CHAPTER 349: ALL SKILLS LEVELED UP

Instead, the room he now occupied was in a quieter, more secluded part of the city. Modest compared to the grand apartment, yes, but private. A place where he could breathe without interruption. A place where every step outside his door wasn’t bound to draw eyes.

For him, that was reason enough.

The guild’s apartment wasn’t useless—far from it. He had already decided he would go there when he needed to train.

But for his day-to-day life, for the moments when he simply wanted silence, he kept himself here.

One of the reasons for this choice was simple: the reporters.

The news of him joining the Black Dragons had spread far faster than he ever anticipated.

Within days—no, within hours of the announcement—the city was already buzzing with the information.

Harry Ainsworth, the prodigy who had stunned the tournament stage, had chosen not the Adamantium Guild, not Mytril, but the Black Dragons, a guild that had long been in decline.

It was shocking. Incomprehensible to many. And naturally, people wanted answers.

Why had he made that choice? What did he see in the Black Dragons? Was there some hidden contract, some secret benefit? Or was it arrogance, a desire to raise the guild’s name just to prove he could?

To Harry, it didn’t matter what they thought. Their opinions, their gossip, their desperate search for a headline—none of it concerned him. He had chosen what he wanted, for his own reasons, and that was enough.

Unfortunately, the reporters didn’t share that sentiment.

The path to the apartment the guild had prepared for him was mainly lined with them, flashing their cameras, and shouting voices that bombarded him with questions every time they saw him.

They swarmed like flies, each trying to outshout the other, each trying to drag an answer from his lips he had no intention of giving.

The estate the adventurers of Black Dragons usually resided wasn’t a secret, so it wasn’t too hard for them to get news of a new adventurer arriving also.

Even when he ignored them, even when he walked with his gaze fixed ahead, their persistence was suffocating. Questions about the guild. About his goals. About his rivalries. About the Dark Guild. About anything they could twist into a headline.

To him, they were nothing but a headache. A wall of noise he had no patience for.

And so, rather than endure it daily, Harry kept himself here, in this quieter room, away from the chaos. Away from the spotlight, where the only sound he needed to hear was his own breathing.

Another reason Harry had chosen the secluded apartment was far more personal, and far more dangerous than simply avoiding reporters. It was to hide his secret.

After all, he didn’t use mana the same way everyone else did.

Training in a room filled with dense mana, no matter how rich or pure, barely had any benefit to him. To others, such an environment was heaven, a place where their cores absorbed, refined, and circulated energy at twice or thrice the normal speed.

But to him? It was nothing but a façade. His true source of power, his true methods, had nothing to do with mana at all.

And so, staying in that apartment might only raise suspicions over time. Even if he kept up appearances, the thought alone wasn’t worth the risk.

He didn’t believe the guild would spy on him—at least, not openly. But it didn’t hurt to be careful. If there was even the slightest chance someone might notice the irregularity in his training, then it was better to remain safe than sorry.

What made matters worse was that the guild’s assigned apartment wasn’t isolated.

It was in an estate owned by the guild, where many other adventurers of the Black Dragons also lived. Dozens of eyes, ears, and wandering senses lingered around those halls at all times. Too many people far too close for his liking.

There was no way he would feel comfortable under that kind of attention.

All in all, Harry hated attracting eyes to himself. He had hated it since he was young, and yet, ironically, no matter how much he tried to stay hidden, it seemed all he managed to do was draw more attention.

Whether it was through the tournament, the dark guild incident, or even his decision to join the Black Dragons, everything he did seemed to pull more people toward him.

His eyes narrowed slightly at the thought, a sharp glint passing through them as he whispered in his mind—

’Skills.’

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[Skills and Abilities]

[Skill Points: 121]

Super Jump (level 5)

Camouflage (level 4)

Smokescreen (level 5)

Night Vision (level 4)

Accelerate (level 10)

Immunity (level 6)

Great Regeneration (level 6)

Probe (level 10)

Mana Drain (level 6)

Mana conceal (level 5)

Mana sense (level 7)

Danger Sense (level 5)

Energy Manipulation (level 13)

Energy Blast (level 7)

Energy Pulse (level 6)

Duplicate (level 4)

Weapon Creation (level 6)

Influence (level 8)

Memory Manipulation (level 10)

Inventory (level 4))

Mana core illusion (level MAX)

[Battle Arts]

Dual Sword Mastery (level 5)

Dagger Mastery (level 5)

[Elemental Skills and Abilities]

Great Elemental Control (level 5)

{Lightning Elemental Skills and Abilities}

Lightning Strike (level 3)

Lightning Whip (level 4)

Lightning Dash (level 5)

Lightning Ball (level 7)

Lightning Stun (Level 4)

{Earth Elemental Skills And Abilities}

Rock Fists (level 3)

Earth Rumble (level 3)

Shattering Rocks (level 4)

Earth Skin (level 2)

Earth Hold (level 2)

{Wind Elemental Skills and Abilities}

Wind Slash (level 3)

Wind Burst (level 2)

Wind Blade (level 6)

Wind Steps (level 3)

Wind Needles (level 3)

Blade barrage (level 4)

{Fire Elemental Skills and Abilities}

Fireball (level 3)

Flame wisp (level 3)

Fire Punch (level 3)

Flame Dash (level 3)

Fiery Wings (level 3)

Flame Sacrifice (level 3)

Dragon’s Roar (level 3)

Dragon Wisp (level 5)

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The glowing list stretched out before him like a web of everything he had become, every skill and art he had mastered, every power he had unlocked.

Harry exhaled slowly, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.