Chapter 41 - Fireball!
Added 2023-05-17 02:53:23 +0000 UTCChirping birds and insect calls faded as Jiran awoke with a start. He reached up to hold his aching head but ended up smacking himself in the face as his arm responded faster than he anticipated.
“Ouch.”
Did I pass out again? Isn’t that like the fourth time?
Time… time? Time!
24:12:39
Okay, that’s not too bad. I can work with that. The plains are only an hour away.
Clarity of thought rapidly returned and Jiran found himself inside his tent, the cube nearby on the ground.
A flicker of Regeneration was enough to clear up his headache. His mana leaped to his bidding with a voracious appetite to obey that left him momentarily stunned.
Something’s different. My body feels weird.
A memory of a massive eyeball the size of a planet swam through his thoughts before it turned hazy, like a fading dream.
Was that a god?
Not the time to be distracted by dreams.
Jiran closed his eyes and summoned his status, instantly focusing on the changes.
NAME Jiran of Feylon
RACE Human
AGE 8
WEIGHT 112.51 kg
STATUS Active Dual Mind
TIMER 24:12:01
TIER 2
GROWTH 103.01 %
MANA 2 > 2.5
CONCENTRATION 2 > 2.5
My concentration and mana both increased without tiering up?! That has to be from the challenger density.
So it does give more than just attributes.
Isn’t that a little too much though? That half point in concentration is the equivalent of a twenty-five percent increase in all of my attributes. Beyond that, it also increases the potency of everything I do with mana by the same amount.
Jiran focused on Active Dual Mind, hoping for some illuminating text to appear.
Bummer, no description. What’s the deal with this one? I don’t think it’s from the challenger density and it’s not a skill or technique evolution so… where did it come from?
“Active Dual Mind,” His chant also failed to elicit any response.
Great more questions without answers. Whatever, I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually.
I’m surprised Lenton and Samris haven’t said anything about how often I’ve been falling unconscious lately. This can’t be normal. At least I’ve never heard of it happening to anyone else outside of tiering.
What if this happens when I’m fighting, or when my timer is almost up? Is there an off-switch somewhere in the settings for being constantly forced into a state of unconsciousness?!
The moment his thought formed, a flashing message scrolled across the inside of his eyelids.
Scanning…
Excuse me?
Multiple neural upgrades detected
Authorization met
!WARNING! Further upgrades after disabling limit bypass measures may lead to - severe brain damage - irreparable psychosis - cerebral neuropathy -
Woah-woah-woah-woah, hold on a second.
Disable limit bypass measures? Y/N
How about a rain check?
NO, I don’t want to disable it! What kind of question is that?
Jiran waited for some kind of response to his outburst with bated breath. When none came after a few seconds, his annoyance grew.
What’s wrong, don’t feel like talking now after threatening to lobotomize me?
You know what, I’m not going to waste half my day sitting around waiting for another message in this abusive relationship.
Jiran slowly stood up, his balance completely thrown off by the drastic increase in his strength, speed, and perception. Having recently dealt with the effects of his mana concentration increasing, he was able to regain a modicum of mobility within a few minutes of light stretches.
His mind raced with a new fluidity of thought that he had to actively ignore in order to focus.
‘Active’ dual mind. Would that be in opposition to passive dual mind? So I have to activate it somehow but not like a regular skill or technique. It’s in where my physical status goes, which is usually for temporary things.
Most likely it has something to do with what I was doing just before I was knocked out. I was focusing on two shapings at once, fire and ice.
Jiran pressed his fingers together to form a circle and created the two Shapings. He used the same mental image and quantity of mana from the previous day but when the elements sprang into reality, they came with a ferocity he was not expecting.
His hands were instantly coated in ice and fire far stronger than they should be. The two elements struggled for dominance, creating a hissing steam that wafted through the air.
Oh yeah, concentration increased. I have to completely change all of my mental images now, that’s annoying.
He adjusted the strength of the images behind each shaping. The mana flowed through his body without resistance and the two shapings instantly calmed. He began to move the point mana flowed from his skin and the two effects danced in a circle that was so easy to maintain Jiran couldn’t help but let out a little laugh.
His brain felt completely untaxed as if thinking about two shapings simultaneously was no more difficult than a yawn right after waking up.
Feeling emboldened by his success, Jiran added wind to the mix. The moment he began to call forth his mana for a third shaping, he felt something shifting inside his brain. It spun rapidly in a small circle and the faster it moved, the more clearly Jiran’s perception of the world around and within him, became.
Knowing the fire would burn brighter from the increased oxygen, he adjusted the flame before it overpowered the ice.
“Woah,” Jiran said aloud as disbelief overwhelmed him.
This is so much easier today. I’m actually able to monologue while holding three shapings at once.
Magic, science, and monologues? I would be such an awesome supervillain!
Despite the feeling inside his head being so different, he didn’t get a sense that it was unnatural. It felt more like taking the first deep breath of the morning and his brain becoming fully awake.
As soon as I reset my timer, I’m going to crack this cube wide open.
Jiran released his shapings and felt that something extra in his brain winding down before coming to a stop. His perception returned to normal, leaving behind a slightly queasy feeling in his stomach.
Active Dual Minds. Makes sense now. It’s like an overclocking processor that activates automatically when I need it.
I need to get a move on, time’s-a-tickin.
Breakfast, hunt, cube, and then training with Niya. Today is going to be awesome.
Jiran dressed and headed to the firepit where he found a sack of salted and dried fruit that Sharaal packed. He happily munched on the assorted snacks, feeling like he was on top of the world.
