Chapter 52

Hatchet P.O.V

It might have taken almost five years of constant training but the kids' dedication sure paid off. Despite not having placed any points his stats were all at least above 50, at least from what he had been able to figure out. It was hard to get a read on the exact levels considering the use of skills.

Today he was training alone. The glove being from a dragon still bothers me, but I guess dragons aren’t something you can decline a gift from either. At least he didn’t ask it to teach him, it seemed that common sense taught him enough to not invite a dragon to stick around for longer than necessary.

“Your friend, Hatchet.” I whispered softly as I finished the letter.

I don’t know how long it would take for Ajax to end up in the capital and deliver it but writing it had certainly eased some of the guilt I had been carrying since the day I ran. For all the kid claimed he wanted to be a hunter he had no talent for it. The skill was there of course, but he was impatient, easily bored and always pushing himself further.

Any lands he hunted would be stripped clean of game if he wasn’t carefully watched. No, he was a born adventurer, most of his training for the last three years had been focused on that rather than hunting. Soon he will be leaving, I wonder if I will miss him?

Ajax P.O.V

The last few years of training had made massive leaps in terms of my magic versatility. With the help of the gems in the gauntlet I was able to unlock quite a few more aspects though some gems still eluded me. One of the biggest gains had to be the [Mana Conjuration] Skill, with it I could finally throw around pure elemental magic.

It took me far longer than I would like to admit since coming to a magical world with immense talent to learn to throw a fireball but I got there. It wasn’t very powerful, though that was probably not going to change until I spent my stat points I could finally use my mana independently.

Before even when I was making holes or ridges in the ground I would have to always take a step and activate [Mana Augmentation] to get it to work. Now I could conjure things from nothing but my mana. I was a little disappointed when I figured out that fifteen minutes was as long as anything conjured would last, putting any hopes I had of making a stone castle rise out of the ground to rest.

Name : Ajax

Level :24

Experience : 105/35500

Traits: Prodigal Apprentice , Divine Witness

Health: 650/650

Mana: 670/670

Stamina :650/650

Vitality : 33.40 -> 65.12

Strength :34.98 -> 63.42

Endurance : 40.86 -> 65.17

Dexterity :35.35 -> 64.26

Intellect : 50.77 -> 70.06

Wisdom :43.45 -> 68.43

Mind : 42.19 -> 67.99

Perception : 34.30 -> 65.65

Stat Points : 506

Skills :

• Common :[Mathematics Lvl 22] [Stealth Lvl 23][Drawing Lvl 30][Athleticism Lvl 23] [Running Lvl 24][Reading Lvl 20][Writing Lvl 20][Cooking Lvl 20][Sewing Lvl 20] [Cleaning Lvl 13][Haggling Lvl 19][Gardening Lvl 20][Axes Lvl 30][Hammers Lvl 27 [Deception Lvl 16][Sword Lvl 20][Shield Lvl 20][Bow Lvl 20][Spear Lvl 20][Throwing Lvl 20][Persuasion Lvl 10][Unarmed Combat Lvl 20][Knives 25][Skinning Lvl 10][Tanning Lvl 10][Dismantle Lvl 20][Climbing Lvl 15][Tracking Lvl 20][Heat Resistance Lvl 10] [Poison Resistance Lvl 18][Pain Resistance Lvl 10][Trapping Lvl 12]
• Uncommon :[Meditation Lvl 40][Sense Mana  Lvl 41][Expel Mana Lvl 40][Sprinting Lvl 22][Mining Lvl 10][Lumberjack Lvl 10][Smelting Lvl 10][Blacksmithing Lvl 10] [Chanting Lvl 11][Mana Farming Lvl 12][Increase Price Lvl 10][Lower Price Lvl 10][Danger sense Lvl 10][Leatherworking Lvl 10][Alchemy Lvl 10][Mana Milling Lvl 6]Precise Cut Lvl 20][Precise Blow Lvl 20][Judge Threat Lvl 13][ Piercing Shot Lvl 20]
• Rare : [Manipulate Mana Lvl 30][Water Aspect Mana Lvl 23][Fire Aspect Mana Lvl 23] [Air Aspect Mana Lvl 24][Earth Aspect Mana Lvl 25][Inject Mana Lvl 24][Spot Weakness Lvl 13][Residue Recognition Lvl 10] [Light Aspect Mana Lvl 22][Shadow Aspect Mana Lvl 22][Ambush Lvl 12]
• Epic : [Mana Augmentation Lvl 20][Mana Conjuration Lvl 20][Lightning Aspect Mana Lvl 10][Metal Aspect Mana Lvl 10][Ice Aspect Mana Lvl 10][Magma Aspect Mana Lvl 7][Holy Aspect Mana Lvl 1][Void Aspect Mana Lvl 3]
• Legendary : [Mana Syphon Lvl 14]

New :

