image [https://cdn.midjourney.com/54671e06-3590-4e18-9130-de34b98be111/0_3.png]
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Glide was, for all purposes, flying. Once Peter was up in the air, his Mana was thrusting energy in the directions needed to ensure his stability, and Peter's body was instinctively finding positions to drift downward or use air currents to go up. The more he advanced the skill, the longer he could stay in the air, the System had told him. With Warp added into the equation, Peter could easily move for hundreds of miles without breaking a sweat.
True Aura was harder to use. It was a force field with multiple purposes. Left on its own, it was passive and did not consume Mana, but if some powerful effect was needed, like blocking bullets, the skill activated and gobbled Mana depending on how much damage it soaked. It could be set to be activated manually—which offered better control of the cost and timing—or automatically—which was safer but risked depleting Peter's energy. A third option, with self-activation but voluntary deactivation, was available at the next tier.
That was why Peter had trained like mad, upgrading his new skills and everything else to the Apprentice tier. During the weekend, he hunted monsters in faraway places, encroaching on other Colleges' turfs—not that he cared—and used Marius for shooting lessons and physical training every minute available.
He had reached level forty-four before the scheduled Wednesday trip and was planning to go up to forty-five during it. He had invested thirteen points in Concentration and five in Intelligence, aiming to raise the second to Journeyman tier as fast as possible. Then, he knew he had to decide where he wanted to go: more toward physical combat or magic.
As he waited in the courtyard for the teleport to activate, he reviewed his Character Menu.
Peter Hillden, age: 22, Class: Impulse, Lvl. 44
Strength: 63 / Dexterity: 83 / Constitution: 46
Intelligence: 35 / Will: 43 / Concentration: 41
Charisma: 52 / Luck: variable / Magic Power: 43
Skills:
Impulse (Apprentice): Kinetic (Apprentice), Warp (Journeyman), Electric (Apprentice), Tectonic (Apprentice), Physical Augmentation (Apprentice), Physical Restraint (Apprentice)
Influence (Apprentice)
Inspect (Apprentice)
Inspect Skills (Apprentice)
Sneak (Apprentice)
Stealth (Apprentice)
Loot (Apprentice)
Glide (Apprentice)
True Aura (Apprentice)
Peter was so engrossed with the stats that he didn't even register when the Teleport happened. After he and Regina put up their tent, he went to Alchemy and told her the two of them would stay until Friday, like last week. Melinda nodded in satisfaction, glad that he was putting effort into training and gathering resources.
"You didn’t tell me you wanted to stay… There's no hot water here," Regina complained when she found out.
"Oh!” Peter facepalmed. “Sorry… I assumed you were OK with it. We can go to the village and rent a room at the inn. They have hot water in the village."
"Next time, check with me before making decisions for both of us," she frowned, which made him hurry to kiss her. "The inn won't cut it, now I'm used to luxury penthouses… I’m joking, silly,” she added because Peter was slackjawing. “What if we visit a proper town?" she showed him a map on her phone. "There's one thirty miles away, and it's marked safe. Just near a lake."
"A lake?" Peter asked, looking over her shoulder. "That's perfect. Give me a moment and we can go."
Stopping to speak with Kostel, Peter paid him three ounces for the last week, and another three for the current trip. Ariana and Naomi decided to stay in camp but left Shredder with Peter.
After waiting an hour for Marius to set up the guards’ rounds and defenses, they left the camp, walked a mile, and then Peter Warped up. Gliding worked even when holding hands with two persons and keeping the pup in a separate bag on his back. They stopped a mile out of town, to keep inconspicuous.
"Let's say hi to Will and ask about a good inn," Peter said.
