Chapter 17 – Colony (4)

Chapter 17 – Colony (4)

[Mana Manipulation lvl 6 → Mana Manipulation lvl 7]

[Mana Manipulation lvl 7 → Mana Manipulation lvl 8]

For a moment, he stared at the floating blade. Then, he reached out and grabbed it, carefully running a finger along the edge.

It wasn’t close to sharp enough to split his skin at such a light touch, but Rowan thought it would’ve easily cut him before he’d gained so many points in toughness.

And if the blade before him had some power behind it…he closed his eyes and imagined it severing the legs or stabbing into the eyes of ants.

But after a few more seconds of playing around with his newly formed weapon, he let it dissipate. It took a constant stream of energy to maintain, and while his mana was mostly topped off, he didn’t want to waste—Rowan stopped.

The blade before him was still there. It hadn’t dissolved into the air the moment he relinquished control over it.

He watched in fascination as the blade crumbled at the edges, eroding until there was nothing left. But it had lasted. He’d counted nearly thirty seconds before it had finally faded away.

Rowan couldn’t help but be a little giddy at these new developments. How could he not? These would change everything! If his chains were occupied or he lost his mace, he could use a blade of mana.

And since they didn’t disappear immediately, he could throw or launch them without having to worry about keeping up a constant stream of energy to the projectile.

Rubbing his head, he leaned back, staring up at the cave ceiling. Creating a single blade had significantly drained his mental energy, but that didn’t keep the smile from his lips.

And, hopefully, with all the levels he’d received in the skill, it would get easier to make more solid items from his mana.

He wanted to go out and test his new abilities immediately, but his muscles and mind alike ached. He’d find time for that later. Now, however, he would continue resting.

—

Rowan strode through the stone tunnels, finally able to walk without protest from his legs. He was almost out of water. His food would last a bit longer, but it too would soon run out.

The tunnels were barren, though, with only small patches of moss lining the wall. He didn’t really care about the lack of moss, since he could illuminate his own path, but what was worrying was how few insects he’d seen.

He’d encountered only a single worker ant since he’d set out, and he had killed it immediately. But he still needed to defeat four more enemies before he got his next set out rations.

The fight against the ant had been interesting, as he finally got to test out his new creations of mana. He’d made just a single, small blade, but it had done wonderfully, slicing through the insect with impunity.

Still, the and had only been level 2, so Rowan had no idea how effective his mana constructs—that was what he’d decided to call them—would be against more powerful ants or even the ironclad behemoth that he’d just barely escaped from.

So he had to continue his search, wandering aimlessly and praying he would encounter something.

And, finally, he did. But it wasn’t what he expected.

As he turned a corner, he froze, staring at the wall. Where there should’ve been moss, there were…fungi?

They didn’t look like anything he’d seen before. Wide and flat, the blood-red mold covered several feet of the wall, like disks layered on top of each other. And even more unnerving were the pulsating veins extending out from the spores.

Stepping away from the wall, Rowan saw that the fungi seemed to be competing with the moss for territory and space.

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And the disgusting mold was winning.

Most of the moss on the wall was brown, dead, and what little was left fighting looked sickly.

Raising his mace, Rowan advanced carefully down the tunnel. Every once in a while, he would encounter more small patches of mold or moss adorning the walls.