Chapter 64: Mana Mastery: The Awakening of Power

“Ah, shoot…”

As I followed the Guiding Star without thinking, I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten: the sword engraved with seven stars, a gift from the dwarf.

Immediately, I adjusted my direction, heading toward the place where I desired and wanted something.

The sparkling starlight shifted in the air, turning around to head in the opposite direction.

The tail of the starlight stretched long, carving a path over the platinum-colored sand.

It resembled the Milky Way seen in the night sky.

After running along the Guiding Star for a while, the next place I arrived at, after the platinum desert, was a forest shrouded in deep darkness.

From the entrance, I could already tell that monsters lived deep within the forest.

Loud cries echoed from inside, and the trees seemed to dance in response.

Although I felt some unease at the sight, Nightmare, without hesitation, leaped into the forest as if telling me not to worry.

Rough branches brushed past my cheeks as we advanced.

Since this place was untouched by human feet, no path had been formed.

I stuck close to Nightmare’s back, keeping my eyes focused on the front.

Perhaps it was because of the darkness that blanketed the forest, without a clear distinction between day and night?

I could sense many monsters were focusing on us, attracted by the light of the guiding star.

The light from the star stretched into the depths of the forest, making the eyes of the monsters sparkle.

Dozens of eyes, appearing and disappearing in an instant, were staring at Nightmare and me.

To be honest, it was a little scary.

The monsters’ forms were hidden in the darkness, their eyes glowing without revealing any of their bodies.

It felt like a scene from a horror movie.

Maybe those dozens of eyes weren’t from multiple monsters, but from a single one?

I shook my head, pushing away the terrifying images of monsters that appeared in my imagination.

The thick trees, densely grown, were the main reason Nightmare’s speed was slowing down.

Although Nightmare was much faster than regular horses, it was still slower than its usual speed.

Was it because of this? The movements of the monsters tracking us began to be detected.

The bushes in the darkness rustled loudly.

The sight was like black shadows rushing toward us like waves, a warning that they could pounce on us at any moment.

I furrowed my brows and raised my right hand.

The moment a flash of lightning appeared on the spinning circle, I sent it flying toward the depths of the forest.

Crackle!

The blue lightning shot out, lighting up the entire forest for an instant.

Relying on that light, I was able to confirm the appearance of the monsters.

They had long arms and legs, sharp claws and nails, and they seemed to be bipedal.

Their bodies were covered in fur.

What stood out most was their heads, resembling that of a dog.

From the combination of all their features, it was clear they were monsters known as “Nol.”

In an instant, the scattered chain lightning covered the group of Nols that had been chasing us. However, their pursuit didn’t stop.

Thud, thud, thud—

Rustling, rustling—

The sound of heavy hooves was accompanied by the footsteps of the Nol monsters.

I furrowed my brows and looked down at my hand.

I had seen with my own eyes the blue lightning cover the Nols, yet they moved unharmed, as if nothing had happened.

It didn’t make sense, even though I hadn’t used a magic stone.

Were they monsters resistant to magic?

From the Fire Drake to the strange occurrences, something didn’t feel right.

At that moment, the Nol group launched their attack from the depths of the forest.

[Ka-aaak!]

Along with the wind, the strong stench of beasts overwhelmed me.

Mana, hastily gathered, instantly formed the shape of a sword.

The sword, sparkling with starlight, emitted a faint chill, though its strength was no more than that of regular iron.

It was a hastily formed magical sword.

It seemed strong enough to block the Nols’ attacks, but the amount of mana wasted was considerable.

I swung the mana sword at the falling Nol.

Swish—!

The moment the mana sword collided with the Nol’s head, its head turned sideways.

The sensation conveyed through the mana sword felt strange.

It wasn’t like swinging it at a living creature with flesh and blood, but rather something solid that blocked my strike.

Crash!

The mana blade shattered under the impact, and as it broke, I applied the magic missile method to the shards.

Although it was a hastily cast spell, the effect was remarkable. Dozens of mana shards shot out toward the Nol.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Once again. I narrowed my eyes, watching the falling Nol.

Even though it was knocked back by the mana blade, not a single drop of blood flowed from its body.

Thud— Thud— Thud—

Nightmare, even amidst this chaos, ran without pause.

It knew that once it stopped, it would be surrounded by the many Nols.

I bit my lip. If I went all out with my attacks, I could easily take down one or two of them.

But that wasn’t the issue.

The Nols lurking in the darkness weren’t just one or two—there were at least ten of them.

To deal with all of them, I had to use my mana cleverly.

As I sank into deep thought, another Nol attack began.

My mind, still chaotic, couldn’t come up with another spell in time.

In a panic, I stretched out my hand and placed it on the Nol’s body.

