Chapter 37: 5th Sword Knight

4 MONTHS LATER

"I'm guessing you're the boss." 

Deep inside a forest, in an area where the trees' leaves were so thick they blocked out the sun, Van stood in a clearing surrounded by bodies of human sized spiders. In front of him stood a spider larger than the rest, at least 3 times his size.

Van was on his usual hunting trip. This time he'd stumbled upon a spider den, and was now facing what he assumed was the parent of all the smaller spiders. 

The massive spider growled, and tried to pierce Van with one of its legs.

"I'll make this quick, I wanna go back and rest already."

Van disappeared from his spot, the leg piercing deep into the ground he previously stood on. Van reappeared under the belly of the spider, his fist glowing blue with mana. He punched, the mana stretching and layering over his fingers until it looked like a blue cube was on top of Van's fist.

This was but just one of the many tricks Van learned about manipulating mana during the past few months.

It crashed into the spider's belly, the impact lifting the spider a few inches off the ground. A deep indent was left where Van's fist hit the belly, no doubt damaging the spider's insides. As the spider fell back down, Van disappeared once more.

The spider landed, and was about to look for Van, angry about the damage dealt to it, when it heard a rumble below it. It leaned down to the ground, trying to figure out what it was, when the ground burst.

Specifically, the ground beneath it's injured belly burst, the mana that caused the ground to burst hitting the injury directly along with rocks and dirt.

<> Skill <> 

Ground Geyser [E] [Active]: 

The user can choose a spot in the ground to make their mana build up in, eventually causing that spot to burst open like a geyser. Consumes 20 mana per usage and damage is based on the distance between the geyser and the target.

<> End <> 

This new skill was something Van earned 3 months back, while absorbing the mana beast cores. After killing some geyser rabbits as usual, one of them contained the skill they used. Surprisingly, Van found it quite useful.

There was one other skill Van found from the mana core of a wolf, but it was a skill that increased bite damage, so he just mixed it in with the usual 75% he offers Lord Raphael after every hunt.

The spider was now very weakened from the combo attack on its underside, blood leaking out of the injury. Unfortunately for it, Van was about to end it. Appearing out of nowhere, Van jumped, performing the same mana trick on his fist again, but this time, upon hitting the injured spot, Van went right through the spider's belly.

If one looked from the outside, they'd see the spider's belly bulge out every few seconds. This went on for a while, the spider screaming in pain, before eventually it fell over, dead.

"Yuck, that was awful."

Van emerged from the spider's belly using the hole he created, gripping a blue and black rock in his hand. He wiped off some spider guts that clung to his clothes before looking around him. 

'Since I focused on one spot, I was able to end the fight quickly…' Van thought. 'Now it's just time to harvest my earnings.'

Van sighed as he looked around at the bodies of smaller spiders. He had to go through them one by one and harvest their cores before returning to the estate and giving Lord Raphael his usual share. Reluctantly, Van approached the nearest spider corpse and began to dig through it.

******

After absorbing the mana from his share of the cores, Van collapsed on his bed with a groan. The 4 months that he spent hunting and training went by in a flash. In total, he had been in Fendor for over 8 months now. Strangely, he had long gotten used to his new life of cleaning, hunting, and learning.

Van opened his full status to check how he was doing.

<> Status <>

Name: Van Brown

Mana: 232/232

Rank: 5th Sword Knight

<> Items <> 

Salamander Tongue (Low): 

A salamander's tongue kept within a small tube. When mana is inserted, the tube will spit out a handful of flames. Takes a few minutes to recharge the tongue in between each use.

Wanderer's Mana Charm (Middle):

A protective charm that appears as a tattoo on one's body. When the user receives a lethal attack far beyond their defenses, a protective shield of mana will appear and receive the attack. Can endure attacks up to Middle rank. Breaks after use.

Mana Bomb x5 (Middle):

A small flask filled with charged, volatile mana. When thrown, it explodes on contact, damaging the target. Each flask is a one-time use.

<> Skills <> 

Transmigrator's Mind [T] [Passive]: 

The user's body and mind now belong to the time of the universe, and will follow the time that passes on Pibar. No matter how much time is spent in other worlds, the user will not age until the equivalent amount of time passes on Pibar. 

Transfer [T] [Active]: 

The user can choose up to 3 skills he has gained from another world to permanently keep. The limit is 3 skills per world. The user can also bestow skills he owns to others. The only way the user can get back bestowed skills is if the other party the skill was bestowed upon agrees to return it.

Locked skill [T] [???]: ???

Pain Resistance [F] [Passive]: 

The user has known pain for far too long. After so much time experiencing pain, the user has now built up a natural resistance to pain, and only higher amounts of pain can make him falter.

Ground Geyser [E] [Active]: 

The user can choose a spot in the ground to make their mana build up in, eventually causing that spot to burst open like a geyser. Consumes 20 mana per usage and damage is based on the distance between the geyser and the target.

<> Combat Arts <>

Intermediate Reflexes [Movement] [1 Star]:

A better version of the technique for reading more kinds of strikes and dodging them. Recommended for those who are familiar with the basics.

Proficiency: 41% (Experienced)

Intermediate Engagement [Unarmed] [2 Stars]: 

A better version of the technique for performing strikes and attacks. Recommended for those familiar with the basics.

Proficiency: 29% (Experienced) 

Street Fighter [Mixed] [2 Stars]:

A street fighter is someone who can adapt to fighting in the streets, someone who can pick up stuff off the ground and swing it in someone's face. Adaptable but dangerous, this is an Art for someone who likes fighting with no rules whatsoever.

Proficiency: 12% (Master)

<> Worlds <> 

Earth

Pibar

Fendor 

<> End <>