Inwardly screaming from the terrible pain that was tearing his body apart, Rob still pulled the stream of energy, despite the devastating results and horrible sensation as if someone was ripping off multiple pieces out of his flesh all at once using tiny razor-sharp hooks. The background showed the panicked voices of the tourists, the repetitive sound of the alert, and chaotic activity around, but Robert was currently too occupied to observe the nervous behavior of his captors. Maybe if only he could see the open wounds that were appearing right on the skin or the splashes of blood that were kept only by the invisible force shield, creating almost like a red veil around his. Or if he could hear the cracking sound of bones that tried to find their way out of flesh. Or the blown-up pupils that couldn’t resist the inner pressure. Or… There were too many gruesome parts in the scene, but not for Robert.
No, his mind was as the matter he could conjure – firm as steel. Focused to the point disregarding the whole around, no matter the price would be. Even the pain, the awful soul-tearing pain, was partly a salvation to his state as it was a sign that he was still alive. Moreover, dying from this overwhelming sensation wasn’t that scary as it would free him from the constant humiliation. However, despite the acceptance of the failure and its cost, Robert aimed for success, willing to squeeze everything from his own body and mind just to get what he wanted – more power to break his shackles.
The whole idea wasn’t that extraordinary – just to widen the connection to Aether, increasing the flow of the energy to him. But the reason why he decided to go to such an extent in almost killing himself was quite simple – he couldn’t do anything with his current control or a mana level. No matter how Rob tried to command mana inside himself, the ethereal energy just refused to obey. During his stay in the Tower Robert managed to sense it as a gaseous something filled with energy, but nothing more. It helped to direct his Energy Blasts into an effective weapon, but it was more about finer control over the shape and size of the conjurer steel, and the spread of explosions. Rob still failed to do anything else with it – it was too subtle for any manipulation. Even the expulsion of pure mana from his flesh was impossible to him, reminding him about his starting decision to get an uncontrollable adaptation ability.
On the other hand, I would be dead if not for that decision… Yeah, so if I can do anything with it, I may raise it concentration to the point where I can try to grip it with my mental hands.
This idea led to the current situation, where Rob was pulling the energy from his ethereal connection with Aether, trying to increase the size of the “mana pipe”. Clearly, even his improved body soon reached its limit, but it didn’t stop him from continuing. Disregarding everything, Robert pulled and pulled, simultaneously dying in the process as his flesh couldn’t keep with the flow. Moreover, Rob attempted to direct it not just somewhere, but to the artificial skeleton frame, trying to saturate it from within, forcefully making the obsidian steel his own and more importantly controllable matter.
The whole process looked like an attempt to stop the flood of toxic liquid using his own hands, while simultaneously trying to fill the specific barrel. Rob quickly lost track of time, too concentrated on the task that barely showed any results. By the end, his mind consisted of the single automotive repentance of the same actions, leaving nothing behind. Then the darkness enveloped him. The last thought was surprisingly clear.
It's nice to have a full medical team around you, who are forced to save your life because of the fear of losing the main and the most valuable exhibit.
The woke-up was instantons as if someone pushed the power button. It wasn’t the first time he regained his consciousness in such a manner, creating a nascent hope about the result of his dangerous deed. Unfortunately, the following attempt to move brought a terrible disappointment. Robert was still stuck in a motionless statue that was his body. Moreover, the flower he was constantly looking at was gone, possibly stomped by the members of the museum, who reacted to the emergency. Still, not willing to give up, Rob methodically started to check everything. By this point, he spent in this kind of “meditation” much more time than observing the outer world. Not that the latter was giving him any pleasant reasons to be in the first place.
I am almost like a cultivator from xianxia stories, who is spending 95% of their thousands-years-long life in a state of tranquility without any thoughts. Like why the fuck would you need such a dull life, where any random middle-aged mortal has more life experience than a so-called immortal? Pure idiocy… wait! This gives me an idea about their cultivation techniques… I can try to make a rotation of my mana to push more of it inside these stupid bones. Nothing complex, just a simple vortex.
