Chapter 66: Happy Hunting (I)
Ember blurred from one side of the archway to the other, his body hurtling forwards with explosive force. Splinters of stone and debris flew out from his steps. Unfortunately, the kinetic force still wasn't doing as much as he had hoped.
"I have told you before," Dawn said, sitting behind with a flask of warm beverage in her hand. She had been mostly idle since she began recovering. The most productive work she had done so far was carving a stone sitting by the wall. "You cannot learn it by forcing yourself. If you have the energy, you should practise the other spells I taught you."
Ember bolted to land beside her.
"Is it because I still haven't acquired the Mana Weaving skill?"
"It could be," she looked up, "or you may simply lack the attunement to conjure up enough kinetic force for an intermediate spell."
As much as her explanation sounded plausible, it depressed Ember as he thought about sitting down for a bit. Attunements, as they stood, didn't simply boost one's ability to shape an element limitlessly. It also had a significant impact on the amount of mana used and the time required to conjure up that specific element.
"I'm going to try a few more times," he said and dashed off once again. With the goalpost so close, Ember wasn't willing to give up so easily. He would require just one more spell. Even if Haste was an intermediate one starting at Tier 4, it shouldn't have been impossible for him to get it. After all, he had managed to push Kinetic Force to intermediate Tier 4 on his own merit.
The weave was not even that far off from Kinetic Push. The difficulty in Haste was that half of its mechanism needed to be woven internally in comparison to Kinetic Push or any of his other elementary spells. He had to weave his breaths of mana into thin strands inside his mana channels and then stitch them into a simpler form of kinetic spell, allowing his lower body—his legs, tissues, muscles, and even his cells—to build up kinetic force to release it all in an explosive burst of movement.
His pace would not be any slower than using his Blitz Steps, even in its unmastered state. And Ember could only imagine how much faster he would get if he managed to combine Blitz Steps with it.
The few more times he promised turned into a gruelling half-hour session, with his entire body drenched in sweat by the time he finished. And there still seemed to be no progress in the spell. Well, he believed he was getting a little faster, but not enough for the System to register it.
Sitting at the stone table, Ember retrieved a vial of fasting potion from his belongings and swallowed it without hesitation. In a different setting, he might have preferred to cook something better with the dry rations he had with him. However, Ember chose not to, fearing it would distract him from his practice. Despite its bitterness, the fasting potion worked its magic, costing him no time.
"Your single-minded focus is commendable," Dawn remarked, "but you cannot go on like this and expect to succeed."
She had finished her second or third cup of hot chocolate, as a rosy hue returned to her face. It was certainly not as common, but Ember had chocolate in this world a few times, though their taste was incomparable to the glass of hot chocolate Dawn offered him.
"Come on, I'll take you somewhere fun," she said, rising to her feet.
"Fun?" Ember perked up. "Here in this underground lair? I don't think those two things go together."
"Just come with me."
Meeting her bright cerulean eyes, Ember could not refuse her. He stood up and hurried after her, curious about what she considered 'fun'. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long.
***
A few minutes later, Ember found himself in the middle of a group of goblins. It was not the largest pack he had faced, nor was the pressure too significant with Dawn's support. Hell, if she liked, she could have pulverised the entire group in an instant, but she left most of the work to him. Apparently this was what seemed fun to her.
"I never considered," he shouted, his blade slicing open the neck of a green pest, "that you would view killing goblins as a form of recreation."
"I usually don't," Dawn replied, using a Kinetic Push to hurl a couple of goblins in his direction. "But it's a good way to release some tension. Being frustrated will only delay your practice."
"Killing goblins to blow off steam," Ember muttered. "That doesn't sound too healthy, if I'm being honest."
"Why do you care? These green loudmouths are never up to anything good. If it isn't us, someone else has to deal with them."
Ember had to agree. Despite not having upgraded his Language Acquisition yet, he was beginning to grasp snippets of what the goblins were yelling. This only rendered any guilt he might have felt for killing them to nothing.
Can the very nature of these creatures be so vile? he pondered. Even a wild beast shows more restraint towards its prey than these green spawns.
Ember lunged from one goblin to another, his blade flowing through the wind without resistance. The goblins had become too slow for his pace that he couldn't wait for their assault. Previously, he had let a few of those minions escape when they decided to retreat. However, he was now less merciful, severing a few of their limbs when they attempted to flee. But ultimately, there were only so many of them.
[Enemies Slain: Goblin Soldier (Tier 3) ×7, Goblin Soldier (Tier 4) ×4, Hobgoblin (Tier 5) ×1]
[Blitz Steps (Iron) +6 → +7]
[+700 EP.]
Dawn stepped closer, completely unmarred by the filth caking on him, "The grin on your face says it worked."
"It did." Ember couldn't contain his delight. "My Movement skill has improved."
He was a little bummed that Blitz Steps had taken a leap during this expedition whereas Split Focus remained stagnant, despite all the work he put in. It had been quite a while that he saw improvements in hunting as well. The Copper skill had easily reached the eighth step, but even after Ember had dispatched dozens of goblins, there seemed to be no development.
The next ones in the line were likely Mana Augmentation or Walking Meditation. Ember was only a few more skill levels short of making it into Tier 6
"So that leaves you how many points short of Tier 6 again?" Dawn inquired.
