Every formation has protections in place against projection. This takes the form of a set of runes placed in the formation. These physically prevent projection from occurring accidentally. (Without such protections, you can never tell when a formation will burn due to excessive mana.) The runes tend to be hard to find. To ensure that an idiot like me doesn't try and break them.
My work now is to find these runes and destroy them. This has proven to be a task. Even now, my control strings are probing through the entire thing, finding the runes I need. There is nothing that I can do until I find the runes. (I am not too worried about not finding it, though.)
I guess, I should explain what projection is in the first place. It is a problem faced by all formation mages working near a mana source. It is the nature of runes to move mana, you see. It is this ability of runes that we make use of to cast spells in the first place. The problem with runes is that they don't tend to discriminate between different types of mana. A good example of this is that you can cast a water spell using fire mana. (You just don't know how the water spell will behave. It will most likely set you on fire. There is an equal chance it could blow up.)
This same lack of discrimination also exist in formations. It is actually more of a problem since a formation works over a greater range. That is why there is a chance that a formation can affect a mana source in its vicinity, causing projection.
Projection is when a resonance is created between a reservoir of mana and a formation. Once this happens, the mana will flow towards the target from the reservoir. If controlled this a method in which we can transfer mana from one area to another.
The process is used very rarely due to how inefficient it is. It wastes nine units of mana to transfer one unit of mana. It can get dangerous if it fails. You also cannot control just how much mana will flow into the target. I mean, you could try to control it. There is a good chance you will lose control and if that happens, we actually don't know what could happen. We just know that it won't be pretty.
As for how that will help us. The plan is to overload "Thalion's Vine" with metal mana and cause it destabilise in here. For one thing, tthe formation was never meant to work with metal mana. Just the type imbalance of mana is going to be quite destructive. On top of that the Ironskin has been collecting quite a bit of mana in all this time. That much mana will be enough to overload a class nine formation.
There they are. I finally found the runes needed to destroy these protections. Destroying a rune is quite an invested and risky process. An inscribed rune makes use of your formation core as an anchor to exist. Destroying these runes is quite easy in theory. You are just pushing all of your mana into the rune. The inflow of mana will cause the rune to destabilize and destroy itself. (The formation decomposition spell is meant to help you do this safely and with every rune in the formation at the same time.)
It is a risky process to do on a few specific runes like I am doing right now. The popping runes could affect the stability of the surrounding runes. It could cause a cascade, which could end up with the entire thing exploding in my face. With me in an enemy territory, that is naturally not a good thing to happen. It would also mean that I won't be able to destroy this place. (I don't happen to have a spare formation core to destroy.) Other than that, there is always a risk of the mana core burning, which doesn't matter in the present case, though.
It is with this thought that I begin the process of rune destruction. Behind me, I can hear the other soldiers struggling against the Ice Beasts. (And the troop leaders have not appeared at either place.) The tunnels are forcing the Ice Beasts to split apart, which makes things a bit easier. Still, we can't hold against the enemy for too long. They just outnumber us too much.
The soldiers must already be getting tired. I guess that it might help me if I were to focus on the task at hand.
(After about a couple of minutes)
I can feel the runes finally collapse. The destruction of the runes could not have happened more perfectly. The surrounding runes are not even affected by this destruction. (It is not like these runes are going to be used in the future anyway. A bit of damage would have been fine as long as it did not cascade.)
Even as the runes are destroyed, I begin to grasp the mana in the air to form a new set of runes. These runes will essentially force a resonance between the ironskin and this formation.
Around me, the sound of the battle has already begun to grow intense. Even with my focus, I cannot ignore the sound of claw against sword as I wait for the resonance to start. I am surprised that nobody has ended up dead yet. The troop leaders should already have reached here.
My thoughts are interrupted as the formation core begins to vibrate. Any second now, the metal mana from the reservoir will flow into it. It is only my will that is preventing this resonance from happening right now. With each passing second, it is becoming harder and harder to control. I can already feel the metal mana flowing into the core, causing something to change. I can't say what it is, but it is nothing good. It shouldn't be happening this quickly. I must have miscalculated something.
"Retreat troop," I scream as I make my way to the exit. (Thankfully, they have picked up my panic. We cannot waste time anymore.) Now, I have to make sure that I remember the path correctly.
Behind me, the formation core has begun to grow. The way that it is growing gives me such an eerie vibe that I certainly do not want to be in the room when it gets critical. Without me, the core won't take long before losing its stability. We need to escape from the place before that. The Ice Beasts rushing at us from everywhere have different ideas, though.
The troop is behind me, retreating while defending themselves. With the Ice Beasts attacking them like mad beasts, they can barely hold them back. It is time for me to get serious as I push my mana into my sword.
