Lee sat there in a trance. His thoughts were running wild about getting Essence quick and efficient. Suddenly, Lee jolted up, upon realising something. He asked D as he bolted outside.
'D, the EsGen generates Essence from the stored being in the Inventory. How about these thunderclouds?!?!'
Even D didn't think of something like that. D raised his deep disagreement, but Lee gave no heed to it.
The sky outside was already dark and the streets were empty. Two roaming guards approached Lee when they saw him walking aimlessly, staring at the sky.
"Young warrior, please remain inside. The thunderstorms are about to begin!" (Guard 1)
Lee stopped in his tracks and glanced at the guards before glancing back to the dark sky.
"Tell me friend, is the thunderstorm essential to rain?!" (Lee)
"What?" (Guard 2)
*rumble*
The guard didn't get time to be shocked. The sky started to rumble with faint lightning stripes striking across the sky. In an instant, guards fled the scene crying-
"THUNDERSTORMS ARE HERE! EVERYONE BE ALERT!"l
One of the guards slowed down to look at Lee over his shoulder. He nearly fell stumbling, as he saw Lee staring at the sky with a wide smile. He noticed Lee's fists were clenched. He didn't know what to speak or do. At the moment, all he wanted was to save his life. Lee stood like a proud assassin watching his prey happily roaming.
Lightning struck with great speed. Sometimes, Lee could not follow its speed. Seeing this, he walked with great alertness. There were a few times when lightning struck right next to Lee. He couldn't even flinch on seeing this. He reminded himself that time is of 'Essence'.
The empty streets gave him enough space to run around freely. Lee was placing himself at a spot where the thunders are comparatively less occuring.
After running around for an hour, he found that the lightning occurs less near Paulo's house. After confirming his conclusion, he jumped on top of that two-storey house. Though relatively less, those lightings still packed a hell of a punch.
Without wasting a moment, Lee firmly planted his leg on the terrace. This was for a good footing for his jump. Yes, he wanted to jump at those dark clouds.
Like a snake coiling before a leap, Lee slightly crouched and BAM, he accelerated at the thunderclouds. His immense strength that defeated the Swamp Serpent showed it's might along with his increased agility. Paulo felt the tremor of the jump, and thought that it was another powerful thunder.
Lightning struck where Lee stood a second before. Lee never thought of the aftermath or success in his action. He gave himself completely in the hands of luck. D gave multiple warnings on doing such a gamble!
Altitude increased as he closed in at the clouds. Clouds were not something that he could touch, but if he could get in a sufficient range, he can absorb all the thunderclouds into his Inventory and use EsGen to exploit it's never-stopping lightning and the thunder.
Dozen seconds later, he felt something strange. The lightnings that showered downward were now homing onto his position, as if it had consciousness. Lee saw this and smirked-
'As expected. Even clouds are alive. What do you think D?!'
[Since you haven't looked at the map in a while, I'll explain. This vast cloud is actually a fragment of Law of Lightning and Thunder, and you are about 300 meters away from its actual epicenter. So even if you absorb the clouds, Essence cannot be generated unless to store that fragment of Law. But more the clouds you absorb, more Essence can be generated simultaneously.]
Lee felt his vision getting blurred. He can tell that he has reached the border of the clouds. He extended his both hands and said-
"EsGen!"
*whoosh*
A large suction pulled the clouds towards Lee. For no reason, Foresight was activated. This alerted Lee to the peak. He's now in the sky with no footing and completely exposed to lightning strikes. Luckily, nothing happened.
The thickness of clouds around Lee increased dramatically, so did the suction power. The clouds that threatened the whole village were disappearing. This created a chain reaction and the surrounding clouds started to get attracted to Lee's suction. Within ten seconds, almost all clouds are inside his Inventory.
The Law fragment saw that his extensive 'body' was sucked away by a puny being. It could tell that its body was not destroyed or depleted from a certain sense it shared with the clouds.
The acceleration slowly came to a halt and Lee started to decelerate. He was able to get a glimpse of the fragment covered in dense clouds that looked nearly black. It looked small, but D warned him not to underestimate the Law fragment by its size, and to think of descending to ground in one piece.
The clouds floating at an altitude of 350 meters was the major advantage he had. But he has already reached nearly 420 meters by his sudden burst of strength. A fall from this height with no preventive methods or skills is inevitably a suicide.
The journey back to earth gave him a familiar feel. It was as if a beast was closing on him, showcasing it's fierce crushers.
Lee screamed in his mind-
'D, how much defense do I need to withstand the impact?!.'
[Defense alone is useless. You need very high Health, Strength, Vitality and Endurance along with Defense to survive in one piece. With the current stats, you'll be only paralyzed from the impact. But you'll live.]
Lee's heart raced upon hearing this. D spoke before he could further probe-
[You need to raise all physical stats to 210 to withstand the fall. And don't forget to raise your Intelligence once you survive. You'll need it.]
'Raise to 230!'
A total of 1000 Essence was subtracted as his distance to ground decreased. Most villagers were confused as the thunderclouds disappeared abruptly. Some poked out their heads with caution and saw something falling from the sky. Some were able to recognise Lee from the distance.
*BOOOMMMMMM*
Never did a thundercloud produce such fierce noise. The impact made a small crater in front of Paulo's house. The violent shockwave it caused made several cracks on the nearby houses. Some smaller ones shook under this effect.
Lee was happy. A smile bloomed on his face as he softly said-
"I survived. D, we survived. HAHAHAHA....!"
Darkness enveloped his eyes as he finished his words. He blacked out while lying in the crater. Villagers cautiously came out to see the crater in front of the village head's house and the one inside. Many gasped air as they covered their mouths with hands. How could they not be astonished after feeling the shockwave produced by a man falling from the sky?
The Law fragment was observing all these incidents from a height. It was confident that no human could withstand such an impact, not to mention one without armour or protection. But when it saw he was alive, a sense of bliss and satisfaction covered it.
'Maybe he can end my misery!' (Law fragment)
The cloud moved further from the village after sensing Mana users among the crowd. Darwin and Freya stayed at a different location from the crater, so they couldn't see him immediately. But as soon as they saw him getting carried out of the crater, he rushed to check his pulse. He exclaimed as he felt Lee alive and breathing. There were innumerous bruises and blood marks on his body. His clothes were mostly torn from the impact, and what's left fell to shreds once his body was moved out of the crater. Freya saw his 'big boy' and turned around in embarrassment. As she turned away, her eyes fell on many females who stared at his 'hose' with amazement and appreciation. A tinge of curiosity nearly made her look over her shoulders.
Doctor received another patient, and he was glad as it was Lee. He quietly asked Darwin whether he could help him by bringing another bed into the room where An Fenfang slept. Darwin didn't reply but did what he was asked for. He felt satisfaction as he brought the wounded lovebirds together into one room. The doctor made all others stand outside as he dressed Lee's wounds.
He only left Lee's side after making sure that he doesn't have internal injuries. All others had promptly returned to their houses to sleep. An Fenfang, who was currently in the state of healing, and Lee who fell from the sky, were resting in one room. Their beds were not kept afar intentionally, only a meter distance between.