Chapter 18

Countless messages materialized all around him, each signifying a boost of power, painting a picture of the pain and effort he had gone through.

Some messages Hakon had already seen before. His 1st Ascension, the Levels he’d earned, and some of the Skill improvements he knew about. Dismissing the messages after a quick glance, he focused back on the Totem. His trembling fingers caressed the Totem with the care of a gentle lover, prompting yet another pair of messages.

[Totem has been detected and examined. Colossal Terror Runeskin has been discovered.]

[Do you wish to bind Colossal Terror Runeskin?]

Nothing blocked him from binding the Runeskin this time. He’d reached the 1st Ascension and could bind the Runeskin. And he saw no reason not to do so. The Terror’s Totem was exquisite. It was marvelous unlike the weathered wooden Acidic Beetle Totem. Still, Hakon didn’t bind it right away. He inspected it first.

[Colossal Terror Totem
Runeskin – Hoard Impact(Major)]

“What?!” Hakon exclaimed, hair standing on end.

A Major Runeskin was extraordinary. It was only second to Greater Runeskins.

The name explained little. ‘Hoard’ was not a word he heard about before. But that was not necessary given the image etched on the Totem. The explosion of power that nearly killed him when the battle had shifted to his favor.

It was a power that allowed warriors to turn the tides of battle!

“Bind it!” Hakon urged, closing his eyes as the power within the Totem erupted. His iron tight grip around the Totem pole was forcefully broken, his fingers repelled. Yet, even as he felt a brush with the power that seemed to ooze out of the Totem, Hakon never opened his eyes.

His skin crawled up, his chest heaved heavily, and his throat tightened as the Totem’s presence intensified. It pressed hard against his chest and sunk deeper and deeper. Then, the presence surrounding him faded. All that remained was a heavy weight on his chest.

Hakon’s eyes fluttered open after hundreds of quick heartbeats, hand pressed against his chest. The weight faded slowly, yet it never fully disappeared even as he looked down to see nothing clinging to his chest. Nothing had changed, if one excluded the engraving that stretched across his chest.

Magnificent azure lines crawled across his skin forming an intricate pattern that rivaled the engravings he’d seen on the older warrior’s arms and back. It did not depict the Colossal Terror nor did the engraving look like any other beetle or ant he had seen before. It was just a beautiful-looking pattern that shimmered faintly.

It was dim, and did not appear particularly impressive if one ignored the Runeskin’s size, yet Hakon instinctively knew that it was his greatest weapon. Knowledge, snippets that revealed the secrets of his Runeskin, had been shared by the Ancestors. They planted it in his mind, gracing him with the means needed to use the Runeskin in combat.

“Is that what ‘Hoard’ means?” Hakon tilted his head, trying to understand the snippets of wisdom the Ancestors shared with him.

It was a little confusing, but a few minutes were all he needed to get the gist of it. Hoard Impact absorbed a portion of the impacting attacks. It triggered naturally and would not require Hakon’s assistance.

By absorbing part of the incoming attacks, the azure engraving on his chest would shine brighter. While not important in the theory, it was a great visual component to indicate when he’d ‘hoarded’ enough to unleash great power. To erupt with the power Hoard Impact had accumulated in one mighty blow.

Hakon squinted his eyes at that part. When he fought the Colossal Terror it had felt more like the monster erupted in power. Now, however, it looked like Hoard Impact could be used not only as a counterattack but to overwhelm the enemy while being in the offense.

Learning more about Hoard Impact would take some time. Fully understanding the Runeskin was not easy. It was never supposed to be.

Fact was, Hoard Impact was a curious power. What if he charged the unleashed power through his warhammer? Would that work or could the Runeskin only release the hoarded power straight through the etchings on his chest?

So many questions. He licked his lips in anticipation and checked the Ancient Scripture. It was a mess. He had many Skills. So many it was hard to keep focus on them in that bundled mess.

“Can I change that somehow?” Hakon rubbed the back of his head and froze when the Ancient Scripture changed before his eyes.

The Skill section moved. The letters moved across the age-old parchment like they had a free will.

Skills

Resistances – [Poison Resistance Lv.12], [Pain Tolerance Lv.15], [Acid Resistance Lv.10]

Utility – [Reading Lv.3], [Circulation Lv.8], [Running Lv.9], [Dash Lv.7]…

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Combat – [Combat Awareness Lv.13], [Weakness Detection Lv.11]] [Grappling Lv.6]…

The new addition of categories was helpful. It still didn’t feel perfect though. Something did not fit quite right.

“[Circulation] and [Dash] are Utility Skills?” He mused.

While that was not necessarily wrong, Hakon didn’t like it. Wasn’t there another category he could add?

As if it was reading his mind, the Ancient Scripture changed again.

Mana – [Circulation Lv.8], [Dash Lv.7], [Mana Sense Lv.10], [Mana Infusion Lv.5]

[Dash] didn’t feel quite right in the mana category either, so Hakon pulled it back to Combat. It was much better in the combat section.

“Or should I keep it there?” He studied the Ancient Scripture with squinted eyes, a heavy sigh escaping his lips.