Chapter 6: 5. The Gale Ceases

5. The Gale Ceases

This fellow has been following me since just now.

She revealed half her face from behind a tree, her lips moving silently, her hands and feet seemingly not knowing where to be placed.

"Is something the matter?" Li Ang spoke first.

"..."

The young girl seemed to let out a very faint sound; Li Ang dared not be certain if it was just the chirping of an insect.

He tilted his head slightly, signaling that he was listening to her.

"Um, I..."

Her fingers clawed at the tree, nearly crushing the bark.

"Um! I still think this isn't right!" She closed her eyes and shouted, as if she had gathered enough courage to finally squeeze out the sound.

"What?"

"The, the secret base might have been yours originally, but, I, I have been taking care of it with great effort!"

She stomped forward a few steps, like a little cat holding back its strength after being provoked.

Li Ang scratched his head; she was right.

If not for her, Li Ang's cabin would, at best, be covered in moss, and at worst, have already merged with nature.

"Are you wanting that cabin back?"

"Yes!" The young girl's ruby-like eyes stared unblinkingly at him.

"That's no problem at all. I'm only staying here temporarily; I'll be leaving in a day or two at most."

Returning this time was meant for relaxing his mind and reorganizing his thoughts, and obtaining the game system had almost instantly dispelled the gloom in his heart, so he could leave very soon.

"Ah, is that so? No, that's not right..."

Receiving Li Ang's reply, the young girl seemed to freeze up.

She stammered for a moment, then shook her head vigorously and placed her hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist.

"A, a duel! For the sake of the house!"

"Hmm? Didn't I just say I was prepared to yield it to you?"

Li Ang stared at her for a few seconds and realized, "Oh, you originally wanted to duel me to decide the ownership of the house, but since I'm easy to talk to, you didn't know what to do, so you decided to proceed with the original plan anyway?"

"!"

Just like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, the young girl shuddered, a crimson flush instantly spreading across her cheeks.

She swayed, took two steps back, and drew her sword with great difficulty.

"Duel!"

A gust of wind caused the meadow to sway incessantly, and only then did Li Ang see the true appearance of her treasure weapon.

The blade was about forty centimeters long, wide at the front and narrow at the back, with smooth curves. The crossguard and hilt looked like some kind of cyan gemstone, deep in color yet extraordinary.

[Sword of Wind's Breath]

[A short sword entwined with stable wind currents, capable of unleashing wild wind blades. It once contained a storm sufficient to swallow a sky island; after an overloaded release, it lost the vast majority of its power and is currently in slumber.]

[Rank: 3]

[Category: Treasure]

[Energy Source: Wind Element Spirit Core (Slumbering)]

[Equipment Skills: Wind's Protection, Wind Blade]

A Rank 3 treasure—Li Ang had never seen one before. Ordinary treasures were usually super-powerful equipment of Rank 7 or higher, but this sword still exerted the abilities a treasure should have; it could provide wind elemental energy and also granted her protection and attack skills.

[Name: Zoe]

[Race: Unknown]

[Profession: Swordsman, Rank 2.]

[Summoned Beast: ?]

[Energy Source: Wind Element Spirit Core (Slumbering), Rank 3]

[Equipment: Sinking Steel Bracers, Rank 3. Wasteland Beast Leather Boots, Rank 3. Sword of Wind's Breath (Treasure), Rank 3.]

[Ultimate: Professional Ultimate - Gale Rapid Slash]

[Skills: Swordsman (Strong Physique, Morale Boost), Treasure (Wind's Protection, Wind Blade)]

[Combat Power Increase: 16%]

Not bad.

Li Ang marveled.

In Newbis, people's combat power was determined by the combination of professional skills, summoned beasts, energy sources, and equipment, with compatibility between them causing the final combat power to be amplified or reduced.

Equipment combat power was calculated based on the whole body; the young girl wasn't fully equipped, which lowered her rank, but because she held a treasure, it was raised slightly.

After drawing the sword, the treasure's energy infused her, and the young girl's momentum climbed steadily. Gusts of howling wind rose with her as the center, causing the vast meadow to rustle loudly.

