Chapter 31: Path of magic (Second part)

A deviant was coming

I stayed too long in the same place and was too far from the protection of the rocks. It did not matter to me previously as I was absorbed in my thoughts, however, I realized that it was a mistake.

The kind of mistake that could cost me my life.

I looked around but I couldn't see my future foe. The ring wasn’t burning yet, so the deviant wasn’t within range.

I wasn’t going to wait for him.

I picked up my backpack lying beside me and ran away from the open plain where I was an easy prey for a flying type deviant. I didn’t go toward the forest where I came from because the risk of the deviant coming from there was high.

I was frantically looking at my surroundings while running east, where I planned to head from the start, to resume my journey.

I ran for a while, but the light was still firmly stuck to my thumb. Hirillë didn’t tell me how far away the deviant would be when the ring starts emitting some light. It was probably because the ring wasn’t specific enough or because it varied from one deviant to another.

The light on my thumb suddenly became brighter.

I stopped in my tracks as soon as I realized what it meant.

The deviant was clearly faster than me because, despite my desperate run, it was still getting closer.

I raised my right hand ready to shoot the moment I saw it, but no matter where I looked or how much I strained my ears, I was alone.

The panic in my heart was growing stronger every moment.

Could this deviant become invisible? Was something like that even possible in the first place?

Suddenly a chill ran down my spine as the ring began to lightly burn my thumb.

I looked at the sky in reflex, but there was nothing.

Nevertheless, the ring continued to burn stronger.

"Too hot!"

I immediately activated my wind magic under my feet to propel myself back.

A second later, the earth where I was standing disappeared.

A huge creature was standing where I was just a moment ago. Its long brown body came out of the ground with a mouth several feet wide with long and sharp teeth protruding out of it.

I was engulfed in the giant shadow that the monster produced while standing dozens of feet above the ground.

"What is this? It’s huge. And it’s not even completely out yet."

I shook my head to regain my focus.

With a body that huge, it was impossible to dodge.

I gathered my mana as fast as I could and shot my new magic toward the giant creature.

“Earth Bullet!”

My projectile flew directly toward the giant body and pierce it easily.

The deviant let out a cry of agony as soon as my attack connected with its body.

A smile began to appear on my lips after confirming my victory.

However, after a few seconds, the beast's roar transformed. It wasn’t an agonizing shriek, but a furious roar.

The giant worm suddenly jumped out of the ground toward me at an unbelievable speed. I felt a shiver run down my spine as the giant jaw of the beast approached my body in a couple of seconds.

“Earth Bullet”

I used my attack again. The bullet entered directly into its mouth and exited on the other side just as easily as before, but the deviant didn’t stop at all.

I didn’t lose any time to watch the result of my attack as I was directly in front of the beast.

I immediately used wind magic under my feet to propel myself into the sky. I heard a crunching sound as the jaw of the beast missed my legs by a hairbreadth.

I repressed the fear invading my mind as I imagined what would have happened if I had been slightly slower.

“Waterball”

I shot as many Waterballs as I could while I was still above the creature. I was only able to shoot a dozen times before falling. I twisted my body and landed directly next to the tail of the monster.

I leaped back to gain some space.

My earth bullet didn’t have any effect even after I shot its head. Therefore, I chose to use water magic, but as I looked at the deviant returning to the ground in an instant, I understood that my attacks didn’t have any effect either.

My breathing was quite harsh after our small fight, but I couldn’t wait to catch my breath for one reason.

My ring was still burning.

It was still here under me.

I used wind magic and propelled myself a few feet back as I did before, but the deviant didn’t come out this time.

I repeated this process a couple of times, but the result was the same.

The burning sensation made my mind frantic. I couldn’t hear it, much less see it, but I knew it was lurking under me ready to engulf me the moment I halted my steps.

I couldn't stay on this plain. If I left its hunting ground, maybe it would leave me alone.

This was the only idea I had at this moment.

I ran east, as I planned to do before the attack, and continued to change my trajectory by relying on my wind magic. However, I wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer.

My wind magic was after all only at Advanced Rank. The consumption of mana wasn’t negligible, although it seemed like my body was slowly getting used to using magic continuously in battle.

“Uhhh”

The soil under my foot suddenly collapsed.

I desperately used Wind magic with pure reflexes to survive the sudden attack of the deviant. I avoided the mortal jaws of the monster under my feet, but I couldn’t do the same with its giant tail.

“Water…”

Before I could use my magic, a giant tail came out of the soil from another hole behind where its head came out. It struck me, sending my body flying and rolling for dozens of feet before stopping.

I quickly stood up, but before I could focus again on my foe, I felt some blood flowing on my left arm. I looked at the wound and almost at the same time, a sharp pain assaulted me.

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My arm was bent in the wrong direction.

I clenched my teeth to bear the pain as I watched the giant worm-like monster returning to the ground in an instant for the second time.

It seemed that the beast wasn’t just going to let me run away.

I had to kill that thing.

However, with a broken arm my chances of victory were quite slim, especially since this creature didn’t seem to be affected by physical attacks.

I quickly grabbed a potion from my backpack and drank its contents in a single gulp. I immediately felt a burning sensation on my broken arm.

I could see the bones, muscles and skin around the wound healing at an inhuman speed. The pain lessened until it was impossible to say that my arm had been broken.

