Despite the success of their last foray, Imri wasn’t satisfied. He had barely gained anything until the last fight. While he didn’t mind acting as a decoy and support, it wasn’t great for his personal growth. That was why he decided to go back to the cave, alone. He had the advantage of relatively rapid mana regeneration, not needing much more than 24 hours to fill up his mana while meditating within Celestia. He cheated a little bit and finished recharging by absorbing some mana from the large Espeonite crystal. The rest of the team would need a bit more time to recover, making this a perfect opportunity for some solo leveling.
He had considered not telling anyone, but his bond with Emelia made it impossible for him to hide his intentions from her. She had insisted on coming with him, but Imri had adamantly held his ground. He would be more effective if he didn’t have to worry about keeping her safe, and if things got too hectic he could open a portal back to the guard station. Apart from Emelia, he didn’t tell anyone else. The council might be pissed, but he wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near as strong as he had without pushing himself. He still cringed every time they called him a strategic asset, key person, or any other such term that insinuated he shouldn’t take any risks.
Imri made sure he was well stocked on potions and antidotes, though the only resource regeneration potion he needed now was mana thanks to his Shaped by Mana trait. His Drake armor protected most of his body, including a pair of vambraces that covered his arms to his elbow. He also had his mundane weapons, including his trusty machete and a pair of daggers. Finally, he had his enchantments, including the Temporal Expansion, Gravity Manipulation, and Dimensional Saber varieties, each fully charged with mana. His final item wasn't an enchantment but was similar in function. A couple of small coin-sized discs were stowed in a pocket, each having a Spatial Beacon tethered to them.
As he approached the guard outpost, he briefly considered sneaking past the guards stationed at the cave’s entrance. He could easily use Blink a couple of times in rapid succession to evade detection, but that seemed like a waste of mana. Let the council scold him for his reckless actions, it’s not like they could do anything to him. He sauntered past the guards, who did a double take when they belatedly realized Imri was alone. No one made any motion to stop him and Imri made his way into the cave.
Imri took one of the coin-sized discs with the Spatial Beacons. Before entering each cavern he would leave the disc in the previous one, allowing him to have an easy method of escaping using his Blink spell. After scouting out the cavern using his mana sight, he would return to retrieve the disk. He easily retrieved them, despite their diminutive size, thanks to the feature of the beacons that let him know exactly where it was. He repeated this several times until he reached the cavern where their last fight had taken place.
He was somewhat reassured when that cavern also didn’t contain any Troglodytes, meaning their group's efforts had discouraged them from pushing closer to the exit. He continued to the passageway where he had killed the troglodytes previously. He approached cautiously and as he placed the disc he could hear the high-pitched chittering of numerous Troglodytes. However, the sound was slightly different in frequency and didn’t grow louder as he waited. Imri began to suspect that these bursts of sounds were more likely groups of Troglodytes communicating rather than the sounds they used to traverse the cavernous terrain.
After several minutes of no change, Imri crept further in. He knew with his low agility and the Troglodytes’ amazing hearing that stealth was futile, but he still gave it a try. As he cleared the small passageway he almost froze in shock.
The massive cavern, which was the size of a modest concert hall, had become a Troglodyte den. It was almost entirely packed with the smaller creatures that stood out, glowing blue thanks to his mana vision. There were easily dozens, if not hundreds of the creatures gathered in this one location. Some of the creatures were far smaller versions of the Troglodytes Imri had fought so far, likely Troglodyte young. Others had crude stone tools that would have looked at home in a Neanderthal exhibit. They had beds made from various mosses and simple stone vessels shaped for holding food or water. Near the center of the cavern, a piece of Espeonite was held upon a crude pillar, almost like a sacred artifact.
Imri took all this information in a fraction of a second thanks to his improved mental stats. As he had predicted, stealth was futile, especially with this many Troglodytes sending out echolocation bursts. However, he hadn’t counted on the sheer number of them and the fervor at which numerous troglodytes raced towards him. They moved at a sprint akin to an Olympic-level sprinter, despite the fairly significant 40% Temporal Expansion effect. Their hissing shrieks echoed throughout the chamber as they closed in on him. Other shrieks joined the call, though some were different, almost sounding like fear or panic.
Imri hadn’t gotten more than a few steps into the cavern, but immediately used a short-range Blink to return to the passageway entrance. His ability temporarily confused the creatures with its unconventional movement and lack of sound. However, they quickly spotted him again with another echolocating burst of sound. He briefly considered using another Blink to return to the Spatial Beacon, which would be the prudent course of action under the sheer weight of numbers he faced. However, this was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
He faced the swarm of enemies that were rapidly pursuing him, closing with unnatural speed but slightly hindered by their own numbers. He created a longer Dimensional Tear, sending it in the general direction of the throng of enemies. The meter-long blade-like tear extended horizontally, cleaving through the large group without slowing, killing a large number of them within a couple of seconds. Imri continued his retreat, placing another Dimensional Tear at the passage entrance as he retreated, this one fixed in place. The enraged Troglodytes continued their charge toward him until their bodies separated at the waist from the strategically placed void in space. Despite Imri’s absurd ability to keep track of the chaos, he lost track of how many Troglodytes met their end in this particular trap. It was only after the number of corpses started to physically block the entrance that they started to notice what was happening.
