Too Stubborn to Die

Aaron’s fists flew with deadly accuracy, crushing the horned monsters before him. It was almost too easy. Erdek’s fireball had blasted through the horde, and now he was just beating apart barely living, charred monsters.

But he couldn’t deny that the tactic was working. Whether she had intended for it to work the way it was or not, Erdek’s fireballs paired with Aaron’s tanking and phasing were an absolutely deadly combination.

One of the horned monster bosses roared into the air, pounded its chest, and charged horns first directly at him. But Aaron just grabbed it by the horns, swung it around, and held it in place for Erdek’s fireball.

As he finished breaking the second row of monsters with a flurry of attacks, he came to a crest overlooking the lands beyond. From there, he could see dense woodlands on the horizon and a winding stream. And deep into the woodlands, he spotted plumes of smoke drifting into the sky.

“I’m guessing that’s the timberyard.”

Ikran was already ahead of them, further along the road. The thal’kesh appeared wherever he wanted, materializing from his ink and stabbing their enemies in the back before they could even join the fray.

“Stubborn bastards, aren’t they?” Aaron mused as he spotted more charging toward him.

It was good to get some practice working together before they got into a harder fight. But these enemies weren’t really pressing Aaron to think. And if he had spare mental capacity, he was going to use it.

So, as more monsters threw themselves at him, his mind went elsewhere. Combat provided a special form of intensity. The pressure of it allowed him to push his mental barriers further than when he was simply meditating, assuming that his enemies were weak enough that he could focus his mind elsewhere.

As his fists shot out at his enemies, he took the opportunity to sense his mana flow. He felt its flow, guided it, and sensed its intensity as he called it forth from his mana anchors, charging power into his fists and kicks as they slammed against his opponents with devastating results.

He tried to get a feel for the different paths. To conceptualize the different ways in which mana could be used.

So far, the upgrade paths he knew of had been rather logical, and so, going by that same theory, he tried to expand on his knowledge, focusing on and sensing how mana worked and the methods that could be used to shape it.

His goal was obvious. He hoped to learn each of the different paths his mana anchor progression could take, so that when he was able to make a decision, he did so, making an informed one.

Fists slammed against thick, monster chins with bursts of mana, as Aaron felt the energy. His eyes were closed, much to the irritation of the irate beasts who snorted and huffed as they attacked.

But Aaron was elsewhere. He was feeling the fluctuations. The ebb and flow as mana changed its shape, transformed from energy into deadly attacks.

And best of all, he had plenty of time to consider those thoughts as more and more of the horned monsters were charging toward him as he stood out like a beacon.

Ikran was all over the place, never remaining still for more than a second, while Erdek was back in the rear. Which was perfect. Exactly how Aaron wanted it, and he happily welcomed the creatures as he delved into his inner truths.

However, as usual, things happened a little strangely for Aaron. As he was trying to focus, feeling his mana flow and fighting all at the same time, his concentration on other things beyond that dipped.

The fight mightn’t have been particularly difficult for him, but it still required a certain amount of attention. And even as far as Aaron had ascended, he still had his limitations. And with so much going on at the same time, things fell out of his purview. And one such thing was the massive fireball Erdek was summoning.

His mind was distant, eyes white, and in the thick of his musing into the study of mana when it struck him. And it hit hard, and at full power, as he had completely failed to phase.

The immense heat and power slammed into him, consuming his senses, and flung him across the battlefield, turning him into a charcoal lump of cooked flesh.

A burst of aether choked the surrounding air as life was poured back into his veins, and a charcoal shell broke away to reveal a perfectly healthy man in short-shorts like a resurgent phoenix.

“Bah!” Aaron gasped, but it wasn’t so much about his quick death and rebirth as about what had happened during it.

He had seen it flash before his eyes. Immense power, and instinctively, even as he was dying, he fed on it. The very power of the fireball itself. It was as if he had tried to drag it into himself.

And through his mana anchors, he had actually managed to absorb some of the mana within the fireball. Obviously, he hadn’t been able to absorb that much, and the spell was very powerful.

Nonetheless, the breakthrough was incredible, and as his eyes flicked open, he looked down at his hands and mana anchors, barely believing what he had done.

You have gained insight into a possible upgrade path for Mana Anchors. Currently discovered upgrade paths:

Streamlined Mana Anchors (5%)

Partitioned Mana Anchors (5%)

Reverse Mana Anchors (5%)

“Reverse?” He muttered as several horned monsters closed in on him. “Would you give me a fucking moment?”

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The monsters actually paused for a moment, glancing at each other, confused at his sudden outburst, and then charged again.

“For fucks sake, fine!” Aaron hissed and flung himself into a flurry of kicks and punches, eliciting squeals and groans of agony as he quickly put the monsters down.

“I told you, didn’t I?” He shook his head as crumbled bodies around him groaned and moaned. “I’m in the middle of something. Can’t you see?”

Rubbing his temples, Aaron’s thoughts returned to his mana anchors. What did it mean by reverse? Could one alter their mana anchors so that instead of pushing mana out, they pulled it in?

That was a curious power, he thought. Although, in truth, it didn’t sound like it was for him. As much as draining mana or energy in general appealed to him, altering his mana anchors so that instead of expelling energy, they absorbed it wasn’t really his style.

Not only did he want to do damage with his mana anchors, but he also had large amounts of energy and extraordinary energy recovery, and so absorption would be a little wasted on him.

And there was no way something as powerful as mana absorption, or mana draining, would come without drawbacks.

