Jon woke up in the middle of the night.
Melody was sleeping next to him, her body covered in love bites.
Yesterday, he had tied her up and made sweet sweet love to her until she had fallen asleep.
Only after she learned her lesson that it was in her best interest to not seduce him recklessly and passed out in his embrace from being fucked too much did he stop pounding her pussy, setting her down on the bed and placing the blanket over her.
He planted a loving kiss on her forehead before getting off the bed and walking to the bathroom to freshen up.
Looking at his reflection in the mirror nailed to the wall above the basin, his eyes narrowed in thought.
'According to the Divine Brilliance Scroll, I need 100 mortal souls to improve my power level.'
'What exactly counts as a mortal soul?'
'With tests and trials, the answer will naturally be found.'
'However, if the soul of every mortal creature that hasn't awakened or isn't magical is considered a mortal soul, then it would be simple to gather a hundred of them.'
'I hope that's really the case.'
Leaving the bathroom, he began moving around the house in search of an insect or a fly to kill.
A mosquito saw him wandering around and came close to suck his blood.
Hearing a familiar buzzing sound, he sensed its approach.
'From behind?'
He turned around and crushed it to death between his palms with a sharp clap the mosquito, who was looking for a late night snack, wasn't expecting in the slightest.
A metallic jar appeared in his hand the very next second.
Protrusions covered its outer surface, shaped like twisted, tortured faces, giving it a ghastly, sinister look. It was one of his two battle spirits, the Soul Devouring Jar.
Its gaping mouth began to release a powerful suction force as he poured mana into it, sucking the soul out of the dead mosquito he had already brushed off his palm.
The Divine Brilliance Scroll unfurled before him.
Jon smiled.
"Looks like my guess wasn't wrong."
"Since mortal souls can be obtained from ordinary insects and flies, it won't be long before I breakthrough to the next level."
_____
In the morning, Jon went and bought a jar full of disgusting to look at mealworms from the local farmers.
The purpose behind this purchase couldn't have been more obvious, considering his intent.
He went to a secluded place with a plain view that was rarely visited and uncapped the jar, throwing the mealworms in it onto the ground before stomping on them, ending their lives without hesitation.
Once he was done killing them, he took out the Soul Devouring Jar and poured mana into it so it could absorb their souls.
This was ten more than what he needed to level up.
'The day have only begun and I have already acquired over a 100 mortal souls,' Jon thought. 'Good. Good. Good.'
"Soul Devouring Jar, do your magic!"
At his command, the captured souls were refined and the end result shot out of Jar like a ray of white, sinking into his head.
After that, Jon only felt a great warmth spread across his body before the sensation of growing strong was sensed.
The Early-Stage Battle Master Realm was divided into ten levels.
Each breakthrough required the expansion of the magic sea by a hundred units no more, no less.
Ordinarily, one relied on the cores of magical creatures to achieve this.
These glowing orbs were the condensed essence of a magical creature's power, far more valuable than their lives.
Naturally, no creature would give it up without a fight.
And magical creatures weren't easy prey.
They could cast spells, sling fireballs, and unleash all manner of deadly attacks to kill or drive off any nuisance that came too close.
While fighting them, even a small misstep could lead to dismemberment or death.
That's why hunting cores was always a gamble with one's life.
Of course, there were other ways to expand the magic sea.
One required wealth as pills and magic herbs didn't come cheap.
The other required something far rarer.
Luck.
Only with luck could one stumble across a hidden treasure or a rare breakthrough opportunity while wandering aimlessly through the wilderness.
Jon narrowed his eyes.
'What's the requirement for the next level?'
He opened the Divine Brilliance Scroll.
As expected, a new message has appeared.
Magical creatures were divided into four tiers.
From the weakest to the strongest, they were.
Low-tier, Mid-tier, High-tier, and Lord-tier.
The ranking was based solely on strength and had nothing to do with their potential.
Low-tier magical creatures stood at the very bottom of the hierarchy of magical creatures.
They were considered the weakest among the magical species, but even then, they were nothing to scoff at.
After all, a typical low-tier magical creature was roughly equivalent to an Early-Stage Battle Master, and those born with exceptional bloodlines or natural talents could threaten even an Intermediate-Stage Battle Master if they managed to catch them by surprise.
Jon closed the scroll, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"It's going to require some effort to advance to the next level."