Chapter 243 - What’s Yours Is Mine

Jiran's grin turned feral as he caught the Templari’s punch in the palm of his gauntlet. Without mana to fuel Forcing and boost their movements, the tier nines no longer held the advantage in raw speed.

“Retrea—”

Jiran's return punch landed in the man's throat. A burst of Mana Venom shot from his knuckles, seeping deep into his neck where it split in two. Half shot into his brain, the other into his manapool. Their leader's eyes rolled back and he collapsed boneless, his immense weight rapidly pulling him toward the distant ground.

Jiran spun around the falling human obstacle, aura and mana pulling him toward his next victim. Predictably, the Templari surrounding him took the only reasonable course of action when bereft of mana and facing a dangerous foe; they fled, splitting in random directions. The auras once pressuring him withdrew, stretching into the distance to pull their wielders to safety.

Jiran roared, his hands outstretched, “Not a chance! Since you chose to come, you should stay here forever!”

A full third of the mana taken from the tier nines swarmed down his tap, crashed against his soulwall, and converted into aspect. A tsunami of blistering cold aura exploded from his body and washed over the Templari. Simultaneously, Armament and Elemental Castigation combined, opening holes in a dome-shaped pattern. Like a continental glacier splitting in half, a horrific crumbling filled the air as a thick shell of ice exploded into being. It built off the low wall of stone he created to surround Niya’s shockwave, traveling up at a softly curving angle until combining high above. Other than Jiran, everyone inside the dome grew sluggish, their auras as unresponsive as their stiffening muscles.

Jiran moved like lightning. His armored fingers clamped around the back of a woman's neck. His other hand smashed into her lower back. Her eyes bulged and frosted oxygen blasted from her lungs. Then, she knew no more as Jiran's venom stole her consciousness, casting her into an endless oblivion.

His venom would remain within her for as long as she drew breath, pilfering whatever mana she accumulated and using it to trap her thoughts in a neverending nightmare. It was entirely possible that another tier nine or higher could expel the venom, but there was a good chance whatever mana they fed her in the effort would simply be consumed, doing more harm than good.

Jiran caught one more before the five Templari that had attacked Niya caught up to him. They kept their distance, spreading out to release Channelings in a long distance pincer.

Armament and Elemental Castigation conjured condensed orbs of black lightning beneath their feet. Only two managed to detect the surprise attacks, throwing themselves to safety. The others were not so lucky. The framework was sundered around them and their own weight worked against them, pulling them down into empty darkness. Consumed by the lightning, convulsions ripped through them as their skin cooked.

Jiran tsked when Enthralling Touch failed to drain the stunned Templari from so far. He raced toward the closest and charged into his own lightning, trusting his armor to absorb the deadly currents, storing them in a specially designed formation around his waist. His minds were split in so many directions already that his skull was hot enough to cook tier eight meat; whatever tasks he could automate, he would. He slammed into the Templari, grasping his neck long enough for a sigil-boosted Enthralling Touch to drain his mana and fuel the venom that replaced it.

Most of the remaining Templari had made it to the walls of the massive icy bubble that confined them. Crashing thuds filled the cold air as they attempted to free themselves with brute attributes alone. Seeing how little success they were having, one of the two Templari who had avoided his lightning raised his voice, “Don't let him near you! Work together and concentrate on a single point to break through!”

Jiran's hands glowed, crackling orbs of dark lightning sucking at the sparse ambient light. He charged the new leader and the man wasted no time taking his own advice, turning to flee. Jiran smirked, Armament opening five holes around the man and releasing more lightning. The crackling bolts came from every direction, four of them striking true, leaving his newest victim's mana vulnerable for the taking.

“Nooo! Six!” A woman shrieked. Dark crimson flames gushed from her outstretched palms to bar his path.

Jiran flew right through the geyser. A pulse from his masterium mingled with Elemental Castigation. Together, they overwhelmed and converted the fire directly around him to mana. He emerged from the other side unharmed, his spread fingers grasping Six's face and doing to him as he had with the others.

