Chương 8: Cavernclaw

Ray had spent the last week mostly in his room. During this time, he meditated, did some light yoga, and performed calisthenics. He had yet to see an increase in his attributes, but he felt more and more comfortable in his body each day. He also spent time practicing with Bolt and Mana Circuit. Using his Essence-granted Ability was as easy as breathing. One thing he learned was that the lightning that formed when he used it could be stored anywhere on his body.

This meant Ray could put a ball of lightning in each of his feet and, once detonated, he would be sent flying. He had managed to perform this subconsciously in the training room, but perfecting the timing was harder than expected. The Ability worked almost too well. This would be a good time to speak on his own created Tech. Mana Circuit removed any delay in Elemental Mana usage. This seemed simple at first, but the skill ceiling for such a power was insane.

Ray found that almost the same moment he decided to move the Mana to a certain spot, it was already there. This caused him to usually lag behind and miss the timing on activating Bolt from his feet. Moving the Mana itself didn't initiate the Ability; Ray had to do it with his own thoughts. This meant he could store the lightning in multiple different parts of his body and unload them subsequently, turning his hard-hitting charge attack into a rapid-fire one.

He would have to initiate the activation each time, but that was simply a thought. He found the System had grown quicker at answering his will. The Mana consumption was the same, but his Tech actually helped with that as well. Due to the insane speed at which Ray's Mana cycled through his Mana Ways, he actually conserved a small portion of each Ability usage.

Due to the innate nature of a detonative attack, residual Mana would be lost during the collision, neither increasing the force of the attack nor recycling the Mana. This was why he used up a little over 10% of his Mana during each activation. Mana Circuit actually netted him almost 2% of the Mana used, meaning he could unload at least 10 rounds of Bolt. That was a devastating potential finisher. Ray doubted anything within the first Stage could handle something like that.

He had gone over hundreds of scenarios in his head over the past week, formulating different ways he could use his powers, and found that it was a worthy distraction. Anything to not dwell on his mental health. - The GLMB rested right outside the borders of the Empire. Directly to the west was the expanse of the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes made up the largest collection of water on the continent of Gaia. East of the Empire lay a vast ocean, teeming with Beasts.

The GLMB and its many smaller outposts gave humanity access to fish and fresh water. The base was nestled against the edge of Lake Tyrant. Being one of the smaller of the Great Lakes did nothing to lessen the awe one felt when looking out upon it. Ray was among what felt like hundreds of other teens in battlegear. Each one held a weapon and had a green glow in their eyes. The mass of Recruits stood upon one of the many docks of the GLMB.

A large ship awaited their boarding, and the wind roared with the sound of running water. After nearly an hour of waiting, a man in battlegear stood on the bow of the ship and addressed the large crowd.

"You all will board this vessel and sail to the closest island of Lake Tyrant," the man said. Even though the man lacked the air of other System users he had met, Ray took a moment to identify him with the System. [Soldier, Stage: 3 Phase: 3]"Once aboard, you will be split into teams of 3," the Soldier continued.

"Beasts above the 1st Stage rarely inhabit this particular island. Assigning you in groups of 3 means you will always have an advantage against at least a single Late Stage 1 Beast." Ray understood that the Soldier meant a Beast equivalent to the 5th Phase of the 1st Stage. Beasts did not go through Phases and were instead categorized as Early, Mid, and Late. This made them usually slightly above or under any user in terms of saturation at any given point.

The Soldier seemed to have finished speaking, and the large group began to board the ship. They funneled in like children on a school field trip, seemingly ignoring the shouts of the Soldier. - It took nearly 20 minutes, but Ray finally found himself seated in a cabin aboard the ship. His two teammates had already been assigned to him, and he was currently looking them over in silence. They seemed to mimic his sentiment and were also studying each other quietly.

Ray's first teammate could be described as large, even in post-System terms. It was a young man with light brown hair. He stood easily over 2 meters tall, approaching 2 and a quarter. His eyes were, of course, green. The armor he wore was similar to Gunther's, minus all the spikes. A large hammer rested against the bench next to him. It was plain but looked to be expertly crafted. All in all, Ray would say the guy was definitely a Strength user and a natural-born one at that.

His other teammate was equally as interesting. It was a young woman, only a year or two his senior. She wore form-fitting Intelligence battlegear and carried a long spear. Her platinum blonde hair seemed to weigh nothing as it bounced every time she turned her head. For some reason, something about her reminded him of Rize. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. She didn't have the whole 'deadly ice princess' thing about her, but something was similar all the same.

The large teen decided to be the courageous one and break the silence.

"I'm Frangle," he said, a forced smile matching his awkward tone.

"Pfft…" The spear-using girl raised her hand to hide her face. Her skin turned red with embarrassment, presumably due to her first vocal contribution being to laugh at her teammate's name.

"Frangle?" Ray said through stifled laughter.

"That's a hell of a name."

"It's my grandfather's name," Frangle said in a desperate tone. The three all shared a moment of laughter before Ray decided to introduce himself next.

"I'm Ray," he said.

