CH 65

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" A young boy ran frantically with all his might towards the solitary chair in his vicinity. The first pounce of the damn Antlion had caused the shield he was bestowed to bear three holes. One for each claw in its left front paw.

His body seemed fine, but his bruised head was hurting so badly that he overwhelmingly thought he was going to die. Then he looked for a way out, for something to help him survive. But the only thing he could do presently was run, and the closest goal was that chair. Thinking that perhaps he can resort to it to momentarily block the beast's raging momentum.

The Antlion that chased after the boy was displaying a strangely agitated attitude. Considering the fact that typical Antlions have quite cool temperaments, this was veritably a rare case. The reason for this was the terrible memories that its creator had left behind for it.

The last memory of the Antlion was from its ruined home. It remembered closing its eyes, awaiting the dreadful doom that had been a long time coming. It stooped into despair, knowing that it was going to die in the upcoming disaster descending upon its homeland. Shrill cries rang out everywhere, as their whole colony had started involuntarily going into a panic as soon as the Queen gave out its final command.

"Survive!"

However, though the Queen's words are sacred and must always be obeyed, the chaos that ensued was inevitable. It very vividly remembered the pain that wracked its disintegrating body, how it bled and irrevocably broke. But when it uncovered its eyes, it wasn't slain. Even as its frail body seemed to have exhausted the raw strength it recalled having, the unknown power that allowed it to grow was still there.

" Roar! " When it initially directed its attention towards the source of a sound near its vicinity, it wasn't genuinely that interested at first. But when the Antlion detected a source of great power in that creature holding an obsolete equipment, it was thrilled.

Conventionally, it was a beast that didn't reveal any hostile aura. Compared to its vicious appearance, the beast has an innate talent in physical enhancement. Keeping its mana inside its grotesque body instead of discharging them out, using them as reserves to boost its physical power by a level in bursts instead of a constant flow.

"Get me out of here!" Zel screamed at the top of his lungs, hoping to God that the man who forced him here would grant him a much-needed mercy. But it was all for naught as no response was given back to him.

(Focus! Feel the energy flow, don't force it. Don't command it. Let it flow.)

The words were an eye-opening advice for Zel, who then held the marbles in his hands gently instead of squeezing them tightly like he did beforehand. If it weren't for the perilous situation he was in, he would have likely grasp this in a few days. But he didn't enjoy a few minutes, let alone a few days.

"It's not working!" Even when he tried, nothing changed. The beast did not slow down at all, and the marbles were still the same size. If it were like what happened earlier today, then it would have started shrinking until nothing was left.

'Wait, what did I do before?' Zel who hadn't realized yet that he was presently exercising the time ability to think more rapidly, earnestly recounting what happened this morning. When he initially experienced it, how it started.

'To begin with, I held it in my hand, and then I felt a connection.' At that moment something in his mind clicked. Along with the advice that was given to him just now, he directly perceived it. An energy flowing inside him. He could discern it passing through everything, like his body represents a river and that energy was the water that flows in it.

"I got it!" Zel who was feeling only despair and anguish just a brief while ago felt his surroundings change. He was still running but now he had the courage to turn around. What he glimpses was the mocking smile of a predator who knew that he would certainly hunt down his prey. An arrogant expression. It was playing with him.

'Bastard!' The young boy had evoked an unfamiliar feeling, one so foreign and strange that it would surprise his family should they see him now. A red light was glowing from his eyes that presented the beast a death stare.

" Roar! " Perhaps the beast might have finally understood the situation as well, because it had started giving its all in the chase. The mana reserves on its body was purposely not enough to last a minute of minor enhancement, as the voice seems to have taken this into account. But even a few seconds was enough to disable and devour the helpless prey in the beast's mind. It pounced in the direction of the small prey.

'Dodge first!' Zel who was watching the beast in slow motion, moved out of its trajectory. His movements may be slower than the beast in normal circumstances but when time slows down, he was considerably faster. The terrible claws that could annihilate him in one swipe merely went by his right side, not even close.

'Now!' The boy who felt the marble in his right hand swiftly shrinking knew that he didn't possess much time. He needed to counter-attack before the time marbles are gone. Thankfully he could feel the flowing energy inside him and could somewhat control them as well.

(Think of your fist as a cup, then fill it with the energy. Too much and it overflows, and you injure yourself. Too little and it won't do enough damage. Identify it, accept it.)

