Monarch Chapter 195 (Patreon)

Chapter 195

As it turned out, the bad news wasn't anything serious. It was just Jason and Nate ranting about their supposed lack of talent.

Both of them had apparently spent a considerable amount of time trying to practice mana cultivation, only to make almost no progress.

"It's impossible," Jason complained, his expression filled with frustration. "I've been sitting for hours whenever I get time, and nothing happens."

"You're probably doing it wrong," Nate said, though he sounded just as irritated. “But I can't really brag myself. I've tried following the instructions exactly, and I still can't open any of the pathways."

Jason turned toward him. “If you can't make progress too, then you should push down that superior tone.”

"I'm sure I'm still doing better than you. If you are a pile of garbage, I'm just a bag.”

Rayne listened to them argue for a while before butting in. "Have either of you managed to feel the mana inside your bodies?"

"Sometimes," Nate answered. "But the moment I try to guide it, it disappears. It's like trying to hold water in my hands. It's really fleeting."

Jason nodded in agreement. "I've tried the breathing method written in the manual, but it doesn't work. Your advice didn't help either."

Rayne didn't have much else to offer them, and honestly most of the progress he had made was due to stealing Arcane stats.

Still, he had already explained the basics of what he understood about mana cultivation, but the manual they were using was not something he had created himself.

It was a basic cultivation manual that Prince Caelan had given Bran, and Rayne had no idea whether it was compatible with everyone.

At least Kesh and Heins seemed to be making better progress, even if neither of them had spoken much about it.

They had been quietly practicing whenever they had time, and Rayne had noticed that they appeared to be improving faster than Jason and Nate.

He didn't know how much progress they had actually made.

But the difference was noticeable enough to make him wonder if they simply had more talent or was there another reason.

From what he understood, some people needed specialized cultivation manuals before they could make meaningful progress.

A particular person's mana pathways, affinity, or even the way their body interacted with mana could affect which method worked best for them.

Perhaps Jason and Nate didn't lack talent and simply needed another manual itself.

Unfortunately, Rayne didn't have any specialized manuals in his possession, and he wasn't about to ask Prince Caelan for another one.

Honestly, he couldn't because the prince didn't even know more of his men other than Bran was practicing it.

It had only been for the old man after all.

So, for now, all he could do was tell them to keep trying.

"Don't give up just because you haven't made progress yet," Rayne said. "You might need more time, or you might need a different method. We don't know enough to say which one it is."

"That's easy for you to say," Jason muttered.

Rayne gave him a flat look. "Would you prefer that I lie and tell you that you'll succeed tomorrow?" Jason immediately shook his head. "Then keep practicing."

Nate sighed, but neither of them argued further.

At least their frustration would turn into motivation soon enough.

After Bran had managed to break through the first wall, both Jason and Nate had become noticeably more determined to do the same.

They wanted more power, and Rayne could understand that. In their line of work, strength wasn't simply something that made a person feel better about themselves.

It was the difference between surviving a battle and becoming another name carved into a memorial, and mana could certainly help them a lot in that.

Kesh and Heins, on the other hand, seemed content to progress slowly.

They were more focused on improving their existing skills and understanding their own abilities before rushing towards breaking the wall.

Rayne couldn't say that either approach was wrong.

As long as they continued to improve and didn't put themselves in unnecessary danger, both paths had their merits.

The rest of his squad was also progressing quickly.

Several soldiers had gained levels during their recent expeditions, and Dean had finally reached level thirty.

It was a milestone that Rayne's party had crossed some time ago, but that didn't make it any less important for the others.

A few more soldiers were getting close to the same level, and Rayne was pleased by the development.

If he could help some of them break past the first wall, then their overall combat ability would increase considerably.

Even a small improvement in their physical capabilities could make a significant difference during a difficult battle, especially when fighting in formation.

After finishing breakfast, the party gathered their equipment and prepared to leave.

Not long afterward, they were on their way to the Godless Ruins once again.

The journey through the ruined city was uneventful and they were again able to break up from the warband after a point.

Captain Edran actually looked suspicious this time, but didn't say anything, and Rayne hoped that whatever happens, the prince would be able to handle it.

But soon, his whole focus returned to the sewers safely.

As always, Rayne used [War Pulse] to detect any movement in their surroundings, allowing them to avoid the monsters that wandered through the streets.

Once they reached the sewer entrance, he eventually stopped using the skill to conserve mana.

They had already cleared the previous section, and there was no reason to waste mana when they could move quickly without it.

The party walked through the damp tunnels, their footsteps echoing against the stone walls.

The smell of stagnant water remained strong, but at least the mire devourer was truly dead.

The place where they had fought the monster was quiet, with the remains of the battle scattered across the ground and portions of the ceiling still collapsed.

They moved past it without stopping.

Once they had gone further, Rayne activated [War Pulse] again.

The ability spread through the surrounding area, revealing the faint presence of movement beyond the limits of his ordinary senses.

Yet for a while, nothing appeared.

The tunnels branched into several other passages, some narrow and others large enough for the entire party to walk through side by side. They continued forward, choosing the straight path that seemed to lead deeper into the sewer system.

There were no puppets, no creatures, and no other signs of activity.

Rayne was beginning to wonder if they would be lucky till the end of the sewers. Then, as they moved through another tunnel, he felt something ahead.

