Skill Hunter -Kill Monsters, Acquire Skills, Ascend to the Highest Rank!

They ran through the tunnels. Ike kept to the centipede's crawl holes rather than the main tunnels. The main tunnels were full of centipedes, while the fresh holes crawled by the centipedes were abandoned after the centipede cut its way through. The centipedes were very familiar with the dungeon, unsurprisingly, but they didn't know the holes each other had cut. Ike figured that at worst, they'd encounter one centipede in the crawl holes. In the main tunnels, they could encounter any number of centipedes. Compared to getting rushed by dozens at a time, getting rushed by single centipedes was far preferable.

He absorbed all the aether he could as he walked, but most of it went to healing his arm. Only trickles reached his core. He tried not to show it on his face, but it ached fiercely. Instinctively, he held the arm immobile against his body, but it still jostled with every step. He knew he had to be pale as a sheet.

As he walked, he ran back the fight in his head. Well, fight. One single attack that had taken everything he'd had. Still, putting everything he'd had into one attack, he'd been able to kill one mid-Rank 4 and injure another. If the second centipede hadn't flinched back, there was a good chance he would have killed both.

Or gravely injured both, leaving them both for Wisp to clean up.

He chuckled under his breath at himself. There was no point worrying about what might have been. What happened was insane. He'd killed a Rank 4, alone, in a solo fight. In one strike, at that! One strike that he couldn't repeat over and over, true, one strike that took every single scrap of his energy, but nonetheless—one strike.

If I grow stronger within Rank 3, to the point that I can repeat that strike, I'll be able to wipe out Rank 4s without trouble. Hell, at that point, I can probably even challenge Rank 5s. It was a crazy thought, but one that made Ike grin. If he'd ever had any doubt that his path was the right direction to grow, he was certain of it now.

Even as he grinned, he missed a step, and his arm jostled. Ike flinched, barely biting back a hiss. He pursed his lips. Right. Even if he'd beaten the Rank 4, he hadn't done it without injury. He wasn't invincible or unbeatable. If anything, he had to remember how frail he was. He had the damage output to punch above his rank, but not the defenses to tank hits above his rank. His regeneration art was nice, but it also consumed aether. As he'd just experienced, if he was fighting above his rank, his aether would already be strained to the limits, and he wouldn't be able to count on his regeneration. He needed something else. A more powerful regeneration that used less aether, or relied on something else. An armor. Something.

I'll hunt for it after this. Go around the towns, see if anyone knows of someone or something with powerful armor that I can take the skills from. Ike nodded, promising it in his heart.

Shawn perked up on Ike's shoulder. "I smell a mana vein."

Ike glanced over. "Where?" If there was a mana vein nearby, he could use it to regenerate his aether. Heal his arm and get back in fighting fit at the same time. The centipedes were scary, and it was no exaggeration to say they were a deadly threat, but moreso than the centipedes, he feared running into another party. He had no illusions about the other parties being friendly. If they collided, they'd surely fight. But right now, Ike couldn't fight. He was a liability. He'd have to rely on Wisp and Mag, and in truth, that meant relying on Wisp. She was strong, but she wasn't four-on-one strong. And if the other party were Rank 4 mages… Ike grimaced. They'd beaten Rank 4 beasts, but mages were different. They'd have mysterious skills. The ability to cooperate. The intelligence to come up with tactics and strategies. If he and Wisp worked together, he had confidence in their strength against a Rank 4 mage, even a party of Rank 4 mages. But with him injured and low on aether, Wisp would have to face them alone. Ike knew he couldn't face a party alone. It wouldn't be any easier for Wisp.

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He sighed and rubbed his face. All this worrying wasn't like him, but he couldn't help it. He'd never been in a scenario like this before, up against enemies stronger than him who also outnumbered him, with a team where he could rely on exactly one member in combat, and two members out of combat.

Abruptly, Ike laughed. He faced ahead, putting his worries behind him. Of course it's hard. It's a trial that's meant to determine the next king, and I'm not king material. Naturally, the deck is stacked against me. Am I going to give up, just because I'm not the one who's supposed to get this skill? Hell no. That skill is mine, whether it wants to be or not. I'm a hunter, a gods-damned skill hunter, and I'm going to hunt this king-worthy skill.

Wisp glanced at him. "You okay back there? Need some aether?"

Ike shook his head. "Keep your aether. One of us should be fighting fit. Besides, there's a mana vein just up ahead."

"It's not far now. Just around the bend," Shawn promised. He stood up, feet digging into Ike's back. "Real close. The aether's so thick around us. Can't you sense it?"

Ike shook his head. There was aether on the air, but not so much more that he was sure there was a mana vein nearby. Whatever Shawn sensed, it wasn't something he could sense. He glanced at Wisp, but she spread her hands and shook her head as well. It wasn't a human thing either, then.

Then again, I trust a mountain. Shawn knows his mana veins.

Ahead, the path branched. Shawn pointed the way unerringly, utterly sure of the route. Another three turns later, the narrow, winding centipede tracks widened up. Warm light spilled into the path they walked along. The four of them hurried toward it, glad to see light after the darkness of the tunnels.

It wasn't only the tone of the light that was warm. Heat emanated from the open space as well. Not a roiling boil or a searing blaze, but a humid, organic warmth. A strange, earthy-acidic smell rolled down the centipede hole. Ike wrinkled his nose, but pressed on. Already, he could feel the beat of aether against his skin. It sank into him with every breath, filling his core. His arm knitted shut, the would rapidly closing, and at long last, his core began to recover, without aether constantly draining away to heal his arm.

Ike drew up to the opening of the hole. A cliff fell away from his feet. A huge cylindrical bore opened in the earth, as wide around as a mountain and as deep as one, too. The heat and scent pressed against his skin equally as the aether did. Here, the red light beat on him, painting the entire scene in a swathe of crimson light.

Ike's eyes widened. He sucked a slow breath. "Holy fuck."

Wisp nodded slowly, staring down as well. "Damn, I'd love to set up a web here."

"What? Let me see!" Mag pressed his way through. His eyes lit up. He bobbed up and down where he stood, and his mouth opened, on the verge of chirping.

"It's wild, but I actually agree with the bird for once," Wisp said, nodding.