B3—Chapter 19: Monster Smashers (Patreon)

After returning to the starting point and opening the house, the three of us collapsed onto the couch, utterly exhausted. Rue sprawled out on his beanbag. Every muscle in my body ached. It wasn’t the kind of soreness a spell could fix, but a deep mental fatigue that seeped into my bones. Cooking was out of the question. Eventually, we dragged ourselves to the breakfast bar and ate whatever we had in Storage.

During dinner, I tried to think of a solution. I knew for sure we didn’t have enough crystals for all the jet skies, but I didn’t have the strength for another day like this.

“We need to think about how to work smarter, not harder,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “Remember Rat Island? We found a solution to how to ‘take care’ of rats without fighting hundreds of them.”

Mahya nodded thoughtfully, tapping her fingers on the table. “I see what you’re saying, but you’ve stored up enough progress in your fighting class for many levels ahead. What’s holding you back is your progress as a wizard. We don’t have that luxury. To advance in our classes, we have to fight. It took me eight years to advance one level, and the next level will take even longer if I look for shortcuts.”

“Yeah, I hear you,” I replied, scratching my head. “But what is our purpose here? Are we here to advance your class, or to collect crystals?”

“Both?” Mahya asked, her voice uncertain.

Al cleared his throat. “If we can discover a more simplified approach, we will achieve some advancement,” he stated. “Ultimately, it still helps people or the world.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“In order to advance a class, one of two things must happen,” Al explained, his tone measured and precise. “What you do should benefit people or the world, or you should strive to enhance your skills or abilities. For example, when you heal someone, you advance in your class. However, if you successfully heal an unfamiliar ailment, learn how to conserve mana in a healing spell, or use a spell in an innovative manner to treat a new condition, you not only help a person but also enhance your proficiency and, as a result, you receive much more advancement in the class.

“In order to advance our classes, we must strive to refine our skills and engage in fights that contribute positively to the world. Although we can dedicate years to training and honing our skills and reach an extraordinary level of proficiency, our class’s advancement will be limited if we fail to utilize these abilities to benefit others or the world. On the other hand, our class may experience minor progression due to the aid we provide, but if we do not actively improve our abilities, the impact will be minimal.”

“You have to remember something else,” Mahya added, leaning forward with a serious expression. “Lis and I trained you, of course, so that you could defend yourself. But the main reason was to advance your class to the level of a ‘half price’ class at least, or preferably to a class that you get for free. That way, you’d get bonuses from the Guidance, not just the knowledge you gained the hard way.

“To achieve that, you must do things beyond what you’ve learned and trained in. In the dungeon, you did something new with the crazy energy beam you used to crack the dungeon guardian’s heart, but other than that, I haven’t seen you do anything new or different. Work on it if you want to advance the class to a higher power level.”

Hmm, they gave me a lot to think about.

I lay in bed, unable to fall asleep. Their words played in my head like a broken record, and in the end, I had to admit that I had done nothing to advance my class. Shifting my perspective on the gorge, I realized it was not only a place to collect crystals, but also a training opportunity. I opened my profile and scrutinized it, searching for anything I could use to promote my class.

Name: John Rue
Age: 20
Familiar: Rue Level 13
Display Class: Healer Level 12

Healer Spells:

• Heal Muscle - 22

• Diagnose - 15

• Stop Bleeding - 6

• Heal Bone - 13

• Control Blood - 14

• Healing Touch - 25

• Neutralize Poison - 5

• Purify - 18

• Clean - 20

• Anesthesia - 10

• Regrow Flesh - 4

• Fortify Life Force - 9

• Cleanse - 2

• Neutralize Curse

Hidden Class: Gate Traveler Level 5
Gates to next level: 13/17

Class Abilities:

• Conversion

• Travelers’ Archive

• Identify - 3

• Storage - x13 (140,608 m3)

• Local Adaptation:

  • Spoken language

  • Written language

  • Runes/Magic Script

• Map

• One of the Crowd

Profession: Merchant Level 8
Skills:

• Bargain - 15

• Sense Honesty - 10

• Appraisal - 12

• A Nose for Business - 20

Sub-Class 2: Wizard Battle Master Level 8
Wizard Abilities:

• Mind Split x4

• Mana Sense [Adept]

• Mana Saturation [Apprentice]

• Mana Control [Junior]

• Mana Regeneration x 3

• Mana Oneness [Novice]

• Wind

• Lightning

• Spell Weaver [Novice]

Wizard Spells:

• Harvest Mana Crystal

• Harvest Game [In Progress]

Battle Master Skills:

