Chapter 32

The posts on PsiLink made Nathan's achievements feel less impressive than before. Zeryn hadn't left Verdant Spire yet, demonstrating just how exceptional this sword prodigy truly was. The Verdant Spire's trials were diverse, adapting to each individual. Many disciples could be eliminated on the very first day. So the difficulty was understandable.

Both Xander and Zahra had progressed to Tier 2 of Spirit Cultivation. Some sources indicated that Xander had completed the process under Elder Nalani's direct supervision, departing a few days later. Xander remained in seclusion to consolidate his cultivation. Meanwhile, Zahra was under Elder Galen's protection as his favored student, so her results remained unknown.

Breakthrough failures were common, but unless one was as reckless as Keira, there wouldn't be severe consequences. As long as one stopped at the right moment, all side effects could be avoided, creating conditions for future attempts without impediment.

Nathan grew restless. Over the past few days, he had tried to hunt some Tier 2 monsters, only to be brutally crushed by reality. Moirath Forest seemed unable to satisfy his hunger. Except for Great Spine Wolves, the most commonly seen Tier 2 creatures, it was extremely difficult to find another Tier 2 unless he traversed through Storm Peaks and Life Spring to reach new forest zones. Before this problem could be solved, another arose. He was demanding too much.

Two Great Spine Wolves were only enough to push his cultivation from Tier 2 Phase 1.1 to Phase 1.3. By rough calculation, he would need dozens of Tier 2 creatures to hope for Phase 2. Doing so would essentially devastate Moirath Forest. His hunting grounds, including Storm Peaks and Life Spring, had fewer than twenty Tier 2 monsters total. Case in point: he had eliminated three in just the past few days, and now it would take considerable exploration to encounter another force.

The Titan physique granted him superior strength but was simultaneously an bottomless pit. As for movement, he wouldn't travel when winter approached. The cold caused most monsters to hide, entering hibernation, making finding them difficult. Then there were issues of mobility and staying warm. With his superior body, he could endure the freezing temperatures for an extended period, but warnings from PsiLink indicated that wouldn't be enough. Cold-loving monsters would rampage through Moirath Forest, lowering temperatures and making winds more biting and violent. He wouldn't risk getting caught in such a situation. Failing training because of freezing to death was the most ridiculous reason he could think of.

Browsing PsiLink, Nathan suddenly remembered he hadn't befriended Jessica. Reminding himself to take note, he closed the matrix of windows before his eyes, leaving only the system interface.

Since learning how to exploit the system, not a day went by without him abusing it until receiving warnings. There were seven skills that he performed every morning, including [Amplifying Strike], [Flowing Strikes], [Internal Trauma], [Rebound], [Quick Feet], [Butthurt], and [Self-Emotional Support]. They provided 35 credits daily without needing to fight anyone. [Self-Emotional Support] alone was becoming increasingly difficult to activate smoothly. Torturing oneself with dark, destructive thoughts had its limits, numbing emotions. His existential crisis remained, but self-encouragement had helped him adapt better. Though still unsure of life's purpose, he strived to exist until finding it. Now, the motivation to return to Earth, meet and save his mother, help Jessica, support Zeryn and those who had shown him kindness seemed enough to push him forward.

Credits: 1131.

One could see how many points he had accumulated during the fight with the Vermilion Ape Leader. Each strike utilized system skills, relentless, unceasing. Looking back, he truly felt impressed with himself.

Just as his spirits lifted, he exchanged three rolls, hoping for a Rare skill to appear.

And reality slapped him repeatedly.

Starting normal rolls...

You received [Bleeding].

You received [Poison Processing].

You received [Internal Trauma].

Duplicated Skills are held in reserved inventory for future use of [#Need Unlock before Revealing#]

Damn, duplicate again, he cursed silently.

But the other two skills were truly the stars of the show.

[Bleeding]

Description: attacks have a 12% chance to cause bleeding.

*Effect strength varies based on target's resistance.

--

[Poison Processing]

Description: Toxin removal speed up 15%.

As expected, he looked at the level-up options. Both skills could be upgraded. The focus was on [Bleeding], which presented a challenging equation.

