Chương 114: (B2) Chapter 41 - A fight worth remembering

The weight of powerful magic still clung to the air. Now, however, the town had fallen into the kind of silence that didn't belong but had become all too familiar after battles. Ethan could still feel adrenaline flowing through his veins. He let out a breath, trying to expel the tension lingering inside him. It was done. The Wendigo was well and truly dead. So dead, in fact, that he couldn't even see it anymore. Which was actually a bit of a disaster. Its corpse would have sold for a pretty penny.

He would have to search the damaged area and see whether he could still find something of value to make up for it. Some might say he had been a little too trigger-happy with his final attack. Ethan still believed it had been entirely justified. He sheathed his greatsword, noticing the slight damage as he did. A small frown found its way onto his face. It looked like he would need upgrades for both his armor and sword. Not that it really mattered. That had always been the plan once he reached the second level.

Although he had deactivated his skills, leaving him weakened and slightly out of breath, he still had [Keen Sense] active in case anything tried to sneak up on him. Something was approaching. Well, they weren't exactly sneaking. Instead, they were making a beeline directly toward him. Ethan raised a hand.

"Hi. Sorry it took me so long," he said by way of greeting. Leah's face went through a range of emotions before finally settling on an expression Ethan didn't particularly enjoy.

"Where the hell were you?" she asked, her voice hushed as she glanced back toward the others, who were approaching at a much more measured pace.

"I kind of got caught up. That Wendigo proved too difficult to kill as I was." He paused, watching the others.

"Why? Is everything all right?"

"Everything is fine. You got here just in time," she stated, narrowing her eyes. Ethan rubbed the back of his helmet.

"Ah, yeah. Good thing it all worked out."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she questioned, her eyes narrowing further.

"I'll catch you up later, all right?" he said, subtly nodding toward the approaching group and hoping Leah would get the hint. She scowled before giving a firm nod.

"They wanted to leave you, just so you know." Ethan frowned but didn't get a chance to respond. Seb and the others had moved close enough that he wasn't sure whether they could hear them. He turned away from Leah and inspected the group. Despite the destruction surrounding them, everyone appeared to be in good health. That wasn't much of a surprise, considering Seb was with them.

"I see you accomplished what we set out to achieve," Ethan said, giving Bonnie a pointed look. He had never actually met the woman, but judging by her sharper features and sandy-blond hair, Ethan could connect the dots. His senses encompassed the group, and he paused for a moment. Although it wasn't exactly uncommon to encounter someone who had begun walking the path of cultivation, it was still surprising to realize Bonnie had entered that realm. He looked toward the others. They would need to get there as well.

Especially Seb. From everything Ethan knew, awakening cultivation with a good technique could advance a healer's abilities far more than any ordinary skill or class level.

"I did," Seb said, his eyes flickering from Ethan toward the destruction.

"Thanks to you. It appears I owe you a debt." Ethan shrugged.

"I don't really like doing debts and all that. Let's get off this island before worrying about any of it." Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work! Seb studied him for a moment longer before speaking.

"So be it. But we will return to this conversation." Ethan inclined his head, seeing no reason to continue the subject. He meant what he had said as well. He hated the thought of owing people and vice versa. The one exception to that was Bella. That was only because the benefits of her owing him anything far outweighed the negatives. It would also be useful if he could change her path and bring it more in line with his own.

"So, if everyone is fine, perhaps it's time to get out of here and meet the ship. Judging by all the monkey corpses, we should have a fairly clear journey?" Ethan asked, addressing the entire group.

"The area should be clear," Bonnie replied.

"Seb told me where you landed. The only territory we'll need to cross belongs to the Lungers, but they aren't much of a threat." She paused.

"Thanks, by the way. I assume you already know, but I'm Bonnie. And like Seb said, there's a debt to be paid." Ethan felt a sigh coming on. However, he inclined his head once again in greeting.

"Shall we, then?" he asked.

"I'm certainly ready," Bonnie replied. A small chuckle escaped Ethan. He couldn't really blame her. Being left for dead sucked.

"Just give me a moment to see whether there's anything valuable in all this rubble," Ethan said, not waiting for an answer before walking toward the site of his final attack, where he had last seen the remains of the Wendigo.

"Leah, help me out, would you?" he called.

