With a forceful step, Owen surged forward, his Bastion Force reinforcing his body as he delivered a wrathful slash at the Boulder Veined Bear. His connection to the earth granted him unwavering stability, his stance unshaken by the pressure of battle.
The bear roared, defiant.
A massive paw, thick and jagged like a living boulder, swung toward the incoming blade.
Clang!
The impact rang out as the bear’s raw power clashed against Owen’s sword, forcing the steel back. But Owen did not yield.
The ground beneath him held firm.
His feet pressed deeper into the soil, his body an immovable bulwark.
BANG!
Owen’s shield slammed into the bear’s side, a forceful counter-strike that rippled through the beast’s frame. The blow—it carried the weight of the earth itself.
The bear stumbled slightly, its footing disrupted for a mere second.
A second was all Owen needed.
He drove forward again, sword raised, ready to follow up before the beast could fully recover.
As Owen advanced, the earth convulsed beneath him.
A jagged spike of stone erupted from the ground—aimed directly for his head.
His instincts screamed.
He halted his charge mid-step, twisting his body just in time to dodge.
But before he could fully regain his footing—
A massive jaws snapped toward him.
The Boulder Veined Bear had anticipated his movement.
The creature’s craggy fangs lunged for his exposed side, intending to finish what the earth had failed to do.
CLANG!
Owen threw up his shield, the reinforced steel meeting the beast’s crushing bite. His feet slid across the ground, his arms trembling from the sheer force behind the attack.
But he pressed on.
Using the momentum, he pivoted to the side, narrowly escaping the beast’s grasp. His sword lashed out in quick precision slashes, striking the bear’s flank.
SCRAPE—SCRAPE—SCRAPE
The steel met resistance—like trying to cut into solid stone.
His attacks barely grazed the beast, leaving only shallow marks on its thick, rock-layered hide.
Owen’s grip tightened.
“This is gonna take more than brute strength…” he muttered, adjusting his stance, analyzing the beast''s movements.
The group stood on the sidelines, observing the battle unfold, ready to jump in if things took a turn for the worse.
“He’s really going at it,” Kai noted, arms crossed. “Looks like he’s improved a little.”
“But that bear is ridiculous,” Reese muttered. “Its fur is like armor. Unless Owen figures out how to bypass its defenses, this is gonna drag out.”
Kei stood among them, watching silently. His eyes flicked between Owen and the bear, absorbing every detail.
“Both of them are using Earth Force… but in different ways,” he mused aloud.
Owen’s Bastion Force was about endurance, forming a direct connection to the earth, reinforcing his body, granting him stability and resilience.
The Boulder Veined Bear, however, commanded the earth itself—shaping it, weaponizing it.
Owen had the foundation, but the bear had mastery.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
<ul>
<li> 20%</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>15%</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>knockback and staggering effects</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>knockbacks, stuns, and displacements) is increased by 30%. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>connection to the earth. Stronger affinities grant greater boosts. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Movement becomes slightly restricted during activation, as the body anchors itself to the ground for increased stability. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Prolonged use may drain Aether reserves quickly, requiring careful timing in battle. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li></li>
</ul>
Reese looked back at Kei, still stunned by what he held in his hand.
"You just made this?" he repeated, his tone filled with admiration.
Kei tilted his head. "Yeah? Why?"
Reese exhaled in disbelief, turning the arrow over in his hand. "This is probably better than any arrow I’ve ever used… and you made it right here."
Owen, who was still catching his breath from his earlier attempt at manipulating the earth, looked at the glowing wood carving tool Kei was holding.
“You infuse your tools with aether while using them?” he asked curiously.
Kei nodded. "Yeah, it makes things easier. The blade stays sharper, and it cuts cleaner. Why?"
The group exchanged looks.
"That’s… really useful," Talia said, intrigued. "I never thought to do that."
