I feel Cinderbear's mana move, and at the same time, a hundred beads made of mana appear around me. Orange glowing sparks appear around the bear. Then, I shoot my mana at the bear as it shoots its own.
Mine are impossibly weaker, but it's okay; they're enough to trigger the bear's skill.
A few sparks pass close to me, so I dodge hurriedly, remembering what happened to the monsters.
Then the glowing sparkle flares up into a giant flame, and I already know what's next.
Mana instantly flows through my body, focusing all on defense, making my translucent armor as strong as I can.
And then stronger.
I temper it without caring about my creaking body under the pressure from mana.
From the flame of the exploded spark, the bear steps out and instantly swings its paw at me.
I dodge and absorb as much energy as I can.
It feels as if I didn't absorb even a tenth of it; I'm unable to take in more because of the terrifying force behind the attack.
Then the air around the bear waves and a terrible heat hits me.
Initially, it's weak but rapidly gains strength, requiring some time before it reaches the full power of the skill.
My skin feels as if it's burning, and the armor around my body starts melting. I release the absorbed energy and push myself towards the entrance to the second floor.
I pause for a second and absorb my own energy, stopping at the spot. Then I grab Lily's unconscious body and throw her through the air, right towards the entrance.
One spark appears next to me, and I dash away, the bear instantly appearing at the spot from the flame.
I release a bit of energy and push Tess out of the bear's heat, and she also staggers towards the entrance, giving me one last look before she falls through by my push.
I dash in between the sparks, thanks to my [Mana Perception] that warns me by sensing the massive mana from the sparks the bear is using to appear.
There are tens of them floating in the air, illuminating my surroundings beautifully, yet deadly, as a single touch means death.
Only thanks to my [Mana Perception] I survive as I dash towards the entrance after luring the bear further away from it.
The sparks around me can't be affected by kinetic energy, so I create multiple beads of mana and explode them before rushing back. Not having a spark near me to use, the bear just charges at me.
He is fast, but I am faster, and the entrance is just an arm's reach away from me.
The monster seems to realize it and stops while letting out a terrifying growl, and we look at each other.
The entrance is right here, and the scary foe is behind me.
Through the "door," I see Tess screaming something at me, but the sound doesn't pass through. She tries to get through but is bounced back and just stands there, staring at me, into my eyes.
Biscuit is here too, along with Lily, Kim, Sophie, Isabella, Maya, Hadwin, and somehow even both of the twins.
Only Kevin's now mangled and burned corpse lies somewhere behind the bear.
Fear continues to make me to run away, to hide, to save my life.
It's not the bear's skill, but my own fear, my memories of what I went through. Memories of the pathetic state I was in, unable to do anything.
At that moment, I can run.
It's just a small step.
I see Tess sigh and close her eyes before I take a step.
Away from the entrance.
Towards the bear.
"Oi, fucker, did you have fun?" I feel a smile crawl on my lips as I move my shoulders and let out a cracking noise.
Finally, it feels as if the weight has fallen from my shoulders.
I feel free.
I shake off some stiffness in my remaining hand and bounce on the ground a few times on my bare feet.
The bear doesn't do anything, and I take another step further away from the second floor and towards the monster.
"Do you know what I went through because of you?"
I stop holding back my mana, and it flares up stronger than ever before.
But I do not worry.
It's my mana, so I better control it.
I force it under my control while it roars, threatening to make a mess of me. Multiple bloody wounds open all over my body, and my veins start bulging out, a few of them showing tears, and more of my blood covers my body.
The bear just tilts its head and fires up its mana too, and dozens of sparks start flowing around it.
At the same time, dozens of beads made out of mana appear around me.
They all move at the same time, meeting in the middle distance between us.
The massive explosion throws me away, and I feel the armor around my body crack.
One quick spark flies behind me, and I do not run.
This time I burrow my feet into the ground and put everything I have into the armor covering most of my body.
With a flare of mana, the bear steps out of the flame and swings at me, but I am already dodging under its paw.
