If there was one thing that hadn't become abundantly clear over these past few days, it was how many beasts the Aitherians have kept locked away.
Throughout his slaughter of many, many of these creatures, Soren had not seen a single one that matched any that had been seen on Earth so far.
Granted, it wasn't like he bothered to look at them very long before the spearhead of his halberd drove into their skulls, but still, he could tell they weren't like anything he'd seen online.
It was truly a wonder why the Aitherians hadn't already caught him yet. It wasn't like he was very subtle when he had killed one of them.
The one good thing about staying within this musky cesspit were the levels.
Ah, the levels. Levels which he got.
4 of them, to be exact. He'd rank up once he got past level 10, so he was still at rank D.
It had honestly taken a lot more killing than he'd thought.
He stopped paying attention to the system's notifications after the 20th one.
The system started giving less experience at some point. It was likely because he wasn't really risking much, seeing as the creatures were caged.
Speaking of the creatures, there were more than just the Mutated Wolves. Seeing as these weren't creatures that hadn't been seen on Earth, he had to think of names for all of them.
And there was quite a variety.
At some point, he had really thrown his creativity out of the window. Not that Mutated Wolf was very creative in the first place.
It was a good thing that the system remembered him, or he would've long forgotten most of the names.
Ah, along with levels came stat points.
Seeing as magic was his best offense, he put most of them into intelligence.
The system had given extra stat points, as it was a bonus for his first couple of levels.
He'd gotten 3 stat points per level, instead of the regular 2.
Not like the bonus lasted very long, it was gone when he got to level 5.
Soren had debated whether or not he should allocate his points as he got them, or if he should save them…
That dilemma hadn't lasted long though, as he remembered that Constitution also helped speed up mana regeneration.
For the time being, he'd focus on those two stats. It wasn't like he had much need to increase his strength, at least not right now.
"Status." He uttered, curious to how things were looking now.
[Name: Soren Ravenheart
Rank: D-5
Experience: 835/1253
Blessing: N/A
Race: Human
Allegiance: Earth
Health: 125/125 → 145/145
Strength: 25/75 (45)
Mana: 50/50 → 62/85
Condition: Satisfactory
Stat Points: 11 → 0
Dexterity: 5/15
Intelligence: 10/40 → 17/40
Con: 25/50 → 29/50
…]
It was a nice improvement.
He couldn't help but wince as he stared at the new experience goal.
The reason why he chose that now was the time to move on, was because he wasn't getting sufficient enough EXP to bother staying.
Even with his rampage throughout the last few days, there still seemed to be a sufficient supply of beasts.
Regardless, the system didn't seem too fond of him just staying here and grinding levels.
Soren didn't really have much time to spare in repairing his halberd, but to be honest, he'd mostly just forgotten too.
Yanking the molecules that made up its handle, Soren watched as his halberd flung from the throat of a nasty looking creature.
It was mostly made up of tentacles, that which had tried to rush through the bars of its cage, attempting to attack him.
Unfortunately for the little kraken look alike, Soren was a bit too fast in sending his halberd flying.
The speed at which he could send it forward was getting noticeably faster.
The halberd landed firmly in his hand, Soren looking a bit closer, noticing how the atomic fractures that he hadn't repaired seemed to be getting worse.
*Sigh*, it'd seem like he'd have to deal with this before his weapon fell apart at some point.
Finding a spot that wasn't littered with blood was honestly a challenge, but Soren found a sufficient spot soon enough.
Sitting down, he placed the halberd in his lap. The process of repairing something that had an {Atomic Affinity} was a lot easier than something that didn't.
When he had to attach his fingers back, he had to connect nearly each and every nerve before the system would finally step in, nearly seamlessly attaching every other part he had no idea how to fix.
His halberd, however, was completely different. He didn't even really need to focus on doing anything, as long as he activated his ability, and he had the intent to repair the halberd, the system seemed to just automatically start repairing, going for as long as he supplied mana.
It was a relief, as Soren wasn't completely certain that even his enhanced instincts would clue him in on what to do.
It didn't take very long before the fractures were fully repaired, the system giving him a notification.
[Repair process complete!
+25 EXP as a first time bonus!]
Well, he wouldn't say no to some experience! Holding his newly repaired halberd up close, Soren was surprised to see another system notification pop up.
[Previously corrupted inherent skill within this weapon has now been identified by the system.]
[Does the user wish to be shown the skill and its description?]
"Hell yes!" He blurted out before he could stop himself. Who could blame him? The weapon was already surprisingly durable, so it wasn't like an inherent skill was necessary.
