Chương 18

What was that? Hakon scrambled to his feet, gasping for air. Blood dripped in his eyes and his legs caved in more often than he was willing to acknowledge. His chest hurt worse than any training with his father. Still, he was alive. Somewhat. His body barely listened to his commands. Hakon couldn't feel much of his lower legs, other than pain and that something was wrong. It felt like something in his leg had snapped but he couldn't quite tell what it was or if it actually happened.

His arms didn't feel much better, neither did his head or his caved-in chest. Almost like his rib cage was no more, replaced by a mess of fragments. Yet, here he was, gasping for air, scrambling to his feet. Traces of mana swirled through his pathways, signifying the last remains of all the energy he possessed merely a few heartbeats ago. Then there was the Colossal Terror. It was still alive, and so were enough Giant Ants and Acidic Beetles to kill him. But something had changed.

The Colossal Terror no longer charged him. It approached, but its steps were groggy, its head no longer looking the same. The antler-like horn tilted to the side and its skull was caved inward. The monster was on the verge of death. Giant Ants and Acidic Beetles rushed at Hakon, but his bloodied eyes remained on the beast. Only a little. Give me a little strength, Ancestors. Just a little, and I will survive.

Strive and shed more blood for you, he prayed to the Ancestors, dragging his worn body across the battlefield. [Proficiency gained. [Pain Tolerance Lv. 14] improved to [Pain Tolerance Lv. 15]] The pain lessened only a little, but the intent was clear. The Ancestors were watching, and they wanted him to survive. A small smile played on his lips as he pushed forward. Taking a deep breath through the pain that assaulted his lungs, Hakon gathered his remaining strength. His trembling hand reached toward his sword.

Keeping ahold of the weapon was harder than it used to be. His fingers were stiff and struggled to coil around the blade's handle, yet he succeeded. [Weapon Mastery] helped him, and so did [Combat Awareness], [Split Focus], and all his other Skills. Reaching for the mana mass within, Hakon used [Dash]. He added a burst of [Circulation], dragging his half-dead body across the battlefield in a final attack.

He appeared before the Colossal Terror, feet digging deep into the ground, and he let the last bit of strength in his legs loose to leap into the air. A snapping sound rang in his ears, but his mind was fully focused on the creature before him. [Mana Infusion] filled his blade with all the mana he had left to spare. A faint shimmer coating the sword caught his attention, yet it only lasted a moment. And that was all Hakon needed to ram the blade through the Terror's cracked skull.

Darkness threatened to consume him. Then came reignited pain. Unbearable. Unbidden. Hakon looked down to the broken antler horn jutting from his chest, and a grim smile bloomed. At last, he twisted the sword in the Terror's skull and shoved it deeper.

"You will join me!" he croaked, coughing up blood. Then came the mist. Faint at first, expanding rapidly. Growing denser, heavier. The Terror faded from his view, replaced by nothing but dense mist that seemed everywhere yet nowhere. It poured into him even as he bled to death. Am I bleeding? He looked down at his chest once more to see gaping holes where the antler horn had been. Blood poured out of him like a fountain, grim reality filling his head. Hakon knew what was about to happen. He was about to die.

He should have died, which was not acceptable. His tale had not yet been recorded. [Major Deed – Defeat Colossal Terror (1/1)]"That should have been enough, don't you think?" He coughed up even more blood, trying hard to ignore the coldness that replaced the strength of his body.

"Did I not do enough to satisfy you?" No, he did. He did far more than any of his peers were able to. He surpassed them all. Hakon performed a Feat worthy of Ascension. [You have shattered the Wall. Ascension permitted. Ascend, young warrior. For your Saga does not end here.] Power filled his being. It dispersed the coldness that had taken hold of him and returned the strength it sapped. Then, came more. The dying wick of his life reignited, transforming into a raging inferno. A laugh escaped his lips.

This time, he didn't cough up blood. [First Ascension initiated. Body, mind, and soul reinforced. Ancient Power strengthened.] Following the power that surged through his body came the mana. A familiar flood, yet it was stronger and so much greater than it used to be. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. The mass within Hakon expanded as his worn body changed and shifted. His muscles grew denser and it almost felt like his bones were heavier than they once were.

He was tougher, and most importantly, Hakon healed faster. His regeneration accelerated greatly as his body accustomed to the 1st Ascension. His mind worked faster and his focus sharpened. Then came the messages. [The Well of Experience has been unsealed. Accumulated Experience distributed.] [Experience threshold met. Level Up!] [Experience threshold met. Level Up!] [Experience threshold met. Level Up!] Warmth filled every corner of his body, and it only spread as he poured all the excessive mana into [Natural Regeneration]. As weak as the healing Skill ought to be, it eased the pain and did what Hakon did not believe was possible. He stopped bleeding. His wounds were still there, hurting, throbbing, yet the fountains of blood diminished until they ceased entirely. As quick and surprising as his recovery was, Hakon was too tired to care. He accepted it as is. Exhaustion had him tightly in its grasp.

It wanted him to close his eyes and fall asleep, rest until the end of times, but the Crawling Expanse was not yet cleansed of its scourge. Giant Ants crawled through the densely packed mist. They could not fight him, neither could the Acidic Beetles as their acidic spit whistled through the air. At some point, they would fight him. The mist would not last forever. It would disperse, revealing his position to all the monsters. Unless he killed them first.