Growth Path 1: Uncontrollable Bleed.

Next Level: increase the chance to 20%.

Growth Path 2: Precise Bleed.

Next Level: change the way the skill operates. Now the effect will apply to the fifth attack.

What he feared had happened -- the new skill required the fifth strike, breaking the fourth-attack pattern he had longed for.

Synchronizing [Bleeding] when choosing the Precise Bleed path would be quite difficult, as the least common multiple was 60. It would take sixty attacks for the skills to stack. At other coefficients, only two skills could activate simultaneously. This could result in weaker effects. After long deliberation, Nathan knew [Internal Trauma] also relied on total damage output. The greater the power, the more this skill benefited. It didn't increase synchronously like doubling, but gained about twenty to thirty percent more.

Thus, he bet [Bleeding] would work similarly. It had a crucial caveat that the effect might not be large enough or sufficient to cause bleeding due to physique and resistance levels. If attacking someone equipped with armor from head to toe, then from inside out with a mana shield, [Bleeding] would be nothing more than an irritant. At least [Internal Trauma] struck directly at the opponent's core and emotions.

He tried removing [Amplifying Strike] from the equation, as this skill deserved its Rare ranking, being extremely powerful with few weaknesses. Its characteristic allowed him to preload the skill rather than relying entirely on attack rhythm. The result was slightly better when the required number of strikes dropped to 30. However, it wasn't much better because damage output hadn't improved. The reasoning only proved one crucial point -- [Amplifying Strike] had become central to his combat style.

For the first time, Nathan seriously considered choosing the chance-dependent path.

First, he wouldn't have to struggle counting and maintaining alertness to monitor his already complex skill set. The biggest advantage of Uncontrollable Bleeding was that it could still synchronize with the 12-strike loop he possessed. If there was any skill he was willing to remove from the equation, it would be [Internal Trauma]. He had utilized two consecutive strikes with both [Amplifying Strike] and [Flowing Strikes]. So in the attack rhythm, he might not need to wait 30 or 60 beats to stack [Bleeding]. This skill could potentially appear twice within ten attacks based on probability. The result would be considerably more significant damage output.

Once chosen, there was no going back, so he decided to leave it and upgrade later.

[Poison Processing] brought him a bold idea.

Infiltrate Life Spring. Not to test strength against Sovereign Wisp, but to prepare for Lunar Shadow.

If he couldn't hunt the remaining monsters efficiently and quickly, his remaining path was to take down Lunar Shadow as soon as possible. Quite certain he couldn't use the same timeframe -- three weeks to a month -- to breakthrough as quickly as before. Therefore, the optimal solution was not to give the opponent a chance to grow stronger. With Lunar Shadow's nighttime movement skills and primitive hunting instincts, Nathan suspected it would hunt more effectively than him. He had to stop it before it was too late.

Thinking done, acting immediately, after spending several days preparing materials at his new shelter, he led three High Vermilion Apes back to Life Spring.

"Stay!" he commanded his retinue upon reaching the forest border.

The monsters were very obedient, sitting down to wait, carrying all the items Nathan had crafted. From baskets to bottles, to small bags.

Once everything was ready, he ran straight into Life Spring. A pack of Gale Foxes continued to welcome him with their playful desires. This time, he could move quickly and nimbly through the green-furred foxes' charges without getting injured. Gale Fox tails were excellent materials but Nathan thought better of it. The pack mentality of Gale Foxes was even stronger than Vermilion Apes. Touch one and their leader would come out attacking -- Nathan would have no choice but to run. He truly dared not engage monsters not specializing in physical attacks.

Stuffing in a bunch of anti-poison candy made yesterday, Nathan passed through the little friends after playing until exhausted. His skin felt much gentler when contacting Life Spring's poison air. Last time, he had to apply a thick layer of solution, but this time only needed a thin layer to reduce the tingling sensation. [Poison Processing] hadn't even truly been utilized yet.

Along the way, he collected more Blue Cap Mushrooms to make more healing medicine. The consumables he had prepared were all used up in the battle with Vermilion Ape, needing replenishment and storage for the future. Phosphorescent mushrooms were also collected. He needed large quantities so gathered first and considered quality later.

