Narrator Pov
"Big bastard, how tough do you need to be!" Y/n shouted, dodging the barrage of crystal shards aimed at him, easily piercing through the trees and ground, sending clouds of dirt everywhere. A few almost hit him, one barely nicked his arm, drawing blood as a warning. "Son of a bitch." He cursed, swinging Monolith to deflect another, though the force pushed him back.
The Chimera roared, swiping an arm at Y/n, though he easily jumped it and landed on the arm, running up as he unleashed a flurry of lightning attacks, the monster barely flinched at the damage, instead trying to shake him off. As he neared the shoulder, one of its numerous tails shot at him, Y/n couldn't dodge, so he used Monoliths flat side to block, though the force sent him flying.
He crashed into a tree, groaning as he pulled himself out. He spent over an hour by now trying to deal some damage to no avail, with the amount of mana radiating off the boss, he could easily sense where the mana cores were inside. The issue was the crystals that it was composed off, unlike the other crystalline monsters he killed, which were rigid and solid, the boss was more malleable, similar to a slime, but it could harden at a moment's notice, meaning there was no cracks or openings for him to abuse like before.
'Damn, this is a lot harder than I thought.' He quickly moved as another barrage of crystal shards were launched his way. This time they were faster and more precise, he could barely dodge them, let alone block. One shot right past his face, forcing him to stop for just a moment. Sensing something was wrong, Y/n turned just in time to see a smaller shard amidst the others, only it was unlike the blue crystals that were shot at him before, this one was an eerie purple.
Not wanting to find out, he destroyed it when it got close, evading the rest easily. But what he heard when it was destroyed was a soft hiss, revealing itself to be a living creature.
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Crystalline Insect
Rank: E-
A parasitic creature, capable of infecting any being with mana, slowly corrupting them by growing crystals within their body.
Weak point: Entire Body
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He understood what it was trying to do, to infect and turn him into a crystalline monster. 'Just have to destroy any insect hurled at me, simple enough. The only issue is I can't harm the damn boss.' He dodged another swipe, scaling a tree to get a better view and analyze the boss, using Phantom to hide his presence. It easily stood over the trees, being three times their size, two tails sprouted from its back, the ends covered in spikes and a sharpened tip. Four arms sprouted from its shoulders, one set of claws and the other blades that would easily turn him to paste.
Another barrage was unleashed, the tails shooting in all directions, Y/n didn't see any insects among them, so he only dodged what he needed to. He was thankful the chimera couldn't sense him, despite the sheer amount of mana that poured off it, making him wonder how many of its own kind were used to evolve it.
Mana surged from the chimera, becoming visible as it let out a roar. 'Guess not being able to find me has made it mad.' He thought, a wave of mana was released, sweeping over the entire forest. The trees shook as they were hit, while Y/n himself remained unfazed, his eyes narrowed as he sensed something was different about the wave, a sinister feel to it.
'No way.' His eyes widened in shock as he realized what it was doing, it wasn't releasing massive amounts of mana, it had infused it into the air. And the worst was yet to come, as the mana infused air spread out, it wrapped around every physical thing, including Y/n himself. Even if he was invisible and his presence hidden, he was still a solid object, therefore he was found.
"Oh shit." Was all he could say as the chimera rushed toward him with frightening speed, one of its bladed arms swung down with the intent to kill. He managed to dodge most of the attack, but he wasn't unscathed, as his blood spilled out, his arm fell to the ground.
"AHHHH!" Y/n screamed, grabbing the stump where his arm was, his face scrunched up in pain. The chimera didn't wait a moment longer, its tail shot toward him, spikes poised to impale him, which they would have done, but Y/n used his latest skill to move himself enough out the way, his expression now one of rage. "YOU BASTARD, THAT HURT!" He roared, using his telekinesis to stop his blood pouring out, unleashing a seemingly endless volley of lightning spears, not caring about the mental strain anymore.
Ignoring the onslaught, the chimera swung at him again, Y/n readied Monolith, pouring a large portion of his mana into his arm and weapon, meeting the blow head on. With the power boost, he managed to deflect the attack, albeit barely, as he slid back a few meters, the chimera staggered and fell, the ground cracked open as it sunk in, half of its body inside the earth.
Y/n fell to one knee, using Monolith as a crutch as he panted, but he couldn't hide the grin on his face. For a moment he wanted to rush in and get some payback, but Gamers Mind kept him focused, remembering his current state. 'Best retreat for now, I barely have any mana left, plus it could have a few tricks still.' He thought, standing up and running as far as he could.
