Chương 7

"Finally!" Hakon grunted, attention flicking to the Ancient Scripture. [Skill [Evasion] has been learned.] The moment it clicked, evading the monsters' spit had become much easier to manage. And, finally, after evading it several times in quick succession, the Ancestors rewarded him. Dismissing the message, Hakon charged the beetles again with a savage smile. The first beetle was brutally beaten in a moment.

[Evasion] and [Combat Awareness] worked in tandem to avoid the beetles' flying spit without losing too much momentum. Still, Hakon used [Dash] and crushed the first beetle with ease. His perception screamed danger at him as the second beetle reached his leg, but his hand axes descended with certain death. The first strike split its carapace open and the second axe tore through soft flesh, killing the monster. As soon as the second beetle met its timely end, Hakon was rewarded. [Experience threshold met. Level Up!] Mana pressed against his skin and seeped into his flesh, tempering his body naturally as it reached deeper to gather. The more mana Hakon controlled, the stronger he felt. The gains of a single Level were not extensive, but they accumulated and formed his Saga as he became more of a warrior from the legends. And he needed the power of legends as the ants turned to him, finally regarding him as more interesting than the corpses. He wasted no time and propelled toward the closest target.

Its mandibles clattered as it responded with a charge. The others followed through and skittered toward Hakon, his eyes flicking left and right to scan the situation. [Throwing] activated as soon as he hurled the first axe at the intended target, but something felt wrong as soon as he released the handle. The axe whistled through the air and should have dug deep into the nearby ant's exoskeleton only to clatter to the ground when it was repelled instead. Hakon let out a dissatisfied grunt.

Throwing weapons on the run had been a mistake. His stance had been different, his momentum not quite right. He understood that now. It was too late to complain, the course of actions already predetermined. His other handaxe whipped down, missing the ant's head as the monster lunged forward. Sensing the attack, Hakon pushed to the side, his axe lodged in the ant's exoskeleton instead.

"For the Ancestors." He growled, raising his foot to stomp on the handaxe's flat side, ramming it through the ant's exoskeleton and flesh. A mace or great axe would have been better but a Barbarian's body was a weapon of even greater lethality. The ant stood no chance as his foot descended. But not all was great. One ant was dead but three remained, their mandibles too close to crushing his legs and feet.

Hakon's hair stood on end as he reached for the handaxe, nearly losing him a hand as a set of mandibles snapped shut. He pulled back in time, his mind churning as the other ants arrived by his side. A fraction of a moment was all he needed to come to a decision, and use [Dash]. He used a trickle more mana than the Level 1 Skill required, increasing his acceleration momentarily. Enhanced Comprehension screamed at him, telling him that he did something wrong, and the Ancient Power could not have been more right.

He escaped the encirclement, yet there was a price to pay. Hakon's right leg cramped up. Something sticky oozed from the leg, and a mixture of blood and disgust struck the air. His pants felt sticky around his thighs, exactly where the cramp had begun to spread out. The reason was painfully obvious: The tunnels his mana used to move were too narrow or filled with that sludge and couldn't take more mana than [Dash] used.

Increasing the amount of mana without extensive practice or a proper cleansing of the tunnels lead to disaster. Hakon knew that much. He had known that could happen, but the situation forced him to respond instantly, and his instincts pushed him to use more mana than before. Or was it fear? No, Barbarians did not feel fear. He shook his head and slapped his cramped thigh firmly. The ants skittered toward him, their legs moving more frantically than before.

It was almost like he'd just become a tastier prey than he'd been a moment earlier. The reason eluded Hakon. It didn't matter, either way. He removed his bone daggers, swirled them in his hands and pulled his right hand back. [Throwing] activated once more, but Hakon needed more than that. His stance shifted slightly, his fingers no longer held onto the dagger handle with an iron tight grip, and he regulated his breathing.

While far from perfect, it felt better – good enough to hurl the first bone dagger at the closest ant. The throw struck gold and precisely pierced the monster's eye. But it didn't collapse and merely slowed, a pained screech ringing in his ear. Hakon silenced the screech with a second throw, ending the ant. That left two ants to crush, and one weapon to wield. Unsheathing the sword, he executed a swift strike without hesitation.

His strike came true, but a scratch that stretched from one side of the ant's back to the other was all he inflicted. It didn't even look like the blade dug deep. His fists would have done more damage than that, but losing the advantage of range against and enemy with mandibles and tough defense felt foolish. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Considering an idea he'd come up with the night before, Hakon shifted his attention and tried to pull mana into his arms.

Since he could pull minuscule amounts into his legs to create [Dash], enhancing his arms – or weapons – should work just as fine. That was not the case. Blood gathered in his mouth as soon as he pulled traces of mana into one of the unchartered tunnels leading up to his chest. His skin felt like it was breaking apart as black sludge oozed from between his ribs. Surprised and confused by the pain, his concentration faltered.

"No testing in battle." He grunted, slapping his thigh once more before using [Dash]. His body complained and screamed as the tunnels within him turned and twisted, but they did as intended as he closed the distance to one of the ants, sword thrusting forward with deadly momentum. And deadly it was. The sword tip tore through the monster's maw before its mandibles clamped down. The ant was not dead right away, but it succumbed as soon as Hakon tore the blade to the side with Barbarian strength.