Finally, he found again the monsters that always lurked to ambush prey, Winged Vipers.

The pond he found was larger than before, so the number of monsters flying from the water surface to attack was triple the previous time.

Using his new speed, he used the knife from Blood Thirster to finish them off. Jumping between the monsters, he skillfully swung the knife in decisive strokes, decapitating them. Wet splashing sounds hit the damp ground. Recognizing Nathan as a formidable opponent, the monsters flew in circles with each other, instead of spewing long trails of poisonous liquid, they hissed to create a smoke screen.

Prepared beforehand, Nathan pulled out a simple mask he had created from Earth Tongue, functioning as a poison-absorbing membrane. Of course this mask wouldn't be effective enough. The second layer would be the anti-poison candy. And the third defensive layer was [Poison Processing].

He closed his eyes, locked his breath, and jumped high to avoid the mist. When he felt himself starting to fall, he opened his eyes, observing all the monsters before him, taking in terrain information. Then sealing off places where poison could invade, he dove down by swinging his palm backward to increase speed. Several monsters fell from his action. Afterward, he shot to one side to escape the mist.

Despite such efforts, the candy in his mouth had become bitter. His chest felt burning hot. The mask was useless and tossed aside. Though predicted beforehand, Nathan was still surprised by Life Spring's level of danger. Truly worthy of being ranked one of Moirath Forest's most dangerous areas.

Nathan felt [Poison Processing] working. The burning in his chest gradually subsided. The Titan bloodline had already helped him gain basic resistances. Combined with Physical Cultivation training plus this new skill, poison wasn't too big an issue.

If anything truly made him cautious, it was the venom of the Winged Vipers. He had to move continuously to avoid being bitten directly. To resist them he would need a skill like [Venom Processing]. In the current situation, he had to maintain contact either through skin, or through nose and mouth for [Poison Processing] to work.

Though not free to act, everything was sufficient.

Maintaining this approach and attack method, he successfully defeated the gluttonous monster swarm. They showed no intention of retreating even as their companions' heads rolled around with bulging eyes scattered about.

He picked up a Winged Viper head, used the knife placed sideways at the mouth, cutting decisively. The poison gland was extracted after carefully scraping away surrounding muscle and teeth. The venom collected was quite little, only about ten ml. The monster sprayed and shot poison so much mainly because the body produced toxins when depleted. Now, dead, this could be considered plenty.

As for capturing them for milking, impossible. The only suitable environment for Winged Vipers was Life Spring. If not for their pack mentality and aggressive nature, he wouldn't want to kill for harvesting either. Because doing so would gradually lead to what would happen next.

Just as he finished collecting poison into bottles, Life Spring's guardians arrived. Natural poison in the air increased, pressure became more violent, and an invisible force approached. Clearly, Sovereign Wisp was much angrier than last time.

Without hesitation, Nathan left his position, moving quickly toward the border. His skin activated the ultimate technique Qi Armor that Darkan had mentioned. Previously never used because he had depleted essence for leveling up. Currently, essence from the Winged Vipers was quite meager compared to his present needs so using it wouldn't be wasteful.

Essence shot out from his pores, moving rhythmically like invisible tiny points, forming an armor layer for Nathan. He increased intensity most at the head. This was how he could defend against mental attack forms. It wasn't as effective as mana since it was an external rather than internal layer, but seemed just enough for the situation at hand.

Nathan sensed something attacking his mind, making him sleepy and lethargic, very difficult to happen to a Tier 2 Physical Cultivation practitioner like him. He could go three days and nights without sleep while maintaining alertness. So this must certainly be the technique Sovereign Wisp was casting on him.

Zeryn had said activating mental skills required a bridge, one of the body's senses. But Nathan currently wasn't clear where he had been exposed, or perhaps all five senses, because before activating Qi Armor he had no protective layer at all. He shuddered thinking of one possibility -- just by contacting Life Spring's air, he was already in Sovereign Wisp's palm.

Not thinking too much, he ran faster. Unlike last time, he wasn't pressured closely. His speed helped him escape Life Spring still in fairly good condition.

