Chapter 9 - Mana

[Giant Beetle Fragment obtained!] 

Fragments of monsters like this had their value, especially in the Adventurers' Guild or the Blacksmiths' Guild. These things could be sold as raw materials for making weapons and armor. However, fragments like this were also valuable to alchemists, who used them in potions and magic rituals. The rarer the fragment, the higher the price.

"It may not be worth much on its own, but it's a start." Willow muttered and squeezed the fragment, which soon turned to glittering dust.

[1 Giant Beetle Fragment has been added to the inventory.]

With luck, Willow could collect enough to exchange for a reasonable amount at the Adventurer's Guild when he returned to Pavagar. It was one plan, but not the only one. 

Willow continued on his way through the crypt, knowing that more of the same monsters awaited him. What made him a little calmer was the knowledge he had acquired over the five years on Ether Online. In that time, he had already ventured into the Blackened Crypt and knew what lay ahead. However, he didn't have the strength he had before, so he was taking the safest routes with caution. For now, he didn't need to focus on killing as many monsters as possible, but on reaching the end of the crypt.

The architecture of the crypt was cramped, with dirty, black stone walls and a strange viscosity, probably coming from the Giant Beetles. As he walked, his ears picked up a familiar sound: the sound of paws striking against the stone floor.

"More beetles..." He muttered.

Willow's Perception attribute was at the minimum level of humans, because he had put all the 10 Attribute Points he received from evolving into Strength. However, even though Willow was practically deaf, he could still tell when the Giant Beetles were nearby, because they were too big. 

Suddenly, two of these horrifying creatures for people with entomophobia appeared in front of Willow in the corridor. Willow quickly began to calculate his options. Facing two at once would be much more complicated. There was no room to maneuver, and the terrain limited his chances of attacking from the sides, where the monsters were most vulnerable. However, he had no choice. He had to advance down this corridor, which led to the lower floor.

The beetles advanced together, their jaws snapping in the air. One of them climbed the walls, while the other continued straight. 

Willow took a step back and, looking at the monster on the walls, turned his body sideways to avoid being hit by a leap. He tried to strike with the spear, but the tip only scratched the hard shell.

"Damn..." Willow muttered through his teeth.

The beetles' carapace was hard as stone, almost impenetrable. He knew that his frontal attacks were useless - the real weakness of these creatures lay in their undersides. The challenge, however, was to expose this area without getting bitten in the process. While lunging a few times with his spear to scare the Giant Beetles, Willow realized that he was almost out of options. Willow had no choice. He had to take a risk to open up a gap.

In a quick, decisive move, Willow struck a blow towards the ground. One of the monsters thought he had missed and tried to ignore the spear, but Willow had hit the ground on purpose. As the Giant Beetle passed just a small part of its body over the spear handle, Willow made a levering movement and this lifted the monster. 

Unfortunately, this also created a gap for the other Giant Beetle to try to attack from Willow's right, but Willow's movement also helped him pass over the two Giant Beetles, like a pole-vaulter or a country man using a wooden stake to cross a stream without getting his feet wet. 

When he landed, he felt a pain in his leg and saw that there was a cut. The Giant Beetle that had tried to go right had been quick enough to do so. It wasn't serious, but it stung. However, he had no time for weakness. 

Willow turned immediately and, with millisecond precision, Willow tilted his body, dodging an attack by the slimmest of margins. The wind of a pair of jaws passed close to his face and this served to remind him of how thin the line was between success and failure. He struck out with the tip of his spear and hit a slightly harder part, which caused a metallic sound to resound, followed by a dry crack. Willow only knew he had hit it because after the monster fell behind him, it squealed in pain.

[You have killed 1 Giant Beetle. You have gained +500 XP!]

A second of relief ran through Willow, but it was short-lived. The other beetle was already advancing and this time Willow couldn't avoid the attack completely. The monster's sharp claws grazed his shoulder, opening a deep cut.

