Shadow Slave: Divergence of Hereos

Chapter 33:Illusions 

The second he realised that, my Aspect flared!

Instincts of the Monkey king heightened my senses to an unnatural degree. To the point where my instincts could probably be compared to even Awakened when I focussed.

Right now I could enhance one specific sense at a time, with my essence holding me back.

It went beyond the basic senses of a human. Battle sense, danger sense and others were also inside of this broad spectrum.

The creature resembled a grotesque human-shaped mass of dripping mud, its formless body shifting and oozing as though barely holding together. 

Its presence muddled my senses, distorting reality with each sluggish movement, as if the air itself thickened around it.

This had to be an Awakened monster…if it was anything more I wouldn't have been able to break free so quickly.

Anything less and I wouldn't even be caught under its Illusions.

But since I was using my aspect to enhance my sense of sight, my body still felt as if it was inside of a swamp.

I felt heavy, my movements being sluggish.

Even though I could tell that all of this was just inside of my mind, it didn't make any difference on my body.

As I viewed around my immediate vicinity, I saw that there were at least 5 of such creatures, all of which were right near me.

I raised my hand, and within a moment's notice, a staff manifested itself into my hand. 

I slammed Ruyi Jingu onto the 'muddy' floor and immediately willed it to extend.

The staff doubled in height, and I felt my body regain its control, since I felt as if I was outside of the mud.

I balanced myself on the top of the staff as I observed one of the monsters as it pounced in my direction.

There was one thing I was able to realise about Ruyi Jingu in the past few weeks. Its durability depended mainly on 2 things. The quality of my intent and the amount of Essense I was using to supply it.

While it used a minimal amount of Essence, especially since I couldn't control my Essence yet, it still did use it to expand.

Yet mainly, it followed my intent. 

So if I wanted it to break, it wouldn't even take a small scratch for parts of its debris to break out.

And that was exactly what was happening now.

I used the heel of my feet to push down on Ruyi Jingu a little, causing pieces of its debris to fly out within an instant.

"Extend." My calm voice seemed into the atmosphere, as a small piece of the debris extended and with extreme ease pierced the skull of the Mud monster.

Yet instead of the battle being over, the monster cleanly submerged itself and surrounded Ruyi Jingu.

I also didn't hear the whisper of the spell, telling me I had killed my enemy.

"Dammit." I couldn't help but utter, as I watched this creature continue its pounce towards me.

I held the base of Ruyi Jingu that was attacking the creature, and decided to do something that would drain a lot of my 'Intent.'

"Expand." I spoke clearly, which caused the staff to quadruple in its girth.

The second it did, the monster broke into multiple pieces and got destroyed.

[You have slain an awakened beast, Mudmare.]

The moment I saw the notification flash in my mind, I had no time to feel relieved. Four more Mudmares were already closing in on me, their grotesque, shifting bodies oozing forward with twisted intent. 

I balanced atop Ruyi Jingu, gripping the staff tightly, scanning the monsters as my battle sense kicked into overdrive. 

My muscles were tense, ready. The first Mudmare lunged, its body twisting into a mess of tendrils that shot straight toward me. Instinctively, I leapt off the staff, flipping in midair as I willed Ruyi Jingu to shrink back to its original size. 

With a quick swing, I cut through the tendrils with ease, but I could already see the creature reforming before I even landed.

"Persistent," I muttered under my breath, my grip tightening around the staff.

Before I could follow up with another strike, two more Mudmares surged at me. Their bodies rippled, shifting between solid and liquid in a way that made them hard to predict. 

One of them wrapped itself around the base of Ruyi Jingu, its muddy mass attempting to bind the staff and trap me in place.

I gritted my teeth, yanking the staff upward, but the creature held on tight, pulling with a strength I hadn't anticipated. 

"Expand," I commanded, and Ruyi Jingu responded immediately, growing thicker and longer. 

The sudden expansion tore through the Mudmare's hold, sending chunks of its body flying in all directions. But even that wasn't enough to kill it. T

The pieces began to pull themselves back together, reforming just as fast as I could tear them apart.

"Dammit!" I cursed, frustration bubbling up.

The other Mudmares were already closing in, their forms rippling with malevolent energy. I could feel my Essence draining with every move, my Intent pushed to its limits.

I slammed Ruyi Jingu into the ground, hard enough to cause a shockwave that rippled through the swamp, knocking the creatures back temporarily. 

"Extend!" I shouted, willing the staff to grow even larger, its girth tripling in an instant. I aimed for the Mudmare that had reformed the quickest, watching as Ruyi Jingu smashed through its body with brutal force. 

This time, the impact was enough to shatter it completely.

[You have slain an awakened beast, Mudmare.]

Another one down. But the others weren't backing off.

As I was deciding to change enhancing my eyesight to my sense of motion, I saw a blur racing its way towards me.

The sight of what I saw certainly did shock me. A tall and attractive young woman.

She had hazel eyes and beautiful brown hair, tied in a simple braid. Her build is extremely athletic, with perfect lean muscles rolling under the dewy olive skin with each movement.

Effie?!

...

Authors note:

Unfortunately this isn't a continuation of the fanfic. I simply had a couple of spare chapters I wanted to upload.

I am currently trying a new project, which is basically my own novel but I will be uploading it as a fanfic since honestly I write mainly for interaction with people.

I write to share ideas and run through scenarios with people, so I hope you will try my new project out.

It is called "Eternal Heir."

Do not subscribe to patreon for this fanfic anymore thanks.