Chapter 60 - Bryn's Inferno
Bryn's breath calmed down; his happiness after dealing with the three hogs was incredible. Learning could always prove to be difficult, but having to develop during a fight was a completely different feeling. As his lungs worked and filled his shirt, he let go of the lodged blade on the last remaining hog to enjoy the exhilarating happiness and to look at his newest level.
His mind had disconnected from the dangers the exercise and the forest presented for a brief second. It was enough. From his left came a giant boar. It had concealed its presence and went straight for Bryn.
Upon impact, that is the first time Bryn realized another threat had surfaced. He tried absorbing the headbutt the best way possible as he regained his fitting to create some distance between the two, but the creature slashed his arm with its fangs. The moment Bryn was able to evade it, he looked down his left side, and blood poured out.
His pupils dilated instantly. Danger had materialized. He had never bled in a life-or-death battle. It was much different from the times he suffered at the hands of the Wycliffes. His heart increased its beating to the point he felt it on the top of his throat. The tattered sleeve dyed red with a stink of iron would forever be on Bryn's memory. His right hand pressed on the wound as he realized that nothing was held in any of his hands.
AKUSASHI!
He looked at the body from his previous game and saw it still there, stuck between the ribs of the boar he had killed. The sight woke his reasoning just enough to assess the amount of mana he had. Noticing his filled core and that, apart from his injury, he was at the top of his condition, a sinister sensation started to fill him.
His pupils dilated further, almost taking the entire iris from his eyes. A fire lit in his heart as he remembered all the times he had bled. Yes, it was different, but not different enough. His right hand, still pressing the left arm, started to tremble as a rage took control of his body. Eyebrows rose as his mouth opened up to a crazed smile.
That cold feeling of extreme blood loss. My body was dragged in the rain and mud. I'll never feel that again. I'll massacre anything in my path if necessary.
The excess of mana started to accumulate above Bryn's horns. As the energy circulated within itself, Bryn heard a tweaking sound. Instantly, his pupils contracted as he glared at the direction the sound came from. As his head moved in one way, his body dashed at the body of the previous animal he had killed. His arms remembered every inch surrounding him. Bryn's eyes were awaiting the creature as the hog came out of the woods.
His right hand pulled Akusashi from the dead body behind him. Using a single hand, with a twist of his wrist, the sword switched directions, now pointing forward. He focused, eliminating everything outside of himself and the boar running at him from his mind. He allowed a minimal perception of the mana flows in close proximity, but everything else blurred out in his mind.
The crazed smile had become as cold as a glacier. Bryn's face displayed no more emotion. He simply raised Akusashi, touching the mana pool he had created with the blade. Instantly, he felt as if Akusashi shivered. A slight curl on his lips appeared as he thought the sword loved the taste of his mana. The creature approached, but Bryn didn't care.
Die, he thought. What came out of his mouth was different. Words in English echoed as his arm came crashing down, much sooner than usual, to connect a direct cut. But as it came down, a slash of mana was propelled by the blade's movement. It was blue in essence, light blue with white dots all over the spell. Watching from a few meters away, Jonas's skin contracted, suddenly becoming dry as he felt a sudden temperature change.
He wanted Bryn to feel a bit desperate, but he would never really let him die. He wondered if Bryn knew Gabriel's vow could be broken by proxy. Vows were severe and personal deals for magical users, so extending the responsibility to another was sensible. No one knew why it happened, but if you entrusted anything resembling the main portion of the vow to another and the person failed, it would mean you had failed; Jonas would never allow Gabriel to fail such a simple vow.
Still, the reaction he was seeing was worth the experiment. Upon seeing his blood, Bryn let all his instincts kick in. The young faun had matched his mana to the sword's signature, allowing them to complement each other.
"If he can do that in the first week of using magic, this kid is dangerous. Capitan is playing with dangerous forces," said Jonas to himself as he looked at the blade spell rushing toward the boar at astonishing speed.
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The animal had no chance of evading. The moment its eyes registered the incoming spell, it had already connected. The last thing it recorded was the faun's mouth moving as sounds it had never heard of came out.
"Bryn's Inferno," said Bryn in a low pitch as the blade spell was sent flying, and his eyes shone light blue for a brief second. Not even Jonas noticed his eyes since the man was focused on the spell being created and cast by Bryn.
Upon impact, the blade cut the skin of the hog as if it were butter. The fat and muscles were nothing more than an annoyance to the blade. The bones held most of the force, but it wasn't enough. The entire creature was cut in an angular fashion, from its right shoulder toward its left knee. Its legs instantly fell to the ground as a cracking sound came inside the creature. Ice shards punctured its internal organs from any portion of the boar that had direct contact with the spell. Behind the beast, the remnant energy from the spell deviated to the ground, forming a line track of ice shards reducing in size from 6 to 1 inch.
