Chapter 213 - Unworthy (Patreon)

How does it keep finding me so quickly? Not important! It’s coming.

Jiran bent his knees, bracing to leap in any direction but the anomaly didn't move. It simply stood at the edge of the pit, glaring up at him from several kilometers away. A revenant tried to take advantage of its torpor but a swipe with its good arm removed the threat, along with thirty meters of the framework. Perhaps more menacing than its casual deletion of space was its eyes that remained locked on Jiran the entire exchange.

Why is it just standing there? Is it waiting for its arm to regen-Oh, shrelkpiss.

The mana welling up inside the beast was hard to spot from such a long distance but Mana Omnis revealed it just fine once Elemental Castigation created a lens to zoom his view. Already, it had accumulated more than double any of their previous engagements. With its recent display of dominance to the revenants, the ones still alive chose not to interfere, allowing for more mana to accumulate with each passing second.

The ground stilled as a vibration so subtle Jiran hadn’t noticed it until it was gone, ceased its rumbling. As though the sunslight were hidden behind a cloud, a shadowy pall spread across the valley. Jiran turned his head enough to keep one eye on the anomaly as he peeked at the top of the mountain. Unsurprisingly, the column of mana was gone.

The anomaly chose that moment to attack. Jiran had been prepared to dodge, he even saw the attack coming, but the reality of a four tier gap between them was simply too great to cross when the beast finally had enough mana to use a skill.

Its arm swept in a seemingly casual motion. The wave of energy released from its claws was like the edge of a blade that extended indefinitely. It stretched across the entire arena, leaving a dark gash that devoured everything in its path. Air, snow, revenant, all were annihilated in the fraction of a moment it took for the deadly-sharp edge to reach Jiran.

The anomaly spent all its accumulated mana in that single attack, and it split through Jiran’s aura, armor, and protective mana as though it weren’t there. A gut-wrenching distortion left him reeling. Bewildered, he momentarily questioned why his legs were still firmly planted in the ground, despite him flying end over end away from them. 

Survival instincts caught up with reality and Jiran responded without thought or emotion. Elemental mana tore through his tap, imbued itself with his soulwall, then blasted from his body. Half of the frozen aspect remained in the ruined section of his torso, doing exactly what it was designed to do: Freeze anything and everything it came into contact with. Cells, still in shock from being ripped apart, were held in stasis by the immense cold. The other half raced along the synapses toward his legs to repeat the same process there. His aspect ran into some kind of barrier that tried to prevent him from reaching his detached limbs but Jiran blasted through it with the will of a man on the verge of death.

At the same time, his aura pulled his separated halves together. He was too dazed to care that a full third of him was entirely gone. Aspect stepped aside so mana could bridge the gap, obeying his command to recreate the parts of him that were missing and put it all back together again.

Through blurry vision, Jiran saw a wave of darkness rapidly approaching and he realized that the anomaly’s attack had done more than cut him in two. It had also destabilized the framework. The strange barrier he had felt was a lack of synapses, and now that destabilization was imploding in a chain reaction that was heading right for him. Running beneath the destruction was the anomaly. It moved so quickly it may as well have been a beam of light heading toward the peak of the mountain.

Jiran hurled the last of his aspect toward the encroaching wave of deteriorating synapses, slowing its advance long enough to throw himself upward with aura. It swept beneath him, leaving a complete lack of matter in its wake. Blood shot from his mouth, his body not nearly healed enough to be treated so roughly. He ignored the disorienting pain, spinning to face the anomaly. There was no mana left at the peak for it to absorb, but Jiran’s instincts were screaming that letting it reach its destination would end badly for him.

He noted the approach of several hungry revenants, attracted by his brief use of aura. He put off dealing with them as they wouldn’t reach him for several seconds. A bundle of his mana was released to zip upward along the healthy synapses toward the peak, directly in the path of the beast. While it was incredibly fast, Jiran’s mana was faster.

He didn’t expect his distraction to stop the anomaly since it had seen his weapon formations several times already. At best, he was hoping to slow it down, so when the beast backhanded the Teleported cube aside, causing it to promptly blow up in its face, Jiran was beyond flummoxed. His multiple chakrams sputtered out, the mana returning to his body in a stunned trance as a quarter of the mountain was gouged out, reduced to free-floating particles by the expanding explosion.

