Chapter 35 - Plus-Ultra?
Added 2023-05-12 18:54:25 +0000 UTCJiran’s breath turned to icy mist so thick that it froze. The mist hovered in the air before falling under its own weight to the frigid ground. The beast lay dead at his feet within a realm of frost that covered every surface.
As he watched in wonder, the might of three suns and the heat from the grass burning nearby rapidly thawed the damage he had wrought.
That was awesome! And stupid. I’m completely exposed out here with no mana. I need to—
Red energy began to pool out of the remains of the beast. It hovered in the air, conglomerating into a ball of undulating fibers before crossing the distance between them and slamming into Jiran’s chest.
Jiran was only slightly more prepared for the cascade of sensations and emotions that bombarded his body as the density sank through his skin.
His first priority was erecting mental barriers to keep himself from being swept away in the need to kill that nearly overwhelmed him previously. He pictured all the things he loved about his life; Family, discovering magic, adventure, reading, great food, and the beauty of the world.
With his mind safely cushioned, Jiran directed his attention inward, to monitor what the density was doing to his body.
Part of the energy sank into his muscles where it vibrated furiously before settling, leaving a euphoric feeling of power in its wake. A portion went into his bones, reinforcing them as well. Still more went into his brain, he felt it itching behind his eyes as his vision sharpened and his thoughts accelerated.
It’s adding to my growth and increasing my attributes all at once! No wonder it feels so freaking good. I’m growing more powerful at an extreme pace, far, far faster than normal.
Usually, density is slowly absorbed through eating, the energy then settles into the body before being represented by the growth stat. Only then can your attributes increase over time as you push them individually.
This challenger density is bypassing all of that in a matter of seconds.
The rapid evolution of his body suddenly waned and stopped. Already prepared, Jiran focused on the things he loved with his eyes clamped shut so tightly they began to water.
When the feeling of loss receded, he took a deep breath and wiped his face before checking his gains.
Challenger timer reset + 2 hours
Strength + .6
Agility + .6
Endurance + .6
Durability + .6
Wisdom + .6
Intelligence + .6
Shaping + 1
Shaping + 1
Coating + 3
Restoration + 1
Further upgrades delayed due to lack of density
Like someone swept his legs out from under him, Jiran collapsed onto the cold ground.
49:59:40
So that’s it. I have to keep killing beasts higher tier than myself. Hopefully each kill extends the timer as well.
Jiran realized he was laughing hysterically while sitting nearly naked in the mud and pulled himself together before he attracted another beast before he managed to refill his mana. He refocused on the other messages, reviewing them carefully.
A three percent increase in attributes across the board to match the three percent growth.
Jiran grabbed a frozen chunk of the beast and retreated back across the line of burning grass. He found a spot between two mounds of raised dirt and hunkered down out of sight.
Relief quickly swept through him, loosening his cramped muscles.
Watching that damn countdown the last two days really did a number on me. I feel like a wrung out dishrag.
My mana is completely bottomed out and that red density is already fully absorbed so I can't convert any of it. I can either wait for a densoon wave to recharge, or eat a beast popsicle.
He looked down at the rapidly thawing chunk of meat and shuddered in revision at the idea of sucking on it raw.
Nope. No way, that’s too much. Not happening!
He put the meat down and shimmied into the blackened dirt to wait while praying nothing found him in his vulnerable condition.
Note to self, never use all my mana again without density readily available to convert.
Despite his desperate situation, Jiran found himself breathing freely as he appreciated his new lease on life. Additionally, each breath brought him closer to having enough mana to form a Coating and when the inevitable densoon wave finally came, he was ready.
With ten percent of his mana back, he roasted his lunch and ate.
This isn’t nearly as good as the last one. Maybe it’s because the red density drained all the best stuff out?
Jiran claimed the density into mana, then retrieved more meat from the rest of the corpse and ate that too while enjoying the feeling of the meat dissolving into energy.
Well, I’m not even halfway across this valley yet. There is no way I’m going to find that hill today. I’m sure Lenton expected me to take several days to get there.
The first thing I’m going to ask that old goose is what he was thinking by dropping me off here with so many higher tier beasts around. This place should have easily killed me.
The second thing I’m going to do is thank him. Not only did he save my life but this place is the perfect opportunity for me to reach the tier two cap. How could I possibly leave when I’m only twenty-nine kills away from tiering up again?
Jiran spent a few minutes unlocking the leveling and evolutions of his new techniques before pressing forward behind a wave of burning grass.
Technique evolution triggered - Ice Control > True Origin of Ice
Technique evolution triggered - Water Control > True Origin of Water
Technique evolution triggered - Gas Control > Gas Manipulation
Technique evolution triggered - Acid Control > Acid Manipulation
Technique evolution triggered - Mineral Control > Metal Manipulation
Technique evolution triggered - Light Control > Light Manipulation
Looks like I don’t know enough about all of them to evolve the techniques more.
The thought he had so much more to learn sent shivers up his spine.
Jiran changed his direction from a straight path directly toward the distant hills to a meandering zigzag that would cover more ground. He burned the grass ahead of him, not rushing his advance while staying out of sight with a Light Coating and the cover of black smoke.
He kept his mana topped off between waves from the densoon and the beast meat he carried over his shoulder.
An hour later, he found another of the beasts attempting to protect its territory from the raging flames. It conjured dirt into the air from between its horns in a way similar to the previous monster.
