I looked at the giant centipede.
Despite its intimidating length, which could put any python to shame, it didn't scare me as much as it had the first time.
I thought I was getting used to this—the life of danger.
It suited me more than my previous lifestyle, where all I did was work all morning, work out in the evening, and fall asleep exhausted.
'Man, this feels like a vacation compared to the coming war.'
The water from the barrels swirled around my back, forming eight tentacles, each with its end sharpened into a blade.
If the centipede had a brain larger than a normal insect's, it should know I could freeze water. So, I thought of playing a trick by using the sharp ends as a distraction. Hiding your intent and striking when your opponent is off guard is always a good strategy.
The centipede hissed—I never knew they could hiss—and began circling me, spinning around me with me at the center, effectively trapping me.
'Is it taking me more seriously than last time?'
I thought this as it continued rolling around me at a very high speed.
The moment I let my guard down, it would jump at me and take my life.
I couldn't escape in any direction either—at least, not if you considered the space two-dimensional. But we still had the air above.
The moment the centipede launched its attack, its head coming from behind, I channeled my Chi into my feet and jumped as high as I could, slamming the tentacles into the ground and using the surface force to push myself up. I found myself flying 20 meters into the air, and luckily, there were huge trees nearby.
One of the tentacles extended easily, as if it were another limb of mine, and clung to a branch.
Compared to planning for an upcoming battle, this felt like a stress reliever.
Maybe because the system acknowledged me as a grandmaster, even as a beginner, it boosted my confidence.
My pet, Lucy, felt fear and ran to hide.
'What a scaredy-cat,' I thought. But I couldn't blame her. She was only seven months old now.
I tried to push myself toward the centipede's center, but it quickly escaped, seeming to have learned from last time.
I stomped, and two tentacles joined, turning into a water ball. As I pushed my hands forward, the water ball turned into a compressed stream. The centipede dodged, and I only managed to hit a few of its many legs. They froze, and as it moved, the legs cracked and broke apart. I guess when frozen and supporting a massive body like that, they were bound to break.
"Okay, it learned how to counter my fighting style from last time. Smart," I muttered. "I wanted to play longer, but I need those experience points."
I bent the remaining tentacles into a water ball, placing my palm on it. The water started turning into steam as I used my dehydration skill.
[A skill has been discovered.]
[Steaming: Boil water and turn it into steam.]
[Because of the high level of the Freeze Skill and the high level of the Waterbending Skill, this skill requires half the amount of experience to level up until it catches up to the Freeze Skill.]
'Not now, annoying notification,' I thought, my focus entirely on the white gas in front of me.
The steam didn't move randomly in the air, as I was controlling it.
'I need to concentrate it into one point so it can turn back into water.'
The centipede couldn't have known this new trick of mine. From its perspective, the water just vanished into thin air.
It launched its massive body at me.
The poor little fella didn't realize I hadn't lost my weapon. It charged into the hot, concentrated steam with endless vigor. The steam cooled down, soon turning into water that froze.
Half of the centipede's body was now covered in ice. Its lower half struggled to move.
I jumped above it and landed on its back, placing my hand on it.
Soon, every ounce of water in its huge body turned to ice.
[Defeating 500-Year-Old Black King Centipede]
[+100,000 EXP]
I clenched my fist and raised it in victory. I thought I had done something epic, but unfortunately, no one was here to witness it.
Anyway, I wasn't here to brag but to gain experience points.
Now, I had around 330,000 accumulated experience points that I could use.
I pondered how to use them—or if I should even use them at all. I mean, I could gain more. Frankly, I was quite hesitant and afraid of making the wrong choice. I understood that I could gain experience anytime, provided I traveled to places with dangerous beasts—like that valley the Avatar and the two tribes traveled through. But there was a war coming, and any wrong choice could cost me dearly.
The problem was that I had too many good options.
Stealth would let me sneak up on my foes at night and destroy a large portion of their army. The higher the level, the better my chances of going undetected.
