Seed Of Speed

As what often happened when living in relative safety, the days began to run together for Diego. Mornings were spent with Zedava, often going swimming with the other kids of the village in the lake below, then the evenings Celita would bring him out to the jungle floor where he would fight the Earth spirits until he mind was exhausted.

After his first showing on the jungle floor, Celita did not bother to keep him in the rookie area and brought him out to the main jungle. Outside on the zones under Rozama's control, the spirits would appear at a much slower pace, but the monsters that were summoned were much stronger than the goblins and hobgoblins.

::Earth Orc killed! 10 Experience points awarded, 2 Mastery point awarded::

The Earth Orc was the size of a full-grown man with pitch black skin and lime green, tribal tattoos. Overall, they looked very similar to a human, only more muscular and had small, pointed ears. Each one would have thick, metal armor to cover their ċhėst, legs, and head and would carry either a wicked-looking sword or axe. The armor was so thick that, without his cultivation, Diego was not strong enough to completely pierce through it, even with his Spear-Intent. Instead of being disheartened by this fact, it excited him. He had to push himself to his extremes to perfectly control his weapon and sharpen his intent.

He was building up a small stockpile of free mastery points, but Katalina had warned him that he could not use points to break through the bottleneck of his Spear-craft from fourth to fifth, only his own compression could achieve that final push. Even his Timed Mission rewards would be locked until he achieved the Spear-Heart Stage on his own power, so he needed to push himself against these stronger monsters to discover his way.

What was the spear to him? Katalina could tell him this question to help him understand how to find his path, but what did that actually mean? A spear was a weapon, a tool used for killing and defending, what more was it?

Diego stood on the jungle floor with his spear in his hand as two orcs approached him. Unlike the hobgoblins, the orcs were slightly faster than him, averaging around the Sixth and Seventh Stage of the Mortal Body. With his [Speed Sight], he was still able to react to their movements, but it was his experience that give him the ability to continue fighting. The moment the orcs would start to raise their sword or axe, Diego would calculate the range of the swing and make his move.

Sitting on a nearby root, Celita watched Diego fight with a pipe in her mouth. A {Thunder Clone} of Diego, carrying a bow, was leaning against the trunk of the tree next to her, but unlike usual, the clone's mind was completely separate from Diego's, so he could completely focus on his fight. This had become their norm for the past few weeks, so neither the clone or Celita was too worried, but that changed when a roar came from deeper within the jungle which made Celita stand up.

"Let me handle this one, kid. You aren't strong enough to leave any lasting damage to an ogre," Celita said.

"Give me a chance," the clone said.

"Try not to get hit then, or you'll break more than a few bones."

"I'll do my best," the clone said, raising his bow.

The Diego on the ground took out one of the orcs by stabbing his spear through the gap in the helmet for the orc's eyes while the clone took out the other with a well-placed arrow. He kicked the orc off his spear and turned his attention towards the darkness where the roar had come from. A soft thud could be heard, followed by another and another, so something big was approaching.

The underbrush exploded as a pair of steel gray hands ripped them apart and a massive figure jumped out into the open. Standing over five meters tall, the hulking gray creature gave an angry roar as it looked down at Diego. The ogre's arms and legs were as thick as Diego was wide and were covered in veiny muscles. There was no armor on it, but stone grew out of its skin to cover its shoulders, elbows, knuckles, and knees. Its eyes were blazing green and locked solely on Diego who was still on the ground.

The ogre threw itself forward and raised its massive arms above its head to pound Diego into the ground, but he did not wait for the attack to come. Although he was lacking chi, he could use his magic to help boost his speed with Wind magic. He dodged diagonally and swung his spear up and along the ogre's left arm, but the simple probing attack just left a thin cut that only bled for a moment before it started healing at a visible rate.

::As long as the ogre is on the ground, it will continuously heal. Celita was right, you won't be able to kill it with your current strength::

(Invest all of my open mastery points into my Spear-Craft,) Diego replied stubbornly.

(Do it!) Diego confirmed as he jumped away from the ogre.

Since receiving his Timed Mission three months ago, Diego had earned over half of the needed ten thousand points towards advancing his Spear-Craft to the fifth level, or Spear Heart. Foreign information filled his mind at an alarming rating, making him feel like his head would explode. In what felt like ages, his own personal experiences and the foreign knowledge slowly began to overlap and settle within his mind.

