The off-putting sensation felt like he suddenly possessed a whole extra slew of eyes perched on the outside of his now conical-shaped barrier. If one were to try looking at Alan from the outside, all they would see was a raging whirlpool in which the vague impression of a humanoid shape hid. But for Alan it was transparent. He could see as clearly from the inside of the shield as he could without it. And now that his barrier itself had gained the capability of acting like an second set of eyes, it allowed him view the outside of his shield in a complete circle around himself. With this new sight active, his only remaining blind spot was whatever might be hidden within the ground itself.
Remarkable! Your Spell (C)[Aqua Shield] has successfully Evolved into the (Uncommon) Spell [Vortex Shield]!
(U)[Vortex Shield] Lvl 1- Upon casting, this Spell places the caster or their designated ally(s) within in a protective Vortex of water. Shield will absorb 750 Hp of damage before failing. Shield will remain in place until destroyed or dismissed. For each active [Vortex Shield] Spell, an instance of [Aquatic Repulsion] will be provided. Each successfully blocked attack has a small chance to generate additional instances of [Aquatic Repulsion]. For an additional Mana cost, caster can link their perception with any active [Vortex Shield] Spells. Damage absorbed increases with Spell Level. Cost increases with Spell Level.
Cast time: 30 seconds
Cost: 525 MP, Perception Link, 20 MP per second
Cooldown: None
[Aquatic Repulsion]- (Skill) Upon activation [Aquatic Repulsion] emits a solid wall of water that has a high chance to knock back any enemies within ten feet of user. Additionally has a small chance to afflict (Stun) Debuff on affected enemies. Each use of an instance of [Aquatic Repulsion] temporarily improves [Vortex Shield]s parameters by 25%.
Caution! The Evolution of your Spell has left behind trace amounts of residual Evolutionary energy! This unconsumed energy may increase your odds of further Spell Evolutions. Unused Evolutionary energy will disperse within 24 hours.
He found that with a simple mental command he had the ability to turn this strange extra vision on and off. Without wasting any more of his time, he turned it off and left it that way. It wouldn't do him any good to go into a fight dizzy and disoriented.
Alan pulled a Mana Potion from inventory and downed it all in a single swallow. A tiny chunk of his Mana Pool was replenished, but not nearly enough to refill his dwindling reserves. His target hadn't moved as of yet, and that made it all the better.
Narrowing his eyes in concentration, Alan activated [Dual-casting] and [Mana Regulation] before he began to call up a pair of [Lightning Strike]s.
***
When Su'ong was finally finished raising her hastily erected stone partition, blood was dripping from her nose, and she gasped for breath. The mental strain had been close to overwhelming, yet she smiled through the pain. The Mana Crystal she'd absorbed had increased the energy capacity of her Beast Core by nearly a quarter. If not for Alan's gift. Her wall would've been far less impressive.
She carefully studied the beast under the effects of her Skill [Appraisal].
Lvl 17 Stalwart Sentinel HP: 1902/3200
Her targets stone-armored body, as well as its shield were covered in thin cracks. The fight was already nearly halfway over, and she'd yet to even get started. Alan's Spell had proven to be remarkably effective. She held out her right hand, and accessed her inventory. A large stone materialized upon her upturned palm. She bounced the fist-sized rock up and down, testing it for weight and balance.
Once she was satisfied, Su'ong hurled it at the heavily damaged shield of the Sentinel. The beast didn't even attempt to dodge the attack. In defiance of common sense, it chose to stand motionless with its back to the wall. The collision forced the beast back a step, and broke off the bottom half of its shield. The sound of stone crashing against stone echoed throughout the cavern, adding itself to the chaotic jumble of sounds assaulting her ears.
Her projectile shattered against the ruined shield, but there were plenty more piled up within the Spatial Storage Bracelet she'd recieved for her 16th Life-day. Thanks to her [Stone Manipulation] Skill, it hardly cost her anything more than time to make more ammunition. She'd spent countless hours fighting against boredom and gaining Skill Levels by compressing sand and stone fragments into varying shapes and sizes.
Su'ong pulled another large stone from her inventory, this one a quartz oval, and threw it at what remained of the Sentinel's shield. At the same time, she tried to use her influence over the Dungeon to open up a pit below it. Her stone struck the remnants of the shield with a crash. The cracked shield was unable to withstand another direct attack and crumbled.
