Swoosh!

I stepped back to avoid an incoming attack as my eyes fell on the large rows of teeth facing me. I silently gulped.

.....Would I even be able to keep my head if they managed to land a hit?

Probably. But it would certainly deal a lot of pain. And while I could withstand pain, I didn't like pain.

If possible, I wanted to avoid it.

Therefore...

"Ukh...!"

I continued to avoid the incoming attacks while focusing on the threads coming out of my arm. There were a total of three at the moment. I thought about making more, but my mind couldn't keep up.

There were too many things that I needed to focus on.

My environment, the incoming Aurorahemoth's, and my mana reserves. My mind couldn't keep up.

Three threads were my limit.

I continued like this until I couldn't.

"...."

Gradually, my steps halted and I looked around me.

"Hieeek! Hieeek!"

I was surrounded from all sides. Stepping above the scattered rocks around me, their glowing eyes fiercely stared at me.

My heart sped at the sight of them and I had a hard time keeping myself from panicking.

....But I had to stay calm.

That much was necessary.

"One... Two... Three... Fifteen..."

Fifteen creatures surrounded me. The reality of the situation seemed even more grim than I had anticipated.

For some reason, the creatures just stood and observed me. As if they were waiting for something.

.....I didn't know exactly what, but I didn't let that affect my mind and introduced two more threads.

Now that I didn't need to move, I could split my attention toward creating two more.

Quietly, they coiled around my fingers before descending towards the ground, permeating through the cracked earth and positioning themselves along the perimeter where the rocks were.

It all happened quickly, about a second and a half...

The threads had just started moving when I noticed a change.

I hastily looked up only to feel my heart drop.

"Oh..."

All fifteen Aurorahemoths had their mouths open, their large teeth exposed for me to see.

Ah

I stopped and reflexively took a defensive stance.

But...

That proved to be futile on my end. With their mouths open, the Aurorahemoths's bellies inflated.

I realized then what was happening then.

But it was already too late.

"Hieeeeeeeeek!"

Their collective screech pierced through the surroundings, heading directly toward me as I stood helplessly in the middle of their screech.

"....Ukh!"

It came fast.

Before I knew it, I was hit. I couldn't describe the pain. It felt numbing and it came as fast as it left.

....But it took my hearing alongside it.

Tzzzzzzzz

A constant buzz echoed within my mind as my balance shifted and I struggled to keep a footing on the ground.

It was at that moment that I saw all the creatures make a move.

As if their minds were connected, they all lunged at me from all sorts of angles. I tried to avoid them, but there were simply way too many of them.

"Kh...!"

A sudden, sharp pain jolted through my right leg. As I glanced downwards, a deep wound met my sight.

Ah...

It took just a second for another one to appear. This time on my shoulder, and I stumbled forward.

"....Ukh."

Then another...

"Urgh...!"

And another...

"Akh!"

And another...

"....."

Wounds started to pile up on my body. My blood seeped onto the ground staining it red. I had long stopped screaming as the pain continued to accumulate.

Thud.

I fell on my knees as I hunched down.

"....."

I felt my jaw tremble from the pain. It wanted to open it. To scream at the pain that was currently invading every part of my body.

But I didn't let it.

This much pain wasn't worth screaming over.

"....."

I looked up.

What met my sight was a set of razor-sharp teeth. It was headed straight for my face. That was when I knew I had to make a move.

"....."

Amidst the silence that took over my mind, I slowly clenched my hand.

The threads that I had carefully laid all over the ground sprung up as they grew taut. A sea of blood littered my surroundings, splattering all over my face.

EXP + 0.01%

EXP + 0.01%

Notifications filled my vision as I cleared my face with my hand.

EXP + 0.01%

EXP + 0.01%

EXP + 0.01%

My hair and clothing were a mess as I moved my hand away and splattered the blood onto the ground.

Too bad I couldn't hear a thing.

When it all calmed down, all I saw were limbs and blood scattered throughout.

"....."

I looked around me to make sure that there was nothing else around me before finally taking a deep breath and calming down.

Extending my hand, I withdrew the threads that were connected across the scattered rocks.

Only then did my mind feel clearer and the weight of the pain hit me.

"H-hah..."

It was bearable.

At least... That was what I told myself.

The truth was probably different, but it was something that I had to do. It was the only way I could've envisioned myself winning.

While I could've used [Hands of Malady], it wasn't a great skill when facing against fifteen different opponents.

By the time I incapacitated two to three Aurorahemoths, I'd already be out of mana.

Such was why I had no choice but to use my body as bait.

It hurt...

"But it worked."

Taking a deep breath, I reached out for my bag and took out several ointments which I placed over my wounds.

Thankfully, they were merely superficial wounds.

A little deep, but still manageable.

"....They should heal in a couple of hours."

Such was the magic of the ointments of this world.

