Chapter 13

It felt wrong. Something about watching the beetles die before his eyes, too weak to do anything against the raging fire that engulfed them, didn’t feel right.

Hakon went against his father’s teachings as he came up with the plan. It was simple and didn’t require much muscle. All he needed was a fire and to find the beetle’s nest. Once he did both, it was only a matter of time. Hakon ignited branches and threw them into the anthill that was home to a small group of beetles and ants. He fueled the fire with the beetle’s acidic spit, which lit up even better than rendered fat.

Hakon spread their spit and waited for the beetles and ants to emerge from the hell. That they did, some of them, but fighting them barely posed a threat. It was easy. Simple, and Hakon felt something stir within him. Enhanced Comprehension prodded him, tried to tell him what he could have done better to acquire one, if not multiple, Skills, but he was not sure if he liked that.

It just felt wrong. Like…where was the honor in all this? Was there any honor in fighting monsters in such a pathetic way, in the first place?

Disgusting. That it was.

Strategy was not necessarily a bad thing, but this certainly was. Hakon hated it – himself – for even trying.

This was not the way of the Barbarians. And while he may be different from other Barbarians, the least he wanted was to be true to himself.

***

As much as he wanted to continue fighting in the normal way, he had to recover. He should recover. It was necessary. His body screamed at him and threatened to escape his control.

But with the Level he gained in [Flow Control], Hakon was unwilling to rest. The Skill Upgrade was so close, so…he might as well continue to use it. Right? Maybe it was not the smartest decision but guiding mana through the tunnels had a soothing effect. The warmth made his wounds itch – that part was not particularly enjoyable –, which could only mean that they healed faster.

That was what it was, wasn’t it? It was not the first time his wounds itched after his father beat him up in a ‘spar’. His bruises but especially the cuts and other open wounds would often keep him awake when he wanted nothing more than to rest. Guiding mana through the tunnels near some of the less grievous cuts made them itch badly. Like really badly. More than once, Hakon felt compelled to scratch the cuts open and gouge out the itch deep within the wound.

It was a good thing he had enough willpower to keep his hands away from the wounds.

Hakon watched the faint wounds heal as he used [Flow Control], a smile creeping up his face. That was much better than resting. He was recovering, all while doing something useful.

Time passed slowly. The itches kept him awake even as bright daylight was suddenly replaced by darkness, his smile growing wide as more and more messages flooded in. One of which made him use the Acidic Beetle’s sacs.

It was probably not the smartest of his choices, but it worked as well as he had hoped for – if not better. More messages trickled in as the darkness around him grew denser, the howls and hollering screeches of nocturnal monsters echoing in the distance.

Only when his mana mass was empty did Hakon finally cave in to exhaustion.

***

His mana had still not recovered when he woke up. The mana mass was empty, which made no sense. It should be full already. Or most of it should have recovered by now. Daylight had returned to the Fracture, which could only mean he slept for a while. And considering how great his body felt, he slept a lot longer than he should have.

Glancing down at his body, the smaller cuts he sustained in the previous battle were no longer visible. Not even scars remained. The burn marks on his leg were also healed, so were the burns he inflicted on himself with beetle spit. What surprised him the most, however, was his ankle. After nearly losing his foot, Hakon had been threatening its recovery. Even as a Barbarian, it would – or should – have taken a young warrior several days of rest to recover.

As much as he wanted to win the Battle of Generation, he needed to be at his peak to conquer the Fracture and earn the Levels needed to defeat Ulfar and other Bloodbearers.

He came up with several plans to use and improve his Skills to potentially earn the 10th Level and reach the 1st Ascension to heal faster. But looking at his leg and the wound that had been severe the day before, Hakon could only smile. The bone was no longer visible.

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His red flesh, on the other hand, still was visible but a lot had regrown and knitted itself together, turning a grievous wound into something far more mundane. He got up to his feet and put some weight on both sides and barely felt some minor discomfort. And even that was overwhelmed by the itching sensation coming from a rapidly healing body.

That left him with yet another mystery; His body was absorbing mana at this very moment, yet it never reached the mana mass. The answer came in a flood. Not of power or vitality but messages instead.

[Proficiency gained. [Flow Control Lv.16] improved to [Flow Control Lv.17]]

[Proficiency gained. [Pain Tolerance Lv.5] improved to [Pain Tolerance Lv.6]]

[Proficiency gained. [Poison Resistance Lv.2] improved to [Poison Resistance Lv.3]]

…

[Proficiency gained. [Flow Control Lv.19] improved to [Flow Control Lv.20]]