The Glass Warrior [Weak to Strong LitRPG]

Before leaving the city for good, Lucas made sure to create a Glass Gate near its entrance.

Although his skill's limitations prevented him from teleporting directly from the tombs to the city, having the capacity to make four gates in total allowed him to strategically place the others along his route, significantly shortening his return journey. With that done, Lucas finally exited the city gates and set off.

…

It felt strange to be out in the open again after so long, but Lucas quickly found his rhythm, moving through the wilderness at a steady pace while staying alert for potential dangers. Meanwhile, his mind churned with thoughts.

Ever since creating the portal before leaving the city, he'd been pondering how to make them more efficiently. He needed to manifest them faster if he wanted to use them in battle. Moreover, he needed either the ability to produce more at once or a way to make them less costly to create so he could travel seamlessly from portal to portal across the world.

As his thoughts wandered, a potential solution came to mind: the hand seals he used to create the portals. These seals were part of the skill he had acquired, but were they truly the most efficient method? Wasn't it possible that a more "optimized" version of these seals existed, and he simply needed to find it?

To follow his earlier analogy, right now, he was like someone handed a computer without knowing how to optimize its performance. Sure, he could use it, but it might not be configured to work most efficiently for his needs. What he had to do was learn everything about it and make the right modifications.

Of course, this was just a theory. He hadn't received any formal instructions on the seals, and without access to the higher floors of the library there was little he could do to address this gap in his knowledge.

Lucas couldn't help but feel a twinge of frustration with Zoria in this regard. He had considered completing quests to earn merit points, but they seemed like such a waste of time. Why should he spend effort on others' errands when he already had more than enough money?

Still, there was no avoiding it. If he wanted access to the restricted areas of the library, he would eventually have to comply. He resolved to do so upon his return; there was still much he wanted to learn.

For now, Lucas decided to investigate the hand seals during his next rest break. Shifting his focus, he turned to another pressing question: what would he use his skill upgrade on?

One of the main reasons for his trip to the library had been to see what he could find about the matter. While he hadn't found much information on the lower floors and hadn't settled on a choice yet, he had gained some insight into skill synergy—the concept of combining skills to create something new and more effective.

But synergy wasn't limited to skill fusion; it extended to all aspects of combat. This realization prompted Lucas to evaluate his strengths and weaknesses.

His forte was clearly melee combat, a fact evident to anyone who had seen him fight. With his blades and exceptional speed, he excelled in close quarters. While his defense wasn't formidable, he had Fire Blast for handling larger groups and the newly acquired Water Shield, which bought him a crucial moment to evade attacks.

Long-range combat, however, was a mixed bag. His Fire Shot sufficed against most opponents of his level but faltered against those with strong defenses. The problem with the skill wasn't only power; it was also predictable and easily countered by shields or barriers.

Then there were his two auras. Life Aura remained the most useful, allowing him to escape severe injuries and even death. The Death Aura had taken a backseat recently, it was true, but Lucas still remembered how important it had been against the Vodyanoy in the forest.

Finally, there was his Glass Gate skill, brimming with potential yet impractical for combat, at least for now.

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After careful consideration, Lucas found himself torn between two options for upgrading. The first was Fire Shot; it had served him well during the short period he'd use it, but now he felt ready for something better. Even though he didn't know exactly what that was yet.

The second option was his Death Aura, which was a bit more complicated, since it wasn't a regular skill. He still wasn't sure which direction he wanted to take it, or if he even had any control over its evolution.

By the time Lucas stopped to eat, he was still undecided, so he chose to set the matter aside for the moment.

Finding a log to sit on, he quickly consumed his provisions and then turned his attention to experimenting with the hand seal for the gate while he rested.

As he examined the problem, Lucas realized the seal was quite long. That was one of the main reasons why, despite extensive practice, he hadn't been able to reduce the casting time to under a minute. While more training could help, he could already tell there was a limit to how much improvement he could achieve through repetition alone.

To make real progress, he needed to figure out which movements could be removed. This was no simple task. With no foundational knowledge to guide him, his only option was to rely on trial and error.

Retrieving a book with a few blank pages from his ring, Lucas began his experiments. He carefully documented each movement he chose to omit and recorded the results as he went.

…

An hour passed in this manner, and to Lucas's surprise, he managed to make remarkable progress.

One key discovery from his experiments was that shortening movements was far more effective than excluding them altogether. He figured this was likely because, even in their modified form, the movements still conveyed the same "message."

It reminded him of communication, how you could say "laughing out loud" or simply type "LOL" and get the same result while saving time.

While a hand seal teacher might think he was butchering the good art of hand sealing, Lucas was more than pleased with the outcome. His adjustments had reduced the time required to cast a Glass Gate to just fifty seconds.

Satisfied with his progress, Lucas was about to rise from the log when he heard something—voices. He tensed immediately, his senses sharpening.

Thanks to his heightened perception, navigating the forest had become much easier. He could detect beasts from a distance, deciding whether to avoid them or deal with them swiftly if they posed no threat.

But this was the first time he'd encountered signs of other people, and curiosity got the better of him. He remembered hearing a waterfall earlier, though he hadn't seen it yet. The voices were coming from that direction.

Slowly, Lucas rose from the log and crept toward the sound, careful to stay hidden.

Hiding behind a thick tree, he peeked out to see three figures standing at the edge of a cliff, gazing at the distant waterfall. He'd prepared himself for almost anything, but what he saw caught him off guard.

A man? Maybe an elf? Hell, even an orc would've been within reason. But three diminutive, green-skinned figures clustered together? That was not what he'd expected.

As he observed them more closely, he noticed their rough, mottled green skin and pointed ears. Their yellowed teeth flashed as they spoke, and they were clad in crude leather armor. Each carried a weapon or two, ranging from knives to axes, their grips suggesting they knew how to use them.

"He sent us to find treasures, so that's what we're doing," one of them snapped irritably.

"If he wants damn treasures, he should come get them himself!" another barked, folding his arms.

"Ha! You should've told him that to his face. But you didn't have the guts, did you?" the first one shot back with a mocking grin.

"What are you laughing at? You didn't say anything either!"

The third goblin shrugged and chimed in. "I don't mind looking for treasure. At least we get to kill stuff along the way, and there's no boss breathing down our necks."

The first goblin, still grumbling, added, "The boss is just scared of that scrawny goblin with the big brain. He should fight him already! I bet those stupid metal things wouldn't stand a chance against the greatest warrior we've ever seen."

The others nodded in agreement before falling silent.

Lucas felt a strong urge to identify them and check their levels, but he held back. Doing so risked revealing his presence and he'd learned his lesson a long time ago. If even humans couldn't be trusted in a place like this, he doubted other races would be any different.

Curious about who they were talking about but unwilling to linger, Lucas silently slipped away. He didn't stop until he'd put a safe distance between himself and the goblins.

He wasn't exactly afraid of them, their small stature didn't inspire much fear, but he knew all too well that appearances could be deceiving. And there was no sense in provoking a conflict with another race at this time.

"Looks like it's not just elves who've got problems," he muttered to himself, his thoughts racing.

From their conversation, it seemed the goblins were working for someone they referred to as "the greatest warrior" they'd ever seen, someone apparently at odds with a clever goblin, whatever that meant.

Not my problem, Lucas decided after a moment.

He had his own concerns to deal with, and the sudden presence of goblins on Ponos didn't change that.