Chapter 166: Breakthrough (1)

For a moment, both sides just stood in their places, staring at me as if I was some kind of utter idiot. For a short moment, important figures from both of the opposing forces united in shock caused by my response. 

"I only need to accomplish three things to be happy. First, is to obtain the sacred core. And to be frank," spreading my arms out, I shrugged before locking my eyes on the winged man nearby, "I don't even have any idea what this core looks like or what it does." 

In theory, revealing one's cards just like that was a fatal mistake. By telling the potential enemy what my objective was, I gave both the man and the winged-man a way to easily control me. But in this specific situation, I didn't really pay it any mind. 

Whoever would be capable of baiting me with the core, would earn my loyalty. That was the crux of the matter that I openly acknowledged right now. And in such a situation, the side that would offer a greater bid would receive my help. 

It was that simple.

"I don't know the story behind it, nor am I interested in any permanent reward of sorts. Now, duke it out between yourselves who is willing to pay more." Shrugging once again, I wore a charming smile. "I can wait."

In a single moment, the faces of both of the men turned sharp. Their eyes turning into slits, their heads lowering. At the same time, I took a few steps back, helping myself to one comfortable stone that just happened to be around. 

At the same instant, as the two dashed towards me while bearing their weapons, I struck the activator of the recurring barrier stone. 

This was the first time I dared to use this potential disaster-level stone. Because with firepower, I could somehow manage. But with a stone aiming at separating one place from another while reaching the limits of what the fabric of the world could withhold… 

I was risking quite a lot. In fact, if not for the failsafe of the system, I wouldn't be as daring. 

The attack came. 

Slashing from above his head, the human officer didn't hold back at all. But right before his sword-slash could connect, a powerful fist threatened to crush me whole. 

Thankfully, two of the normal barriers that I erected managed to slow down the attack for a short moment. Yet, on the other hand, that moment was long enough for the recurring stone to reach the breaking points of its inner structure. 

Sssssss…

It sounded as if all the air suddenly escaped from the balloon known as the universe. At the same time, my vision suddenly waned. 

No.

It wasn't my eyes playing tricks on me. 

It was the real world suddenly growing apart, separated from a tiny sphere I stood in by abyssal darkness. The darkness that kept on growing. 

Knowing the way the other recurring stones worked, I quickly made use of the opportunity. Pulling my backpack on my chest, I quickly scavenged for the most suitable tools. After all, I wasn't anywhere close to giving up!

By the time the outside of a small sphere around me disappeared completely, I already armed a set of three stones in each of my hands, with my very last gun hanging from my neck. 

And as expected, this strange separation quickly came to an end. 

As if it was my sphere moving at a suddenly increasing speed, the darkness started to shrink. Soon, a tiny dot of light grew to the size of a star, then sun, then… As if coming up from the depths of a well, I was speeding towards the light of the rest of the world. 

And then the barrier snapped. 

It wasn't broken. Just from how primal and fundamental the forces that stood behind the event were, it was clear that no human could wield such an enormous power to break through this barrier. 

Because from what I saw, it wasn't a barrier at all. 

It was a damned rift in the fabric of the fucking world!

With this thought appearing in my mind, the insides of my head suddenly spun. A sudden burst of terror overwhelmed my entire self, just as the reality snapped back to its natural state, releasing a tremendous force.

At first, a low tremor announced the beginning of the disaster. Humans and monsters alike, everything stopped. Even the heroic figures from both sides ceased their fighting. Then, the impact of the disaster finally exploded outwards into the physical world. 

If my random guess was right, then what I just caused was akin to a nuclear bomb if not far worse. Because for a moment, my barrier created a vortex in the space that was so powerful, that it managed to rip this piece of space away from the rest! 

And now that this force rebounded through the ground, it seemed as if the entire plain on which the battle took place wiggled. Then, the first anomaly appeared. 

It only swallowed a circle roughly two meters in diameter. Enveloping the cursed location with a bright light, the explosion of magic energy would create a disorder in the fabric of the space, turning even ground into ragged hell. 

A few moments later, more and more anomalies started to appear, as the rampart mana followed its natural rules. 

"Thinking about this…" The constant anomalies drew my attention. It was a while since I attempted to strengthen myself directly instead of relying on some foreign tools. As powerful as those stones were, their might wasn't a force that I could call mine. 

And the energy that nearly made the air vibrate was a perfect fit for my long-forgotten cultivation!

As the forces of both sides couldn't do anything against the disaster outside of covering in fear, I suddenly inhaled the air before slowly exhaling it out. Calming myself down, I focused on the techniques that Pavlo compiled for me a few days in the past. Following the instructions, I visualised the paths within my body. Paths, that my energy used to flow. 

Then, as if trying to squeeze a shit out of my arsehole, I tensed all up. And in the instant I relaxed, the energy in the air came pouring into my pores. Instantly feeling me with the raging inferno of pure might, the mana alone instantly started to burn my body away. 

*Host's body critically injured, forced exit in three, two…*

Noticing the flash of the system's notification amidst the ocean of endless pain, I only managed to do one thing.

"Stop! I can hold!" My lips didn't part. My voice didn't come out. Nevertheless, the system registered my thoughts.

As the mana continued to burn my body from inside, I felt as if the pain managed to reach the nerves that I never knew I had. At this point, my body, my soul and my mind were all burning in hellish pain. 

Yet, this pain allowed me to finally feel the soul traces within my body. The very paths that I was focused on, turned out to be the fabric of my soul, now fully coated with mind-numbing pain. 

But then, the horror came to an end. Managing to clutch a few seconds of clarity, I finally made use of my entire potential. Invoking a picture of Ayda running towards me with a carefree smile during one of the very few trips we made, I felt the energy within me suddenly changing the way it acted. 

For a moment, this unstoppable force was fully shackled, following the ordained path despite the natural resistance to the change of directions. And then, everything jerked back,  leaving my body in pristine condition, slowly accustoming itself to the insane load of energy in the air.

"So that's how it is…" Invoking this simple picture was most likely what saved me. In the end, whether it was the magic of the stones or the magic of the witches, it was still magic altogether. Meaning, even if I couldn't handle the burden of such power as a cultivator, I could easily solve its aftereffects as a true mage!

"Let's see how far I can take it then!" Suddenly rejuvenated by the glorious idea, I looked at my hands. The power within me still didn't manage to properly settle in my body, yet it was already raging to get tested. 

Holding the shine in my fist back, I calmed my mind before taking yet another breath. 

From just a single look, I could tell that this sudden influx of energy not only managed to purify my body, not only forcefully made my cultivation soar, it even added more depth to it, now that I could properly feel all parts of my self. 

But it wasn't enough. Given the situation, I was hellbent on milking the opportunity in this situation to its maximum. Heck, if I could improve just like that, I wouldn't mind devastating some abandoned continent with all the recurring stones that Sander still had in stock!

Taking a step forward, I enjoyed the breeze of the energy on my cheek before spreading the arms and repeating the process. 

Once again, the wild energy of the disaster poured into my body, setting it alight. Once again, my mind was overwhelmed by an endless ocean of pain. Once again, I felt as if I could lose myself in the torture. 

But ultimately, I prevailed. Prevailed and even managed to assimilate most of the energy in the process!

And as soon as I opened my eyes, I saw that the disaster finally came to an end, with my parasitic action sucking a huge chunk of its innate energy.