The moment I activated my skill [Rebirth], all the pain that enveloped my body quickly disappeared, as if it was never there to begin with, while an incredibly potent pleasant sensation took its place, causing me to nearly release a sigh of pleasure, but I stopped myself since now wasn't the best of times to be basking pleasurable sensations; I still needed to save Talis after all.
When the pleasant sensation disappeared, I opened my eyes, which I didn't even know were closed, and was amazed by what I saw and felt as I sat upright, viewing my legs, which were attached to my waist like I was never gravely injured in the first place; not to mention my mana was completely full. However, I was only surprised about my situation for a fraction of a moment since the instant I opened my eyes; I had summoned forth both Trina and her elder sister as I stood up, infusing my body with mana while simultaneously using [Wind Steps], to boost my already enhanced agility.
Running toward the monstrous centipede that was close to catching the fleeing and injured Talis, I cast several [Fire Blasts] while also infusing my wind mana into them, making them much more potent than usual before launching them at the massive centipede. Just when the monster was about to grab Talis with its deadly pincers, it got bombarded with my attacks that landed atop its body before they exploded in conjunction, causing the whole cavern to tremble slightly as my attack deeply pushed the monster into the wall, effectively stopping it in its tracks.
With the opportunity I had given myself, I swiftly arrived at Talis and picked her up while the monster was preoccupied with attempting to break free; gently holding her because of her broken wing, I ran toward the smoking pile of rubble, which I had melted away after using a fire attack.
"A-Alex!? Y-You're alive!? B-But how? I-I saw that monster c-cut you in half with its pincers; s-shouldn't you be dead?" Exclaimed Talis in astonishment and relief as she looked up at Alexander while threatening to cry, though Alexander merely gave a reassuring smile.
"Heh, of course, I'm alive; you think I would just allow myself to be killed while my best friend was still in harm's way? Who do you take me for?" Replied Alexander with a warm smile while looking down at the small bird in his arms that chirped in response.
"N-No, of course not; you're too nice to do such a thing." Remarked Talis happily through her sniffling while wiping her tears.
"I appreciate the compliment, Talis, but I'm not that nice; I'd only do this for people I care about, after all." Said Alexander with a slight smile while shaking his head as he slowed down until he came to a halt beside the pile of molten rocks.
I would've loved to keep talking with Talis, but now wasn't the time; the monster wouldn't be stuck forever; in fact, he looked rather close to being unstuck, so I had to act fast if I wanted to get Talis to some form of safety. Hopping through the small hole I made, I set Talis down softly before turning back around and eyeing the monster, my gaze hardening as I jumped back into the boss room.
"A-Alex, w-what are you doing!? L-Let's escape; the monster is too powerful!" Yelled Talis as she attempted to chase after Alexander, but with her broken wing, she couldn't get past the puddle of molten rocks.
"Haa, you think after what that monster did to us, I'm just going to leave? Not a chance; I've got a debt to pay." Replied Alexander while cracking his neck as he eyed the monster who had just escaped from the wall, revealing burned parts of his carapace where the numerous fireballs had hit him.
"I feel the same as you, Alex; I also want revenge, but doing so right now is stupid! You're always calling me the stubborn one, but right now, you're being more stubborn than me! You've nearly died once; I can't lose my only Friend!" Exclaimed Talis passionately in anger as she loudly chirped, her voice echoing through the entire cavern, causing a certain someone who was watching from a distance to smile lightly.
Her words were very endearing, and it caused me to smile, although from her perspective, it must've looked like I was struggling against that monster, which, for the record, I was; it wasn't because I was actually fighting it; for the most part, I was too preoccupied with protecting Talis that I wasn't able to truly fight that monster, though now that she is far enough way that I don't need to worry about her anymore, I can entirely focus on the upcoming battle.
"I understand your worries, Talis, but I was focused on protecting you throughout the fight. I don't mean to be rude, but honestly, your presence was limiting me. Now that I don't have to worry about your well-being, I can fight to my full potential." Declared Alexander truthfully as he eyed the incoming monster, and although his words had significantly hurt Talis's self-esteem, she stayed silent since she knew he was correct.
Although I felt bad for what I said, I knew being brutally honest would help Talis more than it would hurt her; after all, knowing her for the past few years, I know her way of thinking. Besides, I didn't wish to lie to a friend, especially over something so important; anyways, I'll think about that later after I kill this monster.
Brandishing both of my greatswords, I charged toward the incoming monster, and once we were close enough, I jumped right over its mouth that had snapped shut; landing atop its back, I used the skill, [Expand] on my two greatswords, increasing their size by a whopping sixty-percent, causing their already large size to became even slightly bigger than me. With my now two massive greatswords, I held them in a reverse grip as I stabbed down, thrusting them deep into the monster's nape area, completely disregarding its carapace.
However, I wasn't done, as I retracted my greatsword and stabbed the monster a few more times; as I was doing that, the monster raised its head into the air once more while a green ball floated between its pincers. Knowing what the monster was attempting to do before the centipede finished casting its spell, I retracted my great-swords and lunged toward the monster, aiming specifically for its pincers that it had used to chop me in half with.
