It should happen any second now.
I quickly poured all my remaining Sp into my near-depleted mana.
Mana - 52000/100000 ->18100/35000 -> 180000/350000
So the sp increase was applied to my base mana and then the ten times amplification was added to it. With this, I could use my ability for much longer, and accomplish my goal. After all, I would need all the mana I could get.
Turning around to follow that demoness woman, my father was nearly at the exact point where I had felt cold steel emerge through my opened chest. My heart rate rose. If I played this right, It would serve both myself and my father well in the upcoming battle...
Now!
Time, Gravity, Space, and everything that made up the laws of the universe became accessible to me. Like an extension of my limbs, I could fiddle with their ‘origin’, and manipulate the types of energy that made them tick. It was the first of my newly awakened abilities within the World Manipulation Aura skill. World Manipulation Sphere.
I looked up at the completely still image of my father who should have been walking away. Malgoth's figure stared down at me from the skies, his form unmoving.
I need to be quick.
Turning around, it was right there, My father's spear sticking out of that woman's mirror, mere inches away from my back. I see. So the Spears' ability was canceled? Perhaps that mirror world can cancel out abilities, or maybe it links to a dimension that ‘cuts’ off its user's mana input, canceling my father's link to it. I gently grabbed and pulled the spear from the mirror cautiously.
Quick, I'm running out of time.
Stopping time did seem like an overturned ability, and at first, I had thought so too. However, this ability didn't truly stop the world's time. Such an ability would tether to the realm of the gods. What this ability did was far more mundane, but still extremely powerful and effective for its cost.
Completely controlling the aura of the world within a one-meter diameter of myself. I could do just about anything within this small bubble. From rising its temperature to the degrees of the sun by pouring mana into its origin, to completely pausing its time by completely stilling the origin itself. The origin was the core of the ability and existed everywhere, maybe it was even the core of the world itself, as all things were made from it. Being able to freely manipulate the origin within the sphere is what allowed me to do such miraculous feats.
Knowledge on how to manipulate and control it only came to me when I made use of the ability, if a being could control all the origin of the world, they would certainly be considered a god.
Time had only stopped for me, or to be more articulate, for everything within this bubble’s range. From their perspective, a split second would have gone by, while for me, well, I could stay like this for as long as my mana would allow. Which wasn't long at all.
Name: Tene Renhart
Age: 9
Race: Human
Class: Fallen Angel of Time and Space(Lv 10/100) - Keys(x2)
Stats(0sp available): Strength - 3000
Mana - 180000/350000 -> 80000/350000
Agility - 500
Intelligence - 7500
Charisma - 20200
Endurance - 300
Ten seconds. Ten seconds and I had used up over 10000 mana at a consumption of close to 10000 thousand mana per second. If not for my transformed state, I could only really use the skill for three seconds to stop time. Other abilities like controlling gravity in the field or even slowing down time used up far less mana.
With the spear now firmly in my grasp, I canceled the skill.
Why not just go and kill the two demons while time within my zone was stopped? Well, because of the second constriction on the skill. I couldn't manipulate anything outside of the sphere and the sphere always activated in the one-meter diameter around me. Meaning the second I left the sphere, the ability would cancel. Of course, If I got close enough, I could still activate the sphere and ‘Assassinate’ them. A strong word, but that truly was what it was. Assassination.
Honestly left a bad taste in my mouth.
“How did you do that little successor?” The woman named Alzith turned around from where she had been originally leading my father. My father noticed this and turned back to look at me, shock instantly clouded his face as he saw the spear in my grasp.
“Stabbing someone in the back? I had stupidly put it under you. I guess I'm still inexperienced. Father you might want to come and directly take it back from me, I wouldn't put it past this woman to attempt to steal it again.”
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Walking up to me, my father retrieved his spear, confusion still plastered on his face.
“...I'm not too sure how you did it, but–thank you Tene.” My father said while rubbing my hair with a proud grin on his face. I could tell some of the worries he had towards me had also been reduced as he looked more relaxed. Good, he was going to need his full focus to defeat that woman.
“Be careful Father, that demon doesn't fight fair. She's smart enough to fight dirty, and well.” She–might be a direct counter to my honest father. I needed to clean up this mess quickly and help him.
“Hmmm.”
Walking back, my father and the woman left me and Malgoth alone. The entire time, Alzith had a contemplative look on her face, she was clearly trying to figure out how I had retaken the spear.
“To let a level ten weakling fight me? Your father must not love you, child. No matter how powerful your class is, you stunted your potential early by coming here. A grave error.”
This bumbling buffoon had been silent for the majority of the time Alzinth was here to try and save whatever little face he had left, and he still wanted me to take him seriously?
“Oh so you have the analysis skill, I was beginning to wonder if you were competent enough to learn it.”
“Y-YOU!! I'LL TORTURE YOUR SOUL BEFORE I ENSLAVE YOUR BODY!”
Lost his temper just like that. I smiled softly, he reminded me a little of those goblins that I had fought within the caves to an extent. Strange.
…
…
…
…
“W-wait let's cut a deal!”
