“Since I can’t use the Darkness anymore, I’ll just need to find a new way to become overpowered.” James told his friends.

After thinking about it for a while, he really didn’t mind the effects of the curse that much, even if they were a huge inconvenience. He was just glad that his friends were safe and happy.

But he still didn’t want to be mediocre. He needed to stand out somehow. Now that he didn't have the convenient power granted by the Darkness, he'd have to compensate for it in other ways.

“Well, you learn spells quicker than most people, that’s quite an advantage already. Maybe you should actually spend some time learning powerful spells for once, instead of just improvising during battles.” Lunaris mused with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. James's lazy habit of just going with the flow and winging it was surprisingly effective, but it was still careless.

“Yeah, that could be an option. But it’s really not my style, I like to just jump in and bang it out, coming up with solutions on the fly. Plus, half the wonder of magic is discovering and exploring things on your own. Sitting down and learning spells feels too much like studying and work, I lose all interest.”

Even now, with the stakes so much higher, with goals and ambitions bigger than ever, James was plagued by the same traits that made his life miserable back on Earth. His laziness, his impatience. Even though he was truly dedicating himself to training even harder, he was trying to invent his own shortcuts.

But the fact that this world allowed James to just jump into danger, turn his brain off and still level up by letting his instincts take over was just perfect for him. He could be productive without necessarily going through the boring stuff.

He repeatedly swore to himself that he would work and progress as much as possible, but he preferred to work smarter, not harder. And paradoxically, for him, the smart way meant thinking less and doing more.

As flawed as these traits are, perhaps they could turn out to be the key to his success. By combining the mindset of a lazy person that constantly tries to find shortcuts and avoid boring tasks, with the focus and motivation he now had, he could have the best of both worlds.

His efficiency could be much greater than that of a normal person, precisely because his laziness makes him try to find solutions in his own, creative ways.

If he could still have the comfort of a lazy lifestyle where he didn't have to submit himself to boring endeavors , while also being very productive, grinding hard and progressing at a breakneck pace, what was the harm in that?

Luckily, killing monsters didn’t even feel like work at this point, it had become quite a thrill. It was fun, like going on a roller coaster, with the minor downside of possibly being ripped apart by a monster at any time.

He’d still have to hit the books every once in a while, but for now he’d rather grind xp and come up with his own skills.

James looked at the world in his own weird way, even ignoring all traditional methods of learning and training. It proved efficient up until now, so he was convinced that the way to progress even faster was to continue down this path, and crank the insanity up to 11.

James kept fantasizing about ways he could make the process of grinding even less tedious and more fun. If only he could learn how to fly, that would make the whole process even more fun. Being productive by flying around and shooting lasers, that would be a dream lifestyle. But his friends informed him that flying consumes too much mana, so he had to put a pin in that dream for now.

“Don’t worry about flying for now, mate. Your unique approach to things may bring results, but you're still a greenhorn in this world. At least wait for your first awakening, then you can make plans for flying and whatnot. For now, we just need to level you up as much as possible." Helios told him patiently.

“You guys keep mentioning this awakening thing, when will that happen?” James asked.

“Oh, right. I suppose you wouldn't know that since you're relatively new to this world.” Helios slapped his forehead in jest. “Your first awakening will be at level 100. So you’re not that far-off actually.”

“100? Jesus, I’m only level 57, that is far-off actually.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. We have some news about that actually." Helios's face then turned serious.

"Seeing as you need to get a ridiculous amount stronger in order to kill the agent that cursed you, Lunaris and I have been thinking about how we can make that happen." As Helios was speaking, Lunaris had an equally serious face.

"Hedonia would help you either way, you're on of us now. But accomplishing your goal would take a whole lot more than the usual amount of help. So Lunaris and I went and asked my father what to do." While Helios was talking, James was on the edge of his seat, wondering why their faces were so serious.

But then they both smiled.

"And luck was on your side! Father likes you, so of course he would have done anything to help you anyway. But seeing as you are cursed, and that the Darkness powers that could have been so useful to Hedonia are now unusable until you get rid of the curse, he decided to convene with the council of Archmages. And in light of your circumstances, they granted you special access to any facility facility or resource available at Hedonia." Helios announced proudly.

Lunaris was beaming with just as much pride and happiness.

James felt happy as well, but he also felt a bit awkward and guilty. He had told his friends to have a good night’s rest, but instead they went around and did all that while he was sleeping. These friends of his had already become more precious and dear to his heart than any spell or artifact that ever existed in this universe.

Lunaris then spoke up. “Anyway, I know you're probably confused as to what exactly all of this means. Don't worry too much about it, but it basically means that getting to level 100 and beyond won’t be a problem. In a nutshell, Hedonia will help you with anything you need, and the only thing required of you is for you to try your hardest to level up and get stronger, in order to become a powerful force against the Darkness.”

“And you’d also have to try to recover your ability to use the Darkness, of course. We still haven’t lost the hope that it we can discover more about the Darkness through you. Anyway, the conditions are perfect since you were going to do these things anyway.” Lunaris stated with a smile.

But that smile didn't last for long, as both Lunaris and Helios looked at each other and nodded.