"See if you can find anything worthwhile." They began their search, and Ethan noticed the others joining in as well. The entire time, he used [Aura Overload] to assist with whatever healing he still needed. All in all, he was in decent shape, so the additional healing brought him as close to one hundred percent as possible. Even internally, his body looked and felt good. It was a relief to see that his pathways had remained undamaged despite his use of mana.

There was a degree of satisfaction in knowing he could now use [Worldfire] at will and that having aura pathways could continue advancing his title as the two energies interacted. The only thing left to do was finally review the notifications awaiting him. Ethan pulled up his System. Skill leveled: [Steadfast Lv. 18] Skill leveled: [Advanced Sword Mastery Lv. 18] Skill leveled: [Keen Sense Lv. 18] Skill leveled: [Keen Sense Lv. 19] Skill leveled: [Oath Lv. 6] Skill leveled: [Oath Lv. 7] Skill leveled: [Mana Infusion Lv. 10] … Skill leveled: [Mana Infusion Lv. 13] Skill leveled: [Aura Overload Lv. 8] … Skill leveled: [Aura Overload Lv. 10] Skill leveled: [Worldfire Lv. 2] Skill leveled: [Aura Manifestation Lv. 2] You have defeated [Tri Monkey Lv. 29] You have defeated [Tri Monkey Lv. 20] … You have defeated [Tri Monkey Lv. 19] You have defeated [Juvenile Wendigo Lv. 40] Congratulations! You are now [Knight Lv. 32] Strength +2, Endurance +2, Agility +1, Perception +1, Willpower +2 …

Congratulations! You are now [Knight Lv. 34] Strength +2, Endurance +2, Agility +1, Perception +1, Willpower +2 Ethan changed his mind about the Wendigo. It wasn't a bastard. In fact, he quite liked it. He wished it would come back to life so he could kill it again. The number of levels it had granted him was staggering. More than he had gained in any single encounter since the colossus at the beginning of the Trials. The fact that it had been a juvenile also made sense. Wendigos were powerful monsters.

Their magic and speed made them some of the more dangerous opponents to fight. Had he faced a fully developed one, the outcome would have been considerably different. He wasn't blind enough to deny that. All in all, he was happy with his gains. Especially [Aura Overload], which had leveled throughout his experimentation. As he rummaged through the battlefield, he found both antlers and picked them up with a grin. It looked like he would at least get something from the kill.

After dismissing them into his storage, he decided it had been a while since he had reviewed his entire status. With that in mind, Ethan pulled it up. Name: Ethan Carter Level: 34 Class: [Knight] Cultivation: • Core — [Molten] • Body — [Poisonous] Titles: • Dual Awakening Adept • Dungeon Conqueror Attributes: • Strength: 74 • Endurance: 65 • Agility: 44 • Perception: 46 • Willpower: 60 Skills: (9/10) • Steadfast Lv. 18 (Common) • Advanced Sword Mastery Lv. 18 (Uncommon) • Keen Sense Lv. 19 (Common) • Oath Lv.

7 (Rare) • Mana Infusion Lv. 13 (Uncommon) • Aura Overload Lv. 10 (Uncommon) • Aura Field Lv. 9 (Rare) • Worldfire Lv. 2 (Epic) • Aura Manifestation Lv. 2 (Rare) After reading through it, Ethan gave a satisfied grunt. Things were progressing extremely well. His skills were beginning to level at a faster rate, and his attributes were drawing closer to the one-hundred threshold. All in all, things were looking up. Now he just needed to get off the island.

"Ethan, over here," Leah called, pulling his attention away from the System. He looked up, a frown forming on his face. A mana core rested in Leah's hands. Only he couldn't sense it at all. Ethan walked toward her, focusing on [Keen Sense], yet he still couldn't detect any power radiating from it.

"I think I found its core?" she asked. Ethan thought he could hear a hint of smugness in her voice.

"Perhaps," he said, holding out his hand.

"Can I take a look?" She smiled and dropped it into his armored palm.

"Sure thing." Ethan looked down at the core resting in his hand. Without a doubt, he knew it was a mana core. He could see the shifting blue mana inside it, the energy swirling like a miniature vortex.

"It can't be…" he whispered to himself.

"What is it?" Leah asked. Ethan wasn't entirely certain himself. But if he was right, then he was currently holding a tier-two core. It was the only explanation that made sense.