• Unarmed Combat [Junior]

• Ranged Weapons [Junior]

• Mana Combat [Apprentice]

• Blunt weapons [Medior]

• Bladed weapons [Senior]

• Polearm Mastery [Junior]

• Hafted Weapons [Junior]

• Firearms [Novice]

Sub-Class 3: Bard Level 4
Bard Spells and Skills:

• Arcane Lullaby

• Harmonic Illusion - 1

• Rhythmic Resonance - 1

• Guitar Playing - 17

• Flute Playing

• Violin Playing

• Piano Playing

• Saxophone Playing

• Harmonica Playing

• Lute Playing

• Cello Playing - 5

• Poetry - 4

General Spells:

• Mana Dart - 5

• Mana shield - 5

• Spellbinding - 3

• Invisibility - 13

• Mend - 2

• Adaptable Light Ball - 4

• Restore - 23

• Heat - 3

• Absorb Mana - 9

• Exude Mana - 2

• Copy Magical Text - 16

• Telepathy - 7

• Privacy Sphere - 3

• Telekinesis - 10

• Copy Text - 5

General Skills:

• Making Beer - 1

• Mining - 5

• Pencil Sketching - 1

• Develop Negative - 3

• Print Photograph - 2

• Photography - 9

• Butchering - 1

• Skinning - 1

• Limoncello Making - 1

• Sailing - 8

• Engraving - 10

• LTA Flight

• Jump - 2

• Stealth

• Riding - 1

• Motorcycle Mechanic - 3

• Car Mechanic -1

• Glassblowing - 1

• Woodworking - 1

• Leather Crafting - 1

• Metalworking - 1

• Bookbinding - 1

Health: 6,850/6,850
Mana: 11,100/11,100
Strength: 62
Agility: 60
Constitution: 62
Vitality: 75
Intelligence: 90
Wisdom: 91
Perception: 70
Luck: 58
Creativity: 25
Stat points: 0
Ability points: 223

As I lay there, staring at my profile, I felt overwhelmed. There were so many things to work with that I didn’t know where to start. I remembered a line I read in a book by James Haddock. One character there had a saying: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time, one bit at a time.” Snickering, I tried to figure out how to eat this elephant.

First, I checked the general list to see if I needed everything there. My profile was just too damn long. I never used the beer or limoncello making skills, and with the amount of alcohol we bought, I doubted I would ever need them. So, I converted them to ability points and kept looking.

The next thing I converted was pencil sketching. Initially, I thought I’d use the skill to sketch the places I visited, but with mechanical cameras working in mana worlds, there was never a need.

I saw the mana shield and winced. Since I had the new armor, it hadn’t crossed my mind to cast a shield on myself. It might have saved me from that nasty bat bite if I had. Another two options were using telekinesis to throw monsters around and casting exuded mana on them. Losing the polluted mana they were made of should harm them, shouldn’t it?

I thought about what else I could do, and my gaze kept being drawn to the Spell Weaver ability. I hadn’t tried using it actively yet. My problem was that I often discovered things by accident, like the lightning in Paris. On instinct, if my attention was elsewhere, like storing the magic circles in the palm of my hand. Or under duress, like discovering the Spell Weaver ability in the dungeon. But after doing it instinctively, I had to figure out how to do it consciously and consistently, and that was a whole different ball game.

After some time, I closed my profile and listened to myself regarding the elephant. Right now, the bites I was going to work on were Telekinesis and Exude Mana. From experience, I knew I wouldn’t make progress if I tried to work on too many things at once. Like he said, “One bite at a time, one bite at a time.”

The next day, we woke up physically refreshed but still took a “mental health day” after all the fighting. I spent a few hours on the porch reading a book in the morning. Mahya disassembled the next jet ski, and Al took care of his mushrooms.

After a few hours, Al approached me and said, “I am interested in gathering the small radiant mushrooms we spotted at the entrance to the gorge. Could you please join me to ensure I am not surprised while I gather them?”

“Sure,” I replied.

Rue joined us, and the three of us headed to the gorge. I deployed my mana sense. I preferred not to use it when fighting because the random movements around me confused me, often doing more harm than good. But now, to ensure nothing surprises us, it was the perfect tool.

As we passed the bent trees at the entrance to the gorge, they startled me, and I stopped abruptly.

“What happened?” Al asked, looking concerned.

“These trees contain polluted mana,” I replied, my eyes scanning the twisted trunks.

“Are they monsters?” he questioned, stepping closer to examine the trees.

I focused my mana sense and said, “Not exactly. They are real living trees, but they contain normal mana, which I think is nature mana and polluted mana. This is very strange.”