And he was thankful he did. Not long after he retreated, the chimera roared as its mana surged once more as a large crystal cluster shot from its chest. Once it hit the ground, it cracked open as Crystalline Insects poured out, the air filled with hisses as the swarm rushed toward their target.
Despite their small size, they were exceedingly quick, catching up to him in no time. He quickly bought a few talismans from the System shop and put them to use, the explosions that followed killed many, but the swarm seemed endless. With his mana nearly depleted, skills weren't an option either and he wasn't willing to fight them up close and risk being infected.
The ground in front of him cracked open, the insects bursting from it, hissing as they closed in from the front and behind. A green light surrounded him, his health and mana fully restored after using another Status Recovery, unfortunately his arm was still missing, but he knew it would return once he slept due to Gamers Body.
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Gamers Body (passive) - Max level
Modifies the player's body to never die unless Hp hits zero, Hp regenerates over time. Sleeping massively increases regeneration and allows missing limbs to be restored.
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With his mana now replenished, he didn't wait another second and brought lightning down all around him, throwing the a few talismans here and there for good measure, wiping out a good portion of the swarm. It gave him the space he needed to continue running, the endless swarm once more closing in behind him. A few tried to lunge at him, but Y/n easily killed them with his telekinesis, thankful they were so weak.
The chimeras roar could be heard even from where he was, though he wasn't worried about that, he was more focused on the mana he felt rushed toward him rapidly, even faster than the swarm chasing him. It wasn't long until a wave of crystals burst from the ground, the insect swarm was unharmed while Y/n narrowly avoided them but lost his footing in the process.
Crashing to the ground, he quickly rolled to his feet, but the swarm was already too close, a literal wave of Crystalline Insects ready to crash down and either kill or infect him. But they would never reach him.
The very moment before the wave would hit him, a strong gust of wind swept them away followed by a several balls of fire incinerating the swarm. "Rena! Help the kid!" A voice called out, Y/n quickly got up, but before he could start to run, someone grabbed his arm and pulled him along, seeing it to be a muscular woman in roughed up clothing. "Don't fall behind!" She shouted, pulling him along.
Nodding, Y/n did his best to keep up, his gaze turned to the two keeping the swarm a bay, a man dressed in a robe, a staff in hand as he unleashed fireball after fireball while a woman with wings for arms flapped furiously, unleashing a torrent of wind to keep the swarm at bay. Observe revealed their names to be Stansen, a human mage, and Kyon, a harpy.
Before he could use it on who he assumed was Rena, his eyes widened as he sensed another crystal wave approaching, his arm was quickly raised, shoving Rena away just in time. A moment later the ground shattered as the crystals erupted out. Both quickly continued running, rushing toward the mage and harpy. He wasn't sure if he could trust them yet, but he would take his chance with them over the swarm.
The ground beneath Stansen gave as crystals erupted out, Kyon swooped down and saved him in time before he was skewered. With nothing to keep the swarm at bay, they surged forward, pursuing their original target and new one. Another wave rapidly approached, Y/n warned them before it hit, the duo ahead of them avoiding it in time as Y/n dodged it with ease. Rena was less fortunate, her leg having been pierced through, forcing her to the ground, she struggled to stand.
Seeing the swarm coming, she was ready to accept her fate, but the crystal wall beside her shattered as Y/n emerged, crushing several of them with the falling crystals and killing more with his lightning magic. While focused on keeping them at bay, Rena shouted at him to leave her behind, but Y/n didn't even look her way as he told her to shut up.
Drawing Monolith out, he channeled lightning into it before swinging it, a crescent arc of lightning rushed forth, slicing through any insects that stood in his way. 'Shouldn't have done that, nearly out of mana again.' He thought to himself, panting a bit as the swarm recovered. One lone Crystalline Insect survived, looking at the exhausted Y/n and injured Rena, it picked the easier target and leapt at her.
She realized too late as it flew at her, but it didn't reach her as Y/n blocked it with Monolith, but the insect scurried up his blade and lunged at him instead. It would have dug into his neck, had Y/n not caught it with his teeth, crushing it with ease and spat out what remained.
Having reached his limit, he glared at the swarm that once more rushed forward, their single-minded minded persistence annoying him. "I'm sick... off these things..." He said between breaths, closing his eyes for a moment, the pain of his lost limb, the mental strain of his telekinesis and the frustration he felt toward the chimera and the swarm bubbled to the surface, but he used them as fuel for what he was about to unleash.
