“Steady all of you. Retreat behind the frontline but do not run!”
Jonathan's powerful voice bounced across the area, it was the only thing that was keeping any sort of calm to the proceedings, though telling terrified people to remain calm and walk when all they wanted to do was run, was a doomed endeavor to begin with.
The decision to let them in had not been made lightly, but it was made under duress. None of them could watch as people were killed in front of them by the ravaging crowds, but letting people in right now could be just as dangerous.
The Corrupted had begun to flood the area as they had predicted, though their numbers were still manageable.
It seemed like these were just the overflow from whatever battle was going on up ahead. Mark had moved to the frontline to help people get through smoother, in some cases pulling people off the ground and pushing them through. Their fighters maintained a defensive line as crowds rushed around them like water around a rock
“Maintain your distance, once people are through make space for others!” Jonathan's voice kept reassuring people.
He was just about to move from Mark's side when Mark grabbed him and called up the system to retrieve his blade.
The very same one he had taken from Roland and left behind inside the guardian's corpse. It appeared in his hand and Mark offered the thing to him.
“Take it, I’m pretty sure it's stronger than the other one you got”
Jonathan's eyes darted down the blade and widened before the smallest grin formed near the crease of his mouth.
Grabbing the hilt Jonathan sheathed his katana and sent it into his inventory. The serrated blade was a couple of centimeters bigger than his old one, but he did a couple of test swings.
“I’ll pay you back later,” he muttered, eyes still locked on the blade.
Mark just waved him off.
“It’s basically just a piece of metal in my hands. I picked it up expressly to see if you could find a use for it.”
Jonathan's grin was that of a predator, his voice laced with amusement.
“I can definitely do something with this, I’ll be sure to return the favor.”
Mark shrugged his shoulders, this wasn’t time to argue about this.
The Corrupted had closed in and they had already sunk their teeth into their prey.
Those near the back had to turn to defend themselves. Jonathan along with Boe and a small team at his back rushed to help relieve the pressure.
Sam floated above with a team of casters behind her, though only a handful of them cast anything. They had to be incredibly careful not to harm any bystanders as the levels were not high and one stray bolt meant death for them. Only those who had pinpoint accuracy could risk it, the rest remained on standby.
While all of this went on Mark's heart rate slowed, the system was taking longer with [Sculpt Mana] than any of his previous spells. He kept his attention on it and offered what he could up to the process but otherwise, his attention was on the rescue operation.
Minutes passed and when it finally dinged in Mark's ear that it was done, he exhaled a sigh he hadn’t known he was holding. Pulling up the prompt, Mark read through its description.
Spell Acquired: Sculpt Mana(Force) [evolved to Engrave Mana!]
Engrave Mana - Rank 1
Through extreme Mana control and imagery, the user can expand and create Compound (Force) constructs.
Size and distance correlate to the Mana expended.
Complexity based on mental acuity
Mana can be retrieved if the form is reabsorbed by the user.
Damage to the construct can be preserved by inherent compartmentalization.
Persistent constructs can be maintained as intermediate versions.
The strength and toughness of constructs are based on the Mana and Resistance attributes, while Prana and Aura now apply at half-efficiency.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
This spell can be altered by all other attributes.
This spell can be altered by all other types of magic.
Mark read over the changes and while some were immediately apparent, others he’d have to test out to confirm. So that’s exactly what he did.
The moment the spell expanded from him, he paused and the spell collapsed. It was not that he could not use the spell, he just realized he was using it in a completely different manner than intended.
Marks constructs had always had an outer layer that acted as the shield. The inside became like an extension of his body when he used his Resistance, but on the whole, once the outer layer was punctured whatever had made it through would continue. Now there were exceptions where he could apply force to something inside his construct, slowing it down, but if his old construct was made up of simple triangles interlocking. Then this new spell was made of pyramids. Infinitely more complex and at the same time, leagues ahead of his old construct's strength.
It was a difference between two and three dimensions. Now not only was the actual shape stronger but half of his Prana attribute would be added to the strength of the spell, which would more than double the toughness of the constructs, seeing as his Prana had long since left his Mana in the dirt.
Of course, there were downsides to this new strength.
Mark built a network of constructs rapidly and the interlocking shield sprung up around Mark. From a distance, it may look like one solid mass, but on closer inspection, each triangle seamlessly slotted against the other.
Thousands of interlocking pyramids formed a formidable barrier, every facet catching and reflecting the nearby light sources like a sapphire. The surface of the shield appeared almost alive, with myriad angles and edges casting intricate patterns of shadow and light across its expanse.
