Chapter 30: A Quiet Night in the Storm

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: A Quiet Night in the Storm

Freya immediately closed her eyes in satisfaction.

Her tails swayed happily.

Damon shook his head before turning toward the corpses.

This time, the loot was in much better condition.

Neither of them had gone too overboard.

The feathers remained intact.

The talons were usable.

Even some of the wind-attributed materials inside the bodies could still be harvested.

As Damon carefully worked, Freya remained on his shoulder.

Watching for exactly five seconds.

Then losing interest completely.

A few moments later she was already yawning again.

Damon chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah. Fighting is fun. Harvesting isn’t."

Freya nodded immediately.

Damon laughed harder.

At least she was honest.

The two continued collecting materials while the storm winds howled around them.

Damon continued deeper soon into Tempest Hollow with Freya perched comfortably on his shoulder.

The distorted zone remained as dangerous as ever.

The winds screamed across the land.

The Aether in the air felt restless.

Yet none of it seemed enough to slow them down.

Especially Freya.

The little fox looked completely unbothered.

If anything, she seemed to be enjoying herself.

Damon wasn’t much different.

Every battle gave him a better understanding of his strength.

Whenever they encountered Storm Talons, the fights barely lasted.

At first he had needed effort.

Now he simply moved.

A flash of silver lightning.

A clean strike.

Another corpse fell from the sky.

Sometimes he pierced their eyes.

Sometimes he cut through their wings before finishing them.

Other times he simply appeared above them and drove his knife straight through their skulls.

Each fight taught him something new.

Each victory made him more comfortable with the lightning flowing through him.

"Huh."

Damon stared at the faint silver arcs dancing around his fingers.

"I think I’m getting addicted to this."

Freya chirped in agreement.

Damon laughed.

"I’m sure you’d agree."

The little fox proudly puffed out her chest.

Most of the time she didn’t even need to fight.

Her afterimages handled everything.

Three silver foxes darting through the battlefield.

Three flashes of lightning.

Then silence.

The enemies rarely lasted long enough for Freya’s real body to move.

Only larger groups forced her to get involved.

Even then, the battle ended quickly.

Soon enough Damon started one-shotting almost every Storm Talon they encountered.

The difference compared to a day ago was obvious.

His control was improving rapidly.

The silver lightning no longer felt unfamiliar.

It felt like his own power.

Like something that had always belonged to him.

The more he fought, the easier it became.

Hours passed.

Along the way they encountered other beasts as well.

One of them was a Windfang Stalker.

A lean feline-like beast nearly twice the size of a tiger.

Its dark green fur blended perfectly with the surroundings and streams of wind constantly flowed around its limbs.

It specialized in ambushes.

Fast.

Silent.

Patient.

The perfect hunter.

The first one almost caught Damon by surprise.

Almost.

A blur shot out from behind a rock.

Claws flashed.

Damon twisted aside.

The claws missed his neck by inches.

"Now that’s more interesting."

The beast growled.

Damon grinned.

The fight lasted much longer than his battles against the Storm Talons.

The Windfang Stalker was clever.

It retreated when disadvantaged.

Attacked from blind spots.

Circled constantly.

Trying to wear him down.

Damon treated it like practice.

Testing his reactions.

Testing his movement.

Testing what his lightning could do.

At one point he coated his legs with silver lightning before bursting forward.

The sudden acceleration shocked even him.

Another time he pushed lightning into his knife and noticed how much sharper and deadlier the strikes became.

The more he experimented, the more ideas appeared.

Most came from the games he used to play back on Earth.

Others came from instinct.

Freya simply watched from a nearby rock.

Occasionally cheering him on.

Occasionally looking disappointed when he took too long.

Eventually Damon killed the beast.

Then another.

Then another.

Without realizing it, he had spent the entire day fighting, training, and collecting materials.

Minutes turned into hours.

Hours turned into evening.

The light above Tempest Hollow gradually dimmed.

Darkness began spreading across the distorted zone.

The winds became colder.

The distant roars of beasts became more frequent.

Night had arrived.

Damon finally stopped.

"Alright."

He stretched his sore shoulders.

"I think that’s enough for today."

Freya immediately nodded.

Even she looked ready for a break.

The two found shelter beneath a cluster of large stone formations that blocked most of the wind.

After making sure no beasts were nearby, Damon settled down.

The first thing he did was eat.

The maids had packed enough food to last several days.

He opened one of the containers.

The smell immediately attracted Freya.

Damon laughed.

"You smell food faster than beasts."

Freya ignored the insult and stared at the snacks.

Damon handed some over.

The little fox happily accepted them.

Her tails swayed from side to side while she chewed.

Watching her enjoy something so simple made Damon smile.

For a brief moment, Tempest Hollow didn’t feel dangerous at all.

It felt peaceful.

After eating, Damon moved on to cultivation.

He crossed his legs and closed his eyes.

Slowly, he drew Aether from the surroundings.

The ambient Aether inside a distorted zone was much more chaotic than outside.

Still, the body naturally filtered most of it before absorbing it.

The process was slower than normal.

Damon didn’t mind.

Every bit counted.

As the Aether flowed into his body, he could clearly feel the changes from the day’s battles.

His veins felt stronger.

His control felt sharper.

Even his white core seemed more stable.

Combat truly accelerated growth.

No wonder experienced Elemental Users spent so much time inside distorted zones.

The gains couldn’t be replicated elsewhere.

Then his attention shifted.

Toward the second core.

A thought crossed his mind.

He opened his eyes and looked at Freya.

"Wanna help me test something?"

Freya tilted her head.

A moment later she understood.

Without resistance, she returned to the second core.

Her body dissolved into silver light as she disappeared.