Chapter 103 - Desolate Remnants (Patreon)

The city is massive. It reminds me of a medieval-age set up with wood and stones used as the primary building materials.

The insides of the buildings all seem as if someone left them in a hurry, with years or months-old food on the tables. Layers and layers of dust cover everything, the floor is creaking under our steps, a result of the weather that got in through open doors or windows.

There are some entire streets that are totally destroyed, either by something resembling an explosion or by fire.

And the city just continues to stretch on and on, seemingly forever. With barely any signs of life, only diseased rats with bodies covered in pus and riddled with holes that nearly allow you to see through them.

There is no water and it doesn´t seem that it is going to rain soon. So yes, the side quest seems to be the best way to get some food or water.

I watch as Isabella's flames burn another group of rats with ease. The main reason I let her fight is to observe her skill and allow her to gain rewards from side quests as well; she got the same one.

“They smell,” she complains, and I can´t help but agree.

While her flames dwindle, I wonder, why hasn't the city burned down yet? The buildings are fairly close together and the roofs seem pretty flammable. One would think that it would be super easy to set such a city on fire now that we don't see anyone stop the flames.

Yet, somehow, the flames flicker out from existence after a while, either a work of the system or something else.

“Who were the men that wanted to take you away?”

The girl just shrugs her shoulders and, even after further questioning, I'm not sure if they were from this floor or some people from a different difficulty.

While she continues to burn the vermin, I also think about my new construct, already preparing its base in my mind. Given a little bit of time, I'm sure I will be able to finish preparing something nice. Just in time to take care of my once again complaining mana and its effect on my comparatively low constitution.

With how I go about things, I'm sure I will continue to have the same problem.

I pause my thoughts when my [Perception] catches a stronger monster.

“Move behind me,” I say and the little girl listens, also preparing some mana.

With her standing so close to me I can´t spin orbs around my body, so I make them spin a bit higher, around my head, ready to turn their energy into any form I might need.

The monster reveals itself, a misshapen figure shambling out of the shadows of the alley. It is tall and has slender, elongated limbs culminating into grotesque, clawed hands. Its flesh seems to ripple with a sickly, pulsing aura of raw mana. The glow of green light in its eyes gives off an almost tangible power.

It's repulsive, the sight of it makes my stomach churn. But it's strong. It's going to be a tough fight, I can tell, clearly tell. A “named” monster.

[Alghoul - lvl 89]

Feeling something, the girl quickly jumps backward and moves as far away as she can, focusing more mana around her body, ready to defend herself. Sophie taught her right.

With stunning speed, the monster jumps straight towards the roof we are on, silently, but with its eyes glowing even more.

Armor forms around my body and I absorb energy from one of the orbs, using it to propel myself towards the monster, destroying half of the rooftop in the process by using it as a launching pad.

The monster and I meet in the air, our bodies colliding.

I'm filled with an unnatural strength borrowed from the monster and further enhanced by my own mana, my construct, and the recent upgrade to my [Redistribution].

Another orb stops, quickly replaced by one that starts spinning, and yellow flames come into existence around my armor, burning the monster.

In response, sickly green flames surround the Alhgoul that instantly start melting the armor around my body. There is no heat to them and they seem to only burn the mana.

A cone of kinetic energy fires and pushes the monster away from me, finally both of us landing on the ground and dashing at each other again.

Changing strategy, I let one [Focus] continue to spin and sling orbs at the Alghoul while another part of my mind continues to absorb energy from an orb once in a while, turning it into more speed.

A sword made of mana slashes against the monster, only to be met by flames that melt it.

[Disruption] fires up, unable to cancel them out, so two orbs in quick succession hit the monster's head, making holes in it, yet it doesn't seem to have much effect. Green flames burn around the monster's head and it's restored to its previous state.

More orbs come into existence around my body and start spinning faster, boosted by a surge. My body starts heating up and a distant ringing sounds in my head as I [Focus] more, giving it my all.

[Oscilation] coats my blade, yet when I cut off the monster's hand it gets restored in a blaze of green flames. I'm forced to jump back, boosting my body with Symbiotic Transference. I'm getting more and more used to it.

The monster's flame shoots at me but now that they left its body, I'm able to disrupt them and they vanish from existence.

In response, my dark yellow flames appear, glowing beautifully as they roar through the air in a cone as thin as my arm, following the quickly moving monster and burning our surroundings. I absorb kinetic energy from more and more orbs, continuously creating new ones and spinning them around me at a speed that makes a loud whistling noise.

I continuously shoot the flames at the alghoul, tracking him better and better, reading his movement, and improving my use of thermal energy.

Finally, the monster dashes right at me straight through the flames, using its own green ones to fight against them.

I widen the cone, making the cone of flames much bigger and weaker to blind the monster while watching its movement with my [Perception].

When I feel it's close, I cancel the flames and my full mind goes into focusing on using absorbed energy to speed up my body and coat the sword in my hands in oscillating mana. With a speed that makes my body scream from pain and nearly tears some tendons, I slash against the monster multiple times in a split second.

I cut off its head, I split its chest, I cut off the limbs, and then cut its falling head again.

Then, while the monster is falling to the ground, I let go of the sword and [Disruption] at full power, boosted by the surge, that encompasses the area, finally stopping the monster from regenerating.

For a few more seconds, I continuously boost and use the skill, straining my brain to the point it makes me feel lightheaded, and then finally the monster dies.

[You have defeated the Alghoul - lvl 89]

[Lvl 75 > Lvl 76]

[Redistribution - lvl 13 > Redistribution - lvl 14]

[Disruption - lvl 12 > Disruption - lvl 13]

On the edge of my perception, I catch two more signatures moving at incredible speeds and a few moments later I identify them as monsters of similar strength to the ghoul I just killed.

I'm tired, my body hurts and I still feel lightheaded, yet...

I burrow my feet into the ground, making orbs made of mana spin around me, this time I make them as big as baseballs, anchoring them to my body and making them spin around me. I add more and more of them until there are a dozen spinning, straining my [Focus].

The world loses even more of its colors, becoming quieter, making me only hear the now quiet sound of whistling orbs and see the glow of my mana.

Finally, after a long while, I feel like a challenge is in front of me, missing this sense of danger that sharpens my thoughts, makes me forget all useless stuff, and just lets me move my body, my mana.

I bounce on my feet a few times and shake off some tension from my body while continuously watching two signatures that move straight towards me.

Three orbs slow down, quickly replaced by two more.

Yet, there isn't even a dent in my mana reserves.

Three more orbs lose their kinetic energy and I feel my body creak under the strain of all the energy I've absorbed, ready to redistribute it.

Finally, two monsters appear. One on the roof and the second one on the ground. Both are ugly, diseased-looking, covered in open wounds, and sickly.

Yet their mana feels dangerous as it dances inside their bodies and on their skin.

[Gutter Gargoyle - lvl 86]

[Rampart Revenant - lvl 91]

Both of them are easily identifiable as named ones.

At last, my excitement begins to surge. My heart throbs with audible beats, my muscles tighten, and my mind becomes more focused.

I shape all the accumulated energy I possess, condensing it into a slender cone of thermal energy, which I then launch towards the monster on the ground. The cone narrows progressively, transforming into a brilliant column of thermal energy. It strikes the distant monster, several buildings away, in an instant, resembling an arm-thick laser more than a flame.

***

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