Chapter 31: For those that live.

I reached out as fast as I could, ignoring the sounds of my skill leveling up. Another fighter died. A mage screamed out, fear, anger, grief, I don't know but the death had to stop.

I gripped the spell aura, feeling the cold from the curse backlash. I put pressure on the spell, shrinking its range. I Squeezed and squeezed as hard and fast as I could. Another fighter died, I was going too slow! With a last burst of will, I didn't think I had I shrunk the aura spell down enough for all the fighters to break free and start running.

The Aydomr seemed to look confused. But ice mana gathered in the air taking the shape of dozens of spears. It was all I could do to prevent the entrapment aura from enrapturing the warriors again. They were moving too slowly through all the snow! The spears flew through the air, several aiming at my distracting faires three at the warrior and the rest at the mages. The mages called out warnings, but the spears were launched with deadly aim. I let go of the entrapment aura for just long enough to nudge the spears to miss their targets. But I was too late to prevent damage altogether. Several grazes and one leg pierced. The mage screamed as the ice spear pinned her to the ground.

I sent my familiar to heal her as another mage pulled the spear out. Can any of them heal? No one is coming to tend to the wounded.

I went back to holding off the entrapment as my fairies buzzed around the Aydomr. I had lost all my effort and now struggled with shrinking the aura again, thankfully I don't have to shrink it as far this time. The Aydomr was back to swapping the fairies but still summoning barrages of spears. I can hold off both the aura and the spears at the same time! Thankfully, I didn't need to. The warriors and mages dodged just in time. I redoubled my efforts to summon only distracting fairies, the more spears aimed at them the less at the fighters.

With the crisis for the warriors now vastly lessened, for now, they trudged through the snow under my protection against the entrapment. Spells bombarded the Aydomr and it must have had enough as it started toward the mages.

The fighters had gotten away far enough that I began transforming the ice under the Aydomrs feet to fire, but it took so much mana! Way more than transforming mana to essence, transforming an element to its opposite was a very bad mana management decision, It felt like thousands of mana must have been used for a tiny amount. I instead opted to shift the ice mana as the Aydomr had when moving out of the water. With its weight and the now thinning ice, the crab-like feet pierced through the ice, stalling it. Its pincers waved and it tried to free itself, unsuccessfully.

The ice mana building up around me from my transformed mana has me shivering. And frost clung to my skin. Cold air emanated from me as the surge of thousands of mana rushed out of me.

"What's going on?!" Mom asked.

"M-Momara, c-c-can you use y-your fire empowerment o-on me?" I said barely able to talk through the chattering of my teeth and the shivering of my body.

"You can't be!" Dad said angrily

"F-f-four of them a-are dead! T-t-they c-can't fight this w-w-without my help! I-I-It had them t-trapped!" I shouted, "I h-h-have to stop its s-spells from trapping o-or it'll kill all the f-f-fighters and start attacking u-us!"

Mom and Dad fell silent, The babies were too, blessedly, I need all the focus I can get.

The spears formed again but I nudged those out of the way. Not far enough for one is pierced Chyzu's arm. My fairy rushed to her and started using my lackluster healing. The wound slowly closed up.

I felt warmth rush into me as Dad must have accepted that I'll use my skill anyway.

I can see the Domr gathering a lot of ice mana for a spell. I have to stop that. I reached into the Domr Fighting against its will. I focused all I had on it and forced the mana out prematurely. I ignored the system informing me of another breakthrough. With each new level, It was getting easier to combat the Aydomr.

As I drained the Monster's mana it instead used its ice manipulation to free its legs and started running at the mages. I again weakened the ice below its feet to trip it up and trap it. It flailed its pincers angrily.

Dad must have noticed me starting to shiver again as she sent more fire mana into me. The transformed ice mana painfully tore out of me ejecting some of the fire mana too. I gritted my teeth as pain assaulted my body.

Hang on if it hurts me then I can hurt the Domr too! I used [Grace of Wholeness] on myself to heal any damage and focused to transform the mana inside the Domr. I focused my sense and manipulation spheres to the size of a fist-fighting against its will every step of the way. It was easier now as 'Tings' sounded in my mind and until I finally transformed the mana into fire mana. The fire mana reacted with the ice mana in the Domrs body and was violently ejected out, Like a spell had manifested fire searing the crab's body, slowly cooking it alive!

But the same was happening to me, freezing ice swept through me. I ignored the pain but soon I started to feel light-headed. My heart was beating hard and I was breathing erratically. It was damaging me just as it was damaging the crab, but, I can heal. I placed a hand on my chest. Focusing on a healing spell. In addition to my bond, I slowly healed keeping an eye on the battle.

