Bab 4: Chapter 4: Recognizing Mediocrity
As Fa Ma set foot in Smolder Iron City, he took in the start of his new journey. The bustling city was vibrant with life as mercenaries crowded the city task board and people wandered around the market. The northwest region of the Jia Ma Empire is colloquially known as the "Metal Capital." Mercenaries in this region dream of finding a metal vein, as they could get a sizable amount of gold coins and resources depending on the size of the vein.
In the market, peddlers of all kinds were hollering at the top of their lungs. Fa Ma started walking around, his soul power scanning everything he saw to see if he could pick up a bargain. Unfortunately, nothing caught his eye. After scanning for a while, he walked to the map store. The map store was run by a local family, and he quickly bought a detailed map of the local area.
Ever since he was reborn, his thirst for adventure had always been sky-high. The many stories he had read only fueled that thirst as he imagined himself being the man that saves the beauty and gets the girl. He also wondered what it would be like to spend a night with a mermaid or a snake girl. With spirits high and confidence bordering on arrogance, he ran outside to the desert to slay his first monster.
A few miles into the desert, the sand quickly rose up and sprayed toward him. He activated his soul power and perceived a snake over 15 meters tall. The snake's scales perfectly blended with the sand and its menacing eyes seemed to see right through him. His face paled, and he felt like he lost all strength in his legs. Was this a monster? The cold killing intent left him helpless in the face of this behemoth, and the snake noticed that and swooped in for a final blow.
Fa Ma's instincts kicked in, and he subconsciously turned on the enlightenment. As the massive Sand Snake lunged, he twisted his body, barely evading the creature's gaping maw. He launched the "Shadow Phantom Steps," his form blurring as he darted to the side, narrowly avoiding the snake's lethal strike. The ground where he had just stood exploded in a cloud of sand and debris.
The snake hissed, its eyes narrowing as it tracked Fa Ma's movements. It coiled, muscles rippling beneath its scales, preparing for another strike. The snake struck again, faster than before. Fa Ma met the attack head-on, his spear flashing as he parried the blow. The force of the impact jarred his arm, but he held firm, spinning away and countering with a quick thrust. The spearhead grazed the snake's side, drawing a thin line of blood.
Enraged, the snake reared back, its tail whipping around to catch Fa Ma off guard. He barely managed to leap over the deadly appendage, rolling to his feet and retaliating with a series of rapid jabs. Each strike was aimed at the snake's eyes, but the beast was too quick, its head weaving and bobbing to avoid the blows.
Suddenly, the snake feinted, its head darting to one side before snapping back to catch Fa Ma off balance. The move worked, and Fa Ma felt the sting of its fangs as they grazed his arm. Pain flared, but he gritted his teeth and launched his counterattack. Summoning all his strength, he executed the first move of the "Alpha Ape's Ascendancy," "Ape Rendering the Sky." A faint red ape fist shadow condensed on the tip of his spear as he drove it toward the creature's eye with all his might.
The spear struck true, the red shadow piercing through the snake's eye with a satisfying crunch. The snake writhed in agony, its death throes violent and terrifying. Fa Ma danced backward, avoiding the thrashing tail and collapsing to his knees as the beast finally lay still. The enlightenment mode faded, and he dropped to his knees, heaving. The breakfast he had eaten that morning was strewn across the yellow sand.
As he turned his head toward the snake, he finally recognized that it was a common second-order monster called a "Sand Snake." It often lies in the sand and attacks unsuspecting life passing by. He soon collapsed on the sand, crying and laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. The confidence—no, arrogance—to think that he could simply come to the desert and easily sweep through it. Why did he only think of the treasure and glory that came with the desert and completely forget the dangers? He even had to use the enlightenment mode as a crutch to get him through the predicament. Even then, with his pitiful combat experience he barely got out of it alive. He put the corpse of the snake into his low-level storage ring and walked back to the city with his head held low for the first time in this new life.
