Strength + 6
Constitution + 8
Dexterity + 10
Intelligence + 4
Wisdom + 2
Will + 2
Charisma + 2
Skill level up, Mana Manipulation 38 > 43
Skill level up, Visualization 43 > 44
Skill level up, Intimidate 26 > 29
Skill level up, Inspect 33 > 35
Skill level up, SYMPHONY 25 > 26
Skill level up, Mana Sense 27 > 28
Skill level up, Unarmed Combat Proficiency 20 > 28
Skill level up, All-Armors Proficiency 15 > 18
Combat summary
Enemies slain:
Ice Elemental lv 25 - 28 x 502
Wind Elemental lv 25 - 28 x 282
Wind Elemental lv 34 x 1
Sand Elemental lv 25 - 28 x 173
Spear Scorpion lv 24 - 30 x 270
32,356 syscred and 136,137 exp awarded
You are now level 26
Some much welcomed skill lv ups and another devouring, then I spent the night out in the deserts grinding for experience, and it was rich indeed. Though I might have gotten carried away tonight; slaying more than 1200 enemies in 6 hours… That's about 3 kills a minute, though parts of that time is spent finding them and another is spent working on my Unarmed Combat Proficiency. It has occurred to me that conjuring weapons might be great at early levels, but at my current attributes, the weapons are no stronger than my body.
During my hunt, one noteworthy encounter would be with a Keeper Scorpion, the contact did not develop into conflict between them and I. It is a splendidly fine specimen indeed; black with random specks of dark orange, it is maybe 70 centimeters tall and spans 80 centimeters wide, its body 100 long—notwithstanding the magnificent tail that is half again longer than its body.
Nested on the crook of its back, partially covered by its chitins is a bee's nest; Hydro Bees. As inspect identifies them. They are about the size of an ordinary bee, their usual orange and black looks are further enriched by random bluish glint that gleams off of their darker shade and their undoubtedly mesmerizing blue eyes. The Keeper Scorpion is a level 67 creature, while the bees are mostly in the range of 25 to mid 30s. As the Keeper and I were locked in a stalemate, tethering on the verge of conflict. One of the Bees approaches me and offers a drop of their bluish honey. 'Inspect!' x2.
*** DING **
Hydro Bee Worker lv 29
Hydrosia
"Thank you," I say, by intent, both at the Bee and The System while accepting the drop of Hydrosia on the tip of my index finger. "What do I do with this?" I ask the Bee, it buzzes at me for a split second before flying off. I shot the Keeper a confused look; and was amazed to see it gestures taking something from the ground and into its mouth, any sense of hostility gone…
"I'm to eat this?" I ask again for confirmation, which it ignores. Maybe it does not understand language, but rather, from the way I stand there staring at the droplet. Hydrosia does not sound like a bad thing, and I know for a fact that honey produced from Bees is good. These creatures seem friendly enough. And it helps that I Sense another offering one drops each to a nest of baby snake-like creatures---which they accepts. And they even look better after having consumed it. So, I shrug and suck the droplet off my finger.
It is refreshing in the way a gulp of water is when you're feeling thirsty, it also kinda feels like the best drink in the world.
—
Soon, I landed on the new Mongolian Territory, now aptly called; Miinutag. Which I was told is a word play of My Land in their language. Here, I offload the bunch of Mana Cores I had gathered to be used as animal feed. The non-combatants of Miinutag have decided that they will take it upon themselves to breed livestocks and strive to grow and become a colossal group that sources animal products. This is one way I show support for Aya, who happens to be one of them and my new friend.
I pocket the latest Mana Core I had fabricated. Recalling how I have begun making use of all the ones I have to create one large Core daily; today's Core has a pool of 975 mana, which is awesome! And large… So to accommodate all these Cores I ended up purchasing and making an Arcane Vault, finally finding use for the Mana Tower I had placed underground back at a cave in china.
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Arcane Vaults - Early. Novice Rank. Ritual, various. Embrace your inner Dragon! Engrave simple seals using a special formula imprinted with a drop of your blood within the walls of an enclosed room with only one way in or out. Infuse your mana along the engraving to attune the room to you at 1 mana per meter of engraved line. The attunement process may be spread out between sessions for as long as contact is maintained between you and the infused mana. If done properly, the room will seal its doors and only you can easily access the room from anywhere. Otherwise, it acts as a room should be. Seal engraving and formula recipe provided upon purchase.
Fortunately, this was not the spell I chose back when I was still much poorer. The spell itself only costs a mere 2,300 Creds, what would have stumped me is the material required to craft the solution used in drawing the Seals; a Mana Core with more than 100 mana, 100 levels worth of Monster Core powder and a Realm Lotus Leaf. The leaf itself cost 675,000 in the System Store, this is enough to concoct one batch that may be used to encompass a 3 meters cube room. Needless to say, I require exactly two sets for a room that is 5 meters square with a height of 3 meters. The room itself I reform to resemble shelves and containers of various sizes to better hold different objects.
After dropping the Cores, I took the Gate for my newest Tower to await the not so awaited meeting, while still dutifully fabricating Mana Cores. I wonder what the Threshold for Soul Sense is..? And I need a newer, more destructive spell. All while engaging in conversations and thinking of how Parallel Thoughts is a multitasker's wet dream.
