Suddenly, the scene of the Assassin Team fighting the cloaked figures flashed through Nawa's mind. Dozens of swift and ferocious wind blades sliced through everything in their path.
Nawa was thinking of the Assassin Team's mage skill that had severely injured the Rank A assassin. Although Nawa didn't possess the aerokinesis power to control air currents like wind mages, he did have telekinesis and a deeper understanding of spacetime than anyone else in the world.
"That's right. If I do that, I might be able to deal with these sheep," Nawa said to himself, raising his palm.
Using telekinesis, the flow of time around Nawa's hand slowed down. This potential difference in time created a pull towards his palm, causing the surrounding air to converge. Soon, it formed a high-pressure air ball.
This was the same technique Nawa used to create fireballs, but this time he didn't release the energy from this air mass to ignite. Nawa continued to increase the gravitational pull. Nawa compressed the ball of air around his palm, reducing its size until it became thin and elongated.
Finally, he succeeded. Now, his palm was enveloped in a high-pressure air mass resembling a blade about a foot long.
"Ding!" A familiar sound echoed in Nawa's head, and a system window appeared before him.
(New Skill)
(Air Blade - Using telekinesis, he can control the space-time field, creating force on the surrounding air mass, condensing and compressing it into a blade-like shape. Its size and destructive power depend on the mana used.)
Nawa looked at the system window with a satisfied expression. Although the air blade he created wasn't as powerful as those of the Wind Mages from the Assassination Team, it provided him with another weapon for close-combat fighting.
In the future, if his maximum mana increased, creating an even more powerful air blade than the Wind Mages of the Assassination Team wouldn't be impossible.
Without hesitation, Nawa immediately tested the Air Blade skill on the carcass of a sheep. It not only easily cut the sheep's wool, but even the meat was sliced through as easily as tender chicken.
Although the Wind Blade's effectiveness was satisfactory, Nava still didn't intend to use it in real combat. The flesh of a dead monster would have significantly reduced durability.
Using it in battle would likely require more than half of his current mana. In that case, a good knife would suffice just fine.
After a few hours, Nawa finished shedding all the sheep's wool and stored everything in his dimensional storage without sorting. He could choose to take only the meat or the wool when retrieving items from his storage.
Just as he was about to continue his journey, Nava heard the sound of approaching footsteps at high speed.
Even though he didn't think an A-rank killer would still be around, Nava didn't dare underestimate them. He quickly hid in the nearby bushes.
Soon, Nawa saw an injured snail-tailed sheep running out of the forest, followed closely by a large gray wolf. In an instant, the wolf sank its fangs into the sheep's neck, drawing bright red blood and pus across the ground.
Nawa recognized the wolf; it was the same one that attacked him when he first logged into The Oneness. The wolf still bore burn marks from leaping into the save point's force field.
If it were the day before, Nawa would have dealt with it using a fireball from this distance. But now, he didn't want to draw attention to himself. Even though the chances of an A-rank killer still being around weren't high, Nawa didn't want to take unnecessary risks.
So, Nawa simply hid and waited for the wolf to leave. After a while, the wolf had devoured more than half of the sheep. It made to walk away, but after only a few steps, it stopped, sniffed, and then turned towards where Nawa was hiding, letting out a low growl.
"Grrr…"
He knew instinctively that the wolf had found him and intended to attack. Nawa extended his hand and gathered air currents to create a fireball. Even though doing so risked attracting attention, he had no choice; if he didn't do anything, there was a high chance he would end up like the sheep.
Unfortunately, the gray wolf moved much faster than Nawa anticipated. In an instant, it was right in front of him. Even the fireball he created wasn't powerful enough. But Nawa had no choice but to fire.
"Foom!"
The moment the fireball hit the ground a distance away, it exploded into a bonfire several feet high. Nawa didn't use it to attack the wolf directly because he knew the fireball's power was too low. He changed his target to scaring the wolf away instead.
