Chapter 284: One Tight Hole
On Floor 22, countless cockroaches seemed to be shrieking at a wall. But why?!
Were they trying to unearth a treasure? Nope, they were trying to reach a human hiding in a small hole in the wall. But, from an external gaze, neither Josh nor his temporary fortress were visible.
All he could see in front of him was a black wriggling wall as the creatures tried pushing their way forward. Luckily, they didn't seem strong enough to dig the incredibly hard rock in the surroundings.
With every thrust of his spear, Josh would pierce through an enemy. Then he would use his feet to kick the corpses backward, creating a makeshift barricade. As for his other hand, he would use it to butcher some of the fallen monsters for snacks.
Such a situation could easily plunge people into despair. How was one supposed to remain physically as well as mentally strong? The enemies could as well be endless!
Josh analyzed the situation extremely carefully.
Pros:
+ Handsome Main protagonist
+ Free Food to regain his energy.
+ Non-stop cockroach shrieking, adding background music.
+ Infinite number of bloodthirsty enemies to use as training dummies.
+ Stuck in a very tight hole. While it didn't beat a cultivator dwelling, it was pretty close.
Cons:
- He lacked the seasonings to turn the insect meat into a delicacy.
- The cockroaches weren't that good at shrieking. It was quite frankly a cacophony.
Overall, everything was going well. But, what kind of skill should he try to learn? It had to be something related to mana.
Should he perhaps try once more the wind blades, but this time in active combat? Maybe he could even replicate the feat known as reaching enlightenment in a life or death battle.
That's when he suddenly remembered the day he had spent with Liam, watching him use mana slash over and over until he had ended up in the hospital from mana deficiency.
Back then, he hadn't been able to make sense of the technique at all. However, it was before he had figured out his mana manipulation skill. It was time to try once more!
As he slaughtered the invaders, he pictured his mana flowing from his body through his spear. He had used a rustic version of this technique before, but now he needed to turn it into a genuine battle skill.
At this point, he had deactivated his smelly aura since it was consuming too much mana. He could only hope that the monsters outside wouldn't give up and wander back above the canyon. He would wholeheartedly focus on his training.
There were a few things to keep in mind:
- Too much mana, and he would lose control of it.
- Too little mana, and it proved utterly useless.
- Moving the mana too fast made it lose any enhancement property.
- Moving the mana too slowly also made it lose all effectiveness.
- Attacking with his spear too quickly snuffed the mana out.
- Attacking too slowly would mean death and wasn't an option.
What the Hell?! This was so complicated and required insane control! His feeling of helplessness was probably akin to a heart surgeon forced to operate with a jackhammer! No, perhaps the latter would be easier!
Mana Training in a Nutshell:
(╯°□°)╯┻━┻
Still, would this be enough to convince him to give up? Hell the fuck no!
He kept struggling even when the task at hand seemed monumentally challenging. Instead, he opted for a meticulous mana manipulation approach. He was even more prudent than a man shaving his balls.
He was only getting started!
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In a small cave, there was a being that was entirely blue from head to toes.
In his hand, there was a black spear that crackled with bright purple energy. It would create mirage light rays as the man kept thrusting with power yet meticulous control. Every time he did, a new cockroach would fall dead with its head destroyed.
The peculiar thing was that the man's eyes were currently unfocused. How was it possible? He wouldn't have been able to explain it. He barely registered the creatures appearing even as he killed them and a fresh layer of blue blood coated him.
He was instead looking at the mana in his spear. Well, sensing would have been more accurate. At first, he had been completely overwhelmed with all the variables he had to account for: quantity, speed, trajectory, motion, and more.
However, he had finally figured something out. He had approached the problem with the wrong mindset from the start. His initial tactic of logically figuring out everything wasn't working at all.
No, using mana was akin to creating a musical masterpiece. Perhaps it was possible to rationalize it all, but instinct worked even better! Overthinking it all prevented him from truly resonating with the mana.
He needed to feel what was right. That was it. There was no mystical hidden secret, nope! That is how he spent minutes, hours, days? However long it was, he wasn't regretting it in the least.
Time kept trickling, and cockroaches kept dying.
Finally, after lots of effort, Josh was finally done. He didn't feel any different, and he didn't see any visible difference either. He simply knew it. One could say that his strikes were now cleaner. It would become evident against stronger enemies, most probably.
That is when a system message appeared. Seeing it, Josh couldn't help but grin.
[Detected a new user created active skill! Congratulation!]
[Do you wish to register it with the system?]
"What does this mean?" Josh asked, puzzled. Of course, he kept slaughtering the cockroaches as he spoke with the Tower Protocol.
[Only active skills can be registered. It allows one to use their full potential in the Tower.]
"What about my other skills? Can't they be registered too?"
[Bloodline skills are unavailable for enhancement.]
"Alright. Are there any drawbacks then?"
[Skill Points will be consumed!]
"Alright, register it." Josh decisively instructed. While basic, this new skill would work incredibly well with his fighting style.
[Successfully created new skill! Please select a name!]
Josh didn't hesitate in the least. This was a simple skill meant to coat weapons with mana.
"Mana Coating." He confidently answered.
It was most definitely the most unsophisticated sounded name he could come up with, yet he preferred it this way. It was a simple skill for a straightforward method of killing. This basic name would serve as a reminder for his first original skill of starting from zero.
There was now a new entry in his status screen:
-D Mana Coating*
This was officially his first active skill that wasn't from a bloodline. He couldn't help but feel proud of himself. He still remembered the people that had looked at him with pity and disdain at the welcoming ceremony. Well, screw them all!
As for his skills points, they had gone down, but he didn't mind it one bit. This was better than just having them sit on his status screen.
#SKILLS# (46) —> (41)
When he came back to D-23, the first thing he would do was finally duel Liam. He was eager to show him how he had turned the mana slash he had shown him into his very own personal skill.
As for this new ability, he instantly noticed a big difference. It being registered seemed to change the ease at which he could perform it. This meant that he'd be able to drive more mana into his weapon without a backlash.
It was as if the Tower had been running interference on his technique all along. It was only now that it was gone that he could sense it, however.
Thus he kept happily slaughtering while thinking about how he was going to get out of his current trapped predicament. He began to push back his enemies for the first time with his new power.
He wasn't passive anymore. It was time to go on the offensive! He would kill many of them, clear the exit, observe his surroundings for a few seconds and then fall back. Visibility was low thanks to the fog but whatever.
He began mentally mapping the interior of the canyon, slowly getting ready to head out. Just as he was about to leave confidently, he suddenly heard a tremor as something heavy seemed to be heading his way.
As he peeked outside to figure out what it was, he couldn't help but cry in shock. "Holy fuck!"
In front of him, there was a creature that definitely wasn't a critter!