***30 min ago***
This road…
I stood at the small precipice that divided the simple forest and a field of grass from a vast plateau plagued by some extremely strange movements of mana. And while following the main path that would lead me straight to my targets seemed like the easiest approach…
That's what also made it the wrong choice.
"I've gotta say, I underestimated this damned goddess…" I openly admitted to the silence of empty space stretching as far as my eyes could see.
It was thanks to this observation talent of hers, the only singular talent I had left after all the others collectivized, that I realized my mistake.
The bandits were an easy opponent.
They were a group that my original body would never be able to best. Not without the ability to play the battle out, not without the skill to pull it off.
Still, while the strength of pretty much every bandit was more than sufficient to overpower me in combat which made their collective might all the worse… I still managed to come out on top.
With those adventurers I was chasing, however, the situation was different.
They sure well on a level a bit higher than the bandits I slaughtered… But didn't appear to be aware of the fact. What's more, there was clearly something going on within that group, seeing how they were divided and one of their groups appeared to be in some sort of internal trouble.
'It's a pity I can't really see the details, just the general flow of things, but it would make me one hell of an ungrateful person if I didn't appreciate all that I've learned anyway.'
With this thought, I pressed my hands together before turning my eyes not to the sky that hid the heavens, not to the ground that sheltered hell… but just somewhere, only for my eyes to quickly lose focus.
'Don't you even dare beg for my forgiveness, you bitch goddess! But I've gotta admit,' I breathed out a heavy sigh. "At least parts of your gift are useful, thanks.'
There was no way to tell whether my prayer would reach that bitch-goddess ears… But that wasn't really my problem here.
The real problems were three.
First, I had to reach the nearest group before their commotion would die off, robbing me of a great opportunity to strike while at an advantage.
Secondly, I had to either confirm my strength or avoid relying on it whatsoever.
And lastly…
Who the hell was that man standing a bit away from the first group?
His appearance was so momentary, that it took me a while to even realize I'd actually seen him!
As short as it was, though, his presence was… enormous.
Even for the standard of this plateau where natural disasters seemed to be a usual occurrence… This was the level of power I would draw my eyes to. And as much as I wanted to get rid of the problem and then live a chill life…
'He was one of them, wasn't he?'
I could clearly remember it, the eight people who turned their backs after discussing with the bandits and leaving the defenseless caravan to their questionable mercy.
'Well, that's why, going by the road is a bad choice,' I thought, taking a slightly deeper breath… As I ceased my travels and sat down right on the road's edge. 'Instead…'
There was a huge number of various arrays and outflows connected to the massive pool of mana that hid below the image of the dried-out highland area. Most of them have accumulated enough wear and tear to go off-line, turning their circuits into just another part of the plateau's lake of mana. Then, there was a nice number of active formations, driving the huge flows of mana to likely create the disasters that plagued the plateau's surface.
And by studying them for a mere two minutes…
I didn't learn anything in particular. In regards to the local system of using magic, that is. All the circuits I could access were written in strange runes that didn't seem to follow any logical pathways I could recognize. But just by studying the underlying patterns of this new language…
I still failed to figure it out. But while failing to forcibly understand what locals had ages if not eons to come up with… I figured out just enough to squeeze my own magic system into the mystical energy channel of this reality.
And with that, a new path appeared before my eyes, much more attractive than following the pathway set by the local ancients.
"So much for relying on or checking the degree of my power, huh?" I muttered to myself, already laying out a new plan on how to exploit the developing situation. "One good strike should suffice, huh?" I added before cracking my neck and taking a step…
Directly onto the open wasteland of the plateau.
"Well then," I smiled lightly, maybe for the very first time since I reincarnated. "Rush."
*********
'This is really boring,' I thought, nearly heaving a sigh… While running away from a horde of demons.
With my sigh, I could pretty much sense the presence of every last monster scouring this land. And by carefully adjusting my path to the goal to get within the spotting range of as many monsters I've met on the way…
I've managed to gather quite the zoo!
There were monsters the size of goblins with arms thrice the length of their body, rushing ahead on their tiny feet they dragged their long arms behind… Ready to snap them up like a sort of whip and strike their prey with the massive, jagged claws.
And those were just the small ones that filled the picture.
There were helldogs the size of a house, various hybrids made up of the parts of monsters and animals I could recognize, flying beasts circling high above my head…
The only constant in this scenario was the barrier dome protecting the ancient path through the place. Stretching in a straight line, it was both my navigation guide and a target of extensive analysis.
Regardless of how terrifying the monsters of this place looked… I simply couldn't care less, given how my collection of mobility talents quickly proved to reign supreme over all of them. There was hardly any need for me to even pay attention when I could both outrun… and outlast them!
Still, the task at hand remained.
The barrier protecting the road was actually solid, crafted well enough to stop my makeshift attempts at figuring it out. And breaching that barrier was the main point of my plan!
'No good, I'm getting a bit too close,' I thought, casting a quick glance over to where I could already see those damned adventurers.
Apparently, they had some sort of fight and were now exchanging burning, passionate stares while one of them slept rather peacefully off to the side. Strangely enough, though…
No, nevermind.
The situation on the road… changed.
Rather than falling into a loving embrace and having passionate sex out in the open, the knight-looking man rushed at the girl… but with his spear and shield out rather than arms open for a hug. The girl didn't stay idle either, quickly conjuring some sort of offensive spell.