“That being said, there are several things we could do now. There are ways you could level up steadily. They would take a while but would still be quite fast in the grand scheme of things.” Lunaris then paused, not sure if she should even say the next part.

“…but there’s also a much faster way, which I seriously advise against, although I feel I must mention the existence of such an option. Since the archmages have agreed to invest as many resources as it takes, that also means you can use … the Soul Grinder.” Lunaris then nervously looked at James without giving out any more details, hoping the ominous name would be enough to make him choose a saner path.

“The Soul Grinder? Sounds like a safe and cozy place.” James answered, not sure how to react.

“I actually advise against it as well.” Helios said, which surprised James, since the name sounded like something that was right up Helios's alley.

“I was foolish enough to try and train in the Soul Grinder once. My father was strongly against it, but I kept begging him for weeks till he relented. I only spent an hour in there, and while I did gain a few levels, I nearly died 11 times! One monster bit a huge chunk out of my neck, I was stabbed in the gut 10 times, and I even lost a hand. And let me tell you, regrowing a limb is NOT a fun time, even with powerful healing magic.”

Helios then shuddered, vividly remembering the extremely painful sensations.

“I only survived because father insisted that I take an experienced healer with me, even though that halved the xp I gained. Anyway, after going through all that, the slow and steady ways of gaining xp didn’t seem slow at all.”

James took a few seconds to digest what was just said. Helios having such a reaction was definitely food for thought. But given his current circumstances, he didn't exactly have the luxury of taking it easy. And while he wouldn't admit to it out loud, the thought of a quick and dirty way to get levels sounded a lot more appealing, in spite of the danger.

“Well, that does sound like an awful place. And I wouldn’t necessarily mind taking time to better learn the fundamentals and become a well-rounded mage. But I don’t think I have the luxury of time anymore. If I am to ever get rid of this curse, I need to do anything I possibly can to become more powerful as soon as possible.”

Lunaris and Helios understood this very well. While they weren't ecstatic about James putting himself in dangerous situations, they didn’t try to stop him. The stakes were high, otherwise they wouldn't have even mentioned this option.

“Aye, that is indeed true. But we won’t let you go there alone. Even though you’ll receive only a third of the xp, we’ll be right there with you. Besides, that place gives so much xp that even a third will be more than you can possibly need.” Having said that, Helios was resolved to face the Soul Grinder again, no matter how much the thought made him shudder.

So he immediately dropped down for some push-ups, also a bit excited by the idea of paying back the monsters that put him through so much pain.

“I won’t try to convince you not to go down this path, but before you do, you need to increase your defenses. Especially now that the curse makes it so you receive a lot more damage, you need to avoid being hit altogether!” Lunaris was adamant about this, she wouldn’t let him go as unprepared as he usually was.

“Aye, she’s right, mate. The Soul Grinder is no joke, the monsters there are much more intelligent than the ones you’ve fought before. They use their head when they fight, it’s like dueling a powerful human opponent, except they don’t mind gutting you like a fish.” Helios said while holding a hand over his stomach, and performing push-ups with the other.

James took their warnings seriously. He remembered clearly just how powerless he was against the agent. A lesson like that can change a man. He was even more worried about his two friends' safety than his own. No matter what, he'll try to avoid putting them in danger. If it ever came to it, he'd put his life on the line to protect theirs, although he was more worried that they'd try the opposite. So he had to make sure his own defenses were solid, so that he wouldn't put them in such circumstances.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m not ecstatic about dying or being mutilated either. I’ve actually got a few things in mind. If I can actually implement these ideas, I should be pretty safe.” James couldn’t stop visualizing all the concepts he had envisioned while he was daydreaming on Earth, fantasizing about magic. It was like a treasure trove, the ideas were just waiting to be implemented.

“That’s the spirit! We’ll help you out as well, if we put our three heads together, anything should be possible.” Lunaris said excitedly.

“But don’t you guys have to train as well? I wouldn’t want you to waste your time training me.”

The two just looked at each other and smiled.

“Don’t worry about it. We’ve thought this through. If we help you out, we can accelerate your progression speed so much that eventually you’ll reach our real level. It’ll take a while, but then we’ll be able to actually level up together!” Lunaris announced happily.

“Oh, by the way, I can’t believe I haven’t asked you this yet, but what are your real levels?”

Helios and Lunaris then shyly responded. It felt awkward since they were both talented mages, and it was instilled into them since an early age to never brag about their level, since hubris can quickly lead to one’s downfall.

Even a monster much weaker than you could kill you if you weren’t careful, so they were used to humbly downplaying their own power. And since, unlike a monster, a human can hide their level much more easily, they usually didn't go around telling it to people. It was like going around telling people your income, it's just an uncomfortable thing.

“Well, I’m level 284. But remember, levels don’t matter nearly as much as having powerful skills. No matter how high your attributes get by leveling up, they don’t mean much if your skills are subpar.” Helios said humbly.

“And I’m level 279.” Lunaris said shyly, blushing so hard she turned beet red.

James was impressed, his friends were behemoths in sheep’s clothing. With their help and a lot of hard work of his own, he could eventually catch up.

He’d have to try really hard, but luckily killing monsters was an activity that never seemed to get old. The thrill of battle was always exciting. As long as he didn’t get stabbed, that is. Though the spells he had in mind might help with that.