Master Of None

The hard crack came as Gil’s three arrows managed to hit the tail of the lightning eater lizard. It had moved with extreme speed and used a significant amount of lightning to even move through the air to the side of the rocky canyon ahead of them.

The arrow had caused the scales and part of the tail to break off with each impact. However, the lizard had been fast enough that the main body had not been hit and the tail was the only damage.

This didn’t mean that the lizard was not angry. There was a small bit of lightning flaring up around its body and its yellowed scales were not glowing with the light mana, fire mana, and water mana it had consumed through elemental mana crystals.

A surge of vines reared up from the ground again as a larger lightning bolt was spat out from the lizard’s mouth. Something so small had condensed the manas and made a potent lightning that had easily shredded the mana toughened vines which Alma had grown. When Gil felt the tingle on his skin, he leaped back and noticed that his arm had been burned slightly.

The scoff from Alma as she saw her plants had not been enough before Gil swore he could hear the grinding of her teeth proved that they all needed to move back. His hand motions were a signal for everyone to move before Alma let loose with a more powerful skill.

She tossed out a handful of purple and red seeds. These were a special poison flower which grew around the deeper areas of the elven forest. Whoever, they were often tiny and only dangerous when consumed.

This was not at all the case with the skills which Alma possessed.

She could bring out the most dangerous aspects and use her mana to grow a plant much more than it normally would. She could even make it appear as if it was a monster to some degree, not that it was actually a monster. She couldn’t tame plant monsters, such a thing would go against her class and the path she walked in communing with the first itself.

As the purple and red flowers broke through the ground, roots and vines whipped out causing the lizard to be unable to move certain directions or it would get caught in the immense growth. Since Alma had not stopped growing and developing her skills, she had managed to push plants to their extreme.

She didn’t even need the same amount of mana as when she was less experienced. Instead, she was using a tenth of her mana right now to make it entirely impossible for the lightning eater lizard to dart anywhere that wasn’t toward her. The flowers were also giving off a poison which would numb and paralyze those that ate it, but in this case, that poison was spilled out through the pollen.

And with the fact that she had isolated the area… well, the pollen was only being forced in to the lazard’s lungs where it was already showing signs of staggering and slowing. Even with the intense and condensed manas within its body trying to handle it.

”You do not have permission to spit lightning at anyone and harm them. So just get out of the way and let us investigate this area.” Her words dripped with disgust as another vine pierced the lizard’s sluggish body before she retracted her mana and the plants wilted in second, leaving nothing behind but a poisoned monster corpse.

By the time Alma had looked back, the small injury on Gil’s arm was healed with a single light healing spell from a healer. However, her anger was still clear since she knew there could be more of these lightning eater lizards around. Especially that they might be more powerful in the area they were heading toward which was most likely going to be the opening of a new bridge to the elemental planes.

”Very good work. I think we can use your strength to handle the others that are ahead.” Gil smiled sheepishly as Alma examined his arm and made sure he was not hurt at all. From what he could tell, there would be more and if she was this angry about them touching him, she wouldn’t let a single one get away.

”I think they will be removed from the area since they are not allowed to hurt anyone. They can move down the canyon away from the place we need to secure.” She smiled sweetly and Gil reminded himself how crazy he had been to fall in love with Alma.

Anyone else would have felt fear after witnessing her make plants bend to her will and enhance the pistons they carried. But he could only find himself porous and wondering just how much more powerful she would get while they lived their lives together.

Another few moments of walking brought them toad and around the destroyed second of canyon walls. The trees which had fallen were burned by lightning and the rocks had been shattered. Clearly, the lightning eater lizards had enjoyed the mana crystals in the earth that grew from the fire, water, and light mana that condensed in the canyon naturally.

The steam and boiling waters only appeared to make things even more dangerous since falling from height wouldn’t kill them here. It was the water itself that was dangerous. Hence why the echidna mages with the ability would be the ones who had to save those who fell. The steam in some places could harm the angels so they were unable to fly carelessly.

In a wave of her hand, Alma threw more seeds and Gil fired a special arrow across the large canyon gap. He’d had them made with Alma for situations like this. Where her throwing abilities for her seeds might now be the best.

The arrow embedded in the rocky soil on the opposite end and in a single breath large bones rocketed out and crew everywhere. There had been seeds held within the arrow head he’d fired. They had been steeped in Alma’s mana so they grew immediately and fell under her control.

All the vines created a weaved net across allowing everyone the ability to move much more freely. Allowing the lightning eater lizards to become trapped and much easier targets for arrows being fired at them. All this cost more mana, but it was well worth it for this speedy battle allowing them safety while witnessing the massive collapsed side of the jungle canyon.

Alma and Gil could hold off some focus of the battle since there was enough to to handle the lizards living here. They did notice the many shards of elemental mana crystals though. They were everywhere meaning that anyone they brought with them could harvest them for Genesis.

It also proved the entire area would be valuable for gathering such things. If they were smart they could even use their knowledge to make it a renewable place for gathering these crystals. Potentially even a place the tamer’s guild could use to breed the lightning eater lizards.

That was for the future though. Gil looked down and noticed the density of mana and saw an entirely different thing than he expected.

”That’s a naturally formed rune condensing three elemental manas. That is a naturally formed lightning rune.” He’d held his breath after saying this because he knew without having anyone use any form of appraisal scroll or skill.

He’d seen them and felt them. He also understood the ways that Walker had described them. ”Yes it is. And it gathered mana from that small opening.” Almos pointed out the vague opening that could be a slowly forming proper bridge to the elemental planes.

”Then that’s what we were looking for. That then resonated with the boundary which should be lightning manas of similar of the same form as the manas in that naturally formed rune. We can report it before anything changes.”

Gil spoke and saw the opening grow slightly. It wasn’t going to be just a moment it would be a few days. But that was still too quick with how fast the manas in the area condensed because of that rune resonating with the bridge opening.

Gil wasn’t worried about the mana that came out of this area. The rune would most likely take the majority. It would also be an ideal place to build another small magic tower for teleportation and a small living area nearby.

What he worried about were the unique monsters and even race that might emerge from the bond between these elemental planes that made lightning. They might be more dangerous than any others they had encountered because of the multiple affinities and extremely dangerous form of mana they possessed naturally.

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