NOVEL NEXT Chapter 48: Spotlight
'Master, there are monsters inside. Strange monsters.'
The strange, eerie forest with unnatural plantlife felt like a living nightmare.
As soon as Ainen entered its perimeters with Saffa, Clovelle, and Fraisea, a tree ten meters across them stirred awake and twisted.
And transformed into a purple-eyed tree monster.
[Tenebrial Treant]
Level: 60
Liferank: Awakened
—Magic Core: Dark Spore.
Innate Talent:
—> Fungi Spawner.
Stats:
—> Vitality: Ⅱ 32 Ⅱ
—> Strength: Ⅱ 30 Ⅱ
—> Stamina: Ⅱ 33 Ⅱ
—> Agility: Ⅱ 29 Ⅱ
—> Cognition: Ⅱ 23 Ⅱ
—> Arcane: Ⅱ 31 Ⅱ
—> Mana: Ⅱ 35 Ⅱ
Skills:
—> Darkness Manipulation (D)
—> Wood Manipulation (C)
—> Root Splash (C)
—> Fungus Explosion (B)
—> Blackspore Drops (C)
Ainen paused.
His eyes flickered.
A unique, slender long-bow with a straight pipe rather than a string appeared, consisting of neon-orange material with prismating glassy sheen and golden-brown patterns over it.
Artilerily Series: Mach 7 Blastbow.
Cost: 10 Mana per creation.
'Shoot.'
An arrow conjured within the glass pipe, costing 30 Mana, and a strange, round bullet manifested ten meters behind the bow.
The bullet blasted off at Mach 5 speed and struck the arrow, triggering a burst propellant reaction at the base of the arrow that he had designed.
The arrow shot out at Mach 7 speed towards Treant, while Treant had also sent its vines at Ainen through the ground to trap him.
However, the vines weren't even halfway when the arrow struck them.
Arrow-type: Spreading Blaze.
The arrow didn't explode, but instead, burned intensely at the spot, devouring everything it touched to fuel it further.
In mere two seconds, the entire four-meter-tall Treat turned into ash.
[You have killed a level 60…]
A strong wind blew across the forest.
And it lit up.
Glowing purple eyes blinked through the entire forest.
Ainen whistled, his eyebrows raised. "Now this is what you call an adventure."
There were over a couple of hundred eyes, indicating over one hundred Treants, from level 60 to level 80.
In the next moment, several attacks came at Ainen and the foxes.
'Girls, leave this to me. You rest.'
'Ok.'
Saffa, Clovelle, and Fraise sat down on their hind legs majestically at the edge of the forest, their tails wagging as they watched Ainen.
A faint orange sparkling veil flickered around Ainen before he vanished with a blast.
With his current stats, his maximum instant burst speed was Mach 6.
He could achieve Mach 7, but doing that would start shattering his bones, despite currently having all of his stats above Ⅰ 100 Ⅰ points.
His glass creations were more powerful and tougher than his body, so they could handle more of his Fire Manipulation's arts.
'I guess they can never hit me at this rate.'
Ainen was simply too fast for these levels of monsters.
'Let's finish this.'
Ainen floated high up, over two hundred meters off the forest ground.
First, he looked around.
"Damn."
This floor looked massive and exotic! He could frigging see a frosty mountain, and daylight very far away.
Turning his head back to the forest, Ainen snapped his finger.
10 x 49.
49 additional bows appeared while glowing fiery motes like fireflies spread around him, absorbing Mana to refill his Mana Pool.
Arrows appeared. Arrow-type: Spherical Explosion.
Ainen's Mana emptied.
He refilled again.
Arrows glowed, empowered.
And then a bullet appeared behind each of the arrows.
'Fire.'
Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!...
The arrows shot down into the forest, which is roughly the size of a 350-meter radius.
The arrows spread out throughout the forest.
50 arrows vs 100 Treants.
Each arrow exploded in a 10-meter radius, the explosions chaining one after another exactly 10 meters apart from each other.
The entire forest was razed.
[ You have killed 121 Tenebrian Treants. ]
[ You have reached level 80. You are rewarded a level 80 Mystery Box. ]
One thing that changed in the leveling process was that he no longer gained Mystery boxes every five levels. Instead, he got one every ten levels.
He hadn't opened any, and planned all boxes together after reaching level 100.
Suddenly, Ainen got an additional notification, but not from his system.
[ Spotlight Captured. Do you wish to share it with the spectators? ]
'Eh? This is considered a spotlight?' Ainen was surprised.
