Elio carefully considered his options.
The nitrogen reaction had been promising, no doubt, but not decisive. The barrier was still standing, though altered. He needed more information, more data to work with.
"Perhaps I should try all my abilities," he thought, remembering his strategy in level 6. "Starting from the beginning."
Ice Ball floated beside him, watching curiously as its master pondered the next move.
"I'll start from the beginning," Elio decided. "Oxygen, the first element I learned to control."
Elio extended his hand towards the silver barrier, concentrating on generating pure oxygen.
With a fluid gesture, he directed the oxygen towards the shining surface.
The effect was immediate and surprising. Where the oxygen touched the barrier, it began to fade like mist under the morning sun. Elio watched, fascinated, as the structure easily reduced.
"Interesting," he murmured, a smile of satisfaction curving his lips.
However, his joy was short-lived. At this rate, he would have to stay a few days at this level to overcome it. If it was the same size as the one at level 6...
If it were even bigger... He didn't want to think about that.
The part of the barrier that had turned dark red after his nitrogen attack remained intact, defiant against the oxygen.
Elio frowned, his mind working at full speed. "If the barrier is long again, I'll spend too much food," he reflected aloud. "Maybe I need something more... explosive."
The idea of an explosion was tempting, but Elio knew he had to be cautious.
He decided to try the other elements at his disposal.
He had already tried nickel and carbon to negative effects.
Hydrogen had a minimal reaction, oxygen was enormously better.
Helium was his next attempt. He generated a powerful gust, hoping that the force of the air could erode the barrier better than oxygen. To his disappointment, the helium simply bounced off the surface, causing no effect at all.
Elio began to analyze this new information. The barrier seemed to have a violent reaction with water, a reaction that exceeded his expectations.
"I have to be extremely careful," he told himself. "This reaction could be as dangerous for me as it is for the barrier."
Despite the danger, Elio couldn't help but feel a spark of excitement.
Elio knew that with a little more water, he could open a complete passage. However, something stopped him. A feeling of unease came over him.
"The monsters," he thought, remembering the previous challenges.
Elio tensed, anticipating the imminent confrontation. He remembered the penguins from the previous level, how they had controlled the cold that had tormented him. These new monsters, he supposed, must be the source of that mysterious energy that paralyzed him when touching the ground or walls.
"It's not a good idea to continue now," he told himself. "I need to take advantage of the protection and regenerate to the maximum."
With that idea in mind, Elio decided to reinforce his defenses. He looked at his boots, covered with that strange material he had created almost by accident. The "homemade polyethylene" had proven to be surprisingly effective.
"If it works for my feet and hands, why not for the rest?"
Carefully, Elio began to generate more of that material, meticulously applying it over his body. He covered his legs, his torso, his arms. Each layer he added seemed to provide additional protection against that mysterious energy.
The process was slow and consumed a considerable amount of his mana. When he finished, Elio felt as if he was wrapped in a second skin, slightly rigid but surprisingly flexible.
"It's not the most elegant armor," he muttered to himself, flexing his fingers to test mobility, "but if it works, I'm not complaining."
Aware of his low mana level, Elio decided to retreat a bit into the tunnel. He needed to recover both his energy and his resistance before the final confrontation.
As he rested and fed himself, Elio mentally reviewed his strategy. "Attack the two penguins simultaneously," he reminded himself, thinking of the advice he had given to Zara. "But this is a new level. There could be surprises."
When he finally felt ready, Elio returned to the damaged barrier. With a fluid movement, he generated another sphere of water and threw it. The resulting explosion finished opening the way.
Advancing cautiously, Elio crossed the threshold where the barrier had been. Immediately, he felt a change in the environment. The mysterious energy was stronger here, almost palpable. He could feel it piercing through his protection, though much weaker than if he didn't have it.
"It works," he thought with relief, grateful for his improvised armor.
But his relief was short-lived. As he ventured further into the chamber, Elio stopped dead in his tracks. In front of him, there were not two monsters as he expected, but four.