A yellow cloud rose from the corpses of the monsters. Michael stopped breathing immediately. There was no way for him to cover his nose, as one of his arms was ruined and the other was holding the wand and in the middle of casting Mana Shield. He took a step back, the blue shield covering him from head to toe. Struggling to keep the shield up because of the pain, he stepped back as quickly as he could while still maintaining the Skill.
His left arm kept causing him pain. He had no idea just how many fragments his bones had been broken into. He didn’t dare foster the help of somehow recovering to his previous, ordinary state. He hadn’t expected the enemies to be so fast. Even though he had managed to see their movements, he hadn’t been able to cast quickly enough.
At the same time, the spores crawled over his Mana Shield. Michael could feel his mana draining into it, keeping the shield from being melted away. The spores kept trying to infiltrate the shield, while his blood roared within his body and burned any spores that had managed to enter it before the Shield was raised to nothingness. It rushed through his blood vessels like magma. Small smoke trails drifted upward from his skin. It was a consequence of pushing his Dragonheart to its limits.
Slowly, Michael walked out of the spore cloud. Once he judged that he had retreated far enough, he dispelled the shield and haphazardly threw out Mana Waves to disperse the cloud. While doing so would increase the likelihood of a small number of spores entering his body, since they would be spread out in his surroundings, their number would reduce. He had already unintentionally discovered that his blood could destroy the spores; he wouldn’t gamble on it being able to incinerate a large number of them, but he believed it could deal with the cloud’s leftovers.
He sat down on the ground, breathing heavily and wearing a frown.
“Fuck, it hurts.”
A destroyed arm, possibly a few broken ribs, and an unknown number of spores that could have resisted his blood and remained in his body. Those had been the gains from this battle.
Tairy was right.
He had only just barely managed to react to the mushroom monsters’ movements by investing all of his Free Stat Points into Dexterity. While his Intelligence was up to par and caused his Skills to be powerful enough, nothing else was. His Constitution hadn’t been enough to make him endure a single blow without being seriously injured. Strength had been a non-factor, and the same went for Endurance. Overall, he still wasn’t at the same level as his opponents. If he hadn’t taken out one of them with Mana Arrow at the start of the battle, he would have died a dog’s death. Michael chuckled in self-deprecation.
He looked at his left arm. Even now, he could feel his Dragonheart’s heated blood flowing through it, attempting to mend it and undo the damage. At the very least, on his current level, it was a wound that he wasn’t certain that he could heal. He also doubted that there were any human Healers in Bluestone Village capable of it, but perhaps Tairy would be able to help him find someone.
I’ve been too full of myself.
The price for his arrogance had been dire. Ever since his draconic awakening, he had faced little to no challenge whatsoever. His Skills had been empowered tremendously, and his mana pool had grown accordingly. Combined with his Race’s Stat Point gains and boosts, he hadn’t been in serious danger since when he almost died at the hands of two moles. Even when the green viper’s venom had hit him, it had caused only pain; his Dragon blood had been able to eliminate it swiftly.
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Unconsciously, he had developed a belief that he could be considered “strong” or maybe even invincible when tackling challenges around his Level. He had been wrong. Michael’s gaze turned to the three System windows floating above his head, covering his vision.
[You have slain a Mushroom Warrior (Level 19.)]
[You have slain a Mushroom Warrior (Level 21.)]
[You have slain a Mushroom Warrior (Level 23.)]
[You have reached Level 15.]
The average Level of his enemies had been almost twice his own, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that he had confidently strolled inside the Dungeon, disregarding his mentor’s advice. He whispered to himself.
“I’m sorry, Tairy. This will not go on…”
He needed to reassess himself before continuing on. He couldn’t let himself be lost in his hubris once more. This time he only lost an arm’s functionality; next time, he could end up losing his head. He wouldn’t be able to protect his loved ones and himself if he died in a ditch because he thought his Dragon blood was too cool and powerful for a mere Tutorial Zone.
“…I swear.”
His desire to become powerful had existed ever since he almost died to the moles, but now it was tempered by caution not to grow so arrogant. He knew what the best course of action was in his current situation.
“System, I’d like to leave the Dungeon.”
A couple of seconds passed by. A message appeared out of thin air.
[You cannot exit this Dungeon before its completion.]
“…Right. Of course.”
He didn’t know if there were Dungeons where this characteristic wasn’t present, but it didn’t matter. He looked at his arm again.
I need to recover even if only a bit.
His blood was still rushing toward it and doing what it could, but since it wasn’t enough, he needed to be creative. Michael looked around. There were no enemies in sight. He could only hope that would continue to be the case. He closed his eyes. In an instant, his spiritual, horned self was envisioned. He focused on its left arm. His idea was simple. He would use his mana to assist his draconic blood.
Slowly, very slowly, he made a tiny amount of mana flow into the arm, as if he were going to cast a Skill or spell through it. This single strand of mana went from the shoulder to the tip of his fingers. Everywhere it passed it was as if he could “see” and “feel” what surrounded it. As he expected, the scenario was dire. Every single bone was broken and in splinters, the muscles were torn, and the blood vessels twisted. He found it remarkable that his blood vessels had endured what even his bones couldn’t, but he took it as the working of his Dragonheart.
First, restructure the bones.
The strand of mana divided itself. Other minute strands separated from it, reaching toward the shards of his bones. The moment they touched the shards, pain shot throughout Michael’s entire body. He gritted his teeth. His only option was to endure. At the same time that the strands touched his bones, he attempted to follow the movement and intent of his blood. He observed as it healed whatever it touched.
What if I could make my mana do that?
So far, his mana had been used only to attack or defend him. Its very nature had remained unchanged. To throw a mass of mana and to shield using a mass of mana followed the same principle. Healing was different. He guessed that it was why Healers had been designated as a separate Class back when he chose his own. Raw mana wasn’t appropriate for healing. He needed to change it.
The shift was gradual and painfully slow. He tried to reorganize his bones while attempting to change the nature of his mana at the same time, all while enduring the massive amount of pain. Gritting his teeth was no longer enough to cope, but it was all he had.
Time ticked by. Seconds turned into minutes, which turned into hours. It was only after two hours that Michael felt the pain lessen somewhat. His muscles were still damaged, but his bones and blood vessels were in a better condition. The mana around his arm was seemingly the same, but he could feel the change. He had made some progress. He let out a breath he didn’t even know he had been holding, evaluating his situation.
Over half of my mana pool has been emptied.
The process had been disgustingly inefficient due to his inexperience. The amount of mana he managed to modify was negligible compared to how much was spent. Nevertheless, he had achieved a minor success. It would have to do.
Michael looked at the place where the Mushroom Warriors had been standing. He stood up, trying not to move his left arm. It was time for him to keep going in this godforsaken Dungeon.