Practice & Watcher

January 9th, 2022

***

People whispered as he walked by.

Exaggerations calling him a madman, a maniac, a freak. But Richter was lost in his own world, constantly circulating mana through his body. The slow crawl in his veins picked up. He increased his walking speed, sweating profusely; every action straining him.

Richter broke out into a jog as the mana rushed from limb to limb. Small blue wisps floated up from his skin, a sign that mana was leaking out. He grit his teeth and redoubled his efforts. His vision blurred under the burden. He stumbled and tripped several times, scraping his knees and elbows; but his progress was unparalleled.

What originally required his full concentration lessened to minor attention. And by the end of the street, he had already delegated it to his subconscious. The blue wisps couldn't be seen anymore. Richter's mana now circulated his entire body without effort nor waste, ready for use at a moment's notice.

A scary and difficult technique used throughout the System appeared on Earth for the first time; while those around him were unaware of his terrifying progress. Well, most of them anyway.

Richter lost 20% of his mana during the process. He felt in his pocket for potions; he would need to start buying them every opportunity he could. Which meant earning more copper.

Back in the privacy of his room, he experimented, trying to achieve the speed that Reed did. He found that the mana only took effect when it reached the tendons, and the effect itself was hard to control. Varying amounts of mana controlled the duration and strength of the effect. He moved over to his bed.

[Mana Surge – 5%]

His hazel eyes paled, muddied by a dark blue color. He sent a small burst of mana into his legs and leapt across the room. Small indents were left on the wooden floor where he started.

'This feels awesome...'

He drew his sword.

[Mana Surge – 3%]

He thrust his blade at an imaginary foe, shuffling back and spinning around-

[Mana Surge – 2%]

-his arm came full circle, slashing at the waist. His sword swapped hands-

[Mana Surge – 5%]

-blistering down overhead into their collarbone.

Richter's breathing steadied. His eyes settled down, but a small blue ring formed on the outside of the iris; a sign of the mana circulating perpetually.

Next on his list was screwing around with Sunder, but he saw how Wesley ended up. So he grabbed a quick snack and set out for the surrounding woods.

During his time walking the streets, he swept his sense as far as it would go; looking for dungeons and patrolling monsters. Three in the area hadn't been discovered, and there were far too many patrols to count. Several groups and individuals hunted them fervently.

He discovered a small clearing perfect for his tests. The area was about 20 feet in diameter, devoid of any trees or branches that could catch/spread fire. He raised a palm toward the sky and slowed his breathing.

[Sunder – 5%]

A small sphere formed, floating at arm's length as opposed to in his hand. The tiny black dot was roughly 6 inches in diameter, perfectly uniform. He scanned his body, checking for any other changes; the floating ability of the sphere didn't consume additional mana. The orb itself didn't have any mana signature either; his sense couldn't find anything strange from the outside. Only through a small connection was he aware of its deadly aura.

He backed up slowly, feeling the connection dim until it faded altogether.

Immediately, the sphere fell toward the ground. He watched it descend with curiosity-

-Until his blood ran cold. There was no time to react. The sphere hit the ground, cracking the delicate exterior. In a weakened state, the force inside couldn't be contained.

BANG!

The force of the explosion knocked him on his ass, the blast showering him with bits of dirt and rock. He dusted off the junk and stood up. His hair was a mess.

'Let's take this a little easier.'

He carefully separated a smaller portion of mana.

[Sunder – 3%]

With a new sphere floating in front of him, he drew his sword and winded his arm back. He swung with the flat of the blade, bracing for a world of pain.

It never came. The pellet was sent flying into a tree outside the clearing, blowing through the trunk. Splinters rained onto the ground around it. Richter was very happy with the results, but an aching shoulder bit into his success.

He laughed hoarsely. The sphere was unbelievably dense. Smacking it without mana had strained his muscles. If he hadn't used enough force, it more than likely would have blown up on contact.

