Sorry for the delay. Derailed by some IRL stuff.
Chapter 56: Suffering From Success (I)
According to Grandpa Galileo, in a free fall, all objects should accelerate downwards at the same pace, irrespective of their mass or weight. The law, of course, only applies in a vacuum, without any air resistance.
Unfortunately for Ember, the yawning chasm he had unintentionally driven into was not without air. Grandpa Galileo be damned, but considering the difference in mass between him and that blasted basilisk, it was undeniable that the colossal serpent would descend first, pinning him beneath it and crushing his flesh and bones alike into a bloody pulp beneath its terrible weight.
His protective ward also seemed to have malfunctioned; otherwise, it would have at least saved his life. Unfortunately, he could not rely on it either.
On top of that, the insatiable monstrosity didn't seem keen on waiting for his demise at all. Opening its horrifying maw, it lunged at him, intending to devour him whole in one gulp. The chasm might have been over 200 metres deep, but the basilisk wouldn't even give him half that distance before claiming his life.
That was, unless Ember did something about it.
His first instinct was to unleash the spell prepared in his wand. He cast it, though at the very last moment he managed to redirect his position, allowing himself to lurch to his left and escape the Goliath's horrifying maw. However, a single spell was not enough to save him from the predicament, nor was it as effective at aiding his flight.
Wind blades tended to cut through resistance, whereas here Ember required something that went flat against the air pressure.
So he reached into the apertures in his wrists to access all the kinetic-attuned mana he had saved up beforehand. Still airborne, he cast a weaker Kinetic Push through both of his palms. It was merely equal to the potency of a Tier 2 spell. It wouldn't even have been able to lift him far into the air if he had still been on the ground. However, while falling against the squalling wind, even a Tier 2 Kinetic Push worked wonders, propelling him above and beyond the reach of the monstrosity.
Now that one immediate worry was out of the way, there was still another concern keeping his mind sharp. But simply remaining hyperfocused wouldn't be enough to save him from the impact, though it could help him find a solution swiftly.
Kinetic Push alone wouldn't let him fly, but it could keep him afloat for a few moments. That should have been enough if he had been beneath one of the all-bright suns. In the pitch-black obscurity, however, Ember had no clue when the impact would come. He could not sustain Kinetic Push for the entirety of the fall, nor could he cast it perfectly to cushion the impact at the precise moment.
It wasn't that it was impossible, but the chances of failure were far too high for him to rely on it with any confidence.
With that option out of the way, there was only one bulky buddy he could cling to, one who would selflessly take most of the brunt of the blow, saving him from a fatal end.
Thus, Ember manoeuvred his palms to a sharper angle, flinging himself behind the basilisk. Without invitation, he clung to its body, his palms gripping its rugged scales, fingertips grinding against its tough exterior as he clenched his teeth, waiting for it to come.
His mind was still too hyperactive to let go of the breaths of mana he was clutching with his Will. Time seemed to freeze for the brief moment it took them to fall. Yet when the impact came, Ember's whole body convulsed from the sudden force. His head spun, his ears rang with a keening whine, and his flesh and bones seemed to war against one another.
Instinctively, he released the power he had been clinging to as a great wave of kinetic thrust pushed him upwards. His body had already bounced a few metres into the air from the impact, while the kinetic thrust launched him even higher.
Once again, he crashed down upon the great basilisk, his entire body crying out in pain. It was only then that he realised the keening cry was coming from his own lips.
"Well, at least I'm alive," Ember thought painfully, and adjusted the crack in his Mind Wall. Blood dripped from his lips as he lifted his arms in the dark, finding himself still in one piece.
He groaned, trying to lift his head. His mind was still fuzzy from all the chaos as his eyes finally began to adjust. He managed to stand on his own two feet with only a slight wobble. Thankfully, the great serpent wasn't moving at all. Still, Ember swiftly put several more metres between himself and the creature.
[Kinetic Push (Tier 2 → Tier 3)][Mana Circuit: 99.8% → 102.6%][Mind Wall (Iron) 4 → 6][Breathing Art (Copper) 9 → Max][Skill acquired: Toxin Tolerance (Copper) +1][Toxin Tolerance (Copper) +1 → 2][+1230 EPs.]
[Synchronisation detected between three of your skills: Meditative Muse, Breathing Art, and Keen Mind.]
[Would you like to merge all three skills?]
[Required skill slots: None.]
Ember almost accepted the prompt immediately but hesitated, noting his current situation. Although skill merging was more exhilarating than unnerving, this was surely neither the right place nor the right time to go through it. Still, his lips curled upwards into a grin. Finally, he'd add another Iron skill to the list.
But then he noticed he had unintentionally acquired a skill.
