Chapter 83: The First Construct

Chapter 83: The First Construct

First, I forcefully take control of my mana, straining my brain to do so. But I already know what to do. I tried it on the man who wanted to kill me; I also tested it on so many monsters. I gave it a lot of thought and testing. So, it's time to do it for real.

I take a wisp of my mana and use it to etch the construct inside my body. Then I add more and more skills to do it.

I use [Mana Manipulation]

I use a super weak version of oscillation [Oscillation]

Then, [Mana Surge] fires up, boosting my [Mana Manipulation] as I am creating the construct.

It's not exactly like Sophie's; it has similarities to my trait, and mana circuit as well.

While doing so, the world outside of my mind becomes distant thanks to my deep [Focus] and I feel a few more stabs at my body, the monster delivering the poison again.

But I ignore it, and I ignore the mana that starts tearing through my body as I have to focus on creating the construct.

Every fiber of my being screams against the onslaught of mana, yet I grit my teeth and endure. I've always known that this would be no easy task. It feels like a maelstrom is raging inside me, wreaking havoc on my internal organs and threatening to consume me. The raw, wild energy of mana refuses to be tamed.

Yet as the world around me fades into the background and my existence narrows down to this singular task, there's a sense of calm that permeates my consciousness. Like the eye of a storm, calm amidst the chaos. The sensation is surreal like I'm observing myself from outside, detached from the pain. The harshness of my environment, the cold stones under my battered body, cold air, it all become secondary, put to the back of my mind.

I can almost visualize the intricate patterns of the construct, its complexity resonating with the very essence of my being. The inelegant yet beautiful pathways. In the end it's not only about surviving and taming my raging mana, it's about creating something new. Something mine. I'm just pulling strings of energy, shaping it, crafting it. It's a task that pushes me to my limits, a constant struggle against the raw, untamed force that is mana.

My arm twists and cracks, blood starts flowing from my nose and ears, one of my ribs breaks, and bruises start appearing all over my body. But I do not let it bother me. I continue to focus and slowly, carefully etch the pathways for the construct on my bones, connecting them to my circuit as well.

The construct slowly comes into existence and I make it stronger and more resistant against skills such as [Disruption]. I cover it in my mana, I hide it under my circuit.

My ears ring and I feel lightheaded. The pain of creating the construct is even worse than the pain of my body being ravaged by my own mana. It takes a lot of time - it feels like days, but in the end, I succeed.

A notification lights up. My first construct is as simple as this - the maximum I can do right now.

Congratulations, you have created your first Construct. The name will be kept as such and it will be shown in the status under active skills and over passive skills. Well done!

You have acquired Reinforcement (Construct)

The versatile enhancement that uses mana to bolster the user's physical, and mental abilities. By infusing specific aspects of their being with mana, it can improve strength, agility, defenses and mental resilience, providing overall support and stability for the user

Immediately, I feel the pressure of my mana lessen, and quite a bit of the amount starts flowing inside the construct and through the pathways I created. I feel my body strengthening up, almost the same amount as when I'm strengthening it actively.

The efficiency is not that good and it's wasting a lot of mana, and it's running the entire time instead of how I liked to use it - by sending pulses of mana through my body to strengthen the parts I wanted.

But it's a start. I am sure I can improve it in the future. I like that it's boosting multiple things.

Physically, thanks to my experience with boosting my body.

Mentally, thanks to my [Focus] and the fact that I wanted it to give me some resistance against mental attacks and the testing I did on all those Razorwings that had some sort of mental attacks.

But finally, some pain alleviates and the mana I have to deal with right now lessens. Maybe 20-30% of it flows into the construct.

Slowly a fire starts glowing around the monster. Just a few wisps of flames here and there around it but soon it's set ablaze.

Before they can burn me, [Disruption] clashes against the monster, making its flames die off.

The monster screeches and tries to do it again.

And I watch.

[Disruption]

I watch.

[Disruption]

I track the flow of its mana, following it carefully. Watching as fires come into existence.

[Disruption]

Unfortunately, the monster stops after a while, totally out of mana and not even screeching anymore.

So I grab its leg and swing the monster against the wall.

Crack

And again.

Crack. Splat.

[You have defeated a Venomous Needle Imp - lvl 40]

I wait for a bit, but nothing happens. I'm still here, and there's no portal. Okay, Granny, let me show you what I am capable of.

[Perception] fires off, and I start walking deeper inside the web of tunnels.

POV Maya Jones

"He has a sister?!”

“Yes, she's five years older than him.”

“Damn, it's hard to imagine that guy having an elder sibling.”

“I know where you're coming from, but just imagine a female version of him, only more sociable and significantly less forgiving.” The young blonde silences.

“That sounds terrifying.”

“More than you think.”