Chapter 109: Forward
Coop was wielding an ethereal bo staff as he finished off the last of the Ruin Excavators for the quest line. The pearlescent chamber was getting a break from the constant smashing that normally accompanied his morning star hunting sessions. Instead, the bo staff cracked down on the carapaces of the monsters, smashing them just as efficiently as his heavier mace, but with a larger emphasis on speed instead of pure strength.
He should have been working on proper technique while incorporating the weapon into his arsenal, but he felt inclined to use it like a blunt spear instead. The problem was that a blunt spear was perfect for taking advantage of the Excavators’ physical weaknesses and lack of range, and Coop already had so much experience with his spear that it just felt natural to default back to his original weapon’s techniques. As long as he practiced, he would slowly develop his own style thanks to the nudging of his Haunted title. Ledwidge might not be happy with his personal touch, but if it was effective, Coop didn’t care if it ended up ugly.
The Ruin Excavators were defeated either way, and if he asked them, he didn’t think they would have a preference on the matter of his technical expertise. Coop basically spawn camped an entire chamber as his quest drew closer to completion.
[You defeated Ruin Excavator (Level 33)]
[+20 Basic Credits]
[+1 Soul Dredger (Uncommon)]
[Congratulations! Your profession has leveled up!]
[Defeat Ruin Excavators V (10616/11111)]
He continued on his rotation while his thoughts wandered to his upcoming skill choice. He was anxious about it. It would be his first time seeing any skill options after selecting the Path of the Mistwalker. Even though it started with Arcane Comprehension, he had to admit that the name of the path didn’t really imply that it would lend itself to a spellcaster choices.
Obviously, it was too late to do anything about that, so he’d just have to wait and see. No matter what, he’d make the best of it, and he’d have his strong foundation to fall back on in the worst case. It was all the more reason to continue mastering more weapons and further improving his mana costs through Practical Application.
Coop squeezed the bo staff as he leveraged the full length of the weapon into a whirling smash that crushed the carapace of a Ruin Excavator. What the weapon lacked in heft, when compared to his morning star, it made up with velocity. Instead of the solid, weighty thump reverberating through the chamber that followed his morning star’s slams, each attack was preceded by a whirling rush of air as one of the ends of the staff flew toward his targets, then a crack that echoed after it collided with the metal monsters.
He had to keep himself from making extraneous flourishes as he enjoyed the whooshing of the bo staff’s swift movements through the air. It didn’t help that the ghostly wisps of his ethereal weapons highlighted the exaggerated motions, turning them into painterly strokes of teal colored art for fleeting moments before the trail scattered.