Chapter 20 - Primordial Forest

After several minutes of standing at the outer boundary, Darien advanced into the forest, rustling sounds filling the atmosphere.

He kept his guard up, though he was silently thrilled.

Moving carefully through the undergrowth, he didn't mind his boots making crunching sounds since he hadn't gotten that deep.

Submerged in the thickets, covered in mosses, were crumbled stone walls of what used to be. Vines buried rooftops, gates, and broken archways.

What was left of the civilization was claimed by nature. Darien couldn't believe it as he stood on what appeared to be a major street, now swallowed by thick roots.

~rustle rustle~

An abrupt scuttle startled Darien. By instinct, his hand reached for the hilt of his katana as the nearby shrub shook. His heart jumped when he thought he was actually ready.

'Come on, beast…'

He was ready to pounce with his eyes locked on the moving leaves, but out scurried a small, round-eyed bush rat, sniffing the air as if just as startled to see the Adventurer too.

'Hmm. Just Rank 0.'

'Waste of time.'

Darien shook his head, knowing the bush rat wasn't worth the effort. He'd get no skill points and most likely no loot.

Waving his hand, the little creature ran away into another shrub.

'I'd just have to activate to avoid being jumped on. The deeper I go, the more encounters I'd get.'

With that thought, Darien activated , and he felt the familiar influence of the skill on his body. His footsteps were silenced, and his agility was aggravated.

As he slipped deeper into the overgrown ruins beneath the forest canopy, he suddenly remembered the Life Core he had gotten from the Furnace Boar.

He hadn't had the chance to absorb it back then in the small arena, but now he did.

Reaching into his Inventory, he retrieved the Life Core.

(Energy Core)

(Lv.2)

(Neutral)

(Stable)

[Energy Cores are ranked according to volatility, and volatility also means essence potency: Stable, Reactive, Rupture, and Abyssal]

[Note: At current Rank, host can only absorb Stable Energy Cores]

Darien held the pulsing core in his hands as it glowed wondrously, illuminating his palm and face.

As a Neutral Life Core, though sourced from a fire magical beast, it meant it could be absorbed by any kind of magus, regardless of the mage's talent.

Specific Life Cores are often rare, and in that case, they contain unbelievable amounts of Primordial Energy. More often than not, they are ranked above Stable.

'Here goes nothing.'

Darien closed his eyes and let his mind go blank. He felt the subtle pulse of the Life Core, and the harmonic rhythm it produced.

Guided mindlessly, the Adventurer allowed his body to sync with this rhythm.

Instantly, the Neutral Life Core dissolved into a bright wave of light and streamed into his chest.

The young boy gasped as a tepid sensation spread through his veins. The energy from the core fully flowed and settled in him, everything physical vanishing into the air.

[Level 2 Core absorbed!]

[STR + 10, VIT + 10, STA + 10, P.E + 200]

[STR: 11 >>> 21]

[VIT: 14 >>> 24]

[STA: 12 >>> 22]

[HP: 76 >>> 116]

'Haa…'

After the rush of the energy subsided, Darien inhaled deeply to recover.

He immediately felt the difference within him, and the sensation of honing such power made him chuckle mechanically.

[P.E: 200]

'Finally. I can create spells.'

Darien knew he couldn't rely on the physical prowess of a knight alone if he wanted to survive in this world. Primordial Energy was the true foundation of strength, because without it, spells couldn't be cast, and the most powerful skills couldn't be used.

It fueled everything in this world, and that was why people who could control it best were at the top of the social triangle.

'Wait… How was I even able to absorb a Life Core if I didn't Awaken?'

Normally, Unawakeners had no connection to Primordial Energy at all. They couldn't even sense it, absorb it, or make use of it in any way.

Even Awakeners were restricted to absorbing only Life Cores that matched their level of absorption; anything higher would either fail or destroy them.

By all logic, Darien, being a dud, shouldn't have been able to absorb a Life Core at all.

Being a Skill Maker, he should've first created a skill that could enable such a feat. But he didn't. Yet somehow… he had done it anyway.

Darien didn't even put much thought into this. He was still yet to learn more about this world, so he continued on.

'I still have 10 Attribute Points from the slain boar. I should use them as quick as possible so I won't forget.'

After the thought, he summoned the system for his panel.

[Name: Darien Seaborn]

[Mage Rank: Beginner 0/250]

[Knight Rank: Beginner 0/250]

[HP: 116]

[STR: 21]

[AGI: 8]

[DEF: 12]

[VIT: 24]

[STA: 22]

[INT: 23]

Studying his stat panel, his gaze landed on Agility and its visibly low value.

Agility was low because he relied on using whenever he wanted to be actually agile.

Now, he understood that relying solely on a skill could be risky, and he also didn't want Agility falling too far behind.

So, he arrived at a decision to allocate 3 of the 10 AP to it. The remaining 7, however, he dumped straight into Intelligence. As stated time without number, that was the one stat he wanted towering above all else.

As the system carried out the distribution, Darien turned to continue deeper into the forest, but he quickly realized that at this pace, nightfall would catch up with him long before he encountered a real challenge.

And nightfall in the Primordial Forest wasn't something he wanted to experience.

At night was when the stronger beasts roamed, and even the boldest Adventurers avoided pushing their luck in the dark.

Darien, with limited skills and power, knew he couldn't risk such an endeavor.

He began to think of a way to quicken his steps and pace. In order to face as many beasts as he could handle before dusk, this Adventurer needed something that'd let him scan and cover more ground.

[Analyzing skill concept… Weighing cost…]