Chương 52: Chapter Fifty-Two: Solo Training

Before anyone can stop me, I head out of the barracks and march straight through the rustic halls of the tavern and right out the main entrance. Emerging onto the bustling cobblestone streets of the fifth ring of the city, I look to my left and right for a moment before breaking into a run. The city's exit is close, and it only takes me a few minutes of travel before I am dashing through the open expanse of the sixth ring.

With no real method of transportation besides my own two feet, I'm forced to head to the nearest hunting ground for lack of better options. The soles of my bare feet pound into the soft earth beneath me as I begin to <Infuse> mana into my limbs to increase my speed. With my current mana pool, the action doesn't cost me much unless I attempt to overload my muscles, so I let loose on the expenditure while still keeping myself comfortable and not cramped.

The wind whistles against my ears as the city falls to a muted background behind me, and the natural plains and speckled woods of the sixth ring fill my vision. The feeling of my body moving so fluidly while filled with the mystical energy known as mana never fails to make me grin, and a laugh escapes my mouth as I continue my journey toward the destination I plotted a few days beforehand.

With the Northeast wilds residing a few hours away by stagecoach, I was forced to change my plans and engage with a different hunting ground I only learned about after seeing the map Henry and Sara had purchased. My new destination was simply referred to as 'aberrant plains,' and fell under a certain category of land that was uninhabitable for the local folk. Apparently, these small zones are scattered around the entirety of the sixth ring and are home to a singular type of monster known as Plaints.

Besides the awful pun in the name, the title is supposed to be pretty on the mark for describing the infesting creatures as some sort of living plant. They range from as low as level 10, to as high as level 60 or more if they are left to their own devices. Aberrant plains like the one I am heading to are cleared out roughly every three months or so by experienced hunters to prevent the monsters there from getting any higher leveled than is safe.

It's not like the areas are that dangerous though, as the citizens don't live near them because the land itself is tainted. From what I could learn, the soil itself is bad for farming, and the infestation of Plaints makes it not worth the trouble of living nearby either. I hadn't been able to learn anything about the hunter's cycle for this particular area, but I am hoping that the Plaints haven't been cleared out recently or else I might be forced to find another spot.

Almost an hour of running later, I finally approach the plains I had been looking for, and am happy to find that the area is practically crawling with Plaints just like I had hoped. Taking a seat on the cushiony grass hill beneath me, I take a moment to observe the creatures I will be fighting while my mana pool and body recover a bit. From what little descriptions I could find of the monsters, I had assumed they would be a variety of walking plants or something of the like.

Looking at them now, I would say that my imagination was a little off, as most of the creatures just look like roiling masses of roots and grass. There is very little to differentiate between each one as well since they are all just collections of the same material. Some monsters are larger than the others, depicting a higher level, but other than that, the Plaints are quite boring to look at.

With my wishes of seeing a walking flower monster or pea shooter dashed, I lean back on the hill and take a load off while enjoying the lovely weather. I hadn't paid much attention before- mostly due to the fact I have been in a basement for the majority of this floor- but the sky is quite different from Earth or the first floor. Instead of the normal wispy clouds and lovely sunlight that emerges from between their fluffy forms, the sky is an empty but intense blue color.

One singular star sits above the open expanse, but it's light is hazy and makes it difficult to fully identify where the sun itself sits in the sky. Casting my gaze further away from the city, I can see that this empty stretch of blue continues for much farther than my eyes can see, leaving the entire world surrounded by nothing but empty space. For a world on the brink of collapse just like this one, I can't help but see the beauty in this current moment.

Like an oasis amongst the never-ending badlands that lie just outside the Veil, this city and it's citizens thrive under the constant threat of death. One instant it is here, and the next it could be gone. A person could say this city is just like another living being then; a step away from death at any moment. Surprisingly, I feel something akin to sadness well up in my mind.

After examining it for a moment, I realize that the sadness comes from the idea that something as pretty as this little bubble of life will eventually be wiped away. In fact, it will probably happen by the end of this floor if I had to guess. The idea of this little oasis fighting for it's life against the infinite cancer that diseased this world is somehow calming though.

Just like with a dying star, the following supernova blazes it's existence forever into the rest of space, as if carving the life it once had into the universe so no one can ever say it didn't try it's best while it was still living. The solace in such a fiery exit of existence makes me smile and I close my eyes to enjoy the gentle sensation of the grass against my skin. When I die, I want to do the same.

Some time later, I arise from my perch on the neighboring hill of the aberrant plains. With my body rested and my mana pool recovered for the most part, I am ready to make my final push toward getting my class. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Surveying the surrounding area filled with roiling masses of flammable material, I decide not to carpet bomb the monsters and instead get some practice in close combat using <Infuse> with my radiation.

I have a feeling that the wave will give me plenty of training with <Mana Construct> and incurring mass destruction, so I will use the free time I have to push myself physically for a little while. Deciding on my plan of attack, I split my focus in a way that allows me to <Infuse> my legs with mana, while also infusing my arms with thermal radiation.

