Chapter 52: [052] I have Overpowered Barbarians (1)
With the invasion of Blackstone village soldiers, it was clear to everyone, especially Floki, that Blackstone was now more serious than ever.
It troubled their hearts greatly, and fear lingered heavily among the villagers. They feared that the evil chief of Blackstone village would cook up even more ruthless plans to take them down if proper actions were not taken very soon.
Floki was aware of their worries.
He was constantly informed by the system about their doubts and fears.
But this did not deter him in the slightest.
What the people took as a source of fear had already become his source of inspiration, and more than that, a constant reminder of the limited time he possessed to complete his Hell-level quest.
It was late afternoon, and the sun’s scorching light had grown weak, leaving behind a dull warmth that stretched across the village.
At the moment, the twenty soldiers and the elder from Blackstone, known as Hodrick, could be seen bound by thick ropes and left in the middle of the village.
The result of their beating was much worse than what they had inflicted on the people earlier.
Some of them were temporarily paralyzed, some blinded, and some deafened. Their faces were a swollen mess, bruised beyond recognition, and injuries covered their bodies in a brutal display of retaliation from the villagers.
The people of Ironside gathered around them, glaring at them with hatred.
Although they were also wounded, their wounds were not half as bad as what they had inflicted on the soldiers.
Floki stood among them with a serious expression, his gaze calm yet sharp as he analyzed everything.
He had just finished investigating these men.
He was now aware of their terrain, the strength of their chief, the skills of their knight, the number and formations of their army, as well as the state of the Ironside villagers who had been captured as slaves by their people months ago.
With all this knowledge, he could now proceed with his plans.
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"Kellan Blackstone’s strength should be around level 20–30 based on the feats listed by the soldiers," Floki muttered to himself while in his room, his voice low and steady.
Angelina and her colleagues claimed they had herbal medicine knowledge and had been escorted into the bushes by Anton and Jabba to find herbs to treat the villagers.
"It is a shame I can’t help them now. I have more than enough skill points to convert into shop coins and purchase the right number of healing potions to heal them instantly. But focusing on this mission is more important," he muttered to himself, justifying his actions.
After all, what would be the use of healing them if Blackstone would still arrive and probably kill them all?
"I should focus on increasing my strength. When Jabba and Anton return, I will increase their strength to at least level 10. I need only the two of them for my plan," he muttered again.
At the moment, he was a little restless. His thoughts flowed faster than usual, forcing him to speak them out more often than he normally would.
After all, this was his first war.
A little mistake in his calculation would mean his death and the extinction of his territory.
To prevent this, he had to be as meticulous as possible.
He opened his character status to observe his growth.
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CHARACTER STATUS
[Name: Floki Ironside]
[Title: Goblin Slayer (lvl 2/3)
[Role: Lord | Territory: Ironside village (E)]
[Power Rank: Silver]
[Power: 25(44.4%)]
[EXP: 389,700 ]
[Health: 1350/1350] [Mana: 155/155]
[Special Talent: Infinite Reward Multiplier ]
[Talent: None | Affinity: Wind]
[Path: Battle Mage]
[ATTRIBUTES]
[Strength 157] [Agility 235]
[Intelligence 155] [Vitality 135]
[Dexterity 145] [Defense 135]
[Stamina 87/140] [Luck 2%]
[Free Points: 0]
[SKILLS 5/5]
[Advanced Martial Arts (E)] [Elite Authority (D)] [Steady Meditation (D)] [Air Bullets (E)] [Pathfinder (C)]
[SPECIAL SKILL:1]
[Quest Provider (E)]
[Skill Points: 9,600]
[TECHNIQUES]
[Trap Setter (Bronze)]
[INVENTORY 6/10]
[SHOP]
[QUESTS (2)]
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There was clear growth in his character status from the last time he checked.
Sadly, this was not enough to carry out his plan.
"I need to increase the potency of my main attack skills," he said quietly.
With that, he began its upgrade, starting with [Advanced Martial Arts (E)].
Spending a total of seven hundred skill points, he took the skill up to B-rank.
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Grandmaster Martial Arts (B-rank)
• Your martial arts reach an extraordinary level, rivaling legendary warriors. Your presence alone exerts pressure on opponents, making their movements feel heavier.