His body screeched and screamed as he struggled to get to his feet. His bones were still broken, his ribs shattered, but pain was no more than weakness leaving the body. The chieftain had been correct. This pain was fleeting, while the strength it brought stayed. It never diminished and would only grow further as he pushed through, embracing pain and suffering as much as the gains they brought. Hakon did the only thing he could think of. He eliminated his enemies while he could still move.

The mana that fed his pathways allowed him to move. Utilizing [Circulation] to drag his limbs toward the nearest enemy, [Silent Step] and [Stealth] activating themselves; or did he activate the Skills without realizing? The truth mattered little. Hakon's survival and the death of his enemies were all that was left in his mind. # [Major Deed – Restore the Balance (500/500)] The second Major Deed was finally completed. Hakon couldn't remember everything that happened, or how much time had passed since.

However, he did remember the Terror's death and the Ancestors' messages.

"I did it. I ascended." It sounded unreal and felt just the same. Like it was one big dream. The memories of the Ascension eluded him. It was supposed to be something special, yet he could recall little. Other than the power he felt as his blade carved through his enemies. Until it shattered and his body became the weapon. And now he sat beside the Fracture vortex, no sight of a single Giant Ant or Acidic Beetle. Nothing. Nowhere.

He was alone with his healing wounds, exhaustion that didn't want to leave his side, and weird messages. [Miasma Overflow has been successfully eradicated. Alone.] [A unique circumstance worthy of a Feat has been recorded.] [A rare opportunity has been granted. Do you wish to combine your Major Deeds to claim a boon greater than the individual?]"Greater? Is that a Skill Fusion… of Deeds?" There was no reason to deny the offer. If anything, he ought to accept it.

So, he did just that before collapsing, having succumbed to his injuries. # The next time he woke up, Hakon felt much better. The gaping holes in his chest were almost fully healed. The broken bones bothered him no longer. He was covered in freshly grown skin as well. It was pink and raw, almost like that of a newborn, but it was tougher than it appeared. That was the kind of regeneration worthy of a Barbarian! Hakon pulled at his skin and pinched it with widening eyes.

It hurt, but he had to put in quite a bit of strength.

"That is amazing. Is that how Father and the others feel?" he wondered, leaping to his feet with newfound ease. He punched the air, which distorted from the impact, and kicked the ground with enough force to crack it open. Too excited about his rising strength, Hakon ran toward the only mark left behind on the battlefield: Crusher. It stood there, surrounded by the carnage left behind by combat. As for the corpses, they were no more. Not even the Terror's carcass remained.

"It would have made great armor," he mused to himself, lifting the Maulaxe Crusher with one hand. It was lighter than before. There was still some weight to the weapon, but it was no longer as noteworthy. Maybe he'd be able to wield Crusher with one hand with some practice. Considering it was the only weapon that survived his [Mana Infusion], he might have to learn how to wield the cumbersome weapon sooner rather than later. The Terror's acid sac would have been great too. The thought made him grimace.

He was no particular fan of self-torture, though doing exactly that gave him the strength to upgrade [Flow Control]. To cleanse his pathways faster and acquire more useful Skills. As much as he disliked the thought of hurting himself, the gains he made with such a sacrifice were the very reason he was alive.

"Luck, too," he added before closing his eyes.

"And, of course, the Ancestors' gifts. Without your gifts, I would have never survived." Without Enhanced Comprehension, he would have never conquered the Fracture. I haven't conquered anything yet. There is still one Saga Trial left, he corrected himself inwardly but failed to materialize the message. The final Saga Trial wouldn't come to him.

"Why? I want to accomplish a Feat!" Hakon grumbled, then reminded himself that he had just done that. The Scriptures said so. Because he cleared the Miasma Overflow alone. That brought a smile to his lips, and he returned to the Fracture vortex, his eyes shifting to a pole that hadn't been there before. His reward. A… Totem. It was ancient, its presence heavy, overbearing. Unlike the other Totem, this one was a relic more than a simple carving.

The Totem appeared as a broad pole crowned with a smaller version of the Colossal Terror. It was still large, yet it was unlike anything the Colossal Terror represented. This was different. The Terror was carved from dark material that resembled steel, yet wasn't. Its shell was layered in thick plates of the same unknown dark material and faintly traced with what appeared to be azure glowing veins. Gemlike eyes caught the light of the sunless Crawling Expanse, its firm legs tightly clutching the pole beneath.

It was beautiful. Magnificent, even. Almost lifelike, just like the pole, which was etched with spiraling patterns that coiled around the image of a large glowing mass. Unfamiliar, strange runes highlighted the mass, surrounding it, yet it was the glowing mass and what it resembled that gave the Totem a brutal presence. After all, Hakon knew what it stood for.

"The Terror's power." A memory of the Terror erupting in power that hurled Hakon through the air, nearly killing him when it should have been the massive monster that died. It did die at the end, severely injured from Crusher's blow, but the explosion of power had nearly been enough to tip the scale. Luck and the Ancestors' will were the only reason he survived. And now the very power that nearly killed him was offered to him as a Runeskin.