At that moment, a simple use of mana occurred.

The mana from the Frozen Mountains poured through my hand, icy and cold.

Hwaaa—!

The cold air that spread from my hand froze the surrounding air, enveloping the Nol’s body.

In that moment, I noticed something peculiar.

As the white frost covered the Nol, a faint bluish line appeared on its body.

It was the moment the secret of the Nol’s magic resistance was revealed.

Although I didn’t know the exact method, it was clear they had used their mana to protect themselves right before magic touched their bodies.

[Keek…!]

My entire body was covered in frost, and I suddenly slowed down, falling to the floor.

However, the creature quickly shook off the frost, as though it had regained its senses.

Simply covering my body with mana was something I could do as well.

However, the mana barrier created that way would have a weaker strength than regular iron.

This meant the efficiency was terribly poor.

I once again dodged the creature’s attack and scattered white cold air.

Ssshhh!

Once again, the same result repeated.

Even though its fur was covered in frost, after a while, I could see the creature moving normally again.

After that, similar actions occurred repeatedly.

Once, twice, three times; as the number of times increased, I became more accustomed to the creature’s magic.

Thread…?

On the seventh attack, I was once again dodging the creature’s strike while pouring mana over its body.

My eyes, now familiar with the creature’s mana usage, caught a glimpse of thin threads moving.

These were mana threads.

The fine threads, spun thinly, intertwined to form a specific pattern.

A hexagon.

Hundreds of mana threads formed a hexagon and created another thread.

This thread multiplied endlessly, eventually covering the creature’s body.

A mana curtain created with a special pattern of threads absorbed and deflected external attacks, minimizing the damage.

The moment I realized this, the mana circle in my heart began to spin rapidly, and thin threads started to spin out.

Hundreds of threads flowed out from the tips of my fingers, twisting together to form another thread.

At first, there was only one thread, but as if opening a path, hundreds more followed.

These threads once again intertwined, creating a curtain.

Kagak-!

The curtain I made brushed past the creature’s claws.

If it had been an ordinary mana barrier, it would have cracked slightly, but the curtain I created remained intact.

The realization came suddenly.

The mana circle in my heart spun quickly, spinning thousands of threads.

These threads intertwined to cover my body, and a thin mana layer was completed.

I immediately pulled on the reins of the Nightmare.

The creature understood my intentions and changed direction, stopping in place.

What had I been lacking all this time? Despite having powerful attack magic, I had no way to protect myself.

This gap had now been filled.

I felt an overwhelming sense of confidence, something I could hardly comprehend.

And this confidence translated into the output of my mana.

The mana covering my body achieved both physical enhancement and protection, meaning the efficiency of the mana being used was maximized.

[Keek!]

About twenty creatures surrounded me. Judging by the absence of any new sounds, these seemed to be all of them.

I jumped off Nightmare’s back and drew the Stormbringer, which was hanging at its side.

The heavy weight transferred through my wrist, but it was much easier to wield the sword than before.

There was no signal to begin the battle. The scattered creatures, without any indication, rushed toward me.

They must have chosen me as an easier target than the fierce Nightmare.

I immediately swung the heavy greatsword.

As the emblem of the Great Warrior activated, my vision narrowed, and my body’s strength increased. My blood boiled, and my heart beat fiercely.

The moment my left leg slammed the ground, all my power traveled through my waist and into both hands.

Wooooooosh!

The Stormbringer’s blade met the creature’s body. In that instant, I understood the true power of this sword.

When the greatsword’s blade collided with the creature’s body, the mana enveloping it was absorbed through the sword’s blade and transformed into a blue lightning strike.

Fizzzzzz!

The mana-laden lightning turned into a storm, pouring down on the creatures rushing toward me.

Crackling-!

The forest, darkened with mana, suddenly brightened, and more than five creatures were swept away in an instant.

Right after, intoxicated by my own power, I swung the sword wildly.

My heart pounded furiously, narrowing my vision even more.

Without thinking of defense, I took an all-out offensive stance and unleashed every attack I had in mind.

Sometimes, I struck them with the sword’s flat side.

Other times, I yanked the sword out of the ground and changed its trajectory drastically.

It didn’t matter if my posture was unstable. I didn’t care if the creatures’ sharp claws targeted my body.

The sharp claws and talons aimed at my fragile skin only grazed the mana barrier covering me.

Drunk on power, I swung the greatsword, which was larger than my body, for quite a while.

Suddenly, I realized there were no more creatures rushing toward me.

There were no injuries, and I still had plenty of mana left.

Kaaang!

“Hoo…”

I drove the massive greatsword into the ground and exhaled deeply.

Yet, the excitement and heat within my body did not subside.

I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.