Throw Down

As we walked into the parking garage, I laughed. "This parking garage is dark and creepy. If this Brice guy really lives in this place, I'll be downright upset for him. He has no need to live in such a grimy place."

Above the ramp we were walking up, there was a man staring at us with bright red hair, but a brighter red jacket. He grinned at us. "Hello there. I heard you just now about this being my home. It is. We live at the very top."

'Yeah, that guy has super hearing too.'

I waited to speak until I was right next to him. I offered him my hand at the very top of the ramp. He took my hand, and I began to crush it. "I'm Travis. What is your name?"

He grinned. "It's Brice. You've got a strong grip Travis…"

I sniffed as I let go of his hand. "Yes, I do. Show me to the very top of your roof. I want to see your other comrades."

He licked his lips. "Before that, I need you all to drop your weapons. You understand why, don't you? I am harboring a lot of women and children up above who would be afraid!"

I turned around and I saw Anne already starting to let her bow down to the ground. I firmly gritted my teeth. "WE WILL NOT. ANNE, keep your bow…"

He had a fake look of surprise as I turned back to him. "Oh, why not?"

"I don't go anywhere without my weapons."

He sighed. "Well, what can I do then…"

"Why did you even want us to come if you were going to be like this?"

I saw his mana veins bulge as violet Mana ran rampant, the Mana of Love. He grinned in a strange and exaggerated sort of way. "This god named Eris gave me an Epic skill. She said it was for fun, but I think she loves me. You see, I've been planning this whole thing. I've been waiting for my skill to charge!"

But as he was busy talking, I merely waited for the slightest twitch from him with all of my muscles tightened and amped with Mana. I was focused. I was waiting. 

As he raised his arm towards me, I took a step towards him and unsheathed my sword. In one fluid motion, I moved the blade clean through his body. 

As soon as my blade cut through him, he exploded in a shower of violet mana as if he had been a water balloon popped by a toothpick. I was thrown back down the ramp from the small explosion, but I had liquid Mana covering my clothes. The explosion did not hurt much, it had just thrown Mana on me and knocked me over. 

I caught myself from rolling down the ramp. I spat out a clump of liquid mana that flowed down my face. "FUCK that's disgusting!"

The Mana did not burn, instead it flowed down my body like goo. It traveled towards where Brice's body had been. 

I stood up a little scared that the Mana might turn me into a Zombie. Instead, it flowed to a violet glowing mana stone where it was absorbed. All of Brice's halved body began to blacken and then turn to ash as all of the Mana went to his Mana stone. He died.

 I glanced around at the others who also seemed pretty surprised. My gaze settled on Zane. "Hey, I'm going to consume that Mana stone. Please watch me in case I go comatose, I'm pretty sure that I might tier up to the next Awakener stage."

Zane grinned. "Go ahead little bro. I'll watch you while you sleep."

I frowned. "Why the fuck did that seem creepy… Well, whatever. Imma do this shit."

I walked over to the stone, and I laid my hand upon it. As soon as I did, I felt an enormous flood of Mana ripping up my arm. There was so much Mana flowing towards my Soulstone that my arm inflated like a fucking huge ass dick. I was still fully conscious as it happened too. 

I started screaming like a little bitch. "AWWW FAAAAWK!! WHY DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO HURTTTT!!! SHIT, SHIT, SHIT. FOCUS! AWWWW ON THE FUCKING PAIN??!!! DAMNITTTT!"

Finally, all of the Mana flooded up my arm and entered my Soulstone. Inside my Soulstone it started to run rampant. I clutched my chest, and I started throwing up on the concrete ramp. "BLEEHHH…"

I quickly forced my consciousness down into my Soul-space where the Mana was running rampant. Inside my soul, I saw and felt the violet-colored Mana assaulting my soul. 

It seemed to say: 'Hey there, let me have your heart and soul. I won't ever leave you! I won't ever betray you. I can be your best girl.'

The mana said all of it in a silky sounding voice. But the strange thing was that it was clearly Brice's voice, just toned to sound like a female. It was the easiest shit to combat.

In fact, I think that the Love Mana only took me less than a minute to consume entirely. The ego was jumbled and in a mess. Brice had clearly been insane. 

However, there was another problem. After merging all the Mana at the very center of my tiny Soul space all of the brightly shining blue Mana motes began to float outwards, but there was not enough room for them. 

Suddenly, time seemed to freeze as my Mana was exploding against my soul walls.

I heard a voice coming from all around my Soul-space: "Again I, the One True Creator, am here to tell you in a recorded message what is about to happen…

You have reached the next tier which is called Ascension. You no longer have space in your body or your veins for Mana. You must let the Mana circulate and it will bleed out to the entirety of your body.

During this time, you will feel intense pain as the Mana turns your whole body into a Soulstone. The process will be painful, but that is the way of Mana and godhood… intense pain and tribulations on the path to enlightenment.

You will become young again and far more powerful in your bodily capabilities. 

However, if you fail this test, your body will explode and the whole building will be destroyed, so don't fail for your sake and your friends."

As I tried to swallow the information, time began to flow again. The Mana in my body began to explode against my Mana walls and I felt them dangerously expanding. 

'SHIT, SHIT, SHIT. FOCUS!!'