The town was small, but cute, and had a beautiful riverfront; a big difference from Redroar's village. William's location was near the water. A large one-story house with a beachfront, a few chaise lounges and umbrellas in front of it, and a big sign: Massage Parlor. "Hey, guys! Happy to see you!" William rushed to shake their hands. He was in his werewolf form, and as usual, wearing only a short. "It's normal massage," he whispered to Peter, noticing the youngster's head was twisted up, looking at the sign every two seconds. “I’m retired.” "We were thinking of spending some time in town. Can you recommend a good inn?" Regina asked. "With hot water?" "Nonsense. I have two guest rooms, and no other friends for now," William said. "I can throw in a free massage if you want." Touch Regina, and you're dead, Peter thought. "We're good. But we could use the rooms. Say, do you want to join us for some… hunting?" This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. "Sure… err… hunting what?" William paused. "Cultivators," Peter whispered. "There's a camp nearby. The Headmaster killed a few of his students during the first trip. There was a bounty but he did the job himself and kept the money. Naomi's starting to decipher who's who on that list, stuff." "Sorry, Peter, but I'm a lover, not a fighter," William raised his hands. "But you're a werewolf," Regina said. "And a Tank. And you came with us for a quest before." "Because the System told me it was about a school, and I'm good at math. I took Tank because it's sturdy, and I became a werewolf by accident," William counted on his fingers. "I was fishing when a monster jumped me. We fell into the lake, I could swim, but the other guy couldn't… Then, I woke up like this," William gestured with his hand toward his body. "Let's go," Marius said. "Will is entitled to his choices." "See ya later," Peter said. William waved and proceeded to move things around, preparing to open his parlor. They exited the town through the East gate and proceeded on the shore for a couple of miles. One mile further was a fortified camp. It had the same configuration as theirs: surrounded by a moat, earthworks, and sharp logs, but it was bigger and the waterfront remained open. The group entered a forest and moved within it until they reached the back of the camp. Marius unpacked a sniper rifle, arranging his position behind a log. Regina pulled a Peter doll from her inventory. "I have you covered, son, don't worry," Marius said. "Yeah…" Peter said, a bit apprehensive. "You'll be all right, sweetie," Regina fondled his shoulder. Nodding, Peter started to gear up. He dressed in his usual leather armor, the biker's suit, and put his helmet on. The gun holster on his belt, the cleaver holstered on his thigh, and the spear in hand. "You stay here, Shreddi," he told the warg. "Woof!" the pup growled. "No action for you today. Stay!" Taking in a deep breath, Peter exited the forest and descended the hill, going toward the camp. The location was all but empty, the students were fishing on the lake. A small flotilla of fishing boats was anchored half a mile from the shore. "Halt!" a guard called, aiming an assault rifle at Peter. There were two of them. The second had a halberd, but his attitude remained relaxed. They were both Cultivators, but of low rank. "I'm here to see Headmaster Moon," Peter said. "Regarding what?" the guard with the gun asked. "A bounty." "Wait here… You go," the guard told his colleague. The one with the halberd ran into the camp. He returned two minutes later. "Headmaster Moon says he didn't put any bounty. He's in a meeting. Go away." "The bounty is on him," Peter said. "He's wanted for murder." "Hahaha…" the guard with the gun laughed. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," Peter said. "But I will go in. He's a bad man, and has to be stopped." "Like I care," the guard smirked. The tell signs were there. The index moving to the trigger was the most important. Peter flickered his wrist. The spear followed his motion, its blade widening and the shaft gaining two feet. The guard's head rolled on the ground, his eyes widened in panic, the mouth gurgling like a fish out of water. The body fell backward like a sack of potatoes. You have killed Body Cultivator, rank 2, x1. 