Ever Frost
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Chapter 34: Spirit
🕑 Added 2022-07-21 09:03:59 +0000 UTCName: Ebony Rime
Core Skill: Deep Persistent Meditation Lvl 111
Class: Meditative Swordsman of Frostblaze - Lvl 49
Class Skills:
Treading Step Lvl 59
Ice Mana Manipulation Lvl 60
Icebody Enhancement Lvl 77
Single-handed Greatsword Mastery Lvl 54
Frost Injection Lvl 54
Ice Sword Lvl 35
Two-handed Power Stab Lvl 40
Layered Ice Carapace Lvl 38
Frost Mist Perception Sphere Lvl 23
Empty Skill Slot
Empty Skill Slot
Empty Skill Slot
Empty Skill Slot
Empty Skill Slot
Empty Skill Slot
Sub-Class: N/A
Profession: Mana Meister - Lvl 42
Profession Skills:
Mana Moulding Lvl 38
Sheer Mana Compression Lvl 82
Mana Perception Lvl 32
Empty Skill Slot
Empty Skill Slot
Health: 300/300
Stamina: 500/500
Mana: 1208/1870
Unallocated stat points: 0
Strength: 30
Vitality: 30
Constitution: 80
Endurance: 50
Agility: 60
Intelligence: 101
Wisdom: 187
Perception: 50
Generic Skills:
Stealth Lvl 10
Identify Lvl 12
Sheer Cold Resistance Lvl 28
Running Lvl 29
Battle Hum Lvl 28
Mental Mapping Lvl 8
Kicking Mastery Lvl 34
English Lvl 8
Elcrian Lvl 6
Mental Arithmetic Lvl 10
Dish Washing Lvl 8
Physical Conditioning Lvl 5
Magical Conditioning Lvl 5
Peak Performance Lvl 36
Tracking Lvl 9
Game Processing Lvl 10
Heat Resistance Lvl 11
Mana Vibration Lvl 23
Sheer Divination Resistance Lvl 12
Many of Ebony’s skills may be lagging in levels compared to his Class level but his Core Skill alone was far ahead.
The little Strength increase of 10 was just so that he could shoulder the weight of the robe better and he kinda felt that he needed some more Strength when he wasn’t using enhancement magic.
Being ganged up on made him take some heavy hits and the 5 Vitality was somewhat an insurance. His self healing or regeneration was fast, small cuts heal in a minute or so.
He wanted to have an even tougher body but he cut into Constitution a lot as he really doesn’t get hit much with his footwork and ability to predict their movements. His stat points went into Perception as it really was an area he had long wanted to beef up.
Perception was supportive in battle but just as important as any other stat. Improved senses helped with his decision making, having better and more accurate predictions of an enemy’s muscle and joint movement, line of sight and so on.
His divination resistance gained 3 levels at the same time one day ago in the middle of his hunt, it was another reason he buffed up Perception. The feeling of someone watching him grew stronger but he didn’t notice anyone nearby constantly monitoring him even with an increase with Perception. Increasing Perception only made the feeling that someone was watching him more obvious.
It didn’t bother him at all though, Deep Persistent Meditation going strong as usual. There would always be people watching whether you know it or not and others’ perception of him rarely mattered to Ebony. Their motive for watching or divining him was more interesting to him than worrying.
He doubted he would need any more Endurance for a long time. Agility got a decent 15 points in. Aiming to be some sort of mage in his Sub-Class, Intelligence would pay off more and more and it already was.
25 levels in his Profession gave 25 points in Wisdom while Ebony pumped another 20 in. Using compressed skills in battle gave his Profession its fair share of experience. Perception got its well deserved 30 stat points, it would help when he returned to use the magic potion.
❅❅❅
Rhoats usually move and attack aggressively regardless of position or whatsoever. Staying up on a tree, 9 out of 10 times, calling out to them would get them to jump or climb up unless they had ranged attacks. This particular cannibal Rhoat had the same reaction but different actions.
Ebony didn’t expect it to charge up to the tree he was on and morph back into a mouth ball before impact, taking a bite of the tree. Engulfing its girth entirely, chomping it in half.
Ebony had hung off his floating shield with his free hand, lightly landing on the ground. He couldn’t fly or even float but he could slow and guide his fall with it. Sooner or later, he believed he could hover while standing on it.
