The Collapsing Peaks
'It's hot...very hot. Come to think of it...I didn't check my status yet' Aimer thought as his body slowly progressed to becoming drenched in sweat from the intensity of the volcano's heat.
"Status Window"
Name: Aimer Belafonte
Age: 18
Title: Ascendant Dweller
Level: ???
[Intelligence] - 251 (+139)
[Speed] - 240 (+167)
[Agility] - 231 (+183)
[Strength] - 237 (+75)
[Defense] - 244 (+100)
[Stamina] - 286 (+80)
[Awareness] - 242 (+55)
[Elusiveness] - 229 (+191)
[Luck] - 202 (+169)
Skills:
[Adapt], [Animal Instincts], [Intimidate], [Perception]
Devourer's Descendant Skill-Set: (DD)
[Half-off] - Legendary ( requirement not met)
[Asura] - Legendary (requirement not met)
[Truth-seeker] - Unique (requirement not met)
[Empathy] - Epic (requirement met)
Items:
[Ring of Iblīs, The Prince of Darkness], [Iblīs, Blade of the Fallen], [Banshee's Orb], [Lippu's Crystal], [Potion of Irrational Bravery], [Orkan's Whistle], [Sosrono's Wear Set], [Cloak of Drakel], [Sharkanha's Mark]
Hidden Skill:
Water Elementalist (Lvl. 1
(Requirements not met)
'So all my stats have shot up by a hundred. I know that's impressive, but I see I still can't see my level. *tsk,* this freaking window and its shenanigans.' Aimer hissed his teeth at the fact that he still couldn't peek at his level.
And after doing so he knelt on the mini platform before deciding to sit cross-legged in a lotus position.
'I should start absorbing as much of this resource I can. This feels weirdly nostalgic. Not too long ago I was submerged beneath water doing the same thing. Wait a minute….is that why I was able to perform so unnaturally well in my previous monster battle?
If so, then doesn't that mean the survival of the monsters trains my in-battle experience against them while getting accustomed to these "random" environments modifies my body and its movements.
I guess this also explains my defined physique' Aimer thought with multiple expressions flashing across his countenance while he slowly absorbed the resources.
….
[You've leveled up] x7
[You've leveled up] x1
[You've leveled up] x2
[You've leveled up] x1
[You've leveled up] x4
[You've leveled up] x9
Hours have passed while Aimer slowly made progress, both in absorbing a bountiful amount of the resources that lingered within the air and leveling up quite a few. Not that the latter mattered since his level was still being concealed.
Suddenly, an unexpected development occurred.
*pop* *pop* As the bubbles filled with hot air popped within the lava an intense pressure weighed over Aimer. When he peeked at his surroundings he noticed particles of hot lava slowly levitated around him.
*DING*
"You've attained enough mana!"
Reward- [Hidden Skill: Fire Elementalist (Lvl. 1]
(requirement not met)
For a few seconds, Aimer was dumbstruck as he stared at the second window's notification.
'enough mana?' Aimer thought as he pondered long and hard.
…
…
Still pondering…
…
…
Still pondering…as he scratched his head vigorously.
…
....
'I get it now...resources equal mana. At least that's supposed to be right. If I am reading this information correctly then it means what we call "resources'' is non-other than "mana."
In which we use to level up...but there's only so much one person can take. What happens when one reaches their max capacity of the mana they can absorb? But even so, this must be the phenomenal thing that has been changing the world.
This window...what the hell is it?' Aimer thought curiously. But he soon dispelled that thought before shifting his focus to solely absorb the surrounding mana.
.....
[You've leveled up] x2
[You've leveled up] x2
[You've leveled up] x2
Around two hours has passed and Aimer could now feel the mana within the volcano slowly depleting. Deciding not to be greedy Aimer proceeded to do a training of his own. And even though the heat was unbearable his body has adapted to the temperature due to his level and his skill.
'I guess this is all I can do now until the window decides to warp me away again. I mean, I don't have any flying skills at the moment to get out of here' Aimer thought inwardly before he positioned himself in a handstand to start doing some vertical pushups.
Up-down, up-down, up-down, up-down…Aimer proceeded with his push-ups, slow and easy.
….
*hugh* 1…6...10...19 *hugh*
*hugh* 24...30...40..50 *hugh*
*hugh* 60...71..79...85 *hugh*
*hugh* 95..110...121...140 *hugh*
*hugh* 155..167...180...190...200 *hugh*
Aimer continued this process while he huffed and puffed gasping for air. Starting from his head to his back and further he was drenched in sweat.
His clothing stuck to his body as tight as a leech while his hair dangled with droplets of sweat at the tips. Still, in the same position, Aimer now balanced on one arm to continue his push-ups.
Starting from where he left off, Aimer did perform exactly one-fifty push-ups on his right arm then did the same on his left, bringing his total vertical pushups to five hundred.
Without stopping there, Aimer collapsed to his back before instantly entering a sit-up position.
*hugh* 1...5...15…25 *hugh*
*hugh* 988...998...999…1,000 *hugh*
As he went up and down the number of sit-ups he performed quickly increased as back on Earth this was a part of his daily routine even though there were minimum results till this point.
