*BOOM*
A huge thud booms from behind me as I dash forward and focus mana into my legs and blade, leaving the rest of my body prone. A dangerous and tricky maneuver, sure, but one I had to take.
The beast shadow looms overhead, covering the landscape in a straight, flat line. The beast is strong, that much is a certainty, both physically and magic-wise. The sheer amount of raw strength and magical capabilities the beast wielded was enormous, easily overshadowing mine. It was almost even enough for me to doubt myself, but I chose to continue onward.
With pained breaths, I refocus mana into my inner muscles, alleviating some of the fatigue—albeit temporarily. I open the satchel hanging on my shoulder.
Hmmm…not bad, but not good either. There were a couple of things, just a simple potion and such, except for one, worn-down, folded-up piece of paper.
I open it with a slight hint of hope inside of me.
…? What's this? I examine the parchment much more carefully, focusing and squinting my eyes to make out what the unknown runes say. Is she messing with me? I'm fighting for my life here! At least give me something useful…!!
I flip the singular page of what seems like a hurriedly written note, only to find even more even mote indecipherable. Dammit!
…
Wait a minute… I refocus on the runes once more, this time imbuing my eyes with mana. It worked, and I could see the motes of mana much more clearly now—almost perfectly, in fact. Still, the pages did not react. What am I doing wrong? I focus mana into my eyes. Perhaps it's just the quality…no? Oh well. Then, I focus on the rune-covered paper.
A dawn of realization came over me.
I channel mana into the paper, worried I might rip it apart from mana overload. However, if I'm right…there! There's something happening. The runes began to glow and float off the paper, collecting to form a phrase of unknown origin. What is it doing—?!
「Your attribute 'Absorption' is activating」
Then, the shining letters flew toward me, and a voice in my head told me to stay still, and I heeded it without delay.
「Your attribute 'Assimilation' is activating」
「You have learned the spell 'Black Widow'」
A thin trail of mana, almost like a thread, sprouted from my index fingertip. It was pitch black and looks to be relatively safe—an aspect I normally would never have thought to be as appealing ad it does now.
「Skill 'Instinct' is warning you」
◇◆◇◆◇
Hmmm…he figured that out much faster than I thought. Again, my knight surprised me.
He held a piece of my own grimoire, a book that I used to write, remember, and practice spells and magic formations. I just used it casually, documenting my discoveries and experiences throughout my magic research all these years. By the time I knew it, the whole thing had gained the magical properties of a grimoire—magical tomes of knowledge that great magicians used. Though I call myself a great magician in regards to spell formations and magic theory, I would classify myself more of a researcher, even an artificer at times, at most.
Tendrils of black mana sprouted from his finger, a subtle reflection of how he had absorbed the mana from the Guardian's Lair's mana cores through separation and isolation, a convenient and handy way to use mana, in my opinion. However…
*BOOM*
At almost the same time that he was able to grasp the spell's configuration, spears of earth flew from the ground just beneath his feet—「Earthen Volley」, I recognized. It was a simple spell, capable of conjuring multiple spears made out of earth through relatively simple means, though the quality, power, and speed of each spear reduces proportional to the amount of spears conjured.
It was an equivalent exchange. The thing to be given being quality and power, and taking being the advantage of having multiple spears to enclose one's adversary. It was a simple trick, but one that provided the otherwise lenient characteristics of the earth element a wealth of possibilities. This kind of thing is normal for magicians, especially experienced ones—altering and changing how a spell is used, applied, or utilized.
"Pwah~" I take a sip from my sweet beverage and watch through the ongoing scuffle with my mana-enhanced vision, enjoying the flavor of it with a relaxed posture. "This is nice."
Hmmm~? What's that? Tendrils of black mana sprung from below the giant cloud of dust that the giant hydra had erected, wrapping around the base of it's neck with ease. Had he mastered it that quickly?
…Seriously? That's pretty crazy. I cross my legs and take another sip from my reclined seat. I should prepare a more difficult next time, then.
The beast rips the black tendrils with ease, even dispelling it as it shattered. Like I said, equivalent exchange. With that length, I'm surprised he was even able to manipulate it to coil around the beast's neck. Other than that, the rest is pretty underwhelming.
Then, the world turned lull. Everything but my knight's presence was still there, and that realization made me stand up and knock my juice off my armrest. Is he…
*SMASH*
A booming explosion rose beside the towering hydra, a single, black ball of mana with it.
My knight flew—well, jumped with great force, most likely using 「Mana Burst」 so that he was almost eye-level with the hydra. However, his momentary rise stopped midway, having caught up with gravity and started falling. That was when it happened.
Is he…no way. Is he trying to get on top of that thing again? My knight sent whips of mana to the beast's head, wrapping it and swinging himself like a jade monkey midair. The beast tried to retaliate, of course, shaking it's body violently but my knight's agility proved to be a bigger hurdle than it thought.
He swung and climbed with ease as the hydra violently trashed about, using his base physical abilities and mana-reinforcement to tank, and even weave his way around the beast's retaliation.
I took poured myself another drink and sat down.
This should be fun to watch, a sly grin crept up my face.