My healing isn't boosted so it's agonizingly slow, I had to intervene in the battle several times, times when the inattentiveness of the fighters would have them eating an ice spear. I rested from my attack and checked my mana reserves. Only twelve thousand left, transforming the elements really backfired on me I can't use it as a way to attack. The fighters had regrouped, Esofy giving them a pep talk. They rushed at the Aydomr and I was forced to fight the entrapment Aura again, it was so much easier this time! With me preventing the warriors from being trapped they managed to cut off a leg!

Why can't I heal faster! Then I got an epiphany, I reached to my creativity essence. If Life essence can heal, and that essence is water-based, then I can turn Creativity essence which is also water-based into life essence! Which will in turn create more healing from the skill backlash!

I tried this for several seconds, the mana usage remained relatively low, lower than transforming an element into an essence. Seems like essence to essence transformation as long as it's based on the same element works is fairly easy.

The fighters had managed to cut off another leg. I was trying my best to keep everybody's movement free while trying to pin down the Aydomr, keeping its legs stuck in the ice. It took all my effort to handle these two tasks which unfortunately meant I couldn't play defense for the spears.

A third leg was cut off, the mages cheered as they were winning! They, however, celebrated too early as ice spears few toward the mages. A mage was struck through the gut, and a warrior was pierced in the leg, a second mage died instantly as her heart was pierced. My fairy went to the wounded mage to try and stabilize her.

Another mage went to help her comrade. I'd help heal her too with mana transformation but I can't affect another person's mana or I'll turn into a cursed being. The best I can do is my familiar healing.

Esofy climbed into the Domr and started hacking at its shell, but not doing any damage. She quickly gave up and jumped under it. Finding its belly more vulnerable. She shouted and the warriors gathered to attack its belly. Soon its insides were exposed and the creature squirmed in a panic.

Guts spilled from the Aydomr onto the warriors but they didn't relent, hacking to the monster, Soon I got a message.

Ting! Your party has killed an Aydomr (Minor), Level 222, extra experience has been rewarded for being under-leveled and for being in an enemy empowering environment.

We had done it, It was over. The death, the battle, the danger, It was all over. I sighed with relief and passed out falling onto Dad's lap.

I woke up to the morning sun greeting me through the window. The snow was clear and the warmth had returned to the village. I looked through my messages to assess the damage I've done to my potential evolutions.

Ting! Mana Manipulation has met requirements for a breakthrough. Mana Manipulation will now continue leveling past level 150!
…
Ting! Mana Manipulation has met requirements for a breakthrough. Mana Manipulation will now continue leveling past level 190!

Ting! Mana Manipulation has obtained level 97!
…
Ting! Mana Manipulation has obtained level 122!

The worst part of it all was, if I hadn't foolishly leveled this skill up by mana weaving I couldn't have succeeded, the fighters would have all died and so would dozens if not hundreds more.

I had gotten five breakthroughs because I was holding back on obtaining them and there had been a few I could have easily gotten at the level I was at.

Manipulate Mana: You have managed to reach out to the ambient mana and manipulate them. This will help you master the ways of manipulating mana outside of you.
1st Breakthrough: You have learned how to manipulate elements. This will help you do so with less mana used.
2nd Breakthrough: You have learned how to manipulate essence. This will help you do so with less mana used.
3rd Breakthrough: You have learned to expand your area of control. This will help you master doing so
4th Breakthrough: You have learned how to manipulate small amounts of mana. This will help you do so with less mana used.
5th Breakthrough: You have learned how to manipulate large amounts of mana. This will help you do so with less mana used.
6th Breakthrough: You have transformed an element into an essence. This will help you do so with less mana used.
7th Breakthrough: You've learned to weave mana. This will help you spin fabric of pure mana.
8th Breakthrough: You've learned how to cast spells, this will help you cast ever more powerful spells in the future.
9th Breakthrough: You've learned to Enchant items. This will help you create and attach magical effects onto things.
10th Breakthrough: You've learned to weave elemental mana. This will help you spin fabric of pure elemental mana.
11th Breakthrough: You've learned to weave essence mana. This will help you spin fabric of pure essence.
12th Breakthrough: You have managed to move your area of control. This will help you to manipulate mana from a distance.
13th You have learned how to manipulate unique mana. This will help you do so with less mana used.
14th Breakthrough: You've learned to weave unique mana. This will help you spin personalized mana threads.
15th Breakthrough: You have transformed one element into another. This will help you do so with less mana used.
16th Breakthrough: You have learned how to manipulate spells. This will help you do so with less resistance.
17th Breakthrough: You have transformed one essence into another. This will help you do so with less mana used.
18th Breakthrough: You have managed to manipulate mana within another entity. This will help you do so with less resistance.
19th Breakthrough: You have managed to transform elemental mana within another entity. This will help you do so with less resistance.

