Chapter 289 - Special Arrows

Although Ryan took his time to kill the monsters he found along the way and barely reached a jogging speed, in the end, he crossed Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama in just a few days. He even gave Furball plenty of time to eat some monsters, but he progressed quite a bit despite that. Aside from the fact that Furball had grown strong and now he is big enough for Ryan to mount him, there was nothing to celebrate. Wherever he went, Ryan didn't find a single living soul. Destroyed cities, abandoned towns, battlefields where monsters killed each other non-stop… he only found that.

"This is kind of hard to accept, but it looks like humanity has decreased to a few thousand," Ryan muttered. "At least here, in America."

Ryan considered that, but in the end, he wanted to avoid that option, but it looks like he will have to check things on the other continents. If things weren't better there…

"I shouldn't think about this," Ryan shook his head. "My only goal is to exterminate as many monsters as possible and grow stronger and then kick the ass of those sons of a bitch."

Although the desolate world that Ryan could see so often was depressing, not everything was bad news. Ryan learned that Seal was much more useful than he thought. Although the items he could do were based on the quality of the weapon he makes and the skills' level, they already were at the level of the drops tier two monsters could give him. The only downside was that Ryan could use Seal while the monsters are alive, so he had to beat them down only to a point.

Explosive Arrow (Fire)

Effect: When it hits the target, it causes an explosion in a radius of five meters, causing damage equal to your dexterity + your intelligence multiplied by five.

Freezing Arrow (Ice)

Effect: When it hits the target, it freezes anything around the target in a radius of five meters. The damage caused will be equal to your dexterity + your intelligence multiplied by three.

Those were some of the best results Ryan obtained. Although he couldn't control the effects and buffs his magic items would have, now and then, Ryan would hit the jackpot. Creating expendable projectiles like that sometimes was a pain in the ass, but Ryan had a lot of fun while he was crafting an amulet using Earth Manipulation and Transformation. Maybe ninety-nine percent of the magic items he produces will be useless to him, but they still could be sold. So, there was no downside in keeping leveling up Seal.

"The trick for this will be to seal the soul of a dragon in a weapon," Ryan nodded to himself. "That will be easier said than done. First, I will have to cut off their limbs and destroy their wings… while preventing them from dying due to the bleed…"

It was kind of tiring work, but as long as Ryan obtains magic items like his Paralyzing Spear and Frozen Gauntlets, it would be worth the hassle. In any case, Ryan also made a mental note to learn someday the skill that Katelyn has. Creating magic weapons wasn't enough. He had to upgrade them. Just imagining himself upgrading the same arrow again and again to multiply the power of his Power Shot was enough to put a large smile on Ryan's face.

"In any case… Colombia, huh," Ryan nodded to himself while looking around. "I finally reached South America, and some countries here are pretty large, so I guess I should pay attention to my surroundings."

Unlike some movies could make most people think, South America wasn't exactly a big jungle. Sure, there was a lot of green, but there was plenty of civilization, or one day had. Right now, Ryan could only find destroyed roads and burned-down cities. However, after walking for just a couple of minutes, Ryan heard some explosions in the distance and gunshots.

"Gunshots?" Ryan frowned. "There are still people who use those?"

Ryan couldn't understand why some survivors would use guns after such a long time. It was weird. After all, Ryan learned his first spell on the first day, which could cause much more damage than a handgun.

"Let's fly a little and see things from a distance," Ryan said after crossing his arms.

Using Telekinesis, Ryan started to levitate, and after looking at East, he found a small battlefield. Some survivors were fighting against another group of survivors. The first one was protecting a dungeon, while the second was trying to cause some damage by using hit and run tactics.

"Yep, nothing to see here," Ryan shrugged. "Let's keep heading South, Furball. I would rather not get involved with idiots who want to kill each other when our numbers are already too scarce."

Although it was a pity to know that some humans were killing each other, Ryan didn't have to risk his neck to stop those conflicts. Even if he solves them, idiots can easily find other ways to get them killed.

"I need to make another mental note. I need to learn the skill that will let me read minds," Ryan said to himself. "Once that happens, collecting Intel will be much easier."

Although Ryan complained that Alissa did that, it was different. He wouldn't try to read others' minds to know what others think of him and use that to his advantage. He would use it to get some advantage in other aspects.

Ryan headed South and saw that scene repeat a few more times. Apparently, the country survivors were divided into two groups, and they were fighting probably to get more classes and eventually overthrow the other group. At first, Ryan decided to ignore them. However, on one of those battlefields, a green dragon suddenly appeared and started to attack a group that was defending the dungeon. When Ryan used Appraisal, he learned that he was a human who had a dragon spirit.