Chapter 77 - Prey (Patreon)

We do the only thing we can do: run.

We charge toward where the horde of monsters seems thinnest.

Flames surge into the monsters; I hear the crackle of electricity. An arrow from one of our scouts flies ahead of us with enough power to destroy a tank back on Earth.

Pushing through isn't the problem; the problem is a sniper.

Another arrow comes flying, obliterating one of the men along with the monster he was fighting.

Meanwhile, my [Focus] keeps running at full power while I loosen its hold on my mana, now burning within my body. The [Kinetic Redistribution] boosted by [Mana Surge] covers a larger area than ever before and absorbs the energy of the rain, which I use to propel myself and attack the monsters, either pushing them away or piercing their bodies.

The world is colorless and quiet under the influence of my skill as I run, striving to stay with the group while keeping someone between me and the presumed location of the sniper. But no arrow comes flying, even as we plow through the monsters, killing a big number of them in the process.

I am thankful for the rain as it enables me to keep up with the group of higher-level men, propelling myself with the absorbed energy.

After what feels like thirty minutes, we slow down against the side of a hill, a small place sheltered from the rain. Discussions are already underway among the group, but I only half-listen, continuing to monitor our surroundings.

Something tells me this is far from over, and I extend my perception as far as possible, in waves, almost like a sonar. My body is tense, bracing for a mana arrow that could come at any moment.

My best bet is to counter it with [Disruption] and hopefully dissolve it, or to cut it with [Oscillation]. After seeing it pierce a five-layer barrier, I can't rely on [Armament].

So that's the plan. I will detect it, slow it with the redistribution, and then finish it off with [Mana Surge] combined with either [Disruption] or [Oscillation], either trying to dissipate it or destroy it.

Once again, I curse my impatience. Why did I become so greedy after witnessing the power of that woman? I thought I had calmly considered it safe, yet now I feel I didn't because of my greed.

That just isn´t like me.

Thankfully, the rain is still strong, allowing me to use redistribution constantly. After a brief rest and some heated arguments, we continue moving back, still a few hours away from the city.

As we proceed, I stop using perception to sense the ranged projectile; instead, I look for similar ones that killed our leader - the ones triggered by thin threads of mana.

I continue to boost perception with surge, and even though my head hurts and sweat runs down my face, I keep sending it into our surroundings. 

[Focus] helps a lot.

*****

I don't notice the first one in time, and the man who wanted to leave first dies, his lower half separated from his chest. He dies looking surprised at his legs lying apart from his body.

Then we have to fight weredeers. I dodge the monster's rush, and as it passes by me, a sword made of [Armament] appears in my hand, and I slash at its neck, leaving it to bleed.

Not having enough time to dodge another one, I fire up redistribution again, absorb as much energy as I can, and then disrupt the protective barrier around the were-deer, finishing it by turning the sword into a spear and stabbing it through its neck.

With the absorbed energy, I propel myself to rejoin the running group, dodging to avoid the flames that one of the men is shooting at the monster behind me. Even in this situation, I use a bit of perception to observe his skill.

Thankfully, the men are dealing with higher-level monsters, and I'm picking off the slightly weaker ones that I can finish quickly thanks to my skills.

[Mana Perception - lvl 12 > Mana Perception - lvl 13]

[You have defeated a Weredeer - lvl 28]

[You have defeated a Weredeer - lvl 34]

I ignore the remaining notifications and follow behind the men. Two mana projectiles hover over my shoulders, and I keep feeding them mana, inspired by the arrow that killed a few of the men from the group.

I make my projectiles denser, sharper, and more durable, trying to imitate the sniper's skill.

As another monster charges at me with glowing tattoos on its body, I shoot both of them with the help of a surge, even pushing them a bit with redistribution and the energy I got from the rain.

The monster's chest explodes into a bloody crater, the tattoos flicker and soon stop glowing, and the monster dies.

[You have defeated the Battle Weredeer - lvl 31]

Again. I form another two projectiles.

My mana is enough, so I add one more. This time it makes my head hurt, and the third projectile dissipates as I have to focus on controlling my mana, strengthening my body, and the use of my skills.

Then I trigger a thin thread of mana at my feet.

I only notice it when I feel the thread tearing.

The world feels as if it has slowed down, and I stop holding back my mana which instantly rushes through my body at a terrifying speed, pummeling my muscles and sending burning pain through my circuit.

But I don't care; I even boost it all with [Mana Surge], and my heart throbs wildly, sending even more mana into it.

My perception encompasses a small area and I [Focus] with both parts of my mind on it. One part is tracking the thread, the other is looking for a projectile.

In the black and white world of [Focus], I finally notice a thin thread shining slightly in pale blue color.

When I get a general idea, I shoot my mana projectiles towards the place where I think the projectile is, at the same time I start strengthening my body as much as I can, knowing that redistribution would be too slow.

It all happened in what feels like a split second.

Then I see the projectile flying right at me, hitting my own projectiles and only slightly changing its direction.

Dozens of small mana orbs appear around me, and I throw them at it, hoping for something.

[Disruption] fires up, boosted even more by the surge, and I try to change the area where it's focusing, making the effect smaller but more potent.

Another part of my mind focuses [Kinetic Redistribution] in the same direction, instantly releasing all the energy I absorbed, repeating this multiple times.

The notifications ring in my head as the projectile grazes my side, leaving a deep wound there before hitting the ground behind me.

With a groan, I fall to my knees, releasing all the energy I was able to absorb, and a strong shockwave hits the trees around me, sends smaller stones flying, and makes thinner trees bend under pressure.

It takes me a few seconds of effort with both parts of my mind to calm down my mana and get over the pressure of using so many skills so rapidly.

Unfortunately, it's not the end.

The weredeer hits my body, and only at the last moment am I able to create a translucent armor to soften the impact. I fly through the air and then roll on the ground, unable to even focus on absorbing that energy.

The armor around me disappears, and I crawl on the ground, trying to get as far away as I can from the monster.

I feel it charging at me again and I pull out the dagger from behind my belt. Slowly, I get up on my feet and turn towards the monster.

The rain continues to beat my body, the ground is slippery, and it's getting darker, more like night than afternoon.

The lightning sounds nearby, and I send one pulse of mana through my body at the last possible moment, just enough to jump to the side and then bury the dagger into the monster's eye as it passes by me.

Roar.

It swings its antlers, and I dodge by falling to the ground.

Another pulse of mana, just enough to make myself faster and slash against the monster's neck. The dagger is only weakly coated in [Oscillation], but it's enough. A deep wound opens on the monster's neck, and blood falls on my face.

Another pulse of mana and I stab into the monster's neck.

Then again and again.

The blood covers my body and mixes with the water from the rain running down to it.

I make [Oscillation] move faster while using as little mana as possible.

Multiple notifications.

I dodge to the side, and the monster falls to the ground, dead.

Forcefully calming down my breathing, I stand up and move to the side, ending up leaning against a tree.

My head hurts and the world spins around me.

The roars of monsters bring me back to reality, and I send perception into the area, not feeling any humans close to myself, only weredeers at the edge of my detection.

I am alone.