Still, it was an interesting discovery. And it made him wonder when most people usually started to upgrade their energy organs. Was it something mostly reserved for C-grade, or perhaps even above it?

“What you standing around for, humy? You want to get toasted again?”

Aaron blinked and turned to Erdek as she fired several more fireballs. He had kind of forgotten that there were still a decent number of monsters about.

“Er, just thinking about something.”

A second later, Ikran flashed past, killing a couple of the monsters. “Is this how you normally fight?”

Aaron couldn’t tell if the thal’kesh was disgusted by his style or impressed.

“Um, well, I normally try not to die. But it happens,” Aaron shrugged.

Just as he was talking, a scream sounded, and he swung around to see Erdek pinned to the ground by three of the muscular, horned monsters.

“Die, little one!” One of them roared, raising a double axe and about to bring it down upon her head.

Ikran flashed toward them, grabbing two of them, but several more were already charging toward their position, and the thal’kesh got caught in a back-and-forth.

“HELP!” Erdek screamed.

Aaron’s fist flew forward, crashing straight through the monster’s face and crumbling its skull around it.

A second later, Ikran was forced into temporary retreat. The thal’kesh hadn’t been hit, but he did his best work when he wasn’t standing in one place, and that gave the surrounding monsters a chance to dive for Erdek, still prone on the ground.

“I wonder if reverse allows for energy absorption; what other paths might there be?” Aaron wondered aloud as his fists met the charging monsters, and within a short moment, their bodies were broken and bloodied on the ground.

Experience rewarded for killing multiple enemies!

[ Precise Bombardier Pugilist ] has LEVELED UP!

113 → 115

“Ha,” Erdek huffed as she bounced to her feet. “Them lucky. Me was about to fry them! Yeah. Lucky.”

Ikran appeared only a couple of meters away a second later. He was untouched, but panting, and his ink covered almost every inch of the battleground.

Brushing herself off, Erdek’s hands started to glow red, and her flames spread across the broken bodies as she directed them to burn everything that was left.

The sight of it, and the smell of burning meat dragged Aaron’s attention away from his mana anchor thoughts.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

“What’s it look like? Making sure dead are dead, humy! Why you so dumb?”

Aaron raised a brow. He could sense that there wasn’t an ounce of life left in any of the broken bodies. But he supposed everyone had their own talents. Although, as she burned them down to ash, he was a little annoyed at the waste of perfectly good meat.

“Are you two done?” Ikran said between panted breaths.

“Yeah, guess so,” Aaron shrugged.

He looked around. In truth, he had been a little too deep into his thoughts, and the entire fight was a little hazy, and he didn’t remember what had happened to well. But he wasn’t about to admit that to his new companions. That would remain his little secret.

“Yeah, ready!” Erdek snarled and let out a little moan. Seemingly taking pleasure in burning the corpses down to nothing.

Ikran nodded and then pointed toward the horizon. “That way, I presume?”

“Yep, looks like it, mate,” Aaron said, checking his map.

And so, the group kept moving toward the woodlands, following the quest marker as they neared.

Kobolds

Traps lined every inch of the narrow pass that the road went through toward the timberyard, and hooded kobolds kept their heads low along a ridge overlooking the pass as they nocked their bows in wait.

The great red dragon Lord Draxas overlooked their preparations, pointing out any sloppiness and demanding immediate fixes. This trap had to be sprung perfectly.

“Good, good,” the dragon hissed, pulling their trenchcoat tightly as they marched by their small companions, towering three times their size. “And the flanks? Are they prepared properly?”

“Yes, my lord!” The two kobolds bowed. “We did it all as you commanded!”

“Good,” Lord Draxas said, stroking their scaled chin.

Despite being the overlord of their world and commanding the entire Party from their world, many in here still looked down their nose at Lord Draxas, and it infuriated the red dragon.

The annoying insectoid had taken command of their cluster, ordering others about. And even delegating to others, others who had ordered Draxas to take the timberyard.

Of course, Lord Draxas couldn’t fight everyone, even if they were the strongest. And so, they agreed to do as they were asked.

This underestimation of their powers had all started because of their rather lackluster performance in the trials, but today, that would be corrected.

Because they had sensed a peculiar energy source heading their way, and they knew exactly who owned it. And when that man arrived, they would claim their prestige for themselves, and none again would underestimate them.

Draxas gritted their sharp, pointed teeth. It was annoying, but it had also worked out perfectly. However, there was still the fight before them, and they needed to ensure everything went to plan.

“Get in position! Be prepared! Everything must go just as we planned! This is no ordinary person, understood?!”

“Yes, boss!”

“Yeppers! Understood!”

“Good, good. Now keep your heads low, and fire on my command.”

There was one obvious path leading toward the sprawling timberyard, and their ambush was in the perfect position to take advantage of it. But obvious wasn’t good enough. Draxas had game-planned everything, and they weren’t about to leave anything to chance.

They had ordered their minions to start a fight, and thanks to their stealthy abilities, they had managed to lead the monsters from around the timberyard down the road and escape them.

It had all worked perfectly, and the monsters had charged in the direction they had wanted them to, and engaged their enemy just as Draxa had predicted. And better yet, their enemy had taken the bait and was on the march, heading straight in the direction of the timberyard, following the road they had prepared.

Draxas’ scaled lips curled into a smile as their plan unfolded exactly as they intended. This timberyard would be theirs to secure, but first, they would earn a name for themselves worthy of the great red dragon they were.

“Just a little further, Aaron Dober. Spring my trap, and launch my ascension toward greatness.”