NOVEL WEB Chapter 27: Contact (6)
Michael walked slowly. He glanced at his health bar at the Party interface. Rose’s was full, but his own was at fifty percent. He had been using it to keep track of how much his injuries had healed. A System notification appeared in front of him.
[You have made progress towards acquiring a new Skill.]
It was already the third time that it popped up since his attempt to imbue his mana with healing properties. He judged that he would get the new Skill soon. He stopped in place.
My mana is low again.
His healing prowess was nearly non-existent, which meant that the process of trying to mend his arm’s injuries was still just as inefficient as before, resulting in a lot of mana waste. He couldn’t go on with such low levels of mana. He had learned his lesson the hard way. Arrogance would only lead to death. His enemies were stronger than him; he needed to be as prepared as possible for any battles.
Michael trudged to the very middle of the path, away from the walls and any enemies capable of ambushing him through them. He remained standing while taking deep breaths. Part of his attention was turned to his surroundings, but most of it focused on his left arm. His mana now carried a slight green hue. It gently washed over the muscle fibers and the twisted blood vessels, as well as whatever remaining injuries on his bones. Everywhere it went, it pulled together what was separated, mended what was broken, and stimulated the regeneration of what was torn. However, the process was slow. Michael watched the process in excruciating detail with rapt attention. He felt as if he were starting to understand this new mana on a deeper level.
It wasn’t used to harm, crush, and destroy. In fact, it was the exact opposite of the mana he had been using so far. Once his thoughts reached this point, Michael had an idea.
What if I could use the mana I do know as a mirror of sorts?
Since the green mana was the opposite of the blue one he knew, he could try to mimic it or improve upon it by simply creating something without any of the characteristics of the blue mana. He got to work immediately. If the blue mana was ferocious and destructive, the green mana should be calm and restorative. If the blue mana rushed through him at fast speeds, the green one should be a slow breeze.
He maintained this pattern as the hours passed, completely absorbed in this one task. The first thing he noticed was that the efficiency improved. He was now spending less blue mana to create more of the green mana. The second thing was that its effectiveness was also improved. His injuries healed faster and to a greater extent. Trying to keep hold of that feeling, Michael forced himself to leave the wonders of mana and look around. Still no enemies, but he had needed to be sure. If something were to attack him while he was focused on his different types of mana, he would die. There was no way around it.
He continued to juggle his attentiveness and mana transformation, as if he were trying to look at two different things at once while only being able to see one of them at a time. His gaze went back and forth repeatedly, interrupted by System notifications that appeared continuously.
[You have made progress towards acquiring a new Skill.]
[You have made progress toward acquiring a new Skill.]
Michael wasn’t sure just how long this had been going on, but he soon reached a balance between the mana he spent and the mana he recovered. His Dragonheart and high Wisdom stats shot his mana recovery rate through the roof; the only reason he needed to stop and rest was because of the dramatic expenditure related to his healing. Of course, there were also his injuries.
He found this to be great news. At the very least, the healing wasn’t actively hindering his other abilities. He felt confident in being able to reduce the green mana’s cost even further, but that would take time. Silently, he waited. He felt as if he could almost hear the sounds of everything falling back into place in his arm. It was a refreshing feeling, despite the constant pain, which had also been reduced by quite a bit.
I’m glad the pain is manageable now.
Naturally, he disliked feeling pain in general, but his relief wasn’t just regarding that. Pain could muddle one’s mind and consume one’s thoughts. The Clarity Skill should help with that and it had performed well in his last battle, but he didn’t want to push its limits. It had dealt a single, immediate burst of pain, but he wasn’t sure how it handled continuous hurting. Hopefully, it also wouldn’t hinder him too much. Besides, Clarity only helped him keep a clear mind, but didn’t decrease the actual level of pain. The suffering was the same.
Once his mana pool was nearly full, he started walking again. Since the only way to exit the Dungeon was to complete it, he had no choice. He drew symbols in the air using his wand and tried to cast the Whisper spell, but there was no response from Tairy. Either the dark elf was busy or the Dungeon itself blocked out communication. Since the wizard would likely drop whatever he was doing to respond, it was probably the latter. Michael sighed.
