As Ethan stood there, facing the daunting reality of his situation, a surge of anxiety coursed through him. The forest seemed to close in around him, the weight of his classmates predicament pressing down on his shoulders. The realization hit hard: Sven was trapped within the creature, and Seraphine lay unconscious nearby. He was their only hope, but his odds looked grim.

His mind raced, a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions colliding. Fear and self-doubt battled but a desire to protect was still within. His left arm hung limp, the previous battle with the thorned deer leaving it paralyzed. It was a stark reminder of the toll of the disadvantages he currently had.

"If I run, they'll all be lost. If I stay, I might not make it out alive." The internal struggle raged within him. He clenched his right fist, his heart pounding as he tried to find a solution in the midst of his escalating panic.

Ethan's eyes hardened as he took a deep breath, steadying himself. He might be alone and wounded, but he refused to let fear dictate his actions. "I won't let fear win."

With a decision firmly made to stand and confront the enemy, Ethan braced himself as the creature charged with a sinister grin, its predatory intent unmistakable. In the midst of the impending clash, time seemed to stretch, allowing Ethan's mind to race in search of a viable solution. Every passing second felt like an eternity as he processed his options.

Ethan's intelligence shone through as he quickly deduced that brute strength alone wouldn't suffice. Strategy would be his ally, and he delved into a whirlwind of scenarios, seeking the path that held the key to victory.

'Lowering the temperature only resulted in shedding, and increasing humidity takes too long. Extreme temperature changes could work by disrupting its moisture balance, but I can't control two elements with one hand. My left arm... it's useless. Wait! What about cloud seeding!'

The idea struck Ethan like a lightning bolt. Cloud seeding – the process of inducing rain – might be his answer. If he could create a sudden influx of water, it could potentially overload the creature's adaptive abilities and weaken its defenses.

Cloud seeding is a real-world technique used to induce rainfall by introducing certain particles into clouds. In this case, the Ethan could create rain clouds above the creature and initiate rainfall. Since the rainfall would cover a large area, it would be impossible for it to glide his way through them. The rainwater would wash away the creature's moisture-rich surface, reducing its slippery quality.

Without wasting another moment, Ethan gathered his remaining strength. He focused on the sky, using his right arm to channel his wind magic. His energy surged, and the air around him seemed to respond to the pattern. Clouds began to gather above, and Ethan poured every ounce of his determination into this critical moment.

As the clouds thickened and the sky darkened, Ethan knew this was his chance. With a deep breath, he released water element into the clouds, invoking the principles of cloud seeding he had learned in his past life.

In an instant, rain poured from the sky, drenching the area. The creature recoiled, its skin absorbing the water. It screeched, its movements faltering as its slippery surface became less effective.

"It's not enough! The concentration needs to be higher!" Ethan's voice resounded with urgency as he recognized the need to intensify his efforts.

Drawing upon his experience and knowledge, he called upon his wind magic once again. With a deep breath, he focused his energy to create a familiar pattern, one he had mastered during his earlier trials – summoning a dust devil. This time, however, he directed the powerful gust of wind into the rainwater, channeling it with precision toward the corrupted skipper.

As the gust of wind collided with the rainwater, it transformed into a swirling vortex. The moisture was forced to evaporate at an accelerated rate, creating a dynamic process of steam distortion. The creature's skin began to dry out more rapidly, its moisture equilibrium disrupted by the sudden and intense evaporation.

Ethan's perseverance and adaptability were paying off as he employed this strategic technique. The steam distortion method was proving to be a formidable tool in his arsenal, effectively weakening the creature's defenses.

With the creature's movements becoming sluggish and its once-slippery surface losing its effectiveness, Ethan seized the opportunity.

"I have no other choice. I can't defeat it this way. My mana pool is almost depleted." Ethan's realization weighed heavily on him. As he assessed his limited resources and the increasing odds of losing the confrontation against the corrupted skipper, a new plan formed in his mind. He had to create an environment that tipped the scales in his favor, one where he could improve his chances of survival.

With grim determination, Ethan started manipulating the rainwater vapor to generate a dense mist. As the mist billowed and expanded, he directed it to cover an extensive area, both obscuring his and the creature's vision. It was a calculated risk, providing him with a brief window of time to escape the creature's notice, thereby increasing his chances of staying alive.

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Ethan knew this strategy was a double-edged sword. While it concealed him from the creature's sight, it also hindered his own vision. But he understood that his immediate survival took precedence over all else. As the mist enveloped the surroundings, he could feel his heartbeat quicken, his senses heightened by the tension of the situation.

The area was white as it can be, it felt like he was walking towards heaven's door. He could barely make out his surrounding but he could hear the skippers walking around with its screeching and the sound of water puddle being stepped on.

The thing is, Ethan had no idea what he could do. If he didn't inflict a significant amount of damage in one fell swoop, he would end up emptying his mana pool and being left unable to move and be killed in the end. He had to make use of all the advantages he currently had in hand.