But it seemed Nawa underestimated the ferocity of the monster in The Oneness. The bonfire didn't scare the wolf away; on the contrary, it became even more ferocious. It leaped straight into the flames, aiming to sink its fangs into Nawa's throat.
Nawa could do nothing but raise his iron gauntlet to defend himself. The wolf bit hard into the gauntlet, creating a loud clanging sound.
"Clang!"
If he had been even a fraction of a second slower, Nawa's throat would have ended up like that of the sheep. Nawa tried to shake the wolf off, but it seemed the wolf was stronger than him. Not only could he not break free, but... The wolf pushed Nawa backward until he was against a large tree.
"Damn... you crazy dog, you're underestimating me, Nawa!"
Nawa roared, then used his power to draw the surrounding air to his iron gauntlet and activated his Airblade skill, compressing it into a blade.
"Slash!"Blood splattered from the wolf's mouth as it was struck by the sharp wind blade. Injured, the wolf immediately spat out its jaws and jumped back.
"Come closer, and you'll see who the real prey is,"
Nawa flicked his blood-stained hand and pointed his palm, enveloped in the Airblade skill, towards the wolf. His eyes gleamed with fierce intensity, unleashing a powerful killing intent.
Normally, wild beasts become even more ferocious when injured, but faced with Nava's killing intent, the wolf chose to flee, scurrying swiftly into the forest.
"Heh…" Nawa sighed deeply, relieved that he had managed to scare the wolf away. If a real fight were to happen, even if Nava didn't think he would lose, he would still suffer significant injuries.
The outcome made Nava realize his own lack of skill, especially in close combat. Just one wolf had nearly killed him. If he were to fight in close quarters against a human or a species capable of wielding weapons, he could easily be killed.
In the Himmapan Forest, although Nava had faced many life-threatening battles, most were against monsters. He hadn't fought many humans, so his close-combat skills weren't very high. If Nawa had better close-combat skills when the wolves broke through the flames, he might not have been in such a life-or-death situation.
Nawa recalled the player entrance exam. The students from Asashi Academy who took the test each had higher-than-average stats, and their movements were incredibly precise and efficient, a stark contrast to his own.
"Maybe I should enroll at Asashi Academy," Nawa muttered to himself. But he soon abandoned the idea. The tuition at Asashi Academy was exorbitant; he didn't even have enough for the application fee. Above all, he wanted to find a way to cure his father as soon as possible.
"I need to improve other stats besides maximum mana. If my body were stronger, it would greatly improve my close-combat abilities. As for close-combat skills, I'll have to find another way."
Nawa thought of the skill book shop at the guild. He remembered there was a textbook that taught close-combat techniques.
"Well, even if those skills aren't as good as those from the Asashi Academy, they'll probably help me improve," Nawa encouraged himself.
Upon arriving in Mattehorn City, Nava felt a sense of relief. The city was full of players, and those with the "red head" status usually avoided entering to prevent becoming targets.
Nawa hurried to the blacksmith shop to submit his quest. The blacksmith was very surprised to see 50 Slime Crystal Cores. He hadn't expected a non-mage adventurer to complete this quest, but this person not only did it, but did it in just a few days.
The blacksmith let Nava choose any weapon from the shop. Nawa thoughtfully scanned the weapons on display. A good choice would greatly make hunting monsters easier. Besides, the weapons sold in The Oneness were very expensive; it would be a long time before he could upgrade.
Nawa looked at a large, long, heavy sword that required two hands to wield. He put it down after slashing the air a few times. It seemed to have high offensive power, but its weight and size reduced its speed.
Nawa glanced at the spear, which seemed easier to use than the greatsword because it was lighter and had a longer attack range. However, it wasn't suitable for fighting a large number of enemies. Finally, Nawa couldn't decide. He looked at the sword and shield, which could be used for both offense and defense.
After much hesitation, Nawa finally decided on his first weapon in The Oneness. It was...