Lenton appeared in his usual spot and Jiran bowed in greeting, giving his mentor a wide smile.
“Good Morning, Master Filibree.”
Lenton eyed him warily as if put off by Jiran’s cheerful mood.
How to ask a question without asking a question?
“I would be most appreciative if you would point me in the direction of the nearest tier four beast,” Jiran asked proudly.
“Interesting phrasing,” Lenton squinted as his suspicions were raised further.
“Well I don’t want to waste my last question on something so trivial,” Jiran quipped with a cheeky grin.
“What will you do if I tell you?”
“Kill it,” Jiran said matter-of-factly.
Lenton looked Jiran up and down examining something only he could see before he shrugged and jerked his head behind him and to the north.
“Very well. Twenty kilometers that way. This is a freshly mutated peak tier four. Nothing like those beasts you fought in the plains.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Jiran replied before setting off in the indicated direction.
Jiran made every step count as he moved through the rapidly thickening wooded terrain. He hopped nimbly from root to rock, to tree limb in an attempt to regain mastery over his freshly empowered body.
With a Shaping in each hand, he adjusted the strength of his images while flickering from one element to another. Within an hour, he was feeling more confident in the control of both his body and mana.
A peak mutated tier four. I should prepare something really powerful in case my regular attacks aren't strong enough.
Hydrogen for sure.
Jiran couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face at the idea of playing with the incredibly volatile substance once more.
He started by creating small puffs of the gas and igniting them with an ember. Even the tiniest pinch of mana with a shoddy mental image of the gas produced a burst of fire the size of his torso. Unwilling to reduce his mental image further as it drastically increased the mana consumption, Jiran changed tactics.
He formed a ball of Coating and pushed the gas inside of it before throwing it in the air.
Knowing the coating only lasted a few seconds before degrading, he formed a second Coating with a small flame trapped inside and then he chucked it into the air on the heels of the gas bubble.
“Fireball,” He joked as the little red ball flew.
A red ripple of light spread through the morning sky as the gas ignited with a threatening boom.
That was a lot stronger than my other tests even though I used the same image and mana. Why?
Jiran stopped and stood still within a copse of thick trees as he scanned his memories.
The gas was compressed. That’s the only thing that makes sense.
A tingle in his neck from foresight let Jiran know that what he planned to do could be dangerous so he took extra precautions by wrapping his body in as thick a layer of Coating as he could maintain before continuing.
He formed an additional Coating into a flexible balloon and attached it to his palm before slowly filling it with hydrogen. Jiran pushed more and more of the gas that escaped from his skin into the bubble of mana until he felt it could no longer maintain the pressure.
That’s what, two hundred times more hydrogen than my little puffs before?
Jiran gulped and laughed nervously as he stared at the space above his hand.
He could feel his coating of mana there, flexing dangerously under the strain even though his eyes saw nothing. The gas was also completely transparent, giving him no visual indication that what rested above his palm could easily kill him.
Dual mind kicked in to assist him as he formed an additional bubble of Coating that surrounded the gas layer. He filled that small space with some oxygen so the flame he would eventually place there wouldn’t immediately suffocate.
This is so incredibly stupid. I need to get rid of this thing immedia—
The ground suddenly shifted sideways and up, nearly causing Jiran to lose his balance, he grabbed hold of the thick bark of the nearest tree for stability.
Dirt and soil split apart just beneath his feet as a massive root tore itself free from the ground. Jiran tried to jump off the root but it dropped beneath him just as he prepared to spring, wasting the power he placed into his legs.
The moment his jump failed, the root continued its ascent once more, bringing him higher into the air.
The huge tree his hand rested upon also lifted into the air as more roots sprang from the ground to join them. Jiran’s stomach dropped from the sudden lifting force, pulling him higher as a looming shadow spread all around him.
He looked up into shining eyes full of malice.
Those aren't roots, they’re fingers!
The beast's face split open, revealing a hungry maw full of sap and sharp, wriggling roots ready to impale him the moment he crossed that deadly threshold.
Jiran didn’t consider for a single second before he threw the ball of compressed gas into the beast's mouth. With a yell, equal parts panic and anger, he raised both his arms. A stream of wind was expelled from one and a stream of fire from the other.
He felt himself flying toward the ground as his shapings applied thrust to his body. Only a few seconds passed before the world turned white.
Jiran screamed and clamped his eyes shut.
His slow descent was suddenly turned into the raging acceleration of being shot from a cannon. The coating that was supposed to protect him was instantly ripped to shreds and replaced by countless sources of pain.
His ears popped from the shockwave just before something kicked him in the back hard enough to blast the air from his lungs. A spike of agony tore through his leg with such ferocity his eyes snapped open.
The beast standing above him was now a giant headless body. Debris from countless woodchips littered the ground and still fell from the air in a rain of shrapnel that stung his eyes. Glancing down, he found a splinter the size of his arm stabbing clear through his leg pinning him into the dirt.
Foresight blared a warning alarm that pulled Jiran’s attention from his injured leg. He frantically looked around for the danger but only saw the headless beast standing above him.
When he heard a creaking groan like a tree about to fall, horrific understanding fueled his maddening scramble to unpin himself. He grabbed hold of the spear with bloody hands and yanked as hard as he could from his awkward position.
Pain even worse than before lanced through him but he screamed through it as he continued to pull at the stubborn wood.
The shadows around him thickened just before a massive arm punched into the ground beside him. The world shook and the ground opened up, swallowing him into darkness.
