Zogarth
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Chapter 144 - Not Again
🕑 Added 2021-02-11 13:48:36 +0000 UTCThe life of a Cloud Elemental was truly sad. Their only comfort being low intelligence, making them unable to comprehend exactly how much it sucks. For them, living more than a dozen hours was an outstanding achievement. Managing to actually fight back and slay an attacker even more so.
Birds hunted them every hour of the day. All of them long familiar with the elemental’s attack methods and defensive measures. And now, even a winged human had joined the fray to hunt down the poor elementals.
Jake fired off the bolts of mana like never before. But not from floating orbs above him. Instead, he stood with his bow held high as he shot an arrow that exploded with the power of dozens of the old mana bolts.
Hawkie had been gone for nearly half a day. He wasn’t sure what his feathered friend was doing, but Jake hadn't been idle during that time. With only himself and weak Cloud Elementals to fight, he had plenty of time to reflect on his method of attack.
He had come to realize that not using his archery was a real waste. So he came up with a new plan. To combine the two somehow. And after only a few hours of testing, he had come up with the current attack.
Taking out an arrow, he formed the shape of the mana bolt around it. He poured mana into and around it, making it crackle with energy - to call it a mana bolt no longer accurate. After he had formed the bolt entirely, he channeled Infused Powershot and fired it.
It all added up to a mighty explosion of mana as the arrow pierced into the cloud elemental. Just in time, too, as the arrow was just about to break apart from the excess mana. The elemental that had been the target nearly broke entirely apart as it struggled to reassemble itself again.
He didn’t wait as he nocked another arrow and began creating another mana bolt around the arrow. It took a few seconds to form it entirely, drew the string, and fired it off, resulting in another explosion.
In retrospect, it wasn’t actually that much more useful than just firing off pure mana bolts. Jake could make more and fire them faster without first forming them around an arrow and firing them. Overall damage per second would likely even be higher just firing pure mana bolts.
But for the first arrow, it was well worth it to form it and use Infused Powershot to improve it further. Only against elementals, though, due to one fatal flaw with the method.
It didn’t work with his poison. He had tried first to coat it in his blood and then form a bolt of mana around it but found that the poison eroded the mana. He then tried just using a poison he had concocted, but this time the mana interfered and made the poison less effective.
He then had the brilliant idea of using Touch of the Malefic Viper on an arrow to infuse it with poison. He even mentally slapped himself for not doing it earlier. That is until he actually tried to do it. The arrow barely made contact with his hand before it just broke apart and turned to ambient mana.
In essence, it didn’t work. Besides, when Jake turned an arrow into a mana bolt, it exploded on impact due to how unstable it was. This wasn’t exactly a good way to poison anyone and would instead just ruin the arrow's poison even if it worked.
So he decided to use his mana bolt arrows against elementals and poisoned arrows on everything else. Of course, he hoped to one day combine the two, but it seemed far away and something the system didn’t particularly like. Maybe he could get a skill at 90.
He felt a bit in a hurry to level up, but on the other hand, he wanted to keep pushing the still unexplored potential of his newfound proficiency in utilizing mana in combat. At least until his current rapid progression petered off.
Also, he kind of didn’t want to engage too powerful Cloud Elementals without Hawkie. He needed the bird to ensure he could actually kill them, considering his still lackluster damage output. He was an archer and not a mage, even with his mana bolts. It could get a bit dicey, and he had missed out on a few kills due to other birds swooping in and interfering.
Luckily Hawkie had returned when he made his way back to the cloud island. Sitting perched on the tree impatiently staring at him as he arrived.
With a slightly apologetic nod, he sat down and entered meditation to top himself off right away so they could return to their hunt. He didn’t need more than half an hour to get back in top form once more. Mainly because of the potion he drank, but excessive consumption of alchemical products was a hallmark of his recovery process by now.
The next days were relatively uneventful compared to what Jake was used to. They killed Cloud Elementals, fought off asshole groups of birds trying to take advantage of them, acted like assholes by taking advantage of other groups of birds, and so on - the usual stuff that happens on a cloud island the size of a country.
Every day Hawkie would leave for anywhere between a few hours to half a day. Jake spent this time either experimenting with mana or solo hunting a bit. He was lucky that he had stocked up on so many potions that he didn’t have to brew any.
His bolts of mana had improved hour by hour, and by now were far more potent than the ones he started with. Their shape now resembled small lighting bolts as they crackled with energy floating above him.
Their killing did unavoidably result in a lot of experience earned. Jake ended up gaining another three levels even if he didn’t find the fights that interesting.
