Chapter 14 Ethan's New Weapon
The shield in his hand blocked a heavy blow just in time, and the dagger in his right hand, poised to strike, thrust out at the fastest speed, piercing directly through the Fallen's chest. After dealing with this dark creature that had suddenly rushed out from the side to ambush him, Ethan quickly pulled back the dagger and resumed his stance, ready for the next round of attacks.
"Well done, Ethan, you're improving quickly."
It had been over half a day since they left the Rogue Encampment. This journey wasn't like Ethan's previous ones, where he deliberately avoided dangerous enemies. Instead, they even actively sought out and eliminated every dark creature they encountered.
In just half a day, they had eliminated over a dozen Quill Rats, more than twenty Zombies, and an unknown number of Fallen.
As they moved further away from the camp, the dark creatures they encountered not only gradually became more troublesome but also much more numerous.
This time, they ran into a small tribe of dozens of Fallen, mixed with at least three Fallen Shaman. Esylla and Zuhl immediately prioritized killing the three shamans, and then slowly cleared out the remaining lesser enemies who had lost their magical support.
For these two powerful sorcerers, even relying on melee combat, it wasn't difficult to eliminate these dozens of Fallen. The only thing they needed to watch out for was Ethan's safety.
They didn't object to Ethan suddenly expressing his desire to join them and eliminate the dark creatures in the Den of Evil. In fact, they welcomed it.
"All those who are determined to fight against demons are our companions."
The level of strength was not within their scope of concern. Even if Ethan was very weak, they were willing to bring him along to eliminate the darkness.
Along the way, the two sorcerers deliberately trained Ethan: for example, they let Ethan handle scattered Zombies by himself, and when they encountered a large group, they intentionally let a few weaker enemies approach Ethan so he could get practical combat experience.
It was the same this time. After eliminating the most dangerous Fallen Shaman immediately and controlling the situation on the field, the two sorcerers deliberately allowed a few scattered Fallen to rush out and ambush Ethan.
They weren't worried about Ethan losing his life. Through their time together, the two had gained a clear understanding of Ethan's strength.
Furthermore, as magic users who trained their mental power, they were very clear about the physical changes brought about by increased mental power.
Now that Ethan's mental power had increased, his mental reaction speed had surpassed that of ordinary people. When he concentrated his mind during combat, he would feel as if the opponent's movements had slowed down.
This characteristic was almost the greatest reliance for the Rathma priests when they first started learning melee combat. Excellent mental reaction ability allowed them to better grasp their opponent's movements, and abundant and powerful mental power also allowed them to think of countermeasures in a very short time.
The only thing limiting their melee ability was, instead, their physical reaction speed.
Ethan was now facing the same problem. Fortunately, his body was that of a young seventeen-year-old boy. A young person's body might lack strength, but their reaction speed is definitely at its peak, and their flexibility is much stronger than that of adults. Therefore, he could barely keep up with his mental speed and make appropriate responses to kill enemies.
After a period of training, Ethan had progressed from merely defending against enemy ambushes to counter-killing. Even if the opponents were only weak Fallen grunts, it was a significant improvement.
Even weak Fallen grunts have the strength equivalent to a strong adult man. Their movement speed is also very fast, allowing them to easily escape pursuit from some clumsy humans. Being able to kill a Fallen independently proves that Ethan's current combat power has surpassed the level of ordinary people.
After killing the last few Fallen, Ethan stood in place and took a deep breath—the air filled with the aura of darkness and the unpleasant smell of the Fallen wasn't exactly pleasant, but it gave Ethan a sense of inner joy: every time he could survive and persist until the end of the battle was something to be happy about.
"Your progress is even faster than I expected. I'm genuinely surprised that with your aptitude, you haven't yet entered the ranks of true magic apprentices at this age."
A true magic apprentice is someone who can initially grasp some basic minor spells and even assist their teacher with some preliminary work for trivial magical experiments. Although they are apprentices, they are no longer ordinary people; they are beings who have truly mastered magical power.
Few young people who are favored by sorcerers and taken in for teaching are this old without having entered the path—however, disciples chosen by sorcerers are usually born with strong mental power, and most only need to practice controlling their mental power before directly starting to condense mana.
"Because I only recently began to truly learn about magic."
As Ethan answered the question, he looked at the dagger in his hand. This weapon, given to him by Kashya, had now reached the end of its lifespan—the blade was curled and damaged, and the already short blade was even shorter because the tip had broken off. The only part that was still intact was the hilt.