Ember felt like crying. Worse still, it wasn't the first time something like this had happened to him. He didn't know why, but whenever his life hung by a thread, he seemed to acquire skills without any prompt or intention. Not only that, he had even managed to level them up in that brief instant.
He had acquired Mind Wall the last time he had faced that cursed lizard in Desir, and now he had gained a Copper-ranked Toxin Tolerance to combat the toxic breaths he had inhaled. Both skills were obviously crucial to his survival. But he still couldn't get over the loss of his skill slots, even if it was only three this time.
Well, he thought, it's at least better than dying of toxins after surviving such a deadly fall and a brush with a Silver predator.
Besides, it seemed it wasn't the end of the system notifications.
[Congratulations! You have met all the requirements to advance your mana foundation. Advancement will be underway in due time.]
[Skills available to acquire:
Soul Sense (Gold). Required skill slots: 81.
Soul Suppression (Gold). Required skill slots: 81.
Will Enforcement (Silver). Required skill slots: 27.]
Ember blinked, staring at the notification in utter bafflement. Mana Foundation advancement aside, he read the skill prompts once, twice, then a third time. The first two skills gleamed in golden script, the last one shining with silvery light, each one of them more tempting than water to a dying man.
"This can't be right," he croaked, unable to believe it.
Ember had been training day and night for months to obtain a Silver skill as soon as possible. Yet here he was, presented not only with a Silver skill but also with prompts for two Gold ones.
Obviously, he couldn't yet acquire any of those skills, but the sight of them set his heart racing and gave him much to celebrate. At least now he didn't have to worry about not making it.
From the title alone, Ember could guess what the skill was about. It was likely related to spellcasting and the Will required to shape mana into various forms. Essentially, Will Enforcement would be crucial for any mana-related path, let alone spellcraft.
He'd just have to figure out a way to acquire a few more skill slots, now that Toxin Tolerance had ruined his calculations.
As he considered it, his eyes could not help but drift back to the golden script. Was it truly possible for him to acquire a Gold skill before the trial? The skill slot requirement alone made it almost impossible without reaching Tier 7 or Tier 8. However, as far as Ember was concerned, obtaining a Gold skill was never easy, much less straightforward.
The archive contained very little information on Gold-ranked skills, though it was important to note that their requirements were not limited to skill slots alone. Perhaps Soul Sense was similar in essence to Mana Sense. While one sensed energy, the other required one to perceive the soul. Even if that were the case, Ember had no idea how he had received the skill prompt. He couldn't sense souls, could he?
Even thinking about it made his head throb. He was certainly in no condition to contemplate such an important matter. And he had nothing on Soul Suppression.
The only conclusion he could draw was that the two soul-related skills were somehow linked to his unique circumstances. After all, Ember had been reborn. Matters of existence, life, death, and reincarnation were probably intertwined with the soul.
Either way, he would ponder all that after he had escaped to safety and eaten some fresh food. He looked around for the wand that had slipped from his grasp during the fall. He had, in fact, let go of it because he had needed both hands to cling to the basilisk's scales.
Remembering the serpent, his eyes returned to its massive form. The fall from the chasm, more than two hundred metres high, had worsened its wounds. Thick, tar-like blood had pooled around its colossal bulk as the ruptures had split open even further.
"Is it dead?" Ember mumbled. He certainly hadn't received any notification confirming it. Intentionally or not, he had played a significant role in its demise. It would certainly be a story to tell, though he was unsure whether anyone back home would appreciate it.
The wand hadn't fallen far from the crater the Goliath's impact had created. It was still loaded with mana, ready to fire a Wind Blade. Ember only had to extend his Mana Perception to locate it. Collecting it, he turned to the basilisk lying lifeless in the pit.
"Now what to do about you?" Ember said. "For all the perils you have put me through, I deserve some compensation, don't I?"
The basilisk undoubtedly contained a silver core, and most likely a unique one. Higher-ranked uncommon creatures tended to form such cores.
A unique Silver-ranked core would certainly solve most of my money problems.
Ember hesitated no longer and fired a Wind Blade into its head. His spell tore through the laceration in a splatter of bloody ichor and filth. He was ready to continue his assault, but then the massive bulk of the great serpent stirred.
Rigor mortis? he thought. But it's only been dead for half a minute.
A terrible premonition struck him as Ember's face turned pale as a sheet. It couldn't be, could it?
Soon, as if to confirm his suspicion, a shrill cry echoed out, and with a lurch, the basilisk reared its head, standing over twenty metres tall and no longer so dead.
"Ah," Ember groaned. "I should have thought as much. I'm definitely not that lucky."
At least the blasted thing didn't appear as dominant as before.