Not planning to give it the enhancement drug known as the condensed vital muscle for now, Ebony faced it like any other Rhoat he had been facing the past 3 days. The Rhoat’s level of 70 wasn’t all that special compared to the level difference Ebony had fought with already, its speed and power similar to its peers despite being a cannibal.
Its transformations are nothing special, just everything in this forest that Ebony had found other Rhoats being able to transform, a few human weapon types and humanoid shapes. However, its ability to switch and mix parts and use them to sling itself was unique.
It held onto two close trees, pushed back and slingshotted itself, turning into a battle axe mid-flight. Ebony saw it coming a mile away and dodged it but the cannibal Rhoat didn’t falter. It whipped an arm muscle around as it passed a tree, coiling and curling around it. The immense centrifugal force shot it back at Ebony before the tree got rooted out of the ground.
It turned part wolf and part ball headed with its head being 5 times larger than it should be, aiming to swallow Ebony up. Ebony sidestepped, with his shield close to his side facing the mouth and Ice Sword right where he was.
The Rhoat, too fast to stop its flight, managed to shut its mouth and flew through Ebony’s Ice Sword. The Ice Sword was intact where it was and the Rhoat crashed into tree after tree, digging into the earth with its many claws and feet. It was surprisingly unharmed, Ebony saw it open a hole in itself where it was going to land on his sword as it flew past. Dodging the strike with its flexibility in altering, contracting and expanding its muscles.
Having seen enough, Ebony tossed the condensed vital muscle to it. Completely stopping its charge, it extended a neck and mouth to eat it out of the air and backed up while staring at Ebony with its single eye. It swallowed after a few seconds of staring. The higher level Rhoats took a shorter time consuming but the more generations Ebony got it the less it mattered. The previous level 70 Rhoat took a half an hour writhing around.
The cannibal Rhoat exploded in volume almost instantly, then deflated, like a balloon. No. It was pulsing like a heart, Ebony could even hear it.
Ebony’s opinion on the cannibal was that it was flexible in its usage of every form, very much so. Other than that, it wasn’t any different from the others. He already got used to every form they had and with nothing new to look forward to Ebony just fed it what it wanted.
The ball of muscle pulsing stopped in under 5 minutes.
It morphed into a familiar humanoid figure, 2 normal muscular legs and 2 thick log-like arms without hands that it started using for the previous tens of generations. It had long realised blunt force worked much better on Ebony. Another 2 flexible tentacles grew from its back, used to disrupt Ebony’s 2 shields.
A few generations ago they used them to wrap and hold onto his shield for the other Rhoats to attack Ebony. Ebony couldn’t get his shield out of their hold with his Intelligence or mental pull being too weak. It didn’t end nicely for the Rhoat when Ebony combusted his shield. They learned to only keep his shields busy instead of holding them in place the painful, numbing way.
Ebony gave it more than enough time, he closed the distance almost instantly. They tried to come up with many different forms to counter Ebony but gave up after about 50 or so generations. Now they tend to make a run for it after completing their ‘digestion’ of the vital muscle. Seems like even brainless, Ebony was able to carve it into their muscle memory that they were a horrible match for ice magic.
Fighting in his usual battle trance, his body moving without input from his mind. His weird, stupid ideas in battle has harmed himself more than his opponents most of the time. Having his mind clear fit him better, his body is more than capable of fighting without much additional input.
The cannibal Rhoat was nothing special, Ebony dodged and weaved as he slashed out again and again. Stabbing at it, it split a hole open in itself but Ebony didn’t stop there. He swung up while turning to its back and following up with another slash.
The cannibal Rhoat seemed to be able to secrete a lot more mucus than the others to counter the ice mana a little but it was only a matter of time at this rate. The Rhoat was actually retreating as it attacked Ebony with caution as with many previous generations of Rhoats.
It settled for touch and go attacks, quickly retrieving its whip like muscles after a smack or two. The previous generations had tried grabbing and holding Ebony in place. When it grabbed onto Ebony’s legs to stop him from moving around them so well, he injected ice mana into them from the contact.
They couldn’t touch him while even a little scratch Ebony landed was slowly killing them and causing them to lose mobility. His thick shields are more than enough to block its blows and strikes, his movement speed enough to keep up with it to prevent it from escaping. Especially when they lose speed after every strike from Ebony.
The cannibal Rhoat liked slingshotting itself away with its whip-like arms. Its burst of speed was something Ebony didn’t have, Ebony’s Treading Steps was more on consistent top speed rather than short bursts of acceleration. The earlier Frost Injections were just enough to help Ebony keep up the chase.
