Monica had left the others almost immediately, telling them she needed time to herself. She hadn’t even listened to Gromorlig saying she shouldn’t go alone since she couldn’t track down the monsters.
However, she had a much better plan than just tracking them down. Just the kind of plan that someone who could afford endless deaths could pull off.
She stationed herself on a roof rather close to the nest and started using Mana Sense and Meditation together, looking for any movement of a Corrupted Tarantula.
She knew normal spiders would not help her improve. She needed a stronger foe. She needed the Corrupted Tarantula. It had nearly killed them all in their previous engagement, and might have if it had not been for Sir Tristan, but now she wanted to face it alone.
She wanted to push herself to the limit.
She wanted to evolve her Skills faster by forcing her soul to fight at its peak.
Viscera was quiet for now, with barely any sound getting to her ears.
She breathed slowly and cleared her mind. She focused on Meditation. She tried to guide her Mana so that it flowed more smoothly.
First, though, she checked the streets below. Nothing.
She had to draw the Corrupted Tarantula out. She picked up a loose rock from the roof and threw it with all her Strength toward an old stone statue near the nest. The sound of the impact was loud. She crouched down and waited. Soon, she heard movement. A spider emerged from a collapsed archway. It was large and silvery.
Nice, Monica thought to herself.
It scanned the area, searching for prey. Monica prepared herself and smiled grimly. This was what she needed.
She jumped down from the roof while she kept Meditation active.
She felt her Mana in her chest and arms, but it slipped away the moment she tried to move. The Tarantula hissed at her, its legs scraping the stone ground. She stepped forward, trying to keep her focus on Mana Sense and Meditation.
It charged at her with surprising speed. She dodged the first strike, but felt her Meditation break. She cursed. She had to balance fighting and keeping her Mana flow steady. She tried again.
The Tarantula spat a thin wire that cut through the air. Monica tried Phoenix Step to dodge.
She felt the Mana surge, but now that her attention was inward, focused on the Skill, she noticed how rough and wasteful the movement had been.
I am the damn Avatar, she thought, angry.
She would pry her children away from the Old God’s magic, no matter what. She would burn through them, extinguish their parasitic life once and for all.
Monica might not have been confident about many things, but fighting?
This was what she was made for.
She might have not have been a great mother, a great friend, and perhaps not even a great woman at all, but she could fight.
She dodged the wire with a minimal movement and let it slice the stone behind her.
She clenched her teeth. She felt pain in her shoulder. She looked down. A small scratch and another dent in her Nightshade Battle Wear, nothing serious, but enough to make her even more mad.
She needed to let the Corrupted Tarantula wound her more, though.
She needed true danger to push her mind.
She lowered her guard slightly, allowing one of its metal-enhanced legs to slash at her thigh. Pain shot up her leg. Blood dripped on the stone. She bit her lip. She felt anger rising, but forced it down. She had to remain calm. She tried Meditation once more. She tried to hold that state even as she prepared Obsidian Impact.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
The Tarantula lunged again. She raised her bracer. Her elbow under the impact of the metal leg on the golden bracer, which had made her entire arm ring like a bell.
She tried to channel Obsidian Impact. The Mana flow was messy. She struck the Tarantula's body with a flaming fist. The blow landed, but not cleanly. The Tarantula stumbled back, but then shot another wire. This one caught her side and pierced through the shadowy substance of the Nightshade Battle Wear as if it had been paper. She screamed as it tore through flesh. She staggered, nearly falling.
Good.
She needed to push closer to death.
Before her vision could blur from the loss of blood, she flashed the Golden Flame around her body to heal the worst of the damage, then, she activated Meditation again.
This time, she felt a slight improvement. She sensed a small part of her Mana moving as she intended. She tried Phoenix Step while holding that feeling, but she failed. Right when it had felt like the flow of Mana from her abdomen to her legs was making her move smoothly across the paved stone, the Mana had slipped away.
She coughed and felt warm blood on her lips, especially after tanking another hit from the Corrupted Tarantula.
She was badly hurt now.
Perfect.
She would just resurrect if she died.
The Tarantula charged at her, trying to finish her off. She dodged to the side and tried Obsidian Impact again. She guided the Mana more carefully this time. She visualized the flow as she had during Meditation. She caught a small detail—just before releasing the Impact, the Mana spun out of control. She tried to adjust, but it was too late. The blow landed weakly.
The Tarantula retaliated by stabbing a leg into her shoulder.
Monica screamed and dropped to one knee, near death. She tried one final time to hold Meditation. For a brief moment, she caught a glimpse of how her Mana should flow through her arms for Obsidian Impact. She saw a possible solution. She would need several more tries to apply this lesson, though. She tried Phoenix Step, but she was too weak. The Tarantula's next attack struck her chest.
She gasped. Her strength faded and she could not stand anymore.
The Tarantula loomed over her. She let out a shaky breath. She had learned something today.
She had noticed one small improvement in how she managed her Mana. Next time, she would try again.
She would die as many times as needed until she reached the next threshold of Skill Mastery in all of her Skills.
All of them.
Then, darkness enveloped her mind.
* * *
Ted sat against a wall in the barracks, bored out of his mind.
Monica had left and the others were either sleeping already after using Meditation for so long or eating something or, in Monica’s case, they had just left to hunt alone.
Ted felt neither hungry nor tired, which was why he closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, crossing his legs and resting his hands on his knees.
If he focused a lot, he could feel his Mana moving through his body. It was something his father had taught him. It wasn’t exactly Mana Sense, but it was enough as a grounding exercise in case Ted had ever needed to deal with Mana. The flow was very much uneven even as he tried to guide it like Gromorlig had taught them. The Mana responded in a lethargic mannery to his attempts.
Hours passed like this, with Ted bored and just meditating to pass the time. He didn’t really feel tired from Meditating, if he had to be honest. He didn’t understand why the others had complained so much.
In fact, Ted barely moved despite his back hurting and his numb legs. He was engrossed in the feeling of Mana circulating through his veins, in the slight pricklish sensation it created when he managed to ever so slightly steer it toward where he wanted it. He just kept focusing on the Mana as if it was the only thing that mattered in the entire world.
He noticed small changes in how it flowed hour from hour. Sometimes it would move smoothly for a few seconds before becoming choppy again. In other places, it rapidly accelerated for a brief time and then resumed its normal speed.
Ted felt almost drunk while he kept watching and watching it, getting a small reward from his brain every time one of his attempts was successful.
He lost track of time. His mind drifted to his mandolin but he pushed the thought away. He had to focus only on the Mana. Gradually, the flow became steadier. He could maintain it for longer periods.
More time passed. Ted's concentration deepened. The Mana began following his guidance more naturally. He felt something shift inside him. The flow suddenly became crystal clear.
A notification appeared.
*Ding*
Utility Skill - Meditation has reached Level 10
Ted checked on his Skill List.
Skill List
Meditation - Lv. 10
Rank: Iron -> Bronze
“Huh,” he told himself. “That was actually easier than I thought.”
Only when a few seconds later Heidi knocked on his door, he changed his mind.
“Ted? Are you awake? It’s time for breakfast.”