Chương 12: Chapter 11

So fucking stupid! Hakon cursed himself as a massive Acidic Beetle charged straight into him. It was the size of a hut and had a pitch-black horn, which it used to impale him. Or try to. Hakon was fortunate that the monster was not as fast as the eagle monsters were. Unfortunately, that did not change how stupid his move had been. In an attempt to impress the Ancestors, Hakon sought the Colossal Terror. That turned out as stupid as it sounded. He was too weak and suffered the consequences of unfounded arrogance.

The hut-sized Acidic Beetle failed to impale him but its head snapped to the side and struck him. The sound of ribs breaking reverberated as the horn struck his side with terrifying force. Hurled backward, Hakon grit his teeth and scrambled to his feet. Then came a massive gob of acidic beetle spit. It hurled through the air in a beautiful arc, heading toward him with deadly precision. Hakon cursed and yelped, using [Dash] with as much mana as he could muster before using [Running] in the same instance.

Maybe the Skills did not overlap, but he certainly felt like they helped him survive as he leaped out of the gob's area of impact. It landed where he stood a moment ago and splattered, sending goblets everywhere – his back included. The smell of burned flesh hit him at once, so did the numbness. The numbness was terrifying. It was incredibly potent, and only further affirmed that he wasn't ready to fight the Colossal Terror. So he did something pathetic.

The tribe may shun him for that, but Hakon had not yet earned the right to die. He fled with a promise in his heart. I will return to crush you! Just you wait! Hakon growled, the shame of defeat burning deep within.

Hakon appeared behind a beetle, hand clamped around its maw. He pulled it up and dragged the bone dagger across its neck before the monster could respond. There was no hesitation as he stepped back into the knee-high grass, pulling the dying back with him. It took a while to return to his temporary base, if one could call it that. Anyway, Hakon got to work once it was clear that there were no more monsters to fight. He turned the beetle on its carapace and cut carefully into its soft belly.

The blade carved through flesh and organs with crafted precision, revealing a yellowish sac with some effort. It was important to keep the sac intact for a little while longer, which meant he had to spend a little longer until the sac was finally in his hands.

"A big one." He mused, inspecting the sac for damages. It was as large as his hand and numbed it just by touching its stretchy surface. He wasn't even touching the Acidic Beetle's spit, yet its sac already numbed his palm and fingers. That was good. Satisfied, Hakon placed the sac above the bowl, which was yet another carved-out carapace, and emptied the yellowish-green content into it.

"That was about time." The carapace bowl was finally full. That took him long enough. [Lesser Deed – Slay 25 Acidic Beetles(10/25)] Several Skills improved during and after his hunts. [Combat Awareness], and [Swordmanship] leveled once. [Throwing], [Evasion], [Dash], and [Field Crafting] improved by two Levels, and [Silent Steps], [Weakness Detection], [Running], and [Dagger Mastery] went up by as much as three Levels! Seeing his Skills improve so quickly was exhilarating. It was addictive.

Almost more so than gaining two new Skills. [Grappling Lv. 6] [Dismantling Lv. 3] The System had recognized the Skills from past experiences, which did make some sense. However, he did not think his beetle hunts had a lot to do with grappling. Other than locking the monsters in place, using some of the lessons his father and other old warriors taught him and his peers, little connected his hunts with grappling. But who was he to judge the Ancestors' wisdom? He was a nobody.

A young warrior, who had yet to gain his first Deed. Ready to change that, Hakon dipped his numb fingers into the bowl. First his fingertips to analyze how quickly the numbness would spread, then the rest of his hand as his fingers went numb and the smell of burned skin and flesh pierced his nostrils. There was no time for doubts as he utilized [Flow Control]. He moved mana through his body and embraced the sense of wrongness with his whole heart all while the Skill granted him heightened control of mana.

