Path to Transcendence

Six tries. It took Julius six tries to catch a rabbit.

It would have been easier to catch it without magic. Not to mention way less humiliating. However, his pride was on the line, and he would've tried a hundred times more to achieve success, even if it meant he went hungry for the night.

In the end, he concluded that he needed to use a less damaging method. Fire magic was too destructive, at least for him. Even creating a small [Firebolt] was overkill, it didn't matter the size of the [Firebolt], it would detonate on impact, exploding its target. It was like using a broadsword to cut an onion.

After his third failure, Julius decided to use just kinetic mana. He created a [Firebolt] like projectile with kinetic energy only, but it became apparent that kinetic energy wasn't as easy to use this way as fire mana.

Kinetic mana worked better in short bursts or if it was contained with a construct. But creating a construct made entirely of kinetic energy and controlling it like he did with fire mana was way too hard.

What he came up with was unexpected. He learned that kinetic mana was a lot freer and easier to move around than other mana types. This meant that he could gather little bundles of kinetic mana from a distance and then discharge them around his target.

In short, this created a sort of concussion bubble, where from multiple directions his enemy was bombarded with kinetic energy.

This is what he ended up doing to the stupid rabbit. He found it and carefully started to collect as much kinetic energy as he could from the environment and then added some of his own to supplement it.

Then he created loose bundles of kinetic energy that were floating by his target and were just a thought away from releasing their payload. Finally, Julius released three separate kinetic explosions from each angle around the rabbit. The shockwave that hit it from all three sides killed it before it knew what happened.

Furthermore, while it broke bones, it left the meat almost entirely intact.

It was ironic if he hadn't failed, he wouldn't have found such a unique way to use kinetic energy.

It was way too slow at the moment, but eventually, Julius could see this ability being a useful weapon in the future. He was honestly surprised he wasn't offered a skill for it.

Prize in hand, he headed back to the campsite. The sun had just set and it was now almost completely dark except for the three moons illuminating the sky.

Foraging some sticks he created a makeshift spilt just like his gramps showed him how. However, it seemed that there was another problem that Julius stupidly missed. He didn't have anything to skin the rabbit with.

He was so used to camping with his gramps, where they each had a couple of knives on hand at all times, that forgot he didn't have one. Also, it wasn't like his affinities were particularly great at delicate slicing or cutting through things.

He tried to look for a sharp rock that might work but he ultimately decided to use his fire affinity to do the job. Julius imagined a scalpel made of fire, a fire that was razor-thin.

It kind of worked. It was similar to what he did when he made the thin needles, condensing fire mana to the point where it had a physical hard shell. Despite that, Julius couldn't create an edge that was thin enough to cut the flesh.

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It was much easier to make one single point of the object sharp, like a spike. However, keeping it sharp along the entire edge of something was more difficult. What he created, was a dull red knife as sharp as a spoon. Predictably, it didn't work very well. So, Julius just decided to use his hands to get the job done. He used a pointy stick to create several holes within the skin and then jammed his fingers in the holes and ripped them open.

It was messy and took a long time, but Julius ended up getting it done.

He was just glad he could finally start cooking the damn thing. Once he got it situated on the spit, Julius created a soft fire to slowly cook the rabbit. It was going to be the first time he was cooking with his own fire magic and he was excited to see how it came out. The smell of the rendered fat falling into the flames was magical. It was a supreme effort of will to not grab the rabbit of the spit and just start eating right away. He patiently waited and salivated over his meal.

Once it was done, he tore into it. There wasn't any seasoning or even salt, but it tasted divine. He swiftly went in for another bite, but then time started to slow. He felt [Combat Trance] activate on its own and he got a cold feeling on the back of his neck. Julius was so absorbed with his meal, that he had forgotten to maintain vigilance of his surroundings.

His instincts were telling him he didn't have time to use [Spatial Perception] to look. He instantly let go of his rabbit and threw himself to the side. Right in his place, something swiped through the air.

Julius tried to get as much distance as he could and activated [Spatial Perception]. Whatever it was had moved back to the edge of the clearing. It looked like a large black monster, resembling a wolf.

With just his eyes Julius wouldn't have been able to see it, the forest was too dark at night. But with his skill, he was able to sense it hiding behind a bush waiting for its next opportunity to strike.

His heart was pounding in his chest from the close call. Julius didn't know [Combat Trance] could activate on its own. He was lucky because if it hadn't, Julius wouldn't have come away from that ambush unscathed.

Julius took the time to get a feel for the monster's strength. Based on the pressure alone, he would put it around Tier 1. It didn't feel particularly strong, but he knew that was deceptive. The speed at which it had attacked was faster than any Tier 1 could reach. If he had to guess, it was probably at least a Tier 2. He suspected that as an ambush predator, it was able to suppress some of its aura.

Julius was able to track it as it patrolled around his campsite patiently. It shouldn't be aware that Julius could sense it, but it seemed to be waiting for another opportunity.

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He started to place large masses of kinetic energy all around the campsite. Three was his limit for the moment before it became too hard to control them. The monster wasn't staying in place so it would be difficult to use his new kinetic technique, but he could wait until it passed right in front of one of them.

He also created a [Firebolt] that hovered in front of him. The projectile that was created using the skill was much faster to form, but it wasn't as compressed. Therefore, Julius added more mana and used [Thermal Compression] to condense the bolt of mana even further.

The monster wasn't making a move. Julius understood that he would need to take the initiative, and needed to attack it before it could ambush him again. Otherwise, he would have to stay awake for the entire night constantly having to be aware, and the second he let his guard down, it would strike.