If I’m going to be hunting these things for a while, I better figure out what works best.
He raised his hands with an insulated Coating. The moment his sheen of light dropped, the beast saw him and charged with a bellowing call. Jiran cringed at the loud noise, hoping it wouldn’t draw more of them.
“True Origin of Lightning.”
A stream of electric current leaped from his outstretched fingers and collided with the beast's chest. Its body convulsed as muscles spasmed uncontrollably.
After a few short seconds, the hollow sockets where its eyes should be, glowed with a golden intensity. The convulsions decreased and the beast took one struggling step forward after another, closing the distance between them as Jiran began to sweat nervously.
Thirty percent of my mana and it’s barely hurt?!
“True Origin of Ice!”
Jiran barely managed to adjust his coating to protect him from the cold before all the moisture in the air froze into a solid wall of ice. The beast was trapped within as he pumped more and more of his mana into the resilient creature.
Finally, when he only had twenty percent of his mana remaining did the light go out of its eyes. With a relieved sigh, Jiran slumped to the icy ground.
Okay, lightning bad. Do I dare try anything else? If I use fire on the next one, it might become impossible to freeze before it guts me.
No, these things are too strong to play around with. I’ll stick to what works and experiment later when I’m not in mortal danger.
He waited until the ice melted and the predicted red density flowed into him. With clenched teeth, he bared through the onslaught of sensations.
Challenger timer reset + 2 hours
Yes! Thank the Fathers.
Again I got another three percent increase to attributes and growth. Would it be the same even if I kill one that’s at the peak of tier four?
Jiran found two more of the beasts before nightfall. He took the time to instruct them both in the way that brain function ceases upon being subject to extreme temperatures.
As darkness descended, he dug a hole with Metal Manipulation and burrowed inside of it to sleep.
The next day progressed smoothly with five more successful hunts before he encountered a group of three minotaurs who rapidly doused his flames between their three waves of dirt.
He retreated as quickly as he could while trying to keep the thick smoke between himself and the beasts.
No way I’m fighting more than one of them at a time.
Jiran circled wide around the group, slowly working his way toward the distant hills.
I hope Niya is doing okay with those two. Yeah, no way she’s doing okay. Stay strong cousin! I’ll be there soon.
By the end of the third day, Jiran was ready for a bath. His skin was darkened with mud and dried blood. His hair was worse, a plethora of sticks and grass was matted to his scalp with thick gunk that he was pretty sure was more blood.
At least I’m almost done here.
He looked to his right at the low hills that stretched into the distance with tall snow-capped mountains rising beyond them. To his left, the vast plains stretched as far as he could see. It criss-crossed with burnt pathways and the bloody remnants of his prey.
He blinked, reviewing the changes to his status one more time before his final hunt.
NAME Jiran of Feylon
RACE Human
AGE 8
WEIGHT 83.30 kg > 122.18 kg
STATUS Filthy
TIMER 102:42:17
TIER 2
GROWTH 98.72 %
MANA 2
CONCENTRATION 2
STRENGTH 23.9 > 39.7
AGILITY 23.8 > 39.7
ENDURANCE 24.6 > 39.7
DURABILITY 23.1 > 39.7
WISDOM 24.0 > 39.7
INTELLIGENCE 23.5 > 39.7
SKILLS
Molding lvl 67 - Mana Expansion
Shaping lvl 32 > 36
TECHNIQUES
Forcing lvl 34
Coating lvl 37 > 46
Revelation lvl 1
True Origin of Fire lvl 11
True Origin of Lightning lvl 20
True Origin of Ice lvl 1 > 16
True Origin of Water lvl 1
Gas Manipulation lvl 1
Acid Manipulation lvl 1
Metal Manipulation lvl 1 > 6
Light Manipulation lvl 1 > 9
Restoration lvl 7 > 12
Mana Siphon lvl 0
OTHER UNIQUE - Foresight
I’ll have to ask Samris if this is breaking a record for how quickly someone has advanced to tier three from tier one. I can’t believe it's only been a few weeks! It feels so much longer than that.
Only eight seasons old and nearly tier three. That definitely can’t be normal. Am I going to get even bigger when I tier up again? Probably, that’s crazy to think about.
Focus, Jiran! You’re not there yet, one more fight.
Jiran charged at the final minotaur standing between him and reuniting with his mentors and cousin. A low kick of his foot caused a wave of ice to snap forward in a crescent of air so cold it froze the beast’s feet to the ground.
Its eyes glowed with the promise of retribution as Jiran appeared before it. His arm was entirely Coated with a blue sheen that sapped the heat from the air. Moisture turned to wispy white streamers that followed the arc of his arm as his fist planted into the beast’s face.
When icy knuckles met leathery skin, an arctic blast turned the beast, and the space three meters behind it, into a frigid glacier of numbing cold.
A follow-up kick propelled by Forcing, shattered the block of ice bringing a swift end to the once mighty beast.
Thirty-seven percent, almost two percent cheaper with the forcing added in. Hard to beat such a mana-efficient technique.
Jiran waited patiently for the red density to sweep through him. When the energy settled, he turned toward the hills, more than ready to move on. He glanced at his status, excited to see his maxed-out growth and attributes only to stop in his tracks as his thoughts ground to a halt.
What… What the hell am I looking at right now?
Growth 101.72%
