It’s great but there’s one glaring drawback. Victa consumption.

Victa generation was one of the major woes for Pathseekers. The Victa generation rate was too slow.

Pathseekers used Victa as the main fuel for their superhuman capabilities. Without Victa, most Pathseekers would be no different than normal people.

Besides improving their Intio via absorbing mana through various means, Pathseekers grew by refining their skills. The most obvious one was training their Arte.

Other than using Artes in battle, Pathseekers needed to be accustomed to using them first by using them over and over beforehand, lest they risk the backlash in case the Arte failed its activation in the midst of heated combat.

Besides familiarizing themselves with their Arte, Pathseekers could also upgrade their Arte in many ways. Raising the Arte’s destructiveness, shortening the formula for faster casting, adding extra quirk, etc.

They could also make new, more suitable Artes from scratch depending on their imagination and ability.

Not to mention Pathseekers could raise their physical strength using Victa and how convenient it would be using magical abilities during day-to-day life.

On the other hand, Pathseekers could choose to not expend any Victa and live leisurely. To let their Victa pile up to a shocking degree since there was no hard limit on how much Victa one could hoard inside them.

If these ‘Pathseekers’ were content in their life and security, then there was nothing wrong doing just that. But for Pathseekers who constantly strive to better themselves as they walk the perilous Path of Power like their very epithet, there was never enough Victa.

Battle with monsters, battle with other Pathseekers, battle with themselves…

A Pathseeker’s life was a life of battle.

In Viers’ case, his Victa consumption was way higher than normal.

The very existence of his ‘tenants’ drained his Victa, even more so when they were active.

Then there was the fact that he was a fugitive. Viers was always on the run since his departure from Luxore, only taking short breaks in between. In the journey, he battled monsters and people. He also boosted his speed using Victa to make the journey from town to town faster, not to mention the Arte training and creating new ones –such as Fatal Soulframe– in the background.

After his fight with Freya, his Victa stockpile had finally hit the bottom of the barrel.

Viers was very starving for Victa. Not even his moon pendant, a magic item that raised his Victa production by 10% could fulfill his gargantuan need for Victa.

His Victa consumption after arriving at Pecan Village was still as intense as ever. To recover from his injuries, he needed to eat monsters, which he battled, which used Victa.

While I can use additional brains to dish out more Arte in a fight… but I can’t afford to do it too much! Not enough Victa in the tank!

This was the kind of situation in games where one had a powerful ability but couldn’t use said ability because they couldn't meet the necessary requirement.

This is getting unbearable. I have to find alternative energy sources to solve my Victa energy crisis! I want to be swimming in Victa!!

His plight over his Victa situation also forced Viers to limit his Arte to an elementary level, such as Water Slash, Water Barrier, and Rapid Water Steps, which didn’t use much Victa in the first place.

Naturally, Viers also had special Artes in his arsenal but he kept those hidden in case of emergency.

Now that I’m a Level 2, another door has opened for me. I can start training in Ixi Arte.

The fundamental of Ixi Arte was using another element closely related to one’s affinity.

Such as Viers using his blood at the climax of his battle with Freya despite not having an ounce of blood affinity.

Hells and Damnations! There’s so much to do, so much to train. I basically don't have enough time for them all!

Viers had so many ways of getting stronger now. So many that he became confused about which he should prioritize.

For the time being, I won't focus on my monster transformation. Sure, it seems powerful and full of potential. It also saved my life more than once but it is best to keep it as a secret method.

The monster transformation was something he didn't fully understand, it was basically another branch of Path of Power. It allowed him to change shape into other monster forms but Viers was a human. He must train to fight as a human rather than a monster. Martial comprehension, body coordination, mastery of weapons, battle intuitions, etc. Viers could only attain these if he fought as a human, not a monster.

Even though Viers had the boost from his Horizon Aspect, he didn't want to make one of the classic second-rate character mistakes: having great power but being unskilled in using it. He must have the fighting skills to match his own power.

It doesn't mean I won't be using it though. The uniqueness of this ability is perfect for solving problems in unusual and peculiar ways. Like how I escaped from Freya and the old man. How could they know their target would turn into a fish and swim upstream?

Viers was banging his head against the wall over the next phase of his training.

54.98% hmn? Not bad at all.

Seeing the number of his Horizon elevated his stress a little.

***

2 weeks had passed.