From an outside perspective, it seemed like Diego had just frozen in place with a terrible grimace on his face. Celita started to step forward, but the {Thunder Clone} placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Please, I'm trying something," the clone said.

"I can't allow you to be killed," Celita sighed as she pushed the clone's hand off her.

She took a second step, but the aura around Diego suddenly began to fluctuate rapidly. It was sharp, then bloodthirsty, untamed, gentle, sinister, ominous… Hundreds of different Spear-Intents were emanating from his body as his mind struggled to not be consumed by all of the diverse auras.

This time, the ogre swung its large arm along the ground to limit Diego's possible escape, but before the attack could hit, he opened his eyes. Diego managed to jump up and over the arm to dodge the attack while his aura was still unstable. He was not foolish enough to think he could somehow fuse all of these powerful auras together, and instead, he looked for the one that fit him the best.

The ogre began to flail its arms around as it tried to catch Diego, but he kept to the very edge of the beast's range. He dodged attack after attack and would strike occasionally at the stone fists trying to crush him, all while trying to pick through the different Spear-Intent floating through his mind.

What was the spear in his hand? It was not just a weapon or tool, it was the extension of his Will. He was not bloodthirsty, cold, or sinister, but neither was he gentle, sharp, or overbearing. He was stubborn and unyielding. After facing all of setbacks in this world, he had never once stopped, even after losing his 'family' and his lover only made his resolve stronger. He would fight his way to the peak of the world, kill the Daemora who had slaughtered his clan, and rejoin his sister in the next world!

In an instant, his aura stabilized and swelled with more power than it ever had before. Diego dashed inside the range of the ogre and thrusted his spear up towards the hulking beast's ċhėst. An invisible energy wrapped itself around his spear and ȧssaulted the ogre's body alongside the metal spearhead. The first strike only penetrated a few centimeters into the thick hide of the beast, but before it could attack, Diego had already launched his second attack.

"If one is not enough, then two, or ten, or a hundred will be! I will not stop until I have succeeded!" rang through Diego's mind.

Without using the power of the System, Diego executed [Ten Strikes, One Thrust] with his new Spear-Intent. Eight ghost spears appeared around his spear as he stabbed through the ogre's heart, sending a shower of dark blood spilling over him, but the beast slumped backwards then toppled over with a kick from Diego to free his spear.

::Earth Ogre killed! 25 Experience points awarded, 5 Mastery points awarded::

::[Ten Strikes, One Thrust] advanced to level 15 through personal comprehension::

::{Spear-Craft} advanced to level 5: Relentless Spear-Heart::

==========================================================

Hidden Mission Complete!

- Form a Spear-Heart by reaching level 5 of {Spear-Craft}

- Rewards: 500 skill points and 250 mastery points

(Damn… I don't think I've seen a reward that big before,) Diego commented silently as he used a spell to fly up onto a nearby root.

::Well, it's a big step. Technically, you are on the same level as Swordflash now, but your mastery over the spear is just a drop in the ocean compared to his knowledge of the sword despite being in the same level bracket::

(That must be why my body is so exhausted,) he remarked as he collapsed on the giant root.

::Without chi to help support your body, you cannot use that level of Spear-Intent more than a few times, or you will damage your body::

(A few? I think once is more than enough!)

Celita jumped over to Diego and nudged his body with her foot. "You still alive?"

"Technically," Diego ġrȯȧnėd.

"Not bad, brat. I stand corrected about your skill," she replied with a rare smile.

"You weren't all wrong. I don't even have the strength to lift a finger right now!"

"I guess that means it's time to carry you back," she chuckled.

"No, wait," Diego started, but Celita did not listen.

She grabbed him by the collar and tossed him over her shoulder. It was not the first time Diego had to be carried back to the teleportation gate, so he already knew to expect when he returned like this. The beastmen warriors would all be chuckling at his state, but since Yengu, Celita's eldest son, had explained that everyone had gone through Celita's hellish training, he did not take the laughs to heart. They all knew how dangerous the jungle floor was, so him spending hours outside the rookie area meant they respected his strength, even if they laughed at his misfortune.