Chapter 22: Ten Days (3)

[Monster Detected: Mudback Boar (x4)]

[Level: 10]

The creatures were heavier than the Iron-Quill Boarlings, with thicker hides and layers of mud-caked muscle beneath their skin. They were slower, but considerably harder to put down.

Leon spent nearly a full minute grinding through the first one alone, Arcane Surge repeatedly slamming into its body and chipping away at layers of hardened flesh that seemed to regenerate almost as quickly as he damaged them.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

By the third bolt, something shifted.

Ding!

[Absolute Adaptation has activated!]

[Arcane Surge (Envenomed, Decomposing) has adapted against Mudback Boar through repeated combat application.]

The next bolt hit noticeably harder.

The Mudback Boar staggered, its regeneration finally failing to keep pace with the damage, and Leon finished it with the Bloodfang Edge before it could recover.

Slash!

Ding!

[You have killed "Mudback Boar (Level 10)" and gained 60 experience points.]

The remaining three fell much faster than the first. His freshly strengthened skill made short work of what had nearly bored him to tears only minutes earlier.

Ding!

[You have killed "Mudback Boar (Level 10)" and gained 60 experience points.]

[You have killed "Mudback Boar (Level 10)" and gained 60 experience points.]

[You have killed "Mudback Boar (Level 10)" and gained 60 experience points.]

There was no Lucky Fate notification this time.

Just ordinary loot, ordinary experience, and four dead monsters.

Still, after three fights in a single day, Leon couldn’t help but appreciate the fact that his body felt exactly as fresh as it had that morning.

Perfect Body was quietly doing what it always did.

The fifth day slowed down considerably, if only because what Leon found didn’t leave much room for anything else.

[Monster Detected: Ironhide Rhino Alpha, Elite]

[Level: 12]

The creature was massive, easily the size of a small house, its hide covered in thick plates that looked more like natural armor than skin.

It didn’t charge immediately.

Instead, it slowly turned toward Leon, fixed him with a steady gaze, and pawed once at the ground.

Leon didn’t wait for a second warning.

Crack!

The Arcane Surge struck its shoulder and barely left a mark.

The Rhino responded by charging.

It crossed the distance far faster than something of its size had any right to move, and Leon barely managed to roll clear as one of its horns tore through the ground where he had been standing, gouging a deep trench into the earth.

Leon came up with Bloodfang Edge already in hand.

Slash!

The blade bit into the joint behind its foreleg, and the corrosive effect immediately began eating away at the surrounding armor.

The Rhino bellowed and staggered sideways.

Crack! Crack!

Two more bolts slammed directly into the wound.

This time, the decay effect spread visibly across the damaged plating, causing chunks of hardened material to flake away with every passing second.

Ding!

[Absolute Adaptation has activated!]

[Resistance to blunt trauma from large impacts increased.]

The Rhino charged again.

Leon braced himself, but there was nowhere to completely avoid the attack.

The impact struck him squarely in the chest.

Under normal circumstances, a hit like that should have cracked several ribs at the very least.

Instead, it only knocked the air from his lungs.

Leon used the force of the impact to roll with the blow, coming back onto his feet already swinging.

Slash! Crack! Slash!

The Rhino stumbled.

Its massive legs buckled beneath it, and the beast finally collapsed, shaking the ground as its body crashed into the dirt.

Ding!

[You have killed "Ironhide Rhino Alpha (Level 12, Elite)" and gained 240 experience points.]

Ding!

[Lucky Fate has activated!]

[Rare Drop Probability significantly increased.]

[Ironhide Rhino Alpha has dropped: 3,000 Eternal Coins, 1 Stormcaller’s Conduit (Gold-Rank Staff), 1 Rhino Marrow Essence.]

[Talent Devourer: Residual Talent Energy Detected: "Earthshatter Charge" (Fragments Available: 10)]

Leon stared at the notification for a moment before reaching for the staff first.

[Stormcaller’s Conduit]

[Rank: Gold]

[Description: Forged from compressed storm-iron and quenched in the blood of a lightning elemental, this staff amplifies the caster’s mana output significantly and grants a chance for spells cast through it to arc with residual electrical energy.]

Leon turned the old Mana Staff over in his hand one last time before storing it away and replacing it with the new weapon.

The moment his fingers closed around the Stormcaller’s Conduit, he felt the difference.

A low hum traveled through his palm, almost as though the staff itself were eager to be used.

Leon couldn’t help but smile.

Then he turned his attention to the ten fragments.

He fused all ten fragments of "Earthshatter Charge" directly into True Verlimon Bird Slash.

Ding!

[10 Fragments of "Earthshatter Charge" fused into Skill: True Verlimon Bird Slash.]

[True Verlimon Bird Slash has gained: Tremor Impact.]

[Description Updated: On a successful hit, the technique now sends a shockwave through the target and surrounding terrain.]

By the sixth day, the terrain had shifted back into shallow wetland, and two very different problems found Leon within the same hour.

[Monster Detected: Fen Leech (x7)]

[Level: 11]

The creatures latched onto him in a cluster before he had even fully registered the attack.

Leon immediately felt his HP beginning to fall, but the sensation was strange. This wasn’t conventional damage.

Ding!

[HP drain detected: -4% Max HP per second, per leech.]

Uncomfortable, but not unfamiliar.

Leon tore two of the leeches off with his bare hand and burned the rest away with a point-blank surge of mana.

Crack!

Ding!

[Absolute Adaptation has activated!]

[Resistance to HP-draining effects increased.]

The remaining leeches barely managed to drain a fraction of what the first ones had before Leon finished them off, his staff and blade working together in a practiced rhythm.

Slash! Crack! Slash!

Ding!

[You have killed "Fen Leech (Level 11)" and gained 65 experience points.]

[You have killed "Fen Leech (Level 11)" and gained 65 experience points.]

[You have killed "Fen Leech (Level 11)" and gained 65 experience points.]

[You have killed "Fen Leech (Level 11)" and gained 65 experience points.]

.....

Ding!

[Lucky Fate has activated!]

[Rare Drop Probability significantly increased.]

[Fen Leeches have dropped: 180 Eternal Coins, 4 Leech Glands.]

[Talent Devourer]

[Residual Talent Energy Detected: "HP Drain"]

[Fragments Available: 7]

[Source: Fen Leeches (x7)]

[Consume Fragments?]

[Yes / No]

Ding!

[You have consumed 7 Fragments of "HP Drain".]

[Talent Fragments Stored: HP Drain x7]

[Fuse 12 Fragments to acquire New Talent: HP Drain.]

[Or fuse Fragments into an existing Talent or Skill to grant it an HP Drain Effect.]

Ding!

[7 Fragments of "HP Drain" have been fused into Skill: Arcane Surge.]

[Arcane Surge has gained: HP Drain Effect.]

[Skill Updated: Arcane Surge (Leeching) — Grade: Silver]

[Description: A concentrated burst of mana that now carries a life-draining effect on impact, allowing a portion of the damage dealt to restore the user’s HP.]

Interesting! Leon attack can now restore his HP by draining it from others!

The second problem crawled out of a hollow log less than an hour later.

[Monster Detected: Skitterclaw Spider (x5)]

[Level: 12]