1/10 targets killed. The guard with the halberd threw his weapon and ran toward the town. Peter entered the camp slowly, taking his time. There were a dozen students around, following him with their eyes. No one had seen him killing the guard, Peter realized. In the middle of the base, there was a larger tent, with a long table in front of it. Six people were examining maps. Teachers making plans about exploration and farming. "Headmaster Moon?" Peter began. "I told them I was not to be disturbed," an older man roared in anger. He was a bit overweight, with a thin beard, his long gray hair gathered in a ponytail. "What do you want?" "On the tenth of July, during the first trip, you ambushed a party of three students you sent foraging, then blamed their deaths on wild animals. A bounty has been put on... sorry, for your head. I'm here to collect." "You think a mere wild mage scares me?" the older man unsheathed a jian sword. "Who sent you?" "Moon, is this true?" an elderly woman screamed. "I had orders from our superiors," the man sneered, showing his teeth. There were gasps among the students and teachers around. Peter flourished his spear. "My business is only with him, but if you take his side, you'll suffer the consequences." Moon erupted forward, leading with his sword. From the teachers, only the elderly woman kept out of the fight, rushing to pull the students away from danger, the rest followed Moon. At first, Peter Warped on place, assessing the situation, moving just a bit, to give the appearance he was dodging. Two seconds later, he sprung into action. He thrust his spear into someone's heart, while still in Warp, then returned to the real dimension, impaling his victim, and shooting another cultivator in the head, twice. Then he Warped again, Moon's sword cutting through the place where his body was a moment ago. He appeared in the back of a third cultivator and shot him in the back. The fourth, a woman, lounged at him, but he diverted the sword with his True Aura and cut deep into her arm with his spear. Peter was about to slice her throat with a reverse swing but stopped short of it. He had a thing against killing women. Three things saved the Cultivator's life: the young woman's frightened expression, Moon taking flight, and the elderly Cultivator prostrating herself at Peter's feet. "Please, have mercy on my daughter. She didn't know, I swear. She's just young and stubborn." Warping up directly under Moon, Peter twisted his body and plunged his hand into the Cultivator's chest before Warping back on the ground, taking the older man with him. This time, he felt no pain in his arm, the True Aura and his growing stats protecting him. He pulled his fist out, and the man's core in the process. Moon started to vomit blood, trashing his arms and legs. In seconds, his body remained still, glassy eyes and opened mouth frozen in a soundless scream. Peter stored the core in his backpack and then extracted the cores of the slain cultivators as well. "I hope you learned your lesson," he growled at the two women. "Yes, Grandmaster, thank you for sparing our meaningless lives," the older woman groveled. "I'm no Grandmaster," Peter snorted, kneeling to cut Moon’s head. The cleaver took several swipes to cut through the spine, the noise like butchering a carcass. "Just a bounty hunter." Saying that he warped outside the main gate, looted the guard, and returned to Marius and Regina. "Those swords of theirs are crap… Too small range," he said. Regina jumped at him. He thought she was going for a hug, but when Marius grabbed her midriff, pulling her back, he noticed her fingernails had been an inch away from scratching his eyes. "You spared that bitch because she's pretty?" Regina yelled. "You want to return later and collect her gratitude, huh?" "I just—" "Sweet cheeks, he's a good man, he doesn't kill indiscriminately," Marius pleaded. "It's essential to keep your sanity. I had… A friend had a serial killer phase, killing lawyers for fun. It took a lot of therapy to snap him out of it." "What he said," Peter nodded. "If I ever see you around her, I'll—" Regina's words faded away, his attention going to the notification. You have slain Spirit Cultivator, rank 5, x2. 3/10 targets killed. You have slain Body Cultivator, rank 5, x1, 4/10 targets killed. You have slain Spirit Cultivator, rank 7, x1. 5/10 targets killed. You have reached level 46. 6 free APs available. He rose his Intelligence to forty-one. If anything, the fight had felt underwhelming. Nothing like sparing against Redroar, or Marius, or the fight against the Minotaur or the Teutonic Knights. He had expected the opposite, that a real person would fight better. No… I wouldn’t even care about fighting if the situation was different... Meanwhile, Marius’s arguments had convinced Regina of Peter’s good intentions, because she was now hugging him. Absentmindedly, he hugged Regina back by reflex, still thinking about the System’s words. That melted her jealousy away and they kissed.