Chapter 369 - Hide it from others (Patreon)

Moving the huge armor is so slow, but it's fun, and I already decided to practice against this kind of opponent. The ones I wouldn’t be able to damage with ranged attacks and instead had to keep closer.

The wolf bites into my side, and my arms move, grabbing him around his neck. But there is something I noticed. The weird field around his body that disrupts and takes mana at the places where I touch him.

It isn’t quick or that strong; instead, it is gradual but unstoppable. It continues even as I strengthen control over my mana within my domain and add the crown to the mix.

Just like that, it eats my mana. Slightly similar to Savant being able to absorb attacks to store and use them later, but the wolf seems to be… eating and transforming it? It’s even different from what Noodle does and I don't understand it yet.

My leg moves, and I knee his head while letting go of him, making the giant beast stumble back and shake his head. I follow through immediately, shortening the distance while keeping an eye on my mana reserves.

This time as well, the wolf doesn’t dodge and lets us clash against each other, his teeth burying into the mana of my mech and tearing pieces of it that I have to reform at high cost of mana.

As a reward, I punch his head, getting a growl from him, and then punch him again.

He jumps back, mana surrounding his body, preparing for the activation of some skill. In the middle of that, I turn and tear a few trees from the ground together with their roots and throw them at the wolf. Each of them hits, the dirt remaining on the roots falling off.

Boosting my armor with what remains in my Vortex Core, I charge him again, the armor around me having weight to it and each step shaking the earth.

As before, he waits for me, but this time, before we clash, only his head and mouth become much bigger. A shadowy, eerie mana surrounds him, and even his expression becomes darker.

Like a horror existing only to consume everything.

The giant maw is about to snap around the entirety of my armor in a single bite when I let go of it, ejecting myself from the wolf while taking as much mana and kinetic energy as I can with me.

Back to my original size only, I crash on the ground and watch as that earlier giant maw gulps what remains of my armor and then the black wolf turns back to normal. Almost back to normal, that eerie mana still surrounding him.

A deep growl reverberates through the clearing, almost like a laugh, and the black wolf licks his lips. His eyes bear a cruel expression and ill intentions as he takes a step towards me.

I float into the air to meet him, my body at the height of his head.

His maw is open, teeth showing, body lowered like that of a predator on the hunt, and his steps are soft as if he is sneaking up on an unknowing enemy. The golden eyes are squinted into a dangerous expression.

For a moment, we face each other, and then with a deep growl, he bites at me.

Black mana seeps into my body, much more than before, and the crown over my head shines brighter. I use [Redistribution], and the black wolf halts his movement, maw open about to bite at me, yet the giant body is not moving anymore.

More of my mana turns through [Focus] and [Mana Manipulation] and [Redistribution] into the black one, powering the skill holding the black wolf.

The amount of absorbed kinetic energy that flows into my body would, not that long ago, have been enough to explode me on the spot, yet now it’s doable. I make that kinetic energy my own, change its frequency, and release it all in a single powerful blast that sends the huge body flying.

The wolf crashes to the ground, rolls a few times, and bulldozes through the forest, destroying dozens of trees.

Before he can stand up, I’m there, floating over him and once again grasping him, not allowing him to move no matter how much he struggles.

Only able to move his mana, tendrils as black as his fur extend from his body, the length multiple times of the wolf´s body. They swirl around, destroying the ground and the trees before they stab towards me.

The black orb I create in front of me absorbs all the mana that is about to reach me easily. It redirects it the moment they get closer and devours the black tendrils, sucking them in and becoming bigger and more powerful in the process.

(That mana!) For the first time, his voice rumbles in my head.

Once again, the field around the wolf changes, eating away the mana I use to power [Redistribution], and trying to escape my hold. Before he can do that, I reach the black orb that absorbed his attacks and touch it, forcing it to elongate, turning it into a javelin that is twice as long as me.

Just as the wolf is about to escape, the javelin made of black mana stabs itself deep into his hind leg.

He attempts to turn his head to pull it away, but he freezes mid-movement, and his eyes shift back to me.

There I float in front of his head, a tricolored orb floating over the palm of my hand. Filled with my mana and about to explode. Just a little push needed.

I watch as he growls, his teeth snapping right in front of me out of anger, all while the black javelin devours his mana faster and faster.

“Do you know that mana?” I ask him and gesture at the javelin stabbed in his leg.

The way he looks at me is amusing, so I reach out and boop his nose which is almost bigger than me. After absorbing back the mana from the tricolored orb I fly towards where the javelin is and pull it out after boosting my body.

Right away, it starts trying to devour my mana, but at the cost of dying once because of it scrambling my mind, I put it under my control. It seems like I’m still lacking and have become careless here within the common area and the tournament. It also absorbed a lot more of the wolf’s mana than I thought.

Well, it’s not such a problem; I wouldn’t even have had to died if I didn’t lose my concentration.

When I fly and show the javelin to the black wolf, he stays quiet.

“Is it some kind of secret?”

He growls, (I don’t know how much I can tell, so I’d rather stay quiet.)

“Is it rare?” I wave the javelin that becomes more and more annoying with its constant attempts.

(Extremely rare, human. You shouldn’t have it. Hide it from others.)

“I was already told to hide my eyes and my primordial energies. It’s annoying. What now? I can’t use any of my abilities?”

The same as me, his mana calms down, and the aggressive stance is gone, his eyes getting back their usual shine.