Several presences moving together.

Rayne immediately slowed down, raising one hand to signal the others to stop. The party reacted quickly, their movements becoming quieter as they gathered around him.

"There's a group ahead," Rayne said in a low voice. "Several monsters. I can't tell what they are yet."

Lyra's expression tightened, and Bran shifted his bow into a more comfortable position. Andrew said nothing, though his hand moved toward one of his short swords.

Rayne focused on [War Pulse], trying to gain a clearer understanding of the creatures' positions. They were not too far away, and judging by the way they were moving, they had not noticed the party yet.

He gestured toward the passage ahead.

"We'll take the next turn carefully."

The others nodded, and they began moving forward once more, their pace slower than before.

Rayne stayed near the front, keeping his senses focused on the approaching group. The sounds of movement grew clearer as they advanced, followed by the faint scraping of something against the stone floor.

Then they reached the turn. Rayne leaned slightly to the side and looked around the corner.

The sight that greeted him was enough to make him pause.

Several creatures were gathered in the wide passage ahead. Their bodies were covered in thick layers of mud and large amounts of dirty water pooled around them, dripping from their bodies.

Some of them were crouched near the dirty water flowing along the edge of the tunnel, while others crawled across the walls, their limbs gripping the stone with unsettling ease.

Rayne barely had time to study them before Lyra looked over his shoulder.

The moment she saw the creatures, she cursed under her breath.

"We've got bloody mud grapplers here."

Nate raised an eyebrow, his sword already pointing toward the creatures. "What do you know about them?"

"Not much," Lyra answered, keeping her eyes fixed on the mud grapplers. "They aren't hard to kill. You just have to hit them hard enough, but they are certainly troublesome if they manage to grab you. Once they do, you're going to suffocate."

Rayne glanced at the creatures, studying the way their mud-covered bodies shifted against the walls. "Then we can hit them from range—"

Before he could finish his sentence, several of the mud grapplers suddenly turned in their direction. Their movements were almost simultaneous, and for a brief moment, the creatures remained still, their misshapen bodies facing the party.

Then, without warning, they let out a strange, high-pitched sound that echoed through the tunnels.

Rayne's expression changed as the mud surrounding their bodies began to shift.

The next second, large tendrils made entirely out of mud and filthy water shot toward them from every direction. Some emerged from the ones crouching on the ground, while others stretched from the grapplers crawling along the walls.

They moved with startling speed, twisting through the air before striking toward the party.

Rayne immediately understood what Lyra had meant.

"Scatter!"

The party reacted at once, each member moving away from the others to avoid being caught together.

Lyra leapt backward as vines burst from the ground to deflect a tendril, while Bran rolled to the side and fired an arrow toward one of the creatures. Andrew moved with his usual composure, slipping past two tendrils before throwing a short sword into the body of a mud grappler.

Heins, however, was a moment too late.

A tendril emerged from one of the grapplers clinging to the wall and wrapped around his body before he could fully evade it. The mud tightened around his armour, and the creature immediately began pulling him toward itself.

Rayne reacted without hesitation.

An arc of death mana shot from his sword, cutting through the tendril.

The muddy appendage fell apart, splashing filthy water across the floor as Heins stumbled backward and landed heavily on the stone.

"Everyone, keep your distance!" Rayne shouted. "If you want to get close, do it only if you think you can escape the tendrils!"

He didn't wait to see whether they had understood.

Instead, Rayne moved forward, closing the distance between himself and the nearest mud grapplers as quickly as possible.

The creatures responded by sending more tendrils toward him, but he was already prepared.

His sword swept through the air.

Another arc of death mana tore through several tendrils, causing them to break apart before they could reach him.

Mud and dirty water splashed across the passage, coating the ground and the surrounding walls.

Rayne stepped through the falling remains and sent another attack toward a grappler crawling along the ceiling.

The tendril extending from its body separated cleanly, and the creature recoiled.

I feel like I've been dealing with tendrils constantly in these sewers.

The thought crossed his mind as he advanced, though he couldn't deny that the situation was considerably easier this time. At least the tendrils broke apart at once when struck by his death mana, unlike the sludge that had made up the mire devourer's body.

Rayne had already used [Analysis] on the creatures and they were only level 35-40.

They were nothing he couldn't handle, especially with the others supporting him.

Their numbers were troublesome, but their attacks were predictable once he understood how they moved. The real danger came from allowing them to surround someone or drag them toward the walls, where multiple creatures could attack at once.

So Rayne continued forward.

He released more arcs of death mana, cutting through the tendrils that came within reach. When one of the mud grapplers attempted to strike him from the side, he twisted away, stepped into its reach, and drove his sword directly into its body.

Death mana spread through the mud.

The creature's body collapsed around the blade, splashing filthy water across Rayne's boots.

He pulled his sword free and immediately turned toward another grappler, cutting through its extended limb before following with a close-range strike.

Behind him, Bran's arrows pierced through the creatures, Lyra's vines restricted their movements, and Andrew continued picking off the ones attempting to approach from the walls. The party was advancing steadily, forcing the mud grapplers backward through the wide passage.

There were dozens of them, but Rayne single-handedly carved a path through the swarm, alternating between ranged arcs and close attacks.

With every creature that fell apart, the way ahead became clearer.

***