Three days later, John finally felt like his body had healed. His organs were healed, his bones were all set, his ligaments and tendons were all set, and his muscles and skin were all healed, starting from the core and healing each layer.

Dennis had worked hard to hunt monsters, letting John replenish his essence whenever he slowed down. Most of his time was spent keeping them all safe or cooking for Rain whenever she got hungry. Which was often.

The most common monsters were snake-like creatures, which could be quite dangerous if they managed to ambush someone. They had no limbs, but their heads were quite different than snakes from Earth, much more robust.

John stretched his entire body, feeling the strength that had returned to him coursing through every muscle. He felt better than ever.

“Thanks again, Dennis! There’s no telling what would have happened without you here.”

Dennis dismissed his gratitude with a wave of his hand. “It’s the least I could do, man. You got hurt saving us, so don’t go thinking I’ve repaid my debt with just this.”

John shrugged. “Can’t we just call each other friends and forget about debts? Keeping track of who owes who all the time will get tedious.”

“Well, if you want to think of it that way, that’s fine. I don’t like leaving a debt unpaid, though.”

“Tsk. Stubborn,” John replied half-jokingly. He mostly just wanted Dennis to stop bringing up his indebtedness all the time. It was getting tiresome.

“Hah! I’m far from being the most stubborn one in this dirt-hole. You both know it.”

John looked at Rain, who looked back at him and nodded. It was hard to say who she thought was the most stubborn of the two, but John assumed she meant it was him.

He sighed. “Fine, but just pay it however you want and stop bringing it up. I trust that you won’t forget about it.”

“Ah… That I can do,” Dennis replied, seemingly understanding John’s perspective. “Will we be heading out again now?”

“Not quite yet. I need to use the enchantment I got after the fight. I’ve decided what to use it on.”

“Ooh, nice! I’ve been curious about that! It will be my first time seeing a purple enchantment! What did you end up choosing?”

“It’s Larang in the end. All the possible effects I can think of would work nicely on a weapon. If it doubles the size at will or makes an attack happen twice, or anything like that, Larang is the best choice.”

Dennis nodded. “Yeah, that’s your most important equipment, so it makes sense. Either way, you can swap it if it doesn’t fit.”

“Exactly. It would be a shame to waste a purple enchantment, though, so let’s hope it’s a good fit.”

John closed his eyes, focusing on his core. The purple light was still floating aimlessly, waiting on orders. A simple command was all it took, and then it headed straight for the greatsword.

The purple light burst from the impact, sending tiny sparks in every direction as the color enveloped the sword entirely. Then, it faded back to normal, leaving no trace of what had just happened.

‘Oh… That sounds… powerful!’

As the information appeared in his head, John felt like he had worried over nothing. The enchantment promised to double any essence he put into it, effectively multiplying his attack power.

Every attack he made with Larang consisted of several parts, but perhaps most notable was the severing effect of the liquid essence he put into the sword itself. That was what had allowed him to cleave the mountain in half, and also what made his flying attacks so weak in comparison.

‘Hooh, this is perfect! I was worried I’d have to think of how to best utilize it again, like the teleportation and the gravity. This is just purely an increase in attack power. Good!’

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He had worried about his offensive capabilities during his last fight, barely able to scratch the giant monkey with anything but his full power. Even the most powerful attack he could imagine didn’t manage to penetrate the bone of the horror, stopping before piercing the neck completely.

“Strong, John?” Rain asked, probably noticing his smile.

“Oh yeah, this will be useful! It doubles any essence I put into Larang, meaning I can hit twice as hard now. It also doesn’t get any weaker even if I become an invoker, so this one might stay for a long time.”

Rain pumped her fists, looking excited. “That’s great! Larang much stronger now! And ball!”

“Heh, yes, the spheres will also grow in power. Although, I will have to increase the gaseous essence I use to make them so they don’t break. That’s a bit of a pain…”

Gaseous essence was still the worst type to store, currently taking up nearly half of his core. But they were a vital part of his combat kit now, so he didn’t have much choice.

