Chương 122: (B2) Chapter 49 - Unchartered Territory

Ethan sat on the deck with his back against the side of the cabin, watching another floating island drift past in the distance. Sheila was far less stable than what he was used to, every shift in the wind causing the deck to sway beneath him, but she was doing her job well enough. They were moving in the right direction, and nobody had fallen overboard. That was all Ethan could ask for. Tilly, however, disagreed.

The archer had spent most of the first hour leaning over the railing and emptying the contents of her stomach. He felt slightly sorry for her, but more so for the crew who had to work around the sick woman. He noticed a few odd looks as she struggled to keep her lunch down. The ship itself was manned by a crew of five, all members of the Gliders, as was standard for most ships operating on the second level.

There were also another three guild members aboard who served as guards against any monsters wanting to try their luck. Unfortunately, the Trials hadn't been lenient enough to provide humanity with cannons or anything similar when they'd left the ships scattered throughout the level. Ethan was sure someone had probably developed something by now, but humanity simply hadn't been here long enough to weaponize every vessel. Especially not Sheila. That meant protecting the ship fell entirely on the people aboard.

It was a bigger responsibility than it sounded. The ships were covered in enchantments that allowed them to fly, and as far as Ethan knew, nobody had managed to replicate them. People could repair minor damage and maintain the enchantments to some degree, but actually recreating the formations responsible for keeping several tons of timber floating through the sky was beyond humanity's current abilities. Not for the first time, he wondered how someone else would have handled regression.

Someone with knowledge of enchantments, or even a proper mage. Instead, humanity's survival was left in the hands of a warrior. All he had known was how to swing a sword and repair his armor. Ethan pushed that aside. All he could do was his best. He should just be grateful they'd been given transportation at all. The second level would have been impossible without it.

"Are you sure it was a good idea coming?" he said, trying to distract himself from his thoughts. Mark looked away from the small island they were passing and glanced toward Ethan. He was leaning against the railing, watching the scenery with the slight wonder of someone who still hadn't gotten used to the fact that floating islands were now a normal part of his life. The island in question wasn't particularly impressive.

It was barely larger than Sheila, with several trees somehow clinging to its rocky surface, but Mark watched it until they had almost passed completely.

"Bit late now," he said. Ethan snorted. He did feel slightly bad about bringing Mark along. The man had only recently reached the second level, and unlike Ethan, he had a family waiting back in Nexus. Sarah and the boys were finally somewhere safe, removed from most of the immediate horrors of the Trials, and Ethan imagined they could have used some time together. A few weeks where they could live normal lives. Mark turned back toward the passing island.

"You're the one who told me to protect what I love. This is my way of doing it." The ship suddenly dropped several feet as it hit a change in the air current. Ethan felt his stomach rise slightly, but [Steadfast] adjusted his balance before he consciously needed to do anything. Around him, several people grabbed onto whatever happened to be closest. Somewhere toward the front of the ship, Ethan heard what sounded suspiciously like Tilly swearing. He pushed himself to his feet.

"Just making sure." Ethan walked over and rested his forearms against the railing beside him. Wind pulled at his hair as he looked down at the distant landscape below. They had already traveled far enough that Nexus was no longer visible behind them, and from here on out, civilization would become increasingly sparse.

"So," Ethan said.

"You really want to do it?" Mark didn't need to ask what he meant.

"Now's probably the best time. We've got nothing else to do while we're traveling." He paused before glancing toward Ethan.

"It's going to hurt, though, isn't it?" Ethan chuckled.

"Just slightly." Mark's expression flattened.

"Saying that with an evil laugh doesn't help." Ethan's smile widened. They were, of course, talking about awakening Mark's body cultivation. The man had approached Ethan before their departure and asked for his help with it, claiming that traveling would give them plenty of time to figure out the safest and most effective method. Ethan knew that was bullshit. Mark wanted to do it while Sarah wasn't around.

Apparently, his wife wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the idea of Mark intentionally putting himself through something that could easily be described as self-harm for the sake of becoming stronger. Ethan couldn't exactly blame her. Body cultivation was dangerous even when done properly, and Ethan's own awakening had involved enough poison to kill a normal person several times over. Telling Sarah that everything would probably be fine wasn't likely to earn either of them permission.

Especially because she had borne witness to Ethan's own awakening. There was absolutely no chance Sarah wouldn't figure out who had helped Mark awaken his body cultivation. Ethan would be the obvious suspect before the man even finished explaining what he'd done. He could already imagine the conversation waiting for him when they returned to Nexus. Fortunately, Ethan had learned something very important over the course of two lives. Sometimes it was easier to ask for forgiveness than beg for approval.

