After splitting from the Lightning Rascals, Toz decided to find a place to rest, train, and wait for Hassandra to bring his grimoire and the bracelet he handed over to the Lightning Rascals so they could share the achievement of capturing the two robed figures from the Tribe of Death.
Although Toz was technically a single human, the cats had evened it out. And the Lightning Rascals thought that since they had cooperated in capturing and transporting the figures, they would share the achievement equally. Toz could have followed them to where they were going, but it seemed like it would be a bother. Instead, it would be a lot easier for him if he just handed over one of his bracelets that the Lightning Rascals could use to give him his share of contribution points.
And since Hassandra was going to look for him soon enough, she could hand it back to him at that time. Toz was still curious about how she would find him or if she would even return to her group after getting her hands on a grimoire before going to look for him.
Well, even if Hassandra didn't return his bracelet, he still had another one, so he would still get his contributions. Since things would be fine either way, Toz stopped thinking about it as he instead started looking for where he could take a proper break.
The military officer had told him that killing an enemy and returning would grant them a single day to rest before they had to return to the battlefield. But Toz was sure that it was a matter of how many contribution points one had.
And with the achievements that Toz had racked up, he should have more than enough to stay for several days. He didn't want to waste his contributions needlessly when every last bit could help them reach the amount required to accompany Dyra back to the Transcendent Realm. But Toz and the cats needed to recover.
Their physical injuries had all recovered. But they were both in body and mind. Ever since they first stepped foot on the battlefield, none of them had relaxed for even a moment. They were constantly wary of their surroundings, even when it wasn't their turn to keep watch. On top of that, they were constantly worrying about Taienra and what they could do to help her. Toz and the cats also had their heads full of different ways to improve and grow stronger.
The mental stress compounded with the physical stress of constantly being alert. Toz and the cats were tired and in need of rest.
Although they couldn't completely let down their guard, even after returning to the base camp, they would at least be able to recover. And if Hassandra was quick to get her hands on one or two grimoires, they might even take the opportunity to train.
Just the thought of training had Toz and the cats burning with motivation, especially Toz since he was still at the sixth level. He hadn't even refined his mana a single time due to how busy they had been.
Toz had learned how to train automatically, thanks to his mana vision. But he wasn't yet proficient in it to the point where he could do it in the middle of the battlefield. He was also worried that his rampant absorption of mana would cause a commotion if he did it in the middle of the base, so he put a hold on that.
He hadn't encountered anyone with mana vision. But that didn't mean that there weren't people with similar abilities. Brunswick was one such person. His eyes let him see things that ordinary people couldn't, and he could even see the movement of mana. According to Toz's understanding of Brunswick's inclination, there should be a few differences between mana vision and Brunswick's eyes. But Brunswick, people with similar abilities, or even mages sensitive enough to mana, would be able to tell that Toz was absorbing mana while doing something else at the same time.
When Toz had first come up with the idea, he did it in a fit of childish jealousy. But now that he had explored a little more of the universe, he realized that it wasn't something ordinary people could do. And extraordinary people were bound to catch the attention of those around them, which Toz didn't mind per se. But only when it happened on his terms and when he could control it.
Toz didn't want some weird fellas stronger than him to target him just because he was better at multitasking than others.
His encounter with Yill, a transcendent, had made Toz realize that the universe extended further than the ninth level. And until he figured out how far and was in a position where he didn't end up in a similar position as during the fight against Yill, Toz had no plans of putting himself in unnecessary danger by inviting the attention of others.
However, that didn't mean that Toz was giving up on his automatic training just because he might attract attention. He was just going to do it in a way that didn't invite trouble or bothersome things.
And he already knew how to do that. In theory.
The mana in the air was constantly moving around, like the water currents in seas. But the mana moved so gently and holistically that mages didn't notice it. Or if they did notice it, they quickly got used to it and didn't pay any attention to it.
This meant that as long as Toz controlled the amount of mana that he absorbed and how fast he did it, there wouldn't be a problem, even if he automatically trained all the time.
People like Brunswick or with mana vision might notice if they looked closely enough. But those probably wouldn't bring the spotlight on themselves by pointing out that mana moved strangely around Toz. Maybe not.
Toz decided to drop the thought when he arrived at a gathering of tents that looked like they were made for combatants to rest in when they came back from the battlefield without serious injuries.
