'I didn't find any more monsters along the way…'
Sitting in front of a campfire with the night sky overtaking his vision, Sief was staring at his surroundings, unnerved by the silence of the forest to the point where he could hear the beating of his own heart.
Throughout the entire day that had passed since the confrontation with the turtle, Sief hadn't encountered any more monsters and finally retreated to a partially open tree where his dagger was embedded.
'After all this, I've come to the conclusion that I know practically nothing.' He furrowed his brow and pulled out the map, coating it with his aura, revealing the greenish flame that still marked the same territory, but something was different. 'This has changed…'
The territory, which was once light green, was now white and similar to a city when drawn on the map, causing Sief to squint his eyes and conclude.
'I can assume it turned like this because the monsters have disappeared; I'm sure that the death or emergence of that turtle somehow impacted this, but that's not the only thing bothering me…' Sief squinted his eyes, remembering the stranger, and continued. 'He knew how to use mana in a basic and rustic way, yet he knew much more than I do and didn't teach me everything he knew, even though Edgar made it clear that he didn't know much, little by little this difference is emerging, and it's starting to bother me…'
Sief returned to staring at the campfire, remembering the examples of mana demonstrations he had discovered in a few days, from the hero mage to Edgar with a simple and effective method against monsters.
'I can't say how they all did that, maybe it's that kind of mana he talked about, but it shouldn't be that simple. I wonder how many types there are and what mine is. I can assume that the type of mana is the ideal way to use yours… but…' Sief squinted his eyes, trying to remember something that was more similar to his, concluding by raising his eyes again, thinking. 'I can't think of one…'
He had seen few examples of mana usage; none of the mages or assassins seemed to fit what he did, not even Edgar or the stranger, or even the group of heroes, but when he remembered Milo's face, he slightly raised his eyebrows.
'I can associate my poison with his healing; they both act directly on the body in a similar way… maybe if I could associate more types, I might be able to create a new skill using someone else's as a base.' Shifting his gaze to the side, Sief pondered. 'Healing seems like both a simple and complex ability… he's a hero, so what makes his different?'
Even though he already understood some abilities and could think about them, Sief had never stopped to analyze more deeply how each one worked, until a light came to his mind, and he looked forward again.
'Did he evolve one of his skills to the point of becoming a unique ability?…'
Quickly Sief stood up and wielded his dagger, noticing the blade was slightly chipped with the edge practically nonexistent, which led him to conclude.
'He said there were two ways to evolve, making it stronger with use or creating other abilities and eventually forming a unique skill…' Sief activated his aura on the blade and finally tilted his head slightly to the side, still in doubt. 'If he evolved a single ability by focusing solely on it, it's probably stronger than a unique skill made with several others thanks to the practice and energy used in it. It has a single function; maybe that makes it stronger because it's simple?'
This time he placed his hand on his chin and furrowed his brow, thinking.
'But if that guy also has a unique skill with all those functions…' Sief slightly widened his eyes and concluded. 'It's a unique ability, but one that mixed abilities…'
Sief scratched his chin, remembering everything the stranger had done; he was super strong, had claws, and a body adapted to tear apart and eat the tough flesh of that monster.
Once again, Sief squinted his eyes, wondering if there was more functionality to all that, but finally, he raised his head again.
'Perhaps there's a difference; the healer's healing is practically instantaneous and turned my wounds into nothing, besides recovering a bit of my energy…' Sief looked to the side, still lost in thought. 'Is there some change and difference between unique abilities and their origins? Maybe mixing too much could end up changing or losing something… but… does that make sense?'
Sief gritted his teeth but gave a slight smile, quickly messing up his hair while concluding.
'I can do this… I can become stronger…'
However, the glow of the weapon ceased once more when he recalled the stranger's words, which warned that he should only create an ability to escape if he wanted to get there quickly.
Slowly, Sief remembered his primary goal and finally reached into his backpack, taking out the supplies that were there; the freshest ones had been given by the healer, while other salted meat pieces for preservation had been given by Tom, which, when he looked at the dagger, he remembered.
'I think I forgot for a moment what Bea and I went through to have something that wasn't even half of this…' Sief picked up a fruit in his hands and finally stared at it, narrowing his eyes slightly, and finally took a bite. 'I remember that I wanted to share this with her…'
When he chewed the fruit, it was sweet and juicy, totally different from the old, moldy fruits they usually ate, and this one had a good smell and practically called for the next bite.
Once again, Sief took a bite, remembering the last moments in Dokkel and how the city had fared after the attack of a single monster, recalling all the panic among the residents and even among some adventurers who couldn't handle the monster.
'Maybe we could live in peace… but for that to come again…' He finished eating the fruit and finally sighed, walking to the tree and digging a small hole with his feet into which he threw the fruit and buried it. Remembering the stranger's words, Sief gripped the handle of his dagger once more and concluded. 'It might be a bad excuse, but… it doesn't matter… I'll get to my sister, and I'll pave the way by hunting…'
Once more, the aura enveloped his dagger, and the night passed.