Visualization was something the young Zel had always been able to do. It's why he loves writing down his thoughts, as he loves putting his visions into words. In the present circumstances, those skills were being put into good use.

'A cup, fill the cup with the energy.' A scarlet glow appeared over Zel's body. One that seemed to flow from his chest, radiating outwards to the rest of his body. But after they were manifested, a change in their direction occurred. The glow that circulated then coalesced into his right fist, brightening it up slowly.

"Die!" The violent rage in Zel's heart compounded with the destructive energy he stored in his fist. He threw a punch at the beast's head that was slowly turning around after failing to hit its target.

" Bang! Thud! Mewl! " The beast's body flew towards the opposing wall directly in front of Zel. Its head had already deformed, though Zel didn't know if it was owed to the force he produced or from the impact it sustained from hitting the wall. Whatever it was, the wounded beast was now giving out weak cries as it struggled desperately to stand.

"Hahaha! Gasp! Hahaha!" The ecstatic boy jumped in place after his success. He wasn't happy for beating it. He was merely grateful for being alive. He was so focused celebrating on his own that he didn't realize a table had appeared in front of the lone chair in this room. On top of the table, was an intricate blue bottle filled with luminous liquid.

"Huh?" As it seemed that the voice didn't desire to disturb the boy, it waited for him to identify the changes in the room on his own. The miserable beast had disappeared, no traces were left behind of it as well. Even the blood on his filthy hand and the cracked wall were gone.

"What's that?" Zel subsequently went towards the newly placed table and picked up the rather interesting bottle. He found a name written on its front and was quite confused as he didn't know the brand.

'Mana Elixir'

(If you want to wake up, then drink it.) The unknown voice interrupted Zel who was preoccupied with his own thoughts. For instance, why is he even here? What did he just do and what was that energy he felt inside him?

"Drink it? I thought this was a dream. Can I even drink here?" Zel who was still unable to grasp the whole situation asked. It felt marvelous to win but when he thought about it, this was just a dream. If he died, then maybe he would have already woken up.

'Damn, why didn't I think about that before?' Blaming himself wasn't right, but he couldn't resist it. As his rather inquisitive mind always tried to consider his options, weighing them out, he was ashamed to have lost his cool in the heat of the situation.

(If you got hurt, I would heal you. You wouldn't be able to leave without resolving the situation on your own. Don't blame yourself, blame me.) It seems that the voice was nevertheless capable of reading his mind, and Zel couldn't help but curse. Was there no more privacy in his own mind?

(Stop minding about that. Congratulations! You did it! You can go back now without having to be unsure of yourself. Just remember to feel it, don't force it. It's a part of you, not something foreign that you must reign in. Allow it to flow and it will follow your will.)

"Good! Haha! I survived!" The boy was up until now not over his victory. However, he was quite worried about trusting the voice. He sent him a monster and now he demands him to drink an unknown liquid. Though he was in his own mind, he couldn't help but feel unsafe.

(I told you about your body changing. That bottle contains the same energy you feel inside you right now. Currently, you have a small storage space for it in your heart.) Zel who was hearing this placed his hand over his chest. Sure enough, he did feel that his heart was accumulating the same energy that he had used earlier.

(Now that you can handle a little more, you should radically expand it as soon as you can. Tell me if it hurts and I'll stop bothering you. I swear, when I did it, it was quite pleasant.)

"You said that yourself, so it's a promise!" The innocent boy believed the urgent voice when it said it would leave him alone if it hurt. Not even considering the fact that there was nothing to hold the voice back from forcibly breaking its vow.

" Gulp. I don't feel anything stra- Moan! What the heck?" The young boy blushed furiously as an electrifying shock passed through his body. The minor wounds on his body that he got from running around were visibly healing, forcibly making the boy's plump body turn back into what it used to be. Feeling satisfied and relaxed, he stroked his stomach in pleasure.

'Wait.' That was until he thought about giving his stomach a light pat. 'Bong. Oh, my, god.'

'I just got thinner!' The familiar sound of his stomach being played with wasn't what was heard, instead it sounded relatively hard. Tears gushed out from the boy's eyes as he held on to the bottle in his nervous hands and sucked on the used bottle's opening. Sensing nothing was left in it, he looked at the sky and spread his arms wide.

"Give me more!" But what greeted him instead was an ever-expanding darkness that took away the light.