Before me was the bowing figure of Malgoth, on one knee, trying to cut some deal. In my left hand was his left leg, ripped off his body. We were both in the snow. I had nullified all magic related to him within a one-meter diameter, making him incapable of flight, or anything for that matter. Simple really, I just blocked all outputs of mana from his body, meaning I could still wield my mana freely. Since he was completely mana dependent, he had become useless.
Of course, he could still wield his strength and pure stats from his status page, since inside the body counted as outside my origin manipulation zone. But– he knew what would happen the second he made such a move. The leg in my hand was a fitting example of such.
“Being as resourceful as I am, I have information to treasu–
I grabbed his left arm and began tearing it off, feeling the soft sensation of bone disconnecting from bone and ligaments tearing. A fountain of fresh black blood stained the snow.
“I'm sure those that you killed also begged for mercy.”
I–didn't particularly care for the lives he took, after all, it had nothing to do with me. I had never met or interacted with any of those people. I couldn't even begin to start caring for every single soul whose life was cut early.
At least that's what I had thought. Yet, with the root cause directly before me, here I was, letting loose. Perhaps my father had rubbed off on me.
“A-Aggghh, w-wait, please, I wasn't the one who attacked the city!!? I lied!”
Or perhaps I simply enjoyed it.
“Oh, and why would you do that.”
Shit, I was smiling. I need to maintain a poker face here.
“B-because, ‘he’ forced me to. That DAMNABLE brother of mine. He said I should lie, trick Alzinth and the others.”
“...I see.”
“To tell you the truth, I'm the strongest out of all of us, my powers are just–temporarily weakened. I can help you defeat that bitch Alzinth!”
“His name and his whereabouts. Now.”
“C-comet, he's the shard of apartheid, Comet. I-I don't know where he is.”
Tsk, I'm running out of mana. This battle had been a disappointment. I hadnt even gotten the chance to test the abilities I had wanted to. Lv 100? What a sham. The second I got close to him, it was over. My speed in my transformed state also outmatched his. Was this the threshold for level hundred beings in this world?
“Your, the strongest?” Like honey, I filled my tone with warmth and affection.
“Y-yes, the strongest. Once I've completed my plan, I'm sure that bastard Comet won't stand a chance!”
“I see…well if you're strong, then I'll have to kill you now. After all, you would be too much of a threat to leave alive.”
“W-wai–
Turning the heat around him to the highest imaginable level, I made sure to limit its ‘trajectory’ to only one inch around his body. Soft screaming filled my ears for a moment. Then, Nothing. Not even ashes remained.
[ Tene Renhart has killed The Shard of Vanity - Malgoth]
Killed? Well at the end of the day, they were intelligent creatures, not monsters, regardless of how they acted. Still, I didn't like him one bit.
[World Aura Manipulation - Level Up]
[World Aura Manipulation - Level Up]
[Fallen Angel Of Time and Space - Level Up]
[Fallen Angel Of Time and Space - Level Up]
…
…
[Fallen Angel Of Time and Space - Level Up]
[Fallen Angel Of Time and Space - Level Up]
Ten levels!! I guess his high status was more useful than I had anticipated.
Name: Tene Renhart
Age: 9
Race: Human
Class: Fallen Angel of Time and Space(Lv 20/100) - Keys(x2)
Stats(10sp available): Strength - 3000
Mana - 80000/350000 -> 20250/350000
Agility - 500
Intelligence - 7500
Charisma - 20200
Endurance - 300
I hadnt used much fighting him, but still, I was running a bit low. I dumped half my points in mana and the remaining in endurance. The fact that a single spear to the chest was enough to kill me was still irking me. It wouldn't make much of a difference in the long haul since the stat had the lowest increase rate out of all my stats, but still, any extra protection I could get for the potential upcoming battle would be necessary. I also didn't know the limitations of my grandfather's clock yet. It could be that It could only be used once a day or even once a month.
Stats(0sp available): Strength - 3000
Mana - 20250/350000 -> 34715/600000
Agility - 500
Intelligence - 7500
Charisma - 20200
Endurance - 300 -> 30 -> 70 -> 700
With this, I could temporarily stop time a bit longer if I had to, not to mention that I had an increase in the range and strength of my world aura field from the level-ups. I shuddered at the thought of what my mana would be at when I reached max level.
I looked down at the remnants of Malgoths body, just his scepter remaining.
Item Name: Scepter of Vanity
Rank: Mythic
Mana: 10000/20000
Reduce user's mana consumption by 40%
Ability - Soul Shrine(Temporarily hold and command excess souls) - 1/20000 trapped souls
Curse - 20% intelligence reduction.
One of the thirteen weapons of darkness that were once one, command and control all souls entrapped.
It was–exactly what I needed right now. A massive reduction in mana consumption at the cost of spell strength and, well, general intelligence. Hmmm, maybe I should have put the points in intelligence instead.
Malgoth was no doubt a fool. I should check myself, there is always a higher heaven. Just because I defeated a level one hundred so easily didn't mean they were all like that. He had underestimated me and allowed me to get close enough to activate my ability. If he had just kept his distance and used his powerful soul-oriented skills from the beginning, he would have stood more of a chance.
Was it vanity or stupidity at the end of the day?
Probably both.