Chương 47: Chapter 51: Down Underground (IV)

The cold edge of his blade cleaved through the neck of a goblin effortlessly as Ember blurred past its crumbling form. Evading the spurt of blood, he shifted to his next target, pinning the blade into its chest. Accompanied by the great acceleration of his movement skill, he had all the power required to pierce through the bone armour. With both hands on the hilt of his sword, Ember blitzed through the goblins' ranks, leaving severed limbs and beheaded corpses in his wake.

If there was any detestation he felt in killing humanoid creatures, all of it was blunted by Mind Wall. As multiple targets charged at him, Ember flung a couple of them aside with a wave of his palm, hurling a fierce kinetic force into their faces. Before, he would always maintain a safe distance from his enemies and target them with his wand while only defending himself with his sword.

After some thought, Ember decided to put more effort into his close-quarters combat as well, and the result was pretty evident to any bystanders. It wasn't as effortless as standing around and dispatching the diminutive creatures with wind blades. No, Ember had to be much more proactive in these bouts, but with the blade, he was a lot faster at felling the forsaken spawns.

Since the goblins didn't possess even the same defences as the Mirewood Toads, Ember's sword found purchase even with a little application of mana. His mana expenditure for the day had been barely a third of his usual amount, and this was the fourth pack of goblins, the largest one so far, they had dispatched. Thwarting a slingshot with a more focused Kinetic Push, Ember darted towards the far rear, where the goblins were more densely concentrated.

He still didn't have enough mastery over the spell to redirect the shot back at the goblins. All he could manage was saving himself from the impact. Despite those rowdy green spawns failing to capture or kill even one of them, their pursuit remained steadfast. The more they fell, the more of their kind emerged from the depths. This group already sported over forty of them, headed by six hobgoblins. It was almost as if these forsaken creatures were defending their home against the trespassing humans.

"Alright," Elin called, clapping her palms to get their attention once the battle settled.

"Pick up whatever spoils you like. Do not fight over them. We are going to scout a few kilometres further before calling it a day." [Enemy slain. Goblin Warrior (Tier 4) ×5, Goblin Warrior (Tier 3) ×3] [Mana Augmentation (Iron) +3 → 4] [Hunting (Copper) +7 → 8] [+480 Eps.] Grinning at his progress, Ember brought out a relatively clean napkin, dampened it with water, and wiped the goblin filth from his face. He wouldn't mind a bit of dirt and grime, but that thick, purplish ichor prickled against his skin.

The battle had put his body through some rigorous exercise that he had been missing during this expedition. That was one of the reasons he chose to rest his wind wand for the time being. Besides that, he wanted to practise more with his kinetic attunement as well. Wind Blade, aided by the wand, was obviously more effective. But in that, Ember was merely playing the role of a mana battery, whereas mastery over his own attunement would take him far along the path.

His affinity with kinetic force seemed to be greater as well. In just a couple of days, his attainment had risen from 1% to 3. 2%. Yes, the first few points were much easier, but Ember hadn't had such a smooth time with his Mind attunement. He could not imagine how great a boost he would receive in both power and attunement if he were to acquire Kinetic Release. Ember would have an even easier time making it to Tier 6 with the addition of the skill.

Yet he still refrained, not wanting to push himself into a dead end. After all, his thinking might be skewed because of the swift gains. He had to think about his future and plan everything meticulously. He would certainly take Kinetic Release, but it would have to be later, after he reached Tier 7. If he really were to spend those nine slots, the best option would be another foundational mana skill.

Mana Shaping was mostly a fundamental and primary skill, encompassing Mana Sense, Mana Circulation, and Mana Accumulation. It did not provide much of a boost in mana application, however. Mana Augmentation was one that did, but it was mostly related to physical enhancement. Ember's intention was to get something deeply associated with spellcraft and magic. It could be something like Mana Engraving, which was the fundamental skill for runes and mana formations, or something like Spell Weaving or Mana Weaving.

Although the latter two options sounded much the same, one focused solely on skillcraft, while the other encompassed the broader prospect of mana applications. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. If he were to take Mana Engraving, then all three of his mana skills would likely merge into Mana Crafting, whereas Spell Weaving would integrate into Spellcrafting. Mana Weaving was obviously far rarer for his clan to have much record of.

Since it incorporated a broad range of applications, most magelings avoided acquiring it. Ember had no such reservations. Honestly, he wanted to cultivate all of those skills. But since he was limited in skill slots, he was primarily eyeing Spell Weaving or Mana Weaving. If only either of them were easier to learn. If Lady Evelyn had known of his aspirations, she would rebuke him for being too greedy. Even with all her talent, she could only follow one path.

