Mana Burst

「Skill 'Instinct' is warning you」

I pivot to the left, dodging a miniature ball of fire.

The heat permeates my skin for a brief moment before exploding upon contact with the green barrier.

「Skill 'Quick Step' is activating」

I take one mana-enhanced step forward.

Despite focusing 「Reinforcement」 and most of my mana on my legs, the distance between the two of us was still not within ideal reach.

I was too far to fight in close quarters.

「Skill 'Instinct' is warning you」

The ground shakes by my feet, a terrifying sense of foreboding accompanying it.

At the same time, shards of ice formed in front and behind me.

Using 「Quick Step」, I pull back, increasing the distance between the two of us more.

Damn it…!!

A second after I did so, the ground rose. A poorly-constructed hand grips nothing, and the dozens of ice shards charge towards the earthen hand.

I burst forward again, desperate to be at least within striking distance.

Unfortunately, that was not to come true.

A powerful gust of wind pushed me back, the force behind it enough to send me flying several meters back… right where I started.

I grit my teeth. Not from the pain, no, the spell itself was harmless except the potential fall damage—I had that part covered.

Rather, it was annoyance that made gnash my teeth like so.

Ever since our 'practice fight' began, the witch has done nothing but push me back to where I was originally started at.

She was mocking me

I lower my stance, ready to go again.

Mana builds up inside me, along with a epiphany.

"…?"

For a second, I thought I heard the witch's curious hum.

No! Don't get distracted!

I take a deep breath, then focus on my inner self—the mana inside of me.

My mans circuits flares to life, shining brighter than ever before.

Speed

I needed better mobility, something that would let me outmaneuver the witch's seemingly never-ending plethora of spells.

While my skill 「Quick Step」 allowed for this kind of motion, it was not enough.

I needed more, something better and faster.

And I needed mana to do that

My skills and magic worked in conjunction with each other. As demonstrated by the relationship of 「Reinforcement」 and 「Quick Step」.

While the former enhanced my basic physical abilities, it did not have the much needed focus of power that I needed. I could focus it, sure, but that would mean leaving the rest of my body unprotected.

The latter solved this problem, however. The skill gave me just the right amount of speed I needed to outmaneuver most of my enemies. And with the use of 「Reinforcement」 at the same time, I could lessen the aftereffects of using the skill—that being the sheer amount lf stress it puts on my legs.

While I could just increase my proficiency with repeated use and practice, that was not an option at the moment.

Hence, I turned to mana.

While I did not have any spells that let me achieve a result similar to what 「Quick Step」 could offer me besides 「Reinforcement」, that did not mean I would just stand here and take her beating.

I will inside the mana inside of me to converge, focusing on my legs.

Unlike before where I had a spell to channel the mans into, right now I did not have such a thing. It was complicated and mindboggling, the action seemed to be familiar and vague at the same time.

My mana circuits cried on anguish, burning my insides. Searing heat filled my legs, practically roasting it.

I let the mana collect, pushing more and more until my mind turned numb from the pain, then pushing some more.

Sweat — or was it tears — dripped down my cheek. I steady my breathing so as not to lose consciousness from the searing pain from my legs.

Then, just as mind almost reached it's breaking point—I released it.

 「You have learned the spell 'Mana Burst'」

The world passed by like a blur.

The sudden burst of speed far surpassed my expectations, and I found myself closer to the earth.

*BAM*

The walls slammed me on the face—or more like, 'I' slammed on the walls myself.

Dull pain filled my head, my vision suddenly dizzy.

This feels familiar somehow…

"Hey, are you okay?"

…?

I dislodge my head from the wall.

Turning around to respond to the witch's call, I find my vision being dyed red.

… Huh?

Then, I felt woozy; my legs went limp, my arms felt tired, the inside of my body felt weak and powerless all of a sudden.

I cast my gaze upwards, trying to catch the witch's beautiful face.

She looked anguished, like she was the one bleeding from a head injury.

For a second, I thought I saw tears welling up in her eyes.

She crouched down to eye level.

Huh…

"You look… fine." She said uneasily, her voice a little low.

Sleep approached me… and I willingly took it's hand.

The witch however, refused to let that happen.

*splash*

Cold water slapped on the face, snapping me awake.

That's really rude, you know?

"Your body seems to be in critical condition." She said slowly and clearly so I could understand. "A healing stew should work fine, for your injuries."

*sigh*

"Don't give me that! Look, your injuries are really bad okay? I mean, we were just sparring so you would be more accustomed to fighting long-range magicians… how did you injure yourself like that? Well… I know WHY, even how it happened. But I didn't think you would use such a ridiculous spell so readily like that. When did you even come up with that? You didn't use it against the Earth Wyrms, so… was it just now? You could do that? Since when?"

She sighed, and her voice felt really distant for some reason.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with you?"

The witch spoke like a mother, worried for her son.

Why does this feel so belittling...?