When Ebony got a hold of its tentacle and forced ice mana into it, ice and frost crept up to the bulk of the Rhoat. It used its log-like arm to smash into it to shatter some of the frozen muscle mass and free itself. It probably had a brain or something within all the muscle mass, being pretty smart. It had an eye and teeth that moved and shifted around its body as well.
It spit, or shot from some part of its body, mucus at Ebony but missed terribly. No Rhoat was coming to its rescue, first of all only similarly levelled Rhoats would come or so Ebony noticed. Hardly any high level ones remain in the forest. Secondly, this Rhoat was avoided by other Rhoats or so Ebony had seen for the time he watched the cannibal. Lastly, no amount of them can stop Ebony anyway.
An Ice Sword flew and broke the thinner branch it hung on to, causing its fall and Ebony stabbing right into its eye. Only using just enough mana to kill it, he didn’t want to damage the vital muscle too much.
‘Ting’ ‘You have killed [Rhoat Lvl 70], enemy 20 levels or more above your own. Experience concentration too high to dilute completely, additional experience gained.’
‘Ting’ ‘Meditative Swordsman of Frostblaze level up 49 - 50, 10 stat points gained.’
‘Ting’ ‘Class Skill Treading Step level up 59 - 60’
‘Ting’ ‘Class Skill Single-handed Greatsword Mastery level up 54 - 55’
‘Ting’ ‘Class Skill Frost Injection level up 54 - 55’
‘Ting’ ‘Class Skill Layered Ice Carapace level up 38 - 39’
His Mana Meister and generic skills didn’t get any levels and neither did his Core Skill which was rare. Repetition alone was only gonna level his mastery, he would need a stronger push to evolve his Greatsword Mastery. He could use the greatsword pretty fluently already, a single hand or two was interchangeably used depending on his needs.
He allocated all 10 stat points into Wisdom instead of holding onto them.
After waiting for a little, the Rhoat corpse condensed into a [Condensed Vital Muscle (Common)]. It wasn’t any special after all, the ball looked the same as it previously was. Ebony picked it up and went back to the tree he left his bag on, he left it there after his first shield broke. He didn’t want his bag getting damaged since he just bought it and he doubted it was tougher than his Layered Ice Carapace spell.
His Mental Map was a 3D map of what he had seen so it was not hard to find it. Wisdom also helps with memory and Ebony’s memory was originally pretty good already.
He cast Frost Mist Perception Sphere and vibrated them to play simple piano tunes. It actually also trained his Ice Mana Manipulation. He carried both shields along as he hummed and made his way back to Plainston. He stuck both shields together and stacking them, hoping it would look like he was triple casting instead of quadra. But, he didn’t really care if anyone found out so it was just a minor attempt at hiding it.
It didn’t take long before Plainston’s walls were in sight.
“HALT!” a deep voice reverberated through the air. It was coming from atop the town walls and Ebony could see some archers aiming their bow and arrows at him.
‘They sure like saying halt.’ Ebony stopped a couple hundred metres away from Plainston.
He looked up to see a middle aged human archer or at least he was geared like one, he was too far for Ebony to Identify. Ebony looked at the one who shouted and didn’t bother raising his hands. Waiting to see why they stopped him.
“Dispel your magic and identify yourself or be recognised as a threat and dealt with like one!” the guard captain in charge of the archers ordered. He was standing with 3 other archers while a few more were clambering up beside them.
‘Can’t they see I’m human? My mist isn’t so thick he can’t see me furthermore, the archers should have decent Perception. Maybe people aren’t allowed to cast magic close to towns and cities?’ Ebony thought as he stopped casting, the 2 shields dropping as well. He was trying to play One Summer’s Day as well but recreating a single key and putting together a whole piece were completely different.
Ebony didn’t like shouting, he was looking at the man who shouted and was thinking if he could use Mana Vibrations by putting mana into his throat and directing it towards him. Ebony saw that the guard sighed, slapping the head of a younger looking archer, waving the archers away before jumping down the walls and making his way to Ebony. The man stopped a distance away from Ebony and called out again.
“My apologies for stopping you like that. One of my men mistook you for a recently reported spirit or banshee from the woods.” the man bowed.
