Chapter 207: Level 9 Wind Manipulation Skill. Mutant Beasts. [Your skill Wind Manipulation has reached level 9!] Noah took a deep breath before standing up, his body feeling the satisfying fatigue that came from productive magical training. He had just finished about an hour and a half of intensive practice, his wind manipulation advancing significantly through his effort and the orb’s concentrated essence. One level closer to the apprentice-rank balance I’m pursuing. He believed he could reach level 10 if he continued for another hour and a half, but decided to stop there for the evening. It was enough training for one day—even at his current level of strength, extended magical practice remained mentally straining. I don’t want to become a workaholic. I’m already working hard enough as it is. The balance between advancement and burnout required careful management, especially when juggling training across multiple skills and worlds simultaneously. Noah went downstairs to the main floor and found Lola organising inventory behind the counter. No customers were present at the moment, giving him the perfect opportunity to ask about something that had been weighing on his mind since his hunting expedition with Leo. "Hey, you’ve finished already?" Lola asked, noting his earlier-than-expected return from training. Noah nodded with satisfaction at his progress. "Yeah, I’ve trained enough for tonight. By the way, I was meaning to ask you something. What do you know about mutated beasts?" Lola’s eyebrow rose with immediate interest. "You encountered one?" Her reaction suggests they’re as significant as I thought. "Yes. I was hunting with Leo when we encountered a mutated minotaur at the adept rank," Noah explained, remembering the intensity of their desperate battle. "Without using my enhancement items, we would’ve been in serious trouble." Lola nodded with a surprised expression that carried newfound respect for their survival against such an opponent. "Hmm... The mutated minotaur you encountered is what I call one in a million," she said with obvious gravity. "So the adept-rank minotaur you fought had probably touched upon master-rank power, essentially a pseudo-master." Noah nodded; he already knew that. "As for why they appear, it’s completely random—at least that’s what current knowledge suggests," Lola continued, clearly having some knowledge in the subject. "They’re incredibly powerful and possess incredible value to those who can defeat them." Her expression shifted to curiosity as she asked the crucial question. "You didn’t leave the body behind, did you?" Noah shook his head with satisfaction at his foresight. "I have it stored with me." "Good," Lola replied with obvious approval. "Some of their body parts can be used to forge weapons or create powerful healing potions. The materials from mutated beasts often carry properties that normal specimens lack entirely." "But mutated beasts are most sought after for their cores. Using a mutated core in specific rituals could potentially allow you to learn a skill from that minotaur. The chance is relatively low, but it exists, and skills are incredibly valuable—especially unique abilities that can’t be learned through normal training methods." Learning skills from defeated enemies. That sounds incredibly useful, even with low success rates. Noah’s interest piqued as he considered what he had just learnt. Skills represented permanent advancement that couldn’t be purchased or replicated, making even a small chance at acquiring new abilities worth pursuing. "How would someone go about extracting the core and attempting this skill learning process?" he asked with obvious fascination. "It’s actually quite simple. The same way you use the wind orb to gain insights on the wind element, you do the same with a beast core. Instead of wind manipulation, you get insights on the skills of the minotaur." Lola explained with a patient tone "But to be honest, you should sell it instead of using it to learn a skill. Not only is the probability of learning the skill low, but the skills aren’t really useful for someone in your position. These cores are primarily valuable for people who are lacking in specific departments." Lola gestured as she explained the typical use cases. "For example, swordsmen might use it to try comprehending a defensive skill, or a tank would use it to learn an offensive ability since they don’t have natural talent for that type of technique. This doesn’t really apply to you; you are quite versatile, which is a talent in of itself." She’s right. I already have balanced offensive and defensive capabilities. Noah nodded in agreement with her analysis. He possessed skills for both defence and attack across multiple disciplines. Swordsmanship, magic, and aura manipulation. Adding a minotaur’s brutal charging techniques wouldn’t significantly enhance his already diverse skill set. "That’s true. How much would it be worth if I sold it?" he asked, his merchant instincts focusing on the practical value of their hard-won prize. "I wouldn’t recommend selling it in the human kingdom," Lola warned before explaining. "You’d lose out on a lot of potential profit here. However, if you sell it in the right place, you could earn yourself some decent profit, around 300 to 400 golden coins." Thirty to forty thousand dollars for one mutated core. That’s a good return on investment for a hunting expedition. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞 Noah nodded with satisfaction at the figure. "Not bad at all." The amount represented some decent income. Much better than trying to learn skills I don’t actually need. Noah sat down, speaking to Lola for a while and playing around with Leo as customers filed in, got what they wanted before leaving. After spending about ten minutes with them, Noah stood up. "Alright, I’m going to go to sleep now. Enjoy your shift." Lola’s expression suddenly died down as if she were incredibly upset. "Awe...You are going to sleep without me..." "...Alright, see you," Noah said, before leaving the store and heading back to Earth. Seeing him disappear, Lola chuckled. "He is so cute, I wonder when he will open up to me," She whispered to herself before a customer opened the door and entered. "Good evening. Can I get my usual order of bread and iced tea?" the man asked politely, having been a regular customer for some time. "Of course," Lola responded. "Thank you."