The swarmers descended on him like an army from hell. Shit! There's no end to them. I can't keep going on like this, I have to move. He suppressed the voice of The System to the back of his mind and struck with all of his strength. Flexing his will he activated [Pain Acclimation] for the first time. Pain dulled and his body regained some semblance of stability.
[Skill: Endurance has leveled up]
[Skill: Pain Acclimation has leveled up]
Samael willed his legs to straighten out and he rose up again from the ground. His heart beat like a war drum in his chest and he could feel every beat. Heaving for air he raised his spear once more and took off towards the nearest swarmer. Sweeping his spear in a circle around him, cutting another 3 swarmers in half, he braced for impact as another of the Hunters rammed into him. He fell backwards, skidding across the ground for several hundred meters before coming to a stop. Slamming the back of the spear handle into the ground, he pushed himself up and stabbed forwards. The air crackled from the force and the Hunter was obliterated into a mist of blood and gore.
[Skill: Endurance has leveled up]
Hours had passed and yet there was no end in sight. There was only himself, his spear and the enemy. He couldn't afford to rest for even a second. [Endurance] had already leveled up twice since he gained it and Samael could definitely feel the effects. His attacks were less tiring with the same amount of power and every move he made seemed easier than before. Even the toughness of his body was improved slightly by it. It was a true life safer.
[Skill: Spearmanship has leveled up]
[Skill: Pain Acclimation has leveled up]
Tens of thousands of swarmers died and level after level was gained. Even when the very earth could no longer withstand his presence, shattering with every move and every strike hit like an earthquake, killing hundreds of swarmers every moment, his mind began faltering.
[Skill: Endurance has leveled up]
He could feel himself becoming more complete with every level up. Every time [Endurance] leveled up his attacks were less draining, and every time [Spearmanship] leveled up his technique got more refined.
[Skill: Spearmanship has leveled up]
He was drained, he was injured, and his body was giving in, but his mind refused to stand down now. He would get out of this, no matter what. He had no time to think of Augustus. The constant onslaught of swarmers kept his mind completely occupied. Then he saw it. The light at the end of the tunnel. His salvation. The swarmers were beginning to clear up. He continued to push forward, desperate to survive. With one last push that ruined the earth and created shockwaves, Samael forced the last of his strength into his legs and rushed for the other side. Within a second he was out on the other side. The swarmers hounded back on him almost instantly, but Samael ran as hard as he could. Samael moved as fast as he could. The wind raged against his body as he ran many times faster than sound. Having barely escaped with his life, he had no intention of looking back. He didn't even know if Augustus had made it out alive. Either way he had no choice but to keep fleeing. If that swarm found him again there was no way he'd survive. Not as he was now. There would come a time for his revenge, but that wouldn't be today.
[You have gained the title "Survivor" for surviving against a Hivemind Type horde more than 10 levels higher than yourself]
Samael hadn't yet had time to assess his own injuries but if the burning agony he was feeling in his abdomen was anything to go by then it didn't look too good for him. By the time he stopped he had long left the bounds of the city. He gasped for air as he tried to recover. Sitting down in the moist ground he felt the dirt give way slightly for him as he sunk down. He didn't care. Flinching from the pain of his injuries he began checking his body. He was covered in cuts and bruises. A deep slash on his bicep made moving his right arm almost impossible. Blood was dripping slowly from the wound as he put his hand on it and pressed it shut. Tearing a piece of his shirt into a long strip, he began to use the makeshift bandage to control the wound. At a time like this, infections would be his worst enemy. A hole going straight through his leg was yet another problem he had to deal with. Like with the gash in his arm, he ripped another piece of his clothing and wrapped it in a makeshift tourniquet that stopped the bleeding. Samael had learned some basic first aid during the years he spent running from the Guild. Having to nurse his own injuries for over a decade had been the best teacher he could've asked for. Despite making it out alive, his heart was heavy with worry. He had no choice but to stay here and recover before venturing back into the city. If he went back now and encountered the swarmers again he'd die without a doubt. There was no way for him to find Augustus. Let's take this one thing at a time. First let's inspect my Status. I'll need to train my skills too. That will likely prove vital for venturing back.
[Name - Samael
Age - 18
Species - Human (Common) {+2 to all stats per level up}
Level - (11/100)
Title(s) - Giant Slayer (Unusual) {+3 to Physical Strength and Physical Fortitude per level. Gain 10% more experience when slaying foes above your level.}
- Survivor (Rare) {Increases skill growth for Survival Type, Fortitude Type and Resistance Type Skills by 50%.}
Attributes -
Physical Strength (66)
Physical Fortitude (69)
Agility (40)
Dexterity (45)
Mental Strength (39)
Mental Fortitude (38)
Soul Malleability (69)
Soul (384)
General Skills - Pain Acclimation Lv3 (Common), Perfect Appraisal Lv1 (Uncommon)
Passive Skills - Spearmanship Lv3 (Common), Endurance Lv4 (Uncommon)]
An idea suddenly entered his mind. Though the use of his former skills [Appraisal] and [Lesser Analysis] hadn't yielded any information about the skills in his status page, he hoped that [Perfect Appraisal] was greater than the sum of its parts and would be able to give him some more information about them. He activated [Perfect Appraisal] and focused on the passive skill [Endurance]. As soon as the skill recognized his intent, a wealth of information flooded his mind.