A crimson glow began to radiate from within the cracks on the Sentinel's chest. The beast tossed the handle of its ruined shield to the side, and twisted its neck from left to right. Each turn of the Dungeon Born's head released nauseating crunches that could be heard clearly from where Su'ong stood. She could feel the Dungeon actively resisting her attempts to trap the Sentinel. Every time a crack would start to open up underneath her foe, the Dungeon would simply heal the small wound she'd managed to make.
So it's come to a test of wills. Su'ong thought sadly, The Dungeon will surely win a contest of strength, but one of subtlety....
Su'ong saw the top half of her foes head flip back, like a visor on a helmet, revealing two crimson orbs hovering about in a haunting semblance of eyes. It turned to face Su'ong and took a step in her direction, followed by another, forcing her to abandon her current plan.
It's not going to allow me to alter the Dungeon, Su'ong realized as her next, more subtle attempt to create a pitfall was easily rebuffed.
Though her Core was barely half-full and her channels were already feeling strained from the effort of building the wall, Su'ong switched tactics again and activated [Stone Manipulation] . She quickly slammed her hands down onto the floor.
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Her eyes narrowed in concentration as she sent a thick stream of her Earth-attuned Mana pouring out of her Beast Core into the floor beneath the Sentinel and up the wall behind it. The level of her [Stone Manipulation] Skill was insufficient to actually open up a chasm, even with the additional pulse of Mana from her Beast Core. But with her Attuned Mana, combined with [Stone Manipulation], it was more than enough to soften all of the stone her outpouring of energy came into contact with.
The consistency of the ground underneath its feet changed to that of thick mud. As Su'ong had anticipated, the floor started to sag under its weight, and the Sentinel sank up to its knees in the muck. The heavy beast lifted its right leg and tried to step out of the depression, but Su'ong had no intention of letting it go free. The moment her stone adversary's leg was out of the mud, she released her Skill's hold on the floor, and it returned to a solid state. With a harsh crackling sound, the Sentinel's buried leg snapped off just above its knee.
The leg that managed to escape her trap braced against the ground and kept the Dungeon Born from falling forward. However the total loss of half a leg threw off its center of gravity, and put it out of balance, causing it to lean back against the wall. The sentinel stuck its sword-arm out behind it and tried to push itself to an upright position, but unbeknownst to the monster, that was a dire mistake. Su'ong had yet to release [Stone Manipulation] from the wall. The beast's weight pressed the arm as well as the sword held tightly in its grasp deep into the softened wall.
With a sad glint in her eyes, Su'ong deactivated her Skill. A sharp crunch marked the end of the Sentinel's right arm. Ready to end this sad sight, she pulled another stone from inventory, this one bigger than the other two combined. She threw it at the Sentinel's remaining leg which shattered the beast's already cracked knee, and pushed its body backwards.
The Sentinel immediately fell down, forced to do the splits. Though she had almost bottomed out her energy reserves by this point, she still wanted to kill the beast herself. Partly to prove her worth to Alan, and partly to spit in the eyes of the Dungeon Master. She spared an unimpressed glance at her foe as it started to crawl forward, arm-over-arm, as if it's arrival was somehow an inevitability.
Su'ong shook her head sadly at the pitiful creature. "Please, just let me put an end to your miserable half-life," she whispered beseechingly. A single tear ran down her face and fell to the floor. She activated [Stone Manipulation] and flooded the last dregs of her energy out through her Mana Channels and into the cavern floor. Unable to halt itself, the Sentinel sank in to the softened ground all the way up to its neck. Su'ong took a deep breath and released her Skill for the last time. With a loud crack that signaled the end, all that remained of the Dungeon Born was a pair of dimming crimson orbs hovering above its decapitated head. The remains sat upon an attached portion of gorget.
Remarkable! You have defeated a Lvl 17 Stalwart Sentinel! Due to the effects of the Party Leader's Dungeon Explorer Title, 25% Bonus Exp received. The Party Leader has set your Exp Percentage at 50%.
+12,540 Exp gained!
Remarkable! You have reached Level 15!
Status Points automatically allocated.
40,319 Exp to next Level!
