Chapter 404 - Shall we start? (Patreon)

Well, the body upgrade is as expected. Nothing extra, but nice additions. As with the previous upgrade, the changes seem to be applied over time, so it will most likely take a few days at least.

To test it, I let my mana flood my body, but as before, it starts accumulating damage right away. There might be a tiny difference in the degree of damage caused, but that's it. I'm curious if the fully applied upgrade will change that, at least a bit.

In the end, it seems like I still have way too much mana for my body to handle.

Good.

At least I won't have to breathe as much now.

Rereading the description, I also don't think the cellular regeneration will be as effective as the healing skill. The system just wouldn't want to give out powerful regeneration to everyone over 250. Even though people with some high constitution or constitution attribute upgrades might get it.

I also wonder, what would happen to my body if I didn't get body upgrades? From the descriptions, it seems like it wouldn't be able to handle active skills, traits, and passives.

It could be interesting to observe it and compare the difference between body upgrade and just higher constitution.

The timer continues to tick down so I locate where the body of the Champion is. It's easier now without the Volcanic Hydra messing with my senses. 

Unfortunately, the body seems to be very deep below the surface of molten metal. Really deep to the point I'm surprised. I expected it to be just a few lengths of my body, instead it's deep enough to put in an entire smaller skyscraper.

Feeling that, I know I won't be able to reach it. My senses barely pass through and placing an anchor is impossible.

The amount of heat is also too much for me to absorb.

My shields would be unable to endure that amount of molten metal and heat.

Hell, I'm sure even cockroach would have trouble reaching it with her current capabilities.

It also explains why there isn't that much Mana Radiation. Most of the residual energy generated by the body is used to send heat through the pyramid, create these annoying monsters, and keep the pool of molten lava the size of a small city melted.

Should I jump in? I mean, I'm sure I would be able to move around for a while just with my chest and head remaining. I can recreate the rest with mana and slowly regenerate it later.

Or maybe I could go in as just heart, spine, and brain?

Maybe I could go in as a brain only and leave the heart outside connected through [Tether] to keep giving me mana. It could be possible to create a smaller barrier just around my brain.

Hmm, maybe not that, the molten metal would cut off the connection to my heart. Also, it would be unfortunate if cockroach found me like that.

What about the main pillar with the rooms, I could try cutting off and use it as a submarine to get there? Or maybe create a capsule out of that metal for me to dive in? That probably wouldn't work, my thermal energy works against it and whatever body below generates should also be able to destroy me.

Fish the body out? Am I even capable of creating a thread powerful enough to get there? Not even mentioning how easily it could probably be melted as it gets closer to the body.

Even the Volcanic Hydra wasn't swimming that deep, keeping to just below the surface.

I shake my head and then scratch my cheek. At least I try to, both of my mana arms are disrupted as I forgot to concentrate on them. It makes me stand there without arms which I for some reason consider funny.

Annoyed, I shoot a tricolored orb towards where the body of the Champion is and then head to the solid metal around the control pillar. There I sit and nearly fall, losing balance because of the lack of my arms. Even so, I do not recreate them. I do not need them right now and will use my [Focus] on other stuff.

First, I reach into my crown and the amount of mana in it makes me both happy and terrified.

Slowly I reach to the threads I was creating around the crown the entire time. My own web not too dissimilar to Mindblender’s. It's not as good and delicate but it doesn't need to be. Thread after thread I uncoil it while doing last-minute changes.

These threads start covering the place I'm in. First the pillar near me, the ceiling, another pillar, walls of the room.

More and more I continue as the invisible and nonmaterial threads fill nearly the entire room.

I use [Infusion] and [Mana Domain] to fill them up. My Pride added to the skill makes the threads more “mine” and less susceptible to external influences. It's something similar to expanding my [Mana Domain], but not just that.

Gradually, I redirect a bit of mana from my crown, creating a dozen pockets of mana all over the room. Each of these pockets filled enough to compress into a tricolored bomb or a few.

I create multiple layers of web, each with a different frequency. I even make a few smaller webs with less mana going through. These webs are disconnected from the main one.

I fail a few times, and it costs me plenty of mana. I just do not have that much experience with it. But I still continue, using everything I have learned.

[Mana Crown - lvl 30 > Mana Crown - lvl 31]

[Infusion - lvl 32 > Infusion - lvl 33]

My creation, my web then stays there, with the help of [Tether] anchored to the place and to me as well. 

And it's huge.

I also place a few mana stones and melt mana conductive metal into inscripted pillars.

Done with it, I let the crown disappear from over my head. I can activate it later when the time comes. Instead, all my mana transforms into thermal energy I continue to fill the orb with. At this point it's as big as my fist and could be bigger if I didn't compress it.

It's fun to watch as it melts anything it comes close to. Even the pillar just an arm's reach from it has its surface scorched, the thin layer melting.

For some reason, it becomes difficult to stand up and for a moment I rest against the pillar.

