So It's Veteran-Only Territory?
Pop—! Pop—! Pop—! Eriel's wind buckshot tore relentlessly through the damp swamp of the gate, explosions never ceasing.
Each burst ripped the tough hides of massive crocodile monsters apart like paper, red blood spraying in fountains everywhere. If you'd just seen it with your own eyes, anyone with a weak stomach would've puked at the gory, grotesque slaughter. But the pounding heavy metal blasting in my ears neutralized all that horror.
Doom-doom, boom—! Heads flew off monsters in perfect sync with the heavy drum beats. Ziiing—! As the screeching electric guitar riffs echoed, Eriel condensed wind like it was a skill sound effect. Rinse and repeat. It was a massacre dancing to metal music.
The ultimate catharsis, utterly refreshing.
So that's why people go crazy for heavy metal...
Was there any soundtrack that fit this better? Hell no, I was dead certain.
I couldn't just stand there either. My javelin left my hand on the beat, slicing through the air.
Thwack—! Boom-boom—! Boosted by wind acceleration, it pierced monster foreheads dead-on.
Nice! I'm definitely stronger!
If I could massacre B-rank monsters this overwhelmingly, my combat power had to have surpassed A-rank hunter standards easily.
Realizing B-rank monsters were pushovers, I decided to test my second form—barely learned—in real combat.
Seven Dragons Eight Trigrams Spear, second form: Flying Dragon Ascends to Heaven.
If the first form, Coiled Dragon Emerges—focusing all energy on one point to pierce defenses at close or mid-range—was a thrust, Flying Dragon was a ferocious charge, like a dragon surging skyward.
Grrrrumble— I gathered internal energy in my lower body, lowering my stance over the swamp.
Then, exploding energy through the set meridians to activate Flying Dragon—right at that moment.
"Here goes, Flying Dra— Aaaargh!!"
Boom—! My body launched off the ground like a spring, hurtling forward.
What the hell is this?! Why am I accelerating like insane?!
The swamp's sticky drag might as well not exist—I rocketed toward the enemy like a sports car.
Unbelievable acceleration.
"Whoooaaaah!!"
Screaming my lungs out, I instinctively unleashed the first form, Coiled Dragon, at the monster crystal-clear in my blurring vision.
"Hrraaagh!!"
Whoosh—! The insane speed from Flying Dragon plus the already powerful thrust of Coiled Dragon.
Combined, they created synergy beyond imagination. Mana from the spear tip whipped up a massive vortex, shredding the space ahead.
The monster caught full-force didn't just get a hole—half its body vanished.
Splat-splat— Fragments scattered far away.
"Ha, haha... Now I get why the secret manual says to chain forms together."
Flying Dragon alone would've pierced a B-rank with the blade touching. But adding Coiled Dragon's penetration? Damage overkill.
As I laughed weakly, Eriel—who'd been fireworks-ing monsters mid-air—yelled through the music.
"Hey, contractor! What're you doing?"
"Huh?"
"Didn't you come to test spirit arts?"
"Oh, that... Well, spear's my main, so spirit arts are just support..."
As if. I wanted to, but I didn't even know how.
Eriel puffed her cute cheeks at my answer.
Elf spirit arts, fourth rule: Spirits are jealous and possessive by nature. Stir it up right.
"What?! You summoned the Wind Spirit King and now say spirit arts aren't your main?!"
Oh, jealousy hooked.
"No... You didn't teach me, so how am I supposed to use wind? I can't even sense it well. You're handling everything anyway—isn't that spirit arts?"
Eriel shrieked at my excuse.
"You idiot! That's not spirit arts! Get over here!"
I inwardly cheered, pretending to shuffle meekly to her.
Our area was a safe zone now—swept clean by her shotgun and my spear.
"First off, do you even know spirit arts basics?"
"Nope, zero."
She gawked at my brazenness, puffing cheeks again.
"How did a dolt like you summon a Spirit King?!"
"Keep saying I did it—you came, Eriel!"
"Same difference!!"
"Totally not?!"
Out-logic'd in our childish spat, Eriel coughed, switching topics in a deflated cute voice.
"Ahem, fine. You seem to mix up summoning and spirit arts. Know the difference?"
"Uh...?"
Never really thought about it. But hunter markets distinguished summoners from spirit mages clearly.
