Chapter 54 - True Colors (Patreon)

The skill's name is [Armament].

Right after acquiring it, I let my mana flow out of my body and, with the help of the skill, shape it into a sword.

It's see-through, the edges look terrible and dull, and the shape is all weird.

But it's a start.

Maya dashes at me once again, but I send her flying with a kick.

"I am done with you, so stay there."

She groans on the ground. I didn't hold back much on my last attack, but I was careful enough not to hurt her too much. She might be useful in the end.

"So now you're showing your colors."

There he is, Hadwin. He stops a short distance in front of me.

"I always knew you weren't right in your mind. Right from the start."

I see. It's weird to hear it from you, though.

And?

He takes a step closer.

But he is right. I know that. Even before the 1st floor, I wasn't exactly... normal, and now, with [Focus], even less so. Yet, I tried. I helped others, taught them, and protected them somehow.

He moves even closer, and I let him do so.

I thought it would be different here.

He looks at me, and mana starts moving in his body.

I... I thought they would be similar to me, as we all got the same starting point.

The man in front of me believes I haven't noticed his mana movement while he talks, attempting to distract me.

But they are not.

His skill activates and pushes against my mana. Trying to dissipate it. To stop it from flowing through my body. To tear it apart and stop me from using it.

They are... weaker.

Hadwin's mana instantly gets pushed out of my body. My own mana roars and the pressure makes the older man stagger backward.

My body is mine.

My mana is mine.

It explodes into the surroundings, and even others with lower mana sensitivity can feel it.

My eyes meet with Sophie's, and even when I try, I can't think of harming her. The construct in my head doesn't allow it.

But I did not forget.

I pull the mana back into my body and take a step towards Hadwin.

My fist hits him right in the face, and he staggers backward and falls.

"You know it too, right? I could have killed you if I really wanted to," I repeat the exact same thing he said to me while he looks at me from the ground.

So don't bother me. I have a lot to do.

*****

My new skill is difficult; well, creating weapons is difficult. When I use it to create something like armor around my body, it becomes a bit easier. The problem is that the armor looks weak even to me, and I would rather rely on my [Kinetic Redistribution].

It would be amazing if I could change absorbed kinetic energy into other forms of energy, as the system descriptions hinted at, such as thermal or electric, but up until now, I didn't have any luck with that. So I decide to focus on creating a weapon that won't break so easily.

A weapon I can always have with myself and can reform even if it breaks, unlike physical ones.

I like the idea of that.

So as I fight the monsters, I continue using my new skill. Weapons made with its help look terrible, and sometimes they even flicker out of existence, and they are blunt, to say the least.

But I will improve.

I can do it.

Despite my efforts, none of my skills have reached level 10 yet.

Is there a bottleneck?

I dodge to the side and slash against the wolf with a short sword made of my mana.

It doesn't cut him, and I try to apply [Oscillation] to it, but that makes the translucent weapon instantly dissipate as my control over it slips away.

So instead of using the ethereal weapon, I coat my hand in oscillating mana and finish off the wolf. The mana spent is much higher and the reach is shorter, but it's currently the best option.

[You have defeated the Wolf - lvl 14]

Another wolf attacks me from behind, and I use [Armament] to create a translucent armor-like layer of mana around my chest and let him try to bite me. At first, the skill slows down the wolf, but soon he crushes it, and it disappears into light blue particles of mana. Before the wolf bites me, I throw him away with the kinetic energy I absorbed.

Flying Iron ore finishes off the wolf.

[You have defeated the Wolf - lvl 12]

The sky darkens once more, and the rain starts. My [Mana Perception] covers the area we are defending, and I make sure to track the movements of our group. Even after a few hours, they continue to act awkwardly around me. They seem scared?

Was it their naivety that led them to become friendly with me? Their desire to stick together with someone stronger?

It doesn't matter that much. I will protect Lily as much as I can because of my promise and because I want my hand back. Kevin and Kim, I will help too if possible.

As thanks.

[You have defeated the Wolf - lvl 16]

[You have defeated the Wolf - lvl 14]

[You have defeated the Wolf - lvl 11]

[You have defeated the Wolf - lvl 11]

I kill off the wolves around me, getting stronger with every passing second as I continue to absorb energy from the stronger and stronger rain. The rain is so heavy that even some monsters can't see clearly, and most of the time, I have to rely on my perception.

But it's fine.

I slip on the mud and let myself fall down to dodge the wolf's bite. Then I use a tiny bit of kinetic energy to push myself up and stand.

I am getting faster and better at using it. Under these conditions, I am strong.

The ground around me cracks, and from me at the epicenter, a shockwave explodes. The rain, the mud, the monsters - they all get pushed away by the power of my skill, and I finish them off.

Then a Giant Troll appears.

[Giant Troll - lvl 19]

The creature steps into view, and I'm left in awe of the monstrous being before me. The Giant Troll towers over the trees. Its skin is a sickly grayish-green, glistening in the rain. The rain seems to only add to the troll's grotesque appearance. Water streams down its face and body, emphasizing the troll's musculature.

Its bloodshot eyes glow, filled with hunger. It sneers, revealing a maw of jagged, broken teeth.

I can't see it properly, but I can tell that it's looking at me.

Only at me.

I feel mana collecting in my surroundings.

Strengthening my body, I dash away, and in the place where I did stand appears a deep, caved hole in the shape of a perfect circle. Its depth is around my height.

I continue to run, and multiple holes like this appear at the places where I did stand, as the troll's mana continues to track me.

I start running between all the other monsters, and when the attack meant for me hits them, they get splashed into a bloody mess, as if a giant hammer hit them, always leaving a circular hole in the ground with a loud pop.

The troll doesn't care and keeps trying to hit me, so I don't run or move closer; I just run around, and its attack continues to hit the other monsters while the giant doesn't seem to care. And I continue to observe its skill.

Then the skill becomes weaker but faster, and the area larger, so I dash towards the troll to finish it up. I feel the mana in the area around him, but I strengthen my body and enter it while bracing myself.

Then I fall to the ground, unable to keep myself standing in the terrifyingly strong gravity.

[Focus]

[Armament]

[Kinetic Redistribution]

I activate these three skills to their fullest power and brace myself against the attack.

The world becomes quieter, and mana trapped inside the rain glows brighter. A translucent armor appears around my chest and head, as thick and strong as I can manifest.

The rain in the area around the troll is also affected by the gravity field, so it's falling much faster than outside of it, allowing me to absorb an insane amount of energy from it.

Then, instead of trying to push against the monster's skill, I use the absorbed energy to propel myself towards the monster. Instantly, the area behind me explodes, hit by my skill and the monsters.

As I fly through the air, I feel gravity pulling me down and I use [Armament] to manifest a spike in my hand. It's thick and only sharp at the top, but it's the best I can do.

I reach the monster, and my translucent weapon burrows itself deep inside its thigh.