Chương 94: B2 Chapter 16

Hakon's eyes snapped open the moment he regained consciousness. He sat upright with some effort and looked around, expecting to see the fellow young warriors who had fallen in the last few moons and the Ancestors welcoming him into their halls. But the Ancestors were nowhere to be seen. The forest was all he could see, alongside some blood splatters, the corpse of the Young Drake, and the carnage left behind by the Mature Drake and...

Hakon tried to remember what the blue creature looked like, but the image wouldn't come to mind. It was almost as if he had never seen the creature. And maybe... maybe that was exactly the case. Thinking about it, he realized that he hadn't actually seen what the creature was. It was blue and it rippled almost as if its body were made of water, but that wasn't possible. He had to be mistaken. My mind is playing tricks on me.

His head hurt like someone split it apart and put it back together, only to split it once again. What didn't make it any easier to endure was the dampness that seemed to cling to him. It only made him so uncomfortable that he shuddered and nearly cramped up all over his body. Yet no cramp came. He... was fine. Warmth spread throughout his body, telling him that he was still being healed, but he was alive. And that... that made no sense. None. Even more confusingly, Hakon felt rather good.

Sure, his pathways were screaming at him after all the torture they went through, and he was still exhausted enough to sleep for a fortnight, but still. He should be dead.

"What happened?" he mouthed quietly, clenching his fists only to realize that it hurt. So did getting up to his feet, or walking around the battlefield to retrieve his weapons. His eyes shot left and right in search of enemies, but neither of his Skills triggered. He even ignored the pleas of his pathways and used mana to activate [Sensory Expansion] alongside [Edge of Awareness] and [Scent of Lifelight]. When it was clear that no opponent, Mature Drake or weaker, was nearby, Hakon retrieved his weapons.

That took some effort and a lot more time than anticipated, but he had time. At least, he hoped he had. Sheathing the loose daggers, handaxe, and longsword, Hakon eventually found himself standing in front of the Maulaxe Crusher. Or what was left of it. The weapon bestowed upon him by the Ancestors had served him well. It helped him learn a lot more about the pathways, what a truly powerful weapon was supposed to look like, and much more. And now the weapon was broken.

But while Crusher could no longer be used, it would live on forever in his Saga. Hakon smiled ruefully at that. Crusher would never be forgotten. Turning away from the broken weapon, he finally approached the Young Drake. Retrieving the remaining two daggers and handaxe stuck in its corpse, Hakon smiled. As insurmountable as fighting the Young Drake had felt, it had crumbled beneath his power. And now it would be sacrificed to the Ancestors to add to their feast.

"Please accept this corpse as a tribute," Hakon intoned as the monster dissolved into blue mist. The blue mist erupted in an explosion and expanded rapidly, flooding the battlefield before dispersing, leaving behind a fist-sized object. A wooden statue depicting a Drake in its full glory. The carving was beautiful, and so was the meaning behind the statue.

"Thank you, Ancestors." He inclined his head in a slight bow as he picked up the statue, which was actually a Totem. [Mountainback Drake Totem Runeskin – Flowbreaker (Major)] [Inspection] showed him all he needed to know about the Runeskin. A Major Runeskin containing the power, Flowbreaker. While that sounded grand and all, he actually knew what this power was about. Or, at the very least, he had a sound theory. The Young Drake shattered my mana structure.

The other had to use its presence to shatter it, but the Young one didn't. While it was unclear whether the Young Drake had been special or if the Mature Drake hadn't taken him seriously enough to use its power, it was clear that Flowbreaker wasn't bad. It all depended on how the Runeskin materialized and how flexible it was when utilized, but he was interested. [Do you wish to bind the Mountainback Drake Runeskin?] Hakon half-expected another Scripture to pop up, telling him that his soul was not ready yet to bind his second Runeskin, even though he knew better. His soul was ready for a second Runeskin because he'd advanced to the 2nd Ascension! Licking his lips in anticipation, his eyes drifted to the myriad Scriptures that had been flashing as though they were begging him to check them out ever since he woke up. [Will of Momentum has been acquired.] [You have shattered the Wall. Ascension permitted. Ascend, young warrior. For your Saga does not end here.] [Second Ascension initiated. Body, mind, and soul reinforced. Ancient Power strengthened.] [A Will has been perceived. Insufficient Level detected. Unique circumstances detected. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The Third Wall has been weakened.] The first four Scriptures were already confusing.

The second and third weren't nearly as confusing because they were almost exactly the same as during his first Ascension, but the first and the fourth made no sense. Will of Momentum… Hakon recognized the term 'Will' from Ava. She'd mentioned it a few times alongside the human Knights. Their Knights had to acquire a Will and learn to wield it to become official Knights. Before that, they were… Honestly, Hakon didn't remember what they were called before becoming Knights. It wasn't all that important either.

He had a Will! Even better, the Ancestors rewarded him for acquiring the Will, weakening the Wall to his next Ascension right after ascending for the second time. Hakon didn't even know that was possible but obviously it was. Even if he couldn't tell how much weaker the Third Wall was, it was perfect. And it actually explained a lot about his father's power as well as the power Astrid's mother and the other old Barbarians wielded. They too had Wills. Do I need another Will to reach the 3rd Ascension?