Damned body upgrade, could do something finally. Sure, making sure my skills and traits won't kill me is great but a bit more healing would be nice. I get the system is cheap and doesn't want to give out regeneration but this cellular something bullshit wouldn't be able to regrow my arm at all. In the best case my stamina restores faster, wounds close quicker and such stuff.

I summon the status window and show it middle finger only to realize I have no arms.

Huh, why are they not regenerating with my passive?

Oh, it's because of the body of that chump with thermal energy messing with my healing based on thermal energy. An annoying guy, indeed. Shouldn't dead bodies float to the surface or something like that? If I can't take the heart I want to at least examine it.

I shoot another tricolored orb towards where I think his body is and step away from the pillar, boosting myself up onto the ridge. There I concentrate my thermal energy, opening the hole into the pillar.

It becomes comfortably cold as the hole behind me regenerates and instead of creating an arm and hand of my mana I just create a single tentacle to touch the control panels. Maybe I'm becoming too lazy.

Using detection systems I locate all the heat signatures inside and outside of the pyramid. There are thousands of them, showing as tiny dots on it.

On top of the pyramid just two of them are and as the time ticks down I continue to watch them.

In the middle of that waiting, I get bored and recreate a few evil orbs, part of my mind continuing my training.

A question pops in my head.

Why didn't I take at least a few hours to sleep? It would help a lot and I wouldn't lose that much in consideration of preparations.

It was because of that Pride of mine, right? Because of rules the cockroach set. For the same reason I haven't used [Focus] for my emotions and nor did I use it to create black mana.

Well well well, if it's not the consequences of my actions.

Even so, I wouldn't change anything. Maybe just try to loot a bit more to get more shards.

While wasting my energy on such useless thoughts I train and explore the options the control pillar gives me. The longer I do it, the more I learn about the functions and how I could use them in combination with the timing of heatwaves generated by the Champion's body.

Five hours remain until my two-week stay here ends when one of the dots starts moving, leaving the other behind.

In one hour, that dot moves through a distance multiple times longer than I was able to. There are no stops, no fighting monsters. It just rushes here.

Four hours remain when I begin manipulating the pyramid through the control panel. I start closing the doors, opening them, controlling vents. I do it all with heatwaves in mind, redirecting them through opening and closing the door to hit the red dot as much as possible.

Heatwave after heatwave washes over the dot, slowing it down and making it waste mana.

At some point the dot disappears from the detection and I just open and close the doors where I expect it to go, knowing the heatwave will hit it fifteen seconds later.

Lastly, I close some doors further away and activate some barely working devices with the intention to increase the temperature in this place.

Then I take a bit of my mana back from the control panels and pop up the evil orbs.

My heart beats wildly in my chest and after a long time my mind feels as sharp as it can be.

Three hours and ten minutes remain when I exit the pillar.

Over my head, my [Mana Crown] forms and [Perception] checks the web for one last time, doing last-minute changes. A pathway added or removed. A twist changed, mana redirected.

I move my thermal orb to the stump of my right arm and then out of that orb I create a golden arm prosthesis.

My flesh burns at the point where it touches the golden thermal energy, too much heat for me to redirect away.

Taking a few steps I pick Flamebearer, the blade of the ax half submerged in molten metal, untouched by the heat.

I swing the ax to clean the blade, the rest of the molten metal splashing away. Then my thermal energy moves through the ax that starts glowing in golden color.

Parts of the ax sizzle, the metal on the surface lightly melting while glowing and the air around it blurry because of the sheer heat.

Active skills:
Focus - Lvl 50
Perception - Lvl 49
Redistribution - Lvl 50
Resonance - Lvl 49
Mana Domain (Pride) - Lvl 43
Tether - Lvl 37
Infusion - Lvl 33
Mana Crown - Lvl 31
Mana Manipulation - Lvl 51

Two more skills, that's all I need and for that, I still have a few hours.

If I fail I will die.

If I die it will be my fault.

If I don't die it will be only thanks to me.

That's how it should be. That's how I want it to be from now until forever.

The doors I used to enter this place open gently, and through them, a single figure steps in confidently. Her silver hair moves in the scorching hot air, contrasting starkly with the surrounding colors; it even seems to be glowing in this place.

She enters and the doors close behind her without her giving them a second look.

On her waist there are two daggers. One made out of black mana. The other is made out of flesh, skin, and bones. Into that fleshy dagger, there is also an orange eye imbued.

So that's what she did to the Saint’s arm and where one of the Champion's Ignition Wavelength Eyes went.

Lissandra Hawthorne, the Absolute of Eladore. The fake and shadow of her original self is relaxed as always. A single glance from her examines my web, the room, the axe, and all my preparations.

Then she takes a step ahead and stands on the pool of molten metal, around her feet a faint amount of blue mana glowing. Each of her steps sends a ripple through the otherwise calm surface and a few steps away from me she stops.

“Shall we start, little pup?”

Three hours and two minutes remain when a heatwave generated by the body of the Champion fills the room and I attack.

***

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