Chương 47: Stamina Manipulation Basics

As I regain awareness after the teleportation, a simple fact becomes apparent. I am falling, again. Though this time, I have a really cute fox clinging to my hood, and she is screaming along with me as we fall. Master, you better let me out! Dovey suggests, and I do. The instant I do, wind surrounds us and we slow down considerably, landing on the sandy ground with a dull thud. A few bruises is the worst of the damage I sustain.

I swear, if I ever see Claire again, I am going to give her a lecture on warning people before they are teleported. Especially if you plan to drop them in the middle of the fucking air. You have now entered the Tiroran Shrublands | Danger: Very Low Surely enough, I am in a shrubland. It is quite arid, though with plenty of greenery still dotted about. Much of which seems to shimmer and emit some interesting mana, maybe only magical plants can survive in such an environment.

It is quite warm, but I don't really notice thanks to my cloak. Speaking of which, I quickly turn it invisible. After all, I am not a hero for now. Now, I am just Orn The Humble Magic Smith.

"Giving yourself a title isn't very humble, you know." Dovey chirps from a nearby tree.

"I don't think I asked your opinion, stupid bird."

"Sheesh, one would think that you would be a bit nicer to the guy that just saved you a whole lot of pain." I sigh, he does have a point.

"Well, thanks for that, I guess." I say, and Luma jumps out of a nearby bush where she landed, yipping her agreement.

"Now, what kinda situation have we found ourselves in?"

"Were you a normal human, probably quite a bad one. But, don't worry, you've got me!" Somehow, Dovey's sentiment is not very reassuring. Ignoring him, I pull out the map and try to get a bearing on things. It would seem that Claire managed to teleport us about five hundred kilometers northeast. A decent headstart, not bad for what I assume was basically chucking us in a general direction. She has saved us about three days or so of travel, I think. Though it depends on how fast I want to push myself.

The journey is going to be quite a long one, so I shouldn't rush too much, lest I get exhausted. Checking my storage, I find that I have a decent amount of food and water. It ain't anything fancy, just some bread and butter to put on said bread. Still, it shouldn't taste too horrible. Doing a bit of simple math, I figure it will be plenty for this journey, when factoring in my vastly reduced need for the stuff. Especially when one considers that I am only going to get faster as I go.

This is going to serve as a great opportunity to train up Plane Step, after all. Plus, there should be some weaker monsters around here. Those could be quite helpful for practice targets. As I figured out before, I definitely need to work on my overall form and combat style. Just blindly swinging my hammer won't serve me that well for much longer, I suspect. Plus, I need to get better with magic if I ever want to use the scroll Carla gave me. I take a deep breath of the dry air.

It smells like the wilderness, alright. An open frontier, just waiting to be explored, and harvested for tons of rare materials I bet. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if I was the first to travel these shrublands in centuries. From what I can tell, people tend not to stray far from the main roads and cities, for obvious reasons. With this all in mind, I align myself roughly where I need to and start walking. With a Plane Step or two thrown in here and there, of course. As I move, the terrain blurs past.

Just endless shrubbery, hills, and the occasional beast wandering about. I see very few monsters, thankfully. Those that I do see are usually around level twenty, and run away at the sight of me. Crazy to think that I have become that strong already, also it is weird to think that monsters have some sort of self preservation. They aren't completely mindless, at least. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

A few do learn what it is to be smashed to pieces by my hammer, though. Mostly the really fast ones, which are great for practicing my hammerwork. If I want to make the stamina flow smoothly and without pain, then a portion of that is speed. I can't be charging up a swing for several seconds while a minotaur is breathing down my neck. The most powerful spells and techniques are completely useless if you cannot reasonably use them in battle. So, I will keep that in mind as I do my training.

— [Cottontailed Coyote - Level 16] The fearsome beast finally identifies as I slowly walk through the brush. My footfalls are careful not to give a single thing away to the monster, for far too often have they escaped my grasp. As I move, I pay careful attention to my body. I feel it, and how every muscle works together. How the magic flowing around works to improve said muscles, and propel me forwards. Most of the magic is stamina, but I have started to notice a fair bit of spirit as well.

It is like my body is using both for the same functions. Perhaps as I grow more familiar, spirit could come to fully replace stamina. In a limited capacity, anyways. I feel the stamina flow through me, as though I am but a conduit for its power. There is a slight bit of discomfort, but otherwise goes smoothly. I merely think about the action, and it responds in tune with my body. After nearly a month of on and off training, I have finally gotten a grasp on the natural use of stamina.

Not perfect, mind you, but good enough, I think. A ding sounds in my mind, but I ignore it as I get within two meters of the monster. It is bent down, eating some native rabbit it killed. But that damn tail of its suddenly shoots straight up. Using my opportunity, I throw all of my energy forward and pounce. My hammer crashes down with a sickening crack. The poor monster didn't stand a chance, even if I just attacked normally.

'Ding', You have slain [Cottontailed Coyote - Level 16]. As expected, I do not receive any experience from the kill. I have not for any of the monsters slain in this region, which is fair enough. My purpose is not to get stronger level-wise, but knowledge wise. And, seeing the message from earlier, it would seem that it has all finally paid off.

'Ding', Skill upgraded, [Fundamental Hammer Wielding (Inferior)] -> [Initiate Hammer Wielding (Common)] [Initiate Hammer Wielding (Common)] The way of the hammer has become a part of your very being. After some basic training, you have learned how to properly use a hammer and the stamina manipulation required. While the potential for improvement is still vast, this marks a key point in your knowledge of hammer wielding. The skill upgrade doesn't make me feel any different.

Which makes sense, as it isn't actually changing anything. The system is just formally recognizing my abilities. Though I have a theory that this recognition will make other things possible, like learning new techniques and whatnot. The sun is just starting to set, so I figure I should take a break. First though, I pull out my fancy knife and get to harvesting the corpse of the coyote. While I haven't been as diligent as I should've been, I have been harvesting as much as I can.

Though, the materials aren't very high in quality. Probably nothing that I would personally want to craft with. But I am sure that someone in a city can have a use for them, and I have yet to find a limit to my storage's capacity. So realistically, there is no reason not to pick up anything that seems at least somewhat valuable. My time in the shrublands has been quite fun, which I find interesting. Sure, I like adventuring and such.

But I have always been one to stay in a city, and go on short expeditions to nearby ruins, often returning for supper. Yet there is something freeing about being out here in this vast world. As I look around, there is simply nothing but me, some monsters, and the occasional animal. The fresh air is nice, even as I set up a campfire and pollute it with smoke. Sitting around the campfire, I eat a short meal and attend to other such things. After all that, I just lean back against a rock and stare up at the sky.

The four moons hang up there, staring down at me. Part of me wonders if it is possible to travel to them. I am sure someone has tried, right? Perhaps some day I will be strong enough to find out for myself. Today is not that day, though. I am getting close to the next city, and I expect to be there within two days or so. Sure, I could've made it there a lot faster. Within a week if I really pushed it. But I took my time, saw the sights, and did all the training. Which is worth the delay, I think.

It isn't like I am in any rush. Oh well, I guess there is that whole save the world thing. But somehow, I feel like the world will be just fine if I take a detour here and there. It survived for thousands of years without heroes, what is a few extra?