When I first stepped inside the humid hallway, I tossed off my wet clothes and injected mana into the sigils placed on them, which dried and self-cleaned the fabric. However, my body was still icky and sticky from all the sweat.

 Activating the crest on my left hand, I summoned a void gem and grabbed a soap bar. Warmth spread out through my body as I swirled the mana—Calming Vortex.

 All I needed to do was dissolve the soap and let the spell do its work. As the spell defused, I cast Phoenix—a pillar of flames erupted beneath my feet. But I instantly cut the mana flow. The water on the surface of my skin evaporated in an instant. While the heat did pass through my resistances a little, it was lukewarm.

 “Phew… that was refreshing.”

 I bent down to grab my clothes and dressed myself. Glancing toward Navi, the hall seemed endless.

Sigh

 As I sighed, I followed the murky corridor. Each step echoed loudly, making me feel somewhat self-conscious.

 “This won’t do…” I grumbled as unease pumped through my veins with every beat of my heart.

 The loud echo of my own steps eventually got to me, resulting in the cast of Swift Steps and Body Reinforcement. Taking a deep breath, I increased the pace as Navi led the way.

 “If there’s a dead end, then it would really be the end—of me!”

 I took a deep breath. My palm throbbed with mana as I dragged the wind along my fingers. As I increased the speed, a dense ball of screeching winds cried sharply. I came to an abrupt halt—Aerial Blast.

Boom!

 I sent the spell soaring rapidly throughout the hall, whistling as it travelled. As I caught my breath, waiting, sweat ran down my cheek, dripping down my chin. A tiny echo from the drop resonated in the hall—

Kaboom!

 A thunderous rupture echoed from the far distance. After a short while, a gentle breeze caressed my cheek. I sighed in relief and picked up the pace again.

 “Well, now I know there isn’t a dead end, and I didn’t rupture my eardrums—”

Kriikiiriiiikiiik!

 “…”

 I’m not alone. Am I? I thought. As I got closer, I heard high-pitched cries in the far distance. Could it be Aerial Blast killed something? From the sound of it, aren’t there many creatures over there? Like… many of them…?

 I sat down, hugging my knees.

 “I just wanna go hoooome!” I exclaimed, sobbing all the while.

 ..I got up on my feet. In the end. This was the only way. I heaved a deep sigh and prepared myself for what was to come. I summoned the void gem and took out a runic chalk; it glittered in radiance as the condensed mana leaked. With this, I inscribed potentially useful spells on my arm.

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 Firstly, Absolute Frost. It’s capable of instantly petrifying most exterior defences if not outright killing the target—not only did it use half of my chalk, but my arm…

 Next is Frenzy. I could either apply it to myself or my opponent—it’d drive them mad. They’d lose control and their sense of pain. Hopefully, they’d also self-destruct in the process. While it only works on biological creatures, I doubt I’d come across something else.

 I only have one more slot on the left arm… I wouldn’t want to trigger the chalk accidentally and burn away its mana needlessly. So, I won’t be inscribing it on the right arm. But… well, I have chalk left for a few minor spells. So maybe?

 Navi is fine since it’s already active. Body Reinforcement constantly drains mana and resistance, and it doesn’t use atmospheric mana like Navi.

 Screw it! I stripped down and brought all the runic chalk I had, drawing a massive Body Reinforcement sigil all over my body. I also drew a seal on my left arm in case I used Frenzy so that it wouldn’t activate Absolute Frost accidentally—that would be a disaster if uncontrolled.

 Now, the sigils just need a set amount of mana to react—I’m glad this chalk contains my own mana… I wouldn’t want to inject some strange mana-like venom inside myself with something like Body Reinforcement, now would I?

 I concentrated mana around my stomach to activate the chalk, and slowly, it burned; I could feel my body heat up, and my heart raced as adrenaline levels soared.

 “Phew…” I sighed, wanting to cry since these chalks took so much time to make.

 With determination, I clenched my hands. I had about a few hours before the chalk burnt through—by that time. I really need to be out of here.

 Using Swift Steps, I basically skated above the ground, closing the distance rapidly as I channelled Wind Claws. The luminescent crystallised blades protruded from the back of my hand.

 “I see you~!”

 As Navi illuminated the tunnel ahead of me, I saw creatures crawling towards me. From a quick glance, they were ants the size of a thirteen-year-old—wait, of me?

Gulp

 “Navi! Burst!” I cried, commanding the light ball to burst, flashing the whole area as I covered my eyes.

 Navi became dim but would regenerate soon. Now that the ants were disoriented, I focused on channelling Pressure Sphere, covering the whole hall. My acceleration slowed down, but I pushed the ants along me as some got crushed between the Pressure Sphere and the walls—eventually making my way into the chamber.

 “Hah! Easy—”

 Before I noticed, the ground beneath me seemed to be very… far down. Navi might be dim right now, but I could tell I was in a massive chamber—with crawling ants my size or larger…

 “…”

 Beneath me was a ginormous queen laying eggs. I noticed some of them were damaged—it was likely from an Aerial Blast.

Kriikiiri? Kriikiiriiiiki! Kiiriiiikiiikiriiik!?

 Aah… the others noticed me… I heaved a deep sigh. As though time had moved slower, the ants locked onto me, slowly turning their heads and spitting some sort of poison or acid. I retracted Wind Claws and placed my fingers on the Frenzy sigil, extracting its magic. It was in the form of a crimson swirl of mana.

 “Well, I’d gone mad either way spending time with you guys…” I mumbled to myself.

 I pushed the Frenzy inside of me. My mana erupted, surging through my veins. Vapours escaped my breath. I channelled Phoenix; my body instantly became engulfed in ferocious flames.

 Time seemed to move even slower in this state. I touched my face; it was dry and slightly rough… but I couldn’t help but notice the grin—I’ve become slightly mad, haven’t I?

 Mana surged to my hand, forcing my clenched fist open, trembling. The wind in my palm swirled the Phoenix's inferno, cutting through my magical and physical resistances. A drop of blood emerged from the cut, instantly evaporating—Aerial Bomb.

 “Helloooo! …DINNER!”

A/N

Wait, what’s the title again…?