He regained his senses to the sound of pebbles falling. Some landed on his face. He frowned and tried to wipe them away. He immediately felt the intense pain from the hand he tried to use.
Kade snapped his eyes open and saw a dead icehowler next to him with part of his arm still in its bloody mouth.
Warning: Your health has fallen below 50%!
Warning: You are experiencing excessive bleeding!
He was missing everything from the elbow down on his left arm. He could feel his health slowly being sapped away by the excessive bleeding.
Worse, one of his legs was stuck under the collapsed cave.
He groaned as he sat up with the struggle and used every bit of strength he possessed to move enough of the rocks to release his leg. Surprisingly, it remained usable despite being in terrible shape.
The interface made itself known at this point.
You have destroyed 11 Icehowlers (Arcana Level 18)!
You have destroyed 6 Icehowlers (Arcana Level 19)!
You have destroyed an Icehowler (Arcana Level 20)!
You have destroyed 14 Icehowlers (Arcana Level 21)!
You have destroyed 9 Icehowlers (Arcana Level 23)!
You have destroyed 2 Icehowlers (Arcana Level 25)!
You have indirectly destroyed 11 Icehowlers!
Kill 100 Monsters (3/100)—>(57/100)
It brought Kade a sick sense of satisfaction that he had eliminated so many icehowlers. It was the least he could do to return the favor for the number of times they took chunks of flesh from him.
He continued to go over the summary.
Footwork (Level 7)—>(Level 10)
Spear Thrust (Level 6)—>(Level 9)
Spear Impale (Level 4)—>(Level 7)
Spear Sweep (Level 1)—>(Level 6)
Level-up! (x5)
Arcana Level 22—>Arcana Level 27
MP Recovery: 6.6% per minute—>8.1% per minute
Free Points: 1.5—>6.5
Constitution: 24—>29
Endurance: 13—>15.5
Strength: 24—>29
Your skill [Footwork] has reached Level 10! You have unlocked an ability. You have 3 options to choose from.
Kade forgot about the missing part of his arm when he saw the reward… but only for a fraction of a second. The pain was back at the forefront.
Blink Step (2 MP):
Instantly move a short distance in any direction.
Wind Dash (2 MP):
Increase your movement speed by 100% for 5 seconds.
Ethereal Glide (5 MP):
Become intangible for 2 seconds.
The descriptions were short and sweet, but they told Kade all he needed to know. He was tempted to select [Blink Step], but [Ethereal Glide] was too good of an ability to pass.
Kade knew that choosing another ability that required so much [MP] was not ideal since he was a [Warrior]. It would require him to invest more [Free Points] into [Wisdom]. Still, he was salivating at how much help [Ethereal Glide] could have given him in the fight against the icehowlers.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
You now have the ability [Ethereal Glide].
He left behind the ruined cave and the icehowler with his forearm in its mouth. He was still bleeding profusely, but he had a small time extension available if he didn’t find enough monsters to level up.
Kade disliked the thought of using his [Free Points] on [Constitution], but bleeding out to death purely because of bullheadedness was not his idea of a good death.
The cave had gotten significantly darker compared to the previous chamber, but there was enough light for everything to be visible. There was only one path forward, and he followed it with a limp.
Kade continued on for several minutes, becoming hyperaware of his blood dripping on the ground in the silence. A chill slowly spread across Kade’s body from the blood loss, making it exponentially worse.
He paused.
It’s not cold in the cave.
Kade narrowed his eyes, wondering what the trade-off was. The cave had been strange from the start. It allowed nothing to leave, and he didn’t miss that none of the icehowlers were willing to go deeper into the cave until there was no choice.
That likely meant there were far stronger monsters… or worse.
He hoped it was the former. He needed plenty of them to get his body back to its peak condition.
Kade passed the time as he limped down the path by thinking of the quickest ways to dispatch a group of monsters so his missing forearm and crippled foot wouldn’t play a part in a fight.
He saw a change up ahead. The path opened to a chamber significantly larger than where he brawled with the icehowlers.
Kade stopped when he reached the expansion spot and looked around in awe. The world outside was a frozen hell, but somehow, an alien forest thrived inside a mountain covered in a blizzard.
