Chapter 56: Suffering From Success (I)
According to Grandpa Galileo, in a free fall, all objects should accelerate downwards at the same pace, irrespective of their mass or weight. The law, of course, only applies in a vacuum, without any air resistance.
Unfortunately for Ember, the yawning chasm he had unintentionally driven into was not without air. Grandpa Galileo be damned, but considering the difference in mass between him and that blasted basilisk, it was undeniable that the colossal serpent would descend first, pinning him beneath it and crushing his flesh and bones alike into a bloody pulp beneath its terrible weight.
His protective ward also seemed to have malfunctioned; otherwise, it would have at least saved his life. Unfortunately, he could not rely on it either.
On top of that, the insatiable monstrosity didn't seem keen on waiting for his demise at all. Opening its horrifying maw, it lunged at him, intending to devour him whole in one gulp. The chasm might have been over 200 metres deep, but the basilisk wouldn't even give him half that distance before claiming his life.
That was, unless Ember did something about it.
His first instinct was to unleash the spell prepared in his wand. He cast it, though at the very last moment he managed to redirect his position, allowing himself to lurch to his left and escape the Goliath's horrifying maw. However, a single spell was not enough to save him from the predicament, nor was it as effective at aiding his flight.
Wind blades tended to cut through resistance, whereas here Ember required something that went flat against the air pressure.
So he reached into the apertures in his wrists to access all the kinetic-attuned mana he had saved up beforehand. Still airborne, he cast a weaker Kinetic Push through both of his palms. It was merely equal to the potency of a Tier 2 spell. It wouldn't even have been able to lift him far into the air if he had still been on the ground. However, while falling against the squalling wind, even a Tier 2 Kinetic Push worked wonders, propelling him above and beyond the reach of the monstrosity.
Now that one immediate worry was out of the way, there was still another concern keeping his mind sharp. But simply remaining hyperfocused wouldn't be enough to save him from the impact, though it could help him find a solution swiftly.