*’DING!’ Class: [Ambitious Hunter] has reached level 87 - Stat points allocated, +4 free point*
…
*’DING!’ Class: [Ambitious Hunter] has reached level 89 - Stat points allocated, +4 free point*
*’DING!’ Race: [Human (E)] has reached level 79 - Stat points allocated, +5 free point*
Just one more level, and he would unlock another skill. He was very expectant, of course. Two days ago, his progress in the mana bolts significantly stagnated as he began to run out of ways to improve them. For now, it would just take hard work and time for further improvements.
Compared to the first mana bolt he threw with his hand like a plebian, he now shot off crackling bolts of pure unadulterated pain like a true mage. The only minor issue with them being their innate instability
He wasn’t sure why they were like that; they just were. Perhaps it was due to his desire to continually pack more power and destructibility in them, or maybe it was due to his starting point with forming the bolts, to begin with.
It was the thought process of turning mana destructive after all. Jake always had more focus on improving destructibility over stability. Not that he held any regrets towards that. That path felt more natural for him to begin with. The mana closer aligned to his so-called ‘Jake-affinity.’
He hadn’t noticed the small purple wisps of energy that had begun appearing in his bolts… the same kind that emerged during the Trial of Myriad Poisons when he sought to destroy and break down the poison in his body. Each of them far too minute for him or anyone but the strongest of gods to detect.
Hawkie had also progressed steadily, gaining only two levels, though. He didn’t see any notable improvements in his hawk’s fighting abilities, but it had gotten faster and a bit stronger. The underlying toolkit remained the same, consisting of wind attacks and swift movement.
Either way, he was satisfied with his progress, and the bird didn’t complain either. The only ones that really had a right to complain were the cloud elementals, whose sole existence was to die within hours of being born.
They had traveled quite far into the cloud island too. Surprisingly that didn’t really result in the levels of the elementals or the birds increasing; there wasn’t even more of them. However, it allowed him to get a better look at the giant crystal tree that was the epicenter of the entire thing.
It was truly massive. Lighting crackled between its branches and the small trees below as it stood there menacingly. Using Identify on it didn’t yield any result, meaning it likely wasn’t a monster. It also felt far too big to be useful in alchemy.
The pressure it gave off was enough for the two of them to keep a safe distance, though. Neither of them interested in getting hit by a wayward bolt of lightning.
He was a bit surprised to see that some birds didn’t have the same reservations. But upon further inspection, he came to understand why. They were monsters of the lighting-affinity and thrived in an environment filled with volatile energy.
This didn’t mean that those birds were safe close to the tree, however. They faced powerful competition from other monsters trying to monopolize the powers found there. A few of these competitors making Jake and Hawkie retreat in a hurry. Especially two seemed exceptionally competitive.
One was a giant bird, a commercial airliner's size - a wingspan tens of meters wide. Its body covered in feathers colored a deep black with small blue patterns here and there. Lighting crackled in its wake when it moved, as it kept away all other birds in the area by frying them completely. The pressure the giant bird gave off, making it clear it was a step ahead of all the other beasts.
[Thunder Roc - ???]
The second competitor looked a lot like a Cloud Elemental, but instead of the fluffy white body, this one had a dark gray one with thunder crackling within. Its body flashed with electricity every few seconds as it sat on one of the tree's larger branches. Absorbing the lighting mana as far as Jake could tell.
In size, it dwarfed even the gigantic Roc - a skyscraper of lighting and death. It too in the D-tier.
[Storm Elemental - ???]
These two were what dominated the center of the sky island. Throughout the week, he had seen the two face off a few times, but they appeared unable to properly wound the other. Both were relying on lighting attacks while at the same time being mostly immune to it.
So they had reached a semblance of balance as they kept to each side of the tree. Other birds and elementals were competing below, sometimes trying in vain to reach for the crown where most of the lightning mana was condensed.
He couldn’t help but throw Hawkie a glance the first time they saw the two of them. Hinting if they should give it a shot sometime soon. To which he got a bewildered look back as if he was the biggest idiot the hawk had ever seen.
Not that he didn’t understand why. The two of them were clearly far above their level. They should still both be in the early D-tier, but of course, that didn’t mean they were something the two of them could handle.
As always, he couldn’t help but compare them to the King of the Forest. He imagined how the King would fare against these creatures. The version of the King before being stabbed by a tusk, weakened by the bead from the Nest Watcher, and blown up by the corrupted moonstone.
And the conclusion he reached was the mental image of the Roc being torn apart by the golden claw. The elemental ripped into countless pieces by telepathy as a shockwave of mental energy crushed both of their souls to nothingness.
At least, that is what his intuition told him would have happened. He was perfectly aware that he had never truly seen the King in his prime; all the extraordinary items weakened him to a ridiculous degree. What he did remember, however, was his fully powered Infused Powershot being blocked like it was nothing.
