Don stood in the ruins of the second camp, his four Executioner's Edge blades hovering around him like wings of death.
[Four blades, little seed! FOUR! Do you remember when you only had ONE? Look how far we've COME!]
Stage 2. Crucible of Essence Level 1. Stats that exceeded anything a normal Stage 1 cultivator could dream of achieving.
And one more camp to destroy.
Don looked toward the east where the third and final goblin camp waited. According to the map he'd taken from Bloodfang's tent—a lifetime ago, it seemed—the last camp was approximately four kilometers away.
Six hundred goblins. One final obstacle between him and quest completion.
[Six HUNDRED more toys to break! Oh, little seed, this is going to be GLORIOUS! Can we make it faster this time? More BRUTAL?]
Time to move.
Don began running, his enhanced Agility of 193 carrying him through the Shadowfen like a shadow given form. Trees blurred past. The twisted terrain that had slowed him before now felt trivial—his refined body moved with impossible efficiency.
But he wasn't just running. He was testing.
His right hand came up, and he focused on his Elemental Manipulation skill. Fire first—the element he'd used most often.
[SKILL: ELEMENTAL MANIPULATION ACTIVATED]
[ELEMENT: FIRE]
[MANA COST: 50]
The sphere materialized instantly—white-hot, compressed, perfectly controlled. But it felt DIFFERENT now. Easier. As if the element responded to his will without resistance.
[See how it OBEYS you now? Stage 2 isn't just power, little seed—it's DOMINION! The elements themselves recognize you as their MASTER!]
Don shaped it while running, adding more heat, more density. The sphere grew from the size of his head to twice that, the flames intensifying from white to blue-white.
[MANA: 9,200/9,250]
He dismissed the fire and switched elements. Lightning.
[ELEMENT: LIGHTNING]
[MANA COST: 80]
Blue-white electricity crackled between his fingers, forming a spear in half the time it used to take. His enhanced Intelligence of 185 and Wisdom of 188 made the complex calculations instinctive.
The spear hummed with barely contained violence. Don threw it at a distant tree.
CRACK-BOOOOM!
The tree exploded, the lightning bolt punching through it and detonating on the other side. Thunder split the air.
[BEAUTIFUL! The tree didn't just FALL—it EXPLODED! That's the difference between Stage 1 and Stage 2, little seed! ANNIHILATION!]
[MANA: 9,120/9,250]
Better. Much better.
Don continued running and switched to an element he'd barely used before. Ice.
[ELEMENT: ICE]
[MANA COST: 60]
Frost gathered in his palm, forming a crystalline spear of frozen essence. The temperature around his hand dropped so rapidly that moisture in the air condensed into visible mist.
Don threw the ice spear at another tree. It hit dead-center and the tree FROZE—ice spreading outward from the impact point, encasing the entire trunk in seconds.
[MANA: 9,060/9,250]
Earth next.
[ELEMENT: EARTH]
[MANA COST: 40]
The ground ahead of Don erupted, stone rising to form a crude wall. He dismissed it immediately—earth manipulation required contact with the ground, making it less useful for mobile combat.
Wind.
[ELEMENT: AIR]
[MANA COST: 45]
Compressed air formed a nearly invisible blade. Don slashed it forward and a tree thirty meters away developed a clean cut through its trunk. The top half fell with a crash.
[MANA: 8,975/9,250]
Water.
[ELEMENT: WATER]
[MANA COST: 40]
Moisture from the air condensed into a sphere of liquid, compressed and spinning rapidly. Don threw it at a rock and the water hit with enough force to shatter stone.
[MANA: 8,935/9,250]
Don had now tested all six basic elements while running—fire, lightning, ice, earth, air, water. All of them responded with perfect obedience, his Stage 2 essence making manipulation effortless.
Then the System chimed.
[DING!]
