Chapter 52: When Lightning Strikes

Chapter 52: When Lightning Strikes

At one moment, Dennis' mana shines brightly, and he disappears. Immediately after, he reappears in the same spot. His clothes are now covered in blood, and he is breathless.

"Please hurry," he says weakly, "Dennis and the others won't be able to hold on for too long." He leans against a tree, almost falling down.

Dennis? Is this his twin Aaron? Did they switch places?

That would explain the wounds.

"Where are Lily, Kevin, and Kim?" I ask shortly.

"There's no time. You have to..."

He pauses when I step in front of him.

"This way..." he points his hand somewhere.

The thin string that connects the twins is leading right where he is pointing.

"If they're not there, I will hurt your brother."

His mouth opens and closes. His eyes turn to Tess, asking for help.

Is he messing with me?

I punch the wound on his chest, and he screams.

He tries to say something, but I punch his wound again, and he lets out an even louder scream.

"Where?"

My voice sounds too calm, even to myself.

Finally, some fear appears in his sky-blue eyes.

His hand moves, shaking, and he points somewhere.

"Tess?"

"I can't see through the raindrops."

I give a last look to the boy and dash towards where he was pointing.

Tess leaves one of her spears with him and follows me without any further hesitation.

My [Mana Perception] continues to fire up into the surroundings, but too much information comes back at me. Every single raindrop holds some mana as they fall, glowing slightly, illuminating our surroundings somehow.

But I continue.

I send mana further and further.

I unleash the entirety of my mana and filter out the useless information.

It hurts me, but I push through.

[Focus] makes the dull colors around me even less vibrant, but the mana in the drops shines even brighter.

"I'm sorry, I can't see a thing..." Tess apologizes, but I almost don't hear her.

The rain continues to hit us harder and harder, and I can feel the unnatural speed and weight of the raindrops on my skin.

Before it gets out of my reach, I absorb some energy and attack the wolf, leaving three deep slashes on its chest and neck before the mana around my hand disappears.

The monster thrashes around and falls down after a moment.

[You have defeated the Two-Headed Wolf - lvl 13]

Amidst the pouring rain, another monster appears.

[Stormbear - lvl 14]

Electricity crackles and dances around its dark, shaggy fur, casting an eerie glow in the gloomy surroundings. The ground trembles beneath its massive paws as it charges towards me with intimidating speed, revealing a gaping maw filled with razor-sharp teeth, each larger than my hand.

I absorb some energy from the rain, and the raindrops in a vast area slow down to a crawl.

A bit of that energy pushes Kevin towards Kim and Lily, and I take a step towards the charging bear.

More and more energy enters my body, and the Stormbear slows down as if it is running through water.

With each pounding beat of my heart, I can feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins.

I take another step.

As I gather more energy, my mana surges within me, threatening to spiral out of control like a wild, untamed storm.

Despite the chaotic forces churning inside, I focus my mind and control the power that dwells within me, ready to be unleashed when the moment is right.

The bear stands before me as I unleash all that energy in a narrow cone. The force of the blast obliterates one of the monster's front legs, reducing it to a mist of flesh, bones, and blood. Unable to maintain its balance, the bear staggers and collapses onto the ground in front of me.

The electricity around the monster dissipates, and an oscillating mana appears on my hand once more as I bury my hand deep inside the monster's head.

For a moment, electricity touches my hand, but it's torn apart by my [Oscillation].

[You have defeated the Stormbear - lvl 14]

I feel another presence, and two more bears appear.

[Stormbear - lvl 12]

[Stormbear - lvl 15]

Even through the rain, I feel Tess's mana and a terrible howling noise fills the surroundings.

Two massive chunks of iron, tempered with Tess's mana, come flying towards the bigger bear.

Unlike before, the mana around the ores feels different.

More dangerous, vicious.

The projectiles soar through the air with a fearsome sound, accompanied by a trail of red and white lightning that flickers and dances in their wake.

The ores hit the bear, and immediately, lightning comes down from the sky.

Red lightning with traces of white.

It hits the ore that's buried inside the bear, and an explosion ensues, burning the monster's body and sending a shockwave to the other bear.

Right after, I feel the mana collecting in Tess's chest, a signal for me, and I dash forward. My mana vibrates and cuts through the stunned level 12 bear, and then I finish the terribly wounded bigger bear.

[You have defeated the Stormbear - lvl 12]

[You have defeated the Stormbear - lvl 15]