Chương 34: [Chain Manipulation] (2)

Rowan watched in fascination as the chains before him twisted through the air. It was so similar, yet at the same time, so different from [Bind]. It was more akin to [Mana Manipulation] than anything else. Unlike before, where he merely commanded the chains to wrap around something or squeeze, he now had to actively manipulate them. It took more work, but it was also far more versatile. The closest thing he'd done to what he was doing now had actually been surprisingly recent.

It was when he'd used his chains as a shield against the armored bloodspawn's blows. It had actually worked, but the nature of [Bind] had hindered it and led to the wounds he currently bore. Rather than simply blocking the blows, the chains had almost instinctively followed after the humanoid, trying to grasp it. This had left gaps in the shield, gaps that the creature had taken full advantage of. If Rowan had returned and done the same now that he had [Chain Manipulation], he thought it would go far differently.

But there was no use dwelling on the past. He'd experimented with his chains for a while, and while he wanted to learn more, he was running out of both his recently recovered mana and ideas on what to do. So, with nothing else to do, it was time for a little nap. Hopefully, nothing would stumble across him in his sleep. — Rowan woke to a strange sensation on his leg. It was almost as if he was being tickled, though he doubted that was what was happening. Cracking open an eyelid, he let out a cry of alarm.

There, standing above his leg, was one of the doglike bloodspawn. And it was gnawing on his leg. Pointing at it with his left arm, he released the mana he'd condensed during his fight with the armored creature but never ended up using. The blue energy burst forward from his finger like a roaring storm, slamming into the hound and blasting it against the far wall of the cave. [You have slain Fungal Bloodspawn - Level 2] Breathing heavily, he turned his attention to the leg the beast had been gnawing on.

After a few seconds of staring, he frowned and rotated the limb, trying to look under it. It was still covered in a strange, sticky substance—probably the bloodspawn's saliva—but there weren't any wounds. His leg was entirely unharmed. Rowan grimaced, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. His body was already filthy anyway, coated in blood and dirt. Still, it was an interesting development. He hadn't realized his body had become so durable already.

It was nice not to have to worry as much about weaker enemies, but the more powerful bloodspawn would certainly still be able to harm him. With a sigh, he checked on his wounds. They were still there, but both were ever so slightly smaller. Hopefully, it would only be a few more days until he could walk and use his body again. Rowan shuddered at the thought of what would've happened if his opponent had landed more or deeper blows. The two injuries he had had done so much damage despite starting as small nicks.

Shifting his body, he brought his attention back to the chains. He hadn't thought about it for a while, but he still remembered that horrible feeling when something within the steel links had awakened. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. That feeling as if he were a mere insect standing before a giant. Whatever was residing within the chains hadn't shown itself since then, but Rowan remembered. He remembered every moment of it. And he didn't want to endure it again.

Ever. But he couldn't help but wonder if evolving [Bind] had had an effect on it. There had been no signs that he could sense, but still, he remained cautious. There was more he would've liked to practice with the chains, but he wanted to work on his [Mana Manipulation] as well. Recently, he'd been focusing on condensing mana within himself, but not today. He was still only capable of truly controlling a single mana construct at a time.

While he could technically shoot a swarm of tiny projectiles forward, that was the extent of his abilities, and he didn't think it really counted as manipulation them. He wanted to be able to do more. So, with a thought, mana flowed out of him, forming two small daggers. The last time he'd done this, he'd barely been able to have them be moving at different speeds or trajectories from one another. But now, not only did he have more practice, but his [Mana Manipulation] had also leveled up several times.

Focusing, he started simple, moving the two blades around. They moved in perfect sync, maintaining the same distance between each other at all times. But that wasn't what Rowan wanted. So, as he continued to move them, he began to change one of the constructs' angles and speed. It was surprisingly easy, especially considering how much he'd struggled before. Taking a breath, he ramped up the changes, even making the other blade do something entirely different.

The entire time, Rowan waited for it to become more difficult, for the struggle to surpass his capabilities. But it didn't. So he pushed further. Gritting his teeth in concentration, he sent the two daggers in opposite directions. Each was doing something entirely different, with one of them spiraling while the other zipped around erratically. One of them was even moving nearly twice as fast as the other. [Mana Manipulation lvl 15 → Mana Manipulation lvl 16] Rowan released his hold over the two constructs, panting.

If he were standing, he thought he might have collapsed in exhaustion. But at the same time, a smile adorned his face. He'd done it! It still needed a lot of work, sure, but he had controlled the two daggers completely separately. If he could master it, it would make his fights so much easier, with multiple constructs flying around and attacking his enemies instead of just a single one.

He would probably still end up not doing anything too complicated with them during fights, but the ability to suddenly change the direction and speed of one of the constructs would certainly be useful. Still basking in the elation of his success, he took a few minutes to rest. Once he felt ready, he began to condense more mana within him. He was still searching for more ways to use it, but he hadn't found many.

He could use it to create his mana constructs, and while it would be slightly faster, he could still do the same thing without the condensed mana. Aside from just releasing it as a blast of energy, the only other use for it was that it allowed him to channel mana far more quickly than usual. He could easily make the blue energy around five times denser than usual, which meant that he could move five times more mana than usual in the same time.

He could make the energy even denser, but Rowan wasn't sure if he would be able to consistently control it after he released it; the force it would expand with was just too great. Closing his eyes, he began to condense his mana. Most of it was gathered up in his chest, but he usually kept some circulating through the pathways in his body so it would be more easily accessible. But he really couldn't have that much in his pathways at any given time; there just wasn't enough room.

Unless, of course, he could fit more mana into the same space. And that was what he did. As he compressed the mana, he continued bringing more into his pathways. It took several minutes, but soon, he had almost three times as much mana within his pathways as he usually did. Satisfied, Rowan began moving it around. It was much more difficult to manipulate than it normally was, but it wasn't quite enough to strain him. However, with how much he'd condensed it, there wasn't enough mana to be everywhere in his body.

So he began to circulate it, cycling the energy through his body. He continued increasing speed and even split the compressed mana into multiple parts so that it could cover a wider range. He didn't know if it would make any real difference in a fight, but with the way he was cycling, it let him reach for his mana whenever and wherever he wanted. Of course, it required him to actively focus on it to maintain it, so he would have to either improve his abilities or lower the speed at which he circulated it.

Stretching his non-injured body parts, Rowan closed his eyes. He wasn't tired enough to need or even be able to sleep, but he was also too mentally exhausted to do any more practice; simultaneously controlling the two mana constructs had taken a toll on him. Deciding to just rest for a while, he settled in, letting himself relax. Hopefully, he'd be healed sooner rather than later.