Chapter 129 – Mana Control.

Not even a muffled groan escaped from the short reptilian creature as a helmet latched onto its head. The kobold mage struggled, but Rusty’s claws held his hands and legs firmly in place. His staff had fallen to the side, and without it, he could not activate his spells. To make things worse, a splitting headache overtook him the moment the helmet was secured. His mind began to drift as a strange pull surged through him, as if his very soul was being consumed.

‘Here it comes… please be there…’

Rusty wasn’t sure if the other kobolds had been alerted to their presence. Even though Gleam was doing her best to keep the sounds contained with her spell, the thrashing monster was still causing chaos. Even if no noise escaped, the makeshift sleeping quarters shook violently, which would likely wake some of the nearby warrior variants if he didn’t hurry. He quickly glanced at the list of skills and started reading. Three of them appeared before him, and he hurriedly went through them.

This reminded him of the first time he used Skill Absorption, as the first available skill was a language skill. He neither needed nor wanted to understand these monsters, as he was not here to bargain. Rusty quickly moved on to the second option, then his gaze landed on the third. The skill he was looking for was there.

Without hesitating, he confirmed, and the process began like many other times before.

Just like before, the Skill Absorption ability required the target to be alive. Once that condition was met, his helmet would latch onto the target’s head, glowing and heating up. Those subjected to this process experienced intense pain, as not only their minds were torn through, but their bodies and souls as well.

Rusty felt the familiar rush of information flood his mind as the absorption process began. The kobold mage thrashed wildly beneath him, but his grip was unyielding. The reptilian creature’s claws scratched against his armored hands, but it was futile. Its consciousness was fading while his helmet radiated more and more light, which of course, complicated things.

“ ( ˶°ㅁ°) !!

Gleam was maintaining the silence spell but noticed that the brightness of the helmet was lighting everything up too much. The dwelling of the kobold mage lit up like a Christmas tree, causing some of the kobolds to wake from their slumber.

Rusty cursed internally as he saw the flickering lights bounce off the cavern walls. The nearest kobolds stirred, blinking awake at the strange glow emanating from their mage’s hut. Some sat up groggily, sniffing the air, while others grabbed their weapons, sensing something was wrong. Gleam frantically waved her antennae, not sure what she should do.

There was no way to speed up the absorption process, and depending on the skill, it could take even longer. This time, it was clear that this mana manipulation skill was rare, as his helmet was glowing much more than when he absorbed common skills. When he took the climbing skill, his dome had produced no more light than a small candle. Now, however, it looked as if someone had placed a burning lantern in the middle of the kobold settlement.

Rusty knew he had only moments before the entire camp erupted into chaos. The kobolds were still groggy, but soon they would be fully awake and ready to defend their territory. He had to think fast.

“Gleam, I need a distraction. This will take a moment.”

“ ( •̀ ᴖ •́ ) ”

She understood instantly. She jumped forward and skittered up the wall to the nearest wooden shack they had previously avoided. Inside, two kobolds were waking up. An unlit torch sat nearby, which was quickly ignited by a small flame spell. A second later, the wooden structure was bursting into flames. The fire rapidly consumed the dry wood, and within seconds, thick black smoke began filling the cavern.

The kobolds instantly focused on the fire rather than the glowing aura around their leader’s dwelling. The flames spread quickly, licking at the wooden structures and sending panicked kobolds scrambling. Cries of alarm filled the air as they grabbed buckets, desperately trying to douse the flames with water from crude clay pots. Others rushed to wake their sleeping comrades, their attention now fully consumed by the growing inferno.

The distraction had worked, giving Rusty more time to absorb the new skill. He could feel the arcane energy of the kobold mage being siphoned into his own being. The process was excruciatingly slow, but the knowledge of mana manipulation was gradually seeping into him. It was not quite what he expected, difficult to comprehend, yet something akin to a magical circle was forming within his mind. He could see it taking shape, presenting a method to bind mana and produce magical effects.

“This is really taking a while… it seems our dear Rusty was not meant to get this skill this early, or perhaps, ever? Very interesting.”

Aburdon commented while residing inside Rusty’s helmet. He was a demon lord, so such a skill like mana manipulation was something he was born with so he couldn’t offer that much guidance during the process of understanding.

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Rusty, on the other hand, saw something peculiar. An internal mind space where a simple magic circle was forming. He had seen similar phenomena before. Each time a human or even a monster used a spell, a magic circle would appear. Sometimes it manifested in the air, other times beneath their feet or above their heads as they prepared their magic. It seemed that using mana was intrinsically tied to these circles filled with strange symbols and geometric shapes.

‘I see… so that is how it is…’

Understanding dawned on him. To cast magic, he needed to focus his mind and recreate this circle. It was as if the skill itself was guiding him, showing him how the circle should look and giving him space to replicate it precisely. He concentrated, trying to form the image, and to his surprise, a second circle began appearing right next to the first.