Chapter 65: First Fight as an Awakened

Spirits technically didn’t go hungry, but once one got into it, there was no turning back.

Finn kinda had a feeling of what the panda was thinking and just shook his head. He was focused on the feel of post-absorption. It felt…refreshing, as if he had just drunk a warm cocoa after shivering in the snow, except instead of his throat and stomach, it was his muscles feeling the sensation.

“It feels good,” he said, and Pang gave him a look.

“So start cooking,” the panda said, his voice smaller than usual, looking like he was a blob melting on the sofa.

Finn ignored him and lifted his hand, opening and closing it, as if he could gauge an increase in power this way.

Before, he just knew the stone had some energy. After awakening, he could concretely feel what it was. He just had to redirect the power inside to merge with him and into his body.

After awakening—whether it was Physical or Energy—the magic inside would spread in the body, and eventually, when the energy gathered had reached a certain threshold, a core would solidify in their hearts. This threshold was the tier 3 levels of each rank.

This core was sort of like a battery or a reserve of energy, which would disperse into the body with every rank upgrade, like creating an energy source needed for that particular upgrade.

That said, energy was also flowing outside as long as one was alive, though at a very slow rate. After the portals opened, the ambient essence had lessened considerably, especially farther away from the danger zones.

If one remained stagnant and didn’t absorb stones for a very long time, then one could even regress!

Apparently, one needed to refill every so often, even when one wasn’t doing much. According to Syl, essence was needed to live in the world, and continuous maintenance was required once they were awakened, lest they could lose what they had gathered due to inactivity.

This also meant that as long as one awakened, even if one wasn’t a fighter, there was a real need for essence cores, so the market there would never die!

So, other than his own use, he needed a lot more of these things. Of course, he was not arrogant enough to think he could carelessly go outside. He was still going to make use of his precious barrier.

He finally stood up and went to look at the monsters outside. His eyes twitched when he saw they had now increased to a dozen.

[-1 Defense Point]

Before doing anything though, he went to look at the [Room] to see if there was an upgrade. Although his barrier still had a large amount of defense points left, peace of mind was still appreciated.

For now, there was only [Complete Isolation] upgrade, which could hide whatever was inside from all senses. Now, the barrier just muted the scent of those inside.

In contrast, buying this upgrade would make the entire territory completely invisible. It would become a solid shield rather than an adjustable curtain. It was cool, especially if he wanted to hide the entire Inn.

If only it didn’t cost 10000 Hearth Points. It also had many limitations in its activation.

Anyway, he didn’t look at it anymore. What if customers couldn’t find him after upgrading it?

ROAARRR!

He looked at the monster with narrowed eyes. Now that he was awakened, his perspective had changed.

He had already consumed all his meat, and he needed a lot of cores. These monsters had just become delicious in his eyes now!

…

Finn held on to the Windpiercer Halberd, feeling its weight. Sure enough, the difference in awakening was really there. Before, he could only lift it up at most. Now…

Slash. Swipe. Stab.

He could swing it around without feeling like his arms would fall off.

It was big, but not too big. Fortunately, he was tall and well-built, even if he wasn’t bulky, so proportionally it wasn’t off-putting.

He curled his fingers around the halberd’s shaft a bit tighter. It was new to his grip, but not completely unfamiliar.

He started with more tentative gestures, slowly getting used to the weapon. He turned it slowly, letting the weight shift and testing the balance.

The first swings were slow, careful, and deliberate. He was getting accustomed to its weight and the way it moved. Soon, the arcs became wider and wider, creating a small breeze wherever they passed.

Perhaps it was because of [Blade Proficiency] passive, but he was quickly acclimating himself with the weapon, getting familiar with its movements.

He soon started to remember how the weapon’s weight changed depending on where he was holding it, or how the force changed depending on the angle he was using.

The halberd had three weapons: the spear point, the axe, and the hook.

With this, he knew he could do at least three movements with this one weapon.

He could slash with the axe blade near the top, he could stab with the spear point at the apex, and he could disarm or grab enemies with its hook.

Anyway, the halberd, because it was an extremely versatile weapon, was a great weapon for him. It was not just because he was a coward who didn’t want to get close to those damned monsters, nono, not that.

After about half an hour of practice, his movements became quite fluid. The more he moved, the more his eyes sparkled. Inexplicably, some old nostalgic memories resurfaced again.

As a child, he was actually fascinated with long-pole weapons.

Back when he was a kid, he was often asked to clean the lawn with a rake during his summer break. He had always been a fun-loving kid and ended up playing with the rake a lot, though it usually resulted in making a bigger mess on the inn’s lawn.

His mother would shake her head and place her arm on her hips to show disapproval, while his father… well, he’d get another rake or a fruit picker and they’d duke it out, pretending to be heroes in a martial arts film they recently watched.

Those were such fun times, and at some point, he did dream of becoming a pole-wielding hero.

Hey, there were so many old ’dreams’ he had forgotten. Would this one have a chance in this place, too?

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