If such a dangerous skill required mana to both deploy and activate; then he feared for his mana gauge. What a bittersweet experiment. At least... his mood was about to improve.

Three beast-type monsters were racing toward his location, and practice makes perfect.

[Sunder – 3%]

The deadly orb formed again. They'd appear anytime now.

His stance shifted with his left shoulder leading; a bush in front rustled. He'd start with a two-to-one ratio.

[Mana Surge – 6%]

His swing was timed perfectly. The projectile smacked into the heads of the leading creature, blowing them clean off. The force of the explosion also disoriented a second. The third ran on — uncaring about its friends.

Richter was having the time of his life.

He raised his blade while it jumped at him-

[Mana Surge – 5%]

-His body shifting six inches sideways. The brittle flesh and bone gave way to his sword, catching halfway through. It howled in pain, shaking violently to loosen his grip. But Richter's feet were planted, his mana boiling.

[Mana Surge – 5%]

A final burst sent the blade home; splitting it into two. He stumbled over to the second creature; who was in bad shape. The blast had done more than he realized. Dozens of teeth had shredded its body like shrapnel. The beast was fading quickly; though now he could get a good look at it. The being had two heads with four sets of teeth each. Fur covered their bodies, with a bushy tail and six legs. There was no point in letting it suffer; so he shoved his blade in its neck.

Richter opened up his notifications.

['Dowul Level 8' killed. 15% XP awarded]

['Dowul Level 8' killed. 2 copper awarded. 15% XP awarded]

['Dowul Level 7' killed. 10% XP awarded]

He let out a low whistle. Seeing the numbers felt so much better.

"Status."

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[Name: Richter Maier || Mana: 38%/100% || Level 9: 40% XP || Unused Attribute Points: 0]

[Class: Swordsman (intrinsic)]

[Attributes: Strength: 21 || Agility: 22 || Constitution: 15 || Magic: 18 || Intelligence 13]

[Abilities: Transcendent Bloodlust (innate), Transcendent Sense (innate), Swordsman's Tenacity (passive) || Skills: Sunder]

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Now, the only headache left, was the girl watching him from high up a tree.

'What a freak...'

She had been around for a long time, growing more suspicious as she watched him fight alone. He could see her clearly with his sense, but her physical presence was nonexistent. He deferred to her using a skill and moved on.

It seems she was inspired by his technique from in the streets, as she'd been trying to circulate her own mana since. She failed every time, but the sheer persistence was admirable. He dealt with fanatics like this during the height of his popularity, with several fans who stalked him relentlessly.

He sheathed his sword and started back to the inn. He was ready to call it a day.

***

'What a man...'

She tried again from her perch to circulate mana. The energy blindly crashing through her body, unaware of the pathways and veins it should be traveling through. The attempt failed, and her mana floated out as wisps; she lost another fifteen percent.

She sat with a sigh on the creaky branch, staring at his back. His fighting ability astounded her.

'Top 100? Top 50? Top 10?'

She was one of the foremost experts on Mirage, yet she couldn't recognize him. But that was okay.

She smiled, her cheeks rosy.

She loved a good mystery.

She swung from branch to branch back toward the city.

An individual of unwavering dedication. Known for never abandoning her work, and solving many riddles throughout her career. That was, number two-hundred-four on the Mirage Rankers list — unofficially dubbed the Human Encyclopedia.

And yet...

'I want him.'

That wasn't her only character in Mirage.

' I want to know every secret his body carries.'

Also number thirty-three on the Mirage Rankers list — officially nicknamed Sadist K. One of the few high rankers to use poisons and other painful weapons.

During her travels, a couple guys just happen to look up, seeing what hid beneath her dress. At the moment, they thanked their lucky stars, and later that night; they breathed their last. Disappearing inside their rooms at Pleasure Inn.

To the general masses, it looked like they skipped town, abruptly leaving without notice. Only two people knew better. One, who was the cause of their deaths, and the other; who's sense was far too powerful to miss their deaths, happening just one floor below them.

***