Then the heat wave hits me, progressively intensifying in strength. I clench my teeth, my heart pumping mana like crazy, and my mana circuit goes into overdrive as I move mana through my body at dizzying speeds.
The helmet covering my entire head, starts melting and I watch the bear only through my [Mana Perception], its mana pathways through its limbs, creating an image of the bear in my head and dodging it.
A sharp spike appears in my hand, and my ears start ringing as [Oscillation] covers it.
My shirt catches aflame even through the armor, and I start getting burns and blisters all over my body because of the heat.
I hold my breath to not take the hot air into my lungs.
I release all the absorbed kinetic energy and push against the spike in my hand, nearly dislocating it with the sudden speed boost. The spike goes through the place where the bear's jaw used to be, straight towards the top of its head.
Time slows down, and in the black-and-white world of [Focus], I hear my and the bear's breathing.
The only color around us is that of my light blue mana and the beautifully glowing sparks around us.
The spike in my hand continues to melt, and I keep reforming it, focusing more and more on the spike weakens the armor around my body, which results in more severe burns.
But that's okay; if I survive, they will heal.
I just need to kill the monster in front of me.
The spike breaks, but I reform it and oscillate it more, faster.
I [Focus] more, and the sound of notifications sounds somewhere far in the distance.
I push out every ounce of my mana, and the spike finally goes through the monster's head.
Then its paw hits me. I absorb as much energy as I can and immediately use it to push myself away from the bear, yet the graze leaves a wound along the entire length of my chest.
I fall down and roll a few times, then push myself away from the spark floating nearby, rolling a few more times until I am out of reach.
There are no sparks around me anymore, and the bear isn't moving, but I push myself back onto my feet.
I take in the still-warm but much colder air than that around the bear, and I swear it never felt better breathing.
I look up at the Cinderbear; he is still standing there but with even more blood dripping down out of its head, one of his eyes all bloodied and blind.
Then he takes a step towards me.
Hahah.
I sigh and brace myself.
Obviously.
I reach out and grab my mana once again, forming floating beads of mana around me while barely keeping myself standing.
The bear makes one step.
Then another.
The last one and Cinderbear falls to the ground and stops moving, his one eye still looking at me.
I wait.
And wait.
Then I get a notification.
[You have defeated the CinderBear - lvl 26]
[Lvl 23 > Lvl 24]
I fall down on my ass and cancel out the beads of mana, putting every bit of mana I have left to keep my body strengthened.
I invest stat points into constitution and breathe out while looking at the corpse of the massive bear.
A minute passes as I continue to gaze at the dead monster before me.
It's hard to believe.
Then, the screeching of monsters from the surrounding forest reaches my ears.
Fuck.
I guess that's it for the question of whether I can stay on the 1st floor and not go to the second one.
As quickly as I can in my state, I get on my legs and limp towards the entrance.
My body falls to the ground, adding a few more scratches to my terrible state, but I crawl for a bit before getting on my knees and then on my feet, continuing to limp towards the giant entrance to the second floor.
The screeches sound closer and closer, and soon the monsters start entering the clearing just as I pass through the giant doorframe to the second floor.
Instantly, the entrance disappears behind me, and I just fall down and turn around to lay on my back. The grass feels nice, and the air feels so refreshingly cold in comparison to the air heated by that god forsaken bear.
I feel someone kneel beside me, and soon enough, warm mana starts flowing into my body.
Nice, while you're at it, try to regrow my arm.
When I look up, I see that Tess is standing with her back to me and a few stones are floating around her, crackling with red and white lightning.
Opposite of her stands Maya in her [Armament] and holding a translucent spear in her hand.
Even Hadwin seems to be waiting for a chance, and Sophie? Well, I already feel her mana reaching out to me.
So that's it for resting.
I sit up and, with the help of my hand, get back on my feet, wobbling from side to side as I do so.
"So that's how it's going to be? Feel free to try." I say, and my voice sounds weak even to myself, yet they heard it and look towards me.
Resentment, fear, and opportunity can all be felt from their gazes.
"I will fuck you up." This time, my voice is stronger, and my mana flares up again.
cerim Heya :) here is finished Nathaniel character art!