Sensing the opportunity, I angled my path, now putting myself on a direct course toward the commotion.
But the fight… Ended even sooner than I expected.
Whatever second attack the girl was preparing, it failed and for all intents and purposes, rebounded.
The next moment, her opponent already held her up by her throat, choking the dear life out of her.
'So it was that serious?' I thought, mildly taken aback by the development. 'Well, doesn't matter,' I thought before releasing a bunch of the mana I've managed to siphon off this place while running away from the horde I've intentionally baited with my own body.
Then, jumping to even further bend my path, I concentrated all of the mana I'd gathered at the tip of my finger, before getting close enough and pressing it against the solid surface of the barrier.
I failed to crack it open before, there was no success in the field of deciphering it either.
But through analyzing it closely enough, I've managed to figure out how it, more or less, worked.
'It's like a Newtonian fluid, in a way,' I thought, releasing the mana from my finger… Only to then try to concentrate it even further.
The more one struck against this barrier, the harder it would get. In a sense, it used the energy employed to breach it to ward off any and all attacks. And how could anyone ever break it when their attacks only ever manage to make it stronger? How could one break it when the ancients made sure not to let through anyone from the outside just because they didn't use mana at all, a safeguard something so obvious even those stupid monsters could luck out and figure it out.
No.
With the limited mana I've gathered, I couldn't really use any flashy or big spells. But what I could do, was decrease the target I aimed at. And just like physics equations revealed, the pressure was expressed with both force… and the surface over which said force was applied. And by shrinking the other down, one could increase effective force ad infinitum!
Obviously, this technique had limits on its own. But a small crack was all I ever needed.
With the total integrity of the barrier compromised, I pushed my way through the barrier, purging myself out of any mana I had left. And somehow, I've managed to push through, falling diagonally down to the floor of the road, directly behind the back of the choked girl.
'It's going to be so much easier from this side that it is not even funny anymore,' I thought, keeping the momentum of my rush to roll down, landing just below and slightly to the side to where the girl's feet trembled in the air.
Then, it was just a simple matter of transfering all of my momentum to my leg. And to make sure I wouldn't tear my pants, I just… landed on all fours and off to my target's side. Instead of standing up or even turning for the kick… I simply jerked my leg back and up while pressing my hands and chest against the ground… Only to then press with my hands as well the moment I sensed my shoe connected to the man's jaw.
Out of everyone in the group, this big man appeared as the greatest treat. His heavy armor would render most of my tricks useless, forcing me to go to the extremes in a fair fight.
Unsure of my actual strength, though, how stupid would I have to be to engage in a fair fight, when all I had to do was kick the man up a bit, just high enough for his head to peek out of the barrier…
And then the horde that I've baited would do the rest of the job for me.
I did exactly as I planned. Yet, before the first scraps of the man's now torn body could fall down onto the outer layer of the barrier, I'd already thrown my hatched at the man who apparently woke up from his nap.
Taken by surprise, he didn't even try to defend himself, staring with a dumb look on his face as the hatchet flew his way before cutting roughly as far as the center of his skull.
'Two down,' I thought, instantly turning my eyes to the last target. 'Two to go,' I thought, already feeling annoyed by how their group just had to split up, making the task of hunting them down all the more tedious. I then raised my eyes and looked down at the remaining girl.
I've left her for the end simply because I've seen her tap deeper than her reserves.
She simply posed no threat to me. And now that the only two threats were neutralized, I could take all the time in the world to show her the consequences of…!
'Of what, exactly?'
That bitch's voice suddenly sounded in my ear, her words etched with a strange sense of… disappointment?
'I gave you the eyes, so look closer.'
Gritting my teeth, I ignored that bitch-goddess and her antics, pulling out a butchering knife as I approached the girl.
Her group was responsible for the death of the biological mother of this body. And punishing this crime was the least I could do to actually feel comfortable in my skin. It simply wouldn't sit right with me if I were to ignore such a thing and just move on with my life.
I came closer and closer… The girl, though, didn't even try to escape.
She simply fell down on her ass and refused to move ever since. And while at first, I could understand it as she struggled to regain her breath…
'Well, there are all sorts of strange and weird guys all around,' I brushed the curiosity off, getting close enough to reach down for her shirt, already set to just deal with her quick so I could go back to chasing the other group…
Before my fingers could touch the girl's clothes, a sense of wrongness filled my mind.
It wasn't any of this moral crap… but something just didn't fit the picture.
She certainly was in the group of the adventurers that turned tail instead of doing their job…
But as I looked closely into this particular memory, it was as if some sort of mental veil lifted off my mind.
This girl certainly was in that group… And she was the only one to abruptly turn around after walking just a few steps away, raise her staff, and put on a mean face…
Only to have one of her companions strike her down in the back of her neck while another one quickly grabbed her before pilling her unconscious body over his back and resuming their walk, all of them acting as if nothing really happened.
Or the fact that there was still one more adventurer that remained unaccounted for, with all my thoughts regarding this topic muted, weakened in the same way as my rather vivid memory of those fuckers betraying the caravan.
"Violence it is," I muttered to myself as I took a shallow breath… Before suddenly rolling over to the side to avoid a powerful, smashing strike directed not even at me… but in the general direction I was in!