Chương 20: Chapter 18

Countless messages materialized all around him, each signifying a boost of power, painting a picture of the pain and effort he had gone through. Some messages Hakon had already seen before. His 1st Ascension, the Levels he'd earned, and some of the Skill improvements he knew about. Dismissing the messages after a quick glance, he focused back on the Totem. His trembling fingers caressed the Totem with the care of a gentle lover, prompting yet another pair of messages. [Totem has been detected and examined. Colossal Terror Runeskin has been discovered.] [Do you wish to bind Colossal Terror Runeskin?] Nothing blocked him from binding the Runeskin this time. He'd reached the 1st Ascension and could bind the Runeskin. And he saw no reason not to do so. The Terror's Totem was exquisite. It was marvelous unlike the weathered wooden Acidic Beetle Totem. Still, Hakon didn't bind it right away. He inspected it first. [Colossal Terror Totem Runeskin – Hoard Impact(Major)]"What?!" Hakon exclaimed, hair standing on end.

A Major Runeskin was extraordinary. It was only second to Greater Runeskins. The name explained little.

'Hoard' was not a word he heard about before. But that was not necessary given the image etched on the Totem. The explosion of power that nearly killed him when the battle had shifted to his favor. It was a power that allowed warriors to turn the tides of battle!

"Bind it!" Hakon urged, closing his eyes as the power within the Totem erupted. His iron tight grip around the Totem pole was forcefully broken, his fingers repelled. Yet, even as he felt a brush with the power that seemed to ooze out of the Totem, Hakon never opened his eyes. His skin crawled up, his chest heaved heavily, and his throat tightened as the Totem's presence intensified. It pressed hard against his chest and sunk deeper and deeper. Then, the presence surrounding him faded.

All that remained was a heavy weight on his chest. Hakon's eyes fluttered open after hundreds of quick heartbeats, hand pressed against his chest. The weight faded slowly, yet it never fully disappeared even as he looked down to see nothing clinging to his chest. Nothing had changed, if one excluded the engraving that stretched across his chest. Magnificent azure lines crawled across his skin forming an intricate pattern that rivaled the engravings he'd seen on the older warrior's arms and back.

It did not depict the Colossal Terror nor did the engraving look like any other beetle or ant he had seen before. It was just a beautiful-looking pattern that shimmered faintly. It was dim, and did not appear particularly impressive if one ignored the Runeskin's size, yet Hakon instinctively knew that it was his greatest weapon. Knowledge, snippets that revealed the secrets of his Runeskin, had been shared by the Ancestors.

They planted it in his mind, gracing him with the means needed to use the Runeskin in combat.

"Is that what 'Hoard' means?" Hakon tilted his head, trying to understand the snippets of wisdom the Ancestors shared with him. It was a little confusing, but a few minutes were all he needed to get the gist of it. Hoard Impact absorbed a portion of the impacting attacks. It triggered naturally and would not require Hakon's assistance. By absorbing part of the incoming attacks, the azure engraving on his chest would shine brighter.

While not important in the theory, it was a great visual component to indicate when he'd 'hoarded' enough to unleash great power. To erupt with the power Hoard Impact had accumulated in one mighty blow. Hakon squinted his eyes at that part. When he fought the Colossal Terror it had felt more like the monster erupted in power. Now, however, it looked like Hoard Impact could be used not only as a counterattack but to overwhelm the enemy while being in the offense.

Learning more about Hoard Impact would take some time. Fully understanding the Runeskin was not easy. It was never supposed to be. Fact was, Hoard Impact was a curious power. What if he charged the unleashed power through his warhammer? Would that work or could the Runeskin only release the hoarded power straight through the etchings on his chest? So many questions. He licked his lips in anticipation and checked the Ancient Scripture. It was a mess. He had many Skills.

So many it was hard to keep focus on them in that bundled mess.

"Can I change that somehow?" Hakon rubbed the back of his head and froze when the Ancient Scripture changed before his eyes. The Skill section moved. The letters moved across the age-old parchment like they had a free will. Skills Resistances – [Poison Resistance Lv. 12], [Pain Tolerance Lv. 15], [Acid Resistance Lv. 10] Utility – [Reading Lv. 3], [Circulation Lv. 8], [Running Lv. 9], [Dash Lv. 7]... Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Combat – [Combat Awareness Lv. 13], [Weakness Detection Lv. 11]] [Grappling Lv. 6]... The new addition of categories was helpful. It still didn't feel perfect though. Something did not fit quite right.

"[Circulation] and [Dash] are Utility Skills?" He mused. While that was not necessarily wrong, Hakon didn't like it. Wasn't there another category he could add? As if it was reading his mind, the Ancient Scripture changed again. Mana – [Circulation Lv. 8], [Dash Lv. 7], [Mana Sense Lv. 10], [Mana Infusion Lv. 5] [Dash] didn't feel quite right in the mana category either, so Hakon pulled it back to Combat. It was much better in the combat section.