Returning to the real world, he was currently flying back towards their little cloud island once more for a round of meditation and drinking potions. Their daily routine became more and more habitual as Hawkie didn’t even have to ask for a potion anymore.
Just as he entered meditation, he was thrown out of it by a system message.
Quest Received: Contested Pylon of Civilization
City Lord Miranda Wells has initiated the process to take control of the Pylon of Civilization. If left unchecked, you will lose ownership.
Time Remaining: 29 days, 23:59:59
Quest Reward: Retain control of Pylon of Civilization.
Penalty upon failure: Loss of ownership of the Pylon of Civilization. [Nobility: Earl] downgraded to [Nobility: Viscount]
He stared at it for a while, bewildered. What the hell? He was confused. But the confusion quickly turned to anger as he stood up abruptly, startling Hawkie. But what startled Hawkie more was the aura he currently gave off.
Bloodlust filled the air in an almost tangible aura. His eyes were blazing with the yellow sheen from Gaze of the Apex Hunter. To say that he was pissed was an understatement.
He had been told to stay away for a week. Nine days had passed. Nine fucking days and they had tried to pull a fast one on him. Two days over their agreed upon time was all they had bothered to wait.
Only two scenarios were in his head. Either they believed he had died and had decided to claim the Pylon for themselves. Fine, he could accept that. He was still going to kill them, but he could buy it.
The second option was that they just didn’t give a shit anymore. That they didn’t care about Jake’s rightful ownership of the Pylon and had come to believe that he wasn’t powerful enough to defend it from them.
“I have some shit to deal with. Be back later,” he said as he leaped off the cloud island and began descending. He could feel the Pylon and made a beeline for it. Hawkie just sat there frozen, unable to respond to the sudden wave of bloodlust he was giving out.
His anger was only growing further as he flapped his wings faster than ever before. He had believed in Miranda and his intuition that told him that he could trust her. He was angry at himself but even more so angry at her. Even if she thought he was dead, did she have that little respect for him? That little trust? Even if he was dead, couldn’t she be bothered to wait for a man a couple of days?
He had given her a powerful profession. A title. A future in this new world. She had seemed genuinely thankful… and this was his thanks?
He had saved all their damn lives not even two weeks ago. Not that he thought he owned them or anything, but he expected at least a modicum of respect - from all four of them.
It doesn’t matter now, he thought as he sped up even more. Limit Break active at ten percent to go even faster.
He had shown trust, and they had thrown it right back in his face. He wasn’t some meek person who would just let that fly. They had chosen their own fates.
His only regret being his own naivety. Hadn't he learned already? From Andrew and his first and only girlfriend. From Caroline and her betrayal in the tutorial. Every time he had chosen to trust someone, they had broken that trust.
Descending like a meteor, his bloodlust grew as not a single beast dared get in his way.
Comments
Zir
ya, this degree of bloodlust seems insane to me. maybe the apex eye or the king mask is fucking with his mind. also villy is super territorial so it could be because of that.
Zogarth
Fixed.
Elmhedera
...told to [say >> stay] away... ...right back in [this >> his] face.
тђє v๏เ๔
Or, or... a third option, a message to get his ass back perhaps? Lol
V
the end is a little tough to get down but he doesn’t know what we do so it’s understandable im guessing they’re getting attacked
Sebastian Prue
I think he reacted in line with his character for the most part except the instant murder mindset he had. It would be more in line for him to be angry, confused and demanding answers than wanting to kill them
Damian Btooks
Lol
Tomer Yud
you thought right
Zogarth
Still no?
userunfriendly
Sorry Z, I’m posting edits using my iPad, and this limits my text field. ^_^
Zogarth
No?
userunfriendly
The elemental ripped in countless pieces by telepathy as a shockwave of mental energy crushed both of their souls to nothingness. HIMSELF AND HAWKIE ripped in countless pieces by telepathy as a shockwave of mental energy crushed both of their souls to nothingness.
Zogarth
Rewrote the sentence a bit.
userunfriendly
And the conclusion he reached was the mental image of the Roc being torn apart by the golden claw. And the conclusion he reached was the mental image of HIMSELF being torn apart by the golden claw.
userunfriendly
Corwin seems to be out today. ^_^ He imagined how the King. He imagined the King.
Jeno Abada
Its probably the only scenario where it makes sense. Jakes insight and perception should have been enough to think of this happening.
I think he missed a scenario. Bad people finding the city and they need help. No communication method available so fuck it let's use the pylon to call him back.
Vega
Not really? When he allowed them to stay he gave miranda power to look after herself. He doesn’t have to make sure they are safe. Just giving them an opportunity given how socially awkward he is pretty nice. Also I am at least partially convinced there is at least a tiny bit of system given anger in the situation.
happy cuddled senko pillow
that is 99% what will happen and 1% that she just want to call him about his cabin completion
Albert Botha
I reckon there are people down there who didn't fuckn listen!
