Chương 68: Chapter 59

Hakon let out a deep breath. He regarded his Ancient Scripture again, a vibrant yet foolish smile blooming on his face. His plan had worked out much better than he could have hoped for. It was beautiful. The section for Resistances no longer existed. In its stead, a new section had appeared, rewriting the bottom portion of his Ancient Scripture: Passives [Adaptive Resilience] – [Tier-1] Passives. It was interesting to see the section, and that [Adaptive Resilience] was the only Skill within it.

Especially considering he already had multiple Skills he would have considered 'passive'. That included the same Resistance Skills that had fused into [Adaptive Resilience]. Hakon wanted to understand the Ancestors' reasoning behind the different label and why they deemed it important to rank his new Skill differently, but they were silent, as always. Tiers rather than Levels, he mused as he studied the Ancient Scripture a little longer, all while wondering which other Skills could be labeled as passive as well.

As it turned out, none fit the criteria Hakon had formed in his mind. Skills like [Combat Awareness] and [Weakness Detection] would activate as soon as he engaged in combat, but they were not always active. They required a specific trigger, like initiating combat, to activate. Even then, he could focus more on those Skills, further increasing their power. [Mana Sense] was not all that different either.

While it was always active at a low intensity, he could fuel it, drawing significantly more power from the Skill if needed, and the same could be said about [Mana Manipulation] and similar abilities. None of his current Skills truly belonged in 'Passives,' for their greatest boon came from active use. With a shrug, Hakon stepped away from the magma pond. He turned, ready to leave, only to see several warriors staring at him.

"You are still here?" The corner of his lips tugged into a smile at that. Even if he'd hoped for them to stay, he understood why some didn't stay behind to watch him torture himself. He also knew how rewarding a Fracture's Feat was, but that did not change the situation.

"They left with Ulfar, did they not?" It did make sense, yet it was also dangerous. Ulfar was strong and could overcome many walls that would kill others, but he was not a leader. He was self-centered. Björn leveled a glare at him and let out a frustrated snort, yet his eyes shone vividly.

"You done here?"

"I am," Hakon answered, swatting the glare aside "Ulfar left with the others a while ago to conquer the nearby Fracture." It was a statement, not a question, yet Astrid nodded regardless.

"They conquered the Fracture already. I checked on them when we returned from the tribehold, and the vortex to their Fracture was already closing." They already succeeded? That was a little surprising, but it made sense if the nearby Fracture had been anything like the Magma Field. Even an Overflowing Fracture like the Crawling Expanse was no longer as deadly as it had been right after the Rite. Even then, Ulfar would have been able to deal with it.

Now, Ulfar was stronger, and he had several 1st Ascension warriors by his side. The only things that could stop them were stupidity or several enemies at the 2nd Ascension. And that was the problem – both options were bad and likely to happen. Hakon had no doubt that Ulfar would push into Tribe Pearot's territory. He knew the Behemoth Blood warrior well enough to understand where he would go and how he would approach it. Loud, imposing, and with the force of a legendary warrior.

"Did you at least warn them?" Hakon turned to Astrid and Björn. Astrid nodded again, "We tried."

"If they stupid enough to follow Ulfar, they deserve nothing but the worst." Björn growled, earning him several glares. Hakon didn't see it like his friend. The young warriors wanted glory and staying with him learning fusing [Adaptive Resilience] had nothing to do with glory. That was his fault. Even if he gained a lot, his actions caused a deviation in their plan. I should have planned for that to happen. Or put aside [Fire Resistance] for later. Burning the doubts to cinder, a new plan formed in his mind.

They set off shortly after. Heading to the next Fracture with a group of fourteen warriors turned out to be much easier than he had imagined. To begin with, Astrid informed him that the Bloodbearers had acquired Skills that allowed them to move more smoothly through the forest's more difficult terrain. Curious, Hakon observed their movements, pushing [Mana Sense], [Sensory Expansion], and [Flow Observation] to their limits.

They were sure-footed and moved almost instinctively through the forest, avoiding low-hanging branches, roots jutting from the ground, and anything else that might slow them down. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The first thing he noticed was that they were not particularly fast compared to him while he maintained [Silent Steps]. That made him wonder if [Silent Steps] guided him as well, but that alone wasn't enough.

Knowing that the others had earned the Ancestors' approval irked him in ways it most certainly shouldn't. Regardless, he focused on their movements and replicated them within a few dozen heartbeats. With a few tweaks and adjustments – some of which originated from [Silent Steps] – his understanding of their actions and their purpose steadily improved. With every heartbeat, his comprehension deepened, and it wasn't long after they had set off that the Scripture he desired appeared.

[Skill [Unhindered Movement] has been learned.] The corner of his lips curled upward, and he activated the new Skill. His stance shifted ever so slightly, and his movements grew more fluid as he blazed through the forest, unhindered by the natural obstacles. Astrid caught up with him, her eyes trailing his form, but Hakon remained focused on refining his stance and every movement he made.