Thinking over and over about the sudden idea, Rob found it to have potential. His death struggles already increased his mana flow from Aether, making the concentration of mana denser. Moreover, some parts of it clearly made it further, pushing the tiny particles of energy inside the foreign metal frame. There was still an odd unpleasant feeling, but Robert for the first time felt something in those metal constructs – the familiar sensation of control. It was still too far from being usable, but it gave hope that he found the way.
I need to make the steel bones mine before thinking about how to deal with the force shield. No point in escaping if I can’t make it past this room… when did the guide tell was the change of scenery? I really hate these jungles… Okay, back to the plan…
“You have scared me, my pearl. I almost thought I’d lost you, the biggest pride in my collection. Luckily, Donald was nearby. To think that the position of the leader brought so many problems after the death of that moron, whose biggest accomplishment in his measly life was to have an important grandfather… But it’s not the time. I need to spend some time with my collection to calm down. To spend time with you. Yes, I want to experience that fear once again. Your death gaze, which threatened to crush my skull. Your pure emotions, so I can reignite myself in this flame…”
Oh, not this dumb perverter again. I am making the plan for how to smash your head into a meat paste, you fucker! Don’t bother me!
Robert tried to focus his mind on the set task, but the constant mumbling of the psycho, who did everything to get another hateful gaze from Rob, was just too hard to ignore. Finally, giving up and imagining the painful torture, he made the manic convulse from the satisfaction after getting a long hating gaze – both physical and mental. Just a minute later Robert was left alone.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
God bless the force shield. Yeah, no chance I am escaping without being in a top condition. Where was I? Vortex, yes.
It appeared harder than he imagined. Robert felt as if he was trying to put himself into the flight just by pulling his own non-existing hair. At least an increased density helped with a mental grip. Following the unclear guides from multiple fantasy stories he read, Rob tried to synchronize his breathing with each push, making an attempt with every exhale. For long there was no movement in a gaseous mass of mana inside his body. On the contrary, the “surface” of this “energy lake” seemed to follow the example of tranquility from the meditation. However, Robert had enough persistence and willpower to repeat the very same actions thousands of times without any problem. Especially, considering an alternative in the form of tourists, who was happy to gloat over him.
Without the ability to track the time, Rob was once again lost in the process. He couldn’t even tell how long it took him to cause a reaction. The visualization of his accomplishment made to intensify the efforts, leading to faster progress. Or maybe after the initial movement, it was much easier as he never paused even for a fraction of a second. Still, the new obstacle with this vortex appeared to be mental exhaustion. Robert had to restart the same action from the beginning countless times just because the toll on his mind became too huge to handle, simply sending him into slumber. The only positive thing was that after each try his mana was much easier to manipulate as if his mental muscles were getting stronger.
At some point the vortex of mana inside his body was constant, barely taking any effort to keep up. Rotating at increasing speed, it was regularly sending particles to his metal skeleton frame, steadily adding more and more of them inside the inner structure of the obsidian still. It was also the moment when the stream of tourists started slowly to drop. Even the ones who came to see the terrifying Terranoid had clear signs of worry, often too distracted from the exhibition. The psycho’s visits were also irregular, while the man barely could focus on his sick hobby. Not that it mattered to Robert as he was slowly regaining the sensation of control over his body. Unfortunately, soon Rob discovered that the concentration of the energy wasn’t enough.
I need more power, fuck! Aether is not an option as I am not sure I can handle another increase… Think, Robert. Use your dumb head! What can you use to get more energy? What can be the source? Wait! I am literally attached to the one, but how the hell am I going to get it?
