"Impulse!" My voice reverberated ominously in the gloomy cave as the muscles in my right arm imploded from within.
-BOOM!
The entire left side of the Bone Spike, from the point of contact with my palm, incinerated and exploded into shattered pieces with a powerful blast, as if a bomb had detonated inside it. Dark, smelly blood splattered against my face and the walls.
The cave trembled from the echoes of a powerful tremor, and dust and rocks rained from above. The muscles in my right arm exploded and inflamed, shattering the bones and turning my skin red.
My arm twisted and collapsed in on itself, and thick blood flowed from the pores in my hand.
The pain that shot through my right hand was five times worse than anything I had ever felt before. I tried with all my might to resist it, but a short, wretched cry still escaped my lips.
"Fuck!!" I spat out torturously. Everything below my right shoulder was destroyed from the inside. My blood vessels had exploded and inflamed. It felt like a fire of acid was ravaging my right arm from within.
This is why I fucking didn't want to use that technique!
"Holy fucking cow, it hurts!" Cursing was the only way I could manage the pain for the moment.
The comforting voice of the system came at a welcoming time, whispering silently into my head.
...
[Ding! You have slain a Level 22 Monster, Bone Spike!]
[You have leveled up +2!]
...
Eh? A monster just one level above me offered experience worth two level-ups?
I was stumped for a moment, but then the pain returned, and I hissed through clenched teeth. Dismissing the system notification with a thought, I pushed the matter to the back of my mind. My entire arm was mangled, and the pain made it nearly impossible to focus on anything else.
Unfortunately, I didn't have a choice.
As if my current predicament wasn't bad enough... I had company.
"Fuck," I cursed and chuckled.
The silent, muffled thumping of feet drew near as several Bone Spikes appeared at the entrance of the cave, their tall and bony figures overlooking the surroundings. The commotion from the battle must have attracted attention.
Impulse was too loud. Or no, the entire battle might have attracted attention.
Casting a sweeping glance at the entrance where they stood imposingly, {Appraisal} identified each of them as Level 22, just like the last one I killed. In other words, I was slightly stronger. Supposed to be, at least. But I wasn't entirely crazy enough to think I could hold off against five Bone Spikes at the same time in my current condition, especially when I had so much trouble against one.
And even then, I was in top shape.
Oh, the irony, I chuckled internally.
Bone Spikes were rather slow monsters, both literally and metaphorically. They were like overgrown brainless zombies with reasoning faculties smaller than an ant's. They just stared—or I assumed they did since I couldn't see their eyes—emptily and dumbly into the cave where the battle took place.
Well, this works to my favor at least. I was grateful for their stupidity.
Cursing silently through the pain from my mangled right arm, I focused on the single long claw impaled through my left shoulder joint and into the wall behind me. Using my left arm, I began to pull it out. It was a struggle—an excruciatingly painful one. The claw seemed almost immovable, and my left arm barely had any strength due to my injured shoulder, but I persisted.
The claw shifted slightly, then began to budge slowly. I felt the full length of the ridiculously long claw retracting through the torn muscles with a painful, wet squelch. The agony was intense, but I managed to resist crying out. It was like trying to remove a tiny splinter stuck at the tip of your finger, but on a much larger and more painful scale.
In the end, I fucked it and decided to just yank it out in one go.
With a horrid squelch and a momentary burst of blood, the claw came out of my shoulder. I was sweating buckets, my chest heaving as I panted, and my wounded left eye throbbed. The long gash across my face sizzled with stinging pain.
"Okay... up we go," I muttered, using the solid wall behind me for support. With a muffled grunt, I forced myself up, my right hand dangling painfully and lifelessly. I was slowly growing used to the agonizing pain, but it was still thoroughly discomforting.
I held the long claw close to my chest and pulled out a few Aurora leaves I had brought for emergencies like this. Immediately, the Bone Spikes, still watching me stupidly, seemed to react. Their 'eyes' flickered, and all five of them began moving toward me.
"Eh?" I thought, fascinated and self-deprecatingly. Did the Aurora leaves stimulate them? I laughed mildly.
Before the Bone Spikes could get close, I threw some of the leaves into my mouth, quickly chewing them while sucking on the last one like some kind of blue herb.
The tantalizing and refreshing minty taste filled my mouth, and the agonizing pain from my wounds seemed to alleviate slightly. The signs were almost non-existent, but I could tell—I was sure—I was beginning to heal.
And with that...
"Well then," I pushed off the wall I was leaning on for support. Hunched slightly forward, I stood before the five imposing, terrifying monsters. In my wounded left hand was a long claw, almost 32 inches in length.