He knew that the Labyrinth would capture the spotlights of Adventurers and ask them if they wanted to share it with people outside to view. Lilian told him that, and also told him he should share his spotlights, so they could assess him.
'Share.'
…
"It looks like Ainen started with a big hunt." Raashik raised his eyebrows, his eyes showing intense curiosity. "His spotlight came first."
"Let's see."
"Who is that level 80 Adept-rank?
"Apparently, he was just recruited by Sacred Aurelian."
"What?"
The other powerhouses from Torion Kingdom and a few foreign parties that came to participate by paying entry fees to Torion and Belrik Kingdom were surprised.
Everyone quickly checked the spotlight.
The spotlight was from the beginning of when Ainen entered the forest, until he destroyed the forest.
"W-what the fuck am I seeing? Why is he so fast?"
"That speed isn't something an average Adept-rank moves at."
"His Fire Manipulation…it feels like S-rank."
And when people reached the part where they saw Ainen conjuring fifty bows, their jaws dropped.
Lilian and Yelvina, who were already amazed, were instantly shocked at that display.
"This…"
"He is not just at S-rank," Yelvin clenched her fist. "This brat has completely mastered S-rank Fire Manipulation. That efficiency and control cannot be explained otherwise."
Lilian and Raashik were standing dumbfounded.
What kind of prodigy did they just recruit? He wasn't one in a million; he was one in a hundred million prodigy!
"He is maximizing his Fire Manipulation. Especially with that Flying skill. It's honestly amazing," Yelvin sighed in amazement. "Normally, that speed would shatter his body, but his fine control of fire and micro management of heat in that skill he created is forming a protective layer around his skin that disperses force. That magic…it's Mystic."
Yelvin saw through Ainen's Jet Blaze Flight!
Ainen had created it by combining the Flight skill's veil, which was of Mystic-attribute, and his Fire Manipulation!
"Are you saying he comprehended a mystic attribute?!" Raashik exclaimed. "I really need to break through to Lord-rank, so I can view the spotlight in spectate mode."
Lord-rank and above could view the spotlight by witnessing the entire clip in 3D, sending their conciousness into that captured, viewing it as if it were live.
"Considering that he got Arcane Blessing, he had already achieved a feat of that level, but he didn't comprehend a mystic attribute to get the blessing. It's his Fire Manipulation," Lilian said as she finished analysing the spotlight in spectate mode.
"Indeed. He has transformed his Fire by comprehending and giving it a Mystic Attribute."
Those who had more knowledge were even more shocked upon hearing that.
"This kid is a monster," Raashik muttered. "Comprehending a mystic attribute is different, but to actually go a step beyond and transform his Fire Manipulation…he already completed one of the major requirements of breaking through to Emperor-rank."
"The Arcane Blessing is justified indeed." Lilian smiled.
Irnia, who was standing beside Yelvina, was completely frozen.
'What in the fucking hell am I hearing?' Irnia felt the world spinning as the spotlight was still on in her mind, replaying.
"Hey, Lilian. If he wants to leave Sacred Aurelian, you'd better not force him to stay." Yelvina snorted.
Lilian chuckled. "I'll try."
"I'll be checking in from time to time."
"…You haven't forgotten that our Magic Towers' leaders are thirsty for each other's blood, right?"
"Doesn't matter. It's not like we haven't had deals before. Someone like Ainen is a perfect and reasonable subject for a diplomatic deal."
"…"
"More spotlights came. It seems others started as well. We are also having a competition between our parties." Lilian smiled. "If more members of Sacred Aurelian are in the top ten, we win, and you will check in time to time in our Magic Tower."
Yelvina let out a chuckle. "Perfect. I'll be coming there monthly if I win. Under the pretense of training our newbies, of course."
Raashik watched as the two of them couldn't help but produce a thought.
Two cougars are fighting for prey.
While everyone was amazed by Ainen, Irnia's thoughts were different.
'Maurin is going to attack Ainen. The Torion Kingdom's parties are bribed.'
Irnia's eyes glinted. 'If Ainen survives, even after we take the cubs, our kingdom…'
Irnia realized that Ainen's potential was enticing for these powers enough to support him in annihilating their Kingdom and her.
If he survives and learns the truth, he will eventually have enough support to topple the Nightrift clan's protection and annihilate them.
'He can't live. Maurin, you fucking idiot, you better kill him after taking the cubs.'
'Fuck.'