Focusing on his body like many times before, Robert slowly studied the results of his non-resting efforts for an unknown amount of time. The obsidian steel hadn’t become as obedient as his own, but Rob was sure he could manipulate the bigger pieces to some extent. There was no chance he could disperse them at all in an attempt to replace his skeleton with his own creation. On the other hand, he could definitely move it and even change the shape, alas not with the usual level of precision. It was already enough to make an escape, but Robert was too afraid to repeat the very same situation and get the same outcome, but this time getting a stronger cage.
I can’t afford to be weak. Not again. Never again.
This thought brought the images of tourist’s faces to his mind. Thousands of them. And once again, it served as fuel to his hatred and anger, intensifying the feeling multiple times. The resolve followed after the wave of emotions, powering the idea of using any possible means to become stronger. So, he wouldn’t ever be in the same situation. Mentally nodding to himself as if granting permission, Robert still paused before the start because another thought appeared inside him, stopping him once again.
Even if I can free myself from this cage, but what about the bigger one? The cage that I never thought about, but which was always there, making my life dependent on the wish of an artificial creature – Aether. I was told by this mighty being that it would never influence my life until I was powerful enough, but what if it’s not true? This shitty robot doesn’t answer my call to leave this place. What if all my fucked-up realms I end up in were its doing? What if I can’t live a normal life because Aether doesn’t want me to stop the progression of the Transcendent? I had Wepwakor with his bullshit as an example, and it could be the same. To believe someone just because they told you so? Well, fuck it! I need not only the power but real independence. And if I need to risk my life to get it, so be it!
All hesitation died on the spot, pushing Robert’s mind into motion. Finding the empty gaps under the invisible energy shield, he started to conjure steel, filling everything to fullness. The task took less than a few seconds before Rob followed with the second, a much more painful stage. Forcefully shifting the constructs into multiple blades and needles, he basically sent it forward right through his own flesh. Cutting their way to reach bones, the metal only stopped after reaching the target. Not giving himself time to fall into the pit from the pain, Robert started to rip off the controllable particles of the obsidian steel only to replace it with his own summoned matter that was already there, ready to be used.
The next eternity continued in the same surgical manner, where he was changing part of his bones with the mana-created steel. For the moment the quantity of such spots appeared to be too overwhelming, but Rob quickly changed his approach. Instead of controlling everything individually, which was honestly speaking simply impossible for him, he tried to feel all the gaps in his skeleton frame at once, without trying to recreate the perfect bone structure. That eased the task but created another problem for the future – the growth of weight. Not that Robert paid any attention to it, concentrated on the fourth stage.
All the remnants of the controllable obsidian steel were compressed into multiple needles, that flowed into Rob’s stomach. Connecting to each other, they were reshaped into a sphere an instant later. Pushing the surface outwards, Robert forcefully created the empty spot inside the newly made construct. At this point, the awful pain from thousands of small injuries was already blurring his mind, but the desire to be free from any restraints was even stronger, pushing to the death door and beyond just to achieve his stupid idea. Rob wasn’t even sure it could work, but after so much time spent as a frozen statue, all barriers of self-preservation were gone.
Already in a half-conscious state, Robert connected the outer layer of the steel with the energy cable in his left foot that supported the force shield around himself. Once again, he had to cut the way for the steel, basically pushing the tiny sharp blade into his flesh with his own mind. He wasn’t sure if he could survive it before widening the flow of mana from Aether, as it could be the only thing that kept him alive at this moment. Still, there was no fear in his actions. Maybe no clarity too.
The invisible shield enveloped the sphere, pushing inner organs aside and creating a protective spot right under his barely beating heart. In the next moment, Robert mentally grinned, finally getting to the last part. From his first attempts to manipulate the Energy Blasts and the devastating force they created, he felt he had a grip over this ability. And he was going to increase it further, capturing the explosion and forcefully converting it back to mana to fuel the next one. The main point in his idea was that the System in the Tower broke the energy conversion principle, creating more energy that was used. And Rob was going to use it, getting his own source of mana.
My own mana reactor! Let’s go!