The Alchemy of Will

But again, he saw nothing. And when he looked over his shoulder, a massive brown creature stood in front of him. Its head was enormous, its body long and thick, it was a giant king cobra, but unlike any he had seen before. This was a monster, not an animal.

It had moved so stealthily that Zoren hadn't heard it approach. Compared to the dragon form of the previous enemy, this one was also enormous, longer than her, and perhaps just as dangerous, though in a different way.

The cobra, without a moment's hesitation, attacked Zoren. It lunged forward, attempting to bite him, but Zoren dodged just in time using Oblivion Blink, striking the cobra with ice magic mid-air before reappearing on the ground.

When the massive blast of ice hit the cobra, it melted instantly, just as it had when faced with the dragon's fire. But the cobra's skin was different, it possessed an automatic magical defense that countered any attack directed at it.

Moments after reappearing on the ground, Zoren found himself directly in front of the cobra's gaping mouth, about to be swallowed alive. He quickly conjured an ice wall in front of him. The cobra, undeterred, continued crawling toward him. The ice wall began to break and melt, but Zoren kept restructuring it.

As the cobra kept melting the ice and Zoren continued reinforcing it, the serpent eventually penetrated the barrier and pushed forward in its attack. Just before it could make contact, Zoren used Oblivion Blink again, reappearing above the cobra and unleashing a massive ice rain mid-air in an attempt to dismantle it, before vanishing and reappearing atop a tree.

However, the cobra shielded itself by spitting acidic venom that melted whatever it touched. The ice rain proved ineffective as it collided with the corrosive venom.

Zoren, perched atop the tree, watched as the snake crawled below, searching for its prey.

Whenever I attacked it, the ice would melt right away. And now, when I tried to counter it, it spat an acidic venom that made the ice rain melt before it even hit the target.

What's even more disturbing is how silent it is when it crawls. Its body feels massive, yet it moves like a small animal, like a walking cat.

If ice magic is ineffective, what kind of magic can I use to kill this giant snake? I need to solve this problem quickly.

Its body can melt my ice, and its mouth automatically dissolves anything, creatures probably melt before they're even fully swallowed. And the fact that it can also spit something that melts everything means I have no other option but to use a kind of magic that's resistant to melting and acid.

I remember that Tantalum Hafnium Carbide is a material with the highest melting point. It's also resistant to most acids. It's the only thing I can turn into magic to counter the cobra's abilities. However, turning it into real magic might be difficult, especially since it's based on science, not fiction. The magic I've used so far is all based on things that already exist in fantasy, but using real science means I need to understand how Tantalum Hafnium Carbide actually works.

I need to imagine Tantalum powder, Hafnium powder, and Carbon in the form of graphite, and fuse them together in my mind.

Zoren calmed himself and closed his eyes, sitting carefully on the tree branch without making a sound. In his mind, he formed a clear image of Tantalum, Hafnium, and Carbon, each distinct, imagining them fusing into something exceptionally solid.

He breathed steadily, reinforcing the mental image. In his mind's eye, he saw a liquid-like form of each substance swirling together until they fully coalesced into a solid state.

SECOND UNIQUE TRAIT OF UNMEASURABLE IQ: COGNIVISION GENESIS

Zoren possesses the ability to create intense mental images, visualizing them vividly in his mind as long as his focus remains consistent and sustained. He can also learn magic by experiencing it mentally, though this differs significantly from Memory Sync, as this second unique trait relies on mental innovation.

Zoren opened his eyes slowly and extended his palm. From it, a solid black structure materialized, shining and metallic, a small rectangular frame. Its quality far surpassed that of actual Tantalum Hafnium Carbide. Zoren's magic had produced a structure of superior refinement.

"I'll call this TaHfC Magic, the heat and acid anti-magic," Zoren said before collapsing to the ground.

While falling mid-air, Zoren used Oblivion Blink to vanish and reappear on the ground, then used it again to follow the creature that had nearly killed him, the king cobra.

He kept teleporting above the trees, tracking the traces of the snake until he found it, the same creature. Without hesitation, he vanished once more and reappeared directly above the snake.

He conjured a massive TaHfC structure, shaped into a sharp, pointed blade, and drove it down toward the cobra's head.

The blade struck true, penetrating its skull and cracking it. But the snake remained conscious. The critical difference was that it could no longer counter Zoren's magic. It couldn't melt it. Zoren's TaHfC magic had become a nightmare for the giant king cobra.

Still airborne and falling, Zoren teleported in front of the cobra's mouth. The snake sensed him and lunged forward to devour him, even as blood poured from its fractured skull.

"Thank you. That'll make things easier," Zoren smirked, raising his palms toward the inside of the cobra's widening jaws. Acid was forming rapidly within.

Zoren instantly created a liquid form of TaHfC and blasted it into the creature's mouth.

The structure expanded, slowly solidifying. Zoren continued filling the mouth, layer by layer, until the cobra could no longer move it properly. Its acid and venom proved ineffective against the TaHfC, which now coated its entire mouth, leaving only a central opening.

Zoren aimed precisely, forming another massive TaHfC structure, this time directly aligned with the opening and blasted it forward. The cobra's body convulsed from the impact, forced to swallow the dense material. Zoren didn't stop. He kept firing more TaHfC into its throat, packing its body with the heavy, impervious substance.

Once the cobra's form was completely filled, it felt unbearably heavy. Immobilized and unable to slither, it remained with its mouth wide open, frozen by the TaHfC, its eyes locked on Zoren.

Zoren appeared beside the snake, right next to its eye, and said:

"Do you like the taste, you greedy snake?"