Ethan's thoughts raced, his mind now a whirlwind of understanding as the pieces fell into place. "Mist... density... fluid dynamics...! Pressure! Burst! Pulse! Impact! I got it!"

As he recited the principles he had uncovered, Ethan's conviction grew stronger. He understood the mechanics of the phenomenon he intended to create. "By dissipating a specific area rapidly, I can essentially create a disturbance in the equilibrium of the mist's density. When a region of higher density is suddenly connected to a region of lower density, fluid will flow from the higher pressured region to the lower region, resulting in a pulse-like effect."

"In this case, as I create an area of lower density mist by rapidly dissipating it, the surrounding mist will rush in to fill the space, creating a sudden change in pressure. This abrupt pressure change generates a shockwave that propagates outward from the point of disturbance, similar to how ripples spread when a stone is thrown into water."

He recognized the potential of the shockwave to disorient the creature. He imagined the sensation it could cause, the ground beneath the creature's feet shifting and unstable, making it vulnerable. But then, an even more powerful realization struck him.

"What if I harness the miraculous effect of mana in addition to the increased and powerful movement of the air molecules beyond their natural effect? Yes, a shockwave strong enough to reap through flesh and bones!"

He had deciphered the science behind the "Dissipating Pulse" and had envisioned how to enhance its impact using his own mana. It was a risky endeavor, requiring precise control over both the mist and his magical energy. But the urgency of the situation propelled him forward.

With a steadying breath, Ethan focused his attention on the mist that enveloped him. He reached out with his mana, intertwining it with the mist's molecules. In his mind's eye, he visualized the area he wanted to rapidly dissipate, creating a pressure differential that would trigger the shockwave.

Ethan's patience proved to be a virtue as he honed in on the Corrupted Cleared Skinned Skipper's location through the dense mist. He could almost feel the creature's presence through the sounds of its steps through the puddle of water. With his understanding of the phenomenon he intended to create, Ethan was ready to seize the moment.

His concentration unwavering, he focused his energy and intentions into the mist. The mist, like an extension of his will, responded to his mana-infused power. He initiated the process, dissipating the mist rapidly in a confined and calculated area. The result was a sudden and pronounced drop in pressure that reverberated through the mist.

As the density shifted, the mist surged in to fill the void, hastened by Ethan's controlled manipulation of mana. The shift in pressure he had engineered triggered a shockwave that began to ripple outward, an invisible force of nature taking form.

This shockwave was a tangible expression of the fluid dynamics at play. It was a combination of the movement of air molecules and Ethan's mana, intertwining and amplifying one another. The shockwave, initially subtle, gained momentum as it traveled through the mist-covered environment.

In an instant, the energy within the mist reached a critical threshold. The shockwave, once a ripple, now transformed into a violent explosion. The mist exploded outward with immense force, carrying with it the shockwave's impact. The air became a maelstrom of energy, sweeping across the creature's body.

The Corrupted Cleared Skinned Skipper was caught in the epicenter of the explosion. The force of the shockwave surged through its body, its disorienting effects multiplied by the explosion's intensity. The mist's particles collided with the creature's form, and in the blink of an eye, chaos unfolded.

The explosion's force was unforgiving, tearing through the creature's moistened skin and flesh with unrelenting vigor. The mist's energy combined with the shockwave to dismember the creature's body, an eruption of power so powerful that the creature's resistance was rendered futile. The very environment that had been its ally had now become its downfall.

Sven, who had been swallowed by the Corrupted Cleared Skinned Skipper earlier in the battle, had found himself in an unexpectedly advantageous situation.

As the shockwave from the explosion propagated outward, it reached the remains of the creature's body, where Sven was nestled. To one's astonishment, The very creature that had posed a dire threat had inadvertently provided him with a layer of protection.

The moist and rubbery texture of the creature's skin, which had once been its means of evasion, now acted as a cushion against the explosion's impact. Sven was cocooned within this fleshy layer, shielded from the force of the shockwave. The creature's body, however mutated and corrupted, had inadvertently become his refuge.

The force of the explosion rippled through the creature's flesh, but the layer that enveloped Sven absorbed and dispersed much of the energy. It was as if the very creature that had threatened to consume him had now inadvertently granted him protection.

As the explosion subsided, the mist began to settle, revealing the aftermath of Ethan's calculated assault. The Corrupted Cleared Skinned Skipper lay defeated, its once-threatening form now a scattered collection of disjointed parts.

The aftermath of his ingenious strategy left Ethan victorious, but it was a hard-won victory that came at a cost. As the mist began to clear and the battlefield revealed its transformed state, Ethan's battered body lay motionless amidst the aftermath of the explosion. The rain continued to fall, gently washing over his unconscious form.

The force of the explosion had not spared him. The shockwave's recoil, amplified by the mist's energy, had sent Ethan hurtling through the air like a ragdoll. He collided with the unyielding surface of a tree, the impact a testament to the sheer power he had unleashed. His body absorbed the force of the collision, his consciousness fading as darkness claimed his awareness.

Ethan, Sven, and Seraphine lay unconscious, the toll of their intense battle evident on their battered forms.