Chapter 44: Power!
As Erix flew high in the sky while controlling the boulder, the pressure on his mind and control started increasing.
Five hundred meters.
Eight hundred meters.
One kilometer!
*Whistle!*
The Bloodwood Eagle cried as he sensed Erix becoming unstable and lowered its speed.
'Continue!'
[Metal Affinity Building Up]
[Progress Phase...]
Despite the pressure, Erix gritted his teeth as he maintained control over the 1000-kilogram metal boulder.
The Bloodwood Eagle continued flying high as it sensed his master's determination.
One thousand five hundred meters!
Two kilometers!
'Urghh!'
Erix's head had unique veins popping while his pale skin adopted a dreamy light blue hue.
He was exerting his full mental effort and trying to stabilize his consciousness, but to no avail.
' S-Shit....'
His consciousness got wobbly as the Bloodwood Eagle reached three thousand meters of height before finally stopping.
[Metal Affinity Progress Phase completed and recognized.]
[Congratulations. You have successfully awakened Metal Affinity.]
The moment he heard the notification and felt a jolt in his entire being, he lost control of the metal boulder.
'Fuck!'
The boulder started descending rapidly, but Erix's mind was vibrating, causing his vision and consciousness to become chaotic.
The Bloodwood Eagle didn't need to hear its master's command as it quickly flew down and caught up with a boulder.
'Good job!'
'Ugh, when will this end?' Erix internally grunted as he tried to exert his willpower and focus on stabilizing himself.
The boulder was changing its direction without Erix's minor interference, which was an essential step to making his plan work. nove/lb.1n
Even at the meteoric speed of the boulder, he needed to occasionally exert his control to keep its landing point on the Demon inside the warehouse.
But his current situation prevented him from using his Metal Control skill.
'This is not good!'
However, when the boulder was 1.5 kilometers away from landing, Erix suddenly felt liberated from his chaotic situation and... felt a new realm of power flowing in his mind.
He looked at the boulder and instantly exerted control over it, stopping it in mid-air despite its fast speed!
'What the fuck....'
The Eagle also cried out in shock and widened its wings to make a sudden break seeing the situation.
"Hahahah!"
Erix burst out laughing at how easily he was controlling this metal boulder of one thousand kilograms, feeling no pressure or pain anywhere!
"Let's go up, buddy! This time... even higher than before!"
[ Metal Affinity ]
_Realm: Alpha.
_Description: Attunded to Metals and Absolute Telekinesis over Metal objects with no limits on their size and weight as long as you have mana or stamina to consume for higher exertion and actions.
'I am no longer feeling even the slightest discomfort,' Erix internally grinned at having his power developing in such a way.
If he had to describe it in another way, he was controlling this one-ton metal boulder like holding a softball in his hand.
*Whistle!*
The Eagle stopped and tilted its head towards Erix.
'Nah, one kilometer more.'
Erix decided to drop it from four kilometers into the sky!
The Eagle continued while Erix fell into thought, looking at his Metal Affinity panel.
'If this Alpha is starting realm, then it means 1 according to the Greek letter number equivalent. So, the next realm should be Beta since it means 2.'
'But I already have absolute control over metal objects, so what kind of powers I'll have in the next realm of Metal Affinity?'
Erix couldn't imagine it, but he was already bubbling with excitement in anticipation of his future.
After all, gaining power in every man's first romance.
...
"Why did he go up again?" Rin muttered while squinting her eyes toward the sky.
"No idea, but I think he must have some plan," Isabella was cautiously looking around instead of observing the sky.
"Mum, I want to pee," Aaron said.
While Isabella helped Aaron with his peeing, Rin saw the metal boulder descending in heating fury.
But when she saw carefully, she was dumbfounded.
"Erix! What is he doing standing on that boulder?! Wait, that speed... Sis Bella, quickly use your Frost Shield in this direction to cover us!"
The bloodwood eagle also flew alongside the boulder, folding its wings and using all its power to descend at a speed surpassing sound.
On the other hand, Erix finally saw the warehouse and the landing point as he ferociously grinned and jumped up, exerting his strength and giving his all to increase the metal boulder's speed further!
*Zeeeeeeeeeesh!*
Inside the warehouse, the Crimson Demon indeed managed to sense the sudden threat descending on him and quickly erected a half-assed barrier for the defense to protect himself.
'WTF!'
*BOOM!*
-948!
The crash created a loud reverberating sound and a massive crater as a powerful shockwave spread in all directions!
Even Rin, Isabella, and Aaron were affected, but the Frost Shield blocked the shockwaves and kept them from being injured. Still, they were considerably pushed back when the shockwave hit them.
*Crackle...Blitz!*
The moment shockwave ended, Rin's leg muscles tightened as she used Thunder Blitz and Lightning Charge before dashing towards the crater's center and swinging both swords in an X motion while using Sword Beam!
The Crimson Demon was trying to stand while being on the verge of death.
'Heal, potion!'
In utter panic due to his dying condition, he quickly took out a potion from his storage pouch, but just as that potion touched his lips, his ears rumbled with a thunderous lightning sound while his eyes looked toward the incoming attack.
An X-shaped sword beam projectile which had his death written on it.
'Bloody Hell!'
*Puchi!*
His already messed up body was clearly cut into four pieces as Rin heard a melodious sound in her head, causing a satisfying smile to appear on her face.
[You have killed a level 56 Crimson Demon. You have gained +15 Health.]
The Demon's body vanished into motes as a treasure chest appeared. It was not white, cyan, or blue but... dark pink.
Epic.
[ Treasure Chest (Epic grade) ]
However, Rin's eyes were attracted to a dark red crystal orb beside the chest.
[ Origin Core (Supra-Order) ]
_Type: Demonic.
'Now, how do I absorb this core to complete the class task?'
[Please complete the rank-up quest and create your origin core (magic core) to absorb this.]
'Ah, the rank-up quest. Got it.'