Landing near his red-furred retinue, he threw all collected items into a basket made from Strangler Vine tendrils and branches.

After resting briefly, he moved to another location, quite far from the initial entry point, continuing to infiltrate. Needed materials weren't enough yet. Especially Winged Viper venom still needed more than current amounts.

This time, his main target led him to the Heat Basilisk's lair.

The monster shaped like a Komodo dragon was walking around its nest. The heat it emanated was stronger than before. Not yet stepping onto the barren land but visible sweat was already dripping from afar. The monster's scales rose then fell, each time white smoke emerged, temperature increasing steadily.

Looking at the monster nearly his height, Nathan gulped. Its width and length were truly impressive. Would need about five people lying down to cover its back. The long tail covered in harder scales than the body could open like a spike to attack enemies.

Nathan was here to test strength against the monster, and hoping to harvest more Lesser Dragon Breath medicine. Crimson Lotus petals were excellent ingredients for brewing Blood Essence Wine, suitable for cultivation while waiting for Crimson Lotus seed poison to be neutralized. Simultaneously, like Thunder Embrace, very supportive in combat.

The monster snorted once, turning its head to look toward the human who had suddenly appeared behind a tree line. It stuck out its thick tongue, fire suddenly blazing up around.

Nathan ignored the warning, still cautiously approaching. Surrounding heat made him sweat more, making the back of his clothes stick to skin.

Heat Basilisk stomped its front foot hard, showing irritation. It didn't want trouble, but wouldn't hesitate against anyone. It hissed once, tail swinging up in an arc, smashing straight toward the intruder.

With the attack's not-too-fast speed, Nathan jumped aside, letting the tail with scales protruding like spikes smash the rock behind. He heard stone shattering into small pieces. Looking back at where he had stood, the ground was full of tiny holes. He jumped high, trying to close in by landing on its back. Not standing for even seconds, the monster's skin heated up like fire under foot, forcing Nathan to jump to another direction. Upon landing, he didn't give the monster time to react, rushing forward to punch its mouth.

The force made the monster roar, head tilting down, scales covering its mouth scattered and fell. It snorted angrily, accompanied by scales opening up, creating a scorching mist spreading around.

Nathan retreated quickly when visibility was lost.

Triggered [Tingling Sense]. One credit given.

Triggered [Adrenaline Boost]. One credit given.

He raised both hands in front to block when a heaven-shattering strike from the monster's tail came crashing down. The armguards he had crafted from Armor Scarab shattered under the impact. Residual force sent him flying. His arms became numb. Clearly, Heat Basilisk possessed not only an impressive skill set but also a formidable body.

Nathan regained balance after sliding far on the ground. What had just happened was within his predictions. Most monsters showed behaviors as provided on PsiLink, unlike the Vermilion Ape Leader he encountered last week.

Just as he wanted to advance, the Heat Basilisk opened its mouth wide. Its throat moved as if about to vomit something. When the neck no longer bulged and returned to normal size, fire spewed forth. This fire was yellow-green, both hot and eerily disturbing.

Nathan decided to retreat, saving Lesser Dragon Breath for another collection run. The fire Heat Basilisk spewed was dangerous not just in temperature, but also the burning toxic vapor when inhaled into lungs, proceeding to incinerate from within anyone who breathed it. That's not mentioning why this monster could dominate Moirath Forest yet chose Life Spring isolated from everything -- it was the natural poison. Once fire and gas interacted, an extremely potent poison would be released, making lung incineration seem child's play. This was considered Sovereign Wisp's privilege for Heat Basilisk. In exchange, Heat Basilisk would not cause chaos, and provide assistance when needed.

Not confident enough with [Poison Processing], even with Qi Armor, he returned to collecting poison glands from Winged Vipers.

The results of this raid also included Thornweave Ancient's bark. This tree-type monster had shot sharp thorns when he fled in the night. Thornweave Ancient bark wasn't hard, but carried regenerative properties and grew thorns to attack. Using it to create a new shield would be quite suitable and synchronous with using Winged Viper poison.

To collect it, Nathan had to endure an extremely unpleasant period. With his new skin, he wasn't afraid of Thornweave Ancient's thorns. But the monster's tough and slimy nature truly required effort to deal with.