As for his attempt to reverse-engineer kinetic spells, it was more difficult than he had first believed, although he hadn't failed completely. His Mana Bolt was still in its rudimentary form. It could hardly amount to a Tier 1 spell, whereas he had found more success with Kinetic Push. It was still too unstructured. Much of the power dispersed after pushing a couple of metres. Even so, the system registered it as him learning a spell.

Opening the tab for his kinetic attunement, Ember could see the spell listed there. [Kinetic Attunement (Minor - 3. 2%)]: Kinetic Push (Tier 2). Ember was confident he could get Kinetic Push to Tier 3 before this expedition ended. As for Mana Bolt, he was unsure what he was missing. Whatever he tried, the bolt of kinetic force never seemed to have the same acceleration as one aided by a wand. There was likely a certain threshold of mastery required for the system to register it.

"You seem to be making quite some progress with kinetic force," Elin said. Ember blinked at her. He wasn't surprised that she noticed, but he was stunned that she decided to approach him. In the last few days, they had barely exchanged any words, even though Amber worked as her personal cook. Her position in the formation was at the centre, whereas Ember operated on the left flank. To exchange even a few words, she had to move closer to him.

"There's still room for improvement," she continued after hesitating for a second.

"If you like, I can give you some pointers." Ember froze on the path, staring at the teen in complete befuddlement. Sure, he allowed himself to say, scratching his head. She wouldn't ask for payment, would she? Well, being an heir to House Oberon, I don't think she'll lack anything that I have. After telling him she would instruct him after their meal back in camp, she returned to her position. Every day, they made about eight to ten kilometres of progress further into the subterranean region.

Their advance had slowed over the last couple of days as they faced increasing challenges from the goblins. While none of them had been severely wounded yet, the daily friction and cumulative injuries seemed to be wearing on a few of them. Ember hadn't felt much of that strain due to his single-minded concentration, though Mind Wall had alleviated his revulsion on a few occasions. It certainly wasn't the calmness and composure that came with experience, but Ember had to make do with what he had.

After covering a couple of kilometres, they came upon a massive yawning chasm. With the looming darkness omnipresent in every direction, it was impossible to make out how far down it extended into the spine of the earth. The chasm might serve as the landmark leading into the second layer of the subterranean hunting zone.

"The goblin villages might be located beyond this," Benny said as Ember secured a large stone shard and tossed it into the yawning fissure. He counted. It took approximately five seconds for a sound to echo back. Ember had no clue about the value of g in this world to calculate exactly how far down the pit extended. As far as he was aware, it was certainly over 9. 8 m/s².

"That should be around 200 metres," Elin commented, paying attention to his experiment.

"It would be quite a hassle to climb down," Ember muttered while eyeing her, wondering if she intended to continue further.

"Hassle, you say?" Benny grinned. Soon, his form levitated into the air as a gust of wind carried him forward. With a light construct in hand, he hovered over the gloomy cavity, quite pleased with the display of his skills.

"You folks wait. I'll go and see if there are any goblins down there."

"Benny, you don't—" Elin didn't even manage to finish when a rock shot out of the darkness and crashed into Benny, causing him to yelp in pain. With that, he lost his grasp on the wind spell and tumbled down in a lackadaisical fashion. At once, Elin flew over to catch her cousin while a few rowdy laughs echoed out. After she brought Benny back to the edge, several figures ascended from the looming cavity.

"I returned your rock haphazardly," said a voice, "but it seems to have struck right on the mark." Ember sighed. It was exactly the group from the Asaraii Clan they had met earlier in the expedition. During the entire week, they had not encountered them at all, but it truly seemed that enemies met on a narrow lane.

"Keep up the good work," said Ezamin, the descendant of the Sha'azar. Benny's physical attributes were not the highest, nor was he applying any augmentation to his body, but the stone didn't appear to have caused anything more than a flesh wound and some swelling. Besides, the pain seemed to be the least of his worries as his eyes glared at the approaching group with hatred. He waited for no one and fired off a Wind Blade. Benny was spiteful enough to hold nothing back.

A protective ward surfaced before Ezamin, taking the full brunt of the spell, though he was pushed back a couple of metres.

"You have a death wish, Oberon?" barked the woman who seemed to be some kind of attendant and bodyguard to Ezamin. Benny wasted no breath on her and hurled another spell.

"You really are looking to die." And with that, arrows and spells exploded on the edge of the fissure.