The second time around was far more manageable. With a plan already in mind, I baited the giant beast to charge, keeping close enough that it would refuse to make its ranged attack. Once the monster rushed me, I hastily dodged out of the way, then lunged in for the kill yet again. Its death was still agonizingly slow, but I grit my teeth and held firm as the deer bled out.
As it collapsed on the forest floor, I felt its energy enter my core, power swelling inside and rushing throughout my body.
Mana Absorbed:
Core Quality 4->6
Maximum Stats Increased:
Strength 15->16
Agility 15->16
Constitution 20->21
The maximum status improvement was a welcome surprise, but I had a long way to go before I reached that threshold.
With a second kill under my belt, I considered going back to the camp and training either my magic, or my swordsmanship. As soon as the thought entered my mind, though, I felt an instantaneous sense of discomfort. It was an odd feeling, but I figured it was due to how relaxing the day was.
Deciding that I wanted to keep a good thing going, I decided to just train out here. Before that, though, I needed to clear the area of any more monsters. It would also give me a chance to try out my storm magic against a living target. Confident in my decision, I started moving out from my location in a gentle spiral.
Before long, I found another monsterj, though it was one I hadn’t seen before. Identifying it even increased my skill level, so I pulled up both alerts at once.
Lesser Mana Hound: T1
A monster created by infusing wind mana into a domesticated dog. Pack animal.
General Skills:
Indentify: 3->4!
This time, the monster’s information included a supplementary statement after the first sentence regarding the mana type. The description of the identify skill stated that the amount of information offered by the skill increased with its level. I guess I had passed the threshold.
The mana hound looked like a Doberman but larger and more muscular. Aside from that, the only other defining trait was a shock of green fur running down its spine, forming a slight ridge.
Though I liked dogs, I had no problem fighting this thing. As it walked through the forest, its large teeth protruded from its lips, nasty saliva dripping from yellowed fangs, making the hound appear like a feral beast.
This time, instead of making myself known to the monster, I floated far above its head out of sight. As silently as I could, I started conjuring a storm lance. Unfortunately, as soon as the energy emerged from my hand, it started swirling and crackling, alerting the mana hound to my presence.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
The dog monster instantly entered attack mode. Hackles raised and teeth bared, the creature snapped at the air, barking and jumping, trying to get me despite the distance between us. It wasn’t the most intelligent thing.
My storm lance was conjured without fault, and as soon as it was ready, I sent it careening toward the mana hound. Instead of trying to dodge out of the way, it jumped right towards the bolt of energy, attempting to tear it to pieces with its disgusting maw. This was, apparently, a mistake.
The spiraling mass of power ripped through the monster as if it wasn’t there, flying straight out the other side and impacting the ground. The mana hound collapsed on the forest floor, dead instantly. I floated above the bloody scene, mouth agape.
Mana Absorbed:
Core Quality 6->7
My magic was strong. Really, really strong. I probably should have been tipped off by the fact that I had seen water magic, wind magic, and earth magic but nothing that could be a combination of those things.
Based on the description of my race, I knew that storm magic was a combination of air and water, with a bit of chaos added in. Combination magics were at a higher tier than basic magics in almost all media I had seen. Given that the system tended to follow those same conventions, I imagined that storm magic worked the same way.
Moving away from the corpse of the hound, I continued clearing a safe area to train. As I did, I found two more hounds, a squirrel and another deer. I quickly dispatched each monster, using a swift attack with my machete or a storm lance from range. By the time I returned to where I had killed the two deer, I had seen a remarkable improvement in my core quality.
Mana Absorbed:
Core Quality 7->14
Maximum Stats Increased:
Strength 16->17
Agility 16->17
Constitution 21->22
I was almost halfway to tier two, a prospect that filled me with excitement. With the improvement in my core quality in a good place, it was high time to work on my skills. My goal was to get Novice Swordsmanship to the maximum level to see what the skill upgrade process looked like.
Mentally, I went over my training plan. While I trained swordsmanship, I would also be keeping storm cloak active at all times. I would also work on moving my internal mana as well. My goal was to prepare for the time when I would need to cast magic and fight with my sword simultaneously. I understood that it wouldn’t be easy, but I knew the training was necessary.
Mind set, I started working through the sword forms I knew, starting with the basic ones I learned at the very beginning and ending with the most recent. Experimentally, I tried pushing the mana, mimicking how my weight shifted as I danced around invisible foes.
As my mana moved from one hand to the other, from my feet to my back to my head, I broke through level six novice swordsmanship into level seven. With the notification, a fog covered my thoughts, and the outside world vanished.
The new attacks being taught came and went. Most were iterations on what I already knew with minor additions to make the attacks more efficient to make the parries cleaner. I pushed and twisted, lunged and slashed.
Level seven to level eight. With what I already knew, the additions seemed simple, and I found understanding them more effortless than ever before.
Level eight to nine. Now, I understood what I was learning. These were primary sword forms; a series of attacks designed to teach you how to flow from one blow to another without pause, without thought. I needed to carve each movement in both my muscle and my mind.
Level nine to ten.
The fog fled, leaving me frozen in place. The woods were dark; the sun had long since set, and the only light source was my flickering blade casting an eerie blue glow across the trees. Realizing I needed to head back to camp, I twisted to take a step, then gasped as pain shot across my body, muscles screaming in agony.
Slowly, I flew into the air, giving my limbs much-needed relief. Though I must have been training for at least seven hours, it felt like only a few moments.
Curious about my progress, I pulled up my skill alerts.
Race Skills:
Storm Cloak: 4->10!
Combat Skills:
Novice Swordsmanship: 6->10! Upgrade available!
Magic Skills:
Novice Storm Magic: 1->9!
Archetype Skills:
Born to Roam: 7->12!
Eyes on the Road: 1->2!
Though I wanted to take in the changes to my skills and look over them closer, I was far too tired to do much of anything. I needed to go back to camp and get some shuteye.
The trip home didn’t take long, but as I got closer and closer, I felt a pang of fear in my chest. The clearing in front of the hotel was brightly lit with fires and torches, and I could distantly hear the sound of crying.
Despite the pain in my body, I pushed myself and flew onwards even faster.