Progression of a Magic Fighter Ch. 8

Ch. 8: Fight, Live, Grind, Grow

Jor had a simple rule for this insane grind to defeat the impossible. No matter what, he would not give up his life without a fight. That was his ironclad rule.

This would sound simple to most people. A no brainer, some would say if they came from Earth. But it was not actually simple.

The average person would look for shortcuts in all things. If given the knowledge they couldn’t die but were faced with a horrific challenge that would repeat with each failure, the average person would stop struggling when things became too painful and look for the reset.

Hell, most people would’ve rang the silver bell by now and head home with what they’ve earned.

Notably, this wasn’t a wrong decision. Jor would not blame anyone for quitting and moving on if they were in his situation.

His challenge was horrible and hard, after all. And Jor was the type of person to believe people should do what they want as long as it wasn’t hurting others for no reason.

But Jor was also the type of person to be extremely hard on himself. He couldn’t accept death without struggling to live.

Even if the struggle itself would increase his suffering, Jor refused the easy way out. His soul was that of a thrill-seeker, but fighting was the foundation of all things for Jor.

That didn’t mean Jor hadn’t thought about quitting. It didn’t mean Jor wasn’t afraid, anxious, and plagued by many emotional ills that put him through constant turmoil. But underneath the stormy emotions and torturous hardship was a bedrock of resolve, a promise to himself as a man to keep trying and fighting and living.

Fight and live! Jor shouted in his mind when he rushed the battle against the Tier 8 apes. He came out too bloody and weak for the boss fight.

Fight and live! Jor screamed to himself as he was eaten alive by the boss, throwing punches without power. Each punch bounced off fruitlessly as the monster laughed in between bloody chomps of Jor.

Fight and live! Jor reminded himself as he blasted the fiendish boss with punch after punch, ignoring the monster’s attack to rip out his intestines. This time around, the punches had magic, splashing more effectively than before.

The boss stopped laughing at him.

But Jor died yet again.

Jor died too many times for him to keep track.

He had tried counting, but the trauma of each death erased such a measly record from his mind. And with each death, the same sequence played out.

He woke up from darkness with moist earth under him, his old clothes back on. A green forest surrounded him. A cloudless blue sky was above him. The birds tweeted while sunlight dappled between the treetops, painting a scenic backdrop of tranquil nature.

He sat up just the same and looked to the side.

A silver bell hung from a post, reflecting the sunlight. The rope and clapper dangled readily to be used.

“Fight and live,” Jor grunted, the phrase becoming automatic at this point. He would always look at the silver bell. He would always get drawn to it. But he repeated himself to maintain his resolve. “Fight and live.”

Jor stood to his feet and gave the silver bell his back. The grip of temptation faded. He faced another day, another run, another fight for his life.

How long has it been? Jor tried to think back to when this started and had no answer. It was outside of his focus. It could’ve been days, weeks, or months for all Jor knew.

Time was immaterial here. But the last run was different.

He gained two loot orbs after a significant dry spell. Jor had gone through so many runs he wouldn’t get anything for three to four runs straight. For the most part, all he’d gotten were stats except for one new summon, <Sun Shard Bomb>.

<Sun Shard Bomb - Mundane - Tier 8 - In times of great and perpetual darkness, grip a piece of the sun and let it go. Arm a shiny orb with some mana and let it go boom with sunlight.>

Jor had started each fight with the boss using the bomb to weaken it. But Jor himself was already in a weakened state after defeating everything else. He was always a touch too slow. Or his attacks weren’t landing hard enough.

But something was different with the last run.

Before Jor looked at his new loot, he committed to his routine. He jogged toward the last creek on the edge of ape territory.

The run was blazingly fast. The forest blurred by, the wind of his movements causing some low hanging branches to sway.

Once he reached the creek, he felt the mana circulating inside and outside of him swell significantly. His mana flowed with a cool and constant rate, cycling through him without him needing to focus on it. It was as natural as breathing now, expressing a level of control that was greater than what one should have in his rank.

At this point, he trained mundanely. He never stopped doing physical body exercises since it was a part of him. Even with the stat growth, he found new ways to train.

He picked up a big rock that would’ve crushed him before challenging the Game. He held it above his head and used it for squats. Later, he transitioned to laying on his back and benching the rock.

He completed a bunch of exercises while keeping his mind clear and unburdened. This helped him focus on his present actions, enjoying the sensation of his body working as a symphony of muscle, bone, and nerves. At the end, he stretched as part of his cooldown before sitting lotus style in the creek to meditate.

He felt the nature of the water and how it flowed on its predestined course to become something greater, nourishing much of the flora and fauna with its passing. It was peaceful and kind, but it could become dangerous and savage if not respected for its eventual growth.

Finding harmony with himself and his situation, the hollers and bellows of the apes rouse Jor from meditation right on time.

He walked out of the creek, coming out dry. After some time spent foraging around, he had a light meal as he thought about the way forward.

“I think I might be ready,” Jor said. “I know its powers and tricks. All that remains is me executing my plan and delivering a flawless fight.”

As of now, Jor felt the best he’d ever felt. His confidence was grounded in realism. There could only be victory, like water eroding a rock overtime.

His curiosity turned toward his loot, feeling no thrill but finding appreciation for whatever may come out. It could help, even if only a little.

<Do you wish to open a Mundane Loot Orb?>

“Yes.”

The first orb trembled, flashed, and fell in sparkles.

