[NR] A Little Tired - Chapter 466 (Patreon)

The giant tardigroid at first feels pain as Jason's never ending threads dig deeper into its body, and then nothing. Well, more than just nothing. It loses feeling in the front left shoulder and arm as the limb goes limp.

In the end, the monster's size was just a little awkward. Too big to properly defend itself against Jason's attack and yet at the same time too small to ignore. A proper Kaiju would have been able to take the strike and have kept going.

Then Lily finishes sending daggers of pain through the back of the monster's neck and slashes something important as the rest of the left limbs go limp. The large tardigroid then falls over, no longer able to support itself. Though Jason and Lily hadn't expected this outcome and so we're knocked around a little by the fall.

Jason had been aiming to disable an arm, but Lily was just attacking wildly. Still, a couple of bruises was more than worth the outcome. With the giant tardigroid downed, it became easy to finish it off by approaching from the back where the remaining three limbs couldn't reach.

Though in the end, the monster's loot was quite disappointing. It was just a scaled up tardigroid after all. Even the thick shell wasn’t anything exciting. The group could only sigh and toss the material to the side. While yes, a meter cubed piece of the shell was likely worth something to someone. It would be too frustrating to haul through the rest of the dungeon.

With that out of the way, the rest of the arena floor proceeded smoothly. Well, there weren't any more variants. The dungeon kept throwing quantity at the group and by the end even Jason was feeling strained.

Jason sighed as he leaned up against a pillar. "I feel sore even in my Energy. Why was that so tough? It didn't seem like others were having similar amounts of nonsense."

Courtney wants to shrug, but can't quite manage it. "Remember, the usual group size is six. They fight the same amount of monsters, but spread out even more. Not only that, but I'm not a traditional healer.

"Right now we're all suffering in a way similar to how people suffer after working out too hard. A proper healer can fix up things like the microfractures a Mana pool receives from being overused. Of course that can stunt natural growth just like proper healing after a workout cancels out Strength growth."

Jason, "I'm going to guess most people prefer proper healing because who needs personal growth when you have System growth?"

Courtney, "Very much so. Though I should pick up some proper healing options. While this experience will definitely give me a large boost to my Mana pool once everything recovers naturally. We can't end up this useless after a big fight. In a known dungeon we're relatively safe, but who knows where we might end up."

Rosha sighs, "Why is Lily alright, then?"

At the mention of her name, Lily looks over at the trio. Though when not seeing any of them moving, goes back to hopping around the piles of unwanted loot that had accumulated.

Jason half laughs, "She's a beast. Literally. Even without a stamina stat, animal based monsters have a lot going for them. Besides, she doesn't use active abilities all that much. Even her Energy fur thing is more like a togglable passive than an active attack.

"So while we were bursting power left and right, Lily was like a calm stream of Energy. I should honestly take a cue from that. I've got over ten times her Energy and yet she can outlast me. There is clearly something wrong with how I'm using my power."

Rosha, "I've done some research and most people use Energy just like you."

Jason, "That's the problem. The System hates that we use the stuff and so why in the world would the most common form of it be correct? I honestly should have seen this coming.

"All my knowledge on how rituals and the various items made specifically to use Energy act differently. They're all about a constant flow. Yet here I am, with one proper Energy attack and it involves bursting out.

"Not that I have anything against that method either. A river that bursts out of its banks can cause massive amounts of damage. Yet that can be just as destructive to the river as it is to what is around it."

Courtney, "If you just want to be a river, how is that different from when you cultivate? While I've never seen another Energy user do so, from what I know, you're making a cycle."

Jason, "I've gotten a bit stuck. I cultivate my Energy everyday, and yet my technique isn't advancing. Plus, like a cultivation novel, I've got some concepts I'm trying to comprehend and they've not budged an inch in a while as well."

Rosha, "Probably the System kicking you down then. If you want to talk about cultivation tropes, the whole 'heavens holding the main character back' thing is all the more likely. After all, the System of NeoRealm's 'Heavens' and you're certainly going against it by using Energy."

Jason barks out a laugh, "I've got something in the works to help with that."

Courtney, "So why not focus on that?"

Jason sighs, "It is a bit final. At best I would need to respawn to fix things. Maybe spend years rebuilding things otherwise or at worst start a new character. Can't really afford that."

Rosha, "Going against the System wasn't ever going to be easy. Even with the full support my family can provide, our few Energy users seem to be in the opposite position of you. While you can punch above your weight, they have a hard time fighting others of the same break."

Courtney rolls her eyes, "I don't know if that is the best example. All of the family's Energy users are ritualists. While not all of them are crafters, even the battle based ritualists are more of a support role than anything else."