. Fighting against monsters where the threat was real proved much more effective than sparing with his Aunt. The flying ants turned out to be quite annoying.

Besides the experience and skills levels, Keith gained something even more important. Confidence. Having a horde of giant ants charge at him for two weeks did much to steel his nerves, though the constant shockwaves and explosions from Meteor helped in that regard as well.

To be honest, Keith was still a little leery of close combat. Not out of fear but because of friendly fire. Most of Keith’s killer skills dealt massive area damage. He couldn’t just cast Meteor on himself to deal with any close assailants, as that would just get him killed. In close combat, he’d need to rely on Holy Flame Lance and Death’s Touch. Oh, Wrath’s Cry too. A little lacking, to be honest.

Keith eventually drifted off to dreamland, where an ant queen in a wedding gown chased after him. He fled as fast as possible, but he kept running in place for some reason. Eventually, the ant queen caught up and dragged Keith over to her parents. The feeble old ants wept tears of joy as their antenna tapped Keith’s forehead. The rest of the dream was just as strange.

In the morning, Keith’s eyes slowly opened. In a semi-awakened state, he recalled the dream he had just had the pleasure of experiencing. I think I need to take a break fighting ants, he thought with a grimace. A few minutes later, he jumped out of bed, got dressed, and made his way down to the dining room.

Arriving at the table, he found a freshly made 24 oz protein shake waiting for him, and the sight of it made him gag. Since Cami passed away, Uncle Ridger took it upon himself to cook for the family. While clueless when it came to food, the muscle-bound man was exceptionally proficient in concocting all sorts of shakes. They were packed full of vitamins, energy, protein, and all sorts of nutrients. But why does it taste so bad, Keith groaned.

As Keith struggled to drink his shake, Annallee entered the dining room and practically drooled when she saw a protein shake of her own waiting at her spot. Smiling, she grabbed the bottle, placed a hand on her hip, and then promptly downed the drink in one go.

“Ah, that hit the spot,” she sighed in relief while wiping her lips.

Keith gave a nod of respect to this bold warrior. Annallee laughed. “It’s easier to chug it, you know? Taking small sips like that only prolongs the torture.”

Hearing the advice, Keith looked down at his shake and thought it made sense. A few moments later, he placed the empty bottle on the table and gave his sister a strange look. “So it’s true you get wiser the more you age.”

“You punk!” Annallee ground her teeth. “I dare you to say that again.”

Just then, Elora, still groggy, walked into the room and saw the protein shake waiting for her. She stared at the drink for a good second before entering the kitchen to no doubt fix something for herself.

Annallee changed her tone and asked, “The bodybuilding tournament is in a few days. Are you still coming?”

“Of course, I have to support my dear sister,” Keith affirmed. Though I’ll probably regret it, he mused. Honestly, Keith half-expected to leave the tournament traumatized. He imagined the gathering would be a bunch of Ridger look-a-likes with well-groomed beards and steel muscles showing off their bodies for the ultimate glory of whoever looked the coolest.

Thinking of such scenes, Keith looked at his sister with some hope and cleared his throat. “Um, how many girls will be there?”

“Heh, heh.” Annallee folded her arms with a teasing expression. “What? Is that the real reason why you’re going? So you can ogle at some women?”

Keith quickly responded, “Of course not!”

Annallee snorted and wondered where her cute little brother went. Glancing at Keith with a teasing glint in her eye, she admitted, “Yes, there’ll be plenty of women. I heard from Ridger that female orcs are especially fond of these competitions.”

“Orcs?” Keith blanched.

Annallee snickered after seeing Keith’s reaction, and he knew he slipped up. A moment later, he stood up and righteously declared. “I’m going to support my sister. Don’t speak nonsense.”

Annallee rolled her eyes and left to go work out. Elora exited the kitchen a second later, holding a bowl of cereal and some fruits. After setting them down on the table, she approached Keith and gave him a couple of pats on the shoulder with an expression of pity.

Keith sighed in defeat.