[ELEMENTAL MASTERY DETECTED]
[ANALYZING PROFICIENCY ACROSS ALL ELEMENTS…]
[FIRE: ADEPT]
[EARTH: ADEPT]
[AIR: ADEPT]
[WATER: ADEPT]
[ALL BASIC ELEMENTS HAVE REACHED ADEPT TIER]
[MERGING MASTERIES…]
[MERGE COMPLETE]
[NEW MASTERY UNLOCKED: NATURAL ELEMENTS - ADEPT]
[EFFECT: All basic elemental manipulations cost 10% less mana]
[EFFECT: Elemental power increased by 15%]
[EFFECT: Can combine elements more easily (Fire + Air = Enhanced Flames, Water + Air = Ice Storm, etc.)]
[EFFECT: Elemental resistance increased by 20% across all basic elements]
[NOTE: Advanced elements (Poison, Darkness, Light, etc.) are separate masteries]
Don felt the shift immediately—like six separate rivers of knowledge merging into one ocean. His understanding of fire didn't exist in isolation anymore; it connected to lightning through plasma states, to water through steam, to earth through lava.
The elements weren't separate tools. They were aspects of a unified whole.
[Oh! OH! Did you feel that, little seed?! Your brain just EVOLVED! Six things became ONE thing! That's—that's BEAUTIFUL in its efficiency!]
His Crucible Aura was passive, a constant pressure emanating from his refined essence. He could FEEL it affecting the environment—small creatures fled from his presence, plants seemed to lean away, even the air itself felt heavier around him.
And his four Executioner's Edge blades…
Don focused on them while running. All four solidified simultaneously.
[IRON WILL ABILITY: WILL MANIFEST]
[COST: 8 MANA/SECOND - ALL FOUR BLADES]
[20% COST REDUCTION FROM STAGE 2]
Eight mana per second instead of ten. The cost reduction made sustained combat more viable.
Don tested their range. The blades shot forward, covering fifty meters in a heartbeat—double their previous maximum range. They moved independently, each one attacking a different target.
Four trees fell simultaneously, cut cleanly by guillotine blades.
Don recalled them and let them return to semi-transparent form.
[MANA: 8,927/9,250]
Perfect. Everything worked perfectly.
Three kilometers from the third camp now. Don's enhanced Sense detected movement ahead—patrol routes, probably. He adjusted his approach, circling south to avoid early detection.
Two kilometers.
Don slowed slightly, his tactical mind processing approach vectors. The camp would be on high alert after two other camps went silent. They'd expect attack.
[Let them EXPECT it! Let them prepare! Let them build their little WALLS and sharpen their little WEAPONS! It won't matter! Nothing they do will MATTER!]
Good. Let them expect it. It wouldn't matter.
One kilometer.
Don activated Analyze, pushing it to maximum range.
[ANALYZING TARGET CAMP…]
[DETECTING LIFE SIGNS…]
[POPULATION: 573 GOBLINS]
[DETECTING CULTIVATION LEVELS…]
[STAGE 2 ENTITIES: 0]
[STAGE 1 PEAK (LEVEL 6): 1]
[STAGE 1 HIGH (LEVEL 5): 12]
[STAGE 1 MID (LEVEL 3-4): 47]
[STAGE 1 LOW (LEVEL 1-2): 89]
[NON-CULTIVATORS: 424]
[HIGHEST THREAT DETECTED:]
[GOBLIN SUMMONER - STAGE 1 LEVEL 6]
[ABILITY: SUMMON DIRE WOLVES (×2)]
[THREAT ASSESSMENT: MODERATE]
No Stage 2 General. The highest threat was a Level 9 summoner—dangerous for a normal cultivator, perhaps, but not for Don.
[A summoner! Oh, how CUTE! He thinks his little puppies will save him! Can we make him watch while we kill them FIRST?]
This would be quick.
Don closed the final kilometer at full speed, his Agility making him faster than any goblin could react. He emerged from the forest five hundred meters from the camp and raised both hands.
Fire in the right.
Lightning in the left.
[ELEMENTAL MANIPULATION: FIRE]
[ELEMENTAL MANIPULATION: LIGHTNING]
[COST: 50 + 80 = 130 MANA]
[NATURAL ELEMENTS MASTERY: -10% COST = 117 MANA TOTAL]
He threw both simultaneously.