NOVEL NEXT 221
Chapter 221 : Advance (2)
The white haired man heaved, falling to one knee. This was due to the intense training he was currently embroiled in. That, and the sun. The area he was in could be considered extreme by any standard. This is because it was a desert, desolate and parched. The sweat beads rolled off of his shirtless form, hitting the dust with a heavy thud as he gazed off into the distance. Several hundred meters before him, the landscape looked like a warzone.
Dozens of large craters dotted the ground, some at least ten meters (30 ft) in diameter.
*This isn’t enough.* He thought to himself, a wave of self loathing washing over him as he became lost in his own thoughts.
He then stood, his fist clenched so hard that he could feel his fingernails biting into the skin. The tall shirtless man remembered his last near-death encounter, replaying the moment over and over in his head.
--------------
*Ryo. Destroy that shard.* Vivian next commanded. He turned to fulfill his part of the job, acting as a bodyguard. In Vivian’s words, “I have a bad feeling about this so you’re just extra insurance. Kill anything that threatens us, and maybe anything that doesn’t.”
He vividly recalled her words as Ryo roused his magic, and that’s when it happened.
“UGH-HA!” Never in the man’s two lives had he made such a sound. It was the sound of wind being knocked out of him from such extreme pressure. The blow was so quick that he was easily caught in the abdomen. What’s more, because he was shifting into ‘attack mode’, the blow caught him unaware. The sound of the impact was second only to the noise which echoed through the air. Ryo was struck by a wildly forceful blow, he felt his body seize up as he was swatted away like a fly. He could only grit his teeth in preparation for the revenge he would have upon recovering.
Yet, even this thought was short lived. It only took a few seconds for him to come to a stop, but it seemed as if he would hit every and anything along the way. He skidded through dirt, rock and shattered tree branches , each of them cutting and biting into his body along the way.. His body seemed to fold in response to the sheer force levied against it as he became a ragdoll.
His body ached, his head pounded and his limbs felt like they’d been torn off. What’s more, he was certain -- several of his ribs were crushed , along with a collapsed lung. Though he struggled to right himself and get to his feet, Ryo’s body would not respond to his demands. And in the end, he faded into the depths of unconsciousness.
----------------------------------
“Dammit!” He growled as he slammed his fist into the dust, creating yet another crater-like impact.
“I have to clean that up, you know. Stop destroying nature.”
The voice coming from behind the man known as Ryo was enough to shift his mood from frustration to sheer annoyance.
“What do you want?” He asked, his deep voice booming as he uttered the words.
“You look like you need some guidance.” The unseen man said as he stepped forward, coming to the side of Ryo.
“Pretty sorry state for a ‘Behemoth’, wouldn't you say?” The ‘man’ was Zero.
Rather than respond to Zero’s words, Ryo stood and composed himself despite the fire burning within. Zero glanced out across the expanse of rock, dust and dirt. Much of it was completely destroyed by Ryo’s hand. With a wave of his hand Zero conjured an immense amount of energy. It was surprising to Ryo for only one reason -- he couldn’t ‘feel’ this energy.
*Is this magic? That’s impossible! It’s so.. quiet.* This notion of quietness referred to the still quality of the energy, despite the volume of it. Generally one could sense the flow of magic if they tried. It was a skill that you pick up when battling other adventurers. It was akin to sensing someone’s intentions without saying a word. Malice, killing intent , affection -- these notions came about from the ability of humans to project their thoughtless intent.
Magic was no different. Generally with enough training one could determine the intention, direction or flow of a spell. Yet this was different. Ryo could sense no intention behind this spell. He couldn’t even sense the mass of pure white magic which began to waft forward like a fast moving mist.
Everywhere this energy touched a rapid transformation took place. The once scarred earth seemed to return to its original state right before Ryo’s eyes. Within seconds the vast area Ryo spent his time training in had been restored.
And rather than inspire awe it made him angry.
*Now you’re just rubbing it in my face. I know better than anyone that I need more strength.* He thought as he struggled to contain his anger. With a clenched fist Ryo turned and began to walk away.