(This is different from trait, primordial energy, or bearing powerful passive or active skill, human. People might want someone with a powerful trait to try to steal it or breed with you in hopes of passing it in their lineage.)

W-what?!

He smells the black javelin, (Primordial energies are also rare, and their holders can be kidnapped to learn from them or to experiment on bodies able to possess primordial energies. Sometimes they are enslaved. But it’s still somewhat fine, human. No matter what you do, there will be beings lusting for power. No matter if it’s skill, passive, mind manipulation, healing your group has, primordial energies, or powerful traits.)

The black wolf then pulls away from the black javelin and looks at me instead, (I never saw it with my own eyes, but even I heard about it. There were only four beings in the last thousands of years that possessed it. Each of them…)

The rest of the words get censored to my surprise, and the wolf notices it as well.

This is unexpected. I could understand information on Pairing or First Generation being censored as they are about the system, but this? Did that Intent of the Ruler interfere again? Was it the Ruler of Greed or is this somehow connected to information I shouldn't have access to according to the system? Another thing to add to the ever-growing list of mysteries.

“You held back during the fight, why?”

(Human, don’t make me call you stupid again. You and your group belong to my master’s pack. And unlike my master, I'm not as good at controlling my primordial energy, so I didn’t want to hurt you. And you held back as well because of that. I can see the craziness in your eyes when you fight, I can smell it from you, and sense it from your movements. You and that little demon are the same.)

“I will take it as a compliment.”

(Do whatever you wish to do, asshole human! We will fight the next time we meet. But now I will go to receive feedback from my master and his teachings. I don’t have much time left here.)

His wound is already close to being fully healed, and he walks through the destroyed scenery of the forest.

Unlike before when that eerie primordial energy surrounded him, he is back to feeling like a bratty young boy. A giant bratty young boy with fangs as long as I am tall, yup.

Well, it was a nice warm-up, but it doesn't feel satisfying, so I have to put my hopes on the remaining two events. The Duels and the Chronicle of the Past, whatever it is.

***

Sitting on the terrace of our house, I feel a soft breeze in my hair and the air smells nice, like summer. As many times before, I take a deep breath in. Then I take a sip from the bottle I hold. A sugary soda from Earth I bought for two uncommon items. I even used my skill to absorb any warmth around it and chilled it to the right temperature.

Further to the side, Izzy is showing Noodle to Vega, the kind pyromaniac girl still trying to become friends with her.

Biscuit floats in the air in front of his disciple and shares his wisdom with the giant wolf.

Other Group 4 members and them only are all around. Cooking some meat on the fire, talking, sparring, or practicing their skills.

There were some complaints after my light spar with wolfy. A few dozen people from Easy difficulty lost consciousness. Again. At this point, they remind me of those goats who pass out at any sign of danger I saw once in a program on TV.

Some even complained, but it's not like anyone asked them to watch, but most of them were smart enough to stay quiet. Channeler said that sooner or later people might start screaming and running away from me or worshiping me. I deeply despise either option.

Wanting to change my thoughts, I look at Tess who used the opportunity and stole my other can of soda and is now sipping on it, sitting opposite me. She, even more so than anyone, seems to be enjoying this even though she is sitting to the side and watching it all.

I guess a big part of all of this is thanks to her. I don’t think Group 4 would be as friendly with each other otherwise.

Tess Hansen is slightly taller than me. Her blonde hair is now ending somewhere at her shoulders, once again a different haircut. Her gray eyes are calm, but her face easily shows the emotions she feels. She is only 20 years old, two years younger than me. Yet she did all of this.

And it's not like I can ignore it. Even the duplicate's last message wanted me to get closer to them or call them friends and apologize to my mother too. I do not take these words lightly, so even though I'm not fully feeling it, I am willing to accept the fact that the duplicate, knowing he would die, knew best the kinds of regrets I would have.

“I’m sorry.”

Tess turns to me, for a moment confused, but she quickly understands. She examines me and I let her by returning her gaze.

“Apology not accepted,” she says with a soft smile.

“I see.” It’s an obvious result. If I was in her place, I would most likely be the same.

“Was this kind of apology always the plan?” Tess asks.

“No. At first, I wanted to give you some items. Maybe make a weapon for you, a few epic javelins. Or I could buy anything you want from the shop with my shards.”

“So why did you change your mind?” She supports her chin with her hands as she asks curiously.

“For a while, I thought that giving you something of value would make it easier. Like me paying you back. To show my intentions and willingness to take some things I own and give them to you.”

She nods, “That sounds like you, but you didn’t do it in the end.”

“Yes. I did not. I think you would better appreciate an honest apology rather than me trying to pay you.”

“You are right,” she agrees.

“But you rejected it.”

“I rejected it because I think you still don’t fully mean it. I can see a hint of true honesty, but it's not quite there yet.” She leans back in the chair and takes a sip, enjoying the taste of sugary soda in her mouth. “It's close, but there's still a little bit missing.”

“Got it.”

“So just this time I will be petty, Nat. I will let you apologize to me multiple times. I will let you feel all these confusing feelings and I will have fun while doing so. Watching you squirm, close to understanding but not there yet.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“For me, for sure. For you, it will be a bit worse.” Her smile shows her teeth.

Well, it's not like I don’t understand. Nothing is ever that simple. But I will do what my duplicate wanted me to do until I understand it properly.

***

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