Remembering how sensitive the Crystalline Humanoids and Insectoids were, he figured the parasites were the same, and given how weak they were, this should kill. Focusing on his Bloodlust skill, he turned all the pain and anger into something primal, letting it roil inside him. As the insects drew closer, he unleashed the raw and intense killing intent he was feeling.
The effect was immediate, the swarm dragged to a halt as their bodies stiffened, yet Y/n didn't stop, unleashing all that he could. Rena and the others, while not the target, were affected as well, their bodies shivered, the raw emotion being released was palpable.
The Crystalline Insects could withstand no more, their crystal bodies were riddled with cracks, each one collapsing in a heap as the killing intent became too much for them. A moment later, Y/n stopped, his body slumped a bit, the mental strain from Bloodlust and Minor Telekinesis was too much, coupled with his lost arm and empty mana, he couldn't keep himself conscious any longer.
As he fell, Rena quickly caught him, but with his conscious fading, he couldn't maintain his telekinetic hold and soon blood spilled out from his stump. Stansen and Kyon quickly came to his side, the mage healing his arm the best he could before they head back, bringing Y/n with them.
Timeskip - Y/n Pov
'Ugh, my head hurts.' I groaned quietly, going to rub my head only for my arm to be stuck. After my eyes adjusted, I saw my arm was chained to the wall, looking around some more, I realized I was in a cell. Before I could think more, I heard voices outside the cell. "I still can't believe what Stansen and the others said. I mean, he's just a kid." A man said, sounding annoyed.
"He may be a kid, but he's a dangerous one. He managed to kill an entire swarm of those parasites, and according to the reports, he faced that big one for a time before the group reached him." Another replied, making me realize they were talking about me. "That's the thing though, if it was a few of those crystal monsters, I would believe it. But facing that big one and then surviving that swarm? I don't believe it, for all we know he could be infected, and if that's the case, he needs to be killed."
"The chief wanted him locked up as he saved Rena and the others, maybe he could help us." The second man argued, though the first scoffed. "Should have let that monster die in my opinion, can't believe we have to work with so many of them." He spat before walking off, saying he was getting some food, the other following him.
Sitting back against the wall, I realized my missing arm was back, though it still stung. 'Must have been asleep for a few hours, my mana and health are full as well. Wonder if I got any levels for killing that swarm.' With simply a thought, I had the menu in front of me, showing my stats were still the same as before, but I had new perks below them.
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Y/n L/n
Level - 26
Hp - 5550/5550
Mp - 4550/4550
Str - 67
End - 62
Agi - 57
Int - 52
Wis - 57
Lck - 47
Sen - 47
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[New perks]
Shatter - Deal 20% increased damage to any Crystalline type monster.
Insect Slayer - Deal 10% increased damage to any Insect type monster.
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'Not bad, any damage increase is nice. Now I'm curious if the second one could apply to the Crystalline boss, I mean its description said it evolved by eating its kin, so it should be part insect at least.' Closing the menu, I sighed and looked to the chain on my arm, I could sense it was enchanted, most likely with magic suppression, but that didn't mean I couldn't break it little effort, my Strength stat was my highest after all.
I didn't want to do it just yet though, since it would alert everyone and I didn't know how many there were, nor did I know how strong they could be. As I sat in silence, I opened my inventory to see the armor recipe I had, while it didn't show any stats for each piece, it did have a generic description.
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Crystal Armor Recipe - D Rank
Armor set created from the remains of various crystalline monsters, granting the wearer high defense and magic resistance.
Required Ingredients:
Crystal Shell, Mana Core (Empty), Crystal Shards, Crystal Dust.
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'I have all these materials on hand, easily could make several sets. I wonder..." Pulling out one of the empty cores I had, I channeled a small amount of mana that I could into it. The core started glowing and vibrated a little, then it shattered, the pieces scattering over the ground. I tried again and got the same result, as I tried again, I spotted small cracks on the core, sensing the mana leak out from it before it shattered as well.
'There goes that idea, thought having a full core would make the armor better, oh well.' Promising to craft armor later, I closed the menu and closed my eyes for a moment before hearing footsteps outside the cell. Opening my eye subtly, I saw it was a kid, steadying himself on a crutch while holding something his other hand. He looked to the side nervously, letting me see the fluffy ears drooped down, a wolf-like tail tucked between his legs and his clothes were worn and dirty.
