"It’s so hot out," Frowned Prysm, as we got hit with some pretty intense sunshine the instant we teleported back out, about half a kilometer away from Kaygee Town.

"Yeah, you said it. Let’s rest in the shade for a bit, we were down there for almost eight hours, after all," I pointed out, nodding at a nearby tree.

We walked over there and sat under it, before I took out a couple of water bottles from my Pocket Dimension, handing her one.

As I opened the bottle and took a swig from it, I began activating an ice Spell and formed a cold mist around us, along with a cloud of dark mist above us for more shade. The Black Mist Spell happens to block light, so yeah.

"Ohh, that’s nice, the cool air feels so good," Prysm sighed contentedly, as I used a wind Spell to swirl the air around us.

I slumped back against the tree trunk with a lazy yawn and closed my eyes...I think I want to lay about for a while before heading into town, this is pretty nice. I just want to sink into the shadows and chill in some cold darkness-...huh?

"What the actual-...!?" I blurted out, as I felt myself sinking down, glancing down to see my body going into the shadow of the tree.

"H-huh? What’s happening!?" Exclaimed Prysm in alarm, sitting up with a start.

O-okay, calm down, I think I saw the glow of a Magic Circle right as I opened my eyes, which means that this is a Spell, and-...wait, what am I doing!? There’s no time to think, I’m still sinking!

Suddenly, Prysm grabbed my head and pulled, a twinge of pain erupting across the back of my neck as she yanked me back out, a slight pop echoing out from my neck. As I hit the grass with a thud, I healed my neck with a grimace as it started to throb with pain.

"Thanks, but you could’ve been a bit less rough," I muttered, as I healed and cracked my neck with a tilt of my head.

"What was that just now? Is someone attacking us?" She frowned, looking around warily.

"Can’t be. Even with Distance Casting, there aren’t any good hiding spots within the maximum known range of twenty-five meters of this spot. I think...maybe I accidentally activated that Spell just now," I realized as I thought back to what happened.

"What? But how?" She responded in confusion.

I’d just been thinking about sinking into the shadows and then imagined it...additionally, I was using an ice Spell and a Dark Spell, as well as a wind Spell, meaning that I was using both Attributes simultaneously.

Hm, I wonder...I then closed my eyes and focused, combining both Attributes. Earlier, before Prysm pulled me out, I could feel it...the Spell felt unstable and a bit volatile, a similar feeling to when attack Spells start to go out of control.

Alright, purely combine just the two Attributes without converting either into an Elemental form...and now, visualize the effect, picture it clearly.

Now for the designation...wait, what do I call a combination of dark and light? Ah, fuck it...Heretic Spell: Shadow, uh...Phase!

I then activated the Spell, my chest pounding nervously as I dropped in through my own shadow. Hm? It feels like...I’m floating. I warily opened my eyes, before looking around in bewilderment.

Holy crap...this is trippy. My surroundings were dark, with a shadowy mist flowing all around me. And above me, were several transparent spots in different shapes, through which I could see the outside.

I get it...those spots are the shadows cast by the objects outside. And this one that’s moving, it’s Prysm’s shadow! This is insane, how is this even possible!?

Hm, it feels like there’s a layer of energy surrounding my body, made up of both Light and Dark Attribute Mana. It feels like I can take it down if I really focus, but I probably shouldn’t...it’s probably what’s keeping me safe down here.

Wait, how do I move? I’m kinda just floating here, with no footing or anything to walk on. I tried flapping my arms in a swimming motion, but that didn’t do anything...I’m, uh, I’m not stuck down here am I?

Okay, no need to panic, just stay calm...let’s try using Jet Soles-...it’s not working. Shit, it’s not working! I can’t activate any Elemental Spells while down here!

C-come on, there has to be a way to-...huh? Woah...I just propelled myself forward. When I started to panic after Jet Soles failed to trigger, I inadvertently shot out some Mana from my feet.

I then pointed my palms downwards with a nervous gulp, before grimacing as I held my breath and fired out small but sharp bursts of Mana from my hands...and found myself getting propelled upwards.

"This is amazing...," I muttered to myself as I felt a giddy smile spreading out across my face.

I then looked up towards the transparent spots created by the shadows outside, before propelling myself towards Prysm’s shadow.