"I've gotten a bunch of flak for wanting to be a generalist, but I promise I'll be a big help to the team." Ray earnestly wanted his group to know he was capable. Frangle stared at Ray with a look of determination and nodded his head knowingly. The large teen also wanted to prove himself. The two young men turned to look at their third group member expectantly. The platinum-haired girl seemed to puff up with pride and stood before speaking.

"I am Phora Striker," she said, a condescending tone in her voice.

"I shall be the leader of this group." - Lake Tyrant was the farthest conquered area in the war against the Beasts of the Great Lakes. It was only one of dozens of different lakes, but it gave the Empire a foothold in the dangerous zone. Emperor Strom himself killed the Stage 9 Beast that ruled over the lake. The Beast was known as the Tyrant. A monstrosity resembling a large prehistoric dinosaur. The Tyrant was some kind of crocodile creature. Its wide maw was capable of felling cities in a few casual bites.

It stood easily 100 meters tall, and Ray could only guess how long. The ship he was currently aboard was sailing past the remains of said Tyrant. They sailed past what was presumably its ribs. Gray-white pillars rose out of the lake, piercing the sky. Ray and Frangle had remained silent after Phora laid claim to the leader position. Both teen boys knew better than to argue with someone of her personality type. Ray could assume she came from a prestigious family.

He could assume that, but he also knew it due to Phora explaining it in detail. Her father was Hordon Striker. Apparently, he was the 5th strongest person in the kingdom and the second most powerful Commander. Even Ray had to admit that was a rather impressive reputation. The Strikers were called the 'thunder family' or something. Each prominent System user from the family used Lightning Mana. Ray thought that since he had a Lightning Essence of his own, Phora would warm up to him.

Turns out, the only thing stronger than her pride in her family was her disappointment in Ray's desire to be a generalist. Even Frangle seemed to doubt the black-haired teen's usefulness. Speaking of the oddly named boy, his specialty was, of course, Strength but Ray was surprised to find that he used Wind Mana. In Ray's mind, Wind Mana usage was more in line with Agility specialists. Frangle said "the wind makes me fast," leading Ray to believe the simple young man was more aware than he let on.

The trio went over their strengths and even devised some loose strategy to use as a team. They also took this time to discuss the purpose of the expedition. They were here to fight Beasts, of course. The amount of Mana in one's core and saturating said core were two different things. Mana percent just referred to how much actual Mana was inside the core. In order to saturate one's Soul Core, Beast Cores must be used.

A Beast Core is the Beast's equivalent to a Soul Core, and by absorbing them, one can strengthen their own core. Fully saturating the Soul Core is the first barrier to advancing in Stage. After that, depending on the Stage, one would have to comprehend the next level of each element they cultivate. Abilities can be enhanced with higher quality Essence or simply grow alongside one's Stage but can also be pushed beyond with training and experience.

The System won't allow for Stage advancement unless it deems the user powerful enough to do so. Based on comprehension and overall power, the System will only decide once the core is fully saturated. - Arriving at the island was uneventful. It looked more like a vacation spot than a place teeming with evil monsters. The water was crystal blue, and sparse vegetation flooded the island. Beautiful trees poked out of the overgrowth, some leaning with age.

The Soldier who had spoken before boarding took this time to address the groups.

"The island has a radius of nearly 20 kilometers," he said.

"Meaning, each group could spend their time here devoid of human contact. That being said, the System has an emergency contact feature. This will allow you to send a distress signal to any nearby Soldier. Though remember, it will still take them a few minutes to reach you, maybe longer. Don't wait until the last second to call for help. This isn't a life-or-death expedition. Your goal is to fully saturate your cores and reach Stage 1. Once that happens, nothing on this island would be a threat to you."

The over 100 teenagers had gone uncharacteristically quiet. They each seemed to heed the man's words, contemplating the dangerous journey ahead of them. There were a total of 30 Soldiers assigned to watch over the island. Only about one per group of Recruits. All the different groups took their time to prepare before breaking off and heading inland. - Ray and his group spent the first half hour or so in close proximity to other groups. They had yet to see a single Beast.

Ray couldn't help but marvel at the overgrown wildlife that plagued the island. There was almost a wall of vegetation on either side of them. The path they walked on looked to be made by something even wider than the three of them standing side by side. Presumably by some large Beast that had made it routine to pass through this area. Just as Ray began to think they would never see any action, the area grew quiet. The ever-present distant voices had been replaced by the eerie sounds of nature.

The trio of System users would never admit to the level of fear each of them currently felt. Even the thunder family royalty Phora was quiet, observing every inch of her surroundings. The group broke through the tree line and found themselves in a small clearing. It was only about 50 meters wide, but that was plenty of space to hold a devastating surprise. In the middle of the clearing stood a hulking figure. It looked to be easily 5 meters tall.

Brown matted hair and red scarred skin covered the body of the first Beast Ray ever saw in person. It was something between a gorilla and a bear. Four long limbs ended in thumbed and clawed hands. Its bottom legs seemed to be bent at a ninety-degree angle, causing the Beast to lean slightly forward. Its clawed hands scraped the ground as a long, bear-like head surveyed the area. In that moment, the Beast seemed to notice their presence and opened its giant maw, letting out an ear-piercing roar.

Ray felt every hair on his body stand up as a System message popped up. [Threat detected] [Late Stage 1 Beast, Name: Cavernclaw]