Expel Mana + Manipulate Mana -> Mana Conjuration 0-> 20

Air Aspect Mana -> Lightning Aspect Mana 0-> 10

Earth Aspect Mana -> Metal Aspect Mana 0 -> 10

Water Aspect Mana -> Ice Aspect Mana 0 -> 10

Earth Aspect Mana + Fire Aspect Mana -> Magma Aspect Mana 0 -> 7

Stealth + Spot Weakness -> Ambush 0 -> 12

Light Aspect Mana -> Holy Aspect Mana 0-> 1

Shadow Aspect Mana -> Void Aspect Mana 0 -> 3

Upgrades :

Mana Syphon 1 ->14

Mana Augmentation 15-> 22

Shadow Aspect Mana 10->22

Light Aspect Mana 7 -> 20

Residue Recognition 3 -> 10

Spot Weakness 10 -> 13

Earth Aspect Mana 21 -> 25

Air Aspect Mana 20 -> 24

Fire Aspect Mana 20 -> 23

Water Aspect Mana 20 -> 23

Manipulate Mana 22 -> 30

Inject Mana 17 -> 24

Piercing Shot 10 -> 20

Judge Threat 10 -> 13

Danger Sense 8 -> 10

Chanting 10 -> 11

Mana Farming 10 -> 12

Sprinting 20 -> 22

Trapping 10 -> 12

Poison Resistance 16 -> 18

Pain Resistance 5 -> 10

Heat Resistance 6 -> 10

Tracking 13 -> 20

Climbing 10 -> 15

Dismantle 10 -> 20

Running 24 -> 25

Looking at my status I have to say was both rewarding and frustrating at the same time. The amount of stats and skills I had gained was a testament to my hard work. The skill thresholds combined with stat requirements meant that my physical skills had remained stuck for the past few years despite me improving slightly. I was convinced that the Child Trait had a hidden effect, mainly that skills could grow independent of stats. No way anyone could get a skill to level fifty before ten years old otherwise.

Right now I was focused on getting my mind to sixty-eight. It was the last stat I could realistically improve in the fifteen days I had remaining of my Apprentice Trait. As soon as I got that final point I would spend my stock pile and use the remaining days to take advantage of the increased adjustment speed. The last thing I wanted was to spend my points and end up not being able to stand up without headbutting the ceiling.

My latest focus had been on the recently acquired mana aspect. Before a month ago, every aspect I had gained I had felt someone or something use before, even the Holy aspect that I couldn’t seem to increase despite being able to form it for close to a year. Void was something else though. Being used in conjuration did nothing but summon a small but very mana intensive floating black orb.

Where Void seemed to really shine was with [Mana Augmentation]. The first time I tried a strike with it nothing seemed out of the ordinary, the slight increase in power was about the same as shadow despite not having its stealth characteristics. My perception on the skill changed during a light spar with my dad.

Dad had been coming with me to help me spar whenever he could lately. He knew I would be leaving soon and wanted to do what he could for me while I was still home. Due to his higher stats he was still a great sparring partner, even if he lacked in comparison to Hatchet. It was far from the first time I had used my void during spars when the incident happened. I was using my hammer and wound a big strike that I chose to infuse with void. The blow landed squarely on dad’s shield with a dull ‘THUNK’.

I was surprised and caught completely off guard by the scream he released a moment after. It seems Void attacks while not all that much stronger from regular ones are very special. Special by being able to bypass obstacles so long as they are in contact with the intended target.

My blow made contact with his shield but carried little of the power on to it, to the point that his slight shield thrust had knocked my hammer and hand out of the way at the moment of impact. The power from my strike completely bypassed the shield and landed squarely on his arm. The bruise he had afterwards told me I was not far from breaking his arm with that blow.

Since that day Hatchet and I spent quite a bit of time working out just how effective Void is. Turns out that shields are not the only thing Void can bypass, armor, scales, fur, even skin and muscle are all fair game. Though live tissue seems to take a lot more mana to get around compared to objects.

A slight rustle of leaves brought me back to the present. The wolves I had been hunting had finally returned to their cave. This was a lot of what I had been doing lately. Ambush was one of the skills I could still level and the dire wolves that seem to have taken residence in the new opening near the caves of our village were the perfect prey. At around level ten to fifteen for each wolf, they were weak enough that I could take them yet too strong to be left alive around the village.

The fight that ensued after my opening volley was an exercise in futility for them. Despite them being a very real danger for me. My skills and mana combined with all my practice and use of the tight spacing in the cliffs meant it was a relatively easy fight. By funneling them through a small corridor between the rocks I kept them from surrounding me.

The slight incline meant that they also had to try to reach up to fight me and the rather thick sheen of ice I covered the choke point in meant their agility wasn’t all that dangerous. Ten minutes later all of the wolves were dead. I was rather proud of myself when I noticed something strange. Instead of just one flickering box in the corner of my vision there were now two.

My status screen was forever pulsing slightly in an attempt to get me to spend my points, so much so that I had grown to ignore it. This second one must be something else, I wonder what other things I gained. So I opened it.

RETRIBUTION :

Repeated and extended fighting and killing against much lower levels has been noticed. This is strongly discouraged, Punishment : Bullying I applied.

Bullying I : all experience and skill gains from fighting substantially weaker enemies reduced by 20%. (A substantially weaker enemy is considered from your level with a baseline. A creature with less than 90% of your level yet no less than five levels below you is substantially weaker.)