James stood amidst the wild, untamed beauty of the swamp, the sun casting dappled shadows through the thick canopy above. The air was thick with humidity, the chorus of wildlife a constant backdrop to the pulsing life force of the swamp. Here, amidst ancient trees and still waters, he once again faced the buzzing threat of a mosquito hive mind.

The swarm before him was a dark cloud in the vibrant landscape, a swirling mass of insects that blotted out the sun in patches, their collective hum a menacing drone. The presence of such hive minds was another testament to the Everglades' unique ecosystem. They were creatures capable of draining a man in a few short seconds, and yet life still thrived.

Now an Ethereal Champion, James approached the confrontation with confidence. His recent rank-up had not only enhanced his psychic abilities but had also granted him access to ethereal energy and, thus, several connected skills. Though he was still trying to master them, he had achieved a level of control that Mr. Julian had deemed appropriate to begin fighting again.

The first dozen fights had been relatively easy, the creatures entirely unprepared to defend their minds from his psionic attacks. That had netted him some easy wins and a couple of levels. However, his teacher wouldn't allow him to rest on his laurels, and thus, he was sent to fight a creature that could match him in a mental fight.

The first wave of mosquitos came at him like a living storm, thousands of tiny bodies propelled by a single will, their proboscises lethal weapons aimed at his flesh. James braced himself, and the familiar tension of battle set in.

Where before, he had used his telekinesis to create a barrier around himself, this time, he chose a different avenue. He didn't have Lauren there to take the pressure off him, after all, and being stuck in one place was not a good idea.

Drawing deep from his reserves of mana, James activated Ethereal Harmony. The world around him shifted, colors bleeding away as he stepped into the ether, the mosquitoes passing harmlessly through his now intangible form. He couldn't help but marvel at the sensation, the swamp around him a blur of motion and color, yet he stood apart from it, untouched.

It was a fleeting refuge, however. The skill, while powerful, demanded a significant portion of his mana, a reminder of the limits even his enhanced abilities faced. "I need to be more conservative with this," James muttered to himself, stepping back into the physical plane as the swarm regrouped for another assault.

If I could always stay in the ethereal plane, I'd be invincible, but using Harmony for more than a few seconds at a time is impossible. The skill's cost is exponential, and just twenty seconds are enough to dry me, even with my increased reserves. I'd need trillions of mana points to last for a whole fight.

In contrast to his previous encounter, where Lauren's presence had divided the hive mind's focus, James was alone this time. It was a challenge he accepted with determination, a test of his growth and the capabilities of his new Talent.

The mental battle began anew as the swarm surged forward. James reached out with Soul Rend, clashing with the hive mind's will. This specific one seemed to be stronger than the last he fought, but not enough so that he couldn’t handle it. The mental battlefield they clashed in was a maelstrom of conflicting energies as the mosquitos ineffectively tried to defend against an attack that touched deeper than they could defend. James’s mere presence there was enough to disrupt the swarm's unified consciousness.

Utilizing Ethereal Leech, James began to siphon away some of the monster's strength, feeling the rush of energy bolstering his assault. The skill was a revelation, allowing him to turn the hive mind's power against itself, a feedback loop that weakened the swarm even as it empowered him.

It provided him just enough mana to keep the swarm at bay with telekinesis while allowing him the time to dig deeper into the mind controlling it.

Yet, victory was not easily won. The swarm adapted, understanding that it could not win if things remained as they stood. It split into several prongs, thus allowing it to hide its core while it tried to find a weakness in James’ defenses. Its attacks became more frenzied as James gained more ground, eliminating cluster after cluster.

Despite utilizing his new skills, James still found himself pushed beyond his limit. It wasn’t so much a lack of mana that got to him, but having his attention split on so many things and his mana diverted into different skills as he maintained his defenses and continued his assault required him to use more of his MIND than ever before.

Fortunately, he had the solution. He called upon Mindforge Mastery. The new skill had allowed him to crush his earlier opponents' feeble minds easily and revealed its worth once again. He empowered Soul Rend enough that he felt comfortable trying an old tactic. He shaped his mana into a blade of pure energy, wanting to see how far he had come. With a mental thrust, he directed the blade into the heart of the swarm, uncaring of its attempt to disorient him, targeting the nexus of the hive mind's control.

The difference between his earlier attempts and the current one was immediately obvious. Before, his weapon was more like a stick he had picked up, which he used to whack his enemies into submission; it was now a steel sword forged by an artisan with great care.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

The defenses that had once stymied him were batted aside with little effort. The cohesion of the swarm shattered, and the once-unified will dissolved into chaos. The mosquitoes, deprived of their guiding intelligence, fell to the ground listlessly, not even a shred of animalistic instinct remaining within them.

