[Fireball]
swoosh, BAAANG!
A sweeping explosion finished off the latest group of [Giant Chipmunks], blasting apart a many unfortunate murderous rodent.
[User Slayed Level 12 Entity - Giant Chipmunk]
[User Slayed Level 15 Entity - Giant Chipmunk]
[User Slayed Level 13 Entity - Giant Chipmunk]
[User Slayed Level 12 Entity - Giant Chipmunk]
[User Slayed Level 16 Entity - Giant Chipmunk]
[User Slayed Level 14 Entity - Giant Chipmunk]
[User Slayed Level 11 Entity - Giant Chipmunk]
[Accumulated Experience Has Reached The Required Threshold]
[Level Up]
'phew, it was about time I finally got the next level, I've killed around fifty level 10-16 monsters since the last one after all.'
With a great sense of satisfaction, I brought up my system windows and applied my available AP into Sorcery, taking a moment to appreciate the arbitrary attractiveness of the clean and round numbers.
-
[User: Einer]
[Rank: Stone]
[Level: 20]
[Stats: >]
[Skills: >]
[Unique: >]
-
Stats:
AP: 0 [+]
Force: 10 -Locked-
Agility: 10 -Locked-
Vitality: 10 -Locked-
Wisdom: 10 -Locked-
Sorcery: 50 -Enhanced-
[Hidden Stats...]
-
I observed the results of my work as I laid back for yet another break, this time however I would spending a while, as my mana reserves were more than halfway used up.
As I rested on the wide accommodations of the newest great oak, I felt slightly tempted to simply drift off and take a light nap, but I wasn't a fool and mentally shook off the desire in order to stay alert as my arcane reserves recuperated.
After around twenty minutes however, I felt a bit odd.
I couldn't exactly point to exactly what was off, but something felt strange to me.
The birds were still chirping, the wind was still blowing, and there wasn't an ominous cloud covering the sun either.
After another ten minutes of creeping suspicion, I realized what it was... I hadn't glimpsed even a hint of a beast ever since I had taken out the last group of monsters!
'I could be wrong, but this is definitely that right...? I mean what other likely scenario could there be?'
I slowly sat up, and put my feet under my body while staying low to the branch and close to the trunk in a silent crouch.
Surveying my surroundings with endless scrutiny, I focused upon every little detail that my senses fed me.
chirp... rustle... breeze... thump... chirp... chirp... crack... breeze... thump... rustle... chirp... thump... chirp... thump...
thump...
'that sound... its quiet, but getting louder slowly, and more frequent as well.'
I began rousing my mana and coursing it around, giving me the advantage of preparedness without wasting much energy as I stood by for what would happen next.
…
THUMP.
I immediately felt panic, after the sound had gone away it suddenly rang out much closer, and so I began condensing energy wildly with no hesitation.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
It approached rapidly now, and I was able to discern the direction from which it came as I turned to witness a muscular horse-like creature emerge from the forest's trees about 200 feet away.
The eleven foot beast barreled towards the tree I was occupying at nearly one hundred miles per hour, at that rate it would end up slamming into the base of my resting tree in just over a second from now.
I seemed to be the one being ambushed instead this time, as unknown to myself the beast had used its primary sense of smell to locate me without my knowledge.
What I did know was that a transparent channeled barrier now cloaked the front of its body, the most detailed section being directly in front of its face, becoming less prominent as it moved towards the back of the horse monster's body.
This unknown skill presumably reinforced the already formidable attack, my instinct telling me that even if the charge didn't take the tree down, it would certainly be enough to knock me out of it without a doubt.
Luckily I had already amassed around 1/10th of my total capacity out of the approximate 8/10ths currently available to me, calling upon my sole skill before it was too late.
[Fireball]!!!
A glowing ball of flames let out destructive energies that considerably surpassed any attack I had conjured up until this point, my mind not even hesitating to release it onto the nearly arrived monster.
FWOoom... booOOM!!
Burning air rushed out from curling flames as the horse beast collided with the tree at an angle after rocketing through the spell and having its course altered, its body sent sliding across the ground for many tens of feet due to its own momentum added on to my apparently unexpected resistance.
Its body was burned, and the beast definitely sustained damage from the crash as the skill had already dissipated after its collision with its target, however the hulking horse wasn't out for the count just yet.
While the now obviously Geode Rank monster suffered its end of the attack, I had been shaken out of the tree, and fell in a relatively controlled manner towards the ground.
I actively began condensing energy even as I fell, this time calling upon almost all of my arcane stores without a second thought, knowing that every second was priceless in this fight.
And I had the time too, because after stumbling against the ground, standing up and facing the beast who was regaining its bearings as well, I began to count as my mana endlessly flowed towards the singularity above my palm.
1/10th, the monster moved to get its legs under itself.
2/10ths, the monster lifted itself off the ground.
3/10ths, the monster readjusted itself and focused towards me.
4/10ths, it began trotting towards me as it built towards a sprint.
5/10ths, the speed of its charge rapidly increased as my mana sense recognized the flow of energy towards its head, a glimmering red coating now surrounding its front.
'I guess it would be best to release it now, before it gets any closer.'
[Fireball]
As the great ball of blistering heat roared towards its target, I was impressed by the sheer imposing quality it held, the spell's speed surpassing even the monster's previous top speed, slamming into the beast headfirst.
The resulting explosion first broke through the horse's charge skill, and then forcefully propelled its body into the air, as it helplessly ragdolled at high speeds into a nearby tree, its mane and bodily fur completely incinerated while revolting snapping sounds came from both it and the tree on contact.
[User Slayed Level 40 Entity - Equus Ferus]
It had essentially contorted into a partial semi circle against the great oak, the muscular body of the deceased beast falling heavily to the ground.
[Accumulated Experience Has Reached The Required Threshold]
The corpse, aside from the fur and mane, was entirely in one piece however.
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
…
"WOOOOOOOO!!! GET FUCKED! IMAGINE DYING TO SOMEONE LESS THAN HALF YOUR SIZE."
I proceeded to let a nonsensical victory cry, my pleasure at such a sight overflowing to the point that I would trash talk a literal horse.
Compared to working many hours where I would have to maintain top form and efficiency as I slayed monsters already well beyond the rate of an average party, by the end of which I would be equally if not more exhausted, I instead achieved multiple levels all at once from a single decisive battle that concluded in a mere ten seconds!
I stopped punching the air grandiosely as I sat back, realizing that I was winded, but would still be fine to look for a new spot to rest.
This time I really would go to sleep though...
'I'm sure the local monsters will take a while to return to the territory they believe a stray Geode Ranker is passing through. After all, monsters with no symbiosis will attack each other just as easily as they assault humans, or how else would they gain experience points? Pretty sure they're scared shitless.'
Finding a suitable spot higher up than usual, I climbed the tree that held it and relaxed on the branch, calling up my system window to assign my AP before relaxing as much as possible, wanting to fall asleep while it was still extra safe.