As I neared the monster's pincers, I reeled my left arm back and struck down with full force on its right pincers, causing my blade to slice right through the long black pincer-like with next to no resistance, which also ended up interrupting the spell, resulting in the spell to backfire as the ball of green acid exploded right on top of it; though because of its thick and hard carapace, it didn't seem to cause much damage to it other than annoyance.
"Heh, doesn't feel good being chopped up, does it?" Remarked Alexander with a light smirk; the monster screeched in response, initiating its typical charge pattern.
Evading its charge, as I did previously when I was protecting Talis, I jumped toward its right and slashed down at its legs, causing it to topple over from having cut nearly all of its thin legs off; however, just like any monster, it showed no response other than being just as lively as before. Still, with it being nearly immobile, its defeat was almost assured; backing away from the monster that was attempting to move through its squirming motion, I returned my greatswords to their standard size and held them horizontally while crossing them atop each other, as I used my strongest skill to date, [Firestorm].
With the use of my wind mana, I summoned forth a small vortex, or tornado, just before me, and by adding more mana, it continued to get bigger until its powerful winds were felt throughout the entire cavern; it even began to pick up numerous large rocks strewn across the ground. However, this was merely the first part; once the tornado had been created, I reached out to the mana dwelling in my heart once more and summoned forth fire mana before infusing it into the wind vortex that encircled me, which kept me out of harm's way.
The instant the fire mana was added to the wind vortex, the power in its winds was slightly damped, yet that was only for a split second as they picked back up in intensity and continued to do so while the fire helped to increase its power. Once the fire had enveloped the entire vortex, I approached the slowly moving monster, which was already being battered by the intense heat and dangerous flaming wind, while I continued to infuse wind mana into the vortex since if I didn't, in this closed off space, the fire would quickly devour all the oxygen in the area.
'I need to finish this quickly; this isn't exactly a spell one's supposed to supply mana to continuously; it's supposed to be a one-time deal.' Mused Alexander as he glanced at his status panel and noticed his rapidly depleting mana.
Knowing that I was on a timer, I hastily approached the monster, and when I arrived, before it could attack me, I jumped and landed atop its body; digging my greatswords into its back for support, I continued to supply the [Firestorm] mana while letting it do the rest of the work, hopefully killing this creature.
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"Ugh, my goodness, I think I'm going to be sick." Muttered Alexander while wheezing as he glanced at his status panel.
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Mana: 0/5,020
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It probably wasn't the best idea to completely empty my mana, but I persisted with the attack until I no longer sensed life from the monster yet surprisingly, even after having taken all that, its burnt and mangled body was still alive, if only barely. Retracting my greatswords from its back, I carefully crawled down, given my weakened state, and slowly arrived just before its head, which attempted to move when it noticed me.
Grabbing Trina, I thrust her deep into the monster's skull, causing its slight moving to cease as its life finally came to an end.
"Heh, all that and only five levels? What a scam." Muttered Alexander as he viewed his status panel.
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Name: Alexander
Species: High-Human
Age: 12 years
Tier: 0
Level: 42→47 (Available Status Points: 2,256)
Experience: [63%]
Class: Hero(Genesis)
Sub-Class:
Sub-Class:
Sub-Class:
Title(s): True Hero(Genesis), Reincarnator(Epic), Member of the Gypsies(Rare)+, Apprentice Chef(Uncommon), Apprentice Mage(Uncommon), Swordsmen(Uncommon)
Lifeforce: 84%
Mana: 0/5,020
Vigor: 100
Endurance: 105
Agility: 67
Dexterity: 68
Intelligence: 456(502)
Perception: 121(133)
Traits: Heroes Aura(Mythical), Heroes Will(Mythical), Heroes Physique(Mythical), Heart of a Hero(Legendary), Enhanced Perception(Rare), Enhanced Intelligence(Rare)
Skills: ?????(???), Heroes Gaze–lvl2(Mythical), Omnilingual–lvl2(Mythical), Rebirth–lvl2↑(Mythical), Mana Manipulation–lvl2(*Rare), Shrink–lvl6(Rare), Expand–lvl6(Rare), Blink–lvl2(Rare), Firestorm–lvl2↑(Rare), Fire Blast–lvl10(Uncommon), Fire Breath–lvl9(*Uncommon), Wind armor–lvl3(Uncommon), Fire Ball–lvl2(*Uncommon), Fire Shot–lvl1(*Uncommon), Wind Blade–lvl3(*Uncommon), Wind Shot–lvl1(*Uncommon), Wind Step-lvl3↑(*Uncommon), Cook–lvl8(*Uncommon), Meditation–lvl3(Uncommon)
Condition: N/A
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Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, it also works this time; I've reset it again, https://discord.gg/bCfBVPXS (Note: this link only lasts for one week)
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Elven Legacy (Chapter 162: Annoying Phoenix) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 42: Birthday-Man) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 68: Mysterious Power) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]