Chapter 494 (1/2)

“9 Skill Levels from less than 60 seconds of fighting,” Hank whispered, looking at his hands. It had taken a while, but the headache from the sound waves had passed and now that the group had moved some distance away from the moaning ram they had some time to reflect on what exactly they had gotten themselves into.

They were lucky in that no one was seriously injured. The first ram was young, and the second was arrogant enough that it was stuck on the fact that such creatures as their team would challenge its child. By the time it realized the enormity of the threat that these humans could pose, it’s greatest weapon, its horns, had been cracked.

Even now, the thing continued to live, thrashing around in the valley below them. Laurel had access to some warding Skills, so they penned it in and left ways to monitor it. The ward wouldn’t be able to block it at its strongest point at all, but with its health deteriorating, it was likely bound by them. Even if it wasn’t, with enough warning, the team could arrive and finish it off quickly.

But if it would die on its own, there was no reason to expose themselves to more risk.

First with his fingers, then with Mana, Hank thoroughly worked over the golden horns fragments he had collected from the area of their battle. They were a metal but felt far, far heavier, denser even than lead. It was something otherworldly, something that seemed to sing with power, even though it was something that had been broken by his infused bullets.

'This is what I was missing,' Hank thought, but his eyes weren't on the golden fragments, they were locked on the unfocused middle ground of possibilities.

Because he had learned something today, about the System. Sure, he had heard similar things from Ghost, but it hadn't meant as much as the true experience he just experienced. When it came to leveling Skills, repetition and practice weren't enough. What you truly required was struggle and strife. Compared to someone who threw themselves on the front line, Hank who spent most of his time patrolling a small border town was only one third as Leveled.

Sure, he had been diligent in raising his Level, but almost immediately upon arriving in the borderlands, they had come face to face with a threat that vastly outclassed them. Levels were one part of it, but it was a part that they would naturally close the distance to in time. But the destructive power of those sonic horns, even while damaged, demonstrated that it wasn't just stats, but Skill Levels that lay between their two relative capabilities.

”I've grown... soft.” It was a hard thing to admit. But after saying it, Hank's face split into a wide smile. His father had impressed upon Hank the importance of a hard day's work, and that's all this was. Perhaps he had wandered away from that creed in recent years, where his antagonism towards the Tier System had left him bitter and reliant on alcohol, but a legitimate threat instantly wiped that away. The new perspective showed Hank what could be accomplished, and how he might do it, but it also warned that it would be dangerous and difficult.

If you don't do it, who will?

By the firepit, Laurel leaped to her feet. ”The ram is moving!”

Everyone quickly got up, their faces serious. As one, their gazes converged on Affina, who was frowning.

”I cannot sense much, but... the jade should still be growing,” She said, with a slight hesitation. Ezekiel snorted but said nothing. As one, the group dashed out of the treeline and to the area that Laurel had warded.

When the crested the hill and had vision on the ram, their faces froze.

It was a mass of gore.

That was perhaps the first, and most striking of the occurrences. That ram, which had resisted both Hank's bullets, Ezekiel's spells, Katie's plasma, and Affina's strikes had been reduced to a smashed lump of flesh and blood. It wasn't just the ram that what crushed, the ground underneath it had been thoroughly recked as well; there was a crater about a meter across underneath the body, and several thin cracks running outward from the zone of impact.

Next to the ram, there were two men, who were gazing up towards them. They had been talking, as Hank had been able to pick up the sound of their conversation earlier. But as soon as the group moved to approach after Laurel announced something had happened to the ram, they had ceased to speak. They had heard Hank's group coming.

The two diverse groups regarded each other, scrutinizing the other.

The first and more imposing of the two men was a young black man. He currently still showed some youthful exuberance in his face and body, but it was clear that when the young man truly matured, he would be more muscle than man. Already, his arms and legs were thick and powerful, the veins clear on his limbs. The black man kept his dark hair cropped short. Then Hank looked at the most impressive part of the man: he was holding what appeared to be a giant iron ball, probably a meter across.