Nightmares Paradise [LITRPG System Integration]

The scent of cedarwood filled Jon's nostrils.

With a flourish of his hand, Jon manifested the weapon born from [Behold Thy Luminous Spear, Clad In Green Radiance].

The spear was a pure green colour, more vibrant than any ordinary gemstone Jon had ever seen before. While Jon had been used to using a makeshift short spear barely a metre in length, the length of his manifested weapon was more than double the span of the spear at his feet.

It was easily over two metres in length, with a barred tip that allowed for slashing on top of regular thrusts. The entirety of the spear was wooden, however the thirty-centimetre blade on the end gleamed with a metallic quality.

Faint grooves carved up the length of the polearm allowed for a greater grip and control over the weapon, almost appearing as though the image of vines had been carved into it.

Jon held the wooden polearm with a single hand, surprised at how lightweight the weapon felt. Holding it directly in the centre, Jon felt no tipping sensation even balancing his new spear on the tip of his index finger.

The corners of his mouth turned upwards, his he clutched a hand over his heart, muttering the beginnings of [Cometh Thy Red Horse Awaits].

"Clad in robes crimson, harkening thou pitiful extinction. Sing thou of the coming of blood and war, proclaiming the sounds of trumpets that announce mine arrival".

Jon sensed his form being saturated with the heraldry of blood and war, gaining a subtle red tint to the outline of his body. Entering the [Stance Of The White Star], when combined with the passive effect of [Lamentations Of A Frozen Affection], Jon experienced a near three-fold increase to all his physical qualities.

His figure burst out from his hiding spot behind one of the trees, the faint rustling of leaves and snapping of branches alerting the enemy to his presence.

The red-skinned humanoid, Han Of The Red Wind, lifted his head, eyes scanning the thicket around him. While Jon could not be completely certain on the total number of abilities he possessed, his opponent only possessed two abilities integrated into his Wind Mana Core.

While he had not shown evidence of a physical enhancement Spell or Ability, Jon did not discount the possibility that this red-skinned humanoid possessed one. The three abilities had he had glimpsed through Han Of The Red Wind's status page were all either Spells or a passive mental enhancement, so it was certainly plausible that he possessed other abilities within his three hidden Mana Cores.

Jon felt the need to test the waters before closing the distance between himself and "Han". The faint whisperings of a chant emanating from his lips.

"Theirs is the savagery that accompanies creation. Theirs is the might that cradles the earth and sky. Theirs is the wrath, that announces destruction!"

Halting roughly twenty feet away from his target, Jon swiftly placed his hand on the ground beneath himself, manifesting two piercing thorn branches. The spiritual wooden constructs sprouted rapidly, shooting forward towards his target.

Each was roughly the thickness of a human arm, but the limited number of piercing tree branches allowed Jon to push more spiritual energy into the range of his Spell.

He could see Han Of The Red Wind immediately shift his gaze towards Jon's stagnant figure, looking down at the approaching wooden constructs.

With his current visual acuity, Jon could see Han Of The Red Wind's lips move near instantly, lifting his hand in front of him, an eye-catching green glow appearing in the outstretched palm of his hand.

Jon felt his expression shift, into one of surprise and of frustrated curiosity as several trees suddenly sprouted from the earth beneath Han's feet, twisting and coiling around each other, forming a protective barrier around him.

His [Wrath Of Green, Piercing Wood Eruption] struck the coiling barrier of wood, piercing through several inches of tree before halting halfway, unable to thrust through the entirety of the barrier. Jon narrowed his eyes, before taking off in another direction, his three-fold physical enhancement still active.

'How the hell am I supposed to pierce through- Oh shit!' Jon's thoughts were cut off halfway, as his [Monstrous Intuition] twitched, a three-foot wide hole suddenly appeared directly in front of him.

The unexpected appearance of this gap caused his stride to stutter, forcing him Jon to grit his teeth while turning around, swinging his long spear in the space in front of him. While the average human would not have been able to see the approaching projectile, Jon's [Eyes Through The Looking Glass] enhanced his visual acuity to a point where he could see the oncoming wind blade.

Jon felt an immense amount of force collide with the spear in his hands, almost causing him to lose his grip on his new weapon. With the amount of spiritual energy he was flowing into [Behold Thy Luminous Spear, Clad In Green Radiance], he knew his weapon would remain unmarred from the collision.

In his peripheral vision, Jon could see an expression of shock appear on Han's face, seeing his Spell blocked by his spear. His eyes narrowing, re-evaluating the threat that Jon posed even at a distance.

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'He knows I have a physical enhancement Spell. He knows about my spear. And he knows that I have some sort of Spell capable of piercing through his status page. Shit, I kind of wish I had a spare Fragment Of Tree right now!'

If Jon possessed the materials required to summon Ashvattha Rana, he thought that it would more than double his chances at defeating his opponent. While unlike Avahni's Ru Luan Di which could move around after being summoned, Ashvattha Rana was stationary, but could provide cover for Jon when he needed it most.

Spiritual energy surged from all three of Jon's Mana Cores, each of their rotation increasing by roughly fifteen percent. Tufts of silverish-grey, verdant-green, and whiteish-blue spiritual energy surged, flowing into his numerous passive and active abilities.

The wooden spear in Jon's hands gained a subtle green glow to it. Not enough for an uninitiated mortal to notice, but enough to attract the eye of Han Of The Red Wind.

