Chương 100: B2 Chapter 21

After celebrating his rise to the 2nd Ascension and training both alone and with his mate and Ava, it was time to return to the others. But this time Hakon wouldn't spar with them to unravel their weaknesses one by one. He was going to teach them about [Mana Sense] and [Flow Control].

"You…don't want fight? No spar?" Teraq scrunched his nose when Hakon arrived with his proposal.

"We won't fight, no," he replied, which earned him a round of disapproving looks and groans.

"Instead, I will help you learn a few useful Skills." Hakon could have gone further to explain what [Mana Sense] did and how sensing mana would help them with [Flow Control] as well as other mana-based Skills, but he didn't bother with that. So what if they knew that learning [Mana Sense] would make it less of a challenge to learn [Mana Manipulation], [Mana Shaping], and the like? They wouldn't care.

Even informing them about [Dash] and how important learning about mana and cleansing the pathways was to learn and improve the Skill would help only a little. Because explanations were useless when the recipient couldn't comprehend anything. And yet, it felt important to tell the Barbarians what they needed to know. In the worst case, they wouldn't understand a thing but that might not be the case. Maybe he underestimated his peers too much. Thus, he showed them what he meant.

"Watch." Hakon ordered, and the young warriors at the training ground did just that. Walking over to one end of the training ground, he prepared something fairly simple. The first thing he did was show everyone how fast, strong, and resilient he was right now. Doing so was fairly simple. He dashed from one end of the training ground to the other as fast as he could, lifted the heaviest stones he could carry, and even ordered Astrid to cut him.

The first time she cut him, he stayed where he was and let the blade cut across his chest. Blood spurted from the wound, earning yet another round of disapproving frowns. Alas, the frowns turned into surprised stares as he stopped bleeding after a heartbeat. Before they started with the next part of the demonstration, Hakon's wound was no more than a pink line of freshly grown skin. That was promptly ignored when Hakon and Astrid engaged in combat.

Astrid accelerated in an instant and attacked, while he focused primarily on evading, all without mana. Everything he did was without mana, for a very simple reason. This was not a life-or-death fight. It was a demonstration, after all.

"Now," Hakon took a heavy breath when Astrid slowed, "I am going to use the Skill [Circulation], the upgraded version of [Flow Control]." Once again, he could have explained more but, for Barbarians, watching through combat was several times more efficient. Unleashing [Circulation], power pumped through his veins and muscles. He burst free, no longer forced to defend against Astrid's onslaught of slashes and thrusts, and reached top speed in an instant.

His speed, strength, and durability skyrocketed at the expense of mana, which he made clear by not only escaping Astrid's control of the battle but counterattacking all the same. Astrid didn't use any of her Skills, following his request, but she did not go down easily. Not that she had to.

Their spar ended after a while, which was promptly followed by a cut across his chest – Astrid's regular blades barely pierced through his skin with [Circulation] active – a sprint across the training ground, and lifting much heavier stones. The difference was clear as day. Even better, the young warriors seemed to understand what he was telling them.

"We can get strong too?" Zurok, Bloodbearer of the Blazing Bear Blood, asked when no one spoke up.

"With [Circulation]?"

"You first have to learn [Flow Control]. Astrid learned [Flow Control] already, and she has already shown signs of improving. Her strength had grown, and it will only grow further once she upgrades it to [Circulation]." Hakon went on to explain before having Astrid repeat the demonstration. She did not gain nearly as much power or speed as he did, but that too showed the difference a Skill Upgrade made. It kept expectations in check and made clear the importance of improvement.

"How long?" Björn the Bear stepped forward. Hakon stared at his friend for a moment. He had totally forgotten about his friend, creating a pang of guilt in his stomach. Björn, however, didn't seem to mind. He stared intently at Hakon, determination burning in his eyes.

"How long? A few moons, I think. Faster if you work hard. Even faster if I help you," Hakon said confidently enough.

"You can learn everything on your own with a little bit more effort. The Ancestors would surely embrace your hard work. But I can force the first step. It will be even more painful than the normal way, though." That made Björn smile.

"Pain is weakness leaving the body." He said, repeating the words in the same way Hakon normally used.

"Yes. Pain is weakness leaving the body."

"Show me. Not [Mana Sense] but [Flow Control]." Björn demanded eagerly. Now you want to learn? Björn the Bear had been given the option to learn about [Flow Control] a while ago but rejected it. Only Astrid accepted the offer he had made to his childhood friends, but that was no longer important. If he was willing to do it now, so be it. Several other young warriors joined the conversation, more than willing to learn [Flow Control] after the demonstration.

If the Skill could elevate their power, they too could push toward the Ascension. They would not have to waste several cycles acquiring the Feats and achievements necessary to break the Second Wall. Catching up to their parents and the old warriors would be only a matter of time, effort, and pain as long as they learned [Circulation], a Skill that, while incredibly powerful, nobody had heard about. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

They could learn a mighty Skill that not even the strongest of Tribe Taskur had learned. Hakon started with Björn. He had his friend sit down before him and sat down behind him.

"Don't resist it. Just think of it as me forging your insides." He tried to come up with a suitable explanation but didn't quite like what he ended up saying.

"Just don't do to me what you did to Astrid." Björn hollered. He wore a smug smile as he looked back to see Hakon's deep brown eyes, only to glance at Astrid with a knowing look. His eyes said he knew what Hakon and Astrid had done after the celebration.

"I wouldn't do that to you even if you begged me." Hakon grunted, slapping the back of his friend's head.