Not that he was complaining…
It was barely a moment later before he saw a system window before him.
[Frame Beyond The Frame:
Skill Type: Active
Skill Rank: II
Skill Potential: X
Skill Proficiency: 0.0%.]
[Description: An ancient, long forgotten blacksmith gave birth to equipment that in their own right were calamities to the field of battle. During a time of war, this infamous blacksmith crafted for any and all sides, seemingly not bothered with the politics of it all. A rumour started among the kingdoms. A rumour that entailed that the blacksmith was capable of infusing a skill that could very well guarantee victory for the side that was successful in employing him…!]
{Error}
[The system apologies, the system seems to have provided an untranslated description.]
"Looks pretty translated to me…" Soren couldn't help but mutter aloud. What was that about? He had never seen anything like the descriptions the system was giving, they looked nothing like what people had provided online.
Perhaps the Aitherians had also corrupted his system when they put the {Atomic Manipulation} ability in him…?
He'd likely never know for sure. Regardless, he still wanted to know what the skill could do, as just the skill's potential being all the way at 10 was already making him giddy.
[Here is the proper description;]
[Description: The only thing better than one weapon, is two. Luckily for the user, this skill allows them to duplicate their weapon for a temporary period. The copy is exact, even copying anything that the user has attached to their weapon beforehand. More copies can be made the higher the skill's rank is.]
Soren was stunned beyond belief for a moment. 'Seriously…?!'
He couldn't quite believe it. Something like this was only seen among A rank and above Saviors. He couldn't imagine what this skill would be like in the hands of a real professional…
Looking at his halberd in a new light, Soren couldn't wait to try the skill out. Literally.
He barely wasted a moment before he activated the skill. Before his very eyes, a thin black fog formed before him. A moment later, the fog seemed to condense in upon itself, until the clear form of his halberd floated in the air for a moment, before being pulled down by gravity.
Reaching out with his left hand, Soren caught it, feeling the exact weight of the original halberd. It felt exactly the same.
Holding one in each hand, Soren couldn't quite ignore the massive pull of mana he had felt the moment he activated the skill.
[Mana: 30/85…]
He had been at around 50 when he had finished repairing his halberd, so it cost around 20 mana to make a copy. He was curious, how many could he make? After all, the skill had come readily available at its 2nd rank fresh out of the box.
It wasn't very viable to test right now, as his mana was a bit too low than what he was comfortable with, but that wouldn't stop him from testing out having two halberds in the meantime.
Approaching a particularly lively cage full of furred balls of teeth, Soren lifted both weapons with {Atomic Manipulation}.
It was definitely another layer of challenge having to split his focus between both weapons, but it wasn't impossible.
Sending both weapons flying into the cage, Soren made one float horizontally low to the cage's floor, the other a little more high up, also horizontal.
After a moment of thought, Soren decides to take a few steps back. It was going to get a bit messy.
With his improved control, this next next step wasn't too hard to do. The Fur Balls, as Soren had dubbed them, didn't seem to care all that much at the presence of the blades, even stepping over the one that hovered slightly above the floor.
With a thought, Soren began spinning the bottom blade clockwise, the one above counterclockwise.
You could imagine the outcome.
It was quite a gruesome scene. Some of the Fur Balls barely had any time to react before, their lower midsections sliced to ribbons in a near instant.
Those that had managed to survive, didn't live for too long after that as Soren slowly lowered the top blade, the weapon spinning fast enough that the handle was enough to throw them down into the bottom blade with a sickening crunch.
Soren definitely wouldn't be thinking about smoothies in the same way for a while…
At least this was a lot quicker than how he was doing it before.
It was a bit too late for that now, though.
The system gave him 10 kill notifications, the EXP barely worth mentioning.
Retrieving the blades, Soren couldn't suppress the smirk that clawed its way to the corner of his mouth.
He already felt {Atomic Manipulation} was pretty powerful, but this new addition definitely made his potential soar to a new level. Still, he'd need to put the work in.
Most importantly, he needed to find a way off this damn ship.
Although his strength was almost entirely from being on it, he still wanted to feel the Earth against his feet. Not to mention his mom, his sister…
He couldn't help but wonder what they thought happened to him. It wasn't like he knew how much time had passed since he'd been there. Hell, he could've been here for months, and would have no idea, at least not until he was back on Earth.
After a couple of minutes, the copy halberd shuddered, before bursting into a dark mist dissipating right before his face. It actually lasted quite a bit longer than he thought.
Sending his original halberd to the void, Soren sat down on the grimy floor. This would likely be one of the last times he'd regenerate mana before he really tried to find his way out, regardless of the risks…