A youth with short brown hair was holding a spear with one hand. His eyes were closed as he stood completely still in his stance. His clothing was very simple, just a white shirt and brown trousers made from ordinary materials, but his shoes looked somewhat better. A moon-shaped pendant was hanging from his neck.

The youth was a bit chubby in the stomach, although, his body structure was quite good so it wasn’t too out of place. His arms and legs looked like they had some muscle on them. His height steadily approached 170 cm at the moment but he was still growing. He was not handsome by any means, there was nothing special about his looks. Just another face in the crowd without special distinction.

A wind blew, carrying a leaf towards his direction.

Viers, eyes still closed, thrust his spear forward.

He opened his eyes, the leaf was pierced at the tip of his spear.

“High perception, pinpoint precision and just enough strength to pierce but not break the leaf. Your progress is astounding considering you never wielded a spear before, Lord Viers.”

After he lost his sword, Viers took up the spear he looted from Daniel. Farley had been teaching him the basics.

“Well, this is the only decent weapon I found. The others are too low quality. It’s a small village. Even the smith is more apt in making tools and other metal works than weapons. Got to do with what I have on hand.”

Plus, killing something with a spear then killing its kind later with a sword is counted as something new, more Horizon points for me, hehehe. Instead of the spear, I would have preferred learning the bow but while my other hand is like this… Can’t be helped.

Viers had made various progress these past two weeks, especially in his recovery.

His Magic Circuit had been healed completely, and the Victa Stigma was purged without a speck of taint remaining. All that was left was his missing left hand, which was still growing like the tail of a lizard. It was quite disturbing to look at so Viers always hid it with a cloth. He still wore the arm sling.

This arm still needs one or two more weeks. Since I am mostly healed, I can start stocking up my life energy. I definitely can’t afford to be injured to this degree again so I suppose I must play it safe for the time being.

Viers had seen not even a shadow of his pursuers despite his best efforts observing his surroundings in this period of time. Therefore, being in relative safety, he had been living the ‘slow life’ worthy of a farming game’s MC.

Waking up, training, eating, taking care of his farm, socializing with the villagers, hunting monsters, eating, training, then sleeping. Roughly in that order.

Although not much, he also managed to save up some Victa for future use.

Taking a page from someone else’s book, Viers created a Fa Ram. It was only a small field next to the Irvings. He planted turnips there. In the middle of the field, stood a scarecrow. It was made of straws, wearing ragged clothes, and had a chicken head. A sign was hanging on its neck.

Beware of Cock.

After his spear training, he went back to his temporary dwelling. Every time Viers returned to the Irving household, the sight of that chicken-headed scarecrow put a smile on his face.

Creating and doing little things like that, referencing various kinds of my past life’s enjoyments, truly resonates with my Aspect. The percentage gain was quite good.

So Viers did not make the scarecrow or was doing farming activities purely for fun, it was his way of cultivating while enjoying life.

Viers, or rather Avel, politely greeted the working Arim and Susan as he made his way to the newly built shack.

“Time’s up Luca. How was it today?”

Inside the purposefully made dark shack, Luca was meditating. Since she had a dark affinity, she must train in an environment suitable for her.

“Big bro Avel, it’s getting clearer.”

“Mn,” he nodded. “No need to rush, and don't push yourself too hard. Your body has not fully grown yet to withstand the magical burden. Just baby steps for now.”

“Kay.”

“Come on, it's time for our other lesson.”

They went into the house and Avel taught Luca reading and writing. Most of the villagers were illiterate, Arim and Susan also couldn't read or write. Considering Luca’s age, teaching her a basic skill such as this would be very important.

“Work hard so you can help your Mom and Dad.”

“Un!”

Avel taught the young couple words and letters too but Arim and Susan had to work during the day and could only learn at night. He let Luca teach what she learned earlier that day to her parents to motivate her.

Luca was no longer the brooding lonely girl he met at first, she looked and acted like a child her age, many smiles and full of energy, eager to learn interesting things.

Children really learn fast. Perhaps I might be able to teach some basic maths before I leave.

The food condition had improved too. Viers and Shlomo regularly hunted monsters. Most were shared with the villagers but he naturally left more than enough share for the Irvings. And the dishes Susan made tasted better. As they hunted monsters together, Viers and Shlomo's friendship grew.

Life was good and Viers felt the simple village life was not quite so bad after all. He went to sleep content.

The next morning, Viers found something he didn't expect.

Why is there a dancing plant in my vegetable field?