• Weapon proficiency increases by 85%, granting near-perfect efficiency with most weapons.
• Combat power is permanently boosted by 150%.
• Strength increases by 55 units during combat. (Units will be multiplied by 2 due to the Battle-mage path)
• Agility increases by 50 units during combat. (Units will be multiplied by 2 due to the Battle-mage path)
• You develop slight battle awareness, allowing you to detect threats within your surroundings instinctively.
• Attacks gain a penetration effect, reducing enemy defense effectiveness.
Upgrade Requirement: NONE You’ve reached max level of this skill ╚════════════════════╝
[Remaining skill points: 10,900]
Floki felt the usual downloading of knowledge into his brain, but this time it was sharper, more complete.
His body adjusted almost instantly, the movements and techniques settling into his muscles as if they had always been there, as if he had trained for decades.
The new martial arts techniques in his head contained more than just body combat like when the skill was at E-rank. He now understood weapon usage with clarity, each motion refined and precise.
Unfortunately, he could not upgrade the skill anymore as it had reached its max level.
’It is not bad...’ he thought to himself.
Then he opened his other skill which needed an upgrade.
Upgrading Air Bullets cost more than he had expected.
He ended up spending a total of 2,500 skill points to take it to its max level, which was A-rank.
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Air Cannon Barrage (A-rank)
An advanced wind-based spell that releases a rapid sequence of compressed air shots in quick succession for thirty seconds. Each blast carries high-speed impact and penetrating force, allowing the user to overwhelm targets and break through layered defenses with sustained pressure.
Minimum Mana Requirement: 400 Cooldown: 1 second
Note:
~1) As a battle-mage, you can increase the active time and damage of your spells naturally by infusing more mana. This advantage is only applicable to this path.
~2) You can still use the lower variation of this spell, e.g., Single Air Cannon, Air Strike, and Air Bullets due to your path.
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[Remaining skill points: 8,400]
With a B-rank physical combat skill and an A-rank magic combat skill in his possession, Floki’s confidence gained a noticeable boost.
Also, being a battle-mage added an even greater advantage to his skills, making them far more effective in combat.
He didn’t regret spending so many skill points on them.
However, there was still a problem.
His mana reserve was very low to activate a single A-rank spell.
His current mana reserve was 155, and the spell needed a minimum of 400 to activate.
"I have Steady Meditation and monster cores. But using Steady Meditation would take days to gain an additional 245 points to my mana reserve."
Still, he was not bothered.
He opened his skill tab, tapped the Steady Meditation skill, and upgraded it to its max level without hesitation.
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Refined Meditation (B-rank)
• Provides a high and consistent absorption rate of mana and attributes while meditating.
• Greatly improves refinement, allowing absorbed energy to integrate more smoothly into the body.
• Allows low-level absorption while in a relaxed state without full meditation, but at reduced efficiency.
• Reduces strain during prolonged absorption sessions.
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[Remaining skill points: 7,000]
"Good, now I can start."
He muttered to himself as he adjusted his posture, sat down in a proper meditative position, brought out one of the monster core he collected from the demonic flame-wolves and began to absorb it.
[Refined Meditation is active. Absorption rate has increased.]
[You’ve begun absorbing intelligence. Rate: 1 intelligence per 3 minutes]
[You’ve begun absorbing strength. Rate: 1 strength per 4 minutes]
[You’ve begun absorbing dexterity. Rate: 1 dexterity per 5 minutes]
Floki could feel the vast difference between absorbing the monster core using [Steady Meditation] and using [Refined Meditation].
The absorption process was significantly faster, so fast that he could clearly feel his stats increasing as time passed.
Only about one hour later, he had finished absorbing the entirety of the monster core, which had taken him more than five hours the last time.
He gained the same amount of stats as before:
Intelligence: 20
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 10
But it took far less time than before. His investment was not a bad one at all.
He only needed half a day to reach the minimum required mana and another day to reach a stable level before he could begin his plan.
He took out and absorbed one more monster core before Anton and Jabba finally returned.
And the moment he saw them, his quest-giving began again.
This time, since it was only the two of them, their growth would be much faster.