The Lone Wanderer-Chapter 282: credits

The Yellow golem was nothing like the bouncing balls of the Red level, or the spider-like constructs of the Orange level. It resembled a person, much like the Green golems, yet it was far smaller than the hulking monstrosities Percy had fought alongside Gabe. Its lean frame was covered in yellow runes, its most threatening feature being the pair of long, curved blades replacing its forearms.

‘Let’s see what you’re made of, then!’

Not waiting for the golem to move, Percy rushed forward at full speed. The tar covering the floor hindered his steps at first, but he didn’t have much trouble jumping over it and running across its surface given how thick it was.

The construct lunged, aiming to pierce his head, only to hit nothing but empty air. Percy circled around it with three swift steps, each of them aided by a perfectly timed burst of wind.

Undeterred, the golem spun at its waist, sweeping its blades in a deadly arc. Anyone else in Leo’s shoes might have ended up cleanly bisected by the sudden move.

But it was Percy the construct was fighting, its speed a far cry from his own. Between Circulation, the second core strengthening his physique, his fighting style honed after years of gruelling practice, and the air affinity heightening his mobility, the golem had never stood a chance. freёweɓnovel.com

Grabbing its upper arm with his left hand, he halted its telegraphed swing mid-motion, before clamping his right hand over its featureless face. Metal groaned as his fingers dug in, the viscous tar parting with a loud splash as he slammed the golem’s head into the floor.

Squirming, it struggled to free itself, but Percy never gave it the chance. Unleashing the compressed mana he’d prepared in his core, he felt his own bones ache from the shockwave as he blasted the golem at point-blank range.

Alas, his opponent had it much worse, its head shattering into a dozen fragments, bringing the challenge to an abrupt end.

“Congratulations! Wave 1 has been cleared! Calculating rewards…”

“Awarded credits: 300. Current balance: 2129.”

‘Wow, I didn’t even need to use my new core!’ Leo noted.

‘Don’t worry, you’ll get your chance sooner or later. The difficulty ramps up pretty quickly.’ Percy shrugged.

Despite his words, he failed to stop the corner of his lips from curling up. Judging from how easy this wave had been, and how rewarding the Yellow challenges were, getting to 5000 credits would be a breeze.

‘Can you use Circulation by yourself?’ he suddenly asked.

Leo shook his head. Not very surprising, given the boy’s visceral reaction to the “Mana Flow” lectures. He’d clearly never put his mind to actually mastering the technique, his thoughts having been dominated by the ethical concerns surrounding the lessons.

‘Alright. Pay close attention to the way the mana flows through your body as we progress. Speaking from experience, this is the fastest way to learn it.’

***

“Congratulations! Wave 2 has been cleared! Calculating rewards…”

“Awarded credits: 600. Current balance: 2729.”

***

“Congratulations! Wave 3 has been cleared! Calculating rewards…”

“Awarded credits: 900. Current balance: 3629.”

Once again, Percy stopped at the third wave, deciding to rest for a few hours before switching to the swarm challenge.

As expected, his opponents had grown progressively tougher, each golem sporting an additional pair of arms, their agility climbing steadily along with the weapons they carried. The last one had even managed to nick Leo’s shoulder: just a shallow scratch: but proof that the next round would be a struggle. In fact, they’d even needed to draw some extra juice from the boy’s second core to put the construct down.

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‘I’m sure we can push through the fourth wave with some effort, but I’d rather just get this trip over with…’ he thought, switching to the other challenge. If he did equally well there, it should be more than enough to get him the credits he needed.

***

“Congratulations! Wave 1 has been cleared! Calculating rewards…”

“Awarded credits: 300. Current balance: 3929.”

***

“Congratulations! Wave 2 has been cleared! Calculating rewards…”

“Awarded credits: 600. Current balance: 4529.”

***

“Congratulations! Wave 3 has been cleared! Calculating rewards…”

“Awarded credits: 900. Current balance: 5429.”