"Psst, hey." He whispered, glancing over to me. I didn't react, pretending I was still asleep. "Psst, are you awake? Please, I don't know how long I can stay here." His voice shook a bit, sounding scared. Not wanting to ignore the kid, I slowly opened my eyes and glanced his way. "Oh, good, you're awake." He said in a hushed tone, his face lighting up a bit.
"What do you want?" I asked, keeping my own tone quiet, not wanting to attract attention to him. "My name's Mika, I wanted to thank you for saving my sister." He smiled, though he was a bit nervous as he held up the bread in his hand. "It's not much, but it's all I could get." He said, moving closer to the cell to toss it to me, but he stumbled on his crutch, almost falling over.
Before he could hit the ground, I caught him with my telekinesis, making him look at me in shock as I gently put him down. "Careful kid." I said, bringing the bread which I also caught closer, taking a bite before passing it back to him. "You need the energy more than me." I explained, Mika hesitantly took the bread and ate, a smile forming on his face.
"Hey, are you really the guy who fought the big monster? That's what everyone's saying, they even said you faced an entire swarm of those nasty bugs." Mika asked, his curiosity peaked, a big smile on his face. "I did, had to get away from it though, thing was far stronger than I thought." I explained, not going into details as I didn't know if Mika could be trusted.
"That's still really cool though. I wish I could fight like you, then maybe I could protect my sister and everyone else." He said, a little dejected, his ears drooped and his tail tucked between his legs. I wasn't sure how old the kid was, but he seemed around 10 years old, not too old or young, and seeing him like that tugged at my heart strings a little.
"A noble goal kid, you might be able to now, but I can see you have potential." I said, making him look up, his eyes wide with hope. "R-really, you think so?" He asked, his tail wagged a little, making me chuckle a bit. "Of course, you could have easily beat me before I started getting strong. So, keep your head up kid, and one day, you'll be strong enough to protect your family."
My words brought a bright smile to his face, his tail wagging as he looked up at me in awe. "Wow, thank you mister. That's so nice, you're the best." He said, bowing his head. "Call me Y/n, kid. And no problem, consider it my thanks for the food." I chuckled, making him look up. Looking at him closely, I could see the resemblance he had with the woman that aided me. "Is your sister Rena by any chance?" I asked, making his tail wag again.
"Yep, she's my older sister, and the nicest person I know. She's always helping people, even if they treat her badly." His voice was happy, but then his face fell. "Some people hate her, cause she's part wolf like me. I heard some say she should have died when they were sent out earlier." I groaned a bit, saying those people were idiots, he smiled a bit before tilting his head as I asked him a question.
"What were they sent out for? Gather food? Materials? Or to fight monsters?" I asked, he shook his head before explaining. "Some of the mages felt a large amount of lightning magic from the forest and went out to investigate if it was a new monster. Instead, they found you." I chuckled a bit, saying the lightning magic was my doing, which made him go wide eyed with awe.
"So cool." He breathed, his eyes shining as he stared at me. Before he could ask anything else, we heard footsteps approaching, Mika tensed as he looked to the side, the same rough voice from earlier came. "What are you doing here?" He asked, glaring at the boy, Mika trembled, his grip on his crutch tightened. "I-I-I'm s-sorry, I-I w-w-was ju-just bri-bringing food..." He said, his words rushed, his stutter worse.
"You damn mutt, the hell do you think you are, giving food to the prisoner." The man's tone was harsh, his expression was twisted into a hateful sneer. Mika's ears flattened, his tail tucked between his legs. Before the man could say anything more, I stepped in. "Hey asshole, leave him alone, he's just wanted to thank me." My tone was cold, a glare leveled at the man.
His shifted his eyes to me for a moment before looking back at Mika, his hand shot out and grabbed the boy's hair. "You shouldn't waste what little we give you mutt, guess you need a reminder of your place." He raised his hand, ready to strike him. A loud bang followed, the cell door ripped open, the man pressed to the wall, my hand around his face, keeping him still.
Meanwhile - Narrator Pov
"Chief, I was wanting to see you." Stansen spoke up, catching up to a rugged man wearing simple clothes and a sword at his side. "What is it, Stansen?" He replied, turning to the mage with his one good eye. "Rena wanted you to know she wants the boy that saved her released." The chief sighed, shaking his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I would like to as well, but everyone is on edge as it is. Letting new blood into our safe haven without caution would only invite trouble." The chief reasoned, his voice weary and tired, Stansen nodded in understanding. "I understand sir, just you know how insistent Rena can be." The chief couldn't help but laugh a bit.