I managed to wipe some of the blood off my face and raised my head with a toothy grin.
"Round two, I guess."
Then followed carnage.
***
Almost an hour later.
" Fuck...." I whizzed as my knees buckled to the ground.
Those... those bastards don't hold back...!
I managed to escape from the Bone Spike den. In the end, I really couldn't manage against five of them in my current condition. Everything hurt ten times over after that.
"Ah, the pain would all almost be worth it if I at least killed one!" I whined as I slowly crawled my body across the floor, reaching for the flowing spring of sparkling water.
I did not manage to turn any of them into experience points, and after creating an opening, the first thing I did was turn heels and run.
I soaked my mutilated arm into the sparkling spring and hissed from behind gritted teeth, before my shoulders finally slacked and relaxed. A refreshing feeling ran up my right arm and filled my body.
I smiled.
Well, all is well that ends well, I guess.
I got my revenge, but I was also able to determine my strength and how I matched up against a Bone spike. I know their armor would be tough, but clearly I wasn't giving it enough credit.
It wasn't all that inferior to a Boulder Crab.
Thinking this, I turned my head towards a direction. On the other side of the spring, there was a massive carcass of a bright red shell belonging to the Boulder Crab I killed and had for breakfast, lunch, brunch, and dinner from the past few days.
I was greatful that the collosal crab was just as big as it was. But it was a pain excavating the meaty and fleshy part out of the huge shell.
Whenever I need to, I end up burrowing inside it's joints, I lamented and sighed.
After a while, I tore off what remained of my tattered shirt and fully immersed my whole body into the spring. The sparkling spring filled me with its comforting embrace as I slowly felt the accumulated fatigue wash away in its currents.
All of the hurts of my wounds began to sizzle away as I floated like a broken piece of wood on the surface. In the meantime, I let my mind wonder.
I summoned the last system message I received.
...
[You have leveled up +2]
...
I killed the Level 22 bone spike, and Leveled up twice in one go, despite the Monster being only a single level higher than me. Well, it's not weird, or rather, it shouldn't be that weird.
But this was the first time something like this was happening. Unless I killed a Monster a couple of levels higher than me, I usually wouldn't level up more than two times or once. And the higher the level I became, the harder it was for me to reach the next.
So this was all of a sudden and different. I expected some good amount of essence for killing the Bone Spike, but this was beyond what I thought.
Could this be related to the Blessing of Aether attribute I received?
The description basically said it raised my talent. Maybe now I'm somehow able to receive more essence and experience points from each of my kills, which means I'll be able to level up but faster than usual?
While i silently pondered, Meta's voice resounded with an input.
[The Attribute has something to do with it, but this also involves the current state of your body after the past couple of days. From drinking the water of the spring to eating the fruit of the Aurora, to sitting around and literally doing nothing but passively absorbing the Aether has refined your body and has accumulated a degree amount of energy already.]
Ah, right. This place was an Aether Geyser. I forgot.
'So you mean after the kill, the already accumulated energy in my body was topped off, resulting in me going two levels instead of one or none. '
Hmmm, that made some sense.
No, more importantly! Aren't I beginning to seem more like a protagonist! I've finally found my own almost cheat aspect that gives an unparallel edge over others!
Blessing of Aether is a true blessing indeed!!
[The stronger you get, the more harder it'll be to Keep up and Rank up still applies. In fact, it'll become much harder thanks to the same attribute and as a result of the current circumstances you've faced.]
As one to always be a stick in the mud, Meta graciously said.
'Eh? '
[Affirmative. It is simple logic. You've only reached this state a a result of your current environment and resources, that is, this dungeon that is high in Aether. Your body will grow and adapt to this circumstance, that when you return back to te outside world, every other method of leveling up will seem mundane and insignificant in comparison.], Meta paused before continuing.
[But at the same time, you gather more experience and absorb twice the amount of essence than a regular Awakened, yet you require at least four times that amount to level up. And the stronger you get, the harder it becomes. It's a cycle that can get you to sigh.]
Blessing of Aether?! Curse was more like it!!
No, take it away! I don't want that stupid attribute anymore! No way! Meta, I demand a refund!!.
The cheat I finally got was just a bigger cross to burden my back. While I was lazing around and admiring the Aurora the last week, my body had been passively tempered and growing strong enough to require a much higher amount of essence and energy to grow.
Something would simultaneously give me an edge over others, and at the same time give me a devastating drawback.
'You're saying as soon as I get out of here, I'll have to hunt more stronger abominations in multitude to get stronger in the future?'
How cruel!