The woman screamed again, this time unintelligibly as her vast stores of remaining mana began tearing apart her arms from the inside in its haste to escape. Jiran's eyes flew wide, knowing full well that much mana could easily punch through his wall and level the entire city. Worse still, the other three who still had mana were recovered from his lightning sneak attack and their slightly less suicidal Channelings were charging to join hers.

Jiran flew straight up to the center of the domed ceiling, their hands unerringly tracking his progress. Each millisecond lasted an eternity, and every meter traveled meant the difference between thousands of innocents living another day. Jiran chose not to use Armament to attempt another sneak attack as they had seen it enough times to adapt. If they managed to avoid it, the precious wasted moments would almost certainly spell his doom.

Instead, he put everything he had into defending against their combined elements. Two wielded fire, including the suicidal woman, another lightning, and the last water. There was enough raw power coming at him that just the steam produced from the water and fire would be enough to melt his suit and end him.

A deafening whoosh of displaced air blasted away from Jiran as six times his total mana was converted into several thousand metric tons of carbon dioxide. The pressure inside the dome multiplied, adding to the struggles of the Templari. Jiran’s frigid aspect caused the carbon dioxide to solidify almost immediately, forming a large ball around him that released hissing streams of misty white gas.

When the two waves of city-annihilating fire were released, they engulfed the ball and continued onward to effortlessly blast through the top of the dome. The sky was filled with endless waves of roiling flame. Densoon clouds popped, washing the land with their pent fury. Lightning soon followed: Thundering shockwaves blasted apart more of the dome. The forces unleashed flattened homes and shops, ending lives by the hundreds. Night was turned to day once more as dazzling forks of violet crackled within the apocalyptic sky.

After the last of their elements struck and the air cleared, the jaws of the Templari fell open. Not only was Jiran’s creation in nearly pristine condition, the final attack had backfired spectacularly. A river of ice surrounded the ball and connected all the way to the outstretched arms of the Templari who had released his water. He hung motionless in the air, frozen solid, his body surrounded in a crystalline glacier of his own making.

Jiran’s construct of solidified carbon dioxide, (dry ice) was immune to fire. When the heat of their attacks reached it, gaseous, oxygen-displacing carbon dioxide blasted outward, leaving no combustible material to ignite. Elements fueled by mana could overcome such mundane science, but they had to fight through Jiran’s mana to do it. Additionally, carbon dioxide has no free electrons to allow the passage of current, and with its blistering cold amplified by his Aspect of the True Origin of Ice, their attacks had been completely nullified.

Their moment of hesitation spent gazing upon the unbelievable sight cost them everything. Jiran pulled himself out of a synapse, appearing behind the half-dead woman bereft of mana and arms. His fury after having to expend so much mana was a physical force that radiated from his body. His hand clamped around her neck as the dome reformed, trapping the Templari once more.

His whispered voice struck fear deep in her heart, “You aren’t allowed to die until you pay me back!” Mana Confluence healed her enough that she was no longer in danger of spontaneously combusting into a cloud of challenger density. Then, Mana Venom stole her consciousness for good.

Oliviala Le’Cruex

A dream of smooth cyan fields and fuzzy, distorted faces shouting her name was ripped from Olive. She gasped, coming awake to a plethora of sensations; their combination assured her she was in very deep shit.

The most alarming, and apparent, was her gasp making no discernable sound. If not for the stale air filling her lungs, she would have assumed the breath a figment of her imagination. There was no sound around her at all. Even when buried deep beneath the ground during her childhood training, she could hear blood rushing through her veins, bugs burrowing near her, and a deep static thrum that left her ears flexing for more. Wherever she found herself now lacked any of that. It was a true, all consuming silence.