It is suspicious how Soul Sense is not affected by any Attributes, but why not and and if it should, which one—maybe a spell that makes very large explosions, or one that twists space around an area in two different directions before pulling it apart—probably one of the mental stats—though a spell that, instead of causing large explosions, can alter the state of a target matter within an area might prove to be silent and very effective.
Well, maybe not, if people start screaming when the water content in their body becomes aci—"They'll see you now, please follow me." Dmitriy's voice broke me out of my musing.
—
"YOUR SO CALLED STRATEGY HAD COSTS US THE LIVES OF TEAM 3!" Someone's yell can be heard as we make our way towards a double door.
We were brought in through a hidden entrance on the ground floor, up a long~ flight of stairs into the room I found myself in previously. Where they did another brief interrogation, just in case we were infiltrated. Then, we were brought through the tunnel and into the vicinity of their shelter; Solntse, which I was told meant; the sun.
Through the tunnel and down several more flights of stairs, on every 'floor' this time---though nothing can be used to properly determine where one floor starts and another ends---a door leads out of the circular-cubed stair design to who knows where. Soon, we stopped and entered one of said doors; after walking past 5. Which brings us to an office of sorts, where multiple people sit before a table doing their job. On the far end is a double door. And this brings us back to the yell…
Whatever reply was given in response to the previous yell did not extend past the doors, but another shout made itself heard. "YOUR SORRY DOES NOT BRING US BACK OUR LOSSES! NOT ONLY ARE THEY DEAD TO US AND THEIR FAMILIES. They are reinforcement for our enemi—"
The very audible yell fades as whoever was speaking lost the support of their full lung capacity's worth of breath. Our guard escorts ignored both yells, and up until we stood before the double door, there were no more yells thrown. The door was knocked on, we were made to wait and stew… then eventually allowed in. We expected this move, which meant we could patiently wait, calmly conversing among ourselves… Soon the door opened and we were let in. Sitting around an oval table are 7 men and women, both old and young… well, still middle aged but young compared to some of the others. All heads turn to look at our entry.
"Welcome," said the only one sitting at the host's position. "We were informed of your… aspirations..?"
"Technically, you're mistaken." Henry steps forth to speak, our current roster consists of Henry, Kirana, Roy, a Mongolian woman I do not recognize and Billy; because—I quote—someone needs to represent China as their neighbor and who else is better than him. "Aspiring is part hope, part working towards a goal. While we are taking one step at a time, learning and improving from our mistakes and working towards a system that will succeed. It is not an aspiration that we succeed, it is merely a matter of time." They kept at this for a while, I lost count after the first hour. The way their conversation is going, I can assume that it will end up with another show of strength. That, I can do…
So, I am finding the idea of silently and unimpactful-ly causing the deaths of my enemies increasingly pleasant. Henry had this idea about moving a small vital part from the target—their discussion had come to an end and I was pulled back to reality. It has been decided that before they allow us to continue discussing further, we are to show our strength, by sparring against their strongest team in a team combat.
"So it's us six against their six," Henry tells me. "I'm not worried, but it's best if we can make an impact."
We are following the group of leaders to their designated training grounds… Everyone has one of those nowadays, even Rumah. It is past the door four floors up above our current floor, the door nearest to the exit. Within are what seems to be a gym, before exiting out into a natural cavern that is maybe large enough to fit three basketball fields.
"You have one hour to prepare, please kindly signal at me when you are ready." A training grounds attendant told us after we were briefly introduced to our opponents. There are small rooms carved into the side walls of the cavern that may be used as a dugout of sorts.
"Hen, you said we need impact?" He nods at my question. "Well, I think I have the perfect idea."
—
Our plan was completed in under a minute, but we decided to give them ten, just to be nice. The leaders had been condescending in their previous discussion. Unjustly assuming the reason we are here to request for assistance, to be a sign of their superiority and our weakness. I grin at the thought.
Now, all six of us stand on the designated arena ground, which is really just a magically elevated platform on the cavern floors. Maybe 35 meters long on all four sides… I stand alone 7.5 meters from our edge, while the others stand below the stage, and signal at the previous attendant.
"Why are you alone? What of the others? Are you prepared to begin?" He asks me, a doubtful look on his face. Looking back and forth between me and my friends, then at the opposing team.
"Yes. I alone represent our team." I answer with a grin, my armor a mere simple chestplate.
"Very well," gesturing to my opponents, who slowly steps forth from a similar dugout on their side of the arena, the attendant takes on a referee role before skipping off stage. "Are both teams ready?'
"What do you mean with both teams, he is clearly alone!" One of my prey said.
"Yes, he alone represents their team," the referee said in clear disbelief and uncaringness. "There was no agreed upon number of participants in a team, so his claim stands."
"Is this a joke?" The same opponent yells at his leaders. Only for them to gesture with a 'carry on.'
"Tsk, I'll beat you up so much your own mother won't recognize your face." He said to me in apparent displeasure. What is his problem?
Despite that, with a grin on my face. I turn to yell at Henry. "How badly can I injure them again?" Which made him shrug. "Maybe I'll just spare them an inch of their life." Earning me another shrug, but followed by a grin and a thumbs up. I turn back to look at the opposition, my grin widens while they are starting to show differing signs of anger.