Unable to drop to the ground due to the framework still being torn asunder, Jiran was forced to weather the shockwave in a ball of protective mana. Taking a calculated risk, he used his aura as an anchor to prevent himself from being blown away.

The arena rumbled chaotically as yet another titanic explosion sundered its landscape. Insulated inside his protective casing, Jiran’s gaze dropped to the bones still clutched in one fist and his last weapon formation resting in his other hand.

To think you have such a weakness. It makes perfect sense. How could you remember after being reduced to bones over and over? Is that what drove you wild? Living forever, yet remembering nothing?

It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I can use this.

Jiran set about crafting a new type of formation, one specifically designed to counter the most powerful foe he had ever faced. He started by forming a graphene-reinforced box from unaspected mana. Inside it was a single bone. One of the bone’s greatest attributes was its ability to absorb density and convert it to usable mana. Against Jiran, that very strength would be its undoing. 

Enthralling Touch was infused through every millimeter of the box. As the bone inside absorbed and converted density, that energy was immediately pilfered and utilized to power the various functions of the formation. On the outside, he created an obfuscating layer of light to hide it from view. Trapped with the walls, he created a weave of thick cloth to mask the aura he instilled into the formation, along with the aura leaking from the bone. A bubble of gravity wrapped directly around the bone, suspending it so it never touched the inside of the box. Finally, a series of a dozen evenly-spaced crystals would slowly build up heat from any excess mana. Their purpose was to roast any flesh that might possibly form.

With a few tweaks to balance the quantity of mana dedicated to each part of the formation, Jiran nodded in satisfaction. He then threw the box as hard as he could into the raging winds outside his bubble, wanting to scatter the bones so they couldn’t somehow assist each other. The three formations that followed were finished in rapid succession now that he had a working prototype cemented in his minds. By the time he finished, the blizzard was beginning to reclaim the cleared airspace. Jiran found the anomaly by tracking the movements of the revenants. It was lodged into the side of the mountain, slowly pulling itself back together.

Three chakrams of elemental fire lanced into it, the intent behind them focused on creating the greatest repulsive force possible. The bones flew apart in the blasts, much of the growth on them unharmed. Jiran rocketed toward the largest collection, dodging several revenants who were having trouble finding him now that his aura was hidden and he was on the move.

He snatched several larger leg bones and immediately set about crafting them their very own formation boxes; with the anomaly helpless, Enthralling Touch had no issue taking the energy they created to fuel the construction of their prisons. Unfortunately, Jiran was forced to flee from several dozen revenants that converged to snack on the aura being released by the bones. The monster soon reformed into a head, torso, and arm. Its furious roar reduced the revenants to dust. Before it could throw itself up the gouged-out side of the mountain, the final weapon formation Jiran had left nearby exploded, scattering what was left of its body.

The beast never had the chance to reform again. 

Jiran finished the last of the formation boxes and dusted his gauntleted hands. After a quick glance around to make sure there were no nearby revenants, he fell onto his rump and stared at the sky. The mana released from the mountain was up there. Mana Omnis spotted it during the last explosion, when the clouds and blizzard had been cleared away; a huge clump of energy that sizzled and churned like a fourth sun.

Jiran ran his thumb across the surface of the formation box attached to his belt, “What kind of intent did you put into your mana to make it do that? What were you planning? How did you even get here? I have so many questions and I’m positive you weren’t supposed to be in my arena, or the system wouldn’t have called you an error and told me to avoid you. If you were supposed to be a part of all this, it definitely would have wanted me to kill you, just like the revenants. Speaking of the revenants, I suppose that’s the only thing left between me and getting out of here. You know what, fuck that,” Jiran tightly gripped the little box containing a single of the anomaly’s finger bones. He took off his helmet and shouted into the raging winds of an uncaring blizzard, “I’m not doing it! I’m not going to wipe out the last of a species, no matter how nasty they are!”

Jiran’s limbs shook with compressed rage and frustration. Several deep breaths later, he continued in a tense tone through clenched teeth, “These guys really saved my ass this time. If not for them… Hey, system. I know you’re listening and I know these arenas aren’t just for fun. You have a plan, something you’re preparing me for, some use for me.” His mana flared. Imbued into his voice, and connected with his heart. For the second time in his life, he swore an oath on the mana that coursed through his veins, “If you make me wipe out the last of this species, I’ll remember it forever. And when the day comes that you need me for whatever you're planning, I’ll be sure to pay you back tenfold.”