I feel Cinderbear's mana move, and at the same time, a hundred beads made of mana appear around me. Orange glowing sparks appear around the bear. Then, I shoot my mana at the bear as it shoots its own.
Mine are impossibly weaker, but it's okay; they're enough to trigger the bear's skill.
A few sparks pass close to me, so I dodge hurriedly, remembering what happened to the monsters.
Then the glowing sparkle flares up into a giant flame, and I already know what's next.
Mana instantly flows through my body, focusing all on defense, making my translucent armor as strong as I can.
And then stronger.
I temper it without caring about my creaking body under the pressure from mana.
From the flame of the exploded spark, the bear steps out and instantly swings its paw at me.
I dodge and absorb as much energy as I can.
It feels as if I didn't absorb even a tenth of it; I'm unable to take in more because of the terrifying force behind the attack.
Then the air around the bear waves and a terrible heat hits me.
Initially, it's weak but rapidly gains strength, requiring some time before it reaches the full power of the skill.
My skin feels as if it's burning, and the armor around my body starts melting. I release the absorbed energy and push myself towards the entrance to the second floor.
I pause for a second and absorb my own energy, stopping at the spot. Then I grab Lily's unconscious body and throw her through the air, right towards the entrance.
One spark appears next to me, and I dash away, the bear instantly appearing at the spot from the flame.
I release a bit of energy and push Tess out of the bear's heat, and she also staggers towards the entrance, giving me one last look before she falls through by my push.
I dash in between the sparks, thanks to my [Mana Perception] that warns me by sensing the massive mana from the sparks the bear is using to appear.
There are tens of them floating in the air, illuminating my surroundings beautifully, yet deadly, as a single touch means death.
Only thanks to my [Mana Perception] I survive as I dash towards the entrance after luring the bear further away from it.
The sparks around me can't be affected by kinetic energy, so I create multiple beads of mana and explode them before rushing back. Not having a spark near me to use, the bear just charges at me.
He is fast, but I am faster, and the entrance is just an arm's reach away from me.
The monster seems to realize it and stops while letting out a terrifying growl, and we look at each other.
The entrance is right here, and the scary foe is behind me.
Through the "door," I see Tess screaming something at me, but the sound doesn't pass through. She tries to get through but is bounced back and just stands there, staring at me, into my eyes.
Biscuit is here too, along with Lily, Kim, Sophie, Isabella, Maya, Hadwin, and somehow even both of the twins.
Only Kevin's now mangled and burned corpse lies somewhere behind the bear.
Fear continues to make me to run away, to hide, to save my life.
It's not the bear's skill, but my own fear, my memories of what I went through. Memories of the pathetic state I was in, unable to do anything.
At that moment, I can run.
It's just a small step.
I see Tess sigh and close her eyes before I take a step.
Away from the entrance.
Towards the bear.
"Oi, fucker, did you have fun?" I feel a smile crawl on my lips as I move my shoulders and let out a cracking noise.
Finally, it feels as if the weight has fallen from my shoulders.
I feel free.
I shake off some stiffness in my remaining hand and bounce on the ground a few times on my bare feet.
The bear doesn't do anything, and I take another step further away from the second floor and towards the monster.
"Do you know what I went through because of you?"
I stop holding back my mana, and it flares up stronger than ever before.
But I do not worry.
It's my mana, so I better control it.
I force it under my control while it roars, threatening to make a mess of me. Multiple bloody wounds open all over my body, and my veins start bulging out, a few of them showing tears, and more of my blood covers my body.
The bear just tilts its head and fires up its mana too, and dozens of sparks start flowing around it.
At the same time, dozens of beads made out of mana appear around me.
They all move at the same time, meeting in the middle distance between us.
The massive explosion throws me away, and I feel the armor around my body crack.
One quick spark flies behind me, and I do not run.
This time I burrow my feet into the ground and put everything I have into the armor covering most of my body.
With a flare of mana, the bear steps out of the flame and swings at me, but I am already dodging under its paw.