The last ant witnessed its brethren's horrifying death from close-up, yet its charge continued. Hakon cursed and evaded the incoming attack. He side-stepped the monster and appeared by its side, empty hand pulled into a fist as it burst downward at full momentum. A pained screech came first, then followed the satisfied cracks. Hakon's knuckles burned in pain, but the excitement of a worthy fight surged through him, swallowing pain as the ant squashed beneath his fist. [Proficiency gained. [Throwing Lv. 1] improved to [Throwing Lv. 2]] [Proficiency gained. [Dash Lv. 1] improved to [Dash Lv. 2]] He felt like his last thrown dagger had been different but didn't expect such a quick level up. [Dash] was a welcome surprise as well. However, it was the odd instinctive sensation he gained from [Flow Control] that caught his attention. If anything, his mastery of a weapon should have been closer to an improvement, but it was like [Flow Control] was nearing an improvement instead. Controlling mana.

He wanted to use mana on his weapons. That was too hard for him. He failed to move mana through his upper body. It was much harder than moving mana into his legs, which had already been a tough challenge. But that was what the Ancestors were great at. They prepared challenges for the young generation to overcome. To grow stronger. To become warriors of legends! A challenge was nothing to Hakon! It would take time to cleanse the tunnels. Time he didn't have. As for the pain… it didn't matter.

No matter how painful it was, or how much he felt like screaming, the pain was beneficial. It was weakness leaving his body, after all. But what if the Ancestors try to help me? The feeling he received from [Flow Control] could be a warning. An advice that could save his life. Following his gut feeling, Hakon retrieved a trace of mana from his abdomen and moved it to his lower body. Freeing the tunnels in his legs from dirt and sludge should help him if he ever tried to use more mana for [Dash] than intended.

That was his hope as he used [Flow Control] to take control of more mana to push into his legs. His thigh felt much better, but the pungent smell and blood sticking to his pants only worsened. It was far from comfortable. After using [Dash] so often in quick succession, Hakon really had to give the mana tunnels some time to breathe and recover. But time was not something this environment offered. It was merciless, brutal, and exactly what he needed to surpass his limit.

As long as he did not allow the forest to swallow him, he would grow stronger. Nonetheless… he took a quick break when no more beetles attacked him. Until the mana tunnels no longer hurt as much and his breathing stabilized. By then, he heard some distant sounds and prepared for the worst. Hakon retrieved his weapons, lowered his body once more, and disappeared in the undergrowth. Even though he'd been forced in a fight, his initial tactic hadn't been too bad.

Thus, he resumed the tactic and skulked silently as possible through the thicket, avoiding two beetle groups and a smaller batch of ants. However, as soon as he was past the ants, he was detected. He was not sure how that happened. Hakon was confident he'd adjusted his every movement to move as silently as possible… yet, they found him. The monsters didn't care about his curses and rushed frantically at him, forcing Hakon into yet another fight. The ants were simple monsters.

Their pattern was easy to analyze, their strategy non-existent. They were almost like most Barbarians… just weaker and even less intelligent. Dispatching them didn't take long as soon as Hakon was aware of everything. His achievements were not recognized. He earned no Level nor did any of his Skills improve, so he continued to practice [Flow Control]. Every step made him feel filthier than the last, but he was silent enough and avoided the ire of more monsters.

Better even, practicing [Flow Control] seemed to ease the mana tunnels' irritation. Somewhat, at least. Several groups of ants looked up as he passed by, however, after the last encounter he'd learned to make a bigger detour around them. No more monsters attacked him for the rest of the morning and midday. [Flow Control] improved to Level 4 when the sun reached its zenith, and it leveled up again just as a waft of freshness pierced through the disgust that encased him like leeches.

"Water." He realized as he barged through a thorn-covered bush to a beautiful scene. A lake filled with pristine water. While it was not what he was looking for, it was perfect to remove the filth clinging onto him. All that separated him from the bliss of a cleansed body was a mixed up group of ants and beetles. His mana mass was low on fuel from training, but Hakon couldn't care less. He'd squash the monsters blocking his path with bare hands if necessary.

He had enough mana left to use [Dash] a few times, and that he did. The nearest monster was an ant that failed to respond to his speed in time. Its mandibles snapped shut on empty air before its head slid to the ground. Next was a beetle which got an axe to its head. Another ant's eyes were adorned with a pair of razor-sharp bone daggers. Three monsters died before the first barrage of beetle spit headed for him. None struck the mark.

Hakon weaved around the projectiles right before he rammed his other axe into a second beetle's back. Its carapace was as thick as before, but great defense had yet to stop a Barbarian. Hakon gripped the blade's flat backside and pushed the axe through the beetle's back. [Combat Awareness] triggered and he leaped to the side. Hakon shot to his feet after a quick roll, body twisted, arm pulled back. A moment later, his arm shot forward with enough strength to split a torso-sized ant's skull.

Taking a deep breath, Hakon unsheathed his sword and used [Dash] again.

"I just want to clean up." He let out a pained grunt, eyes drifting to a small patch of land in the middle of the small lake. More, larger, monsters awaited him on the miniature island, yet it was the thing beyond the monsters that made him smile like a fool.

"And the Fracture. I want that too."