This weapon, strictly speaking, his first proper weapon, held significant sentimental value, but now it didn't even have value for collection. The broken blade was so twisted that it couldn't even fit into a sheath; it could only be discarded.
"There are quite a few items collected by the Fallen here. You can see if there's a weapon that suits you."
Unlike the two sorcerers, they both had their own unique weapons. For example, Esylla had her long staff—which could be used directly for staff techniques when necessary, and Esylla's staff techniques weren't just for show; they could genuinely be used to fight demons.
Zuhl's exclusive weapon was a strangely shaped dagger, said to be personal equipment exclusive to Rathma priests, with every priest having one. This dagger had many uses; it could not only be used for melee combat but also assist in spellcasting. However, Zuhl wasn't using it at the moment; instead, he had created a long bone scythe with magic. If he were to also wear a black hooded robe, combined with his gloomy and terrifying demeanor...
"Can't you use your magic to create a long sword or something for me?"
"This kind of magic requires continuous infusion of mana to maintain its form, and it also carries my personal mental imprint, so you wouldn't be able to use it."
Ethan nodded and began searching through the chaotic camp for a suitable weapon.
The most common items on the ground were the short knives and wooden clubs used by the Fallen. These things were not only crude, but they didn't look much better than his own short dagger.
After searching around, Ethan finally had to settle for a wooden stick that looked relatively sturdy.
Seeing that he had chosen his 'new weapon', the group prepared to continue forward. They were not far from the Den of Evil now, and they could even see the outline of the entrance to the Den of Evil at the edge of their vision.
It was precisely because they were so close that such a large Fallen camp existed here.
"Oh?"
After walking just a few steps, Esylla called out to the other two, then picked up an iron rod from beside a nearby rock.
"This thing..."
She casually swung it a few times. The whistling wind seemed to tell everyone the weight of the iron rod, and the sudden flash of electricity that followed immediately afterward showed its extraordinary nature.
"Haha, you have really good luck."
Esylla handed the iron rod in her hand to Ethan: "Throw away that piece of firewood in your hand, you can use this."
"What is this?"
Ethan had certainly seen the fleeting flash of electricity and knew it wasn't an ordinary iron rod, but this rod, covered in mud and grass, looked even more pathetic than the wooden stick and didn't look like a weapon at all.
It was the more knowledgeable Zuhl who first recognized the true form of this weapon: "If I'm not mistaken, this is a one-handed war hammer."
"War hammer?" Ethan had seen one-handed hammers at Charsi the blacksmith's. "Where's the hammerhead?"
Esylla spread her hands: "It must have broken off. This is the back half of a one-handed hammer... that is, the part of the shaft that connects to the hammerhead and the handle."
Hearing only this, one might think Esylla was joking with Ethan—what good is a broken weapon? So the female sorceress immediately explained: "Don't think it's not as good as the wooden stick in your hand just because the hammerhead is gone. This is a magic item."
Ethan nodded. He had also thought of this, as the flash of electricity just now wasn't an illusion. However, without the hammerhead, this magic item was damaged; could it still exert its proper power?
"You don't need to worry about not being able to exert its power. I just tested it. Although the magic inscribed within is damaged and cannot exert its full power, most of the magic can still function."
Talking about it is less effective than experiencing it personally. Esylla told Ethan how to infuse his mental power and how to correctly use this magic item.
As he infused his mental power, finding the 'switch' within the iron rod, the rod in Ethan's hand suddenly flashed with dazzling electricity. Unstable electric arcs continuously danced on the iron rod, and the suddenly released electricity caused even Zuhl, a powerful Necromancer, to involuntarily step back.
"Oh? The power seems quite good, but what magic is attached to this item exactly?"
For that instant, the jumping electric arcs struck Zuhl, causing a tingling sensation even through his body protected by bone armor and powerful magic. If it were an ordinary person taking a hit...
"It should be a very powerful lightning magic, but the magic incantations for the final shaping and casting were likely inscribed on the hammerhead. Without seeing the hammerhead, I'm not sure exactly which magic it is."
So, this was a stick that automatically discharged electricity. Fortunately, this stick would automatically absorb ambient energy nearby to replenish and store mana. Ethan only needed to use his mental power to trigger it, and the iron rod would automatically convert the stored mana into lightning and release it.
"So, this thing is an electric baton?"