Elio prepared himself to go flying again, his mind already planning to repeat the carbon sphere strategy.
But something unexpected happened.
His book began to glow, and a gust of wind surged from it, as if the system itself was responding to his determination. The air current swept through the chamber with an otherworldly howl, striking the creature and slowing its advance just enough to give Elio the opening he needed.
With the increased control provided by his eel, he manipulated the lithium with surgical precision, creating a prison around the decelerated monster.
The next moment...
For the first time since the battle began, his familiar was able to reach its target.
The eel's electrical discharge coursed through the lithium prison, amplifying its effect. Yellow-white energy crackled across the metallic surface as the creature convulsed for a moment before disintegrating, marking the challenge's end.
Elio remained on guard for a moment longer, expecting some final surprise. But the chamber remained silent, only the soft red glow of the lines on the walls illuminating the scene of his victory.
"Soon, Micah," he murmured, while his eel returned to his side, its color slowly returning to normal blue-green.
"One level closer to making that bastard pay."
♢♢♢♢
While his body fully regenerated, Elio observed the statue that had appeared in the chamber's center.
He had a feeling the message would be useless, but he still needed the resistance and defense bonuses, so he approached it.
The message's familiarity provoked a mix of contradictory emotions, its casual tone a stark contrast to the gravity of recent events.
"Congratulations on overcoming the third challenge of the second level of elemental control. Fortunately, this eighth test of that... Goddess, didn't overcome you. Now you have power over Neon, continue learning to use its power and don't forget to keep improving with the other elements."
The main message was similar to the previous ones... yes, but it was the postscript that made Elio clench his fists, remembering the unkempt god he had met in the deposit:
"P.S.: Sorry for the lack of originality in the message. Sometimes, even gods run out of creative ideas. But hey, at least you have a new element to play with!"
The informal tone of the repeated and useless message brutally contrasted with the rage still burning inside him over Micah's loss. That same joking god hadn't warned them about the true danger they would face in the deposit in time.
Each playful word felt like salt in an open wound.
The statue waited to be touched, like the previous two times. Elio extended his hand but stopped for a moment, his fingers hovering over the stone surface.
"How many more will we have to lose before they stop playing with us?" he murmured, before finally touching the statue's surface. The cold stone seemed to mock his pain with its unchanging presence.
The improvements flowed through his body, but this time there was no satisfaction, only calculating determination while analyzing his new capabilities. Each enhancement felt like another tool for his revenge rather than a triumph to celebrate.
Elio Von Elian's Statistics
Skills:
{5 Basic ones}
System's Armor 8 / ((Defense 8) (Magic Defense 8) (Magic Damage 8) (Resistance(800/800))
Portable oral oxygen stone
Balance: 100 mana points
♢♢♢♢
He had left most of the cores with Taron, so the new summon would have to wait.
It was time to test his abilities.
The neon manifested first, with a familiar sensation.
Similar to helium.
But more potent, more precise. The element danced around his fingers like foggy light, its power both familiar and alien.
While experimenting with the element, patterns began making sense in his mind.
The latest elements he had obtained seemed to be advanced versions or refined aspects of the previous ones. Each new discovery built upon the foundation of the old.
Nitrogen had taken cold power to new levels, lithium had increased magnetic control, and now neon seemed to be the refined form of helium's impulse.
It didn't just push; it allowed force vectors to be defined with previously impossible precision.
Elio began testing the new element's limits. Discover worlds on m-v le-mpyr
His strikes, powered by neon, traveled at significantly higher speeds than when using helium. However, when trying to propel himself, he noticed a curious limitation: the maximum distance didn't exceed what he could achieve with helium when his swift was summoned.
'Probably would need the supposed Roseline-Shark,' he thought, remembering the summon his book showed for a billion cores. 'But that will have to wait.'
The real surprise came when he began experimenting with combinations.
When mixing neon and helium while the swift was present, the impulse increased dramatically: from 16 meters to 24. It was a substantial improvement that opened new tactical possibilities, the air itself seeming to bend to his will.
He made some quick calculations: he could now move 1280 meters through the air at level 8, or if he preferred speed over distance, he could cover 960 meters 50% faster than before. The possibilities made his mind race with tactical applications.
The only downside to neon was the cost: the 24-meter impulses consumed 2 mana points each, limiting him to 40 uses with his current reserve. Every push had to count.
While considering these new capabilities' implications, he noticed something different in his book.
In the upper left corner of the cover, a green emblem had appeared. The power emblem's reward. The power that had manifested in the battle's last moment, facilitating his victory against the final creature.
'The same power that monster used,' he thought, his jaw tensing at the memory. The wind, the element that seemed to define this first ring of deposits, was now partially under his control.
Elio flexed his fingers, feeling the power flow through them like invisible currents. Every new capability, every improvement, was another step closer to his revenge. This wasn't about celebrating victories anymore; it was about accumulating the power necessary to make that creature pay for what it had pushed Micah to do.
Everything would become another tool in his arsenal when the time came for the final encounter.