Fundamentally, though?
"Aren't they similar? Summon something and..."
"Idiot! No! Totally different!"
"How...?"
"Summoners let summons handle combat—they're just commanders."
"Ah?"
"Spirit mages borrow spirit power directly! So we're superior—how don't you know basics?!"
Eriel lectured proudly, hands on hips. Reality? Slight difference, but Earth ratings tiered summoners higher.
Why? Summons loyal, fight to death on orders. Spirits picky, fickle; mages risk frontlines to draw full power.
Easy auto-farm clicks vs. tiring manual control.
Couldn't tell the fuming Spirit King that.
"So what? Hard to handle... I'll stick to spear."
"What?!"
"Wind's too wild—hard to get used to. Better sell what I'm good at."
"No! Absurd! Wind Spirit King's contractor ignoring wind?!"
"Then teach me..."
"Grr...!"
After agonizing, Eriel surrendered.
"Fine!! I'll teach you wind control myself!!"
Whoa... Elf spirit arts... OP.
What would've I done without this?
"What is wind?"
"Wind is wind—what, answer that?!"
"'Wind' is just human convenience. True name: 'breath'."
"What's the diff?!"
"Ignoramus! Breath is life's essential—every creature needs it to live!"
"Ah? So air?"
"Exactly. Absolute dominion over all air, interfering in direction and flow—that's Primeval Breath, my essence!"
Hm, wait...
Isn't this kinda broken...?
"So to kill someone, vacuum their air—they suffocate clean, no blood? Cheat!"
Eriel nodded matter-of-factly.
"At mastery, yes."
"Eh? Invincible! Just choke 'em!"
"Tch-tch, that easy? Drains power, breath is free—hard to control. Foes move; fast ones breathe somehow. Plus, holding breath lasts longer than you think."
Ah, got it. Can't control all wind? No real-combat asphyxia.
"Can't you do it, Eriel?"
She bristled.
"Hah! What're you implying?! Hard now, but with full spirit realm power on Earth, I could wipe all life!"
"But you didn't come full power."
"W-well?"
"So you can't now."
"Sh-shut up! Anyway, control's root is dominance. Breath's formless, free—needs iron grip. Tough. Fire, water, earth visible, shaped—easier for newbies than breath."
"Oh? Easiest to hardest?"
She coughed, answering straight.
"Water easiest—fluid form, handy. Then fire, earth, wind."
Oh, makes sense? Water material but free-form; fire light; earth heavy; wind uncontrollable?
Ooh... Wind's for veterans then?
Hard to learn = huge potential mastered. Common sense.
"How to build control?"
"Don't know basics? Crush with force. Rest later."
"Simple?"
"Talk easy—training's brutal. You'll see. This level to claim wind mage anywhere."
Whoosh— With her words, a blue-tinged transparent wind spear formed on her fingertip.
It sucked surrounding air, rippling endlessly.
"Wait, I can kinda do that."
"No way. Start changing breath flow around you, condense tiny orb when it obeys..."
As she nagged, I resonated the Dragon Heart.
A small churning wind orb spun over my right hand.
"Ta-da!!"
"Wha-what?! How?!"
"Just did."
Dragon power, really. End justifies means.
"Hmph, Dragon Words, huh. But..."
She pondered, then nodded.
"Not bad. For newbies, recommended if you can use Words."
Expected scolding, got praise.
"Cool. Keep using Words to build orb control?"
"Yes. Sense via Words first, reduce reliance, control with your mana alone. Train, power amplifies like this."
She made a tiny black-shimmering orb—smaller than mine.
Tossed lightly at swamp forest ahead.
Swoosh— On impact.
BOOM—!!!
Earsplitting roar—I shielded with spear instinctively.
"Crazy, what...?"
Dozens meters cratered in lush swamp woods.
Small missile power...?
Gaping, she smirked victoriously.
"Well? Still skipping wind?"
Insane. How not use after this?
"Whoa, amazing! Epic!"
Amused, she demo'd more.
"Compress and blast air fast—like this."
Palm forward.
Bang—!! Air exploded, vibrating.
Supersonic air crushed distant tree.
"!!!"
"Cool, right?"
Chills everywhere.
"Projectile palm wind!!"
"Huh?"
"Palm wind! Teach me! How?!"
Yeah, I couldn't resist palm wind.