Chapter 58

No one died. One of the Bloodbearers came close after he took a blade to the chest, but that was his own fault. Not only had he been too excited, but he also kept advancing even with a razor-sharp blade lodged in his chest. The blade missed his heart, and the Bloodbearer managed to ram his own weapon into the Pearot Barbarian’s neck, killing him, but the damage had already been done.

Mana flooded him, and the Blood of his Ancient Power erupted, further enhancing his regeneration, which appeared to be enough to preserve his life.

The younger warriors plundered the weapons of the fallen and replaced their own blades with the superior ones. Afterward, the dead Pearot Barbarians were offered to the Ancestors and dissolved into mist.

“Finally,” Ulfar growled to the side, his mace drenched in blood and brain matter. Only a few opponents had managed to land a strike on him, and even they failed to leave behind lasting injuries. Even minor cuts had already stopped bleeding and were knitting themselves together at a visible pace.

The Behemoth Blood warrior was much stronger than he used to be, and he did not hesitate to show it. Letting out a growl, he stepped into the Fracture, with others hurrying in after him. Hakon felt several eyes on him and nodded before stepping through the violet vortex as well.

As soon as he was inside, the temperature increased drastically. Every breath burned in his lungs, the heat stung his eyes, and even the ambient mana seemed affected. Activating [Mana Sense] together with [Sensory Expansion], Hakon was assaulted by the overwhelming heat. With his senses heightened, the changes within the Fracture pressed harder against him, yet he couldn’t help but smile at what he saw. One of which was the Scripture describing the Fracture.

[Fracture – Magma Field
Rarity – Common
Recommended Level – 10
Slots – 20/20]

Magma Field. It was nothing like the Crawling Expanse, yet it felt somewhat similar. Looking around, Hakon found himself on a plateau of blackened stone. Ponds of liquid fire dotted the plateau, which stretched far and wide.

[Incomplete Saga Trials discovered!]

[Lesser Deed – Slay 10 Magmaspewers (10/10)]

[Major Deed – Survive in the Soul-melting Ponds (35/50)]

Hakon was not sure why the Ancestors had shown him a Saga Trial that had already been completed, but he ignored it and focused on the Major Deed instead. Someone was, or had been, close to completing it, yet they had failed. Looking around at the magma ponds, it wasn’t hard to guess what the Major Deed required. It was something the Pearot Barbarians should have been capable of. Those at the 2nd or 3rd Ascension, at least, should have been tough enough.

That reminded Hakon of his conversation with the chieftain. He had to figure out why Pearot hadn’t closed the Fracture. He needed to understand what was valuable enough about the Magma Field and the other Fractures to justify keeping them open rather than closing them to appease the Ancestors.

Ulfar was already far ahead, and it didn’t take long for the other young warriors to spread out as well. Not everyone had managed to enter the Fracture, but those who did were enough to deal with the remaining Pearot Barbarians, wherever they were.

Hakon turned his attention elsewhere. A series of stalagmites caught his eye. They weren’t made of the same material as the rest of the plateau and surrounded the magma ponds at specific intervals. The closer the stalagmites were to the Fracture portal leading back to the forbidden lands, the fewer there were. Yet some ponds lacked even a single stalagmite.

No, that wasn’t quite right. It looked as though there had once been stalagmites there, and they had been removed.

Moving closer to inspect the pond and the stalagmites, Hakon failed to sense anything unusual. It wasn’t until he broke off the tip of a stalagmite that chaos unfolded. The magma pond stirred, and a glob of magma was hurled his way. Reminded of the days he had spent evading acid, Hakon conjured a [Mana Shield] while pushing [Circulation] and [Dash] to their limits.

With his arm coated in [Reinforcement], Hakon shot toward the edge of the pond, his arm bursting through the rippling magma surface.

Pain assaulted him, raw and unbidden, as the membrane of [Reinforcement] collapsed, but he did not pull back until his melting fingers coiled around the creature’s neck.

Hakon pulled his hand out of the pond as quickly as he could, dragging the creature along with him. It looked… different from what he had expected. What unraveled before him was a writhing mass no longer than a meter. It was not particularly wide, but it was quite heavy for a worm since that was essentially what it was. A worm with a grinder of razor-sharp teeth for a mouth and the ability to spit magma.

Yet the magma it spat was unlike the magma in the pond. First of all, Hakon blocked the creature’s spit with another [Mana Shield], but it melted through it effortlessly. Splashes of magma reached him, burning far more than the droplets clinging to his arm.

Looking down at his arm, he was grateful for [Pain Tolerance]. Yet despite the Skill being at Level 20, he was still in pain.

He pumped mana into [Natural Regeneration] and crushed the creature after it released another burst of magma.

“Weird,” he mused through gritted teeth. As painful as it was, Hakon’s attention lingered on the creature’s spit and the fragments within it. The pieces looked not dissimilar to the stalagmites, just molten.

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Did the creatures produce the stalagmites? If so, they likely didn’t destroy them. That could only mean the Pearot Barbarians harvested the stalagmites and used them for something, or that something else did. Glancing down at his weapons, particularly the longsword he had acquired from one of the Pearot Barbarians back in the forest, Hakon grinned.

“Is that it?” he wondered aloud before motioning to a group of young warriors.

“Collect some stalagmites and bring them to Theor. Since he’s injured, he should return to the tribe to recover.” Even though the task was important – crucial, perhaps even – the Barbarians grimaced. They wanted to hunt, acquire Deeds, and expand upon their Saga too much to fully understand the potential value of the stalagmites.

“This is important. If I’m right, everyone will be armed like Tribe Pearot in a fortnight,” Hakon announced with a wolfish smile. “Imagine the feats we can achieve with such superior weapons.”

The young Barbarians swallowed hard. They looked at each other for a moment, then leaped into action.

Distracted by the orders and the thoughts flashing through his mind, Hakon failed to recognize what was happening around or within him. [Natural Regeneration] was still active, and something else was happening as the magma tore through his arm. He was healing even as he sustained damage, yet it was the synergy of his instincts, his steadily increasing control of mana, and his Enhanced Comprehension that gave birth to something new.