Chapter 9 Devourer Part 2

Yuelian

My body feels very different from before. The mana in the air, the wind, even blood inside Jason, I could instinctively feel it. Miyong, I can feel her. I was still five floors away, but I could feel her heartbeat. She is extremely excited. The rush of battle, these powers did not come without a cost. I believe that we are changing. Our mentality, our bodies, and everything about us are changing to contain these powers.

Humanity’s inherent abilities allow us to become the owner of this world. Our abilities to adapt to any environment, our brains that can find ways to overcome any adversaries. Combine that with mana, an energy that can enhance the properties of other things. Perhaps, mana is enhancing our evolutionary process and our adaptabilities. It is forcing the process that would normally take maybe hundreds of thousands of years to take place within weeks. If that was happening, it might also explain the mental breakdown of some players.

Jason is next to me, running without saying a single word. I need to have a word with him after this. His duty dictates that he must protect me at all times, but he would also throw away anyone as long as I am safe.

“Jason, next time prioritize protecting Miyong,” I said as we were quickly descending the stairs.

“I can't do that, prince. My duties are to protect you, even at the cost of my own life” Jason smiled as if he was proud to say that.

“If she dies, I will kill myself” The shadows of my family would know just from listening to my voice that I was not joking.

“I understand. The shadows obey your command.” I did not look back, but his voice did not contain a hint of falsehood. That gave me a bit of relieve

A sudden spike in heartbeat. What is happening? Something frightened her. I need to get down there immediately.

“Follow me.” I nod to Jason before diving out the nearby window. Enhancing our entire body with mana, we slide down the side of the building with our bare hands. It wasn't as bad as I expected. There were many plants and flowers on the side of the building for us to grab while we slid down. We reached the second floor within seconds.

The first thing I saw was gigantic shields floating mid-air, sliced in half. Mali’s right arm is gone. Miyong grabbed her right eye. Crimson blood flowed down her face. Various puncture wounds can be seen on her body. A dozen badly injured players are scattered about on the floor. Judging by Miyong’s bloody fists, I guess that was her handiwork. She turned and saw me, instead of her usual smile, fear showed on her face. A thin sword in the tradition of the old empire floats in front of her, blood dripping from its tip.

I felt like the world was moving in slow motion. The mana connected to the sword flows back to the old man standing on a flying sword outside the opposite window. I see, mana manipulation can be used that way.

A few players hiding in the right building are shooting some types of mana arrows toward Miyong. Her mana was able to deflect most of the arrow, but a few still got through. That must be the cause of the wounds on her body. Those mana arrows are crafted by pure mana, but the structural integrity is unstable. Not a great use of mana.

I saw a woman standing near the opposite window that is using her mana to close the wounds of her comrades. That is a precious ability, we need to capture her. I have already gotten a general idea of the situation, but what I don't understand is the heat in my chest. A fire so hot it threatened to consume my consciousness. I am trying my hardest to take hold of myself and control that flame. What is it? It is telling me to rip that old man’s head off. It is telling me to slaughter every one of those animals that dare harm her. My most important person.

I see, this is hatred.

“Jason, protect Miyong as if she is me.” My voice sounded cold. It feels like I am listening to someone else using my voice.

“My prince” Jason brought his fists together in a bow. He sinks into the ground in front of my eyes. No, his body itself turned into a shadow. That's an interesting use of mana, too complicated for me to copy. He brought back Miyong in the blink of an eye.

“Yue, wait! Don't fight.” I tried to walk forward but she stopped me. “That old man is dangerous. His skill is too fast.”

I can see the old man smirking. I see. He is enjoying her pain.

“Is that the famous rising star? Just a boy.” the old man’s every word dripping with venom. He hates me, but we have never met before. Jealousy? What a childish person. “Look at those eyes, I need to teach you a lesson as well. Kids these days don't know respect”

He pointed at me and a few thin swords flew out from his back. Is it because the sword is so thin? Or because it's extremely fast? There is no way to react to those swords under normal circumstances, but I could feel it. The mana traces.

The sword he is standing on is controlled by his mana. I could see the thread of mana connecting him and the various swords he used. With a flick of my finger, those threads were cut. Several flying swords were scattered on the floor.

“Ug!” The old man spit out blood. He looked confused. That's good, he should suffer as well.

His skills are extremely simple, unlike Mali’s Echo. It was simply object manipulation using mana. I could see the way his mana coats those swords. It is no different from wrapping clothes on the handles of swords and swinging them, yet he can control those swords in a very delicate way. I probably can't control objects in the delicate ways that he is doing, but I don't need delicacy.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Before he could regain his posture, I took control of the flying sword he was standing on and swung it upwards.

The old man was sliced in two.

“.....!” Everyone on the floor looked towards the two half of the old man falling to the ground. The arrows from the right building stopped as well. I couldn't pinpoint the accurate locations of the people hiding in the right building, but there is also no need to do that.

I can sense mana inside each grain of sand, block of wood, and metal bar inside that building. I took control of those mana and burst them all. The right building blew up spectacularly. Even if they are players, they can't survive mana explosions like that. A few building debris without mana is not enough to even shake the school buildings still enhanced with mana. As I watched the debris bouncing off the school building, the flame in my heart subsided a bit.

“I am sorry for not coming earlier.” I took Miyong into my arms. As I saw the many wounds on her body up close, that flame started to flare up again.

“I am ok……I fucked them up before you came.” She buried her face in my chest.

“Wait a bit. I think we can do something about those wounds.” I left her with the others as I walked towards the rest of those looters. The middle-aged woman who was using some type of healing mana a bit ago panicked as she saw me walking closer.

