Chapter 361: Abyssal Mending
The Primal Constructs beyond Cape Town were meticulously destroyed by Coop. He aggressively cleared out every monster domain he could dig up, starting from the base of Table Mountain before he escaped into the untamed wilds. The ruins of the city hadn’t known such peace, but the monsters would inevitably return. At least, for some time, they would have their levels reset to a manageable level. The locals would have a second chance to establish themselves, assuming they could get it together.
Coop didn’t speak with anyone as he got on one with his business, naturally preferring to solve the more straightforward problems caused by alien invaders instead of steeping himself into onerous local politics as an outsider. It may have been unavoidable sometimes, but there were many more qualified people supporting his efforts. They took those burdens on his behalf, and did so with the light touch that he lacked. If his allies were tackling such onerous issues, then the least Coop could do was defeat every Primal Construct that would interfere.
His hunting grounds rapidly expanded as he lost himself in the hunt, spreading across South Africa. He defeated millions of enemies with various levels of development. He was tireless when it came to the grind, but the individual enemies were limitless. It was the perfect combination for someone like him.
The invaders collected mana to renew themselves and Coop harvested them, claiming a portion of the mana for himself. His share was transformed into experience, both practical and magical. No matter how inefficient the transfer, he would repeat it infinitely. He embraced the responsibility that came with representing his companions in Ghost Reef and the hope they represented, manifesting it into the catalyst for continued growth. Every bit of progression reinforced his resolve.
Coop diligently applied his newest ability, still repeatedly failing to actually land the skill, but practicing with the activation all the same. It was never a waste, so long as Practical Application existed in his repertoire. Plus, he knew that so long as he trained, he would eventually forge the muscle memory necessary to use the ability even without following the patterns the system provided. That type of expertise was critical in battle, where any advantage could prove invaluable. The mists were as much a part of him as his own flesh and blood. He hoped for that same fusion with the abyss.
Someone encountering Coop for the first time might have assumed he exclusively wielded blunt weapons in a fight. While he practiced with his oversized morning star that had become his default heavy weapon by virtue of circumstance, he also experimented with every configuration of mace, hammer, and mallet he could envision. He tested the differences while he sought to find the right balance for every situation.
From cartoonishly oversized hammers, made to be extraordinarily heavy to match the surface area of the smasher, to sleeker double-sided mallets with bottle-sized striking faces and elongated shafts that he could use to hold back a crowd, he went through them all. Not all of the blunt weapons were particularly dull, best exemplified by the spikes on his morning star. Others manifested as brutal jagged mauls, or rough stone clubs, or included a jutting pike from the top, the back, around the head like a collar, or even facing him from the handle to transform them into double-sided threats.
He crushed aliens with weapons shaped like the bottom of a spoon, or following the curve of giant shells, and ones that imitated a boulder on a stick. For such a simple concept devised solely to help humans smash things, their designs were incredibly diverse. Coop had the impression that he represented the end of a long line of cavemen, but whatever worked, worked.
As he lost himself in the experimentation, he encountered prides of lions and armies of baboons who seemed to be having no issues cooperating among themselves. It was obvious that their only enemies were the alien invaders that encroached on their territory. He thought it was a devastating indictment on humanity as a whole, but he had faith that people were becoming better. He needed only to look at Ghost Reef and the Lighthouse for proof.
When he was in the presence of the different animals, further and further away from any settlements, many of whom had not seen a human since the assimilation began, he cooled it with the unnecessary explosions brought by the Depth Charges. Instead, he just quietly went about his business, flashing from Primal Construct to Primal Construct with the efficiency brought by the mists. He piled the miles on, and the days quietly passed, but he was much happier when clearing invaders and exploring what mother nature had to offer.