Romen Martin
Jake needs to learn to chill. When he allowed them to stay he accepted that he had to make sure they're safe that was the set up has he even checked up on them?
Dikfor
Betting his little city has visitors and Miranda used the pylon contesting to call him back.
Sad that I’m all caught up. Love the story, will follow with interest.
I had that same thought, because ol girls intuition already told her that would be a bad idea
Tommy Littlefield
obviously triggered that to get his attention I’m guessing people showed up and attacked or at least just showed up and were scary enough to take this action
Phill barr
I think that the author has done it right because if it was as others had said then there whould be a lot less interest in this part of the story.
Torbjørn Nilsen
What? He has no reason to return in 7 days? His house would be complete in 7 days, yes. Only reasonable thing is that some powerfull people apeared and she needed help.
Khress
I am pretty sure this was used because they need him, like a sos beacon. Jake in his anger could not see that
Adevna
I see a bunch of whining from people about how they would have liked the story to happen... Which is strange, because it's not their story to tell. They don't even know where this is going, or how it will resolve. No serious commitments have been made in the narrative. But, boy do they have opinions.
Bence
I reserve my right to call his reaction completely out-of-character BS, until we see his response to the situation at hand.
Netveiwer
Is it bad that when i read him seeing the message I could hear "Let the bodies hit the floor!" In the background?
Viria
Well, he does have an even higher social anxiety than his Perception stat, and with that comes the inevitable "jumping to the worst case scenarios when it comes to interpersonal relationships". But I agree, this is pretty dense even for him ...
Swinter
Do you really mean him to come across as a braindead idiot? Because that's what you're doing here. "Only two reasons" Yeah, I get that you want to inject some excitement into it, but a child could find the third and most logical issue. There's something else hostile there. I can't believe this is the same guy who can somehow manage complex alchemy. Because right now, he acts like he was dropped on the head one too many times as a baby. Edit: Just want to add that my main problem with it is the murderous rage he shows. He has so far not shown any desire to go and murder people when he doesn't have to or when they've attacked him. As I wrote as an answer to another guy: Here, he decides to just... Kill them no matter what. And he wants to do it right away. Without even taking 30 seconds to consider WTF is going on :D. Socially awkward does not usually mean "Murder everyone". Because it would be cold-blooded murder. Everything else has been justifiable at the very least as self defence.
Lord Falco
Idiot. A week doesn’t mean 9 days. It means 7. I hope he’s suitably chagrined once he figures out whatever is actually going on.
Jacob Flaherty
My bet is hostiles showed up and she wants him back to help
Loric
Shouldn’t his high perception and bloodline be helping him with mana problems as well? I understand perception doesn’t equal comprehension but i would think that high perception means you can easily perceive more details about the mana which would lower the bar for comprehension. You’ve hinted this is the case in how he could slowly start to see the flow of mana in his sphere but when he’s actually training with it, his sphere and perception stat in general seems to do fuck all...
Zogarth
Fixed.
Curtis Cairns
hes gonna hit the ground like a comet take everything in his sphere in and then hes gonna be so annoyed he jumped the gun
Corwin Amber
thanks for the chapter Am the only one that thinks that the system desparately needs the ability to send messages between the owner and the head of the city? Since this looks more like a 'we need to talk' and there is no way for the message to be sent :) 'wasn’t sure what it was going' what -> where OR going -> doing (not sure which you meant) 'Each them far' -> 'Each of them far'
Jason Bryant
The cliffhanger! Grrrrrr
Nim
Yep
Ikawaii
I'm guessing it's a SOS signal
He really needs to start to think out of the box alright... He can't think in other directions besides the obvious ones... You left them there without protection this is one, without a way to contact you this is two and the last one the so called city lord you left her without a way to show her power, after all it's clear that people will start to come. The meaning of that contest for the pylon is clearly a way to inform you that shit happened and you should hurry back, well if they are not stupid enough to challenge you. Still I can understand how he feels.
_mori
I’m guessing she was in a situation where she needed him to return immediately. They might have visitors that aren’t behaving too well. She also has an intuition skill and last chapter she basically said that she wasn’t remotely willing to contest the pylon. Plus she’d probably know if he died, so it likely isn’t a mistake.
M van Dongen
Yep it sure got his attention.
Patrick Schuldt
I thought they are attacked and it's the only way to call him 🤷🏻♂️
Curtis Cairns
she did it to call him for visitors?
Daniel Tickle
That is how I'd read it. It's not like she can just call him up in the post apocalypse :D
CryoHydra357
Isn't she just trying to get his attention?
Damian
Oof bad idea to get his attention to come back
