Chapter 7

“Finally!” Hakon grunted, attention flicking to the Ancient Scripture.

[Skill [Evasion] has been learned.]

The moment it clicked, evading the monsters’ spit had become much easier to manage. And, finally, after evading it several times in quick succession, the Ancestors rewarded him.

Dismissing the message, Hakon charged the beetles again with a savage smile.

The first beetle was brutally beaten in a moment. [Evasion] and [Combat Awareness] worked in tandem to avoid the beetles’ flying spit without losing too much momentum. Still, Hakon used [Dash] and crushed the first beetle with ease.

His perception screamed danger at him as the second beetle reached his leg, but his hand axes descended with certain death. The first strike split its carapace open and the second axe tore through soft flesh, killing the monster.

As soon as the second beetle met its timely end, Hakon was rewarded.

[Experience threshold met. Level Up!]

Mana pressed against his skin and seeped into his flesh, tempering his body naturally as it reached deeper to gather.

The more mana Hakon controlled, the stronger he felt. The gains of a single Level were not extensive, but they accumulated and formed his Saga as he became more of a warrior from the legends. And he needed the power of legends as the ants turned to him, finally regarding him as more interesting than the corpses.

He wasted no time and propelled toward the closest target. Its mandibles clattered as it responded with a charge. The others followed through and skittered toward Hakon, his eyes flicking left and right to scan the situation.

[Throwing] activated as soon as he hurled the first axe at the intended target, but something felt wrong as soon as he released the handle. The axe whistled through the air and should have dug deep into the nearby ant’s exoskeleton only to clatter to the ground when it was repelled instead.

Hakon let out a dissatisfied grunt. Throwing weapons on the run had been a mistake. His stance had been different, his momentum not quite right. He understood that now.

It was too late to complain, the course of actions already predetermined. His other handaxe whipped down, missing the ant’s head as the monster lunged forward. Sensing the attack, Hakon pushed to the side, his axe lodged in the ant’s exoskeleton instead.

“For the Ancestors.” He growled, raising his foot to stomp on the handaxe’s flat side, ramming it through the ant’s exoskeleton and flesh.

A mace or great axe would have been better but a Barbarian’s body was a weapon of even greater lethality. The ant stood no chance as his foot descended. But not all was great. One ant was dead but three remained, their mandibles too close to crushing his legs and feet.

Hakon’s hair stood on end as he reached for the handaxe, nearly losing him a hand as a set of mandibles snapped shut. He pulled back in time, his mind churning as the other ants arrived by his side.

A fraction of a moment was all he needed to come to a decision, and use [Dash]. He used a trickle more mana than the Level 1 Skill required, increasing his acceleration momentarily. Enhanced Comprehension screamed at him, telling him that he did something wrong, and the Ancient Power could not have been more right. He escaped the encirclement, yet there was a price to pay.

Hakon’s right leg cramped up. Something sticky oozed from the leg, and a mixture of blood and disgust struck the air. His pants felt sticky around his thighs, exactly where the cramp had begun to spread out. The reason was painfully obvious: The tunnels his mana used to move were too narrow or filled with that sludge and couldn’t take more mana than [Dash] used. Increasing the amount of mana without extensive practice or a proper cleansing of the tunnels lead to disaster. Hakon knew that much. He had known that could happen, but the situation forced him to respond instantly, and his instincts pushed him to use more mana than before.

Or was it fear? No, Barbarians did not feel fear. He shook his head and slapped his cramped thigh firmly.

The ants skittered toward him, their legs moving more frantically than before. It was almost like he’d just become a tastier prey than he’d been a moment earlier. The reason eluded Hakon. It didn’t matter, either way.

He removed his bone daggers, swirled them in his hands and pulled his right hand back. [Throwing] activated once more, but Hakon needed more than that. His stance shifted slightly, his fingers no longer held onto the dagger handle with an iron tight grip, and he regulated his breathing.

While far from perfect, it felt better – good enough to hurl the first bone dagger at the closest ant. The throw struck gold and precisely pierced the monster’s eye. But it didn’t collapse and merely slowed, a pained screech ringing in his ear.

Hakon silenced the screech with a second throw, ending the ant. That left two ants to crush, and one weapon to wield.

Unsheathing the sword, he executed a swift strike without hesitation. His strike came true, but a scratch that stretched from one side of the ant’s back to the other was all he inflicted. It didn’t even look like the blade dug deep.

His fists would have done more damage than that, but losing the advantage of range against and enemy with mandibles and tough defense felt foolish.

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Considering an idea he’d come up with the night before, Hakon shifted his attention and tried to pull mana into his arms. Since he could pull minuscule amounts into his legs to create [Dash], enhancing his arms – or weapons – should work just as fine. That was not the case. Blood gathered in his mouth as soon as he pulled traces of mana into one of the unchartered tunnels leading up to his chest. His skin felt like it was breaking apart as black sludge oozed from between his ribs. Surprised and confused by the pain, his concentration faltered.

“No testing in battle.” He grunted, slapping his thigh once more before using [Dash].

His body complained and screamed as the tunnels within him turned and twisted, but they did as intended as he closed the distance to one of the ants, sword thrusting forward with deadly momentum. And deadly it was. The sword tip tore through the monster’s maw before its mandibles clamped down. The ant was not dead right away, but it succumbed as soon as Hakon tore the blade to the side with Barbarian strength.