"Less than twelve hundred," Ember said. "One thousand one hundred and sixty-five to be exact."
"Not a significant amount. Given how fast you're learning spells, you'll have reached it in a matter of weeks if you had Mana Weaving."
"It still won't take long, I believe."
There was a possibility that Ember would achieve it before leaving the hunting zone. If he could earn the Magic Apprentice title or upgrade his Hunter title, it would almost guarantee his success.
"I should dedicate more time to skills," he muttered, "and perhaps learn to apply those spells in a fight."
"Well, only eleven hundred-odd Evolution Points away shouldn't be too challenging." Dawn tilted her head, contemplating. "If you aren't averse to it, I might be able to offer you some guidance on your skills."
This would mean he would have to disclose all his skills to her. Ember didn't hesitate much before agreeing. She already had a good understanding of what kind of skills he possessed. He had already shared half of them through his words or actions. Besides, if he were to decline, he would miss a great opportunity here.
"I can't help you with swordsmanship," she said. "And you won't receive any quick gains in Mana Shaping or Mind Wall. Learning new Copper skills wouldn't be worthwhile either. That leaves us with Walking Meditation, Split Focus, and Mana Augmentation.
"I believe I can help you the best in Mana Augmentation. I have a different variant of a meditation skill, but mastering any skill related to meditation takes a significant amount of time. Regarding Split Focus, though..." She paused. "With Mind Attunement, I believe you will find it easier than most people without the attunement."
"I thought so too," Ember mumbled. "But it's been around eight months, I think, since I gained a level in it." He sighed. "I suspect it's because I still don't know how to apply Mind mana as I can with Kinetic Force."
Dawn nodded. "Mind-related skills or spells tend to be more intuitive. It's certainly not as tangible as any common attunements."
"If only infusing more Mind mana into my brain worked," he lamented. He shook his head before posing another question. "By the way, you have upgraded your Hunting skill, haven't you?"
"Yeah, but it took me ages to do it, and even at Iron rank, it remains as my slowest-growing skill."
"Why do you think that is, when the other requirements for the titles can be so low?"
"It certainly isn't low for most people. Only those with skills and good equipment find it easier. As for why it's one of the slowest-growing skills, I think it has something to do with all the equipment, protective gear, and mana we rely on. I recall reading a statistic somewhere that melee warriors find it much easier to improve the Hunting skill, while most Magelings miss out on training many facets of Hunting due to their heavy reliance on mana and spells."
"I'm a melee fighter," Ember said, pointing at himself. Then he sighed. "But I relied too heavily on skills and gear."
Maybe I should start sneaking up on goblins from now on.
"From everything you've told me, I don't think you're slow in Hunting, but the last two levels might still take a while to get through unless..."
"Unless?"
"Unless you outdo yourself by hunting something huge."
"Something huge?" Ember repeated. "Like that basilisk?"
Dawn smiled. "If you can hunt the basilisk now, I guarantee you'll be able to upgrade your skill right away."
Ember's eyes widened sharply as the cogs in his brain began to turn. A Silver-rank monster was certainly built-different, but with Dawn's help, it might not be impossible to slay it. Not after it had been severely wounded.
"Don't even think about it," Dawn rebuked, noticing his expression. "With your current condition, even facing a pack led by a Goblin Shaman and Commander might be fatal, let alone a basilisk. It would be nothing less than presenting yourself on a silver platter."
"It hadn't succeeded during the chase," he countered.
Dawn gave him a disapproving glance. "Do I really need to remind you again about all the dangers it poses?"
"I'm just saying," Ember quickly interjected, "I'm not foolish enough to face it alone. But if push comes to shove, with you by my side, we might... we might just--"
"It's good to know you have so much faith in me," she interrupted, "but I won't risk it."
Ember nodded. He wasn't truly dissatisfied with her decision. Despite his body appearing to have recovered, it was wise to give himself some leeway for a couple more days before pitting himself against anything unhealthy. Moreover, the great serpent was likely lying low to recover as well. Ember didn't want to go stick his hand into the hornet's nest while he was still at Tier 5.
"Let's stick to goblins then," he said. "My primary goal is to earn the Magic Apprentice title anyway."
"That's for the best."
They strode down the archway, leaving behind the mutilated bodies of a dozen-odd goblins on the cold stone floor.
"That reminds me." Ember said, "You mentioned you have a task to complete here. Mind telling me what it is?"
"I don't mind telling you," Dawn said after a moment's pause, "but there's one slight issue." She turned to him with a serious expression.
He straightened as well. With how stern her voice had gotten, it should be no small problem.
"I have no clue what it is." Dawn deflated, her shoulders sagging down. "I had almost forgotten about it with the assassin chasing after me and meeting you, but now you have to remind me." She let out a low growl.
Ember stared at her, dumbfounded. How is this my fault now?
"It's probably a secret test from my teachers or grandfather," she said. "Hmm, it may even be me figuring out what they want from me."
If they had allowed her to venture into such an unfamiliar and dangerous place all alone, there should be more than that.
"It's not easy being born into a bloodline clan."
"It's definitely not, but the result couldn't matter any less to me. I'll bide my time for a week or two before returning." Her face brightened up. "All I need are some tears and a few quiet sobs, and Grandpa will melt away like a snowflake in water."
This is it for today.