"Or should I keep it there?" He studied the Ancient Scripture with squinted eyes, a heavy sigh escaping his lips.

"Since I've already started, I may as well change a few more things." Maybe the Ancestors made a mistake by allowing him to change the Ancient Scripture at his will. It was probably not the best way to waste precious time either. Still, it was important to keep his Ancient Scripture organized if he was to add a lot more Skills. It took a while to learn how to move the Ancient Scripture, to prompt it into changing categories and other aspects to his will, but it worked anyway.

By the time he was done, Hakon was more or less satisfied. Even if it was still not perfect, he could always adjust things later again. The Rite hasn't been that long and it was already such a mess. How bad will it look once–... Hakon froze.

"What day is today?" He had been unconscious so often since the Rite, it was hard to keep track of day and night. The absence of the sun and the moons in the Fracture did not help either.

"I am not too late." He told himself, but doubt was nibbling at him. His heart was racing as he pocketed the Colossal Terror Totem's remains in his makeshift bag. Or he would have, if the makeshift bag had survived the last battle. Alas, it looked like the beetles' acid had been too much for the bag. His eyes drifted across the battlefield, lips pressed into a thin line as he searched for the Acidic Beetle Totem, which should have been safely stored in the bag. The same makeshift bag that was no longer with him.

As it turned out, fortune was still upon him. Hakon found the Acidic Beetle Totem after a few heartbeats using [Inspection]. But there was yet another issue: Just as he was about to leave, he realized that he didn't have Crusher with him. He slapped his forehead for almost forgetting his most valuable possession, lying on the ground beside him as he rushed to the Fracture vortex. Turning back in a hurry, Hakon grabbed Crusher. He leaped out of the Fracture in a hurry, his head flicking up to the sky.

"No!" He growled, watching the ripe silver moon gliding high above him. The last rays of sunlight had yet to fade, but it wouldn't be long until the night of the silver moon was to start. Even if he ran back, he would be too late. He wouldn't make it to the Battle of Generation.

"Why? Just why am I so stupid?" Hakon cursed himself as he caught something from the corner of his eyes. A group of Giant Ants crawled toward him, their mandibles snapping dangerously.

"Don't bother me." He growled in anger, stomping them to death without a second thought. The monsters stood no chance. Their exoskeleton was as much of a defense as a worn-out wooden shield would be. It stood no chance to Hakon's stomp, transforming the torso-sized Giant Ant into a gory mess. That… was easy. Right, the ants outside the Fracture were weaker. Smaller. He recalled before memories of how much he struggled against those beasts before resurfaced as well. He'd grown a lot in the last few days.

His power was greater than ever. So was his physique. His physique.

"I am faster than I used to be." The tribe was far away. He had to make a detour around to avoid the predators and… No. Did he really have to avoid them at this point? Hakon's eyes furrowed.

"Can I make it?" He wondered for a moment, then slapped himself with enough force to rattle his mind.

"I have to make it! There is no time for ifs and buts. I will make it!!" Hakon did not force his way to a Fracture his people deemed lost just to give up. He did NOT torture himself, fight hundreds of monsters, and have a face-off with death itself more than half a dozen of times since he awakened just to give up now. Time may not be on his side, but he was stronger than ever. Faster than he thought he would ever become. He could make it – would make it – as long as he kept running.

Orienting himself in the fading sunlight, Hakon started. He charged across the path of corpses connecting the island with the forest and turned in the direction of the tribe. His posture adjusted naturally as he started running back home. He barely even noticed the light of the Fracture vortex fade as it closed behind.

"Faster. I need to be faster!" Hakon growled, pumping mana into his lower body, but not yet using [Dash]. The Skill consumed too much mana. Instead, [Running] was activated and improved as soon as he settled into his new stance. The chime of incoming messages rang in his ears as he paved his way through the forest, his eyes studying every detail. He leaped across an uprooted tree, burst through densely grown bushes, and interrupted a group of Frenzy Boars rolling around in dirt.

After he surprised the monsters, they were no longer as peaceful as they looked at first. They charged after Hakon, who disappeared in the next bushes, his full attention on landmarks. It was difficult at first – the fleeting sunlight was of no help –, but that changed as soon as he pinpointed the first familiar landmark. From then onward, it was only a matter of a lot of running.

More and more familiar landmarks emerged all around him, a brilliant smile plastered his face as the hollering laughter of his drunk people reached him. Pyre torched illuminated the distant horizon, guiding him back home. Then, just as he reached the edges of the forest, thunderous drums roared across the tribe.

"I did it." He laughed, shoulders rolled back and chest puffed out as he stepped out of the forest and into the tribehold. He was back home and ready for a fight. To make his father proud and show the others that he was greater than the Bloodbearer. But Hakon did not only fight for others. He would fight for himself. And he would win.