I flew through it, getting a feeling similar to breaking through the surface of a body of water, before I emerged behind her, giving her a tap on the shoulder as my feet landed on the ground.

"Wha-...!?" She exclaimed in alarm, with a startled jump.

"Yo. Gotta say, that was-...," I greeted her, before trailing off as she turned around with tears in her eyes and a panicked look on her face, "Uh, you okay?"

"You’re back!" She exclaimed, before suddenly tackling me with a leaping hug, knocking me down onto my back, "I-I thought you were gone!"

Ow, that kinda hurt.

"This seems like a dramatic overreaction. Come on, get off me already," I sighed, as I patted her shoulder a couple of times.

"What happened? How did you disappear into the ground like that?" She frowned as she sat up on my stomach and shook my shoulders.

"It’s a new Spell I literally just figured out and then gave it a try, that’s all. And I didn’t disappear into the ground, I disappeared into the shadows, and then emerged out of your shadow, that’s why I was behind you," I explained, as I lifted her off me and got up, dusting myself off.

"Huh? There’s a Spell that lets you go into shadows?" She responded in bemusement.

"Evidently so. It requires combining both Attributes, so only Heretics can use it. Hm, I wonder if I’m the first to discover that this is even possible?" I mused curiously.

"Wait, really? What does the Light Attribute have to do with shadows, though? Are you sure it isn’t a Dark Attribute Spell?" She inquired with a confused look on her face.

"Well, think about it...shadows can’t exist without light. There are no shadows in pitch black darkness, you need light in order to cast a shadow. Ohh, I can think of a lot of possibilities with this...I can sink into shadows and then emerge through another shadow, and I can probably drop a person into their own shadow as well, trapping and possibly killing them too.

I know there are Skills related to shadows...let’s see, there were two, Shadow Bind and Shadow Walk. What I just did is pretty close to the effect of the Shadow Walk Skill, though I don’t know if it works the exact same way, and Shadow Bind is a Skill that lets the user paralyze an opponent by stepping onto their shadow.

Gotta say, I can’t believe that I’ve never thought to try and combine both Attributes like this. I’ve been working on trying to combine my Dark Attribute with my fire and lightning attack Spells to make them more powerful, but that’s been kinda tough to get the hang of.

But with this, I’ve got a great new weapon in my arsenal, sneak attacks are now gonna be, like, a thousand times easier," I smirked excitedly.

"I can’t believe you came across such a powerful Spell by accident," She replied wryly.

Hm, I wonder what else is possible with combining both Attributes? This Spell was the result of me picturing sinking into shadows, but what if I just combine them without any specific visualization and then manifest that combined energy?

Manifesting Mana converted to Elemental energy without visualization simply creates the specified element formlessly as if naturally occurring without any external controlling force exerted. As for the Attributes, doing so with the Dark Attribute creates a black mist, and as for the Light Attribute, it creates a formless, glowing mass of light.

Now to find out what the combination of both Attributes manifests as...I then combined my Attributes and began to manifest the energy, a Magic Circle appearing above my palm...right before a tremendous pulling force burst out, Prysm letting out a startled cry as dirt, fallen leaves and branches came flying this way from every direction.

I was nearly pulled off my feet, my fingers getting drawn into what I’d just created...shit, I think this is a black hole! I quickly dissipated the Spell, letting out a stifled gasp of pain as blood burst out from my hand, all my fingers except for my thumb torn off...f-fuck, this really hurts...!

L-Light Attribute: Super High Speed Regeneration!

I slowly exhaled as my fingers grew back, sweat pouring down the sides of my face, my body feeling cold. Holy crap, that was intense...

"Wh-what was that!?" Exclaimed Prysm, as the dust began to settle. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"That...that is my new instakill Spell, one that doesn’t even use that much Mana," I remarked as I clenched my healed fist, a slight smile spreading out across my lips.

"Uh, but won’t it kill you too?" She pointed out warily.

"If I’m close to it, sure...but with Distance Casting, it’s a completely different story. Heck, I could even create one of these right inside an opponent’s body, imploding them to death! Lately, I’ve been thinking that I need more options to attack with...what an unexpected and welcome bonus this is," I smirked as a slight chuckle escaped my lips...

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