Chapter 52 - When Lightning Strikes

At one moment, Denise's mana shines brightly, and he disappears. Immediately after, he reappears at the same spot. His clothes are now covered in blood and he is breathless.

"Please hurry," he says weakly, "Dennis and the others won't be able to hold on for too long." He leans against a tree, almost falling down.

Dennis? Is this his twin Aaron? Did they switch places?

That would explain the wounds.

"Where are Lily, Kevin, and Kim?" I ask shortly.

"There's no time. You have to..."

He pauses when I step in front of him.

"This way..." he points his hand somewhere.

The thin string that connects the twins is leading right where he is pointing.

"If they're not there, I will kill your brother."

His mouth opens and closes. His eyes turn to Tess, asking for help.

Is he messing with me?

I punch the wound on his chest, and he screams.

He tries to say something, but I punch his wound again, and he lets out an even louder scream.

"Where?"

My voice sounds too calm, even to myself.

Finally, some fear appears in his sky-blue eyes.

His hand moves, shaking, and he points somewhere.

"Tess?"

"I can't see through the raindrops."

I give a last look to the boy and dash towards where he was pointing.

Tess leaves one of her spears with him and follows me without any further hesitation.

My [Mana Perception] continues to fire up into the surroundings, but too much information comes back at me. Every single raindrop holds some mana as they fall, glowing slightly, illuminating our surroundings somehow.

But I continue.

I send mana further and further.

I unleash the entirety of my mana and filter out the useless information.

It hurts me, but I push through.

[Focus] makes the dull colors around me even less vibrant, but the mana in the drops shines even brighter.

"I'm sorry, I can't see a thing..." Tess apologizes, but I almost don't hear her.

The rain continues to hit us harder and harder, and I can feel the unnatural speed and weight of the raindrops on my skin.

My mana flares up into my surroundings, and I absorb the kinetic energy of all the drops I can.

Tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands.

The drops of water slow down, and for a moment, they pause in the air.

"Follow me."

Then I use [Kinetic Redistribution] to propel myself ahead, releasing a shockwave behind me.

Rain continues to fall, but I repeat the process.

Again and again.

Drenched in water I continue to use my skills.

I get better at it and absorb more energy.

I do it faster and faster.

My [Mana Perception] pushes through all the distractions, and I finally catch a feel of Kim's mana.

Instantly, I change the direction I am running in and dash towards it with Tess somewhere far behind.

When I get closer, I start to hear the monsters even through the heavy rain and soon see them.

[Two-Headed Wolf - lvl 12]

The monster is attacking the group made out of Kim, Kevin, and Lily.

Kevin is at the front, already barehanded, but his palms seem to be burning in bright flames even in the heavy rain we are in.

He continues to reflect the monster's attack back at it, and every time he does so, he also reflects some raindrops away from him.

The monster seems to be careful, and there are a few burn spots on its skin.

Meanwhile, Kim continues to move his iron ore around and attack smaller monsters, only occasionally throwing it at the wolf. Lily stays close to him, holding a goblin spear in her shaking arm.

The wolf roars, and mana collects in its body as flames start forming in its mouths. Bright blue in one mouth and dark purple in the other.

That makes Kevin stagger backwards in surprise.

I plant my feet into the ground, clench my core, and twist my body, throwing the weapon in my hand at the wolf.

It hits the monster in the middle of its attack, and one head turns to me.

Once again, I collect the kinetic energy of the rain around me, and with the strength of my body enhanced by mana and the push of my skill, I dash at the wolf.

As I fly through the air, the shining drops of water become a blur around me, and I reach the wolf at an insane speed.

Right before hitting it with my body, I use my skill again, absorbing the kinetic energy of my body, which makes me stop on the spot. Immediately after, I use that energy to propel to the side and dodge the wolf's bite.

[Oscillation] coats my hand, and a sharp blade of mana is almost as long as a short sword.

I quickly cut off one of the wolf's heads.

The wolf's head falls to the ground, and it continues to move and try to bite me, but I kick it away while a stump of its neck keeps spewing blood.

The second head instantly turns to me and shoots flames, but I am not there anymore.

Kevin's palm hits the wolf's side, and the monster howls in pain, jumping away from him.

Before it gets out of my reach, I absorb some energy and attack the wolf, leaving three deep slashes on its chest and neck before the mana around my hand disappears.

The monster thrashes around and falls down after a moment.

[You have defeated the Two-Headed Wolf - lvl 12]

From the rain, another monster appears.

[Stormbear - lvl 13]

Electricity sparks around its black fur, and the ground starts shaking as it dashes at me, mouth full of teeth larger than my hand.

I absorb some energy from the rain, and the raindrops in a vast area slow down to a crawl.

A bit of that energy pushes Kevin towards Kim and Lily, and I take a step towards the charging bear.

More and more energy enters my body, and the Stormbear slows down a bit, as if it is running through water.

My heart beats.

I take another step.

More energy.

My mana rages, but I focus and keep it under control.

The bear is in front of me when I release all that energy in a thin cone, and one of the monster's front legs disappears into a mist of flesh, bones, and blood, making the bear stagger and hit the ground in front of me.

The electricity around the monster dissipates, and oscillating mana appears on my hand once more as I bury my hand deep inside the monster's head.

For a moment, electricity touches my hand, but it's torn apart by my [Oscillation].

[You have defeated the Stormbear - lvl 13]

I feel another presence, and two more bears appear.

[Stormbear - lvl 12]

[Stormbear - lvl 15]

Even through the rain, I feel Tess's mana, and a terrible howling noise fills the surroundings.

Two massive chunks of iron, tempered with Tess's mana, come flying towards the bigger bear.

Unlike before, the mana around the ores feels different.

More dangerous.

The ores fly through the air with a terrifying noise, and there is a wisp of red and white lightning trailing behind them.

The stones hit the bear, and immediately, lightning comes down from the sky.

Red lightning with traces of white.

It hits the ore that's buried inside the bear, and an explosion ensues, burning the monster's body and sending a shockwave to the other bear.

Right after, I feel the mana collecting in Tess's chest and I dash forward. My mana vibrates and cuts through the stunned level 12 bear, and then I finish the terribly wounded bigger bear.

[You have defeated the Stormbear - lvl 12]

[You have defeated the Stormbear - lvl 15]