Swoosh
A red glow flashed across Rael's frozen face as blood splattered against him before the hulking body of the Alpha crashed into him, slamming him to the floor and pinning him beneath its bulk.
[Aether reserves: 0.2%]
Rael's face remained frozen, already bracing for the gnawing and tearing of his flesh—but the Alpha lay unmoving as hot red liquid gushed from the massive tear that ran from its snout all the way down to its hind legs, effectively ripping it in half.
Rael blinked at the sound of agonized whines and whimpers. Straining under the Alpha's weight, he pushed against its hulking form, eyes widening at the sight before him—a bisected tree, a clean slice through its trunk, and another Hellworg missing its right paw and hind leg, blood spilling freely from the cleanly severed limbs.
Staggering to his feet, drained and breathing hard, he scanned for the last Hellworg—
but it was gone.
"It ran?" he murmured to himself, glancing down at the Alpha's split body, still barely held together by a few strands of flesh and veins.
Rael narrowed his eyes. He knew he'd successfully used the Blood Rend technique—though it was forced, and through the wrong weapon. Still, he'd managed to slice through the same hide he couldn't cut earlier with ease. Considering the alternative—being torn apart—he wasn't about to complain.
Yet, amazement and shock filled him at the destructive force of that single strike. This wasn't the kind of power a Tier 1 Iron Fighter should possess.
In truth, Rael had no way of knowing that surviving an encounter with five Aether Beasts—one of them ranked—and walking away with only a few wounds was already a feat far beyond what any Rank 1 Aether User could hope to achieve.
Turning to the hellworg still struggling in agony, he picked up the axe beneath the Alpha's corpse and walked towards it. Ignoring its fearful eyes, he brought the edge down on its thick skull, crushing it and splattering blood across his face.
[Aether reserves: 0.0%]
Crumbling to the ground as he breathed heavily, he finally felt the burning pain of his injuries. Though surprised they didn't hurt as much, he concluded that his pain tolerance might have drastically increased since that excruciating awakening earlier on. Gazing up at the two suns blanketed by clouds, a sudden smile tugged at his lips.
"That felt… kinda nice. Hehe," he muttered to himself, feeling excitement and exhilaration from the near-death experience. Putting the thought aside, he summoned the system interface through his mind, as it had something for him.
[Congratulations to the host on surviving an attack on his territory of dominion and purging the invaders.]
[For this small victory, a fitting reward has been earned.]
[Reward allocated.]
[Would host like to claim the reward?]
[Yes] [No]
"So there's a reward for surviving an attack, huh? No… rather, for keeping my territory safe." He murmured as he replied,
"Yes — and I hope it's something good."
[The host has been granted the Warmaster's spell.]
[Eye of the Critic.]
[Spell Description]
Once cast on the host, it enables the host to judge one or few characteristics of whatever its gaze lands upon and identify the weakness of an opponent — granted that this opponent isn't a rank above the host.
"Wait, what? A spell?" Rael sat up in confusion.
"How's that even possible? How would I even learn such a spell? I'm a warrior-class Aether user, not a spellcaster. This makes no sense."
He turned to the system, but still got no reply.
Calming his nerves, he analyzed the spell, including its requirements — which actually hinted at why he'd be able to use it.
Spell Requirements:
Rank 1 Aether User (uses the Warmaster's Scripture)
Aether required for spell: 2.5%
"It seems I underestimated the depths of this manuscript."
Rael had never heard of a manuscript that focused on the warrior class but had spells. Though his knowledge of manuscripts in Grandveil was limited, he was certain there were none like that. Spellcasters, unlike warriors, didn't need to temper their flesh — or in his case, veins — only their mind, spirit, and soul, if that was even possible.
"Still don't know much about this world after all," he grimaced.
While still a recognized member of the Drakul household, he'd been a bookworm — but it seemed even the Drakul family knew little about the wonders and terrors of this world. Of course, Rael suspected that was simply what they chose to reveal. Tossing that thought aside, and with his mind set on learning this spell, he couldn't deny the excitement of acquiring one — even if it wasn't a combat spell. It showed the potential and possibilities of the Warmaster Scripture — ones he was eager to explore.
Standing to his feet, he moved to the alchemic tent that he used to store food — not that there was anything alchemic about it, anyway.
He rummaged through some sacks, bringing out two tiny bottles filled with purple liquid — potions. Healing potions. He was about to apply them to his wounds but paused before uncorking the lids. He remembered the system's description about letting wounds heal by will alone, but feeling no sign of that squirming sensation in his palm from earlier, he chose to apply the potion's thick liquid on the still-bleeding scars across his arm, thigh, chest, and the deep one on his back.
---
A few minutes later, Rael could be seen dragging the corpses of the four dead Aether beasts into the blacksmith tent that had remained untouched by the earlier skirmish, placing them inside one by one.
He wasn't going to let such precious meat go to waste — besides, it had been ages since he'd tasted meat, especially Aether-nourished meat. It was something he'd only enjoyed while he was still a member of that damnable family.
Settling inside his main tent — which he'd somewhat repaired, though it remained in shambles — he had already made up his mind to cut more trees for wood and build the structure as stated by the Great Builder's Tier 1 Blueprint. But first, he summoned his interface.
---
[Host Interface]
[Name: Rael Drakul]
[Age: 22]
[Gender: Male]
[Race: Human]
[Rank: (Tier I) Iron Fighter Rank]
[Aether Capacity: 9%]
[Aether Limit: 13%]
[Strength: 11]
[Agility: 9]
[Endurance: 14]
[Will: 17]
[Intelligence: 8.5]
[Aether Reserves: 1.7%]
[Aether Manuscript: Warmaster Scripture I (Phase: Iron Path Initiated)]
[Aether Techniques: Blood Rend Technique]
[Aether Spells: Eye of Critic]
[Quest logs]
---
Tier 1: ???? Unavailable ????
---
Tier 2: Clear the Surrounding Area
Status: Incomplete (4%)
Objective: Remove immediate threats and cleanse your claimed land.
Reward: Low-Class Inscription Manuscript — [Boundary Ward Sigil]
---
Tier 4: Survive the Withered Nights
Status: Dormant
Trigger: In 24 days
Objective: Endure the Withered Nights — a time when corrupted essence floods the land and sanity rots.
Reward: ???
---
Seeing the Quest 2 completion bar move only 4%, Rael groaned.
"Huh… you've got to be kidding me. Just 4%? How many threats are out there?"