While I waited for my wounds to heal, I reflected on the fight I just had.

It was pathetic.

I was pathetic.

This wasn't the way that I wanted to win. I understood that I was still learning and that this was merely just the start, but...

It didn't stop me from feeling frustrated with myself.

Simply put my control was still not there yet. Because of that, I needed to make sure my attacks landed in one hit.

I couldn't afford to just graze them.

That woul-

"Uh."

I paused and blinked.

A thought suddenly struck me.

What if...?

"...What if I combine Etherweave with my spells? Emotive? Hands of Malady?"

The moment the thought entered my mind it didn't leave it.

It just remained there and continued to repeat itself.

Over and over again.

At that, I had no choice but to give in to my desires. I brought my hand forward where a thread slowly moved out from my forearm, coiling around my middle finger.

A purple magic circle soon manifested over my hand.

It hovered around it before shrinking down. Typically, it would trace a downward path, enveloping my entire hand and casting it in a purple hue. This time, however, I changed things up.

I focused my intent away from my hand and toward the thread.

The circle shrinked and moved down my finger.

Sweat started to accumulate down the side of my face as I focused my attention on the circle hovering over my finger.

It gradually inched closer down, reaching the tip of my finger.

Then...

"....!"

My heart sped at the sight before me.

It was hard to see given how thin the thread was, but it was gradually turning purple.

My eyes widened at the sight.

"Can it really..."

I felt my heart beat faster than before. I felt a strange sense of excitement and nervously swallowed my saliva.

The circle inched further down.

It was now halfway down my finger. The thread turned purple for each part the circle passed.

Even more sweat trickled down the side of my face as I maximized my focus.

I was close...

So very close.

....And just as the circle continued to move down, I suddenly frowned.

The magic circle stopped.

"No."

I voluntarily shattered the circle.

That was because I realized I was doing things wrong.

"....."

I stood there in silence to collect my breath and mana again. Then, I extended my hand forward and a magic circle again formed. Just like last time, it shrunk and hovered over my middle finger.

This time, I didn't let it move down.

Rather...

Swoosh

I guided the thread out and into the magic circle.

".....As expected."

The thread changed color and my mana expenditure significantly reduced. Not only that, but so did my amount of concentration.

I stared at the purple thread before me.

Now this...

It was certainly something.

***

The Mirror Dimension was vast. It covered a massive expanse of land, its size rivaling, if not surpassing, those of the entire Empire, which itself occupied a substantial portion of the world.

The Black Region was regarded as the smallest among all the regions. Considering the difficulty in conquering even a small portion of this dimension, its status as the smallest seemed only fitting.

Typically, when entering the Black Region, most cadets jumped at the opportunity to go toward the more dangerous regions.

Such was the best place to train.

However, there were a few who preferred to start in the lowest zone to get accustomed to the environment and monsters.

Swooosh!

"Ah, fucking hell...."

Kiera was one such cadet.

Staring at the numerous burning corpses in front of her, she pressed her finger against her ear. It was still ringing.

"....Fuck, I can't hear shit."

No, she could, but it was just a constant ring.

The more it continued, the more she got annoyed. Especially when she noticed two more headed her way.

"Tsk How much do these fuckers reproduce? They're endless."

A red magic circle hovered over her hand as the two creatures caught fire in the distance. They shrieked in pain, but Kiera had none of that.

"Agh, fuck. Is that how it is? Are you all so good at screaming because you mate so much?"

Just when she thought she was done, another one appeared.

Her eyes widened.

"My word. They really can't stop fucking"

In the end, after dispatching the creature, she decided to leave. The creatures, while easy, were hard to handle when in groups of more than five. She doubted anyone would have a hard time handling them en masse.

Packing up her staff, she slung her bag over her shoulder and headed out toward the next region.

The route wasn't far. It was about an hour's walk according to the map.

"...."

She was halfway there when she suddenly paused.

From the peripheral of her eyes, she caught something in the distance.

Something felt off.

No, it was off.

Her head turned to face the distance and her expression finally changed.

"What is..."

Her eyes widened considerably and her bag fell on the floor.

Thud.

Off into the distance, she could see the mutilated bodies of over several dozen Aurorahemoth's. The same creatures she struggled to deal with just moments prior.

"What sort of..."

She jogged over to carefully analyze the situation. Her surprise increased as she noticed how cleanly they had been killed.

A sword...? An arrow?

For the cuts to be so clean...

"Leon?"

A name popped up in her mind.

He appeared to be the only person capable of such a feat.

Kiera meticulously examined the corpses in front of her. Just as she was looking around, her eyes froze on a specific area.

"This..."

A shoulder pad.

It looked to have fallen off during the exchange and most likely belonged to the one responsible for all of this.

Staring at it for a good minute, she quietly pocketed the pad.

Her curiosity suddenly peaked.

"....Who did this?"