[Endurance Lv4 (Uncommon): Slightly reduces stamina consumption for physical exertion per level. Provides a low level of resistance to physical ailments that slightly increases per level.
Endurance is considered one of the basic survival skills for all Ascendants. It does not matter your lineage or starting point, this skill stays with most until they exhaust their potential and reach the peak of what they can become.]
Interesting. It would seem that these skills will remain useful for a lot longer than I thought. This is good information. Thankfully I thought of trying this little experiment out. Knowing what I know now, I can definitely plan things out more thoroughly than before. Samael thought. Choosing to check on [Spearmanship] next, a second wave of information poured into his head.
[Spearmanship Lv3 (Common): Guides the mind and body into the correct ways of spearmanship. Every level grants a small amount of new knowledge that can be used to improve capabilities with the spear.
This skill is the most common base for spear users in most low level worlds. Using this as a basis for individuals to form their own style allows for an untainted foundation to build up beyond what most can achieve.]
[Skill: Perfect Appraisal has leveled up]
Samael straightened his back and crossed his leg in a lotus position. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath in and held it for a moment before letting it out. Another breath in, another breath out. His body slowly relaxed as his mind emptied of pain and thought. Entering a state of deep meditation where he closed the world out completely he visualized himself within his mind. Within his mind he manifested a spear made of blood red iron. It was the manifestation of his bloodlust. Before it had simply been a formless aura within his mind, but now something had changed. Something had made it coalesce into a weapon. A spear at that. It looked similar to the makeshift spear made of the bone and tooth of a hellish croc, but it was blood red in color and felt like iron in the hands of his mental avatar. He slowly began moving the avatar, letting the knowledge and instinct imparted by [Spearmanship] guide him. The spear was heavy, carrying all the weight of the beings he had killed, human and otherwise, but to his mind that weight couldn't have meant less. Samael simply steeled his mind and followed the kata, the basic spearforms that [Spearmanship] had taught him. As time went on he moved faster and faster within his mind. He gained more confidence in the movements and without realizing it, his real body had begun mirroring the movements of the avatar. Without opening his eyes, he stabbed forward, pulled the spear back and shifted his grip slightly. Taking a small step forward he pointed the tip of the spear upwards before moving the tip down in a slash. A step to the side. A stab forward. A half spin, and a slash down. The air howled from the force as his spear ripped through at speeds that should've been impossible. His feet thundered against the ground as his footwork improved. Over time, his technique began to change. He was no longer simply following the instructions of the skill, he was moving on his own. Learning and adapting the skills to his own fighting style. Aggressive, fast and hard hitting. Samael moved like a whirlwind through the clearing he had stopped in. He didn't feel the wounds on his body. His mind was completely confined to his mental avatar. He moved with the grace of someone that had trained with the spear for decades as he trained his techniques. For hours he didn't even open his eyes as he trained within his mind. His body, moving solely by the command of his subconscious, broke apart the air with every strike. His new power, gained from the continuous leveling, had made all facets of him hundreds of thousands, and in some facets like physical strength and fortitude hundreds of millions of times stronger than the average human. No matter how much he tried to hold back, it would no longer be possible for him to truly hold back to the power of a normal human. That level of control simply wasn't possible for him at the moment.
14 hours later Samael opened his eyes to a flood of notifications. The sheer amount of information dazed his mind, despite it being so reinforced by the increase in stats. He simply hadn't had time to train with the increase in power enough to truly make use of his increased power. At the moment he was like an ant with the power to level a small town. He simply didn't have the control needed to leverage his resilience to its full potential. Despite that, all the information coming from the system caused him to snap out of his dazed state.
[New skill acquired: Mental Visualization (Uncommon)]
[New skill acquired: Meditation (common)]
[Skill: Spearmanship has leveled up]
[Skill: Spearmanship has leveled up]
[Skill: Spearmanship has leveled up]
[Skill: Spearmanship has leveled up]
[Skill: Spearmanship has leveled up]
[Skill: Mental Visualization has leveled up]
[Skill: Mental Visualization has leveled up]
[Skill: Mental Visualization has leveled up]
[Skill: Mental Visualization has leveled up]
[Skill: Meditation has leveled up]
[Skill: Meditation has leveled up]
Immediately he used [Perfect Appraisal] on his 2 new skills. Just like before the information poured into his mind like a flood. Despite their not being much information per skill, the fact that it was blasted directly into his mind by The System caused it to have a more significant toll than it would've otherwise had.
[Meditation Lv3 (Common): Slowly strengthens the mind of the user anytime it's active. When remaining in meditation for a long time, a small change to receive Enlightenment on your Path or one of your Laws is possible. With every level up of the skill the strengthening of the mind becomes more potent and the higher the chance of Enlightenment becomes.
Meditation is the cornerstone of all mental training skills in Existence. Despite only being of the Common rank, it remains one of the most important skills to train the mind and achieve Enlightenment in Laws and further oneself along their Path to Ascendancy. If used for too long, damage to the mind can occur.]
[Mental Visualization Lv5 (Uncommon): Allows for easier mental training with martial skills within the user's Mindscape. Enhances speed at which skills trained in Mindscape level up by 20%. Grants a minuscule chance at evolving skills trained within Mindscape. For every level up the chance to evolve a trained skill increased slightly.
Mental Visualization is a powerful training method for enhancing martial skills. It is not uncommon for this skill to remain unchanged for many even as they approach Tier 10, despite its low ranked nature.]