<You’ve gained a Mundane Summon, Handwraps of Starlight, Tier 8.>

Jor blinked, feeling his emotions stir positively. He hadn’t felt thrilled by loot orbs in a long while. A small smile crossed his face as he read the description.

<Handwraps of Starlight - Mundane - Tier 8 - After the day’s passing, the coming of the night heralds new lights twinkling with hope. Based on your Magic, the handwraps can form and move a limited number of twinkling starlight around you. Sacrifice a starlight for a small empowerment to your next hand strike.>

“Oh, wow. This is too good to be true.” Jor trembled, feeling waves of emotion that were almost too much to deal with. Even happiness could be too intense when under incredible pressure.

Jor breathed deeply, using his meditative practice to calm himself down, becoming tranquil like the creek. This was not the time to get emotional.

“This is good. Really good. But it’s still mundane. The empowerment will definitely be small with each starlight.”

Nonetheless, it would require testing. Would it take from his mana supply? How much added damage would his strikes gain from sacrificing the starlight of his summon.

Should I summon them to see how they look?

Jor hesitated. He decided to focus on the next loot orb instead. He wanted to get the new stat and move on with training. Ever since he’d been here, the Game always provided stats in between material or ability gains.

<Do you wish to open your last Mundane Loot Orb?>

“You know it.”

The orb shook, flashed, and drizzled fading sparkles on Jor’s palm.

Jor’s eyes widened with disbelief.

<You’ve gained a Mundane Summon, Footwraps of Endurance, Tier 8.>

Jor nearly lost his mind, his heart hammering in his chest.

“Seriously? I can’t be that lucky!”

<Footwraps of Endurance - Mundane - Tier 8 - The difficult march forward requires stamina to stay on your feet. Maneuvers and attacks with your legs reduces energy expense.>

Jor lost all control of himself. He paced around aimlessly, his focus completely scattered.

The day became night, which broke up his usual routine. He would’ve slain most of the Tier 4 apes by now, but things were different. Very different.

Slowly, he regained his composure, ate, meditated, and settled down to rest. For the next two days, Jor idled the time away and watched the sky while listening to the bird’s tweeting. Once he knew he was ready to move forward, he spent the next week training, breaking down his style, rebuilding everything, and incorporating incredible changes.

Then the beginning of the end started.

On a rocky clearing, a single ape ambled around and clawed at the roots of nearby trees to eat bugs. Its simple routine was interrupted by the rustling of something in the bushes.

A short human of dark skin and platinum dreadlocks walked out. On his feet were yellow footwraps bound up to the shin. On his hands were black handwraps studded with tiny lights. A green and blue scarf covered  his neck and lower face. The human walked toward the ape without fear, without aggression, as if the ape wasn’t a monster.

“Ooh?” the ape said before breaking out into angry shouts. “Ooh! Ooh!”

The ape lunged to attack, swinging its claws at the human’s head. The claw strike missed, and at the same time, the ape’s head fell from between its shoulders. Water and blood splashed down. The head bounced away, and the body fell with a wet thump.

Jor moved on.

On a trail between the rock clearing and the rock hill, two apes ambled together. They spotted the human and ran at him to attack. Their first strikes missed. One lost its head. The other relocated the shifty human and tried to attack again. It hit nothing but air once more and suffered a long gash running down from clavicle to groin. Its guts fell out the wound, and the ape died.

Jor moved on.

The rock hill apes saw the human and tried to throw down boulders. Toss after toss, nothing struck. The human reached the top of the rock hill behind the apes. When the apes tried to attack, each one lost their head. Then the human moved on to the ravine and hacked off multiple legs, letting the apes fall to their death.

When he reached the river area, Jor took the number of enemies a bit more seriously and used his hands for the first time. He used a technique he called water deflection, parrying ape strikes with magic bursts from his forearms while dodging thrown river rocks.

One by one, Jor slaughtered apes. He danced across the shallow river, turning it red like countless times before. But for the first time, he killed each river ape with a single magic kick before the conflict ended.

“Huh, I’m not too exhausted and my mana is alright,” Jor said, surprised by the results. It was a little tricky relying on only kicks for the enemy swarm, but the bonus to his endurance was significant. It was good practice for the future challenges to come.

He spent the day catching fish at the river, eating, and resting for the night. The stars seemed to twinkle brighter to Jor. The next day, Jor journeyed down the last length of the challenge like many times before.

When he reached the fog, the misty air whirled out of his way with a pulse of his sorcery. When he reached the gap in the stone walkway, he jumped the distance effortlessly, his feet landing on stone before continuing his way.

He reached the stairway, entered the gray stone land, an area darkened by the heavy fog above. The ape skulls grew in number along his journey until the floor became ivory and unchanging. Then the obelisk and its glowing runes appeared at the end of this adventure.

Jor stopped and looked back the way he came. He felt strange. He couldn’t describe the emotion accurately. It’s like saying goodbye for some reason.

Moved by the indescribable emotion, Jor summoned his profile. It had been a long time since he’d looked at it. Satisfied by his growth, he pressed his hand to the obelisk and began the arena contest once more.

He had a monkey to punch with new magic.

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Gamer: Jormungandr Sainte-Joyce

Rank: Mundane

Experience: Level 5

Life: 30

Body: 29

Magic: 32

Focus: 34

Attributes: <Karmic Rebirth>, <Blood of War and Peace>, <Battle Sense>, <Water Sorcery>, <Aura of Struggle>.

Summons: <Scarf of Momentum>, <Sun Shard Bomb>, <Fistwraps of Starlight>, <Footwraps of Endurance>.

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