I was forced to use one of my precious potions to heal my wound.

“Time for the second round, damn earthworm!”

I couldn’t even see it while it seemed to be able to locate me easily.

"Maybe it’s hearing my footsteps."

With this idea, I chose to remain at the same place while closing my eyes to focus. I strained my ears to their maximum to locate the movements of the deviant under me.

I couldn’t see or hear it, but there was another way. If I could sense its mana, then even under the earth I would be able to know where it was.

I focused on this single thing. I feared that the deviant would still attack while I was immobile. However, I knew that my previous method wouldn't allow me to win.

The more I concentrated, the more I felt the mana swirling around me. I was bathing inside as if I was in an ocean. I couldn’t differentiate the elements of the particles of mana around me, but that didn’t matter.

It was difficult to sense the deviant’s mana clearly inside the dense mana of the earth, but I decided to put my faith on the same method I used during my hunts.

After a few seconds of intense concentration, I found it.

Like a dim light at the bottom of the ocean, I finally sensed it.

The life of the deviant moving under me.

It was only ten feet away, circling around me, waiting for the moment to strike and engulf me.

I found it, but I still didn't have any way to deal with it. Physical strikes with water or earth didn't work. It probably had a vital point on its body, but it didn't stay out of the ground long enough for me to find it.

I smiled wryly after making my decision.

If I couldn't run away from it or defeat it, then I had to trap it.

This was the answer I found.

However, I knew there was only one magic that could help me do that.

I sensed the deviant moving quicker under the soil. At the same time, the ring on my thumb began to burn once again.

I couldn’t hesitate any longer.

"The Sacred magic of Ice will decide my fate."

I activated my wind magic to leap backward the moment I sensed the deviant's attack.

“Waterball!”

I fired several water balls at the gigantic body, but none of my projectiles seemed to bother the beast propelling itself out of the hole it made with a stunning speed.

I rolled on the ground to the left to dodge.

The beast’s jaw passed an inch away from my body. As soon as its head missed me, I stretched out my hand to touch the deviant’s side.

If my theory was wrong, then I would be doomed. I chased this thought away as soon as my hand touched the hard scales of the beast drenched in water.

I concentrated my entire mind on a single thought.

Slow down.

I sensed the small particles of mana around me beginning to halt under the influence of my own mana. The air became colder as the temperature seemed to have dropped a few degrees.

However, there was no ice.

I jumped back to avoid the tail of the beast that was furiously twitching its body to hit me.

I clenched my teeth in frustration and anger as I realized my failure.

I was wrong.

As soon as this terrible thought crossed my mind, I felt my knees growing weak, making my footage unstable.

“Not now!”

I shouted in anger against my own weakening limbs. I forced my legs to move to get away from the deviant as soon as possible.

However, as I was beginning to turn heel, I turned my eyes once more toward the deviant. I could only stay dumbfounded at the scene unfolding in front of me.

The deviant was furiously twisting its body in every direction. The plain began to turn into a battlefield as the giant beast scraped its right side on the soil.

When the furious beast began to slow down and turned to face me, I saw it.

The blue light of hope.

There was a small chunk of ice on the right side of the beast just around the place my hand touched.

The ice was slow to form, but I knew that as long as I could get in contact long enough with the beast, then I would have a chance to win.

Once again, the deviant plunged toward me, but faster than before. The furious roar escaping the giant mouth full of murderous teeth was enough to make my heart waver, but I was ready.

I released the most powerful gust of wind I could to propel me into the air above the giant body. I evaded the jaws by a large margin. The beast missed me, so I knew it would return under the cover of the earth one more time.

I didn’t have time to hover in midair like before.

Therefore, I used wind magic once again to change my trajectory and landed directly on the back full of brown scales as hard as stones of the deviant. I put my hands on those scales immediately after touching it with my feet.

The air cooled as I began to concentrate to stop the particles of mana around me.

This time I didn’t hold back at all. Using as much mana as I could, I triggered my magic.

“Ice Coffin”

I unleashed the magic that I hated and feared the most for going out of my control and robbing the life of Amanda against my will.

However, I didn't hesitate.

I spent no more than five seconds on the back of the creature before I felt its body twitching furiously to make me fall. I held on and continued to concentrate until I finally saw ice forming under my hands.

I jumped down from the beast and landed on the ground while rolling to soften the impact.

I gained some distance and watched my magic slowly taking form.

There was no special technique, no useless thinking in my magic. Just a pure wave of cold and uncontrollable ice that seemed to freeze my insides along with my opponent.

The furious roar of the deviant was growing weaker and weaker as a large portion of ice began to appear on its brown body. The ice was reflecting the light of the sun in the sky, giving the scene a mysterious aura.

The layer of ice was slowly stretching from the point where my hand touched the body and slowly made its way to the rest of the deviant.

The scene was the same.

An unstoppable ice coffin was slowly being born around the creature. Its movements became slower with each second until the deviant stopped moving completely.

I intended to trap it to give me enough time to gain some distance, but once again, the ice didn’t comply with my wishes and completely engulfed the creature.

The strength in my legs finally left me. I fell on my knees with my eyes still glued on the mesmerizing view in front of me.

This was the day I truly awoke as a Sacred Mage.