This is a technique I had been work-shopping for a few days now, as the fights I had in the Northeast Wilds were a great example of how powerful this particular method of using my various energies could be. Unfortunately, I can't seem to mix my mana and the radiation in a way that allows me to strengthen my arms while also delivering extreme heat attacks. Either it is impossible to do with my current skill set, or I simply don't have the ability to manage the process yet.

Regardless, it's not too big of a deal as my increasing BDY stat in relation to my level ups provides me with enough power to strike with some oomph, especially with the help of the momentum I build with my mana enhanced movements and occasional kinetic bursts. A loud boom overtakes the plains as I send myself hurtling toward the horde of Plaints in front of me.

The large expulsion of energy is enough to make the nearby monsters turn toward the source of the loud noise, and by the time I am halfway there, a handful of the vegetative creatures have already begun heading my way. < Plaint - Level 13 > < Plaint - Level 20 > < Plaint - Level 17 > < Plaint - Level 24 > < Plaint - Level 10 > Just as I am about to impact the hard dirt where the monsters await me, I release another wave of kinetic buildup from my naturally volatile mana to soften my fall.

< You have defeated: Plaint - Level 10 > The resulting shock wave blows the nearest monster back a few meters, and one of them even dies due to its proximity to the blast and its lacking constitution. With the other monsters recovering from my entry attack, I crash to the ground and roll across the flattened grass to absorb any excess force I still had from my flying entrance. Before any of the monsters can engage me again, I am already up and running toward the biggest mass of roots and grass.

It is difficult to tell where exactly the monster's attention is given their lack of any identifiable features, but roots from it's body begin reaching toward me like organic whips meant to ensnare its prey. The roots might be large in number, but their speed and durability leave much to be desired. Weaving around the appendages using my superior speed, I slap away any stray roots with my hands, burning through them almost effortlessly as they light up like tissue paper.

Before the grassy mass can even offer another attack, I am already burying my flaming hands directly into it's dense body. I don't even bother infusing my radiation directly into it's body as the oversized tumbleweed sparks up into a roaring fire in an instant. Leaving the fire to finish the job, I replicate my technique over and over again, sweeping through the monsters like a scythe through grass.

< You have defeated: Plaint - Level 24 > < You have defeated: Plaint - Level 20 > < You have defeated: Plaint - Level 17 > < You have defeated: Plaint - Level 13 > < Congratulations! You have reached: Level 22 > A level up finally rolls over me, telling me just how many monsters I'm going to have to carve through in order to reach level 25. With my free points instantly going to PWR for some mysterious reason, I lock into my role as the lawn-incinerator and begin the process of culling the Plaints one at a time.

My blazing arms turn the aberrant plains into a scorched wasteland as I swing my fists in a tireless brawl against the rolling balls of vegetation. Time passes in a blur and all of my senses are lost in the constant dance of flickering flames that engulf every Plaint in my sight. At some point, I don't even bother touching them and instead release gouts of flame from my palms whenever they get near.

The new attack wasn't even a matter of experimentation either; the first pseudo-fireball simply emerged from my hands after I tried using <Emit> on my already thermal-infused arms. The attacks are horribly mana-inefficient and spill wildly into the air with no real concentration. The concussion bombs I create with <Mana Construct> are vastly superior and only cost a bit more mana than the fireballs, yet I don't even bother worrying about the expenditure as my flames rage through the plains with abandon.

Tens of minutes pass, or perhaps it is hours, yet I do not stop until my mana finally runs out. As my body cools off and I recover my senses with the surprising lack of roots attempting to attack me, I look around and discover that I have once again gone a little too far. The once aberrant plains infested with roiling tumbleweed beasts have been turned into a meadow of cinders where nothing else lives but me. Panning my gaze around the area, I find that all that is left of my aggressors is small piles of ash.

The timing of my mana running out seems a little inopportune as well, which makes me think that I may have been shooting off my skills wildly with no targets for who knows how long. That's a bit embarrassing. Luckily, the hidden benefit of obliterating every living thing in the area means that there is no one else around that can make fun of you for making a fool of yourself. Taking stock of my situation, I pick my way through the ashes of the plains while temporarily ignoring the notifications waiting for me.

My clothes have once again been lost to the wind, yet I am more than delighted to find that my pants are still intact. I'm not particularly excited about the impromptu durability test of my new pants, but I can at least now say that I am satisfied with my purchase. Emerging from the remains of the aberrant plains, I ignore the fact that I am covered in soot and burnt grass, and instead survey the scene of my crimes to make sure that there are indeed no more monsters running around.

Once it is confirmed there are no more creatures around that can attack me, I finally turn to the notifications I have been so desperately wanting to check. < You have defeated: Plaint - Level 29 > < You have defeated: Plaint - Level 21 > < You have defeated: Plaint - Level 32 > < You have defeated: Plaint - Level 14 > … < Congratulations! You have reached: Level 23 > < Congratulations! You have reached: Level 24 > < Congratulations! You have reached: Level 25 > … < Congratulations!

You have reached: Level 28 > < You have reached the proper level threshold to choose a class. > < Classes have been pre-selected for you based on your performance. Choose one of the options provided. > < Classes can be changed after a certain threshold is met. >