[Archer Lvl 75]
“Mmm. Can you tell me more? I didn’t see anything like that while I was there.” Ebony asked, unperturbed from the small event of having arrows pointed at him. He was more interested in the spirit talk. He searched the whole forest but there was nothing like that. How would he fight a spirit? Could physical attacks land or work? Is it intangible? Will his magic pass through it as well? How would it attack Ebony if it was intangible? Were the questions he had rather than caring for his apologies, they were just doing their jobs anyway.
“The Quest Hall has received multiple reports from freelancers and passing travellers that they spotted a ghast like floating fog that produces all sorts of disturbing noises. It was sighted moving through the forest at high speeds and is said to use ice magic.
It is haunting the forest of its inhabitants and the high level rhoats are said to be hunted down. The Quest Hall just set it to be approximately level 80 and has advised the freelancers and local towns Quest Halls to avoid the area. It is likely you didn’t meet the monster. A request by the town itself has already been posted so you shouldn’t go there until a high level party takes it down.” the guard explained.
‘Is that me he’s talking about? Disturbing noise, I mean I’m still new at this sound magic thing okay?’ Ebony almost mentally facepalmed himself. He moved around trees and land really quickly and hunted monsters almost as quickly Ebony was pretty sure there was no such monster in there.
“Has anyone taken the quest yet?” Ebony asked. He wouldn’t like to waste their efforts chasing a non-existent monster or better yet, hunt him down.
“There aren’t any parties that high level around these parts and hardly any are crazy enough to hunt a spirit or ghost type without the right skills for it. There aren’t even many mages here. If the spirit isn’t taken care of soon, the bounty for it may go up enough so that parties from the closest city may take it up. Oh wait, if I’m not wrong the Xeng lady left town earlier towards the woods. Damn, the Xeng women really live up to their prestige and name, if the stories about them weren’t exaggerated then it shouldn’t be an issue for long. Didn’t even bat an eye at the approximated level 80 even though she was only level 46. And she’s going alone.”
“...are they many Xengs in this town?” Ebony asked.
“Nah, how can that be? This countryside is far from them, though they aren't exactly a rare sight nowadays. We are lucky to spot one in our town. Seeing her level she probably came for the new dungeon. I think her name was Scarlet?”
‘...They sent Scarlet to hunt me down? Hot. Damn. I don’t know how good she is with fire magic but her swordsmanship and speed alone is more than enough to kill me before I know it.’ Ebony thought. He was pretty good at gauging one’s strength if he had to say so.
He was brought around the world to challenge more types of martial artists than he could count. They were more underground rings than he imagined on Earth, too bad they were mostly pretty boring matches. Ebony didn’t know how his mother found so many hidden experts or hermits and monks to fight with him. None came even close to the beat downs his mother gave him but some were pretty damn good.
He had seen some strong people on Elcra. Though the levels of power were on a completely different scale. Gen, he couldn’t feel anything. It might be his senses being weak as an unclassed or that Gen was hiding it somehow, but he was definitely the strongest creature Ebony has seen so far by a long shot.
The village chief, Orren Wit and his wife Ophelia were both at a high level. They exude strength in their slender bodies despite being mage and archer. Yet, they didn’t seem unsurpassable as with Enya, the rogue Frost Elf.
On the escort team, Rowent and Dina were the most talented. Rowent has talent with magic, Dina was quite the talented fighter overall. Fergus was experienced, perhaps like many or all Elves. Their long life lets them experience more. Top had insight and leadership, his personal strength honestly not that remarkable. Chris was similar to those young disciples Ebony sparred with, training his technique for years but never been in many real fights or battles.
Ebony was confident at beating all of them currently, with the exception of Fergus. If he tried to keep Ebony away and run. Fergus was probably still faster than Ebony though he can probably catch up and tire him out with time. He was weak to Rowent’s fire magic sure, but he could probably dodge them and either wear Rowent out of mana or just block it long enough to get close to him.
He didn’t really fight Obsius but she was strong too. Strength beyond just levels.
Scarlet was a different kind of strong like Orren, Ophelia or Enya with their levels. A different kind of talent like Rowent and Dina. A born fighter. Whether it was the way she walked or carried herself in general, she breathes battle.
‘Fighting her for real… sounds exciting.’ Ebony was wondering if he should go back for a good fight. He hasn’t fought anyone his level he thought he couldn’t beat.
“I see. Can I enter town now?” Ebony asked.
“Yes, of course. But please try not to use magic in town.” it was weird they didn’t think the spirit was Ebony from the similarities but Ebony didn’t care. It may be his level and Class that doesn’t match hence, a coincidence to them.