Walking toward the end of the lush forest was Sief, who followed with the map in his hand and the dagger in the other, but on his face were deep dark circles and a sullen look that concluded.
'In the end, I just lost my night's sleep…' He sighed, seeing he was still following the path indicated by the healer, but he was very close to the edge of the territory, which led him to conclude. 'The fatigue didn't let me use my mana properly… actually… creating a second skill seems much harder than creating the first one… and the anxiety didn't let me sleep… what an end…'
Slowly the surroundings began to clear, and Sief noticed the trees gradually dwindling. His tired eyes lifted as he entered a field that already revealed the scenery of the next territory thanks to the grass, which became much lower, also revealing some stones along the way.
Sief continued for a few more minutes, and finally, the scene was unveiled as mountainous, with a dirt floor and almost non-existent vegetation, similar to a plateau with various stones being revealed along the path, which made Sief sigh once more and conclude.
'It took a while since I had to divert from the route and because of the confrontation with the turtle, it took much longer… but at least I got here…' He closed his eyes and resumed running while the map glowed, revealing the location. 'I wonder what awaits me here.'
'Outskirts of Revaria.'
Having diverted his path to the safer route, Sief sighed, still tired, but turning his eyes to the map, he noticed that the territory he had passed through was now glowing with an even softer light green, causing him to slightly furrow his brow, concluding.
'Besides using mana, I think I don't know as much about territories as I'd like to… but I realized that the monsters farther from civilizations seem stronger, even if the zone remains light green.' Sief returned his gaze to the other nearby regions that hadn't changed in tone, making the young man look with a still furrowed brow. 'Was it just an anomaly where I was?'
However, a low sound made Sief slightly raise his head, confused, noticing a strangeness overtaking his chest, making him question what had changed until a low rustling sound caught his attention, making him turn his head.
In an instant, Sief saw a spear coming toward his back, causing him to widen his eyes as he dodged to the side, seeing the spear pierce the side of his abdomen.
Sief landed, but the blade returned, alerting him that another strike would come, so quickly, the assassin moved forward, leaping to spin his body toward the spearman.
As he turned, he saw a scaled monster already leaping at his face with a spear in hand, already delivering a blow aimed at his neck. However, Sief tilted his body to the side and dodged, quickly retreating with jumps and distancing himself from the monster, which he soon recognized as a green-scaled draconian.
But unlike common monsters, the draconian's form was much more humanoid, with various scars on its skin and an iron spear in its hands.
Sief squinted his eyes and raised his dagger, already panting, while putting away the map, thinking.
'Was this guy from the previous territory? Did he follow me and hide from me? He seems like a...'
When Sief focused his eyes on the surroundings, he saw a few goblins with brownish skin scattered around the area. Their eyes glowed a sinister yellow, and they remained motionless, making Sief furrow his brow slightly, realizing the monsters were camouflaged with the scenery. He backed away cautiously, keeping his senses alert and scanning for more monsters.
'Wasn't this supposed to be a region without monsters?'
Once more, the draconian took a step forward, already panting and with saliva dripping from its mouth. Suddenly, Sief saw a shadow leap onto the monster's back, revealing a goblin that plunged a dagger into the draconian's back, making it roar in pain.
However, the draconian quickly grabbed the goblin from behind and hurled the creature to the ground. The goblin grunted, but its head was soon crushed under the draconian's foot, prompting the other goblins to reveal themselves. They surrounded the draconian, making Sief widen his eyes as he took a few steps back, watching as more goblins emerged atop the rocks, all focused on the draconian that was still salivating.
In unison, the goblins charged forward, and once again, the draconian roared, while Sief kept his eyes wide open, instinctively stepping back as the goblins concealed themselves in the shadows. Another goblin charged into its reach, and with a fierce swipe, the draconian smashed its skull, sending the body flying, but the remaining goblins pressed on without hesitation.
One goblin managed to stab the draconian's leg, causing it to grunt in pain, but it quickly grabbed the goblin's head with its claws and tossed the creature against another goblin that was running towards it.
More goblins pierced the draconian's skin, making it roar again, but it skillfully wielded its spear to thrust and eliminate the goblins one by one.
From a distance, Sief watched with a furrowed brow, climbing onto a rock to observe the battle from a safe vantage point.
'This creature is smarter than the goblins and knows how to use a spear... what is this monster… it reminds me…'
The image of the turtle flashed in his mind, and Sief widened his eyes upon seeing the draconian enveloped in a reddish aura.
More goblins leapt forward to strike, but the draconian let out an even louder roar, forcing Sief to cover his ears and stunning the goblins, causing them to retreat from the overwhelming sound. From a distance, Sief observed as the draconian's wounds began to heal rapidly, leading him to conclude.
'A skill? Is it an alpha?'
With the stunning effect rendering the goblins vulnerable, the draconian moved swiftly, sprinting silently and exhibiting a goblin-like stealth skill.
Taking advantage of the stunned goblins, the draconian effortlessly eliminated them, but more goblins soon arrived, prolonging the fight even further, while Sief clicked his tongue and enveloped his dagger in a greenish aura, pondering.
'What on earth is happening here?'