The Great Summoner finally stopped chanting.
Not in a dramatic, curse-my-enemies kind of way. No explosion. No final words. Just… silence.
His staff flickered, sputtered like a dying lightbulb, and the last orc he tried to summon came out halfway before dissolving into disappointed smoke.
Oh.
You ran out of mana.
That's it?
I blinked, then opened my system panel just to be sure this wasn't some elaborate fake-out.
Early 400s. Across the board.
I slowly scanned the battlefield, my gaze hopping from player to player, and felt something click into place in my chest. Not fear. Not panic.
Confidence.
This wasn't like before. Back when Pelushra's authority throttled growth like an overprotective admin who hated fun. Levels capped. Progress crawled. Every fight felt like scraping stone with your nails.
Now?
Now the system actually worked.
Game integration wasn't just flashy UI and monster spam. It gave Zethara teeth.