Satisfied with the destruction he had wrought, Imri used Blink to return to the previous cavern, despite that not being entirely necessary with the entrance physically blocked by the dismembered corpses of his opponents. The entire fight, if it could be called that, had taken only several seconds of normal time. Imri was entirely unscathed, the nearest Troglodyte having been meters from him at the closest. His only loss was to his mana, which he had used a good portion of, though not anywhere near enough to get a headache or risk the over-channel debuff.
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He quickly reabsorbed some mana from an Espeonite crystal, returning his mana to full. He then began to open a portal to the guard station, repeating the trick of only opening it to the dimensions of a keyhole, and then used Blink to teleport through the small space. To the bewildered guards, who hadn’t been attentive enough to notice the small distortion in space, it had seemed that Imri appeared out of nowhere. A few were even startled to the point where they reached for their weapons before noticing who he was.
Imri ignored the guards once they stopped reaching for weapons, and began pondering what he had done. Within several seconds he had slaughtered numerous Troglodytes who had only been zealously guarding their homes and young. Were they truly mindless monsters he could indiscriminately slaughter for experience? Did that make him any better than the monsters he was purportedly trying to protect his people from? Did the Troglodytes now view him in a similar light to how he viewed the Chixel? Either way, he would never forget the mountain of corpses he had wrought. Still somewhat despondent, he reviewed his ill-gotten gains.
Achievement Upgraded Horde Slayer 16 (+12): 1.6% increase to primary stats (+1.2%)
New Achievement
Butcher 1: Slay a considerable number of creatures, excluding enemies 5 levels plus 20% of users level lower. The amount of creatures killed to rank up is slightly exponential.
.05% Primary Stats/Rank
Imri Padar has reached level 32 (+3) in Celestial Mage (2F) Imri Padar has reached level 32 (+3) in Primordial (1E) Primary Stats Strength 134 (+3) Agility 104 (+2) Constitution 122 (+3) Intelligence 215 (+8) Willpower 175 (+5) Charisma 109 (+2) Secondary Stats HP 187 (+11) FP 138 (+6) MP 570 (+51) Mana Efficiency 535 (+45) Crafting Efficiency 594 (+50)
Trait Upgraded
Spatial Manipulation E to D
Spatial Manipulation (1D): Gives an understanding of spatial concepts, helping improve the rate at which spells and abilities related to the concept of space are learned and improved by 5.25%. Increases the effectiveness of spatial spells and abilities by 1.57%.
Spatial Manipulation has become Spatial Control
Spatial Control (2F): Gives an instinctive control over spatial concepts, helping improve the rate at which spells and abilities related to the concept of space are learned and improved by 5.5%. Increases the effectiveness of spatial spells and abilities by 2.5%.
Spell Upgraded Blink F to E: +3% spell mana efficiency
Despite not feeling great about how he had gained those benefits, Imri was still pleased to have gained them. It was his greatest improvement since his class and heritage rank up. While he hadn't gotten any game-changing new spell, the steady improvements were starting to add up. The idea that he could hold a meter-long tear open for several seconds and not even consider that a significant strain would have been unfathomable when he first got the spell.
He began his journey back to Celestia, going through a walking meditation to stabilize his dark thoughts, the added resource regeneration only an afterthought. He was vaguely aware of Emelia’s concern as she moved to meet him on the trail before he reached Celestia. She must have been more concerned than he thought because she reached him well before Imri was halfway back.
“What happened?” She asked, a new spike in concern evident when she saw him.
“I slaughtered them, 16 Troglodytes killed like it was nothing. The system even gave me the Butcher achievement for all the creatures I've killed,” he said with a shake of his head.
“I don’t understand, isn’t that what you set out to do? Why is this bothering you so much now?” She asked.
“They had fucking kids. That’s why I could kill so many of them, it was their fucking home,” Imri said.
“Did you kill the kids?” She asked with concern.
“No, but I might as well have. It was their parents, they rushed me with such fervor that they kept falling for the same trap until the passageway was physically blocked with corpses. They had tools and beds, and for the most part, they were minding their own business. It made them seem more human if that makes sense.”
“It does,” Emelia agreed. “Do you want me to help you? I could get rid of the emotion?”
“No, I need to feel this,” Imri said without hesitation.
“Good, I’m glad you said that,” Emelia said with a smile. She grabbed his hand and held it as they walked back.
“I’ll keep everyone safe no matter what I have to do, but I don’t want to become a soulless monster, not if I can help it. I will be better than that. They might have killed several prospectors, but I’ve already avenged them several times over,” Imri rationalized after a brief silence as he considered his actions further. He had been there for a reason, if they hadn’t killed those men there wouldn’t have been a retaliatory expedition, but when would the bloodshed stop? He hoped the next species he met wouldn’t introduce themselves by killing or enslaving people.
“No one thinks you're a monster. At least, no one who knows you as I do,” she said.
“There is one more thing I need to wear the monster mask for,” Imri said with determination. “I think it’s time our Warlock friend told us everything he knows.”