Back in the city, he spent the next week doing nothing as he beat himself up over being a loser. He wallowed in self-pity, reminiscent of his previous life where he had wasted countless opportunities due to his laziness and lack of persistence. He had always been one to dream big but never put in the effort required to achieve greatness. He remembered how he would start something with enthusiasm only to abandon it at the first sign of difficulty, always making excuses and blaming circumstances instead of himself.
When he looked at his puffy eyes on the eighth day, he couldn't help but laugh at himself. His ordinary face, lacking the charm of protagonists, was staring miserably back at him. Was this the future Battle God? Was he going to revert to his previous life's habits? No, this was going to be a new life. A life where he was going to be great and stand on the highest mountain to look down on everything. He had the capital to be the best, and the only thing he had to do was put in the work. He grabbed his spear and trudged back out to the open sand.
Determined to prove himself, he immediately ran to the monster area and soon found himself in the territory of a first-order Sand Charm Fox. As he confronted the 8-meter behemoth, he got into the starting stance of his Snake Phantom Spear Dance and circled the fox. He scanned for any flaws, launching the movement technique of "Alpha Ape's Ascendancy" and created two illusory afterimages that unsettled the fox. The fox snarled, its sharp teeth gleaming as it lunged at one of the illusions, passing through it harmlessly.
Fa Ma took advantage of the opening, his spear flashing out to strike the fox's flank. The fox howled in pain, twisting to retaliate with a swipe of its massive claws. Fa Ma barely managed to block the attack, the force of the blow sending him skidding backward across the sand.
Regaining his footing, Fa Ma pressed the attack, his movements a blur as he unleashed a flurry of strikes. The fox was fast, dodging and countering with its own rapid blows. They exchanged attacks, the sound of clashing metal and feral growls filling the air.
The fox's claws raked across Fa Ma's chest, tearing through his shirt and drawing blood. He grunted in pain but didn't back down. He saw a momentary lapse in the fox's defense and seized it, launching himself forward with a powerful thrust. His spear, enhanced by the Sun Burning technique, gleamed red with a faint golden hue as it pierced the fox's tough exterior.
The fox roared, trying to shake him off, but Fa Ma held firm, twisting the spear deeper. He ran his Battle Qi with all his strength, causing the interiors of the fox to start to melt. The fox struggled, its movements growing weaker before it eventually died. Fa Ma withdrew his spear and stepped back, watching as the creature collapsed to the ground. He cautiously approached the corpse, ready for any last signs of life, and after confirming there was no movement, he let loose a guttural scream, "I did it". The angst, frustration at himself, and worry for his future that weighed him down began to lighten. In a jovial mood, he searched the corpse and found a magic core.
For the next two months, he would go out to hunt monsters every three days. His life entered a regular routine of fighting one day, resting and reviewing his mistakes while studying various skills in the simulation space, cultivating, and refining. However, the self-doubt lingered. Was he really making progress, or was he just fooling himself? Each setback, each minor injury, threatened to pull him back into the abyss of mediocrity he had known in his past life. One time, he even ran into a third order Crystal Venom Scorpion and had to run for his life. Fortunately, another monster came by and deterred it. Through these constant tribulations, he slowly tempered himself and ingratiated himself into this cruel world.
With his constant fights, he advanced to eight-star battle practitioner. He was even experimenting with combining the Sun Fire Burning technique with the Volcanic Exploding Technique. The arrogance of his earlier self was being tempered by the harsh lessons of reality, and the naive dreamer had faintly begun to grow into a true warrior.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
DreamBig2004
DreamBig2004 Hey everyone, first battle scenes and man they were tough to write. These first 10 chapters are going to be more background chapters. The story will really start then. Also, I want to know if I should add some background setting info. Please give me any advice on how you felt something should have went. If I skipped something I shouldn't have, please tell me. In this chapter, I didn't spend too long on the character growth as I felt like his character has already been determined. The constant work he put in and the habits he built aren't for nothing as they have become part of his life. Thank you guys for reading!
Status Power Mingguan
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