Several tense seconds ticked by, and right when Jiran was sure the system would ignore him as it usually did, a series of flashing notifications appeared behind his eyelids.

Sufficient authority detected

Query registered

Query passed to administrator

Error: No administrator response

Query passed to challenger sponsor

Success: Sponsor ruling acknowledged

Phase two objectives complete

Fourth tier Challenger series complete

Calculating score…

That… actually worked? Administrator, that’s new. My sponsor should be the massive eyeball in space that wanted me to evolve into a Solophid instead of a Remalon.

The driving winds of the blizzard vanished, leaving the snow to fall naturally. Above him, the familiar scoreboard appeared. When Jiran saw what was on it, he was shocked speechless, even the typical ramblings of his minds were frozen.

TIER FOUR CHALLENGER RATINGS:

Kaine of Madra: 100/100

Jiran of Madra: 94/100

Bharakka of Madra: 0/100

Charhana of Madra: 0/100

Krohfax of Madra: 0/100

Tomroot of Madra: 0/100

Calculating rewards…

Almost in a panic, Jiran mentally scrolled down the list. Thousands upon thousands of names spun by, each showing the same score.

N-no way. Only two? Sure, this arena was way harder than the last two, and it being so reliant on a skill that most challengers probably didn’t even have when they entered made it especially difficult. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if less than one percent of challengers made it out of that hallway. Finding the caves likely finished off the rest. Yeah, this arena was completely unfair from the start. Even with all my advantages, I still nearly died several times. If that crazy professor managed to sneak an anomaly into every possible elemental arena… Okay, it’s starting to make more sen—

Rewards calculated

Prepare for reward distribution and ascension

Without further warning, the ground opened and swallowed Jiran whole. His eyes snapped open what felt like a single second later to find he was lying in a familiar picturesque glade.

Damn, it took my suit and the bone formation. I always kept my clothes before, it's probably because they contained formations and mana. Next time, I’ll make sure to drain them first and see if that works.

He considered recreating his suit, but without adjusting to the strength of his freshly ascended mana, he was far more likely to blow something up than successfully create an entire outfit from scratch. Instead, he closed one eye, directing his attention toward several obnoxiously blinking notifications.

CONGRATULATIONS: Tiering successful

CONGRATULATIONS: ERROR - Tier five Manabody detected!

Bypassing tier five skill

CONGRATULATIONS: Armament skill unlocked

Aspect detected prior to fifth tier! Hidden racial skill accessed

CONGRATULATIONS: Mana Venom unlocked

That explains why the fourth tier arena was so insistent on me developing an aspect. There’s a race-specific hidden skill as a reward for having one before ascending! Olive and Cameron are going to be so disappointed.

Mayalyn is still tier four… never mind. I doubt she’s going to want to wait. What are the chances of her receiving an acclamation that gives her access to her aura early? It's so rare, her people have legends about every time it's happened. The only other option would be sending her to that deathtrap of an arena which is not happening.

Distributing challenger rewards

Reward for successfully completing tier four challenger series: Cartography system added

Cartography? I already have a map though.

Reward for second place in tier four challenger series: Identify upgraded to Gaze of Pediamus

Gaze of Ped-eye-a-mus? What kind of name for a skill is that? Wait, that’s it? Only two? Did I miss out on a reward by skipping the second half of the phase?

“That is correct. I assure,” A distant, feminine voice rang from everywhere and nowhere at once. It echoed through his skull, building in intensity.

“What?! Who said that? Was that in my head?”

“Correct again. I’m speaking to you through a Telepathic connection. My name is Gheratros, your sponsor. I introduce.” 

With each word spoken, her voice multiplied in intensity until it caused a blinding headache to blossom behind Jiran’s eyes, “Agh!” He dared not move, so Mana Confluence wrapped around his gray matter, shielding it from the onslaught. Without the chance to adjust to his mana’s new strength, he overexerted the energy, causing his symptoms to worsen instead of abate. His breath stilled in his lungs, the agony so great he couldn’t react, move, or even think.

Suddenly, his pain vanished and he found himself surrounded by absolute darkness. An eye the size of a moon peered out of the cosmos to stare down at him. It appraised him and found him unworthy.