[Flow Control] made moving mana through the tunnels much easier. The Skill did not require his attention to do anything, but to use it at full capacity and to expand upon it – push it to new lengths –, Hakon had to do more. He had to fix all that was wrong about the Skill. After all, no Skill was perfect. If they had reached perfection, the Ancestors would have told him, and he would no longer be able to improve them. Since that was not the case, Hakon continued.

He trusted the Ancestors and guided [Flow Control] until it reached his hand. The numbness in his hand receded in a moment's instance, but it returned just as quickly.

"That makes sense." Hakon mused, Enhanced Comprehension stirring, his hand raising out of the carapace bowl. Droplets of viscous beetle spit dropped back into the bowl, yet its bright yellowish-green substance was joined with something else. Black, pungent sludge trickled down from his arm alongside the beetle spit. The corner of his lips curled up, and he continued to guide mana through the hundreds of tunnels in his hand. They were small, too narrow for even the smallest trace of mana to move through…

or so it felt like at first. But that was his mistake. He was mistaken; It was not mana's fault. It was his control of mana that was lacking. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Hakon could successfully circulate mana through the thicker tunnel, and he did not have a problem with the smaller tunnels in his shoulder and upper arms, but that only included the main tunnels.

The branches moving away from the main tunnel were too narrow for the amount of mana he could control. So he did what he was capable of, his mind churning as he tried to split the mana traces under his control. [Flow Control] guided him greatly, yet it was his Ancient Power that shoved a sense of wrongness into his face. That new sense bugged him. It was like Enhanced Comprehension, and through that the Ancestors, wanted to show him just how weak he was.

How pathetic he had been before the Rite – before they blessed him with the Ancient Power of The Mind. It was as infuriating as it was mind-opening. He was nothing. A nobody. Yet, the way he felt about it was unlike anything his parents or the older Barbarians made him feel. Neither the Ancestors nor Enhanced Comprehension made him feel bad. They did not care if he was different than the rest.

If anything, they supported his longing for knowledge and strength even if that meant they had to go against the paths the old Barbarians walked before him. The Ancestors didn't care. All they desired was to help their descendants, and to watch them grow strong enough to claim a Saga. Just like they had been. Their approval was all he needed. Or, at least, he wished for that to be true. Hakon still cared what his father thought of him. He still planned to make him proud.

To win the Battle of Generation and to show everyone that he was more capable than they thought he would be. He would become the next Chieftain, unite the tribes, and would retrieve the lands that had been taken from them. So what if he would not join the savage path most Barbarians walked? So what if he was not as bulky as them? None of that mattered for as long as he could crush all those standing before his goals. Hakon continued his work with mana. It took a while, but he succeeded.

[Flow Control] leveled up as the numbness in his hand faded to be replaced with pain. Hence, he put his hand back into the carapace bowl and repeated the process. Over and over again until mana moved smoothly through the tunnels. A Barbarian's body was a well of tremendous power and great regeneration, which was exactly what Hakon needed. He used his natural regeneration to the fullest.

It was unable to keep up with the damage done by the Acidic Beetle's spit but it diminished the damage and allowed more extended research. Once his right hand was too badly damaged to continue without putting it in serious danger, Hakon moved up to his arm. But first his hand had to be cleansed. Most of the yellowish liquid had already dripped back into the bowl, yet some of it was tenaciously clinging onto his burned skin. It took Hakon a while to clean his hand, in which he watched the burned flesh recover.

His skin healed as well, which was further accelerated as [Flow Control] continued to move mana through all the tunnels in his hand.

"No scars?" Hakon grumbled as a speck of the least damaged skin recovered. It didn't look great, not in the slightest. If anything, his hand looked grotesque. However, it felt like his skin would leave no mark of being burned after a few days. Unfortunately. It would have been a great tale to tell those doubting him. Instead, he would have to demonstrate his power in different ways. That too was acceptable. Back to the task at hand, Hakon picked up a smaller carapace piece to use like a large spoon.