Zero said nothing at first, he simply watched the young man walk away. Truthfully, Zero couldn’t help but smile to himself. The sight was one he found….amusing.
*Throwing a fit and blowing things up isn’t going to help you get stronger. That’s what a child would do.* And for this reason Zero couldn’t help but smirk. After allowing himself that moment, he summoned a deeper modicum of maturity and spoke up.
“Seriously. I came bearing gifts. I’m not here to poke fun.” Zero said. When Ryo made it clear he had no intention of stopping or engaging, Zero was forced to resort to a demonstration.
*Problem child.* Zero thought internally with a roll of his eyes. In the next instant he blinked away, appearing directly in front of Ryo by a few meters.
“Respectfully, leave me be.” Ryo said without breaking stride. His face was cast downward. It was clear to Zero that the man was currently embroiled in deeply brooding thought.
“There’s more than one type of strength. You’re blessed with more than most. You can crush nearly anything with enough effort and focus but power is useless if you don’t assume mastery of it.” Zero said as he lifted his right hand.
This time Ryo froze in his tracks and his eyes shifted upwards, fixing on Zero. He could feel it this time, the magic. It was as if every particle of mana within the vicinity was drawn to Zero’s palm. There a mass of rock was undergoing a frightening shift of changes. It seemed to grow larger and smaller at rapid intervals. That’s when Ryo realized what was actually happening.
The earth magic was making use of clumps of dirt, creating the mass that caused the construct to seem as if it grew instantly. And the gravity magic being applied to the mass caused it to condense just as quickly. Ryo watched in amazement as this process continued repeatedly, the loud noise of crunching and grinding echoing through the desolate space.
“It’s about how you use it.” Zero commented. The man was casual as he continued the process of growing and then condensing the earth magic. Ryo could only stand, mind boggled as he watched the display.
He knew the technique, it was one he used often being an earth dragon. And yet, Ryo had no idea that such a basic technique could be so terrifying. The amount of force needed to condense dirt into such a small space was mind blowing in itself, but the speed at which the process happened was equally alarming.
Condensing matter also makes it heavier, and how many times has the process been carried out now? Ryo had no way of telling.
*It’s got to be immensely heavy at this point…* He thought inwardly.
“It is. Heavy.” Zero remarked. “Well, I could keep going, but this is enough to prove my point.” He said. Zero then shifted the direction of his right hand and released the magic attack. The perfectly shaped ball of earth seemed to float as it moved. Despite this Ryo could clearly sense the ‘mass’ of the object. It was comparable to standing in front of a mountain and staring at natural majesty. Only this was moving. Not fast, not fast at all but Behemoth understood -- the impact would be terrible.
“Oh. I could have sent it flying if I wanted to.” Zero remarked as he continued using his right hand to guide the magic.
“But I just got done cleaning up this area and I don’t want to make too large a mess.” Zero lifted his right hand upwards causing the ball of earth and gravity magic to float and position itself three meters (9ft) above the ground. He then allowed the magic construct to drop. The rate at which the magic fell was terrifying, but the impact was enough to bring Ryo to his knees.
The Behemoth felt the earth buckle and cave in as the orb created a crater several times deeper than anything Ryo had managed with gravity magic alone. What’s more the mass kept falling, creating a hole at the point of impact. After several seconds the ground became still, allowing Ryo a brief time to assess what happened.
“This is just a basic technique that you use all the time. Condense your earth magic and release the spell. The difference is, because the technique is so basic you never bothered to master all the steps of the process.” Zero explained.
“When you want to grow stronger more quickly, the easiest way to do it is to master all the abilities and skills at your disposal.”
“Which brings me to the second ‘gift’ I have for you.” Zero said as he shifted his gaze towards Ryo who, at this point, was still kneeling in the dust. Suddenly the atmosphere shifted as a wave of gravity magic emanated from Zero, bringing with it an oppressive force across a large radius.
“You’ve been using this all wrong. It’s not for others exclusively, it’s also for you.” Zero said, offering a pleasant smile as the weight of gravity bared down upon Ryo.