“Wait! We came with orders from our leader. She wanted to see the new rising star. We didn't mean any harm!” She hid behind one of the injured people.

“One of our people lost an eye, another lost an arm.” I kept walking forward.

“Wait! Wait! WAIT! My skill can heal! I can heal them.” She held up her glowing hands. This is what I wanted. I acted surprised and stopped walking.

“If you can do that, I won't touch a single hair on your head.” I took control of a few of the thin flying swords and cut down the rest of her teammates. Grandfather always said, to be kind to your friends and ruthless to your enemies. I remembered to smile at the middle-aged woman. She started crying. “Don't be scared. I swear on my life, I won't harm you if you treat my friends.”

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A few minutes later

Jason, Jessica, and I watched as the middle-aged woman healed Mali and then Miyong in turn. The healing skills are amazing. This is not some magical spell. Her skill uses the natural healing abilities of the human body and enhances it a millionfold. The mana is forcing the body to create new cells at an insane speed. This is regeneration, not just healing. I couldn't help but smile at the screen in front of me.

Devourer

The Devourer is destined to consume all in existence. Knowledge, power, mana, and even the heavens itself.

The Devourer can not learn a skill or stats from the system.

I was disappointed by that skill after reading the limitations. I can not learn any new skill from the system, however, it's not entirely true. While other players may be able to learn a skill automatically if they acquired a skill, even if they don't understand how it works, I can not do the same. I can only learn a skill if I understand the fundamentals, the principles behind the skill, and the essence of how the skill functions. I needed knowledge and understanding. I have to learn the skill in the real sense, not in an automatic, video game-like way.

[Knowledge has been Devoured]

Learned skill [Regeneration]

Learned skill [Telekinesis]

Learned skill [Shadow control]

Learned skill [Mana arrows]

Learned skill [Enhancement]

[Power has been Devoured]

Mana + 1

Mana + 1

Magic Power + 1

Magic Power + 1

Agility + 1

Strength + 1

This skill also takes the powers of people that I have killed. Somehow, that gives me a weird feeling. The existence of my skill means that there are almost no limits to the skills that can exist in this world. What if someone has a skill that can kill people just by looking at them? This skill probably makes me extremely strong, especially as I gain more knowledge and power in the future, but I would be a fool to think I somehow have an edge over others in this world. It has not been a month since the flood, and someone like that old man already exists. And it seems he is not even the head of his community.

In normal circumstances, the leader of a community doesn't necessarily need to be the strongest person in the community. It's usually the opposite. However in this world? I can't be sure.

“This girl is fine. She can't use her eyes for a few days, but she should not have any problem after that.” The middle-aged lady pushed Miyong towards me and then turned to Mali. Reattaching her arm might take a while.

Mali has been drinking painkillers from the market, we were afraid she would go into shock so we bought them for her. I was surprised to learn of the system market, there are so many things we need to do after everyone gets healed and rested.

Miyong fell asleep as soon as she fell into my arms. Cute girl. I pat Jessica's shoulder and nod at her. At least everyone survived this time. Jessica’s expression is bitter, I understand that frustration. We can fix all of that, now that we have the market function. Miyong, still sleeping in my arms, I sat leaning on the wall nearby while waiting for Mali's healing. I have not had the chance to look at my stats after the level-up. Maybe now is a good time.

[Qin Yuelian]

Title: none

LV.1

Mana: 22

Strength: 2

Agility: 2

Magic Power: 13

Nobility: 16

Skill: Devourer [Unique]

Regeneration

Telekinesis

Shadow control

Mana arrows

Enhancement

Looks like the baseline of human abilities is about 1, and anything above that would be going beyond the normal human level. Miyong said her agility is 17, does that mean she is 17 times faster than a normal human? That's insane.

As I looked at her sleeping face, I could see various wounds still fresh on her body. I guess that lady couldn't heal her completely and chose to heal her eye first. I activated my regeneration skills. Focusing my mana on each wound that I can see, controlling the cells in her skin and blood to reproduce quickly. This is extremely detailed work.

“What are you doing?!” Someone nearby yelled in my direction. As I opened my eyes, I had to stop healing Miyong to see what the commotion was about. The middle-aged woman is looking at me with wide eyes.

“I am just copying what you are doing” I lied. I had already learned her skill. Based on her reaction, perhaps the skill that I learned is a higher rank than hers.

“I can see that, but how?” She stopped healing Mali and is now making a scene. I guess she must have been one of the few players with healing skills. Most likely she wasn't the only one, if she was, their leader would never send her out on dangerous missions.

“I don't know. I have the talent” I was too careless. I was too eager to heal Miyong and did not think about what would happen if my abilities were exposed.

“If you can heal, why make me do this?! Just let me go! Please!” She was pleading with me, but she is also going back on our deal.

I flick my finger and her shadow twists around her body. Everyone looked confused, and Jason was shocked. Yes, that's your skill, Jason. A weaker version, but it's a skill that I stole from you.

“I am sorry.” She didn't keep her promise. I snapped my finger and the shadow broke her neck. I didn't see a system notification. I guess I don't always get the stats upgrade.

“What the fuck did you do that for?” Jessica was angry. Mali’s arm was still not reattached yet.

“I can do it. Don't worry. That woman didn't keep her promise, so she is untrustworthy. And we absolutely can not allow other people to know our abilities. We couldn't let her live.” I walk over to Mali to start healing her. Miyong is still in my arms. I won't ever let her go again.

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Next Invasion 8 days