Manipulate Mana: 10/10
1st Breakthrough: 10/10
2nd Breakthrough: 8/10 (Action: 4/5 Knowledge 4/5)
3rd Breakthrough: 6/10 (Action: 2/5 Knowledge 4/5)
4th Breakthrough: 3/10 (Action: 1/5 Knowledge 2/5)
5th Breakthrough: 10/10
6th Breakthrough: 4/10 (Action: 1/5 Knowledge 3/5)
7th Breakthrough: 8/10 (Action: 4/5 Knowledge 4/5)
8th Breakthrough: 4/10 (Action: 1/5 Knowledge 3/5)
9th Breakthrough: 4/10 (Action: 1/5 Knowledge 3/5)
10th Breakthrough: 8/10 (Action: 4/5 Knowledge 4/5)
11th Breakthrough: 8/10 (Action: 4/5 Knowledge 4/5)
12th Breakthrough: 5/10 (Action: 3/5 Knowledge 2/5)
13th Breakthrough: 6/10 (Action: 3/5 Knowledge 3/5)
14th Breakthrough: 6/10 (Action: 2/5 Knowledge 4/5)
15th Breakthrough: 6/10 (Action: 4/5 Knowledge 3/5)
16th Breakthrough: 6/10 (Action: 3/5 Knowledge 3/5)
17th Breakthrough: 5/10 (Action: 2/5 Knowledge 3/5)
18th Breakthrough: 6/10 (Action: 3/5 Knowledge 3/5)
19th Breakthrough: 5/10 (Action: 2/5 Knowledge 3/5)

It's like a book at this point now. I've experienced what a strong class skill is like in combat now. I have to say, there is a world of difference between a general skill and a class skill. It's not even comparable. There's so much more breakthroughs, so much more usefulness too. I can only imagine what I could have done with bonuses to this skill.

Ting! Sense Mana has obtained level 124!
Ting! Sense Mana has obtained level 125!
Ting! Sense Mana has obtained level 126!

I'm just glad Sense mana is still my highest skill, even if it's lost its lead in most breakthroughs.

Ting! Your Bond has obtained level 119!
…
Ting! Your Bond has obtained level 124!

Ting! Your Bond skill, Beauty Beam, has evolved into Fairy Strike!

Fairy Strike: Summon homing fairies of pure beauty to damage on contact with any target. Each fairy contains 30 points of mana

No longer a beam, but it's an upgrade in terms of damage. Seems like Bond skills evolve the more you use them? I'll have to ask Chyzu some time.

I got out of bed. I noticed Chyzu and Esofy in the house, as well as some of the other fighters. They are wearing mourning robes.

How long have I been asleep? Long enough for the funeral to have passed. The Runalymo don't wait long for funerals. It's disrespectful to have the bodies laying around for days to notify friends and family in other villages. Of course, there's some grace time where a message could be sent to a nearby village and everyone could meet at temple island.

I had wondered who took care of the bodies in the other villages and the answer was friends of family from other villages. It took weeks to lay everyone to rest from the superstorm.

I walked to the lounge to see what was going on. Seeing me enter the fighters stood up one after and bowed to me. I was a little taken aback.

"You saved us, Aly, even at a cost to yourself," Esofy said.

I noticed that the mage who got stabbed in the gut didn't make it.

"It isn't a cost if I would have died too. Its ability to entrap everyone near would have been enough for it to kill half the village before the rest could escape"

"Even if that's the case, you didn't have to fight. You're too young to be doing things like this" Chyzu said.

I just realized something. Something that would have helped tremendously. These fighters weren't just inexperienced in fighting monsters. They didn't even have armor and enchanted items. I thought it weird that seventeen fighters around level one hundred couldn't at least fight off a level two hundred minor monsters. With everything stacked against them, however, with the abundance of ice, and ice mana after the storm, with the lack of real fighting experience, with the lack of proper gear, the Runalymo aren't ready for battle.

"Then maybe it's time to change that," I said, "We weren't ready for battle, we didn't have items made with the intent of a life and death struggle, We'll need armor that can properly defend you from any creatures, weapons that can pierce their shells and skin with ease."

I looked at Dad. "You can forge armor right? A metal shell for our warriors? We can have it enchanted to resist those pinchers"

Images are flooding my mind. Images of metal armor, cloth armor, segmented plates to allow for movement. Knowledge from my past life, brought to the surface of my mind after the battle, something that would have been useful to have.

"I can try," Dad said.

"One other thing," I said to the fighters. "What tier are your races and classes?"

They looked at each other before answering

"Adept race, minor class"

I winced, Minor was the weakest tier.

"Adept, Adept"

"Adept, Adept"

"Adept, minor"

It continued like that, not one of them had a major race and half had a minor class. The fighters had been unprepared in every way. Ironically, the one who had every reason to not fight was the most prepared.

The family business now has work even before opening up. It actually hurt me a little that it was because six people had died.