"Now sit still or I'll make it more painful than it has to be." I might just do it even if you stayed as still as the Monolith. He snickered to himself before pressing his palms against Björn's bare back.

"What are you doing no–" The Bear of a Barbarian didn't get to say any more as a scream tore through the air. His scream. Hakon's mana tore through his palm and into Björn's back with the force of a Titan Boar. There was no hesitation. Forget about mercy. It was not quite as effective as [Discharge] since he did not want to shut down Björn's system, but that only made it more painful as foreign mana surged through him.

Hakon could have pushed his mana into the nearest channel to start the cleansing process, but that was not the plan. It would be useless if the young warriors needed him to cleanse their pathways for moons. They had to learn how to do it themselves.

"Focus on my mana." He ordered, his voice laced with steel.

"Close your rotten eyes and feel what's going on inside you." A moment later, as the foreign mana seeped deeper, Björn's shout grew louder. He instinctively resisted the infiltration of mana, and that made it a lot more painful than it had to be. And difficult, though that was hardly a problem for Hakon. Enhancing his senses while also using [Mana Manipulation] to its extreme, he pushed his mana onward until he found the Blessed warrior's Core.

"Can you feel it?" Hakon asked sternly.

"I… I… Yes…" Björn sputtered through gritted teeth. Sweat pearled down his cheeks, his breathing was rough, and it was clearly a waste of breath to ask if he could relax. Pain it is, Hakon mused to himself while saying out loud, "My mana will not go around the pathways – what you probably consider tunnels – to trigger one of your Skills. It will move into the pathways to clean them. Then, once there is enough clean space to form a small circle, I will move mana through it relentlessly.

That is how [Flow Control] formed for me, and it is also what you need to do to enhance your body." Only after the circle was large enough to move through the entire body would all of it be enhanced equally, which would probably prompt the Ancestors to reward a Skill Upgrade. Or trigger the task to upgrade [Flow Control]. That, however, was none of the young warriors' concerns. They were not even at the starting point at this moment.

Hakon considered using Björn's mana to cleanse the pathways, but the Blessed warrior resisted too much. His Core was sealed off and repelled any attempts at invasion. It went as far as to disintegrate the foreign mana, which was the last thing they wanted. Grasping just how troublesome this could become if Björn or the other young warriors failed to grasp what he was doing, Hakon ended up using [Teaching], hoping it would make everything a little easier for his… patient?

Willing his mana into one of the pathways attached to Björn's Core, he watched his friend twitch and curse under his breath.

"Pain is weakness leaving the body." He intoned once more while guiding the mana through the channel. Whether it was luck or because Björn's pathways were cleaner than expected, the whole process worked much better than expected. The channel adjacent to the Blessed warrior's Core was relatively clean. Impurities stuck to the outer walls, making it more difficult to enter the channel in the first place, but that was no longer a problem once he found a way inside.

"I created a small opening for your mana. You probably won't have to remove too many impurities to learn [Flow Control]. However, it will be more time-consuming to improve the Skill. At least, if you want a Skill as powerful as my [Circulation]." He shared what he had come to understand, all while mana flowed through the first of the pathways. It split up after a while, though there wasn't much choice for him to make.

The channel to the left was completely blocked by impurities while the one to the right was narrow, to put it lightly. Hakon split the mana stream into smaller tendrils to move through the narrow channel while forcing the left path open with considerable force. [Mana Manipulation] was pushed more than before as Hakon drilled a small hole into the impurities, removing the reeking obstacle layer by layer. That was not something Björn would be able to do anytime soon, yet it was essential to learn [Flow Control].

Hence, the help. Sweat trickled down Hakon's temples as he pushed further and further until the air was filled with the impurities' pungent smell. Björn's screams had become a muffled sound in the background, but they now returned to full volume as Hakon's mind pulled back. His mana had been fully used up, but he had made great progress. Björn looked like a mess, but the fool of a Barbarian smiled, likely having sensed the trickle of power entering his body from circulating mana through it.

Even if it had been foreign mana that tore through his clogged pathways, power was power. Everyone understood that sentiment well enough. Nonetheless, Hakon doubted Björn had learned [Flow Control] with just that. Forget about [Mana Sense]. Björn might learn the former in another intense session or two, maybe three, but he would learn it. And with [Flow Control], he might also learn [Mana Sense] and, at some point, [Mana Manipulation] as well.

If he wanted to upgrade [Flow Control] to [Circulation], that would be necessary. Björn collapsed to the ground, but he was not unconscious. His lips parted, yet no word reached Hakon as he turned to the Scriptures popping up before him. [Scripture of Improvement Mana Sense Lv. 24 → Lv. 25 Teaching Lv. 17 → Lv. 18 Mana Manipulation Lv. 20(!)] [Requirements for Regular Skill Upgrade for [Mana Manipulation] have been met. Initia–]"No!" Hakon growled aloud, startling the warriors around him.

Their heads snapped toward him, and even Björn, who was on the verge of collapsing, looked up at him.

"Something wrong?" he asked weakly, only to be dismissed with a wave. Hakon shook his head, suppressing a sigh of relief when the Scripture disappeared without upgrading [Mana Manipulation]. His attention lingered on the Ancient Scripture for several dozen heartbeats, but when nothing changed, he was sure that he had just stopped the Ancestor-initiated Skill Upgrade. Was that the right thing to do?

There was no way to be certain, but he did not want to give up on his potential Skill Fusion by upgrading [Mana Manipulation]. Even if the Skill Fusion was not what the Ancestors wanted, he was sure they would accept his decision. Just like they'd accepted his rejection just now.

"Everything's fine."