25% and monster wave(1)

(Author: in this period I have not been well, combined with the fact that I am in the process of moving I have not had much time to write. The situation seems to have calmed down, but I cannot yet promise a certain stability of publication.)

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The wind blew as usual through the rocky gorges, lifting clouds of dust, but for Mark, that was the least of his concerns.

"Damn it all!"

Turning his head, he could see a herd of rocky lizards riding at full speed with saliva dangling, chasing him as if eager to feast on him.

It should have been like any other day; he would have tried to get as close as possible to where the Guide had sensed the fragment, but something went wrong. While clearing an area of goblins, the last one he killed let out a sharp cry of pain that awakened the lizards clinging to the walls of the canyon, so camouflaged with the external environment that Mark couldn't spot them previously.

So, it came to the current situation where a group of monsters with strength equivalent to an intermediate level 1 were chasing him.

"What do I do?!"

There were too many to fight in an open area, and climbing the canyon walls didn't seem like a good idea, considering those monsters could move on the ground or on a wall with no difference, thanks to their claws.

"!"

But finally, he noticed a possibility. Just ahead, there was a gigantic boulder that could give him a chance, as continuing to run would quickly deplete his stamina.

Without hesitation, he headed there and with agile movements, positioned himself on top, just in time to dodge a lizard that had launched at him.

Armed with a claymore and a dagger, Mark took up a defensive position, ready to face the approaching horde of creatures. The stone lizards, also intermediate level 1, moved with surprising agility on their clawed feet.

Some lizards began to climb the boulder, limiting the passage for the others, and allowing Mark to focus on a smaller number.

Mark's strikes were precise and sharp, aiming for the softest areas of the monsters to eliminate them as quickly as possible and reduce damage to his equipment. His eyes darted around, trying to see every possible approaching danger.

The boulder began to be painted red with the blood of the monsters. Thanks to Mark's relentless 14-day training, the core ring had formed by 24%, putting him on par with a level 1 adventurer with statistics reaching up to D.

Even so, the monsters' attack was relentless, and being attacked from all directions, plus having consumed some of his stamina to escape, it was normal for him to make a mistake.

/Clang!/

"Shit!"

He adjusted the sword angle poorly, hitting the hard scales of one of the lizards, causing the recoil to throw him off balance.

That moment of delay allowed one of the lizards to climb up and bite his calf. Mark immediately felt the sharp pain but gritted his teeth, preventing himself from collapsing. With a cry of rage, he thrust the claymore into the base of the monster's neck.

With little time to spare, he grabbed the corpse and positioned it in front of him as a shield, blocking the charge of other lizards that had climbed up. His feet slipped on the rock from the force of the monsters, and just before they could push him off the boulder, putting him at a disadvantage, he finally managed to block them.

In that moment of stalemate, Mark could see the other monsters climbing up. He could feel the pressure growing stronger, and as the danger of death loomed closer, he began to feel his body heating up and his muscles swelling as if flooded with an uncontrollable force.

"DISAPPEAR!"

With a roar that came from the depths of his throat, he used that newly acquired strength to hurl them away, but the strange thing for Mark was that while they were still in the air, it seemed as if they were moving in slow motion, and without hesitation, he tore them apart while they were still airborne.

Mark's moment of surprise lasted only a fraction of a second. He could feel that the strength he had at that moment was consuming him rapidly, so he didn't wait for the monsters to climb up but launched himself at them.

As he fell to the ground, he easily impaled two lizards, while the other one that was about to attack him from behind found Mark's dagger plunged into its eye, then had its head separated from its body.

The moment Mark touched the ground, he had become a whirlwind of blades, shredding everything in his path, and a few seconds later, all that remained of the monsters was a lake of blood painting the ground.

/Heavy breaths./

"W-Wow... what... what happened to me?"

At that moment, Mark didn't even have the strength to speak. His chest rose and fell rapidly, and his complexion was pale, with his entire body soaked in sweat, but even in that state, Mark couldn't hide his excitement.

[Congratulations, you have just reached the second milestone of Essence Core Evolution. Your ring has formed by 25% and you have unlocked a new ability.]

"R-Really?" - Mark asked, surprised while trying to find a more comfortable position and beginning to treat his wounds.

[We can call it 'overload'. As the name suggests, it sends energy into your body in overload, giving you a momentary boost of strength, but it also has its drawbacks. Firstly, it quickly depletes your internal energy, and if your reserves were to drop too low, your body would experience a state of fatigue, like the one you're experiencing now.]

"I... I understand," - Replied Mark, trying to control his heavy breathing.

[The second problem is that to activate this ability, you must use at least 25% of the energy in your ring. In the future, when your ring has grown or when your core has evolved, you will be able to decide whether to overload more energy for a greater boost of strength or to manage it more carefully, thus having a more moderate increase in strength that lasts longer.

Keep in mind that if you overload too much energy, you risk damaging your body, so be careful.]

"This will be... of great help..."