Then the heat wave hits me, progressively intensifying in strength. I clench my teeth, my heart pumping mana like crazy, and my mana circuit goes into overdrive as I move mana through my body at dizzying speeds.
The helmet covering my entire head, starts melting and I watch the bear only through my [Mana Perception], its mana pathways through its limbs, creating an image of the bear in my head and dodging it.
A sharp spike appears in my hand, and my ears start ringing as [Oscillation] covers it.
My shirt catches aflame even through the armor, and I start getting burns and blisters all over my body because of the heat.
I hold my breath to not take the hot air into my lungs.
I release all the absorbed kinetic energy and push against the spike in my hand, nearly dislocating it with the sudden speed boost. The spike goes through the place where the bear's jaw used to be, straight towards the top of its head.
Time slows down, and in the black-and-white world of [Focus], I hear my and the bear's breathing.
The only color around us is that of my light blue mana and the beautifully glowing sparks around us.
The spike in my hand continues to melt, and I keep reforming it, focusing more and more on the spike weakens the armor around my body, which results in more severe burns.
But that's okay; if I survive, they will heal.
I just need to kill the monster in front of me.
The spike breaks, but I reform it and oscillate it more, faster.
I [Focus] more, and the sound of notifications sounds somewhere far in the distance.
I push out every ounce of my mana, and the spike finally goes through the monster's head.
Then its paw hits me. I absorb as much energy as I can and immediately use it to push myself away from the bear, yet the graze leaves a wound along the entire length of my chest.
I fall down and roll a few times, then push myself away from the spark floating nearby, rolling a few more times until I am out of reach.
There are no sparks around me anymore, and the bear isn't moving, but I push myself back onto my feet.
I take in the still-warm but much colder air than that around the bear, and I swear it never felt better breathing.
I look up at the Cinderbear; he is still standing there but with even more blood dripping down out of its head, one of his eyes all bloodied and blind.
Then he takes a step towards me.
Hahah.
I sigh and brace myself.
Obviously.
I reach out and grab my mana once again, forming floating beads of mana around me while barely keeping myself standing.
The bear makes one step.
Then another.
The last one and Cinderbear falls to the ground and stops moving, his one eye still looking at me.
I wait.
And wait.
Then I get a notification.
[You have defeated the CinderBear - lvl 26]
[Lvl 23 > Lvl 24]
I fall down on my ass and cancel out the beads of mana, putting every bit of mana I have left to keep my body strengthened.
I invest stat points into constitution and breathe out while looking at the corpse of the massive bear.
A minute passes as I continue to gaze at the dead monster before me.
It's hard to believe.
Then, the screeching of monsters from the surrounding forest reaches my ears.
Fuck.
I guess that's it for the question of whether I can stay on the 1st floor and not go to the second one.
As quickly as I can in my state, I get on my legs and limp towards the entrance.
My body falls to the ground, adding a few more scratches to my terrible state, but I crawl for a bit before getting on my knees and then on my feet, continuing to limp towards the giant entrance to the second floor.
The screeches sound closer and closer, and soon the monsters start entering the clearing just as I pass through the giant doorframe to the second floor.
Instantly, the entrance disappears behind me, and I just fall down and turn around to lay on my back. The grass feels nice, and the air feels so refreshingly cold in comparison to the air heated by that god forsaken bear.
I feel someone kneel beside me, and soon enough, warm mana starts flowing into my body.
Nice, while you're at it, try to regrow my arm.
When I look up, I see that Tess is standing with her back to me and a few stones are floating around her, crackling with red and white lightning.
Opposite of her stands Maya in her [Armament] and holding a translucent spear in her hand.
Even Hadwin seems to be waiting for a chance, and Sophie? Well, I already feel her mana reaching out to me.
So that's it for resting.
I sit up and, with the help of my hand, get back on my feet, wobbling from side to side as I do so.
"So that's how it's going to be? Feel free to try." I say, and my voice sounds weak even to myself, yet they heard it and look towards me.
Resentment, fear, and opportunity can all be felt from their gazes.
"I will fuck you up." This time, my voice is stronger, and my mana flares up again.
cerim Heya :) here is finished Nathaniel character art!