Just as terrible was the absolute darkness that her Manabody should have easily pierced. Except it couldn't. Something was restraining her aura as surely as her wrists and ankles were shackled by cold metal that suspended and stretched her body taut. In her initial panic, she flexed her arms and legs, finding the restraints more than capable of withstanding her attributes. She groaned in the effort, the sound stolen straight from her mouth.

She fell limp, and despite it all, grinned. She had defeated the door, and her entity had assured her that was the correct path. At the time, she knew her individual skills and techniques were not up to the task, so she devised a method to push Jiran’s Oneness to a whole new level.

It was a simple enough concept—concentrating aura, mana, and muscles further and further until they reached a single point to inflict maximum damage. Unfortunately, creating a focal point on a knuckle raw from repeated punching had been insufficient, and she was forced to bring her other skills into the equation. Molding, Shaping, Channeling, and Oneness concentrated into an attack the size of a needlepoint on the heel of her foot finally allowed her to kick a hole straight through the door.

The moment had been euphoric. A victory that she would hold close to her heart for the rest of her days. Restrained and grinning like a fool, she vowed to never admit how difficult the task had been. She had a sinking sensation that once she explained it to Jiran, he would probably manage it on his very first attempt. Her heart sped out of control at the mere thought of him. She would break out of here as surely as she defeated the cursed door, and whatever worse place they threw her next, and the next, until she made it back to him, to them.

But I won’t be going anywhere with my mana depleted.

She sighed, beyond exhausted. There were two very important details she intended to resolve before allowing herself rest. Her eyes closed tight, revealing the notifications she now had the time to review.

Molding: + 3

Shaping: + 2

Channeling: + 7

Shaping threshold reached: Subskill available

Channeling reached fifty as well. It appears Jiran was correct about only one subskill evolution being accessible at a time.

Available Shaping Subskills: Elemental Power Rotation / Blood Infusion / Dermal Resilience

Elemental Power Rotation: Swapping elements after two seconds grants a 20% intensity bonus to the next element (Stacks 10 times)

Jiran mentioned having this as one of his options. He didn’t choose it because a fight rarely lasts twenty seconds, and most creatures are weak against a specific element so swapping constantly isn’t ideal. Not to mention, having enough techniques to swap around is a detriment to willpower to begin with.

Blood Infusion: Shaping may now be activated through blood

Does that mean what I think it means? If I no longer need skin to transform mana into an element, that would make creating my new external Oneness so much easier! Did I get this option because of what I did? This would certainly resolve one of my greatest weaknesses. Very tempting.

Dermal Resilience: Skin toughens to resist all but the most extreme elements

Olive’s thoughts froze as she read the last option, the jeers of ‘Ghoul Princess’ ringing loud in her mind. She hated burning her skin off every time she fought. She knew how to pool protective mana atop it, but she still had to cut herself to achieve it, and then she could only manage to protect one hand at most. Only her Mana Barrier kept her alive through the power of her own attacks, and it was relegated to an existence beneath her vulnerable skin.

No more pain. No more looking like a freak until I regenerate.

She nearly chose out of reflex, but stopped herself, knowing it would have been a decision born purely from emotion. It would not be long until she followed her elder siblings and was forced onto her own Peregriscension into Graymin lands. To survive, she would need more than looking pretty and living pain-free. She would need power.

As she was taught, Olive considered multiple scenarios against well known and powerful beasts. She pictured herself fending off their attacks, and how each option would change the outcome. Progressively, she increased the difficulty of her mental battles until she could no longer win, and only one of the three brought her furthest. Without hesitating further, she made her choice.

***

A short time later, Olive woke again, her arms and back in agony from holding her suspended weight. Closing her eyes, she reviewed the notifications patiently waiting for her.

Channeling threshold reached: Subskill available

When she saw the available options, her eyes flew open, replacing the Imperial standard printed inside her eyelids with the eerie gloom of the stifling dungeon. She slammed them shut again, unable to believe what she was reading. She made her choice, not needing any mental exercises to lead her in the right direction. She fell limp once more as her body was completely remade into something far more deadly than she ever could have imagined.