Chapter 14: Forced Retreat

He selected a target. A lone Wind Sprite was running toward him. He channeled mana, but tried to load the least possible to not consume all his mana reserves.He raised his hand and focused on the Fireball skill. Mana gathered in his palm, forming a sphere of orange flame. The feeling was odd but weirdly natural, as if he had always known how to manipulate fire in such a way.

He launched the fireball, which arced perfectly and hit the wild sprite right in the chest. The creature’s skin cracked and blackened, then it collapsed with a piercing shriek.

[Your Fireball strikes Wild Wind Rift-Sprite for 80 Fire Damage.]

[Wild Wind Rift-Sprite level 5 defeated.]

[You have gained 6 C.L.A.S.P. Points.]

[You have earned 6.54 Survival Points.]

[Skill Proficiency Increased: Fireball (+0.012%).]

The notification confirmed what he had hoped. Using skills in combat would increase his proficiency. He needed to reach fifty percent before he could share them with his summons.

He thought he mentally willed the system not to show him the increase in proficiency, since he would likely get one each time the proficiency increased.

Reidar picked another target. A group of four wild sprites was moving toward his position. He gestured for his summons to engage while he practiced his other skills.

The Stone Bullet skill felt different from Fireball. Instead of gathering flame, he compressed earth and rock particles from the ground. The projectile formed in his hand. It was heavy, far more than the fireball was. It was weird, but he was getting used to it quite fast.

He fired the stone bullet at a wild Aqua Sprite. The impact sent the creature stumbling backward.

[Your Stone Bullet strikes Wild Aqua Rift-Sprite for 52 bludgeoning damage.]

Its proficiency must have increased, even if the notification didn’t appear.

His summons kept their targets at bay until Reidar killed them and moved to the next targets. The summons followed, practicing each of his skills in turn.

The Aqua Pistol conjured shimmering spheres of compressed water that struck with the force of a high-pressure hose, slamming into the sprites with enough impact to stagger their brittle forms.

In contrast, the Wind Blade formed razor-sharp crescents of air that sliced through sprite bodies with the clean precision of a surgeon’s scalpel, leaving behind clean, bisected sections that fell to the ground twitching.

Each successful hit increased his proficiency, but the amount earned was pitiful, and aside from that, the amount earned decreased, even if just by a little.

<And I also have an increase in the proficiency increase of 15%.>

Regardless, the skills became easier to cast, more powerful at the same mana cost, and fractionally more efficient to cast in terms of mana.

Reidar’s accuracy also increased the more he used the skills, as if his aim was related to the skills themselves, meaning he would not be able to turn into a skilled marksman by using them as a substitute for a ranged weapon.

Reidar and his summoned creatures worked their way across the battlefield. His summons kept the monsters at bay while Reidar targeted them.

The wild sprites scattered and fled, too disorganized to fight back. Reidar didn’t want to lose the rewards that came from killing them, so he ordered his summons to finish them. The creatures obeyed instantly.

As Reidar observed them, he noticed how much better they used their skills. The Ember sprite was insanely good with the Fireball, and so were the other sprites with their respective skills.

<They must have 100% proficiency in their skills. It’s understandable given they only have that.>

At some point, more Wild Rift-Sprites joined the fray. The raging fire, the sound of it crackling and destroying everything, and the explosion itself had to have attracted them.

"This is not good..."

The number of monsters in the area was quickly increasing. More Rift-Sprites were coming from the highway.

Reidar heard them before he saw them. Chittering from the forest beyond the gas station ruins. It was hard to miss even in the battle’s cacophony.

Then, a new swarm of Rift-Sprites emerged from the trees.

—Elite Ember Rift-Sprite - Level 5—

—Elite Stone Rift-Sprite - Level 6—

—Elite Aqua Rift-Sprite - Level 7—

<These things are getting stronger by the hour.>

Dozens of them poured into the clearing. Their levels were lower than his summons, but their numbers were staggering.

Worse, they moved with an awareness the previous sprites lacked. They even looked bulkier.

Reidar’s summons regrouped around him. The battle became harder quickly. Sprites fired volleys of elemental attacks. Stone bullets and water spheres filled the air like artillery shells.

His Ember Sprite fell first, overwhelmed by a concentrated assault from three elite Stone Sprites. It dissolved into dark energy with a last shriek.

[Summoned Ember Rift-Sprite has been defeated.]

Reidar fired his own spells as fast as he could cast them. Fireballs and stone bullets flew from his hands in rapid sequence. His proficiency continued to climb with each successful hit.

But it wasn’t enough. More sprites kept coming. His remaining summons were taking damage fast. The Stone Sprite lost an arm in a cutting wind blade attack. One of his Aqua Sprites was crushed beneath a stone projectile.

The notifications of defeated enemies scrolled past continually. Reidar had killed nearly a hundred creatures since the explosion. But the new swarm was too large now for him to handle.

[Summoned Wind Rift-Sprite has been defeated.]

[Summoned Aqua Rift-Sprite has been defeated.]

"SHIT!"

Reidar decided to retreat. He summoned again the Rift-Sprites and fled, making his minions stay behind to stall the wild monsters.


Behind him, the wild sprites gave chase, only for them to be stopped by the summons.

It didn’t take much for them to be overwhelmed, but Reidar summoned them again as soon as they were destroyed. Of course, that also meant his mana dropped at an incredible pace. His regeneration was not fast enough to restore the energy in time.

He had learned what he needed to know. His skills worked. His summoned creatures were powerful. Yet he still couldn’t face so many enemies.

The forest swallowed him as projectiles struck the trees around his spot.