Its speed of expansion was a little slower than Mark was used to, but nothing he couldn’t overcome with some practice, it might even be faster if he worked at it.
The real problem was as Sam had feared. The resource cost had just climbed four to five times its normal rate. It was understandable as [Sculpt Mana] had been worlds simpler than the current density and complexity he was seeing here, but honestly, it was probably going to limit the maximum size he could cover.
It was not all bad though. To make up for the sudden upfront cost, the spell had solved one of his biggest problems inherently.
Before it was like he had a ballon, if someone managed to pierce it, all the energy he had sunk into the spell was free to escape. If he didn’t pull it back in time, he’d lose it all. Now though, every pyramid acted as its own balloon.
If some were damaged, only those that were destroyed were lost and Mark could repair the missing ones. This continued from the outer edges of the barrier right to the core where Mark's skin began.
Mark began to test his limits by stretching and shrinking the dome to cover more people. Just a couple at first, and then going on to encompass the whole road. His Resistance felt more responsive than ever, as if he had an express line to every person under his dome. Lowering the internal opacity within the dome became necessary so that his vision wasn’t swimming in geometric shapes. Though it never completely went away, refracting light at a gentle pace. Just to grow it to this size had consumed almost all of Mark’s Mana, and the moment Prana began to flood in, the hue shifted to a purple and it grew to cover almost the whole frontline. Mark would have thought the spell was too complex but it seemed easy to create and expand the new pyramids, almost as though they built off one another. The last discovery was that the shield required almost no input from him once its shape was defined. He could walk away right now and the thing would maintain itself for as long as it had the power to do so. Similar, but more potent to his lesser constructs.
In fact, he could create a lesser construct in place of his main construct and it very nearly had the same strength as his [Sculpt Mana] used to.
Pulling the construct in Mark created one now and folded it over the whole area, just in case he had to leave suddenly.
By now a majority of the non-combatants were under its umbrella, only the stragglers were still being guided by Jonathan's advanced group.
Ethel had been firing arrows until her comms crackled to life. Focusing on the earpiece her gaze wandered to the horizon before verbalizing her acknowledgment.
A look in Mark's direction was all she needed to say. Casting [Telepathic link], Mark set up a connection and sent a mental line their way.
As soon as everyone allowed it to connect, Ethel's voice came through.
‘Alright, we have potential allies incoming. A city-wide threat has been found and the Loyalists have failed to stop it. It's heading toward the city center, putting our territory directly in its path. The scions have fallen back from the fight to rendezvous with us. Nathan Moore has contacted his people and they are sending fighters here but it may take some time.’
‘Do we trust they aren't using us as a scapegoat?’ Jonathan sent.
Sam replied next.
‘It matters little whether they make it up or not. They know we have to show up or our people are dead.’
‘Sam is right, retreat would be the best option but right now we’re surrounded, and transporting this many non-combatants would be impossible.’
Mark felt despair creeping in.
They had been faced with this choice before, and in a hail-mary attempt, they had made it to the city.
Now though, the boat they had found amidst the storm was starting to spring leaks.
Jonathan's ‘voice’ came through again, stubborn and filled with tenacity.
‘Then for now we’ll organize a defensive line here, have Karter concentrate our forces near HQ, and push as many non-combatants as we can fit into the nearby buildings. I don’t care if they’re standing in the halls.’
Mark had to agree with him, if there was no way to get around this, then like usual they could only go through it.
Setting his concerns aside Mark spoke.
‘We’ll delay the front of the horde long enough for him to get everyone together, and then fall back to the core line.’
Ethel nodded and spoke into her radio, relaying their decision over to home base.
Mark called Sam and Jonathan to his side, they needed time to use [Meditation]. Mark was still at around eight percent but the other two were both probably less than half. Sam’s regeneration would probably fill up her reserves quickly but Jonathan's would be slower, even with the crest. Everyone would have to protect them for a short while but after that could join the fight in full force.
At the same time, a distant tremor went through the street and surrounding buildings. The sidewalk shook and distant alarms went off. Night had fallen in its entirety now and even the moon did not show itself through the thick cloud cover. The chill in the air was damp yet frigid with sleet.
It was as though a blanket had fallen over the city, bringing with it the hushed silence of the grave.
Dots of yellow, reds, and violets lit up the roads, courtesy of Sam’s casters and what remained of the few working street lamps. Near the edges of the shadow, Corrupted began to creep in, their numbers climbing, and they seemed to almost wait for more of their kind to begin the attack. It felt like they were two opposing armies waiting for the other to make the first move. Screams and wails began to echo closer through the night their cries filled with desperate hunger.