If I leveled up my Hunting skill and used my ice projectiles with waterbending, I could snipe a lot of enemies from a distance, taking them down more easily and safely.
It goes without saying that waterbending is important.
The same goes for Chi Bending, which has various effects, from strengthening my bending to enhancing my physical abilities.
Martial Arts… that skill. I could afford to spend a bit of experience to level it up to a decent level since it wouldn't get costly until level nine.
[24,700 accumulated experience has been used.]
[Martial Arts up to Level 9]
[Lucy - Favoritism +20]
I rubbed my ear, thinking I had heard an unrelated notification. I was planning to have a moment before saying, "I know Kung Fu," but I got confused for a second.
Lucy jumped at me from nowhere and started licking my face.
Looking at her, I realized she was terrified.
She must have thought I had protected her from the centipede.
Poor, naive fella. I patted her head.
'Well, as long as I'm grinding favoritism points, it's good for me.'
"Now, Lucy, stand up. Daddy has some thinking to do," I demanded, and Lucy stepped back.
I sat down and said, "Lucy, since defensive wars are battles of endurance, preserving your bullets—in my case, Chi energy—is essential. Daddy can't get tired, right?"
The tiger tilted her head. Despite understanding me thanks to the system, she couldn't grasp what I was saying without proper context. She went to the side and continued eating her giraffe.
I also had the Steaming skill to focus on.
[12,000 EXP has been used.]
[Steaming up to Level 9]
[40,000 EXP has been used.]
[Chi Bending up to Level 11]
[Skill Tree has been improved.]
[You have gained mastery in Chi control.]
[Energy waste is minimized.]
[Can now use Chi to cover the body with a protective aura.]
[Can now achieve a 100% boost in physical enhancements.]
[30,000 EXP has been used.]
[Freeze up to Level 11]
I decided to review my stats and test the skills as they were.
I focused on the centipede's icy state and froze it again.
The ice became colder, almost twice as cold as before.
Then, I turned the ice back into water and used the Steaming skill on it.
The last time I turned water into steam, it took a bit of time.
This time, however, it turned to steam almost instantly. In a flash, a hot cloud of steam covered a large portion of the forest. I quickly cooled it down, and now, mist filled the air, which dissipated after some time.
'So, I have Freeze, which is overkill. And if I level up my Steaming skill, I'll be able to burn my enemies. If I focus that steam on someone, I'm sure I could cook them.'
Ignoring my growling stomach, which was starting to interfere with my judgment, I took a look at my stats.
---
[*Skill Trees:
Waterbending - 12
Chi Bending - 11
Martial Arts - 9
*Skills:
Hunting - 9
Steaming - 9
Fishing - 4
Freeze - 11
Stealth (Passive) - 10
*Titles: (3/1)
The Deadly Ice (Equipped)
Shadow Lurker
Beast Hunter
*Accumulated Experience: 224,000]
---
Okay. I had a decent amount of experience, and I felt much stronger than before.
The war was only a few days away.
And I could gain more experience points as long as I stayed in this forest.
It might help me upgrade not only my skills but also my storage and the number of titles I could equip.
By not upgrading my skills further, I could gain experience through practice, maximizing the benefits.
I began hunting for beasts. The amount of experience they gave individually was small, but together, it added up to a considerable amount.
After hunting a few packs of dog-like beasts, I ended up with an extra 26,000 experience points.
Just as I was taking a break, a young man named Kamu from the village—a non-bender—came to me.
He was riding a fast mount, which explained how he got here so quickly.
"Sir Ryuk," he called.
I looked at him. "What's the matter?"
I was afraid he would say the Fire Nation had attacked, which wouldn't make sense since we had scouted the area and hadn't seen their army approaching.
It's not like an army can move faster than one person.
"Ah, about that. Let me think for a moment," Kamu said, trying to recall.
"Right. Two people are looking for you," he said.
"Oh!" My eyes widened.