Power of Runes

The instant Ash found a lead, he moved.

Switching off the Elemental Sight, Ash decided to focus only on the glowing orbs above the Crimson Mushroom Head. They were faintly glowing with a blue radiance, yet under the vision of Elemental Sight and Omni Thought, they shone with a far brighter brilliance, almost blinding. Among them, only about a quarter gleamed with full splendor while the rest appeared dull, as if drained of energy.

Ash assumed that these orbs worked like a kind of battery. The more orbs that remained charged, the longer the enemy could keep fighting. If every bit of energy was consumed, then perhaps the creature would weaken to the point of death.

At least that was what Ash believed, and only time would reveal how close to the truth his assumption really was.

Teleporting high above, Ash swung Eclipse in an attempt to shatter one of the orbs. The moment his strike neared, the entire monster reacted. The attacks and vines that had been moving with high speed suddenly accelerated with terrifying speed, all of them rushing toward him as though determined to tear him apart before he could touch its core.

{Phase}

Ash slipped away in the blink of an eye.

Bingo!!!

A grin tugged at his lips. He might have failed to destroy the orb, but the weakness was real, and it was a glaring one.

The price, however, was steep. His mana was completely consumed. He had already been teleporting nonstop for nearly an hour, and using Phase had drained what little remained in his core. Yet, the very core that had been emptied just moments ago was already brimming with mana once again, overflowing with renewed energy.

I don't think I even need a mana breathing technique... My mana regeneration is already this ridiculous...

And if a mana-breathing technique were added on top of that, Ash could not even begin to imagine how broken his recovery would become.

But now... how am I supposed to attack it?

His eyes lifted toward the sky, where the projectiles, suspended for a moment, were slowly beginning to aim back toward him. Watching them move with eerie patience, an insidious idea crept into his mind.

Right... let's do that...

Activating Absolute Concealment and Transcendent Step, Ash bolted from the battlefield.

Yeah, he ran away.

****

The Bloodshrome froze. It looked around cautiously, its massive body shifting as it moved from one side to another, searching for something that was not there. Growing restless, it lashed out in anger, releasing a storm of projectiles that flew in every direction, tearing apart the surroundings and leaving destruction behind.

Yet, even after all that devastation, it did not find anything. It remained still for another half hour, tense and unsettled, before it finally drifted away, continuing in the direction it had originally been moving.

Meanwhile, Ash, who had been watching the monster from an even farther distance through his telescope, remained hidden under Absolute Concealment. Once he was certain the Bloodshrome had lowered its guard, he moved.

Appearing near the Apex monster, he activated Omni Thought and Elemental Sight, but only for a single split second, and that brief moment was engraved into his memory with perfect clarity.

Damn, am I an oracle or what? Why am I always right?

Ash thought in silence, his eyes narrowing slightly. The countless eyes scattered across the Bloodshrome's body had vanished, and with them, so had the strange energy that radiated from them. Earlier, he had assumed it to be mental energy in its concentrated form, and now it seemed that his assumption had been correct.

The monster appeared wide open, vulnerable and defenseless, almost as if it was deliberately inviting him to strike.

As if. There must be some kind of defensive mechanism hidden to protect those orbs. What I have to do is simple... destroy every single orb before that mechanism can even activate.

Ash did not know what kind of defense the monster possessed, or what form it would take, but it did not matter. He did not need to know. All he had to do was kill the creature first and then study its body afterward.

Should I use my skill creation slot?

The thought lingered for a moment, but soon he shook his head.

No, let's save it... for now.

The truth was, countless ideas filled his mind. One was to create an appraisal skill capable of revealing the true name of a Rune, but he had decided to wait until he obtained a Rune from the Neutral Continent before attempting that.

Another was to create a skill meant purely for gathering information. There was also the idea of trying to develop something like necromancy, or perhaps even a skill that could generate a virtual opponent, where every monster or human he had ever witnessed fighting would take shape as an avatar and battle against him. The pain would be real, the struggle just as fierce, yet the avatar would only exist for him to face. With that skill, Ash believed he could overcome the limits of experience itself and sharpen his mastery of combat to perfection.