Kai tested channeling his aether into his own weapon, watching how the blade subtly shifted in response. "That… might explain why your attacks always seem so sharp. You’re reinforcing them without even thinking about it."
"You guys should try it," Kei suggested. "Makes a huge difference."
Reese continued to inspect the arrow, still impressed. "With arrows like these, I don’t even want to waste them. This is insane."
Owen, shaking his head with a slight grin, chuckled. "Every time I think I’m starting to catch up, you just casually drop something like this."
Kei shrugged, smiling. "I’m just messing around with what works."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "And why do you tell us your secrets so casually, especially since you don’t want us to spread them?"
Talia followed up. "Yeah, better yet, why don’t you want us to spread them?"
Kei shrugged, still twirling his wood-carving tool in his fingers. "Well, I need more data. If I just rely on myself, then I can’t exactly say what works better or not. Testing things on multiple people makes for a better study."
They gave him a look, but he continued.
"And besides," he added, "we were just regular people. Now we have the chance to command the laws of the world, to do things that were only ever imagined in comic books or written in stories. Back on Earth, I barely trusted people without powers, so there’s no chance I’m going to start trusting people with them now."
His voice took on a sharper edge.
"What do you think is going to happen when we go back home? How many new powers are going to rise? How many idiots are going to think they should rule just because they got stronger? How many people are going to fight over control, try to claim the world as their own, or make their own little kingdoms?"
Talia and the others fell silent.
"I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t plan on making delusional people even stronger." Kei''s eyes darkened slightly. "If you’d just let me kill Orin Graves, that would’ve been one less headache we’d have to deal with later."
They had no words for that.
And before they could even think of a response—
A forceful, guttural roar shook the ground beneath them.
The bear was back.
Larger. Stronger.
Angrier.
Deep red aether bled from its massive form, flickering like fire along its stone-like fur.
Kei’s eyes scanned its status screen. His brows twitched.
"Oh, shit."
His voice snapped through the air.
"IT’S IN A BERSERK STATE—OWEN, RUN!!!"
<ul>
<li>5% per successful strike</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> 4%, stacking up to 25%. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>30 seconds, attack power increases by 15% for the next 10 seconds. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> 30%, movement speed temporarily spikes by 40% for 5 seconds, allowing for rapid repositioning or escape. </li>
</ul>
[Additional Notes]:
<ul>
<li>The skill resets if movement stops for longer than 3 seconds or if no attack lands within 5 seconds. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The max boost to movement and attack speed is maintained as long as the user continues attacking and moving. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Pushing the limits of this skill may cause exhaustion after prolonged use, requiring careful resource management. </li>
</ul>
With Kai’s Sparrow’s Dance activating, his spear flashed forward, his movements becoming lighter as each second passed. The battlefield shifted—he was no longer just attacking; he was flowing, building speed and power with every motion.
Kai’s spear struck true, his movements fueled by adrenaline, each attack faster than the last. The force of his Spearow’s Dance skill built momentum, his strikes accelerating with every motion, landing in rapid succession.
The Boulder Veined Bear faltered under the relentless assault, its red berserk aether flaring wildly as it struggled to react.
That was the opening Talia needed.
<ul>
<li> three</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> 20%</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>blinding the attacker for 0.5 seconds.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The number of mirages scales with the user''s Aether Control and Force Progression. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Maintaining the skill requires continuous focus, and excessive use may lead to mental strain. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Mirage Gaze works best in open environments where multiple directions of movement are possible. </li>
</ul>
—and in an instant, three identical copies of her shimmered into existence, perfectly mimicking her stance and movements.
The bear’s primal instincts clashed with confusion. Its heavy breaths became ragged as its glowing red eyes darted between the shifting mirages. It swiped at one—only for its claws to phase through mist.
A guttural roar of frustration erupted from its throat as it turned toward another, only for that one to blur out of existence the moment it struck.
"Now’s our chance!" Talia shouted, her voice seeming to come from all directions at once.