At least half the time, anyway. Which wasn't bad odds. Besides, it really was the best time to do it. During their travels, Mark and Ethan would have plenty of time to formulate a plan and find the correct ingredients. It also helped that they had a powerful healer with them. Now was probably a good time for Ethan to advance his as well. But he knew he needed more preparation. Advancing your body to the next level strained the limits of what you could handle. He had only just advanced to the first tier.

He didn't think he would be able to handle advancing again so early. His body wouldn't withstand the consequences. Not until he gained some more stats in constitution, at least.

"It's not that bad, really." Ethan turned toward the unexpected voice, unsure how they knew what he and Mark were talking about. One of Leah's party members was standing a few feet away, drink in hand, apparently having been listening to their conversation. Ethan recognized him, though embarrassingly, his name had completely escaped him. He looked to be somewhere in his mid-to-late thirties, which was close to Ethan's actual age despite Ethan currently appearing considerably younger.

More importantly, he was the member who had awakened his body cultivation.

"How do you know what we're talking about?" Mark asked, voicing Ethan's exact thoughts. The man shrugged.

"Fairly obvious, isn't it? Talking about doing something painful with the only other person on this ship that's awakened their body cultivation. Besides me, of course." He took another sip from his drink.

"It seemed like a safe bet. Unless I'm wrong?" Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Mark stared at him for a moment.

"Is it really not that bad?"

"Oh, yeah. It was fucking horrible." Ethan laughed. Mark sighed.

"Right. Of course it was." The man smiled before stepping closer and holding out his hand.

"Bert, anyway." Mark accepted it.

"Mark." They shook, and Ethan found himself looking between the two of them. His aura bros. Well, potentially. Mark wasn't there yet, and Ethan barely knew Bert beyond the fact that he traveled with Leah and had awakened his body cultivation. Still, there was something strangely satisfying about having other body cultivators around. In Ethan's previous life, he'd known almost nobody who seriously pursued the path.

Most people considered the risks too high for the rewards, especially once the death rates became more widely known. Perhaps he had a chance to change that. Ethan looked between the two men.

"It's got potential," he muttered.

"What was that?" Mark asked.

"Nothing, just thinking out loud." He looked at them again as Mark turned back to Bert and continued asking questions. Potential, indeed. With nothing requiring his immediate attention, Ethan eventually left Mark and Bert to their conversation and found somewhere quieter on the deck. There was only so much staring at floating islands he could do before the novelty wore off, and unlike most of the others, Ethan had no intention of spending the journey doing nothing.

A week aboard a ship was a week he could spend getting stronger, even if the gains were small. He settled against the side of the cabin and crossed his legs. His core was still a long way from reaching tier two. There was no getting around that. Even with his improved affinity and everything he'd learned since arriving on the second level, cultivation wasn't something he could brute-force in a few weeks.

His molten core needed more mana, more refinement, and considerably more time before it would be ready to advance. Ethan already had plans for changing his cultivation technique before that happened. There was one in particular he remembered from his previous life that should suit what he was becoming far better than the method he currently used, and more importantly, Ethan knew where to find it. Unfortunately, knowing where something was and actually having it were two very different things.

Until then, he could only work with what he had. Ethan closed his eyes and reached outward. Mana surrounded him from every direction, and he began drawing it inward. The process was familiar enough that it barely required thought anymore. Mana entered his body and was pulled toward his core, where the molten energy within immediately began consuming it.

The pressure slowly increased as more mana entered than his core could absorb at once, forcing the excess to disperse back through his body before eventually escaping into the surroundings. It had been something he wasn't even aware was happening until he got [Worldfire]. Now, he wanted to change that shortcoming. The knowledge from [Worldfire] was still fresh in his mind, and after what he'd managed with [Mana Infusion], Ethan had begun looking at his cultivation with the same question.

How much mana was he wasting simply because he'd never known? Apparently, quite a bit. Ethan focused on the excess mana attempting to escape and gently redirected it. He didn't try forcing it back into his core. If his core couldn't condense the energy, shoving more into it wasn't going to magically change that. Instead, he guided the mana away from his core and through the rest of his body. It was considerably easier than manipulating mana already claimed by a skill.

Ethan let the energy spread through his chest first, then his arms and legs. He didn't try to trap it. He simply slowed its escape and encouraged it to linger, allowing the mana to soak into his muscles before it eventually slipped free and returned to the world around him. He was stealing the idea from how he used aura. It could soak into his muscles and strengthen him, but only so much. Now, he wanted to try that with mana, hopefully with a more permanent effect.

He wasn't sure if it would work, but it was better than doing nothing with the mana. Ethan continued. The feeling of mana entering his muscles sent shivers up his spine. It was like a warm bath that ran bone-deep. Soothing in a way he wasn't used to. Oddly, he had come to associate mana with pain. But not right now. Now it was almost relaxing. With each cycle, mana entered, his core condensed what it could, and the remainder flowed outward, passing through his body before escaping. Again. And again.

