20demayo 15. Praying Mantises
15. Praying Mantises
As he walked, Ike looked at his arms. The axe swing had only had his own strength behind it, not any mana-enhancement. The Lightning Grasp skill enhanced his hand speed, but not his arm strength.I can't remain in this state, using Lightning Dash and Grasp, but not enhancing my whole body. I need to spread my Unique skill. Strengthen my entire body.
With every step, little spurts of mana rushed into him. Ike looked down. His foot crushed the little mantises, and mana burst into his core. Killing monsters gave mana. Right now, he killed monsters with every step. True, they were small monsters, but monsters nonetheless. Each one didn't give much mana, but when he stepped on ten with every footfall, the mana added up. Right now, he had enough mana to try out expanding Lightning Grasp up his arm.
Ike turned his attention to the structure of Lightning Grasp again. Mana flowed through his hand in a smooth circulation, neatly following the shape of his bones and blood vessels. It accelerated toward his fingertips. Lightning flickered at his fingers, wreathing up toward his wrists. He held the image of the mana flow in his mind. Five mana flows rushed by. They sped up as they reached the extremities of his fingers, then cycled back into the center of his hand.
Five flows, one for each finger. But I only need two for my arm. One down, and one back up. In his mind, he pruned away the mana flows, cutting them down to the central two. More mana flowed in those two routes. The structure of the technique trembled. The thin strands of golden mana struggled to contain the two thicker mana flows.
Ike looked at those threads, curious. The thin golden threads were controlled by the skill itself, but if he copied the skill mentally, the threads came with it. Thanks to that, he could create a new skill. Is that because it's Unique? I should try this with another skill, but… He looked at his arm. The gash slowly closed under the effect of Salamander Healing. Warm mana flowed to the wound shapelessly, supplying it with the energy it needed to close. Salamander Healing already covered his whole body, and beyond that, there was no 'structure' to the skill. The mana flowed organically, transforming into healing energy with no intermediate shaping.
I wonder if that's because it's a monster skill? Human-made skills had firm shapes, well-defined, with clean mana lines. Monster skills, created by instinct rather than re
He put his head in his hands, then looked up. No. I can do it. I have to.
A shadow fell over him. He glared up. "What now?"