Chapter 247: Physique Activation
Alex immediately reached out and grabbed the shaft. The skin on his palm was ruptured by the force behind the weapon, and his body was nearly thrown off his feet, but he used several mana threads to anchor himself to the ground.
His joints cracked under the force, but Alex refused to release the spear. As soon as he stopped its momentum, he poured his mana into the weapon and allowed the spear’s Origin Energy to interfere with his mana. He was observing how the Origin Energy disrupted his mana. He wanted to learn how it could work even at distance.
He didn’t pour more Will into the mana to fight against the Origin Energy, and instead let the Origin Energy work.
Alex felt something moving toward him again, but he didn’t turn around. He focused entirely on the sensation inside the spear, and in the middle of the battle, a strange clarity suddenly overcame him.
His Physique activated.
Observing the Origin Energy inside the spear became much easier, and Alex finally understood what he had been missing. The disruption mana needed to have a slight elastic property so that it could be compressed and naturally try to return to its original form like a spring.
However, the compression had to follow a specific pattern. When the mana expanded, it needed to naturally form the pattern required for Mana Disruption Blade, allowing the effect to activate without requiring Alex to control it from a distance. The logic was simple, but the mana control required for this would be tremendous.
Alex also understood another thing. He had tried to make too big a jump by applying Mana Disruption Blade directly to a complicated projectile like Mana Shuriken.
He needed to do it step by step.
Alex formed a Mana Bullet and carefully applied the new disruption pattern to its surface. The process was much easier now that he understood the principle behind it, and after making sure the mana was compressed correctly, he fired the projectile toward the incoming attack.
The Mana Bullet flew past the shield that had blocked the second spear and collided with the third spear. The projectile was ripped apart by the impact, but the spear’s momentum was weakened considerably.
Alex tilted his head and grabbed the spear shaft before it could pass him. He immediately observed the Origin Energy inside the weapon and noticed that its disruption property had been weakened significantly because his mana had disrupted it.
Alex grinned when he realized that it had worked. He had finally managed to use Mana Disruption Blade from a distance.
He turned toward the Ninja Badger, hoping the monster would throw more spears so he could continue studying the spell. Instead, the badger flinched when it met Alex’s eyes, almost as if it couldn’t believe that Alex had copied its spell in the middle of the battle.
Alex waited for another spear, but the Ninja Badger slowly took one step backward and then another. After realizing that Alex was watching it closely, the monster suddenly melted into the shadows and dashed toward the boulder blocking the path.
Alex’s expression changed when he understood what it was trying to do. The Ninja Badger was likely planning to use the shadows around the boulder to reach the other side and escape deeper into the dungeon.
Alex formed another Mana Bullet and carefully applied the new knowledge he had gained from the Ninja Badger’s spear. This attempt was much smoother than the previous one, and the disruption mana settled into the Mana Bullet without requiring nearly as much concentration.
Once he was satisfied with the structure, Alex fired the Mana Bullet. It ripped through the air and struck the shadow where the Ninja Badger was moving, immediately disrupting the spell and forcing the monster out of the darkness.
Alex dashed forward and covered the distance in a split second. He grabbed the Mana Sword that had been floating beside him and swung it toward the exposed badger, but the monster tried to raise its spear to block the attack a moment too late.
The sword passed through its neck, and the Ninja Badger’s head flew away as its body collapsed to the ground. Alex didn’t slow down until he was certain the monster was dead, then he finally looked toward the notifications that had appeared in his mind.
[Level 19 Ninja Badger killed.]
[Level 18 Ninja Badger killed.]
[Mana Disruption Blade has leveled up. Level 1 → Level 3.]
[Mana Shuriken Spell has leveled up. Level 3 → Level 4.]
Alex smiled faintly when he saw the level-ups. The two spells were progressing nicely, and if he continued training them at this speed, he should soon be able to master them before eventually finding a way to combine them.
"Let’s collect the materials from the monsters, then continue," Alex said.
The group wasn’t particularly exhausted, so they quickly began collecting the Gene Potentials and other useful materials from the two Ninja Badgers. Alex absorbed one of the Gene Potentials while the other went to Joseph, and after collecting everything useful, they turned their attention toward the massive boulder blocking the tunnel.
Alex stared at the boulder for a moment. He could clearly sense a strong concentration of Origin Energy behind it, and considering what had happened earlier, it seemed likely that the Ninja Badgers had been protecting this exact location.
’Why would they protect a boulder?’
Alex couldn’t think of an obvious answer, but he was certain that the Boss Monster was somewhere behind it. But he couldn’t understand why the Boss Monster was not helping its underlings.
"I’ll destroy the boulder. I’ve been wanting to try a Technique, and this should be a good opportunity to test it," Yulia said as she stepped forward.
Alex and the others nodded before stepping back to give her enough space. Yulia took a moment to prepare herself, gathering her strength and adjusting her stance while focusing on the boulder in front of her.
After a few seconds, she moved forward and punched the boulder with all her strength. The impact shook the tunnel, and cracks rapidly spread across the surface before the massive stone finally crumbled apart.
The obstruction collapsed into countless pieces, revealing the area hidden behind it.
..
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