There were a lot of ways to use this, so he picked the simplest; he took a big scoop of spit and spread it across his forearm. A bit of spit touched his fingertip. They instantly went numb, which spread down his fingers by the time his right forearm was covered. The numbness in his right arm was worse than a few numb fingers but Hakon was curious about something. He guided mana through his chest and his left shoulder. That's when he noticed the first major difference.

Guiding mana through his left shoulder and arm was completely unlike his right arm. It was nothing alike! Comparing his memories, the sensation he got from either arm when he moved mana through them, and the potential differences, a deep frown plastered his face. He had a suspicion, and it was high time for him to solve it! Daytime passed slowly as research and practice continued. No one bothered Hakon as he worked in utter silence, all while the pungent smell returned.

At this point, it was part of him, but he didn't hate it. Rather than hate, he liked it. Loved what the smell stood for. After all, the sludge was the very thing that obstructed his mana. The sludge were the obstacles in the tunnels within him and by removing them from his body, he cleansed the tunnels! [Proficiency gained. [Flow Control Lv. 8] improved to [Flow Control Lv. 9]] [Proficiency gained. [Flow Control Lv. 9] improved to [Flow Control Lv. 10]] [Proficiency gained. [Flow Control Lv. 10] improved to [Flow Control Lv. 11]] By the time the late sun ought to descend beyond the horizon, Hakon's right arm was cleansed. It was not perfect but guiding mana through the tunnels in his right arm and hand was no longer a challenge. But that was just the beginning. It was merely a start. The first step of mana. [Flow Control] remained active even as his mind begged for a break. His stomach grumbled, but there was no more to eat than some grilled beetle meat.

It was gamey and one of the least tasty meals he ever had, yet it kept him full. And being full was all he needed to continue practice, using Acidic Beetle spit to accelerate the cleansing process. Because that was exactly what it did. Hakon tested it thoroughly. He experimented enough throughout the day to know the beetle spit helped him greatly. He focused on his limbs first. Smeared beetle spit all over his arms and legs.

When that wasn't enough, Hakon spread it across the rest of his body when suddenly it was night. There was no sun that descended, no sign of darkness slowly creeping across the Crawling Expanse. Nothing. Yet, it was night, his campfire the only source of light. But even that extinguished shortly after, leaving Hakon in darkness. Alone with himself and his mind. And work. Lots of work. Sleep eluded him. He had a mission to complete and never stopped using and improving on [Flow Control] until sunlight returned.

But it was not like the sun returned like he was used to. Instead, it was like someone used a pyre torch. Sunlight returned just like that, replacing the darkness of the night in an instant. A long time must have passed, not that Hakon would have noticed, but the switch between day and night was still odd. Ominous. The sun had to be somewhere, yet it was nowhere to be seen. It made no sense, but his confusion was quickly replaced by yet another distraction. A series of messages and a welcome flood of mana.

[Proficiency gained. [Flow Control Lv. 11] improved to [Flow Control Lv. 12]] … [Proficiency gained. [Flow Control Lv. 14] improved to [Flow Control Lv. 15]] [Skill [Poison Resistance] has been learned.] [Skill [Pain Tolerance] has been learned.] [Experience threshold met. Level Up!]"I knew it!" Hakon let out a hollering laugh. He had been right. Of course, he had! Not only were his Skills improving rapidly, he was even leveling up. But the best, by a long stretch, was gaining two new Skills.

He had many Skills but most were relatively common. [Dash], [Evasion], and some other Skills were not as common among his people, but the way he could use them reminded him of some of the lithe warriors like Astrid's mother. Their movement was the same. Anyway, [Poison Resistance] and [Pain Tolerance] were perfect for him. He may not need them often but they would always be with him and help him survive.

The best, however, was that he'd be able to use more of the beetle spit to improve both Skills while nurturing [Flow Control]. That left him with only one question; Was [Flow Control] as useful as his gut told him or was it a failure? Testing the Skill's improvements, it turned out [Flow Control] was much more than he could have fathomed.