Chapter 111: Blizzard, part 4/?: Spike

Chapter 111: Blizzard, part 4/?: Spike

The blizzard swallowed the world around them, reducing visibility to a mere few feet as Tia and the small group behind her marched forward.

With each step, the snow seemed to grow deeper, the cold more biting, and the wind's roaring louder. Yet the flames spiraling around them, guided by Tia's telekinesis and the solidified telekinetic barrier, created a small bubble of warmth around them.

She saw their tiredness as they dragged forward with pale faces and trembling legs. Yet, the oppressive feeling of being watched didn't relent as it clung to Tia like a shadow.

'Should I attack it first with my particle-ray weapons?'

The uncertainty of its presence and her inability to see and understand its nature left her feeling exposed and reluctant to attack first. Yet she felt like running away wasn't an option, only a way to waste energy.

"Stop!" Tia yelled over the wind and raised her hand to signal the group behind her.

'We should be far enough from the previous site; tracking blindly even further into the blizzard would be foolish.'

"Why are..."

"Shut up and do not question me if you want to live." The situation was already bad, and she was in no mood to deal with the youth. Suddenly, Tia tensed as she felt the cold presence getting closer, stalking in their steps.

Suddenly, the howl of the blizzard was pierced by a lethal whistle that cut through the tumult. A spike of ice, gleaming in the few rays of light passing through the clouds, whistled menacingly through the blinding white of the snow veil.

The invisible tendrils of Tia's kinetic force reacted and resonated as it quickly approached while she calculated its speed, force, and trajectory.

With no time to spare, Tia's instincts ignited into action, and turbulent kinetic energy surged through her body and her glove, flowing through her defensive ring and getting infused with its enchantments. With cracking sounds, the kinetic barrier shifted and rearranged, visible only by the rippling distortion it cast upon the world.

'Not enough.'

Even more, energy surged into the barrier, thickening it with a surge of focused intent.Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

(Infuse -> Sharp, Pierce, Solidify)

The two sets of runes overlapped and merged, and her senses locked onto the magic radiation far in the distance, a grin forming on her face as she craved to see the new peak of her firepower and the growth it represented.

Ding!

//

You have learned the new skill [Novice Mana Sense (1%)] with your own efforts!

Reward: 2 WP; +2 to MAG; +1 to INT

//

Ding!

//

[Novice Mana Sense (1%)]

Description: The ability to sense magic radiation and to gauge its intensity and source. Slightly improves the control over mana.

//

The runes and TIa's resolve flickered as she realized it only nowthe demon's magic presence was so palpable she felt it and awakened the new skill.

'No, there is no backing out. It is official now that it has hostile intentions.' She wasn't someone who would just sit and defend herself, so she suppressed her uneasiness.

Tia pulled the trigger.