El accessed the artifacts section, eager to discover useful items, and felt satisfaction upon seeing what lay before him:
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NAME: [Essence Arrow]
RANK: [Initiate]
TYPE: [Weapon]
GRADE: [One]
DESCRIPTION:
[Crafted by the Rune of Self for the trial-taker AZAZEL, this weapon is deemed worthy for vanquishing a Dread Monster, bestowed upon a not so mundane human.]
ENCHANTMENT:
[A bow that conjures arrows from the user's essence energy.]
BINDING SEAL:
[To forge each arrow, the user expends an amount of essence energy that is 1.5 times that of the original arrow created.]
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The downside of this particular artifact was manageable compared to the first one he acquired during his initial battle in those forsaken lands. Though still troublesome, he had something that allowed for a degree of freedom in its use. Focusing on the second item within the artifacts section, he summoned the runestone obtained after this recent fight. It was a yellow crystal, adorned with a mark he would describe as runic. Through his king's eyes, he sensed that this runestone contained more essence energy than the first, which was red. This color coding seemed to signify the quantity of energy, but he was uncertain about the implications of any subsequent colors or if there were more than one or two.
Holding the runestone in his palm, he performed the "Añjali Mudrā" positioning his hands in a prayer-like gesture, forming the symbolic binding seal.
With his existence acting as an anchor, he called upon the cosmos once more. Yet again, he felt an indescribable, indifferent gaze piercing into him, causing his breath to catch and his skin to erupt in goosebumps, a familiar sensation that proved uncomfortable.
However, with determination, he shook off the discomfort and enacted the self-imposed seal. Drawing energy from the runestone in exchange for relinquishing his rank, he was suddenly engulfed by a euphoric surge that coursed through his bloodstream, amplifying his strength to four times that of a mundane peak human.
His heightened perception, previously diminished by the last binding seal, soared even higher, eliciting a sharp pain that prompted a groan to escape his lips. Yet, that was all; a brief rest would help him acclimate to this new irritation, and after a little over two hours, he had grown slightly accustomed to the annoyance.
Now, only the final component of his plan remained before he could leave this forested expanse.
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El stood a few meters away from the snake pit, dragging the lifeless body of the vile ape behind him. It had only been days since he had tumbled into that very chasm, almost becoming a meal for its slithering inhabitants.
Now, free from the burdens of his mind and the weight of his previous anxieties, fragments of memory began to resurface—specifically, the moment he had lost consciousness after enduring the bone-rattling strikes of the serpent, only to awaken at the entrance of his cave. In retrospect, he understood that, in a state of panic, he had instinctively fought his way out of the pit.
His mind had safeguarded him by creating a gap in his memories, dampening his pain receptors, and keeping him unconscious until he was safely out of danger. Now that his mental state had returned to health—if not improved—he could access those hidden memories.
Even before he had fully recollected that harrowing time or eliminated the vile ape, he had already incorporated his plan to eradicate the snakes—every single one of them—into his strategy. This final act was essential, but challenges loomed regarding its execution. He knew that resorting to the powdered purple killer flower would deprive him of the satisfaction and rewards of his own victories.
Instead, he desired to personally vanquish each of the serpents himself, claiming their spoils: artifacts and possibly multiple runestones. With clarity of thought, he outlined his tactic, utilizing essence energy, dry wood, and his newly acquired bow artifact.
Essence energy resembled a mystical liquid fuel—or a liquid form of magic—that he had only recently discovered. After observing its interaction with blood, especially through his king's eye, he noted its fuel-like characteristics: it was colorless within his veins, slightly denser than blood, and his blood cells seemed to cling to it.
Possessing these traits implied it could be flammable, and indeed, when he experimented with just a drop mixed with his blood, he felt the essence transform into gas. When ignited, the blood sparked into flames, even if only briefly. If harnessed in larger quantities, such as that within the ape's corpse, it could erupt explosively. That explosive potential was precisely what he needed, with the dry wood aiding in spreading the fire and the bow serving as a catalyst—or lighter—for the ignition.
He tossed an array of dry wood and branches into the pit before heaving the ape's corpse into the abyss. Clambering up a nearby tree branch, he poised himself and waited. It didn't take long before a writhing mass of serpents emerged from their den, swarming the carcass and voraciously tearing it apart. El, perched above with a stoic and impassive expression, summoned his bow; ethereal threads of gold intertwined and coalesced to form it in his grasp.
Although this wasn't his first encounter with summoning an artifact,the wonder of it's manifestation still captivated him—yet now was not the time for contemplation. Drawing the string, he activated its enchantment and concentrated his essence, channeling it to the maximum limit of his output—10%. Thanks to his unique abilities and advanced essence efficiency, he reduced his expenditure to 8%, though the force of the attack remained at 10%. The binding seal activated, consuming 15% of his essence energy, but with his king's eye in play, that amount was subsequently moderated down to 12%.
With the string stretched to its limit, he held for a moment before releasing the arrow, sending it hurtling toward an exposed section of the corpse where blood seeped out and pooled. Upon impact, it detonated in a brilliant explosion of yellow flames, instantly incinerating the serpents that clung to the carcass and the crudely torn flesh. The flames rapidly engulfed the nearby dry wood, spreading further into the pit. Those snakes quick enough to try and escape were met with the same fiery fate. There was no retreat; the flames surged into the subterranean crevices of the pit, scorching every last remnant and echoing their agonized cries. Moments later, the neutral voice of the rune of self resonated.
[You have slain a Dread beast]
[You have slain a Dread beast]
[You have slain a Dread beast]
[You have slain a Drea.....]
[You have received an Artifact]
[You have slain a Dread beast]
[You have received two runestones]
[You have slain a Dread beast]
A stunned declaration from the rune of self followed:
[You have slain a Dread Monster: poisonous mother]
[You have received an Artifact and a runestone]
A Dread Monster—a being far more formidable than a mere beast. 'Was it nesting in the pit?' he pondered. 'But why didn't it join the attack back then?' El considered various possibilities; perhaps it wasn't present in the pit at that moment, or maybe it bore wounds from a previous conflict,hell It could have even been injured by the vile ape he had slain.
Yet, these remained mere conjectures, irrelevant. What truly mattered was that the spoils from this massacre might render his journey just a bit easier, albeit with a slim chance. As he gazed at the beam of light piercing the sky, the very same that heralded the demise of the vile ape and the path forward, he set his sights upon it. It was time to uncover what awaited him in the next time plate, though an unsettling intuition gnawed at him—he had a strong sense that it would be far from pleasant.
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