The process quickly settled into a rhythm. Ethan wasn't entirely sure how successful it would be. But even if a fraction of the excess mana was absorbed by his muscles, then he was getting something from energy he would otherwise waste. Ethan continued until the strain on his concentration became noticeable, then slowly released his hold. The last traces of mana slipped from his body as he opened his eyes.

Sheila continued swaying beneath him, the endless sky stretching beyond the railing, and nothing had changed within Ethan's body apart from his core condensing just a little bit more. Though the progress was hardly noticeable. He let out a sigh. To be honest, he had been hoping for something. However, it looked like only time would tell. With that slight disappointment, he moved on to the next thing on his list. Ethan activated [Oath].

The skill responded immediately, settling over him with a familiar weight, as though the entire world held its breath, waiting for him to declare his resolve. Ethan had spent a lot of time contemplating [Oath]. The skill only stuck half the time, and he still hadn't figured out exactly why that was. But he knew the potential the skill had was through the roof. The only thing left to do was realize that potential and work out exactly what made the skill function.

With that in mind, Ethan had spent enough time considering exactly what he wanted from the second level that the words came easily.

"I swear I will find the System Monolith and use it to create a guild that will forge a better humanity than the one I remember." The moment the words left his mouth, a judgmental weight settled over his shoulders. It pressed down on him, forcing his breath to hitch. His whole body ached as the pressure grew more and more pronounced. For a moment, he didn't think it was going to stick.

Thoughts of when he first received the skill resurfaced, of when the oath didn't stick and he was brought to his knees from the pain. Just as he assumed the same thing would happen once again, just when he thought he had bitten off more than he could chew, the skill took hold and wrapped around his very being. Ethan sucked in a breath as power settled through his body, the System acknowledging his promise and binding him to it.

He waited for the familiar sensation to finish before checking what the skill had granted him. As he looked at his status, his eyes widened in surprise. The skill had given him far more stats than it ever had. Attributes: • Strength: 74 (15) • Endurance: 65 (10) • Agility: 44 (10) • Perception: 46 • Willpower: 60 After a bit of quick math, he came to the conclusion that his Oath had granted plus ten to both Strength and Agility. The other bonuses were from both his sword and armor.

"Huh." That was considerably more than he'd expected. Whatever calculation the System used, apparently it thought this oath was far more difficult than his previous ones. He had gathered that from the feeling of it settling in. Still, it was slightly concerning. The size of the bonus suggested the System considered his oath significantly harder than Ethan himself did. Obviously, it had to do with his wording.

Creating a guild might be hard, but he didn't think it was more difficult than bringing an end to a guild war. Instead, he assumed it was more focused on the fact that he had stated what his guild would be used for. Ethan was more than up for the task, however. In fact, oath or not, he was still going to carry on with exactly what he had planned. But it did make him wonder how the System monitored such things. Was his idea of bettering humanity different from the System's? It frustrated him that he didn't know.

But the only way to find out was to keep using the skill. He had a feeling it would be a while before he completed this oath, however. With his oath complete and his mind set on experimenting with his skills and strengthening his foundation, the days slowly began to blur as he put thought into motion. He cultivated whenever he could, continuing to experiment with directing excess mana through his body.

He trained [Mana Infusion], gradually becoming more comfortable influencing the mana while the skill remained active. He tested his other abilities where space allowed, sparred when someone was willing, and spent enough time meditating that he could see noticeable growth within his core. Before Ethan really noticed it happening, an entire week had passed. Just like any other day, he started the morning off cultivating. But unlike the previous days, something changed.

Ethan sat cross-legged on the floor of the cramped cabin he shared with Alex and several of the other men, molten mana slowly condensing within his core as he refined the pure energy into something he could work with, when his eyes snapped open. Something had entered the edge of [Keen Sense]. Ethan was on his feet, expelling the excess mana. Alex looked over from his bunk.

"What's wrong?" Before Ethan could answer, shouting echoed down the hall from above. Ethan and Alex moved as one. Ethan shoved open the cabin door and took the stairs two at a time. More shouting erupted across the deck, followed by the unmistakable sound of someone drawing a weapon. Ethan burst into the open air. Wind slammed against his face, rushing through the slit of his helmet. If everything wasn't turning to shit, it would have been a relief getting out of the stuffy cabin.

But he couldn't focus on that right now. Dozens of dark shapes circled above Sheila. Bat-like creatures filled the sky, their leathery wings snapping in the wind as they descended toward the ship in a loose swarm. Some were barely larger than dogs, while others had wingspans stretching several yards across. Screeches echoed through the air as the swarm broke apart, the creatures diving toward the deck from different directions.

"Prepare for battle!" one of the Gliders shouted.