There were many more ideas as well, too many for him to decide which one to implement first. Because of that, he chose to wait and act according to what the situation demanded. If nothing happened, then he would make his choice on his own.

So, Ash waited patiently, following the creature in silence, his steps light and careful as he remained in its shadow. When the perfect moment arrived, when he finally judged it was time to act...

He moved.

***

Alright, I am going to try something crazy this time, don't know if this will work....

No, no, it has to work, it must.... there is no chance to try again, I have to succeed in one try....

With determination burning alongside his creativity, he made a small cut on his hand and let a droplet of blood fall. Into that crimson spark of life, he poured lightning, life, and space mana all at once.

Ash knew that if he ever attempted to fuse three types of mana and use them as an explosive, the attempt would collapse instantly. The three elements were completely different in nature, and it was almost impossible for them to blend. Even when he had forced two elements together, the strain on his body was immense, hidden only because of the Rune of Life constantly repairing him.

But his blood was different. His body had always withstood the flow of mana, no matter which type he used, remaining steady, unshaken, and unbroken. He had long observed this strange fact, and he knew why.

It was the Rune of Stability.

So, what if his blood carried some properties of that rune as well? If his blood could act as the medium, then perhaps it could endure the impossible fusion. And if that was true, the rest was easy to guess.

His muscles stiffened and his veins trembled as he forced three kinds of mana into the drop of blood. The body that had once adapted to the fusion of two elements was now being tested again, straining under a burden far heavier.

The drop of blood, faintly golden at first, began to glow with an otherworldly brilliance as the three different manas rushed within it.

Nice, it's happening.....

Ash smiled madly, ignoring the way pain pierced through his being and the deadly poison that seeped into his body.

Pain was welcome.

Pain kept him awake, chasing away the drowsiness that followed his earlier use of Elemental Sight with Omni Thought.

People would call him insane. They would ask why Ash was going this far, what he hoped to gain, what benefit was worth such torment. What was there to obtain other than experience from slaughtering monsters?

Was Elysia in danger? No. Was there a Rune to be claimed? No. Was he facing any imminent threat? No. Did he crave revenge? No.

Then why? What reason could justify enduring such pain, what drove him to keep growing stronger? What drove him to keep moving forward?

Was it sympathy for those who would perish if the world were destroyed? Was his purpose to save the world? Or was it something else entirely?

I am doing it because I want to....

Ash gritted his teeth but kept smiling, because that was the truth. He wanted to do it, and no other explanation mattered.

And..... who wouldn't try to become all powerful in a fantasy world?

He sought power not out of duty or some noble purpose, but simply because he desired it. He wanted strength that could protect everything he loved, strength that would not let anything be taken away from him. That was his reason to grow stronger.

And in truth, there was another reason as well, one he barely noticed. The strange satisfaction of becoming stronger was turning into an addiction.

He pushed more mana into the droplet, again and again, until it floated steadily in the air.

The pain, instead of being an obstacle, had become a constant reminder of why he must grow. Over time, he had grown numb to it. His past experiences were more than enough to blunt the edge of suffering. Pain was still there, always present, but he had stopped reacting to it, as if his body and mind had finally accepted it as part of him.

Time passed. Half of his core was drained, and only then did he stop. Yet the blood droplet did not collapse. Instead, it remained suspended, its surface glowing, seamlessly fusing the three elements within.

No, fusing is the wrong word; it has not fused....

It only appeared to be fused. In truth, the three elements were being kept apart, unable to touch one another. What held them in balance were faint remnants of the power of runes.

But, this will do for now....

With the glowing droplet hovering before him, Ash reached out, grasped it, and vanished as he teleported away.....

Appearing silently above the bloodshrome, he threw his blood drop, which was now almost solid as rock, and as soon as it touched the surface of the mushroom head....

A devastating explosion tore through everything.

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