NOVEL NEXT Chapter 34 First Task Completion
Jon returned to the campsite shortly after defeating Han Of The Red Wind. Any lingering thoughts about the mutilation and dismemberment of his corpse thrown to the farthest reaches of Jon's mind.
Any consideration of decency or a proper burial vanished the moment that Han decided to attack Jon unprovoked. Removing an individual who killed other participants within the small realm did not stress Jon in the slightest, thinking that he was doing the remaining nine-hundred thousand participants a favour by killing him.
While it was only a small possibility, there was a chance that Han had killed another person since the beginning of the System Introduction. He did not show any remorse during his attempt at Jon's life, so either the red-skinned alien had done such a thing before or not considered Jon as a "person" and therefor felt no different from killing a wild beast.
The eighteen-year-old possessed quite a standoffish personality. Jon often found it surprising that both Trevor and Summer had managed to put up with him for so long.
It did help that he was the smartest of the three of them, but neither his friends would dare to admit such a thing. They made sure to inform Jon that his egotistical tendencies were developed enough as it is.
'I think they would be pleasantly surprised. I managed to make friends with two people even without their help. They might be aliens from a distant galaxy or star system, but that still counts right?' Jon thought with a smile.
Stepping over one of his miniature pitfall traps, Jon felt the crunching of sand beneath his foot. His footsteps were loud and pronounced, causing both Avahni, who was sitting beside the river, and Wilheim who was standing a couple dozen metres further up the riverbank to lift their heads, peering towards him.
The last time he was here, Jon had given the pair of them nine fragments between the two of them, reducing the total number of fragments in his possession from eleven down to two. After killing the blueish feline and Han Of The Red Wind, that number jumped up to sixteen, with an additional four spare Mana Cores in his other pocket.
With a subtle prodding from his [Eyes Through The Looking Glass], Jon could see that Wilheim had integrated the Fragment Of Brumal into his Mountain Mana Core, keeping the remaining three fragments in reserve, potentially for his third Mana Core.
Avahni on the other hand, had chosen to integrate the Fragment Of Breath into her Water Mana Core and Fragment Of Moss into her Wood Mana Core.
The lutin and floresiensis' expressions brightened after seeing Jon's familiar figure step through the tree line, both of their eyes glancing towards blueish feline impaled upon the two-metre-long spear on his shoulder. Jon had left carrying a short wooden spear barely a metre in length and returned with an ability which manifested itself as a weapon.
The pair watched as Jon flicked his wrist, dismissing the beautiful verdant coloured spear as if it had never existed. The human catching the somewhat small creature in one hand, giving them both a thumbs up as they approached.
"Bring food," he said in Nain. Avahni nodding before swiftly moving to prep their dinner for the evening. While the beast was small, Avahni had continued leaf-wrapping leftover chunks of meat, using Wilheim's [Mountain Art; Weight Of The Frozen Peaks] to create small chunks of ice to keep them somewhat cold after burying them in the sands.
It was a little extreme, but the three of them had to make the best use of what they had available.
Jon gave Avahni as small smile as the lutin started removing the fur and hide, revealing a layer of slightly blueish flesh beneath. Wilheim did not see the need for him to assist Avahni, then deciding to continue practicing with his new ability.
The young human now thought it was the best time to look at his status page, in addition to any rewards that he might have received after defeating Han Of The Red Wind.
Name: Jonathan Randall Guilliman
Age: 18
Rank: Mortal
Tier: Third Initiation
Title: N/A
Mana Core(s):
[1]: Knowledge
[Fragment Of Instinct]
[Monstrous Intuition]
(Knowledge, Passive, Ability, Enhancement, Sensory, Perception)
[Fragment Of Mind]
[Mine Is The Sea Of Knowledge]
[Fragment Of Tree]
[Ashvattha Rana; Earthen Treasury Womb]
(Knowledge, Tree, Summoning, Spirit, Spell, Buff)
[Fragment Of War]
[Cometh Thy Red Horse Awaits]
(Knowledge, War, Spell, Enhancement, Buff)
[Fragment Of Shadow]
[Thou Is But A Shadow Of Oneself]
(Knowledge, Shadow, Mutation, Enhancement, Spell, Perception, Resistance)
[Fragment Of Eyes]
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[Eyes Through The Looking Glass]
(Knowledge, Eyes, Mutation, Enhancement, Spell, Perception, Sensory)
[2]: Wood
[Fragment Of Regeneration]
[Green Is The Flesh, As Red Is The Blood]
(Wood, Regeneration, Passive, Recovery)
[Fragment Of Eruption]
[Wrath Of Green, Piercing Wood Eruption]
(Wood, Eruption, Spell, Curse, Debuff)
[Fragment Of Spear]
[Behold Thy Luminous Spear, Clad In Green Radiance]
(Wood, Spear, Summoning, Ability, Weapon, Buff, Debuff)
[3]: Ice
[Fragment Of Destruction]
[Requiem Of The White Star]
(Ice, Destruction, Technique, Debuff)
[Fragment Of Heart]
[Lamentations Of A Frozen Affection]
[4]:
[5]:
[6]:
The length of his status page had certainly become significantly longer with the addition of his Ice Mana Core and Wood Mana Core. Jon possessed a total of eleven abilities out of a possible eighteen, making him the individual with the highest number of integrated fragments in the group.
