Chapter 162 - Change

Once placing the goblin which was attempting to attack him in a headlock, Yuki tightened his legs and spun backwards, in turn slamming the goblin's head into the ground. Right after doing that, Yuki realized that he was surrounded once more. No matter how many times he tried to knock down the goblins, there seemed to be more of them remaining. It was as if he was battling an endless army of goblins. Although it seemed that way, Yuki knew that the number of goblins didn't increase but only decreased when he accidentally killed them. He knew this to be true because he couldn't sense the presence of a 3rd party present which kept generating more goblins and Yuki could see the number of goblins decrease even if it was taking a lot of time for it to happen. 

Even though Yuki had to think about a way to stop getting surrounded so he could have his one-on -one fights, he was concerned with something else at that moment. There were 2 times in the battle where he was able to tap into a state where he was at his peak. He didn't understand why or how it happened but he knew that he needed some way to achieve complete mastery over it as it could help him get the edge on an opponent which either had the same strength as him or more. 

While Yuki was glad that he was capable of achieving such feets, he couldn't help but get irritated over the fact that he couldn't tap into that state at will and stay in it for more than a few seconds.

"Wait... what if I change my ability into a mind controlling one and I force my body to tap into that state at will?" Yuki asked himself however he would quickly debunk it himself a few seconds later. 

"Never mind, if I were to do that, I would lose my long range advantage that my current ability gives me. On top of that, having an ability just for the purpose of that would be meaningless since it is basically the same thing as an attack boosting ability. If someone also had that type of ability and combined potions with it, I would be easily defeated. Not just that but most long range abilities along with a couple potions would take me down because I would exhaust myself from all the movement that my hypothetical ability would force me to do, in turn, I would be defeated easily. An ability such as that has too many open areas. No wonder people started to either opt for the most complex ability they could think of or the most basic. The most basic ones are more versatile while the more complex ones offer much more attack potency. I should just stick with the ability I already have," Yuki told himself as he scratched the idea of changing his ability. 

While Yuki agreed that changing his ability wouldn't be the best idea, he still wanted to change things up. Having to use the same thing made his ability boring to him. Sure it was cool to be able to create fire out of nothing and its form and strength to its user's desire however, having access to it at all times made it boring. Seeing other people's abilities made Yuki jealous. 

However, this wasn't because Yuki was ungrateful or spoiled in the new world. In fact, almost anyone who had kept their ability the same for over 3 months would eventually get bored of it and would change it just to have fun. If that were for the better or worse, only the future could tell. 

This phenomenon didn't only apply to abilities though. It applies to almost anything in life such as when someone eats something too many times, they get bored of it. It could be the best meal they've ever eaten, however, if they repeat the process of consuming it constantly, the taste would become bland and they would grow to hate that food. Even technology couldn't escape this. When someone would buy a new phone, they would treat it as if it was their holy treasure. However in the months to come, they would get bored of it and would think of it as nothing more than a daily tool which wasn't special and would eventually buy a new phone or device. Almost anything could be placed into this formula and the outcome would be the same. 

"Something feels off. Even though I'm fighting them and I'm winning, this feels different than how I used to engage in battle. It feels much less fun and more of a chore. What's the difference between before and now?" Yuki asked himself as he could start to understand that he was missing something. However, even he didn't know what that something was. 

"What changed between the 1 year where I wasn't dungeon raiding? What happened to me and allowed me to be so rusty?" Yuki asked himself until a sudden shock went to his brain as he realized what it was. However, due to him thinking for so long, he lost track of what was happening in the battle and was hit in the head, in turn getting knocked down to the ground.

"Elpis and Marcell. That was what happened. I turned much more kind than I should've. Their loving personality rubbed off on me during that year and now, I'm more compassionate whether it be consciously or subconsciously. Whatever it is, I need to get rid of it quickly. I was barely able to keep up with the later stages of the dungeon while I was full of hate and bloodlust. In this weaker state of mind, I'll definitely die if I don't change how I think. But how do I do that?" Yuki asked himself. 

"I got it," Yuki said as he remembered the one thing he could rely on. 

"Hey Zero, can you refresh me on all the horrible memories of my past within a single second?" Yuki asked Zero telepathically. 

"Yes I can," Zero replied, and so he did as he was asked. 

A moment later, Yuki's eyes had an odd sadness to them but even though that was true, his face looked to be that of a happy demon.