James still made the effort to ensure they died, crushing them into a paste with telekinesis. He continued until the familiar ding resounded in his mind.

That was much easier. It's crazy how profound the difference in tiers is. Fighting with Lauren, we barely managed to kill this thing, and now I managed to do it alone and without using that much mana. Or rather, the mana I used was already regenerated. Well, let's see where I'm at.

STATUS WINDOW

Name

James Summers

Age

20

Awakening

3rd

Talent

Ethereal Champion

Title

Protector of the Weave

Level

204

MP

3.160/3.160

STR

130

VIT

90

AGI

90

SENSE

130

MIND

130

STAT POINTS

9

James smiled to himself. He had worked hard since Awakening, which showed in his status window. Some people liked to complain that one would never be able to rise above what their Talent allowed, but he thought it was bullshit. The System would reward anyone who put in the effort to better themselves. It was an inherently fair way of doing things, and so, of course, many who wanted to be privileged complained, but there was nothing anyone could do to change it.

With the third Awakening giving eight stat points and twenty mana points for each level, I will rise among the ranks quickly. Well, every level takes longer to achieve, but a few days of hard work while I was still figuring out how my skills worked granted me four levels. I might not blaze through this tier as I did previously, but nothing says I need to stagnate here like so many.

Every new level meant a significant increase in power, similar to what four levels were like in the first tier. And that was without even factoring in the rise in mana capacity that his Title gave him. Protector of the Weave might have had several grander benefits, but the most straightforward one served James the most.

Several plans flitted through his mind as he considered his options. James would need more power if he wanted to confront his father's old teammates, and he doubted he'd get another chance quite like this one. Mr. Julian wouldn't interfere in personal matters, but he was also unlikely to let James be killed.

Such a safety net was extremely rare; he'd take advantage of it without remorse. That, however, didn't mean James wanted the old man to solve his problems. He had been anticipating this moment for a long time, and he'd do everything in his power to not need any outside help.

All the anger I felt at the political system is still there, but now that I know just how deep the corruption runs, I'm more aware of how limited I am. My actions can change things, but to enact genuine reforms, one needs absolute power. And I'm nowhere near that. So, for the moment, I must content myself with change on a smaller scale.

That didn't mean he believed what he needed to do to be worthless. Instead, if he could get rid of corrupt Awakeners, fewer people would suffer in return, and fewer families would need to go through what he did.

With a sigh, James shook himself out of his contemplations. He started trudging back towards the resort as the day was almost over, and he was under strict orders not to tempt the creatures of the night without Mr. Julian there.

The old man was following through on his promise. He put James and Lauren through the paces, ensuring they had complete mastery of their new skills in a short time and that they could fight alone without him needing to be there to babysit them and siphon away EXP.

Along the way, he sensed Lauren returning from her own fight. He altered his path so that they would meet in the middle and could walk the last half together.

"Good hunting?" He called when she became visible.

"Can't complain. I think a panther stalked me for a while, but I led it to juicier targets and managed to get some time alone with a flock of herons." Lauren replied, for once not startling.

Having achieved the third tier, too, she had finally received a sensory skill of her own. This, unfortunately, meant that James wouldn't be able to have fun scaring his teammate anymore, but it also meant she was now free to explore on her own.

"You think? Was it strong enough to hide from you?" James asked curiously.

"Hmmm, I don't know if strong is the right word. It was decently powerful, but stealth skills are less about raw power and more about the mechanism through which they work being compatible with the observer's sensory one, as you know." She replied.

James nodded, knowing well that was the case. The entire reason his senses were so practical was that they operated on a level that was precluded to most. Stealth skills often meant hiding one's smell, sound, or visibility. It wasn't many creatures that could hide their minds.

They kept chatting as they expertly navigated the swamps. The Everglades had seemed mystical at first, but with time, everything lost its sheen and became more common. Even places as magical as this.

I don't think I will get used to seeing giant anacondas swim through packs of otters, but almost everything else is becoming less shocking.

"When do you think he'll allow us to take a break?" Lauren asked, idly cleaning one of her knives from the blood that caked it.

"From what I understand of the man, Mr. Julian is not one to allow idleness. He seems to have a grudge against the idea of relaxation, and I suspect that if we ask him, he'll simply say that we must not be working hard enough if we have the energy to waste thinking about a vacation." James answered, mirth evident in his tone.

Lauren sighed, "Well, at least he promised to let us go deeper into the swamps in the next few days. I'm curious what that will be like. We might even get to see him fight for real and not just swat things into dust."

James nodded in agreement. He was curious about the power the old man wielded. He had done his best not to be obnoxious, but the chance to see what real might was like excited him. "He promised he'd show us a thing or two." He said, "Knowing his penchant for understating things, I expect a show."