"Believe me, I do, that girl is a handful, but she means well. I do want that boy to be free as well, but everyone is on edge, and the last thing we need is a panic." He sighed once more, Stansen nodded. Before the conversation could continue, Rena ran up to them both, a noticeable limp on her leg.
"Chief!" She called out, nearly falling over but was caught by Stansen. "Rena, what are you doing, your leg needs rest." Stansen chided, a stern expression on his face. "That doesn't matter, I can't find Mika. Did he come to you?" Rena asked, ignoring the mage's comment. The chief shook his head, asking her where she last saw him.
"He said he was getting some food, but that was over an hour ago. Chief, please, I'm worried something happened." Rena begged, tears in her eyes. The chief could see the pain she was in, and seeing someone with a pure heart like hers hurt was a painful sight to see. "That boy is stubborn as you and has a habit of wandering off. He couldn't have left so I'm certain he is still inside, we will search for him. You however need to rest, Stansen, take her back."
As Rena was about to argue, they heard a bang come from where the cells were. The chief's eye narrowed, and the three of them ran to the cells, before they entered the corridor, the man who was put on guard duty was thrown out, his eyes rolled back, his body limp. A moment later, Y/n stepped out, Mika resting on his shoulder. "I guess you're the chief. Should really look after your men better, this one nearly harmed Mika."
Mika looked a bit roughed up, but was otherwise fine. The chief's eye shifted to Y/n, a stern look in his eyes. "Thank you for stopping him, I will be sure he is punished accordingly." Y/n nodded, glancing to the side, the chief followed his gaze, seeing the other people who had weapons aimed at him. "Stand down, everyone." The chief ordered, a few followed his order while others were hesitant, keeping their bows trained on Y/n.
Shaking his head, Y/n helped Mika down, the boy thanking him until he stumbled, Y/n quickly caught him. By accident, an arrow was let loose, others following as they thought Y/n attacked him. While Rena shouted for her brother, Y/n simply held his hand up, stopping all the arrows just before they reached him. "Ok, lets take the weapons away from the trigger-happy people." He said, waving his hand, the bows were ripped from the shooters and placed in a pile beside the chief.
"Sorry about that, everyone here is on edge." The chief apologized, Y/n shrugged, saying he understood why everyone would be paranoid. "I seen the monsters, as well as the remains of a settlement. I guess your people have suffered greatly." Y/n sympathized, his expression showing he understood the chief's point of view. As the tension eased, the chief asked if he and Y/n could speak in private, Y/n agreed and told Mika he would see him later.
Mika waved him goodbye, watching the two leave the corridor. "So, I assume you have questions." Y/n said, sitting on the opposite side of a desk in a small room. The chief sat behind the desk, nodding his head. "I do, I have already heard a report from Rena and the others, but I wish to hear it from you." The chief asked, and so Y/n began to tell what he had done so far
After the brief explanation, the chief rested his head on his hands, a deep sigh leaving his lips. "So you faced far more than what we thought, and not only that, you survived." Y/n nodded, a smirk on his face. Rubbing his temples, he easily could tell Y/n was a powerful fighter and possible ally. "Y/n, you have proven yourself more than capable of facing such foes, but as the chief of these people, I have a request."
The chief looked at him, his tone serious, Y/n simply tilted his head. "I humbly as-" "Sure, I'll help." The chief paused mid-sentence, a bewildered expression on his face, the sudden response took him by surprise. "I-I haven't told you anything yet." He said, recovering from the shock. "You want me to help you, and I see no reason to decline. Not like I have anywhere to go, and Mika sort of pulled a few heart strings, so I'm willing to help."
The chief's expression lightened a bit, a soft chuckle leaving him. "Thank you, Y/n, you may call me Jace considering you're not one of my men. Now I have one last question." He clasped his hands together, leaning forward a bit. "What is your objective?" The question made Y/n pause, a slight frown formed as he leaned back, wondering what he should say.
[Sudden Quest! Convince Jace to trust you]
'Thanks for adding more pressure.' Y/n deadpanned, ignoring the quest for now as he focused on Jace. 'Have to lie a bit, but I can tell him a partial truth. The best lie is wrapped around a core of truth after all.' He thought before smiling a bit.