This momentum showed that although her individual abilities weren't particularly outstanding, they were well-matched, resulting in a 16% increase in combat power.

The higher this value, the stronger she was within the same realm; this was exactly why Li Ang marveled.

Her parents had painstakingly left her with well-matched equipment and heritage. A 16% increase was a level of progress that was hard to achieve even for many old Sky Knights who just used whatever they had.

Li Ang currently had no equipment or energy enhancements, and as a spellcaster, he wasn't well-suited to face this gale head-on.

"What a headache, this kind of brat."

He took out a special rock he had picked up on the road.

[Solid Earth]

[A hard, solid lump of earth]

[Rank: 1]

[Spirituality: Preserves Earth Element]

[Usage: Alchemy, Spellcasting Material]

He focused slightly, channeling about Rank 3 magnitude mana to drive the spirituality and manipulate this skill.

It was the most basic skill of a Spellcaster, or more accurately, a skill set—a series of methods for controlling spirituality.

All things have spirits; the spirits within matter pull on mana, and by relying on mana to influence and interfere with the material world, this was the fundamental law of this world.

Different spirits had their own tendencies and wills regarding how to influence the world; this was called spirituality.

Individuals with complex spirituality possessed wisdom, such as humans and monsters, who loved to reshape the world. Existences with simple spirituality were basically materials, and their so-called interference with the world was merely an inherent attribute.

Like Solid Earth, it was a lowest-rank material with weak spirituality, wanting only to preserve the tiny bit of earth element it had condensed.

Most spellcasters used their own spirituality to draw upon mana, thereby interfering with the material world to release spells.

But Spellcasters, after mobilizing mana, would make slight modifications while interfering with matter, making the target the spirituality residing within.

Spirituality Manipulation—Extraction

Solid Earth floated above Li Ang's palm under the infusion of mana. The light brown dust on its surface cracked and drifted away, emitting a sense of heaviness and solidity.

Contrary to the restless wind element that made things light and fast, this was the influence earth elements exerted on the material world.

Spirituality Manipulation—Strengthening.

Li Ang's mana merged with the elemental spirit within the earth lump, instantly enhancing its power.

A cloud of dust burst from the center of his palm; most of it danced in his palm accompanied by mana, while a small portion fell like rain. As they fell, the wind blowing toward Li Ang subsided significantly.

Spirituality Manipulation—Explosion.

The power of the earth element was guided by mana to surge violently. Li Ang couldn't hold it, so he waved his hand, and the dust containing the elements scattered outward.

A sound like rolling rocks crashed into his ears, overpowering the howling of the gale the girl had stirred up. While the girl was stunned, the dust covered her head and face, and the smell of dust choked her nostrils.

"Oh my! *Cough, cough, cough!*"

She hurriedly squinted and swatted away the dust, but as the surrounding wind currents touched this earth-element dust, they seemed to become several times heavier, returning to silence.

By the time she ran out of the dust's range, she discovered that on this plain, all the winds blowing toward this spot had ceased in an instant.

"This... ah!"

While the girl was stunned, her wrist felt a sharp pain, and the short sword slipped from her hand, falling and embedding itself into the ground.

Rank 1 Spell—Mana Shock.

The sword tip entered the soil, kicking up a slight wind current, but it died out immediately.

"I won."

Li Ang walked toward her.

The young girl didn't know what to do; she blinked in panic and then turned and ran.

"What is this, she runs really fast."

Li Ang laughed, watching the girl's back disappear at the edge of his vision.

Dealing with a child like this, he had only used the slightest effort; spending any more would be bullying.

This fellow... how should he put it? To put it harshly, she had no manners; to put it nicely... untamed wildness?

For a young girl growing up on this remote island, being like this was normal.

If she were outside the island, starting a duel at random and drawing weapons to call upon energy, she would pay a very heavy price once she failed.

Sensing she had no ill intent and likely had no concept of the power she wielded, Li Ang didn't intend to hold onto it.

However, as a punishment, "This sword belongs to me for now."

Li Ang was just in need of a weapon.

He pulled up the Sword of Wind's Breath, preparing to try and accumulate some warrior experience.