But he had a plan. Julius brought the three masses of kinetic toward a spot that the monster was on course to walk to. He consciously avoided looking in its direction, so that it still believed that he was unaware of its location. Monsters were intelligent and the higher tier, the more intelligent they were. Furthermore, it seemed like this particular monster was smart even for a Tier 2. Thus, Julius had to play this right or it might fail.

The moment the monster was close enough to the trap Julius activated it. The unexpected blasts detonated by the clumps of kinetic energy stunned the creature. Quickly, Julius released the condensed [Firebolt], shooting it straight at the monster's face.

The blast of kinetic energy caused the monster to flail erratically, and the [Firebolt] missed, exploding the ground right beside it.

Julius grimaced. The resulting explosion did lead to some burns and minor injuries but the monster soon got its bearings back and immediately sprinted directly at Julius.

A burst of air mana propelled the beast forward. Julius only had enough time to shoot a single [Firebolt], hitting the monster's chest, and leaving a fist-sized wound.

Still, that didn't stop the enraged monster. With [Combat Trance] active, Julius felt an unnatural wave of calmness wash over him and became more focused than he had ever been. Alongside [Unarmed Combat], Julius had precise control of his body. A burst of kinetic energy released from his legs, launching him to the side and he barely avoided the sharp claws trying to cut his stomach open.

The wolf monster had overextended with that lunge, fully expecting that it would have landed. Julius took advantage of this opening and with another burst, closed in and hammered the monster in the back of the skull with a fully powered kinetic strike.

He didn't let up either. Julius landed a couple more flush shots to the thing's head and back, before backing away, narrowly evading its swing.

He vaguely heard a notification in the back of his mind as he just stared at the injured monster.

Julius didn't move in again, he just created another condensed [Firebolt] and sent it at the creature's head. After the quick but brutal assault, the monster was staggering on its four limbs and unable to notice the attack, took the strike right to the side of the head.

It was dead before it hit the ground.

The unnatural calmness and extreme focus from [Combat Trance] faded away and he took a deep breath to collect himself.

How rude. I always knew that I was likely to have to fight monsters, but I didn't think I would be ambushed while eating my first meal. Julius thought to himself.

He looked at the meal that he had worked so hard for. His beautiful and delicious rabbit was lying on the ground, covered in twigs and dirt. Gently, he picked it up and tried to dust off as much grime from it as he could.

There wasn't much he could do to bring it back. It was a goner.

Julius looked over at the corpse that was sitting several paces away with clear resentment. He wasn't necessarily upset that it had tried to kill him, he was more upset that it had ruined his dinner.

He could understand that it was in its nature to hunt and eat, but why couldn't it have waited until he was finished?

He checked the notifications he received during and after the fight.

[Kinetic Release lvl 2 -> lvl 4]

[Thermal Compression lvl 2 -> lvl 3]

[Combat Trance lvl 1 -> lvl 2]

[Firebolt lvl 1 -> lvl 2]

[Unarmed Combat lvl 9 -> lvl 10]

Skill [Unarmed Combat] has reached level 10. Would you like to evolve [Unarmed Combat]?

Skill [Unarmed Combat] is evolving… possible advancements: [Unarmed Combat Mastery], [Combat Reflexes], [Body Control], [Brutal Strike]

There were a lot of level-ups. But Julius knew that it would slow down once he passed the "newbie" stage. Lower ranked skills were much easier to improve and many saw fast growth in the beginning ranks. So it didn't come as a surprise.

However, Julius was intrigued by the message of his [Unarmed Combat] skill. He had finally reached level 10 and he had an amazing four options to choose from.

[Unarmed Combat Mastery] seems like it is the general upgrade to the skill, while [Combat Reflexes], [Body Control], and [Brutal Strike] were the specializations. Edwin told me that I should choose one of the specializations if possible. But which one?

While Edwin was sparring with Julius he told him that [Unarmed Combat] was a useless skill at the General rank but it would shine once it ranked up.

It seems this was what he was talking about.

All options were enticing and he could see ways to utilize all four skills. He wished he was given a description of what the skills did but he wasn't so fortunate. Julius chose to use the process of elimination. The first skill he discarded was [Unarmed Combat Mastery] just because Edwin told him not to choose the basic upgrade.

The second skill he chose to discard would be a much more difficult choice, [Combat Reflexes] sounded like a passive skill that would allow him to react to situations faster. [Body Control] also sounded like it was a passive skill but would give him better control over his movements. [Brutal Strike] was the one that interested Julius the most.

If Julius had to guess, it was a skill that increased his damage to a strike. It would go well with his kinetic energy usage.

After some thought, he dismissed [Combat Reflexes], he felt like in the previous fight he was able to react more than fast enough with [Combat Trance] active. If anything, the skill had some sort of precognition that had saved him from the ambush.

So it became a choice between [Body Control] and [Brutal Strike]. He liked both of them, but active skills were usually more potent because they weren't used all the time.

In the end, Julius thought that [Brutal Strike] would fit his needs better overall. It would work well with his aggressive fighting style and give him another offensive weapon. If he had the skill before he might have killed the monster with one punch to the back of the head.

Congratulations, skill [Brutal Strike] (Uncommon) acquired.

A flood of information went to his brain and he understood how to use the skill instantly. He understood why this skill had been offered. It was similar to his kinetic strike in that it delivered a resonating force that traveled through thick layers of hide or armor. However, it also let him know the location on the body where he could deal the most damage.

Synergy detected. Would you like to evolve [Combat Trance] and [Brutal Strike] into a single skill?

Already? I just got the skill, a few seconds ago. Not to mention, I was thinking [Brutal Strike] and [Kinetic Release] would combine. However, this sounds pretty good too.

Julius's lips pressed together in thought. His gut hasn't led him astray so far, so he trusted his instincts and he made his decision.

Skill evolution commencing… Congratulations, skill [Savage Dance] (Rare) acquired.