Chapter 51: When Darkness Falls

Chapter 51: When Darkness Falls

Unable to lie to myself, I put three points into mana. At this point, it starts to feel as if I'm going to kill myself sooner than my enemies.

It's like I'm drawn to it, you know?

I can't help but seek it, I want more, and I'd even let go of some things to get it.

It's so dumb and illogical, but at the same time, it makes me happy.

Happy and scared at once.

Lvl 19

Strength: 13

Dexterity: 12

Constitution: 27

Mana:39

This can't be good, right? Even now, I can feel my body creaking under pressure as I use more and more mana. Only my control holds it back from wreaking havoc on my body as I continue to strengthen myself.

Dang it, I'd better learn some amazing skills in the future to make use of all this mana. Using it mostly to strengthen my body feels good, sure, but at the same time, it's as if I'm using a sports car just to get to the shop and back home.

Wasted mana lies here dormant, waiting until my skills are good enough.

Soon!

Hopefully...

My perception warns me, and I jump backward just in time to avoid a troll hitting the ground where I once stood.

[Battle Troll - lvl 11]

Its tattoos are red and glowing. The troll grabs his club and swings it at me again. My mana pushes against him, and I lift my empty hand against the club, quickly absorbing the energy of his swing. It slowly slows down until it hits my hand.

It feels as if someone hit my palm with their fist.

I focus, and the absorbed energy explodes against the troll, making him stagger backward. With a jump, I reach his neck and stab my hand through it, the hand coated in oscillating mana. Then I jump backward, leaving the troll to slowly die.

[You have defeated the Battle Troll - lvl 11]

The fight continues for a few more minutes, and then we move once again through the forest, trying to avoid a bigger group of monsters and not stay in one spot for too long.

"Kim reached level ten and got a trait," Tess says after rejoining me.

Telekinetic Reflexes (Passive):

This trait heightens the user's reflexes and reaction time by using their telekinesis to subtly manipulate their own movements. This enhancement allows the user to react more quickly and accurately in combat, improving their ability to dodge attacks and execute precise movements.

"He said it might allow him to fly or give some hints so he can learn to fly in the future. He didn't even check the other traits."

At this point, I don't even know what to say. In some ways, Kim might be even worse than me.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.

"Hadwin's coming," she stops and falls quiet once again until the man comes from behind the trees, followed by one of the kids from his group, the boy.

So seeing them darken like that and more and more of them is kind of disturbing.

"Aaron says we should come back..."

Huh? Isn't that too soon?

"Attack?"

"Nothing as of now, but there are more and more monsters surrounding them, and it's as if they're waiting for something."

I don't like that at all. What is the system planning now?

"Let's go back."

I turn back to where we came from and start walking ahead. This time I don't even check Tess for direction and follow the thin thread of mana leading from Dennis towards his brother.

The clouds are getting darker and darker, and it's getting hard to see, as we can't even see the suns anymore.

The trees are creaking under the wind, and the leaves are wildly flying everywhere. Even with our strengthened bodies, it's slowly getting harder to push through it.

Then the rain starts.

It's cold and falls on us like a shower. One moment there is nothing, and half a second later, we are drenched in water.

The raindrops are weakly tinged in the same colors as aurora-like lights during the night. Pink, green, and blue. They continue hitting our bodies with surprising force.

There are no monsters around us, and that makes me even more nervous.

"We have to hurry," the boy screams, trying to shout over the rain, the creaking sounds of trees, and the wind.

So we push.

At some point, it's hard to track the thin string of mana. The raindrops hold tiny bits of mana inside them, so it's starting to mess up my [Mana Perception] pretty badly, and I let the boy take over and lead us towards the group.

As we are getting closer to the others, I get the same feeling as when the suns disappeared.

For a few seconds, all the raindrops pause in the air as if someone stopped time, even the wind stops.

In deafening silence, I hear the screeches of the monsters.

Then the rain continues, and we start running faster.

"Hurry, please," Dennis says, and I can barely hear him through the rain.

A minute later, another monstrous wave of mana washes over the entire forest, and the raindrops hover in the air without falling.

This time we continue to run through them.

A few moments later, I hear the low, deep growl of a bear, and the rain resumes, silencing the roars of the monsters.

I quickly check the timer.

Time left until forced return: 4y 336d 23h 59m 42s

There are two days left.