Chapter 82: In the Darkness

Chapter 82: In the Darkness

She radiates absolute confidence as always, even while sitting in a cheap wooden chair in the middle of the small, simple room.

The moment I enter, her eyes land on me. I don't even feel her mana, yet I know I am being probed.

[You have defeated an Ironbeak - lvl 54]

A notification sounds in my mind, and I realize that she just killed the monster I left outside. Without a single move. Without any trace of mana from her.

"Are you satisfied with your growth?" she blatantly asks, and I immediately know that there is only one answer I can give her.

But why is she asking me that? I am growing nicely, improving my skills, and even gaining some levels. Actually, quite a few levels. I am safe, I have food, and even someone to talk to if I wish to do so. The view is goddamn amazing and there's even this silly dog I can bully and learn from. The bed is comfortable and I can take warm baths.

"I am not."

It sucks.

Even though I am safe, I feel like a prisoner, unable to get away from Ruby and she doesn't let me go far. My growth is slower and in the back of my mind, I start worrying about whether I will be strong enough to survive the end of this floor.

"Not at all."

The monsters here, even ones higher leveled than me, are easy to kill. There's no challenge, no risk. Nothing to make my blood flow. Nothing to push me hard enough.The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøv€l-B1n.

"Good."

Her mana hits me like an avalanche and I feel her doing something to me, something I can't even track. It makes me curious and annoyed at the same time. She then turns to Ruby.

"Your gift," she says simply, and immediately the redheaded woman activates her skill, the one she used to teleport us through vast distances, making space in front of her shrink, and bend.

And then, I feel the gray-haired woman do something I didn't know was possible. She connects to Ruby's skill with an ease I can't fathom and she feeds it mana, she takes over it and supercharges it, making it much stronger than it should be. She also does something else that I can only explain as changing coordinates. Her immense mana that makes my body shiver engulfs the room and then I feel a push from behind my back.

Soft, almost gentle.

"It was annoying to watch you hunting here so safely," she says.

Watch me?

Well, it's not like I'm not in it right now.

I've already walked quite a distance and there's still only pitch-black darkness, not a single speck of light. It's cold, it's wet, and I'm careful with every step, continuously reaching out with my hand to avoid hitting the wall. I continue to force myself to breathe slowly and deeply to not panic. It's harder now that I can't use [Focus].

For the first time in a long time, I start feeling some fear.

But it's bearable. I've been through worse.

What the fuck! It's already been like ten hours?

No sign of the monster and my mana is getting worse and worse every time I get better at handling it.

[Focus - lvl 17 > Focus - lvl 18]

[Mana Manipulation - lvl 19 > Mana Manipulation - lvl 20]

I've leveled up my skills again, but it just doesn't stop. It's getting worse. Every level-up only increases the time I can hold on but is unable to stop the poison. Still, I did learn a lot and improved my control and my handling of mana. I can now more easily make it flow the way I want, hold it at bay, and direct it to places inside my body.

But can I level up fast enough to stop it or will I need to try something else?

Yep, I can't hold on.

Another 10 hours pass and I stop moving, putting my entire mind into handling my mana. Thankfully, the monster doesn't attack me but I still keep a small part of my mind ready to fight back when it happens. When it attacks again, I will tackle it and take hold of my mana for a second, strengthen my body, and quickly finish it. That will teach him.

The main problem now is my almost uncontrollable mana. For the first time, I feel a hint of fear from it, realizing how dangerous it is. There might even be some regret for not putting more points into constitution. But I won't give up.

It's MY mana.

It's MY body.

I will push through as I always have.

Okay, screw it. I don't think I can hold on much longer. Let's risk it.

Let's finally create a construct.