In less than 7 minutes, Aimer finished a thousand sit-ups before collapsing to his back while he faced upwards glazing at the red sky.
'I wonder....'
'....maybe I should absorb the monster cores I have too' Aimer thought before sitting in an upright position to check his inventory.
"Inventory," Aimer called before a screen appeared to reveal not only his items but also the heap of monster cores.
"One horizon core, a hundred and fifty-six ascendant cores, two hundred earth cores, and forty-seven mortal cores," Aimer spouted while considering which monster core and how many he should use.
'I'm unsure what my level is right now, so to be safe I'll use ten ascendant cores, twenty earth cores, and all the mortal cores.' Aimer thought inwardly with one hand holding his chin.
Aimer thought it was a wise decision to make use of the weaker mortal cores than to waste all of the more valuable ones. Even so, those ten ascendant cores are equivalent to the one horizon core whilst the twenty earth cores are equal to that of two ascendant cores.
After gathering the cores he chose, Aimer was prepared to absorb them. Every core has a certain level of resource which Aimer found out is "mana." Using the same procedure as absorbing the mana from within the air, Aimer held each core within his arm before sensing the mana inside then slowly taking it into his body.
[You've leveled up] x4
[You've leveled up] x3
[You've leveled up] x2
Aimer went up supposedly nine levels after taking in all the mortal cores. Shortly after he commenced with the others.
[You've leveled up] x10
[You've leveled up] x5
[You've leveled up] x10
[You've leveled up] x8
This time Aimer leveled up more than double that of last time. And before he could check his status a notification drew his attention.
*DING*
"Congratulations, you've trained extensively in the Collapsing Peaks and attained the title Horizon Dweller!"
"Time to be transported away!"
As the alert flashed before Aimer's view of the sky he only had one thought before that familiar sound warped him away,
'Yep, I knew this would happen!"
*zwoop*
...…..
Xogadus: Rank second of the five planets within the Fishbowl System. Xogadus is a ¾'s ice-covered landmass inhabited only by Horizon and Sky-Dweller-type monsters. But to be specific, one could only exist on this planet if they're at the Horizon Dweller level or higher, and that's because the atmosphere which is constantly filled with blizzards makes it cold, harsh, and unbearable than if one were at a lower level they undoubtedly wouldn't be able to survive in such conditions. The monsters that dwell on such a planet span from higher-ranking Ghouls, to Gnolls, to Giants, and lastly Titans.
....
*oof* *ugh* Aimer fell to his back inadvertently before grunting. He was soon hit with a brass monkey weather that caused him to freeze within that same spot. His body began to flutter like a butterfly but only for a bit because he was at the required level to exist in such a land.
'Damn... it's cold as f*CK!' Aimer thought while slowly standing up. Within his surrounding vicinity was a vast land covered in snow and ice.
Anything else other than a few towering mountain ranges couldn't be seen beyond that due to the thick fog and tiny particles that blew within Aimer's view.
'Not only is it cold, but I also can vaguely see anything' Aimer spoke inwardly as he squinted his eyes while looking ahead of him through the thick fog and wind. And as he did so, a screen appeared directly into his view.
*DING*
"Time for a change of course. Here is your first 'official' training"
(Training Conditions)
1. Completion by Skills: user has to defeat the incoming monsters by using only his base stats and skills attained!
Or
2. Completion by Items: user has to defeat the incoming monsters by using only his boosted base stats and items attained!
Reward - [Devourer's Descendant Skill: Truth-seeker]
'What!? "change of course," "training conditions." What is this!?' Aimer thought as he slowly read the alert before realizing the reward.
"Wait...that's one of the skills that I haven't met the requirement for. "Truthseeker" I wonder what it does. Well, the only way to find out is if I can pass this training. But what condition should I choose?" Aimer muttered to himself as he thought long and hard.
"To be honest, if I choose the first option, the most useful skills from my perspective would be [Adapt] and [Empathy]. The other two skills I'm able to use are not bad but I know the levels of neither myself nor the monsters so it's difficult to gauge how useful they are. On the other hand, with the second option, I can use [Sharkanhas Markk], [Iblīs, Blade of the Fallen] & [Drakel's Cloak]."
"I can't believe there's something I forgot I could try out." Aimer finally spoke with a slight smile as he realized something.
*DING*
"You've made your decision. From here on all items will be detained…prepare for training!"
After picking the first option, the window disappeared just before AImer heard it; the tremor below his feet. At first, he looked down to see the ice *crack*
Then he looked back up and in the far distance, he saw a few towering shadows coming from within the blizzard.
*shhh!!* Behind him an Entrance had opened, as to where Aimer was clueless.
*DING*
"Oh, one more thing, survive the invasion!"
The second window notified as it disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
"So that's how it is? Then..."
Skill [Adapt] has been activated!
Skill [Empathy] has been activated!
Skill [Animal Instincts] has been activated!
"...let's waste no time," Aimer proclaimed with a smirk as he shifted his now emotionless gaze at the revealed monsters.