After dodging the sharp thorn shots, he approached and plunged the Blood Thirster knife to its hilt into the monster's bark. It made no sound showing pain but began growing thorns chaotically. At this point, he had to grit his teeth to endure the thorns piercing, sometimes even exploding into small poisoned needles pricking his body while slowly cutting with the knife. This process took very long due to the monster's regenerative nature. Just as he cut a bit, the front had already healed. Could only use strength to pull hard and hold tight to succeed. Thanks to Qi Armor, Nathan didn't suffer too much damage from Thornweave Ancient's numbing poison.

He handed all collected materials to another High Vermilion Ape. Then completed the day's collection with a third entry.

Returning to the campsite, he was delighted to have successfully gathered Lesser Dragon Breath.

The Vermilion Ape pack welcomed him with screams and chest beating. They had hunted around to bring back pork and wolf meat. These red-furred monsters, after tasting food he cooked, all drooled, just hoping to eat more. So if they could wait, they would wait for Nathan to return.

He didn't pay much attention to this, so cooked the meat, took a portion and let the monsters handle themselves. He went to the Crimson Lotus pond to rest while outside the monsters began organizing wrestling matches to compete for the food he had just cooked.

Taking inventory of collected items, he planned crafting for himself. Winged Viper venom would be divided into two types, solution form for weapon coating, powder form for throwing. Thornweave Ancient bark still needed Ironbark collection to cover. He also needed to gather more ingredients for the wine fermentation process.

Tinkering all night, Nathan didn't sleep. Since reaching Tier 2, he found his spirit elevated, requiring less rest. If needing sleep, he only needed fifteen minutes to half an hour thanks to [Efficient Sleep].

Just a few hours so he still couldn't create any results. Was planning to do more when [Random Talent] made him stop.

Your today's talent is Monster Whisperer. You can make monsters understand your meaning. Note, you can only speak with one species. After determining the species, you cannot communicate with other monsters anymore.

Nathan's eyes lit up with today's provided talent.

He looked around, saw the Vermilion Apes stirring awake preparing for the new day. No need to look far, he already had his target.

Going to meet the nearest one, he said.

"Hello, red ape!"

The monster's eyes widened hearing him. These past days, it couldn't communicate much with the leader, yet now it could understand. Not just one word, but three.

It excitedly replied.

"Hoo hoo kek kek!"

This time, it was Nathan's turn to stare blankly. He didn't understand anything.

Returning to read the talent's description and notes, he finally understood. "Make monsters understand" not "talk with monsters". It wasn't both ways. It was one way.

Damn system, he cursed.

Taking a deep breath to steady his mind, he wanted to try more.

He picked up a rock, brought it before the monster, said.

"Throw this rock!"

It immediately obeyed, throwing the rock in a random direction.

"Throw this rock at that tree!" Nathan gave a new command.

This time, a problem occurred. The monster still threw the rock, but like before, not toward the tree trunk he pointed at.

Indeed not so simple, he shook his head dejectedly.

He began walking around, repeating the command "Throw this rock at that tree!" no different than practicing 'Sell me this pen!'. Each and every monster only threw rocks, understanding half the order but not completely. Even the three High Vermilion Apes possessed terrible intelligence. Just as he was about to give up, one successfully performed exactly as he said.

Blinking in disbelief, he again ordered it to throw at different trees. Each time succeeded.

"Tell your friend to do the same!" Nathan said when certain this was the most intelligent one.

The monster with bright eyes nodded. It went near its companion, hooted something. As a result, the other could now correctly execute the command, throwing rocks at a tree branch.

"When I do this, it means throw rocks!" Nathan curled five fingers into a fist.

The understanding monster nodded, following suit. It also called its companion to perform.

The result made Nathan secretly rejoice, he could train his army now.

Not spending time testing anymore, he immediately devoted the whole day to telling the monster the commands and signals he needed.

From then on, the Vermilion Apes could join him in the final battle.

When the first winter snowflakes fell, the plan was nearing its final step.

Before confronting Lunar Shadow, Nathan's newly established army had to hunt down Luminous Grazer.