Bryn kneeled, realizing he had spent most of his mana reserves without realizing it. His body had no reserves, and his core had depleted about ninety percent.
Looking at the result, he was delighted. He had finally created an ultimate attack spell with his new level of intelligence. He appraised himself, realizing he had instinctively added the eight remaining points in intelligence without realizing it. He also saw that Dante's Inferno had become a spell he could activate. The power would also vary with the amount of mana he input on the spell, and the levels would be multipliers of the sharpness and size of the shards created. The size and momentum come from the amount of mana input in the spell. It also needed to be cast with a bladed weapon; the shape of the spell would be impacted by the type of weapon Bryn was holding.
Clapping sounds came from the forest. Once again, Jonas couldn't help but congratulate the young faun.
"Kid, you outdid yourself. You created your first spell! Those water spheres you use have too many downsides; they would never become your secret weapon. Now that ice blade of yours is amazing!"
Bryn looked at him, confused. His arm was still bleeding, and he still wasn't exactly sure how he had created ice. His entire self was taken in a rage silence; he remembered everything, but it wasn't exactly intentional. He stored Akusashi on its sheath before holding back his left arm.
"Thank you, Mr. Jonas. I'm grateful for the spell as well," Said Bryn as he looked at his left arm. It had worsened. Bryn tried moving it, but he could tell by the pain and the lack of movement that something was wrong. He was happy about developing his magic, but his injury bugged him.
"Don't worry about that. Here, drink this." Jonas poured a vivid green liquid bottled in a transparent container with silver details onto Bryn's chest. The vile shone a beautiful color as the sun struck it mid-air. As Bryn's right hand caught it, Jonas continued.
"It is dragon's blood and will heal your arm." Said Jonas.
"WHAT! I can't accept this, Mr. Jonas. I have no way to repay such an expensive item."
Jonas couldn't hold back his laughter. "You really think I would give you dragon's blood?! Who do you think I am?! It's just a minor healing potion; you'll see them for sale in bigger cities."
Bryn's face was a mixture of I want to kill this man with a happy thank you.
"You should look at yourself, hahaha. Today, I'll wait for you to heal yourself before another round. Let's talk about that spell of yours."
Jonas let out a massive tent with a fireplace inside it, and they both got inside to talk. While the meat roasted over the fire, Jonas couldn't help himself.
"An ice blade… is a spell usually learned later on your magical journey."
"Why is that, Mr. Jonas?"
"Visualization is key to the development of magic. There are those without any talent who can learn how to use spells because they make it simple to manipulate the elements. Ice is a variation not all can learn how to use; they usually focus on learning everything about water first…"
Doesn't he know that ice is just a different state of water? Thought Bryn before replying.
"Doesn't ice become water when we heat it?"
"Yes, they are the same, but they are also different. You need specific elemental control to transform the water element into ice before using it in spells or techniques."
I have to find a reason for the inspiration; he is clearly fishing for it… "I had no idea… All I imagined was the power from the mountain range tops. The rest was all Akusashi," said Bryn, pointing to the sword made by Thrain and Seraph.
"Is that the blade from the dwarf? May I see it?"
Bryn removed the sheath from his back, placing it on both his palms before lowering himself to offer Mr. Jonas the blade. He had seen it in Japanese and medieval movies; that was a way to show the person you had complete confidence in them with a sword in hand. I always wanted to do that. Thought Bryn as Jonas took the blade from him.
Jonas looked at the sheath briefly before taking the sword out of its case. He smiled, looking at the blade. It was sharp and clearly made by a good artist. As he projected his mana to further inspect the blade, he felt it rejecting his attempt. From the soul of the blade came a wave of killing intent. The strange thing was that it had a similar signature to Bryn's.
Could the weapon have been imprinted already? I'll speak with Thrain when we get back.
"It is a good sword. Treat it as a partner, and it will last you long."
"Thank you. Mr. Thrain was kind enough to gift it to me. I'll repay him someday."
Both men kept talking until they shared a meal, and Bryn passed out ultimately. The battles had taken a toll on him, but what tipped the scales were the injury, the adrenaline, and the ice blade.
Jonas left the tent after Bryn started snoring for a few moments of privacy. As he left, the sun had already set without them realizing. He pulled out a pendant from his shirt. It was made of different metals and a stone in the center. It shone upon his touch, a deep yellow color, almost orange in the night, replacing the light of a bonfire around his face.
In one of the palace rooms at the capital, Astralhaven, Gabriel sat down to look at piles of paperwork. Tired of the kingdom's bureaucracy, he looked up to the sky, wondering how everyone was. At that moment, his pendant rang in his mind.
Taking it from his chest and sending some mana into it, he heard Jonas's voice.
"Gabriel, we need to talk."