He was sure-footed and instinctively weaved through the forest, finding the easiest path through the dangerous, forbidden lands. [Unhindered Movement (New) Lv. 1 → Lv. 2]"Did you really just…" Astrid's voice failed her. She stared at him, at a loss for words, but did not leave his side even as they closed in on their next target. It was already later into the day than their initial plan had anticipated, but the repercussions following their change of plan were minimal.

They encountered a few hungry monsters, but that was about it.

"We should be getting closer to the–..." Hakon's quietly spoken words faded into the forest as his hair stood on end. He whirled around, his instincts screaming at him. [Combat Awareness] flared to life, quickly followed by [Mana Sense] and [Sensory Expansion]. Not even a full heartbeat later, Hakon caught a pair of flashes. He raised Crusher and pumped mana through his body, pushing [Circulation] to its limit, only to realize a moment later that he wouldn't make it in time.

He was fast, but the flashes heading toward the group were terrifying, to say the least. A pair of arrows burst from a set of unassuming bushes and whistled through the air with frightening velocity. Too slow to block anything, [Evasion] had been activated even before the arrows made it out of the bush. Hakon evaded one of the arrows. It barely missed his chest and disappeared into the bush behind him. Björn, on the other hand, was not as fortunate. The second arrow lodged itself deep in his chest.

Surprised, the Blessed warrior looked down at his chest. Yet instead of crying out in pain, he let out a deep, guttural growl before snapping the arrow in half, the tip still stuck in his chest. Readying his weapons, he shot forward, heading straight toward the bush. But the perpetrators in hiding did not remain idle. They released a second volley of arrows, both of which slowed upon contact with a shield made of highly compressed mana.

The arrows pierced the shields, but their momentum faltered, slowing them enough for Björn to cleave them apart. A few moments later, a pair of Barbarian hunters emerged from the rustling bush, longbows slung across their backs. [Barbarian – High Threat (2nd Ascension)] [Barbarian – High Threat (2nd Ascension)] They weren't Extreme Threats like the other 2nd Ascension Barbarians they had fought not too long ago, but this time Hakon didn't have the opportunity to empower Hoard Impact with much strength.

The self-inflicted damage from the magma ponds didn't count, and the fights with monsters and Pearot Barbarians barely amounted to any empowerment by the Major Runeskin. Frankly, the situation didn't look particularly good or bad. It simply was. Björn accelerated, the ground underfoot crunching as if it were about to rip apart, attempting to take the Barbarian to the right by surprise. His great axes whirled through the air in a wild, yet smooth and oddly precise manner, aiming to tear down his opponent's defense.

But his foe was at the 2nd Ascension. He was faster and stronger, and while he was not a Bloodbearer, he was likely Blessed, with heightened speed. Björn pumped an enormous amount of mana into his attacks, trying to fight his foe head-on, but he was overwhelmed within moments. Blood quickly flowed down his chest from several cuts, and even the [Mana Bolt] hurtling toward the Barbarian failed to change much. The Barbarian's hunting knives carved through the bolt of mana with ease.

After that, Hakon couldn't see much more of Björn's fight, as the other hunter arrived before him. A moment of distraction was punished with a gash across his chest, forcing Hakon to snap to attention. Neither side said anything. Pearot's hunters knew that they weren't here for chatter or negotiation, and they couldn't have been more right. Pushing [Circulation] to its limit, he evaded another three strikes, only to be caught off guard when the Barbarian sucker-punched him.

An instant later, the Barbarian twisted the blade in his tightly clenched fist and attempted to cut him. Hakon released [Mote of Light] into the Barbarian's face, distracting him long enough to launch a counterattack. Alas, the hunter sensed something amiss and retreated first, Crusher whistling past his face. Accelerating the flow of [Circulation]'s mana was difficult even with [Mana Manipulation] active, but it was necessary to squeeze more power from the Skill.

Further enhancing his strength, Hakon charged forward with [Bash]. His opponent rubbed his eyes but was still slightly dazed when Hakon struck with full force, stunning him for another fraction of a moment. Long enough to bring down mana-infused Crusher with [Bleeding]. Hakon didn't think for a second that his opponent would fall so easily, so he left a small opening, which the hunter took in exchange for being struck as well.

The hunter moved out of Crusher's path as quickly as his slowed movements allowed, but his chest still split open, courtesy of [Bleeding]. As for the opening, it was a feint and never really there in the first place. The moment the Barbarian hunter moved for the opening, trying to deliver a quick killing blow, three [Mana Shields] empowered by [Reinforcement] materialized.

The shields cracked and shattered under the hunter's raw force, but certain death was avoided, and Hakon was rewarded with another opportunity to strike. He invoked a [Mana Bolt], compressing it as much as possible with all the mana the Skill could take, and released it straight into the Barbarian's gaping wound. The hunter let out a pained growl, bringing a bright smile to Hakon's lips. Then came [Pack Coordination], and the tide of battle changed completely.