(After a couple of minutes.)
The horde of Ice Beasts has finally been cleared. The only problem is that I had to use a significant chunk of my mana in the process. With the prospect of the troop leaders appearing any second, this is not a position that I want to be in.
Regardless, we begin to run away. I will need to focus on recollecting the path back to the entrance. That will require me to focus. I will start this log back in a while.
(After about five minutes.)
I have to admit that I would have never thought that I would be happy looking at the plains outside. It might be one of the bleakest places I have ever seen in the continent. Regardless, it looks like heaven at this moment.
I can feel the concentration of metal mana reach a critical level as the caves we left behind begins to collapse. It won't take too long for the rest of the place to collapse as well. Something tells me whatever is behind us is not a pretty sight. The thing is on the verge of going critical.
The presence of the troop leader sticks out like a sore thumb even before I see it. It must be channeling its mana like crazy. It has detected us at the same time as I detected it, it looks like.
"There is a hostile at the exit. Assume it to be a troop leader," I command. "Focus on escape and do not engage it in any manner. I will attract its attention. Make use of that time to escape."
I return to my mana sense even as I say this. My main focus is to attract the creature's attention. Killing it with the troop will give me a better chance of getting rid of it, but right now, escape is the priority. After all, if the enemy base collapses, then the troop leaders are not a threat anymore and I could lose my soldiers in the process of killing this beast.
It takes me a moment to see the creature. (It basically dissolves into the background.) I expected it to look more intimidating than this. The only thing that I can say about the creature is that it is a bit larger than the average Ice Beast.
The creature has finally noticed me. Now, the hope is that it will focus on just me. It will be able to take a couple of my soldiers before it dies if it focuses on them.
I did not need to worry as the creature charges at me like a bull, trying to claw me. I block it with my sword. I can feel the impact as I am nearly brought to the ground. The creature is certainly stronger than its physique would suggest.
I still manage to push the creature away from me. I can feel an ache in my arm, though. (My old wounds haven't reopened yet, though.) I do not get to think up a new strategy as the creature is already in front of me, trying to get a bite into me. I barely dodge it's bite as I try to keep the creature facing me. I can't have it biting me on my ass now, can I?
It catches me by surprise when the creature opens its mouth, releasing some kind of an ice bolt right at my head. I can feel my sword shudder when I use it to block the bolt. I swing the sword again, blocking another bolt that is aimed at my throat.
I take on a defensive stance, as I prepare against being struck. I am dead if it manages to get a bite into me. The chill is not something that I want to be dealing with in the middle of an actual fight.
The creature also seems to have slowed down a bit. Both of us are trying to predict the action that the other will take. We are looking for holes in each other's defense. It is a pity, but the creature seems to have solid instincts, as it gives me no chances to attack it.
I don't act for now, because an opportunity should present itself in about a couple of seconds. What the fuck, It should already have happened by now. For a few moments, I am left wondering if my calculations are wrong again. That is why It is also a surprise for me when the tunnels finally begin to collapse.
It is a pretty silent affair, but it must have had quite an impact on the creature. It just pauses for a second, looking at the collapsing tunnel, like it can't believe it. Both of us are disoriented as the ground around us begins to shake. (enough for us both to fall, losing our balance.)
We both take a moment to regain our footing, and this is where I finally find my opportunity. You see, the creature was not expecting this, and I did. This single point of awareness is enough for me to recover just a moment before the Ice Beast. (There is also something off about the creature. It's not acting as I would have expected a beast to act.)
I do not waste this moment, as I concentrate most of my mana into my sword. Swinging the sword, it is so fast that I feel like the sword is leading me rather than me leading it. I can feel the fractures in my sword as it handles more mana than it is capable of handling. Even with the strengthening of my mana, it will become useless after this move.
My gambit is successful at the end as I feel the sword enter the creature's mouth. It trashes against me as the sword exits through its skull. The strike is fatal, though it did not kill the creature the instant it is struck.
It occurs almost in slow motion as the beast's mouth shuts right on my arm. I can feel the creature's teeth enter me like a pair of daggers. It is so cold that it feels warm for a couple of seconds. Then it begins to spread in my body, freezing me right to my bones. I begin to channel mana, feeling the cold retreat for a bit.
I quickly shake the damn corpse off me. I already have to channel a majority of my remaining mana to fight the ice mana entering me. Right now, I can only hope that the collapsing tunnels will be enough to distract the other leaders. (and take them down if I am lucky.) I am certainly in no state to fight them off.
I can feel my thoughts slowing as I walk to the fort. I don't even remember how exactly I had made my way to the fort. I don't even remember who helped me out of my clothes and put me in the medic's room. All I know is that the world around me has steadily been getting darker.