He felt a warm, humid breeze carrying the exact scent of unknown flora and damp earth. The cavern contained a hidden world with an impossibly high ceiling embedded with small illuminating crystals that lit up the forest in a cool blue glow.
There were towering trees with bark resembling toasted obsidian, looking more like rocks than wood. Their branches stretched out like skeletal hands adorned with leaves that shimmered in hues of deep purple.
However, most of the flora lived between these towering trees. A thick layer of moss covered the forest floor, and small shrubs grew stunning flowers. It looked like something straight out of an artist’s dream.
Kade couldn’t forget that the icehowlers refused to come near this place. The forest might look beautiful, but something treacherous was hiding among the stunning flora and pretty glowing lights.
He summoned his [Soulrend] and limped into the cavern. He purposely made himself look weaker than he actually was and used his [Soulrend] as a cane for support.
There was no reason to be subtle when he could feel his injuries sapping his health.
Kade needed to be attacked. He needed to take out as many monsters as possible to increase his level, or he would die anyway.
The one issue for his goal of causing as much noise as possible was the moss floor. It muffled the sound into a barely audible step, less than the quietest of whispers. Luckily, the forest was eerily silent, so even the quietest of steps was obvious when it broke the silence.
He felt an attraction towards the nearest shrub, with pale berries bunched together on its surface.
Starberry:
Recover some stamina and a temporary increase of 1 [Speed] for 10 minutes. Active Limit: 1.
Kade skimmed the interface before raising an eyebrow. “System, why does the interface show information for resources but not monsters?”
We have a near-complete database for all resources that might appear in the universe. However, monsters and corrupted lifeforms vary greatly. They are predictable in their weakest forms, but unknown variants are common at higher levels with well-hidden Arcana Levels.
That made sense to him. If the system was willing to remove all hot weapons from Earth, it would view giving information on monsters the same way—as a crutch that would be detrimental in stronger Rift Zones.
Kade plucked several of the starberries and put them in his pants pocket. He didn’t take too many since the effect was mediocre, mainly since it couldn’t stack. Still, recovering stamina would come in handy.
He became much more observant. If a fruit could recover his stamina, it wouldn’t be out of the question for one to recover his health.
It was unfortunate that he only had a pair of tattered pants that was barely holding together. He hadn’t bothered to replace his shirt when he ripped it apart in the first Rift Zone to make an impromptu spear holder. If he had, it would’ve been ideal to make an impromptu pouch.
Echo Reeds:
A hollow plant that enhances auditory senses when eaten.
Kade snapped the bamboo-like plant and chewed on it. The interface didn’t show any effect, but he could hear it. The eerily quiet forest somehow became more silent.
His chewing and soft steps on the moss floor were the only sounds enhanced. It might have driven him mad if he didn’t have the willpower to ignore it. He didn’t stop chewing. It would alert him to anything that was out of place.
Kade approached flowers that looked hazy to his sight.
Dreamweave Flowers:
Induce a restful night’s sleep.
He stared at it for a moment before moving past the flower. He didn’t want to unintentionally take enough of this scent to fall asleep somehow. That would be a disaster.
Kade kept chewing on the echo reeds as he approached one of the many trees with purple leaves. He could see small, orange-sized fruits hanging off some branches.
Glowfruit Trees:
Grows luminescent fruits that restore health and grant temporary vision enhancement when eaten.
This is it!
He narrowed his eyes as he noticed an issue. None of the fruits that he could see were luminescent.
Kade looked at the other glowfruit trees nearby and saw the same issue. He wasn’t keen on consuming something that looked off to his instincts and moved past the trees without luminescent fruits.
He was desperate, but not that desperate.
Kade continued searching for a glowfruit tree that matched the interface’s description. Several minutes later, he found one.
This tree didn’t have glowing purple leaves. Instead, the leaves were dull, almost looking weathered. However, the fruits were glowing purple.
His eyes widened in excitement as he rushed towards the glowfruit tree before quickly jumping back with a pained grunt. Chewing the echo reed paid off.
Kade felt his leg screaming in pain as he glared at the spindly leg that pierced the moss floor. He followed it to a bulbous body with far too many eyes.
It was a fucking spider.