‘Maybe I should revisit plasma essence? Or is it still too early? I wonder what kind of powers it hides. And it can’t be any more dangerous than the black essence… Mmh, I think I’ll leave it for now. We’re getting close to our goal.’

He looked out at the jungle wilderness, wondering what they might find at their destination. The city of monkeys had been enough of a surprise for him not to know what he should expect. But if it were the portal to Earth, or Serah, he would be more than satisfied.

“Let’s head out, you two. We’ve still got a fair bit of ground to cover. Right, Rain?”

She shrugged. “Rain don’t know long, but know where. That way.” She pointed again, nearly parallel to the ground. It meant they were close, but the exact distance was hard to judge.

“And what do we find there?” John added, not having any hopes for an answer.

She stared at him in silence for a moment. “... Fate.”

John furrowed his brows, not sure how to interpret that answer. He was surprised he got one, but it was vague enough not to count properly. It did make him think of Serah’s golden string of fate, though. That counted for something.

“I guess that’s good enough… Dennis, you’re fine to run after us again?”

“Of course! I love running!” Dennis replied, a bit too eagerly.

“... Good. Then let’s go!”

----------------------------------------

They traveled through the jungle with less caution than before, assuming that the horrors of this place all lived in the monkey city and that they would not bother them. Demons would be simple enough at this point.

John still had to adjust his speed for Rain and take breaks for Dennis to catch his breath, but they traveled faster than they had when riding Kerchak.

Larang hadn’t changed when it came to flying, but it made sense since it didn’t use any essence. John had briefly tested the new enchantment, finding it to work exactly as expected. It didn’t double the essence put into it, but the effect of the essence was twice as great.

‘That's simpler to explain, so I think it’s nice. Doubling the essence would require Larang’s capacity to double as well, but that’s not the case. I’m surprised the knowledge I got was off, though.’

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden shout from Dennis. “Whoa! Demon here, John! Snake!”

John turned, spotting the giant limbless creature wrapping around one of the trees behind them. Luckily, the size made it much harder for it to ambush Dennis, but it still seemed like a real threat.

It lunged after Dennis while staying attached to the tree, making it swing back and forth with its considerable weight.

“You good with dropping down, Rain?” John asked, planning his attack.

“... Not long,” Rain responded meekly, probably recalling the last time John had done so. She would likely never forget that experience.

John simply nodded and started falling, letting Larang stay under his feet to shield them from the wind. ‘This should be enough, right? It has plenty of vulnerable spots.’

He was preparing his shield inside his core, filling it with liquid essence. Then he summoned it into his hands, letting it build speed alongside them as they fell.

After waiting for a few seconds, making sure to have plenty of space to halt their fall, he hurled the shield downward and teleported it to the point where the snake was attached to the tree.

It easily pierced the thick body, continuing through the next section after severing the first, making three perfect cuts and splitting the snake into five pieces. The increased purity of his essence made the surprise attack stronger than before his breakthrough.

John immediately started slowing their descent, but he was careful so that Rain wouldn’t get mad. She let out a sound of discomfort, gripping his shoulders tightly. But then they were fine.

Seeing Dennis cheer after the attack, John shouted a warning. “Keep your distance, Dennis! It can thrash around even if it’s chopped into pieces!”

“I’ve dealt with dozens of these already, John! Don’t underestimate me!”

“Those ones didn’t have aspects! Be cautious!”

The front part of the snake, the longest piece, still had several meters remaining. It was bleeding rapidly and would be dead soon, but some life remained. In a strange move, it bit the tree it was hanging on and started slinging its body around, sending purple blood everywhere.

John noticed too late that the greatshield had been damaged as if it had been bathed in acid for hours. But when he did, he shouted, “Watch out for the blood! Dennis!”