Chapter 42: Revolve

Mana assists the will of the user in whatever way it is capable of, feeding necessary energy for magic to manifest, enhancing one’s physical ability to the limit of their body’s capacity, creating a barrier that can protect the body against other mages’ spells, all of those just a part of what is possible with mana.

For bodily enhancement, the process is tedious and requires an extreme amount of focus, as one has to reinforce their bone to prevent them from shattering, their muscle to prevent them from tearing, and their skin to prevent it from peeling away from their body.

Additionally, one has to wrap a layer of mana acting as an outer shell to prevent the attack from being affected by outer interference that can affect the performance of such an attack; one such example of those factors is the air resistance that will almost certainly slow anything down as it travels forward.

It is a set, a common knowledge, that even among normal mages who would never utilize such techniques, as well as outliers who so often take advantage of it, such as the Heavenblade Great Clan, know full well that this layer of protection serves nothing but a passive enhancement that will bring a better result compared to not using it at all.

It is because even if mana follows powerful will, there are rules that living beings just cannot bend, one such example is the intrinsic property of mana to follow a smoother, softer flow, preferring waves and circles over lines and straights.

At least, everyone assumed that this rule was something that could not be bent.

Abusing the immense pressure of battle once again, the pressure of being gravely injured, quite possibly killed, should he not dodge or deal with the approaching E-Tier Slime from a distance, Novus felt intense clarity in his mind, the pressure of his sensing method flooding his head with an overwhelming amount of information suddenly feels all too easy to filter out right now.

It was as if he had entered a certain zone, his focus elevated and his head clear, all despite his senses taking in even more information than they ever did before.

There is nothing but a single thing in his sense right now. No blade of grass, no touch of wind, and where it will go.

Just mana, the flow of mana all around him, the mana wrapping around his and his opponent’s body, the mana guiding the interaction of all things, and the thing he pays attention to the most, the mana that is swirling around his hand right now.

His hand is not in the form of a fist, instead in a stretched palm that made him feel like it is a blade, mana circulating around its surface, no longer just coating it as he thought of a single word that would change everything.

’Revolve.’

He thought to himself as he wills the mana around his arm to behave just like how it behaves, containing his volatile fireball with a solid shell, the mana revolving around a close to cylindrical shape, with his open palm serving as a tapered end guiding its flow into something better than just reinforcement, something no longer blunt.

[Immortal Energy: 88/200]

[Immortal Energy: 86/200]

[Immortal Energy: 84/200]

It is also when he realized why there is basically no one in the world that dares to attempt this kind of stunt, the revolving mana stabilized in its trajectory, however, because of its flow, his arms that are supposed to be protected by it is getting torn apart bit by bit as time goes by, forcing him to constantly use his remaining Immortal Energy just so he can keep his arm intact.

[Immortal Energy: 82/200]

[Immortal Energy: 80/200]

[Immortal Energy: 78/200]

He pauses for a brief moment as he watches mana revolve around his arms, this time, not a coating that completely follows the shape of his body, but rather a weapon that allows him to fight against the Amber Slime’s monstrous defensive capabilities.

A makeshift blade that will pierce through the formidable shield.

It is only a moment, a moment until the Amber Slime’s trajectory hit his current location, and despite wanting to refine the technique further as he was quite unsure whether it will work now, he knows full well that it will only be a waste of his Immortal Energy to do so, forcing him to send this arm forward as he meets the slime’s swift, heavy attack with one of his own.

And the moment that those two attacks connect.

[Immortal Energy: 74/200]

[Immortal Energy: 70/200]

[Immortal Energy: 66/200]

It pierces, it twists.

The outer coating of mana on Novus’ skin not only continues to twist his own arms, forcing him to tough out the pain, but also begins twisting the soft outermost cushion layer on the Amber Slime’s body as well, allowing his attack to maintain its momentum, as for the first time since their long fight begun, he managed to get a slight upper hand in their exchange.

It doesn’t end there, as without that still soft layer surrounding his arm, the mana supposed to be drained the moment it gets into contact with the slime’s body long enough continues to draw out mana in the open, the makeshift blade made from his mana and his arm allowing Novus to pierce beyond the tough inner shell as well, causing him to smile as he pushes forward.

[Immortal Energy: 62/200]

[Immortal Energy: 58/200]

[Immortal Energy: 54/200]

If there’s anything that the young man has a complaint with, it is the fact that as his fist deals further damage upon the Amber Slime’s body, his arms start receiving more damage from the blunt force of their impact as well, forcing him into a dire situation as his Immortal Energy continues to go down by the second, as if telling him something.

That this is his last chance to deal with this problem, and failure at this point only results in either of the two things.

If he’s lucky, defeat, then escape and regroup, giving up this chance to hunt an E-Tier creature that will bring him closer to stepping into the E-Tier.

If he’s unfortunate, then death is immediately kicked out of the Evolution Domain’s premises, waiting for the chance to enter it again.

And it appears like it is leaning to the latter, as the attack is already done, the Amber Slime is already reforming itself as those limbs inside its still undamaged parts start dissolving at a tremendous rate as it begins recomposing itself.

[Immortal Energy: 48/200]

[Immortal Energy: 42/200]

[Immortal Energy: 36/200]

And given that his attacking hand is also in contact with the Amber Slime’s body, he starts taking damage as he feels like his limbs are getting devoured as well, his lips twitching from the pain of being constantly absorbed and then recovering back again, the pain not receding but instead just growing more and more by the second.

It goes to the point that he just wants nothing more than to pull his arm away and stop, but he knows it all too well; the consequences of doing so are not defeat, but an imminent, painful, and punishing death.

So he grits his teeth and uses the most barbaric way to deal with this monstrosity.

’If one blade, one slash is enough, then I’ll slash ten.’

The thought appears in his mind as mana gathers around his other arm as well.