Chapter 218: Water + Fire Element Mana
The tentacle was coming for him.
Countless thoughts passed through Alex’s mind in an instant. The monster did not seem to be trying to kill them immediately, because if that had been its intention, it could have continued bombarding them with those massive glowing Water Bullets instead of repeatedly trying to grab them.
It was trying to capture them, most likely because it wanted to eat them. There was another detail that bothered Alex even more, because the monster had repeatedly targeted him despite the other members of the group sometimes being closer.
’Maybe it can sense the huge amount of mana in my body.’
Alex’s heart began beating loudly, so loudly that he could hear it despite the roaring water around him. He had finally found an excuse to fight this bastard of a monster.
The creature was much stronger than anything Alex had fought before, and it had the advantage of the environment where the island was being submerged as well as an ability to regenerate. Under normal circumstances, a calm and rational person like Alex would never willingly fight such an enemy when escaping was still an option.
But the monster had already made escaping extremely difficult. Alex was endangering the safety of his companions because the monster continued hunting him, and if it was truly targeting him because of his mana, then perhaps he could use that against it.
He knew what he was doing was reckless. Part of him was simply looking for a reason to fight instead of running away, and he needed an excuse to make this stupid decision. Now, he finally had one.
Alex quickly created a Mana Cable and tied it around the tree before attaching the other end around Petra’s wrist. He hardened the cable with Will, making sure it would remain secure until Joseph could reach their location.
"Take care of Petra! The monster is targeting me, so I’m going to lure it away. You guys leave as soon as you can. I’ll meet you at the place where we were heading before all of this happened," Alex shouted after reinforcing his lungs and throat with mana.
Through Mana Sense, Alex felt Emma and the others suddenly stiffen. Someone seemed to be shouting at him to stop and not throw his life away, but the words were lost beneath the roaring water and the distance between them.
Alex jumped toward another tree and landed on one of its branches. The tentacle immediately changed direction and slammed into the trunk, wrapping around it before ripping the entire tree from the ground.
The monster pulled the tree toward itself, and Alex understood that it was likely dragging it toward wherever its main body was hiding.
Alex poured more and more mana into his head and soul, forcing his mana control and focus higher until his perception began to change. The world around him became duller and quieter as his concentration narrowed entirely toward the monster and the path he was taking.
He waited until he felt that he had moved far enough away from his group before jumping from the tree. Alex landed on the surface of the water for only a moment before exhaling all the air from his lungs and allowing himself to sink.
The waves rolled over him as he descended into the darkness. As soon as his feet reached the submerged ground, Alex released several Mana Threads and anchored himself firmly against the earth.
He then sent several pulses of Mana Sense through the water. Four massive disturbances immediately appeared in his perception, and Alex realized that four gigantic tentacles were rapidly approaching his location.
He immediately created four Fire Bullets. One might think that fighting underwater with his normal Fire Bullets was difficult, yet he had discovered something that allowed him to change that.
When Alex had previously been captured inside the fist of a Wild Orc, he had infused Fire Element Mana into the creature’s hand. That experience had taught him something important: Fire Element Mana did not necessarily have to be compressed in empty air, because it could also be infused into objects, although the result was different from what happened when it was compressed directly in the air.
Compared to air, the limit before Fire Element Mana reached compression limit was much higher when it was infused into an object. However, instead of immediately turning into fire, the object itself became unstable and eventually exploded, with fire potentially being created afterward from the released mana.
Alex had never properly tested this principle because there had been no time to, but the situation gave him a perfect opportunity to try it. He began infusing Fire Element Mana into the water surrounding him, carefully pushing more and more mana into the water droplets while making sure he did not exceed their limit.
The four tentacles had already covered half the distance, yet Alex remained completely focused on his task. The water around each Fire Bullet gradually began glowing red as the Fire Element Mana accumulated inside it, and the temperature continued rising as he compressed more mana into the water.
Alex eventually completed the four Fire Bullets and surrounded each one with elastic mana, creating a casing that could hold the compressed water together and another one to launch them. Once the casings were complete, he compressed the Fire Element Mana inside them even further, pushing it beyond the limit he would normally use.
The water suddenly became unstable and exploded. There was no fire at first. Instead, the compressed water erupted outward with tremendous force, and the explosion propelled the Fire Bullets forward at incredible speeds as powerful shockwaves spread through the surrounding water.
The four projectiles flew rapidly despite the resistance of the water, and one of the tentacles immediately moved to block them. It managed to intercept one of the Fire Bullets, but the resulting explosion was far larger than the monster would’ve expected, instantly vaporizing the surrounding water and dragging the tentacle into the expanding blast.
..
Author’s Note: If you’re enjoying the novel, consider leaving a vote. It helps the novel a lot. Thank you!