Even when compared to someone like Han, who possessed five Mana Cores, Jon still had him beat.
'Although, I do wonder how he managed to obtain so many Mana Cores so quickly. His Wind Mana Core and Fragment Of Slash produced such a powerful ranged offensive ability, so I guess it isn't too strange that he managed to hunt so many creatures in such a short span of time.'
Jon gave his status page one more glance before noticing something new appear beside the Title section. Previously, when Jon had integrated his Wood Mana Core and peered into his "Source", he received something called a Title Fragment.
While the name of this Title Fragment was partially greyed out on his status page, Jon was certain that the Mortal Title Fragment "Pathstrider" was his first step towards completing the eleventh mandatory System task.
He almost missed the appearance of a new Title Fragment beside his first one.
Mortal Title Fragment "Killer": Increases all physical capabilities for a short duration after killing an enemy. This effect does not stack with itself.
Jon narrowed his eyes, observing the System description of his Mortal Title Fragment "Killer". While he was not concerned with nature of how he obtained this Title Fragment, Jon felt something uncomfortable churn within his stomach, seeing that the System had essentially rewarded him for murder.
Not only that, but the amount of potential that this fragment possessed for something so easily acquired caused Jon to unconsciously glance towards Wilheim and Avahni, knowing that neither of them possessed a single Title Fragment. Neither the lutin nor the floresiensis possessed a combat system built around their individual strengths, opting for a more supportive, or specialized grouping of abilities.
While it was merely as Mortal Title Fragment, and not a complete Title, Jon still wondered why the System would create such a thing.
The human merely shook their head, moving their attention away from his status page and onto the System task reward page. As expected, Jon was met with numerous notifications alerting him to various task rewards.
Tasks required before completion of System Introduction.
[1]: Reach a degree of mastery in an ability. Individuals will receive a series of set rewards depending on the level of mastery and manipulation of their abilities.
Tasks not required before completion of System Introduction
[22]: Defeat an enemy whose Tier is two stages higher than your own. Individuals shall receive a reward of their choice upon the completion of their task.
Jon felt his breath hitch as he gazed towards the first task placed at the top of his mandatory System task page. It had taken him over three weeks to complete the first task, if Jon's approximation of time before the System Introduction was correct.
Just over two percent of the total amount of time remaining on the System countdown.
Smiling softly, Jon let out a loud an over exasperated breath of air, chuckling a couple of times while shaking his head. A somewhat strange sensation filling his chest.
If Jon had to admit, he was somewhat proud of how far he had come since the System Introduction had begun. An eighteen-year-old kid thrown into a horrifyingly beautiful world filled with a plethora of monstrous, mutated beasts. Fire-breathing ducks and goats with mouths so wide and frightening that the average person would have run away the moment they encountered such a creature.
While Jon was unsure just how many other humans there were within this small realm, given that the three other sentient individual he had encountered were all aliens, he kept his hopes relatively low in the scheme of things.
If the entirety of the 37th universe was undergoing a System Introduction, then it was possible that hundreds of billions of lifeforms were all experiencing similar things across the vast sea of stars. If Jon, Avahni and Wilheim were all capable of breathing in air, then it was obvious that numerous planets across the cosmos were able to support the flourishing of life.
'But of those hundreds of billions of lifeforms, just how many of them have managed to complete one of their mandatory System tasks? I suppose one could, our of pure luck appear near, or within a System generated Safe Zone, or near a System generated Wonder and then immediately claim the reward, but just how many times could that happen across every small realm?' Jon thought about it for a moment, before thinking that while the percentage chance might be extraordinarily small, the actual number might not be.
Jon took a deep breath before pressing on the text of his first mandatory task. While he was half expecting a fanfare or an explosion of glitter or confetti to appear around him, the young human was greeted with nothing but another wave of notifications.
Mastery of Fragment Of Mind ability [Mine Is The Sea Of Knowledge] detected.
Level of understanding and comprehension confirmed.
Individual has grasped the essence of their mental mutation, understanding the reflective nature of their Sea Of Knowledge. The motions and movements of which mirror the various facets of your personality.
The manipulation of emotions, desires and feelings which allows for the Sea Of Knowledge to surge and swell with memories and experiences harbouring close conceptual or contextual similarities. Drawing upon such aspects to fuel or improve offensive or combative qualities.
The selective increase in certain or specific effects while [Mine Is The Sea Of Knowledge] is overloaded with spiritual energy has been noted. The compatibility between mental visualization techniques and the manipulation of abilities has been considered during this evaluation.
Tallying results…
Mastery evaluation result: Baron.