Chapter 73: New Side quest

Chapter 73: New Side quest

I dash to the side, strengthening my body as I do so.

The world becomes quieter, black and white, with only mana retaining its color in the world of [Focus].

My [Mana Perception] works overtime as I continue tracking the four weredeers' mana signatures around me.

Thankfully, only the Battle Weredeer seems to be able to create mana projectiles, so I keep running away from them or dodging them after determining their trajectory.

One weredeer moves closer to me, dropping to all fours. A horrifying noise escapes its mouth as it charges at me, red mana glowing around its antlers.

I take a step towards it, and my [Disruption] flares up, causing the glow around its antlers and tattoos to flicker. The monster slows down, and I stab at it with my sword.

Darn it.

I immediately absorb some energy and push myself away, rolling on the ground before springing back onto my feet. The spot where I had been standing is bombarded with mana arrows. The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøv€l-B1n.

With no more time to think, I dash again, avoiding the charge of another weredeer.

As I pass by it, I make a deep wound in its side with my sword, coated in oscillating mana.

My body is already heating up, and mana surges through me, held at bay by the second part of my [Focus].

I dodge again and absorb more energy, using half of it to pierce the leg of one of the weredeers and the other half to push myself away.

The monster's tattoos begin to glow more intensely, and I can feel all this mana in the air as even my own mana rages through my body.

Mana Circuit and [Mana Flow] both allow it to move quickly, improving my control over it while thanks to [Focus] I mold it and send it where It needs to go.

I've already forgotten Aelric's betrayal. I don't think about the tutorial, the other people, or my problems.

I just fight.

My mana surges, and the oscillating mana on my blade extends, cutting off the weredeer's leg. As it falls, I absorb its inertia and remold it into a thin cone that I shoot at its head after using [Disruption] to weaken it.

Half of the head explodes, and the remaining eye slowly loses some of its glow, along with the mana around its antlers.

[You have defeated a Weredeer - lvl 26]

I jump back. [Armanent] creates armor on my forearm, and I redirect two mana arrows from the Battle Weredeer.

Then I turn and stab my sword at the monster behind me. It dodges, and another one charges at me, but I dodge it as well.

I create dozen of mana orbs and shoot them at the Battle Weredeer while charging one of my opponents. With my perception, I feel the monster dodging my attack and giving me enough time to disrupt the mana in the tattoos of another weredeer. This slows it down just enough for me to reach it and stab my sword through its chest.

The sword breaks, and I let go. A sword made with [Armanent] appears in my hand, and I stab it into the monster, extending it as far as I can, making it go right through its body.

Then I have to dodge and jump behind the monster I just wounded.

The spot where I had been standing is hit by another shower of mana arrows, which also strikes the body of the monster I stabbed

[You have defeated a Weredeer - lvl 31]

I slowly breathe out and release some tension in my body.

Then, I [Focus] more and take a deep breath in, followed by a slow breath out.

Ten mana orbs appear around my body, and I feed them more mana. I make them bigger, firmer, and then elongate them, attempting to replicate what the Battle Weredeer did.

One part of my mind continues to calm my mana, and the other keeps scanning the area around me.

Oh, a new [Side quest].

Side quest: Get 5 skills over level 10

Rewards: Skill upgrade token

Huh, that sounds good, doesn't it?

Active skills:

Focus (Dual Focus) - Lvl 11

Mana Manipulation - Lvl 12

Mana Perception - Lvl 11

Oscillation - Lvl 7

Kinetic Redistribution - Lvl 9

Armanent - Lvl 4

Mana Surge - Lvl 2

Disruption - Lvl 3

Does the already upgraded [Focus] count towards it? I wish it would, but I'm more inclined to think that it doesn't.

It just doesn't sound like the system that I know and simultaneously love and hate.

So, with [Kinetic Redistribution], I am over halfway there.

Another two skills I should focus on leveling up should be [Oscillation] and then... hmm, which one? The remaining ones are at similar levels, and I can use them all, but it would be more productive to bring one of them to level 10 instead of just using all of them.

[Armanent] just showed me how useful it can be as I finally gained a decent ranged attack.

It took a long time, but I'm finally starting to feel like a mage and not a cheap, knockoff version from the marketplace. A step closer to finally taking advantage of my mana without damaging my body every time!

But the problem is that other skills are amazing in their own way.

[Disruption], boosted by the surge, feels like straight-up bullying when I use it against someone with worse mana control or lower mana reserves.

[Mana Surge], on the other hand, gives me an incredible boost to almost everything, taking advantage of my passive skill and trait.

Dang it, too many good choices! A typical first-world problem.

I don't even want to think about all the headaches I will have while deciding which skill to upgrade. Last time I got eight options for two skills. Will I get twenty of them this time?

One part of me is already scared, but a small, excited part of me screeches in anticipation somewhere in the corner of my mind.

Okay, I'll deal with that later! It sounds like a problem for future Nathaniel! Screw that guy!

But first, there's one person I need to take care of.

The person who gave me the wrong information and sent me here to die.

Aelric.