Precedence System: I Take My Rewards In Advance

[Combat Escalation Activated!]

[Battle Pulse Reached!]

[STR +10%]

[VIT +5%]

[AGI +10%]

Zishan’s eyebrows rose.

’Oh? So this is Combat Escalation!’

He examined the notification before looking toward the approaching beasts again. Apparently, his Insatiable Warbody had finally recognized the prolonged battle as sufficiently dangerous to activate its first combat state.

Although the enhancement wasn’t nearly as ridiculous as the bonuses promised by its higher stages, Zishan could already feel a noticeable improvement in his physical capabilities.

His body felt increasingly comfortable with the continuous danger surrounding him. The occasional physical strain from dodging attacks or defending the barricade no longer bothered him nearly as much, although the exhaustion caused by repeatedly consuming enormous quantities of Mana remained a separate problem.

Fortunately, he possessed an excellent solution to that particular inconvenience.

Zishan retrieved another Mana Recovery Potion.

”HAHAHAHA! FUCKING PERFECT!”

Several soldiers standing nearby watched him drink yet another bottle.

One of them couldn’t help wondering how many potions the young man had obtained from the medical supply officer, while another wondered whether there was any point in asking. After witnessing what happened whenever Zishan recovered enough Mana to cast again, the soldiers had gradually begun treating him as a particularly unstable piece of magical artillery, and considering how many Magic Beasts he was killing, nobody was particularly interested in stopping him.

”Monster!” a Soldier couldn’t help but blurt. ”He’s a monster!”

By the time the next large wave reached the western barricade outside Forward Medical Section Three, the western approach had already been transformed into an enormous burning battlefield. Smoke obscured much of the ground beyond the barricades, while the remains of countless Magic Beasts lay scattered among the flames.

Several larger creatures were still attempting to force their way through the defensive line, but the Sergeant and his remaining soldiers had finally begun to recover from the initial attack.

That improvement was almost entirely the fault of one exceptionally troublesome young man.

Every time the horde gathered into a sufficiently large group, Zishan unleashed another Wildfire Requiem, forcing the surviving beasts to scatter while the defenders eliminated whatever managed to escape the fire. When his Mana ran low, he retrieved another bottle from the satchel he had brought back from the medical wagons, drank it, and began looking for another suitable target.

The Sergeant had already witnessed Zishan jump from Level 20 to Level 30 earlier, so he had considered himself reasonably prepared for whatever nonsense the boy might attempt next. Nevertheless, when another enormous explosion erupted across the western approach, and the young Soldier started laughing like somebody who had just won a considerable amount of money, he couldn’t help using Appraisal again.

[Name: Zishan Walker]

[Level: 43]

The Sergeant stared at the result. He remembered the Level 30 reading he had seen through Appraisal only a short while earlier, and he certainly hadn’t imagined that the boy would gain another thirteen Levels before the fighting was over. He tried Appraisal a second time, partly because he wanted to make absolutely sure that he hadn’t accidentally inspected somebody else.

[Name: Zishan Walker]

[Level: 43]

”You’ve got to be fucking kidding me... and it’s actually reasonable considering the amount of magic beasts he had killed... he has made remarkable contributions...” he muttered, just as another group of burning beasts collapsed beyond the barricade.

He watched the young Soldier release an enthusiastic shout, then inspected him again and discovered that the displayed Level had already changed.

[Level: 44]

The Sergeant’s expression became increasingly complicated. He had spent years serving on dangerous battlefronts, but he had never personally witnessed a Level 20 Soldier gain twenty-four Levels during a single engagement.

To make matters worse, Zishan was behaving as though the approaching horde was providing him with the most enjoyable assignment of his entire military career.

Then, the boy retrieved another Mana Recovery Potion from his satchel.

The Sergeant recognized the bottle. In fact, he had personally authorized its release from the medical station’s battlefield reserve, although he was beginning to wonder whether the supply officer would ever forgive him for allowing the brat to take so many.

He could only hope Zishan was getting enough EXP out of each bottle to justify the considerable quantity he had already consumed.

Zishan drank the potion, wiped his mouth, and began gathering another enormous concentration of Fire Mana around his extended hand. He felt a bit dizzy and uncomfortable from constantly using his mana and recovering it at the same time.

”WILDFIRE REQUIEM!”

The western approach erupted again, and the Sergeant finally decided that attempting to understand the young man’s abilities was considerably less important than keeping the rest of his soldiers alive.

He ordered the archers to concentrate on the unmarked creatures, directed the melee fighters toward the damaged central opening, and instructed two nearby Soldiers to reinforce the section most likely to collapse beneath the next charge.

”SOLDIER WALKER!” he shouted when Zishan began celebrating the latest chain of explosions. ”KEEP THE FLAMES AWAY FROM OUR BARRICADE!”

Zishan turned toward him and saluted with the empty potion bottle still in his hand. ”YES, SERGEANT! DON’T WORRY! I’M AN EXTREMELY RESPONSIBLE FIRE MAGE!”

The Sergeant was not particularly reassured by that statement, but another Gravethorn Bull was already approaching the central opening, and he had considerably more important things to worry about. He raised his sword, called for the nearest soldiers to join him, and concentrated on the enemy in front of him while Zishan returned to his apparently limitless enthusiasm for setting Magic Beasts on fire.

From Zishan’s perspective, the Sergeant had finally recognized his extraordinary contributions to the Kingdom of Olmost. He was already beginning to imagine how impressed Commander Holtz would be when somebody eventually reported what had happened at Forward Medical Section Three.

’HAHAHAHA! I’M PRACTICALLY SAVING THE ENTIRE STATION BY MYSELF!’

[The System recommends that the Dumb Host remember the other soldiers currently preventing the beasts from trampling him.] ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

’I KNOW! I’LL THANK THEM AFTER I GET MORE EXP!’

He dismissed the notification and turned toward another group of approaching creatures, eager to continue fighting before they had the chance to scatter.

By the time Zishan reached Level 49, nobody around him knew exactly how many Magic Beasts he had personally killed. Even Zishan had stopped counting, particularly after the horde continued receiving additional creatures from farther west, and the increasingly chaotic battlefield had provided him with more opportunities to use Wildfire Requiem than he had originally imagined.

He had become much more efficient with Wildfire Requiem after using it so many times.

Perfected Glimpse had already shown him how the Skill worked, but repeatedly casting it was improving his actual mastery. At this rate, he was confident that reaching Perfected Mastery wouldn’t take long at all.

His Skill wasn’t equally effective against every opponent, especially the larger beasts with powerful defenses and considerable Fire resistance. Nevertheless, the repeated Funeral Bloom explosions were gradually wearing them down, and several of the larger creatures had finally begun collapsing alongside the weaker beasts. Their deaths provided more EXP than the Level 40 hounds, whose rewards continued decreasing as Zishan leveled up.

Every successful casting weakened another portion of the enemy formation, and every group of burning beasts provided another opportunity to earn EXP. Whenever his Mana became dangerously low, Zishan would retrieve another potion and continue fighting as soon as his reserves had sufficiently recovered.

Then, after another group of Magic Beasts collapsed beneath several successive explosions, a particularly satisfying notification finally appeared.

[LEVEL UP!]

[Level Increased: 49 → 50]

[Current Level: 50]

Zishan stared at the notification in disbelief before his eyes widened.

”FIFTY?!” His laughter erupted across the western defensive line.

”HAHAHAHAHAHA! I’M LEVEL FUCKING FIFTY!”

Several nearby soldiers moved their heads toward him.

At the central opening, the Sergeant nearly missed an incoming attack when he heard the sudden announcement.

”HE’S WHAT?!”