"Ahhh!" he screamed, backing away quickly as the pain burned. His arm went momentarily numb, but Willow kept his focus. 

The beetle, sensing the opportunity to finish off its prey, advanced with ferocity. As the monster advanced, Willow used the spear as a kind of barrier between it and its deadly jaws. The monster collided with the tip of the spear, and the impact made Willow almost drop the weapon, but he maintained control. With the beetle so close and the spear firmly in place, he forced the weapon downwards, burying it in the monster's unprotected underside. Then Willow twisted the spear and pulled it upwards, exposing the beetle's belly. Then, with a firm thrust, he sank the weapon in as far as it would go. The sound of tearing flesh filled the corridor, followed by an agonized scream from the beetle, which then fell motionless to the ground.

[You have killed 1 Giant Beetle. You have gained +600 XP!]

[Leveled Up!]

Willow gasped and leaned his back against the wall, trying to steady his breathing. He was wounded, more than he expected, but alive. And, more importantly, the two creatures were dead.

He smiled, albeit bitterly, when he saw the notification that he had leveled up. This was the second time and, as he had started at level 1, it meant that he had already reached level 3. He was evolving fast. Normally, he should only be earning 50 or at most 100 XP if he was hunting level 1 and 2 monsters, so it would take longer. Of course, this also meant that he was risking more than he should.

Willow wasn't so reckless normally, no wonder he followed an ordinary profession instead of trying some crazy profession and trying to become a millionaire. He preferred to live a risk-free, monotonous life as a middle-income earner rather than risk being a bankrupt idiot. Of course, that was part of his personality. But now... he couldn't not be in a hurry, because Ether Online was a very dangerous world and, unlike when he played as an Explorer, he couldn't stay in one city for months because he needed to look for answers as to what the hell was going on. 

The Grimoire of Valendoor was a legendary relic that would make his job a lot easier, considering that the class he obtained again was not a class specialized in combat. 

This grimoire belonged to an ancient wizard, one of the greatest the world of Ether had ever known. And in this world, mages were like kings, not just metaphorically, but in every respect.

At first, Ether Online got a bad reputation as a poorly balanced game. In this game, magical power and ranged attacks overpowered all other forms of combat. 

The Mages were the elite, those who shaped the destiny of the world. They were at every level of power: on thrones, in war councils, in the church, in the top ranks of adventurers. It didn't matter how skilled a warrior or archer was; if they didn't have magic, they were always seen as inferior by those who did. After all, they were. What could an ordinary swordsman do against someone capable of casting magic that devastates mountains or is able to fly.

"In this world..." Willow said as he wiped the blood from his shoulder. "Being a swordsman may be impressive for children, but we adults know that magic is everything."

The greatest heroes that Ether's stories told of were wizards, those who controlled mana to extraordinary levels. 

The cardinals of the church, who controlled vast religious networks, were always powerful mages. 

Kings and emperors rarely made decisions without consulting their arcane advisors.

Mana was the most precious and desired resource in Ether. It was the source of all power. Nothing compared to absolute control over mana. Mages could summon storms, open rifts in time and space, or simply obliterate armies with a single word of power. They shaped the very fabric of reality with their spells, and anyone lucky enough to be born with the talent for magic was immediately treated as a rare gem. If anyone showed the slightest potential for magic, even a peasant, their fate changed. They were taken to mentors or magic schools, where they were trained and molded to serve the most powerful.

Willow couldn't afford to ignore this. He knew that, without magic, he would never have a real chance of finding the answers he was looking for in this new world. No matter how much he clung to his knowledge, it wouldn't be enough to face everything head on. The Grimoire of Valendoor was the key to changing that. 

With the ancient knowledge of a mage as powerful as Valendoor, Willow could transcend the limitations of his current class and enter the realm of the mages, where true power resided. After all, in Ether Online there were no specific mage classes, there was only the Mage Class and the users of this class molded themselves into what they wanted.

"I need this... more than ever." Willow muttered, his hands still shaking from the battle.