Al’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Is the mana level in the gorge higher than the ambient mana?”

“I have no idea,” I admitted, shrugging.

“Can you check?” he asked eagerly.

I nodded and stepped out of the gorge, closing my eyes to better sense the surrounding mana. I felt the mana was denser toward the gorge, and in the direction away from it, more sparse. Moving another hundred meters away, I sensed an even more significant difference. Returning to the gorge, I felt the dense mana pressing around me.

I turned to Rue and said, “Watch my back, buddy. I need to check something.”

With my mana sense guiding me, I walked in slowly with my eyes closed, carefully navigating around the rocks. The deeper I went, the denser the mana felt. I also sensed polluted mana not only in the trees but in the rocks, mud, and mushrooms Al wanted to pick.

Returning to Al, I said, “Yes, the mana in the gorge is more concentrated, and there are other things that contain polluted mana, not just the trees.”

He looked even more pleased, a satisfied grin spreading across his face.

“Why do you look happy?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Because mana levels higher than the world’s mana levels are excellent conditions for the formation of a dungeon. And if there is also polluted mana around, the chances increase by several hundred percent,” he explained, his excitement barely contained.

“I don’t know. It’s not in the middle of nowhere. It’s pretty close to towns and a big city. Surely someone would have found out if there was a dungeon here,” I said, doubt creeping into my voice.

Al momentarily looked thoughtful and said, “Yes, you are right. Regrettably, that is the case.”

“By the way, the mushrooms you want to pick also contain polluted mana.”

“It’s not a problem. I have a way to purify them,” Al assured me, waving off my concern.

“Okay. Just wanted you to know.”

When we got to the mushrooms, Al started picking them, and I stood guard with my mana sense spread as far as it would go. Rue began growling, and a second later, I felt something enter my mana sense from my right. I looked towards it and saw one of the small bats flying towards me at high speed. For a change, I remembered my decision from last night. As it got close enough, I cast Exude Mana on it. The bat slowed down in the air, looking like it was flying through molasses. I cast the spell a second time, and the bat fell to the ground. Less than two minutes later, it dissipated completely.

“That was remarkable!” Al exclaimed enthusiastically, looking up from his mushroom picking. “How did you accomplish it?”

“I cast Exude Mana on it.”

“That is indeed an excellent idea!” He said, grinning.

“Not really,” I said, shaking my head. “We’re here to collect crystals. If the monsters dissipate, that defeats the purpose.”

We both stood, contemplating the spot where the bat had been before it dissipated.

“Perhaps it could prove effective against mana beasts,” Al suggested. “The size of the core remains constant, and will not decrease. Losing mana will result in decreased speed and heightened vulnerability, making them easier to defeat.”

“You think?”

“I am sure,” he said, nodding confidently.

Unfortunately, I had to nix the idea of ​​Exude Mana. That left telekinesis. Al went back to picking mushrooms, and I continued to stand guard. Rue went deeper into the gorge, doing what dogs do. I had no idea what. After twenty minutes, I saw him come running with a pim following close behind.

As Rue ran past me, he barked, “Rue bring John a monster to train.”

“Thanks, buddy,” I said, giving him a quick pat.

Once the pim was close enough, I grabbed it with telekinesis, lifted it in the air, and then slammed its head on a nearby rock. The pim’s head reacted like a melon under similar circumstances and smashed in the same way. I cast Harvest Mana Crystal on it and stored the crystal.

“Telekinesis?”

“Yes, I thought about what you said yesterday, and I will use this gorge to practice.”

“I agree, that is an excellent idea. I will practice telekinesis with you.” He turned to Rue and said, “It would be in your best interest to seize this opportunity as well. You have the spell”

“Yes, Rue will train hard! Rue will be the best at telekinesis!” Rue sounded very exuberant when he said it.

By this point, we had given up on the mushrooms and walked deeper into the gorge. Rue walked ahead, announcing, “Rue bring monster training.”

I heard him barking in the distance, and he came running back with five bats on his tail. I immediately cast a mana shield on myself, just in case, and grabbed the first bat that got into range. Al and I grabbed it together. For a second, it was a small tug-of-war game, but I gave it up and grabbed the next one. In this manner, we dispatched all the bats.

We continued with this “training” for a few hours until it started getting dark.

“I like your idea of embracing a smarter work approach instead of a harder one,” Al said.

“Thanks.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell him that when I said it, I meant more on the lines of poison or sleeping potion. At least one of them wouldn’t think of me as an idiot. Baby steps.