Aster approached the corridor concealing the shadow beast with caution. She knew it was fast, and even with her new ability to sense it she knew not to grow complacent. After all, simply knowing there was a snake in the grass didn’t protect you from getting bit if you stuck your hand in its face.
She decided to try out her new armor as she approached. With a bit of practice Aster fed mana into the armor, focusing on its Meteoric Aura enchantment. Instantly, the metal studs along the bast of her skirt began to glow with a forge’s heat. Waving her hands over them, she could tell that they wouldn’t burn her, but that if she hadn’t been the one wearing the armor she’d be feeling like she was standing in front of a furnace.
It made her remember an air show she’d went to with her mom as a young child. One of the stunt planes had flown by, “dropping” explosives that were simply stacked along the runway. The flames had been huge, and the wave of thermal radiation they’d emitted had made her feel for a brief moment as though her whole body had been exposed to the sun.
It had felt glorious, and this aura touched on that memory. Something about the radiating heat resonated with her. Something in her gut, or even deeper than that, loved the fire and the flames. It pulsed through her, riding adjacent to the same Z axis her mana did. She frowned, remembering something. The fire burns within you.
[Bloodline of the Genesis Flame (Bloodline Ability - Unique)] -Dormant power lies in the very essence of your being… The fire burns within you.
She grasped onto that idea, making sure to keep part of her mind on the shadow beast ahead. It wouldn’t do to get murdered before what she thought was going to be a breakthrough.
This resonating wasn’t something she’d ever felt before, not in a physical way. It wasn’t just appreciating something, it was like hearing a voice.
The fire burns within you.
Aster closed her eyes and leaned her head against her spear, the tip held firm in the floor. She tried to enter that same space she’d been in when she’d figured out how to feel mana. Where is it? She chewed the inside of her cheek, using the pain to focus—a trick she’d discovered while battling cancer.
The fire burns within you.
It wasn’t in the mana, that much was obvious. Her mana was something separate to her, right? Or was that an assumption? There was still too much she didn’t know about this new reality. Aster tried moving the mana around again, the way she had before, and found it infinitesimally more malleable. That being said, it still felt like it wasn’t something “within” her.
Could there be another dimension she hadn’t considered? No, it said it’s inside of me. Where else could it be? Or maybe it was just one of those things you had to feel out, that you couldn’t aptly quantify? An instinctive thing, like how she moved when competing or, recently, when wielding her spear?
The second part of her attention monitoring the shadow beast warned her that it was inching toward her. She really didn’t want to get caught off guard, but she also felt like she’d need to dedicate all of her focus to figure this thing out.
You know what? Aster gripped her spear tighter as she lifted her head to look at the darkness where it hid. Maybe the pressure will help.
Aster cut off the mana to her armor, letting her surroundings fade into darkness—the only light the faint glow from her skin. She held the spear in a forward grip.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“Come on,” Aster spoke. Then, focusing on where the beast was hidden within the darkness, she lunged. Twins of her spear came to life as she used Flicker Spear, stabbing a fake one toward where the beast was in the hope that it would dodge into the real danger. Unfortunately, it did not.
The shadow beast did the same reverse-scream as its kin had earlier, sucking noise itself into the darkness. At the same time, it swung its clawed hand, knocking the haft of the spear out of its way as it closed the distance.
Aster’s eyes opened wide. Fast! This shadow beast was much faster than the last one she’d encountered and she was not quick enough to dodge its swipe. The impact sent her flying backwards, her shoulder slamming into a wall. She grit her teeth at the pain, only to find it hadn’t really come. A quick downward glance told her that her new armor had blocked the truly dangerous part of the attack, the beast’s claws, and done a hell of a job absorbing the rest of the impact and distributing it evenly across her body.
Grinning at the effectiveness of her new armor, Aster again flooded its Meteoric Aura with mana, finding it even easier than before. Stinging thermal radiation filled the space around her, flooding outward from her armor. She focused on the feeling, trying to identify where it was within her that it was resonating.
The glow from her armor lit the area just enough that Aster saw the claw coming at her face. Eyes wide, she ducked, letting the blow connect with the wall. On instinct, she twisted up from her crouch, launching a fist at the monster. She felt it connect, the resonation from earlier flaring in strength as a meaty impact sent the monster stumbling back this time. But Aster wasn’t looking at the shadow beast— she was looking at her fist. The fist that had, upon connecting with the monster, released a flash of light and heat. That must have been what I felt!
Aster grinned and charged, swinging her spear ahead of her to try and put the shadow monster off its footing. She saw it through the darkness as it jumped back beyond her reach. Aster needed to close the distance if she was going to try to strike it again.
She darted forward with her spear, using Flicker Spear instinctively now. As she closed in, the shadow beast retreated slowly, ducking and dodging each stab.
I’m not fast enough, Aster thought. She grit her teeth and took a risk, attempting to trade blows with the monster, but it only released a cloud of darkness retreated further into its shadow.
She formed a plan in the moment and quickly executed it. Aster tossed her spear up and caught it over her shoulder in her off hand, preparing to throw it. She did this only a hair slower than she’d moved prior, deliberately telegraphing her intent and giving the shadow beast time to respond as she moved her arm forward to throw the spear—
Only she didn’t throw it. Aster opened her fingers slightly as her arm came forward, keeping the spear within a loosened grip even as the monster ducked to avoid the would-be-thrown spear. Then, using the momentum of twisting her body for the throw, Aster stepped off her back foot, twisting her hips to empower the coming uppercut. All of her mental focus went into replicating and identifying that resonating force within her as her knuckles met monster flesh. A deep red glow emanated from her closed fist as it struck what she assumed was the beast’s jaw, releasing a concentrated blast of overpowering heat.
There was an explosion of flesh, coinciding with a dispersal of the darkness around her.
*You have slain [Labyrinthine Shadow Beast - Level 30] - Bonus experience earned for killing an enemy above your level. TP Earned.*
*’DING!’ Class [Warrior (Medium)] has reached Level 13 - Stat points allocated, +1 free point*
*’DING!’ Race Human - F has reached Level 10 - Stat points allocated, +1 free point*
Aster stared at the mess of meat lying on the ground in front of her, its head missing and the ring of dark flesh that made up its neck glowing with cinders. Her fist and forearm were covered in a dark substance that quickly flaked away, revealing a normal fist beneath.
“So that’s how that works…” Aster flicked her hand open and closed a few times, trying to get it to happen again, but it did not. There’s still something— no. There wasn’t something missing, externally. She could feel it.
It wasn’t a stimuli she lacked, but an understanding of herself. And, if she was right, when she unlocked whatever this was she was going to change things.
Fundamentally.
On the level of “Genesis”.