Jon could see Han's mouth move rapidly, lips blurring at a speed exceeding that which should be normally possible for a Spell. His spiritual energy fluctuating so much that even at a distance Jon could feel it churning within him.

Seeing Han perform such a rapid method of casting; Jon immediately came to a single conclusion.

'This guy can swift-cast!? What the hell kind of fragment can manifest such an ability!?' Jon cursed his luck, watching as another bright burst of green light appeared out from behind Han, his shadow obscured by the shadow of a much larger object manifesting itself out from behind him.

Jon felt his eye twitch, this time not because of his [Monstrous Intuition].

He watched as Han Of The Red Wind sat down on the manifested throne behind him. A magnificent looking, intricately carved, leaf dusted throne summoned in the space directly behind him. Green coloured leaves and flowers bloomed across the top of the impressive construct, colouring the presence the red-skinned humanoid the faintest tinges of nobility.

Jon felt the effectiveness of [Mine Is The Sea Of Knowledge], reduced by more than thirty percent, some strange suppressive effect born from the wooden throne adversely affecting his ability.

Almost instantaneously, Han Of The Red Wind raised his arm, a violent surge of strangely familiar spiritual energy bursting out from within him.

Jon immediately retreated backwards, constantly ducking and weaving throughout the surrounding thicket. Trees used to block lines of sight, and thick, overgrown patches of shrubbery littered the area between himself and the red-skinned alien.

Despite Jon's initial thoughts that the throne was stationary, he could only grimace as he watched the root system beneath the majestic wooden construct shift, creaking as it rotated with Jon's movements.

Jon's greenish-yellow eyes met Han Of The Red Wind's eerily crimson-coloured eyes. The latter smirking before muttering another Spell, waving his arm and releasing another wave of near-invisible wind.

Jon merely avoided it, ignoring the appearance of another hole in front of him.

'Fuck! Manifesting pitfalls, mental debuffs, coiling tree barriers, invisible wind blades, manifesting thrones, and even swift casting!? What the hell?! I have spent almost ten days within the System Introduction, why does he have so many more active abilities than I do?'

Jon thought it might have been the Mana Cores that Han Of The Red Wind managed to integrate, but thought the possibility relatively low, considering that Avahni manifested so many summoning related abilities.

He considered that it was partially due to the fragments she had integrated, but thought that it was too outlandish, considering that a Fragment Of Beast, or a Fragment Of Mouth would usually result in some sort of physical mutation rather than a summoning ability.

It had to be another quality that Jon had yet to consider.

Jon felt his eye twitch, shifting direction by more than one-hundred and eighty degrees, averting another pitfall trap, thrusting his spear forward and thrusting through another colourless wind blade. The force behind the blow causing him to take several steps back, almost knocking him over.

The eighteen-year-old, felt the Seir-Glacial Heart pounding within his chest, almost to the point where he couldn't hear his own breathing. A single bead of sweat crawling down the side of his face.

His breath steadied, as Jon felt something shift inside of him.

The first mandatory task that the System had given Jon was to achieve a certain degree of master within one of his abilities. Each individual would receive a set reward upon the completion of said task.

Jon took a step forward, feeling the raging of his Sea Of Knowledge grow silent, but still capable of resisting mental intrusion. His grasp over the movements and reactions of his Sea Of Knowledge growing as the control over his Mana Cores increased.

He did not realize it before, but it was the ability Jon used the most, perhaps even more than his [Monstrous Intuition].

Taking a step forward, Jon strengthened the amount of spiritual energy flowing into his [Requiem Of The White Star], increasing the effectiveness of his [Stance Of The White Star].

Slashing forward, Jon shattered another wind blade, taking another step forward rather than being pushed back.

Summoning monstrous-sized waves within his Sea Of Knowledge would cause him to remember his experiences of violence, combat, and aggressive emotional responses.

Halting the raging waves within would produce a subtle calming effect, allowing Jon to recall his memories of peaceful comfort and tranquil emotional responses.

Shifting the undercurrents beneath the water's surface, would allow Jon to reminisce about his secrets and lies, of the various moments in his lifetime where cunning and various degrees of subtlety allowed him to escape punishment or additional work.

With the gentle lapping of tides whenever Jon felt happy or joyous, flashes of associated memories were brought to the forefront of his mind. Experiences back on Earth with his friends and family flitting through his Sea Of Knowledge as if it were a picture book.

Meeting Summer and Trevor for the first time. Achieving a near-perfect score on his final exams. Beating Trevor in a footrace after nearly three months of repetitive training and practice. Staying up at night with his siblings while his parents were out with friends or on their anniversaries.

Even befriending two strange aliens in an alternate dimension.

Each one of his strides resulted in a swing of his spear, enough force behind them to cut through an uninitialed mortal from head to groin. Invisible blades of wind, strange mental intrusions, even the suppression effect born from his wooden throne, all of it served to refine Jon's manipulation of his Sea Of Knowledge.

After stepping within twenty feet of Han, something finally clicked within his mind. The stream of information that flowed into his Sea Of Knowledge came to a halt, the failures behind his initial manipulations of [Mine Is The Sea Of Knowledge] suddenly making sense.

Feeling his eyes widen, Jon unconsciously let out a shallow breath, ignoring the System notification that appeared in the corner of his vision.

His grip on his spear tightened, as a tsunami-sized wave surged within his Sea Of Knowledge.