"We'll also need to talk to the Guardian again, I want to ask her if we can weave her mana for protective armor."

"Aly..." Dad sighed "You're going to do it anyway aren't you?"

I nod, "The damage has already been done, might as well get something out of it"

I had broken my promise, yes, it was a life or death situation but now I feel frustrated. I can't even keep a simple promise! It tore at me, the frustration gripped my chest. My parents worried so much about me, I know the risk, the danger, but now I worry about my sisters more. If the Aydomr has attacked then it means another can too, and there's a far stronger one out there, likely many.

My sisters are going to need adequate protection, no matter where they are, I want them to be protected, I will go ahead with my plan. Yes it's dangerous, but as long as I never, ever, manipulate another being's mana again I shouldn't have an issue. Of course, I'll have to exclude the Guardian from this, I kinda need to for my plan.

The rest of the day Me, Dad, and the fighters dived below the village to collect the Domrs for meat and pearls. I was thankful that air was technically not required for Runalymo to survive.

I sent out fairies to kill any lingering Domrs. Today we netted roughly six hundred Domrs, most killed by each other. The village was going to feast tonight!

All the fighters helping us collect the Domrs gave all the pearls to us, saying it's the least they could do for saving their lives. Now, all we need is some metal and mana silk.

During the Lojyo the giant Aydomr was brought before gathering along with a huge pot of Domr meat stew. It was hard to cook as the ice mana in the meat resisted the cooking process.

I examined the large Gem-like Shell of the giant Aydomr. It was like a massive clamshell made of sapphire. The ice mana within was dense, very dense more than the density of mana silk. I examined the mana noting how it behaved, seeing the crystalline structure it was forming. The mana still moved but in pathways that formed a repeating snowflake-like structure. Layers and layers of this are repeated.

Ting! Sense Mana has met the requirements for a breakthrough. Sense Mana will now continue leveling past level 140!

14th Breakthrough: You've observed very dense mana, Now you'll be able to see the workings of dense mana.

Ting! Sense Mana has obtained level 127!
…
Ting! Sense Mana has obtained level 130!

14th Breakthrough: 4/10 (Action: 1/5 Knowledge 3/5)

What a pleasant surprise. But there was more to uncover here. It's not pure ice mana, there's Unique mana mixed in too. More than mixed in it's saturated a lot like a magic item... It is a type of magic item, it's a magic material!

When something dies their unique mana lingers, it alters their body in ways much like magic items do, forming different effects.

I look at the pinchers and sure enough, it's saturated with unique mana and ice mana, the unique mana is slightly different, probably resulting in a different effect.

Ting! Sense Mana has met the requirements for a breakthrough. Sense Mana will now continue leveling past level 150!

15th Breakthrough: You've seen and learned how mana interacts with monsters and monster parts. This will help you better understand the process of monster creation and death.

Ting! Sense Mana has obtained level 130!
…
Ting! Sense Mana has obtained level 134!

15th Breakthrough: 4/10 (Action: 1/5 Knowledge 3/5)

Still, I don't quite know what these do, If only I had the [Analize] skill or something of that nature. I wonder. With my mana sense for monster parts, people, enchanted items, and magic items, can I develop a breakthrough with the same function?

I focus on the magic of the monster part, trying to discover what it does, observing how it behaved. I touched the shell, feeling the cold. How do I figure out what it does without being told?

I let go, something for tomorrow. Today we are feasting. I was given the pearl of the giant Aydomr, for a reward in saving the fighters and in turn the village. The pearl was huge, bigger than my head, and much too heavy for me to carry.

The next day we visited the guardian again.

"Surely you don't have yet another cursed skill do you little one?" The powerful dragon said, amusement in her voice.

I bowed. "The Runalymo are weak, we barely know how to defend ourselves," I said respectfully. "Recently we found ourselves in great danger from something that should not have been, we are unprepared and inexperienced. It has been made clear to us what we lack, we need strong armor for we lack tough hide, we need powerful weapons for we lack powerful claws. I have come only to ask if you'd allow me to weave your mana in the form of silk to help protect our warriors"

The dragon remained silent for a long time, long enough that I'd thought I'd have been dismissed.

"Very well, Your kind must learn to protect itself as it once did before coming to these lands. Disaster had befallen you little ones many times in a short amount of time and I cannot nor will I prevent all disasters except for the worse if it's within my capabilities."

I bowed again, "Thank you, Guardian" I weaved as much cloth as I could, burning through my entire stored mana. It was much easier being so close to the Guardian and my much higher skill level. I gained three levels from that. Each point of mana made roughly one square centimeter of weaved mana cloth which equaled roughly twenty-two square meters of cloth. But I needed thread to sew the cloth so I evened it out to twenty square meters of cloth and the rest spindles of silk thread.