The entrance fee was actually raised again to 3 Greys but Ebony had already filled up more than that so he could still enter. According to them, the dungeon seemed to be larger than they initially estimated. Dungeon size had no direct relation to the supposed rarity of the dungeon. This meant that it could accommodate even more people and the town was going under even bigger expansions.
Earth and stone mages are on their way to build the town walls, some already arrived and were checking the surrounding earth. There were even rumours that Plainston will likely be expanded to a city. They needed stone conjurers as well since transporting so much stone would be no easy feat.
Ebony directly went to the Quest Hall to see if any of the wolf pelts and parts or the vital muscle were requested. There is a surprising demand for the pelt, for light leather armour. The bones and fangs are more for small daggers and knives rather than armour.
Most Humans and Elves he had seen spotted lighter armour, Dwarves and Beastmen had a higher amount of metal pieces like chest piece or shoulder pads but none was in a full suit of metal armour.
Rhoats were apparently a common monster in the region and not just that particular forest. The vital muscle was a local material commonly used to make muscle regenerative potions. It is also a component for a few different types of potions. There is a constant and stable demand for it, it speeds up the healing of muscle and tissue damage by a good margin depending on the herbalist, alchemist or the like.
The condensed vital muscle was considered rare since it hardly appears. Most probably didn’t know they could make it the way Ebony did. They were troublesome opponents for many parties due to the group sizes and levels. About 30-40% of the parties Ebony saw in the Quest Hall consisted of apprentices, they took easier and safer requests. The majority ranges from the level 30 to 50, most younger looking than the apprentice counterparts.
The Z&Z escort party were considered elites here and it seems like most parties go for greener pastures once they reach about level 50 here. The forest was too small to accommodate so many parties despite the perfect level range of Rhoats for them. There were many other easier prey to hunt too.
Ebony found the surprising request for the condense vital muscle was from Andel and the pay was pretty good for a common rarity material.
‘Hmm. Perhaps to speed up Top’s healing? I guess I can bring it to them directly.’ Ebony concluded from the usage of the material.
Ebony traded in the mana ores he had again, this time remembering to keep some Greys and Blacks for expenses. He got a Green and some Greys from his materials, he no longer bothered counting as he slotted empty ores into his bracelet. He previously already filled his up. With his regeneration, Ebony earned more than he could by working if he didn’t spend his mana on training magic.
Elcra’s currency didn’t make much sense to him at first but seeing how so many things, even a water bottle used mana as a power source showed him the need and dependence they had on mana ores or mana. Ebony wondered if they would ever run out of mana ores from mining but it seemed like the Empire had found a way to make mana ores.
Theoretically, they were just solidified mana or highly compressed mana so even Ebony should one day be able to make it. It was a weird property of mana that they can be recharged after they are solidified. What material is an empty mana ore? It's not actually an ore or a metal right?
Ebony looked up to see Scarlet standing beside him as he was slotting the ores in his bracelet.
“Ah, Miss Scarlet. Did you manage to slay the rumoured spirit?” The receptionist called out. It garnered looks from parties all around, their enhanced senses easily catching drift of the conversation. The nearby woods was a popular hunting ground after all and the presence of a level 80 spirit was concerning.
“It is no longer a threat.” Scarlet glanced at Ebony.
‘Busted huh. When did she start watching me? I didn’t notice her at all. I really don’t think she was the one divining me.’ Ebony nodded expressionlessly at her.
Somewhat thankful he wouldn’t get in any kind of trouble this way. After calming down, Ebony realised his previously embarrassingly exaggerated reactions. His fathers words must have affected him a little, he should just treat her like he treats anyone else and there should be no problem. His heart and mind calmer than ever before, it even seems stronger after the exertion from the long hunt.
The Quest Hall was noisy with cheers and whispers. Cheers from the parties who could travel there again, whispers of both awe and fear. Ebony got many weird looks from people but Scarlet received those of trepidation. Ebony was used to both and ignored every single one.
Scarlet was a [Fire Swordswoman Lvl 47] now, 7 levels since he saw her 3 days ago. She wasn’t slacking either but if Ebony stayed and fought for 3 days straight against monsters much higher level and she came and went into town it would only mean she hunted even higher level monsters to get to that level already. Ebony was getting more and more interested in a spar with her rather than avoiding her now.