Still exhausted, he rested his head against the boulder, watching the sky grow darker.

Noticing Mark's strange demeanor, the Guide spoke to him.

[Any problems? I thought you'd be happier about the new ability.]

"I am, and I know it will be extremely useful. What worries me is the time I'm taking," -He said with a sigh.

After the events with Narak, the gang's boss, Mark's urgency to leave that city had increased. The following days had been spent training as if his life depended on it because it actually did.

He wanted to find the fragment as soon as possible and leave, but due to the increase in monsters, his search was yielding poor results. Additionally, there was the problem of the orphanage.

Initially, he thought that if he provided enough resources, they would live a good life, but only after seeing the harsh truth did he realize that leaving them there would leave them with no future. The only solution was to transport them to a safer city, but such a journey would be dangerous for a group of children and an elderly woman, making it even more necessary for him to become strong so he could escort them safely.

"Nothing is going as I want, and why the hell are there so many monsters?! I know you said there would be a monster wave during this period, but you said it would be minor!" -He said exasperatedly.

[Normally, that would be the case, but I also notice unusual behavior on their part.]

"From bad to worse, as they say."

With a sigh, he struggled to stand up.

The bag containing the various items he had collected that day was lost during the escape; therefore, he could only pick up some of the scattered magic stones from the ground to make some minimal gains. As for the wound, it didn't seem too serious, thanks to two reasons. The first was that he had bought more durable equipment, and the second was that he had placed some healing materials in the inner pockets of his clothing, which he had used to quickly treat the wound.

"Now it's time to go; today will be another long night."

Those words spoken by himself caused him deep depression.

As per the pact with Origon, every seven days he would have to undergo that sort of energy extraction, and since it was the fourteenth day, it meant he would have to suffer again.

"...Will it be less painful?" -Mark couldn't help but ask as he returned to the city.

[It's hard to say. This is only the second time, and your current strength is still low. At least the effects you'll experience later will be milder.]

"...Yeah... fantastic."

With his mood hitting rock bottom, he returned to the city, and being quite tired, he headed straight to the orphanage. There, he made up some excuses to skip dinner, so he could relax for a moment on the bed, mentally preparing for what he would experience again.

This time, he didn't waste too much time making the room safer; he just made sure no one could enter and that the area where he would lie down limited his movements as much as possible, and he waited for the beginning with a strange patience.

[You seem relatively calm.]

"Calm is an exaggeration, let's say I've become more resigned to the fact that I'll have to live with this... thing? Only now do I realize that my life will be quite complicated, haaaaaa."

[I see, but I'm sure that considering your latent talent, you will show remarkable results in this life.]

"Thank you... hey, can I ask a question?"

[It's my job to answer your doubts.]

"Can you read my mind like Origon?"

Perhaps wanting to distract himself, Mark asked a question that had been intriguing him for some time, given how easily he had begun to experience a sort of synergy with the Guide.

[Would it bother you if I did?]

"Not really. It's just that it would be quite strange." -Mark replied, not entirely sure.

[It's a normal thought, and as for your question, it's yes, although I have set limits.]

"What do you mean?"

[Considering that I live inside your soul, it's natural that I am connected to your mind. This allows me to relate better to you based on your memories and what you're thinking, but I discard anything related to your personal intimacy, as I understand that it could make you uncomfortable.]

"Thanks?"

Mark struggled to respond, but upon further thought, it didn't make much sense to worry too much. The Guide was with him 24/7, so for better or for worse, he would start to understand him better than Mark understood himself.

[The process is about to begin, as always, I wish the host every fortune.]

"Fortune, I could actually use a lot of that."

With that half-laugh, Mark prepared himself to endure another torturous night.

(The next day...)

While everyone was having breakfast, a strange silence filled the room as they looked strangely at Mark.

"Brother Mark, did you fight in your dreams?" -One of the children asked with innocent curiosity.

With deep dark circles under his eyes and a pale complexion, Mark had seen better days.

"Something like that."

With a dry laugh, he shook his head, confusing the children.

Mark hadn't found any difference between what he had experienced yesterday and what he had experienced seven days before. For hours, he had writhed compulsively in pain, and the only reason his screams hadn't alerted the entire neighborhood was because of all the fabric he had stuffed into his mouth.

The number of times he had lost consciousness was incalculable, and his body still bore the marks of self-harm. As a consolation, however, he had awakened in a state that allowed him to have breakfast, something he didn't even have the strength to imagine last time.

While lost in his thoughts, he noticed Agatha's worried look, so he reassured her.

"Don't worry, I just slept poorly, otherwise I'm fine."

'More or less,' -He added mentally.

With no other options, Agatha sighed, and the peaceful breakfast continued at least until the sound of bells started echoing around the city.

'And now what?'

Confused, Mark turned to Agatha, who had turned pale, and at that point, he heard the voice of the Guide.

[It seems that the monster wave is approaching.]

For Mark, it seemed that once again he wouldn't have time to relax.