He shifted his left arm’s position. The process wasn’t quick, but he was now capable of making small movements. It would have to be enough. Just like before, he walked through the Dungeon’s only monotone path. Soon, it opened up into another space. This one had green mushrooms growing on the walls and floor. Michael was instantly on guard. He hadn’t forgotten his run-in with the spores.
In the middle of the space, two Mushroom Warriors stood. Instead of yellow, these were green, but everything else was the same as the others he had faced. Wooden skin, mushroom cap for a head, four limbs, and no face. He used Analyze.
[Mushroom Warrior, Level 19.]
[Mushroom Warrior, Level 20.]
Their Levels aren’t too high. I need to take out one as soon as possible, just like before. That way, It’s going to be a one-on-one.
Fighting two at the same time had earned him heavy injuries and nearly cost him his life. He had leveled up a bit from that fight, but he didn’t know if it would be enough to make a real difference. He needed a plan.
As soon as I fire the Mana Arrow, I need to cast Mana Shield. My Dexterity was enough to contend with the previous enemies, and since I have leveled up, it should still be up to par.
If the Mana Shield was broken through, he would be forced to dodge. If it wasn’t, then retreat as much as possible without disturbing the spell and cast Mana Sphere. Since he had learned a bit of healing, the highest priority would be to kill his enemies as soon as possible, even if at the cost of minor injuries. If he got overwhelmed by the opponent and allowed it to get too close, he could try using his Mana Spheres as knives as he had done before. That was going to be his last resort. Mages weren’t built for close quarters, but he had the boost from his Dragonheart and the stats he had gained from leveling up as a Young Draconic Human.
However, before starting the battle, there was something that needed to be done. Michael looked at his injured left arm.
I’ve got to wait for it to fully heal before fighting.
So far, there was no reason to believe there was a time limit to beat the Dungeon. His mana reserves were vast enough that an extended battle wouldn’t be a problem, and his mana recovery speed had grown considerably after awakening to his blood. As such, he shouldn’t rush it. Even if it took him some time, it would be best for him to recover completely before continuing. Retreating, he crouched and focused on making his greenish mana circulate in his left arm.
Slowly, as time passed, the pain lessened. Michael could feel his injuries mending in real time; it was also a valuable opportunity to get more familiar with the green mana.
[You have made progress towards acquiring a new Skill.]
After an unknown amount of time, he was ready. There was no more pain and his arm could be moved normally. With a deep breath, he advanced back into the room and began. His heartbeat quickened, beating as loud as a drum. Chanting left his mouth as the two Warriors turned toward him. The energy arrow shot at them the moment they dashed toward him. As he already expected their speed, he wasn’t caught off-guard. His sharpened eyes hovered over the enemy on the right. He swung his wand horizontally. The Mana Arrow bent and changed direction. It was something that he was trying for the first time in a battle, but that he had already done with Mana Sphere. He couldn’t affect the pathing too much, and he didn’t know to what extent when using Mana Arrow, but it just felt right.
His mind worked as if it were a well-oiled machine as the Arrow hit the Mushroom Warrior. It had jumped to avoid the spell, but had lost both of its legs as a result. Its upper body fell to the ground. Michael had no time to even glance at it. He drew a cross and raised a Mana Shield just as the remaining enemy’s knee smashed the shield right in front of his head. If he had been slower by even milliseconds, his face would have been destroyed, likely resulting in death.
The blow pushed him backward forcefully, his feet sliding on the floor. The experience he had with moving while casting allowed him to keep the Mana Shield intact, although it wavered. His perception honed in on the fist flying at his throat. He tilted his body back, avoiding the attack; the enemy’s fist flew by in front of him, but abruptly stopped. The extended arm brought down its elbow on Michael’s belly. He realized what the enemy was planning before it executed it, and was in the middle of moving backward when the elbow reached him.
With a grunt, the Mana Shield shook heavily. This couldn’t go on; he needed to attack. Michael dismissed the Shield and weaved a Mana Sphere before the Mushroom Warrior’s other arm could reach him. Just as it had happened back then, in the first battle, the Sphere crushed the incoming fist and destroyed the arm as a whole. Michael moved backward as quickly as he could.
Both opponents stared at each other.
“Alright, motherfucker. It’s you and me.”
He began casting a Skill at the same time that the Warrior moved.