Or maybe he had to strengthen the Will of Momentum. That was a problem for the future. Focusing on the other Scriptures, he couldn't help but smile. [The Well of Experience has been unsealed. Accumulated Experience distributed.] [Experience threshold met. Level Up!] [Experience threshold met. Level Up!] [Scripture of Improvement Combat Awareness(!) Lv. 20 → Lv. 21 Weakness Detection Lv. 23 → Lv. 25 Weapon Mastery Lv. 21 → Lv. 23 Bleeding Lv. 10 → Lv. 11 Preadtory's Gaze Lv. 2 → Lv. 4 Edge of Awareness Lv. 6 → Lv. 9 Swiftstep(!) Lv. 21 Accelerate(!) Lv. 2 → Lv. 3 Enhanced Throw(!) Lv. 1 → Lv. 2 Circulation Lv. 16 → Lv. 18 Mana Sense Lv. 23 → Lv. 24 Split Focus(!) Lv. 20 → Lv. 22 Sensory Expansion Lv. 15 → Lv. 17 Flow Observation Lv. 14 → Lv. 16 Discharge Lv. 4 → Lv. 7 Mana Shaping Lv. 19 → Lv. 20 Reinforcement Lv. 11 → Lv. 13 Compression Lv. 7 → Lv. 10 Mana Bolt Lv. 15 → Lv. 16 Mana Shield Lv. 12 → Lv. 15 Aether Spiral Lv. 10 → Lv. 12 Magical Warhammer(New) Lv. 1 → Lv. 2] Hakon stared at the Scripture of Improvement in awe. He had expected a lot to have changed, but that was far beyond what he deemed possible. Most of his Skills went up by two Levels, and that included some of the Skills that took a lot of effort to level once. It had been a while since he had improved some of them. Hakon grasped the meaning behind the (!) with [Swiftstep], [Accelerate], and [Enhanced Throw].

It was probably the Ancestors' way of telling him that the Skills had changed and what they had changed into. While the Scripture of Improvement didn't show how many of his old Skills disappeared from the Ancient Scripture, it showed everything that was new. Such as [Magical Warhammer]. The Skill helped him quite a bit, even if it had been a waste of precious mana. Mana he could have used much more efficiently in hindsight.

"Doesn't matter now." Curious about the Will of Momentum and how it changed his old Skills, Hakon tried to activate it. That turned out easier than expected. He thought about using the Will, and it awakened. Closing his eyes with the Will of Momentum active, Hakon checked out his spirit form. It was much more vibrant than before, yet the edges felt duller all the same. Using the Will and activating [Accelerate] for a mere heartbeat made the lights inside his spirit form flicker and dim.

He even felt a little bit weaker when he let go of the Will, almost as though it drained his life. That didn't sound all too different from what he felt while fighting the Young Drake, confirming his suspicion. The Will used up his body in a way he couldn't quite comprehend. It didn't exactly devour his body but something was being used. Maybe Ava knew more about it, and even if she didn't, he could always research the phenomenon… later. Hakon also noticed that his spirit form was much larger than before.

Precisely, it was more that the weaves of his Skills had shrunk. They no longer occupied as much space in his spirit form, which was good to know, because most of his Skills were filled with spirit energy. If he hadn't been so exhausted, Hakon would have jumped right into playing with his weave, experimenting with them to grow his Skills' power. Important to note was also that [Combat Awareness] was no longer overflowing. The small, frail weave had expanded and appeared much more intricate than before.

The Skill had also advanced to Level 21, which the Scripture of Improvement had already informed him about. Leaving the spirit form temporarily, he noticed a set of Scriptures that hadn't been there before. Or he hadn't seen them before. [Requirements for Regular Skill Upgrade have been met. Regular Skill Upgrade initiated.] [Combat Awareness(Common) – Lv. 20] has been upgraded to [Combat Awareness(Uncommon) – Lv. 21] [Requirements for Regular Skill Upgrade have been met. Regular Skill Upgrade initiated.] [Split Focus(Common) – Lv. 20] has been upgraded to [Split Focus(Uncommon) – Lv. 22] While the Scriptures were new, they didn't surprise Hakon all that much. Ava told him that her [Mana Manipulation] Skill had been upgraded regularly as well. Hakon even understood what Common and Uncommon meant, not because Ava told him but because of the Crawling Expanse. It had been an Uncommon Fracture, and he comprehended the big word himself!

Ava's [Mana Manipulation] Skill was already at the Uncommon rarity, which was apparently a big thing for a Mage Apprentice. It no longer mattered as much because she was already too old to be a Mage Apprentice, but that hadn't stopped her from bragging about her Uncommon [Mana Manipulation] Skill. And now Hakon had two Skills at the Uncommon rarity. Or do I have more? If Level 20 is the limit for Common Skills, I have more than that.

[Weapon Mastery] and [Weakness Detection] were also above Level 20, and so was [Mana Sense]. Their weaves were also more intricate, much more like [Combat Awareness]' new weave. Hakon had a lot more Uncommon Skills than he first suspected, and some had even more intricate weaves even though the corresponding Skills weren't very high-leveled. One way or another, Hakon was more than satisfied with his haul. He was also exhausted and in need of some well-deserved sleep. It was time to return home.

This time not as a 1st Ascension Barbarian but as a mighty warrior at the 2nd Ascension. Being alive felt good. Really good. And while the Ancestors would love to feast with him, they could wait a little longer.