It took Percy a few days to clear all the combat challenges, after which he was free to leave the challenge cube to meet up with the others. Fortunately, communication wasn’t an issue for anyone in the group, despite the fact that everyone had come from a different background. Noland had it the worst, as he wasn’t fluent in the Vault’s language just yet. Still, he’d picked up enough to hold a conversation. Meanwhile, Tlaloc had already been given a translation device from Metatron and Leo benefitted from Percy’s: though he’d have to start studying as soon as he was gone.

At any rate, Gabe was ecstatic to have his body back in perfect condition for the first time in years. His second core had yet to catch up to his first one, but he could finally start focusing on his combat strength again. Now that his disabilities were gone and he no longer needed to worry about food, he could spend his credits on whatever he wanted.

“Man, meeting you was the best thing to ever happen to me.” he said, shaking Percy’s hand vigorously. “Not only did you save my life, you gave me a second core, negotiated a pretty nifty deal for me, and even brought Circulation to the Vault… How can I ever repay you?”

“Don’t sweat it. I’ve benefitted plenty from the Vault too.” Percy replied on the surface, though his thoughts told a different story.

Sure, he didn’t mind helping a friend in need for free, but he wouldn’t have said no if the guy wanted to give him something in return. Sadly, the Vault’s draconian rules made it impossible for people to just give each other stuff…

Regardless, Percy had paid attention to everyone’s progress with the boosting art. He still wasn’t thrilled to have handed it to Metatron, but at least the Vault’s residents would need a few years before they could use the spell. They’d have to train their bodies and temper their channels before they were even qualified to practice it… unless the titan decided to shower them with life mana to speed up the process, of course.

‘Well, whatever. What’s done is done. Let’s just complete the transaction and get the hell out of here.’

Bidding his friends farewell, Percy found a relatively remote location before reaching out to the titan using the cube’s interface. Luckily, he didn’t have to wait long for the pentapus to appear before him.

“I’ve got to say, I was impressed by your performance in the challenges this time. I suppose that’s what happens when you stop holding back on me.” the god chuckled.

Ignoring the casual compliment, Percy noticed how carefully Metatron was observing him. And it didn’t take a genius to guess why. Leo was currently running Circulation, as Percy had instructed him to keep it active on his own until he left, to get used to the pattern under his supervision. Clearly, the titan was more than happy to leech off the boy’s efforts, accelerating his own research.

“So, what have you got for me?” Percy asked, cutting to the chase.

“A little impatient, are we?” Metatron replied with a question of his own, though he didn’t leave him hanging.

Lifting his tentacle, he allowed a drop of some black liquid to ooze out of his skin before gathering on the tip. It looked a bit like ink, but Percy could tell it was probably space mana, its colour bearing striking similarities to Nesha’s.

That said, their grades couldn’t have been further apart, the viscous droplet resembling all the other instances of divine mana he’d encountered in the past. At the same time, it appeared almost entirely colourless in his Mana Sense: as if his sixth sense was barely even capable of perceiving it.

Oblivious to his thoughts, Metatron spun the droplet with a swift motion, the substance soon changing shape. It rapidly expanded into a rotating disk, countless grooves appearing on its surface, settling into interlocking symbols.

‘Are those runes?! There must be hundreds of them!’

Perhaps Percy shouldn’t have been so shocked to see one of the top runecrafting experts in the entire universe: the very mind that had invented the Vault’s magiscript: perform such a feat.

Still, he couldn’t help but compare his own skill to the titan’s. Leaving aside the sheer ease by which the god had drawn the runes, Percy knew he could have barely fit a couple of them in the same amount of space. Let alone how seamlessly he’d combined them, visualizing all those compounding enchantments in his mind.

“What does it do?” he asked, his mouth drying up.

Whatever its function, there was no doubt it was worth way more than a measly 5000 credits! After all, how often did a mortal get to commission a titan to personally enchant something for them?

Metatron remained silent for a few seconds: clearly doing so on purpose, to torment him a little longer. Only when Percy was about to ask again did the titan decide to put him out of his misery.

“This is a storage seal.”