Because her Core was nearly bone dry, she had no choice but to sit down and give herself a moment to absorb some of the Dungeon's ambient Mana. She wanted nothing more than to take a nap, but that would have to wait. She could still hear the sound of Alan doing battle on the other side of the wall.
***
Two rapidly expanding, dark grey storm clouds slowly materialized in the air above the Sentinel standing opposite Alan. As they formed, if one knew the signs to look for, and had the ability to see ambient energy, Alan could be seen cramming copious amounts of additional Mana into each of his Spells.
The moment his Mana tendrils began to quiver under the pressure, Alan relented and unleashed his hold on the Spells. He knew he should be more than capable of making them at least a little bigger, but by this point it had simply become too costly on his dwindling Mana reserves.
Bright flickers of purple energy began to flit around aimlessly within the brewing stormcloud. Dazzling flashes illuminated random sections in bursts. Each of which released a wave of static, making Alan's hair stand on end. A faint rumble could be heard as the clouds increased in size. Alan was struck with a strange thought as he watched his Spells charge up alarming amounts of jagged purple electricity.
If I could somehow encase that storm in a glass ball, Alan realized, It would look almost exactly like that stupid plasma globe Uncle Alex and Rexus broke...
An epic peal of thunder roared. The force of the sound snapped off several of the smaller, less brightly lit up stalagmites dangling from the roof. The noise of thunder and crumbling stone pulled Alan out of his thoughts, and back to his fight. His attention returned to the Sentinel just as a massive bolt of lightning struck the motionless rock-man in the side of its head. The Sentinel's back arched and its body began to quake just as two more jagged bolts swiftly followed right after the first.
Alan was briefly confused, as well as disappointed when he saw the heavy electrical current pass right through the Sentinel's body. Briefly illuminating it from the inside out, only to then be absorbed into the stone floor the beast stood upon. However his mood improved considerably when the inner glow began to fade. He noticed that several of the cracks marring the beasts body had visibly widened.
The stone surrounding the fractures even seemed to have become grainy and brittle-looking. The severity of the damage was only made all the more obvious when one final burst of lightning plummeted from the nearly dissipated stormcloud and struck the Sentinel. The beast finally lost its composure and staggered. It dropped down to one knee, and several large chunks of its torso broke away and tumbled to the floor.
Remarkable! Your Spell (B)[Lightning Strike] has grown to Level 7!
Alan pulled out another Mana potion and ripped the lid off with his teeth. He was curious as to how much damage his Spells had done to the beasts Health Pool, so he activated [Examine] while swallowing the bitter tasting Potion.
Lvl 17 Stalwart Sentinel HP: 1030/3200
"Time to finish this.." Alan muttered as he took aim at a particularly nasty crack that nearly bisected the enemy's left shoulder from its torso. Once he'd locked on to his target, he began channeling Mana into two [Wind Blade]s. Though he was starting to feel lightheaded from the drain on his energy Pools, he still decided to send a bit of extra Mana into the translucent blades. Not much, but enough to almost double their original size.
Remarkable! Your Party member (Su'ong) has defeated a Lvl 17 Stalwart Sentinel!
Your Exp Percentage has been set to 50%.
+125,401 Exp gained!
For just an instant, Alan was distracted by an incoming Kill Log notice, along with a flood of Experience Points. Fearing a loss of control, he made a split second decision to cut off the flow of Mana to his Spells. His eyes widened in suprise as a rush of euphoria sent jitters running through his bones.
The muscles in his arms and legs clenched uncomfortably, beginning to tighten up. His hands started to tremble. An annoying pressure built up behind his eyes, increasing in potency with every passing second. This prompted him to try and release his hold on both [Wind Blade]s, but it was like they had become frozen in place.
Before Alan had an opportunity to panic, he was given a System alert that alleviated some of his worries.
Caution! Compatibility detected! Applying residual Evolutionary energy to the Spell (B)[Wind Blade]! Deactivating all [Active Skills]...
A haze of sparkling energy seeped out of Alan's pores, reminiscent of steamers of silver thread. He was unable to move so much as an inch, so he took advantage of his immobility to study his [Wind Blade]s as they greedily ingested the silver energy and underwent a rapid Evolution.
Not only did they more than triple in both length and width, but Alan could see a qualitative change begin to take root within the blades themselves.