The lizardman raised its staff as Michael’s Dragonheart roared. He lowered his center of gravity, readying himself to react to anything. The enemy slammed the staff’s bottom on the ground. At that moment the world changed. Michael’s pupils dilated as he felt the storm of mana flooding the space. It reached every corner of the room in an instant, weighing him down like a physical force. It was nothing but pure mana, but he felt as if he were submerged in water. The lizardman lifted its staff once more, letting out strange sounds, which Michael recognized as chanting. He felt the mana above him become more condensed and tried to jump to the side, but the surrounding storm held him down.

The condensed mana crashed on his frame, forcing him downward. He gritted his teeth under the weight.

How the hell is it doing this?

It was clear that the enemy possessed vast mana reserves, but Michael didn’t understand how it could simply use it to create this situation. It was as if the thin lizardman had emitted the entirety of its mana, changing the atmosphere and surrounding him. Danger Sense flared up. Michael lowered his body even further, avoiding the masses of mana aiming for his back. He blinked and looked at the lizardman, which had raised its staff once more.

It created the attacks behind me?

It had used the flood of mana as a medium instead of its own body, making the masses take shape away from a more advantageous angle. Michael didn’t even know such a thing was possible. The mana above the lizardman gathered into a large orb. In the meantime, he strained himself to stand up; his Dragonheart thumped. He realized in an instant that he wouldn’t be able to dodge the orb in the current circumstances without using Lightspeed.

The sphere shot towards him as light coursed through his body. Under Lightspeed’s boost, he managed to jump to the side. The sphere flew past him and crashed on the ground, creating a hole and crushing everything around it. As he took in this sight, Michael gritted his teeth.

If it comes to mana, I don’t lose out compared to anyone.

He looked at the lizardman like a starving man looking at the most delicious food in the world. The creature used mana in a way that he had never seen before, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t be replicated. He watched the mana around him, letting himself be lost in its magic. The way it moved as if it were part of an air current, the weight pressing down on him, the way it changed as condensed. He took everything in. However, it was still too difficult to grasp this new Skill in a few seconds, since it was different from everything he knew.

His Dragonheart thumped within his chest. Power flooded every corner of his body, but he still felt as if he were underwater. Another orb coalesced in front of the thin lizardman. As it flew towards him, he felt as if it were even faster than the previous one. He only had the time to cast a Mana Shield before the orb reached him. It felt as if he had gotten hit by a freight train. The Shield trembled, but in the end, it didn’t collapse. The attack fizzled out of existence as Michael took a deep breath. At the very least, his Shield could withstand a single orb, even though it was an F-ranked Skill.

As if it could read his mind, the Boss raised its arms. Mana gathered above it into two distinct masses.

“…Fuck.”

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Desperately, he observed the lizardman and the storm of mana around it. He needed to learn the same Skill; it was imperative. Yet, because of his anxiety and the fact that the Boss was readying two additional attacks, he couldn’t concentrate.

“Damn it!”

The two orbs flew towards him. He dismissed the Shield.

Lightspeed!

Light flowed out of his spiritual self and flooded his body. In an instant, the world around him became slower. As he was about to move, the mana around him weighed him down, restraining him. Still, it wasn’t enough to contain Lightspeed. Michael ran to the side as the twin orbs passed him by, barely avoiding the attack. He deactivated Lightspeed, keeping in mind that he would likely need it again in this battle.

I need to try it out.

As the lizardman readied another two orbs, Michael tried his best to ignore the weight pressing him down and focused inwardly. How could he make his mana expand like that? It wasn’t the same as finding different applications for the Skills he already had. It was similar to how he had learned Minor Heal from scratch.

Calm down.

It was as if he were perceiving the world in slow motion. Carefully and tentatively, he tried to make his mana flow out of his body and expand. As expected, he failed. Another two orbs flew at him. Lightspeed roared through his system once again, but because he had been focused on using the Skill, he couldn’t completely avoid the attacks. One of the orbs missed him, but the other grazed his right leg, searing through it and creating a large, burning wound. Michael screamed. The pain disturbed his concentration. A golden halo took shape above him, rotating slowly and bathing him in light.

“Minor Heal!”

Twin Minor Heals covered his body. The pain lessened, which allowed him to stare at the Boss with hateful eyes. Instead of preparing another attack, it merely looked at him with bared teeth. Was it laughing at him?

Whatever it is, thank you for giving me a bit of time, motherfucker.

[You have made progress towards acquiring a new Skill.]

Relentlessly, he tried to copy the Boss. At first, he barely managed to make his mana leave his body and cover a one-meter radius around him. It had no shape or form, or even intention. However, he had already learned that imbuing his mana with an “intention” was crucial to acquiring a new Skill. As he took in the environment around him, he reached a simple conclusion.

Dominate everything around me.

[You have made progress towards acquiring a new Skill.]

Lightspeed coursed through him as he ducked beneath another orb. He was approaching his limit, even though Cleansing and his Dragonheart were passively healing him. As he was trying to learn the Boss’ Skill, there was no room to use Minor Heal. Michael gritted his teeth, glaring hatefully at the enemy. It bared its teeth to him once more, growling.

Flow, my mana.

His mana left his body. He felt as if something were building up inside him. The feeling intensified instead of disappearing. The mana gathered into twin Mana Spheres.

“Mana Sphere!”

The Spheres shot toward the enemy. Mana gathered in front of it, creating a shielding layer. The Spheres collided with it, attempting to drill a hole through it. Having bought itself a bit of time, the Boss created another shield behind the first. As the Spheres pierced the first shield and destroyed it, they merely hit the second. Having lost far too much power, they fizzled out.

It can easily defend against my attacks.

The Level difference was too large, despite Michael’s abnormal stats. His Mana Spheres could pierce through the Boss’ initial defenses but failed to reach it. There was no time to cast Mana Arrow. At the same time, it was difficult to move to dodge the lizardman’s attacks because of the storm weighing him down. Blocking anything other than a single orb with Mana Shield was too risky, especially considering that he wouldn’t be able to attack while casting the Shield.

Danger Sense flared up. A chill pierced his back. He ducked as the orb coming from behind him grazed his back, injuring it. He gritted his teeth. The lizardman had picked a good opportunity to attack from his blind spot. To avoid something like this, he needed his own mana domain.

Roar, my mana.

As the lizardman readied another attack, Michael let all of his mana and experience in handling it flood out of his body with a guttural roar.

[You have acquired a new Skill!]