Chapter 193

Chapter 193

I stare down at the defeated High Orge at my feet, and a new blue text window fills my vision.

[Use Advanced Mana Manipulation]

Advanced Perk: [Temporary Minion]

Enter Desired Level: 0-422

[YES][NO]

I whisper under my breath.

"Mana Manipulation...?

I open my status, checking to confirm that I have two brand new Advanced Combat Magic Skills: Mana Manipulation, and Earth Summoning.

I remember absorbing both abilities, but testing them out has been the last thing on my mind. I've been more focused on healing up and making sure the Association doesn't find out about my accelerated progress too fast.

Testing the full range of my power was going to wait until I could actually use the power without these painful headaches and chest pains.

I blink a few times, then turn back to the glowing blue screen that hovers over the defeated monster.

I smirk, remembering the Knights I fought before the Floor Boss appeared, this must be the same ability.

I select "300" for a level, then choose "YES".

Immediately, my right hand begins to glow red and I feel the sensation of mana leaving my body fast.

Checking my status, I watch my bar go down a few hundred MP.

Thin pink threads leave my red glowing hand and begin floating through the air before connecting to the top of the Dead Ogre's Head.

As they connect, the strands turn white, then go completely invisible to the naked eye.

The thin strings of mana begin stitching the Ogre's sliced body back together and I watch the monster stand back up to its feet.

The beast's eyes are open, but there's no sign of life...

It grips its sword and stares forward without moving a muscle. A new blue screen fills my vision.

[Temporary Minion] Level: 300

Deactivate: [YES][NO]

I look the monster up and down in awe.

I can feel the mana that was sucked out of me during the activation flow from my fingertips and into the body of this lifeless creature.

I close my eyes... Then lift the Ogre's arm carrying its sword with only my mind. I open my eyes and it does exactly what I pictured it would.

I smirk, then picture the monster taking a step forward. It does instantaneously, making the ground crunch under its feet.

I let out a chuckle, making the mana thread connected to its head twist and turn. The 4-meter tall monster effortlessly moves to my every command.

It feels like an extension of myself. Almost as if I'm the one in its body, making every movement with exact precision.

The only downside I feel is the further away it gets, the less precise and clear the connection becomes. The longer I stay in control, extra MP is also being used to maintain the connection. It's a small amount, but enough to set my headache in motion again.

Before I can do much more testing, the corpse of the beast begins to dissolve. As its body disintegrates, it leaves behind a single mana crystal and my bond is severed.

It's all blank. There's nothing there but a void of mana twisting and turning. It's similar to the inside of a Titan's domain. Teleporting into that is just asking for trouble, there's no guarantee of getting out.

I gulp, then deactivate my teleportation skill. That confirms it. The boss room has been defeated and the cooldown timer is real.

No one from the Association can find out about this. As I planned earlier, I'll need to fake my failure. It needs to seem as though I've really tried to face the boss and was way out of my league.

I need to set the scene...

Remembering back to how I actually looked after the battle was over, I let out a sigh and find an old shirt in my item storage to put on and tear to pieces.

With a smirk, I activate my Earth Summoning skill and begin covering my face, boots, elbows, and knees in a layer of dirt.

Next, I take my sword and ignite it into flames.

I make sure my breathing is heavy before reaching into my storage to take out the small white glistening transport crystal.

With a hesitant look only my face, I summon a glossy sword of stone similar to the one the knight used in battle. Of course, mine is much smaller and doesn't have a hint of mana shelling lining it.

Closing my eyes, I send it flying into my side, making sure to miss any vital spots.

I let out a grunt, as HP falls off my health bar. I whisper to myself as blood drips into the stone floor.

"It has to be more convincing..."

Rolling my eyes and letting out a sigh, I summon another glossy stone sword and give myself two more slashes.

They aren't bad wounds, but they look deep enough to the untrained eye to be legit. I'll just drink an HP potion before anyone gets too close to examine me.

Fisher said to use this crystal if I get into any trouble during my training. I assume the transport point for these items is going to be in a semi-public Association-owned area, so I'll make sure to dress the part.

It's now or never.

My headache is starting to kill me, and the ringing in my ears is getting unbearable.

I take out an HP potion and throw it in my back pocket.

Without another thought, I grip the white crystal hard in my left hand and it shatters to pieces.

I feel a warm energy envelop my entire arm. It travels up to my shoulder, then to my chest, and soon flows through my entire body.

My vision goes white, and the feeling of transportation magic forces itself over my whole body.

Seconds later, I fall to the ground. My sword hits a hard white flooring with a loud clang as I catch myself with two open palms.

My ears are still ringing and my breathing is heavier than ever. My vision is blurry, but I can see my own crimson blood dripping onto a glossy white surface below me.

I let out a gasp, that slowly turns into a chuckle while staring at the ground.

"I made it..."

My blurred vision starts to finally come back to normal and I stand to my feet. Taking the HP potion out of my back pocket, I start looking around to see where exactly I've landed.

An audible gulp comes out of my mouth as my gaze lifts from the pure white flooring to making eye contact with myself...

I'm standing in a square room, about 5 meters wide, with 3 full-walled mirrors and a heavy metal door on the 4th.

Both the floor and ceiling are covered in dense white mana shielding, and there doesn't seem to be an easy way out of here.

I murmur under my breath while my eyes dart back and forth.

"This... Is not what I was expecting..."