CHAPTER 10
"Shit! What am I going to do now?" Grey yelled as he watched the jagged shrapnel closing in on his position.
'Think! Think Grey, think! Finally!' An idea struck him like a bolt of lightning.
He immediately set to work executing the plan, closing his eyes while standing perfectly still.
He forced himself to ignore the whistling debris that was now incredibly close to his skin.
Grey began circulating the mana rapidly throughout his frame while simultaneously drawing in even more energy from the surrounding world.
He pulled more and more raw power into himself, and in the process, his physical body started to overload from the sheer pressure of the intake.
That was when a sharp, piercing sound echoed as the shrapnel reached point-blank range.
Quickly snapping his eyes open, Grey thrust his hands outwardly with a desperate roar.
A violent burst of translucent energy erupted from his palms, hitting the projectiles and causing them to go flying away from him in every direction.
Almost instantly, Grey collapsed onto his knees.
He was breathing heavily, his lungs burning, because his mana core was nearly depleted from the massive expenditure required for the maneuver he had just performed.
From an outside point of view, it appeared as though Grey had used a gust of wind to repel the metal shards, but that wasn't the reality.
He had utilized mana in its purest, elemental form to shove the pieces away, causing several to lunge deep into the scorched ground nearby.
Virtually all mages possessed the ability to do this, regardless of their relative strength.
As long as they could manipulate or control mana, they were capable of such a feat, but it required immense focus and a staggering amount of energy to achieve what Grey just did.
However, by employing this method, a mage's reserves would typically be halved; the skill consumed a vast quantity of essence to cast and was consequently seen as a final, desperate resort.
Grey remained on the floor gasping for air, feeling incredibly weak.
That was when he heard ominous rumbling noises vibrating beneath the soles of his feet.
"Give me a break, damn it!" he shouted.
The ground shook violently before bursting open.
He was suddenly thrown high into the air by the force of the sudden eruption, and then a blunt, massive rock was seen heading Grey's way.
In an instant, the stone crashed into his side, sending him plummeting into the dirt with so much force that the earth shattered beneath his weight.
"Kuh! Kuh! Kuh!" Grey coughed hoarsely.
He was finding it difficult to breathe, and his chest felt as if it were being consumed by a searing flame.
"Darn it! I should have run for it when I had the chance," he wheezed, slowly pushing himself up as he heard the steady, rhythmic pounding of heavy paws heading his way.
'I wish there was sand for me to utilize here,' he thought.
He barely managed to scramble out of the path of the charging beast, allowing the creature to ram head-first into a sturdy tree.
'I need to think fast now!' Grey's mind raced as he scanned his surroundings.
His eyes landed on another piece of shrapnel lying just a few feet away from his hand.
Lifting his shaking hands, Grey twirled his fingers through the air.
Slowly, the metal shard lifted into the atmosphere, hovering slightly as it floated toward him.
Grey quickly snatched it out of the air, taking a weak, trembling stance as he waited for the predator to recover.
After colliding with the tree, the wolf turned around and spotted the human.
Grey stood there with a bleeding face, hands, and nose, clutching the shrapnel like a lifeline.
Quickly, the beast tapped the ground softly.
The earth shifted, propelling the monster toward Grey with immense velocity.
Grey held the sharp metal out in front of him, his knuckles white.
The beast unhinged its jaws, and Grey knew exactly what was coming next.
A long, undulating stream of fire erupted, heading his way quickly while the beast followed not far behind the flames.
'I only have enough mana for this one last defense,' Grey realized.
With grim determination, he began performing the intricate hand signs for his solitary wind skill.
"Aerius!" he shouted, his voice cracking with the effort.
A massive burst of wind—far more substantial than the gusts he had conjured earlier—erupted from his palms and collided with the oncoming fire, dispelling the flames entirely.
'Huh? Has my wind affinity grown stronger? But how?' he wondered in a state of brief confusion.
'I shouldn't worry about that right now; I need to focus!'
Grey wasn't mistaken in assuming his prowess had increased.
The primary criteria for leveling wind-based powers involved repeated, practical application, which he had been doing since the very commencement of the struggle.
By constantly utilizing his atmospheric abilities, his attribute had matured, granting him the potential to wield more complex techniques—provided he managed to escape this dire situation unscathed.
Immediately after extinguishing the fire, Grey saw the beast charging toward him in a direct line with immense velocity.
With few options left, he gripped the jagged shrapnel tightly, holding the makeshift weapon aloft.
The beast suddenly launched a sharp rock shard at Grey.
He reacted instinctively, using his long metal tool to bat the projectile away before stepping forward.
The wolf was now a mere foot away, its hot breath almost reaching him.
Without wasting a single second, Grey thrust the weapon into the creature's side, the impact slowing its momentum.
He then funneled a small portion of his remaining essence to trigger a minor wind pulse, propelling himself forward with a burst of unnatural speed.
In one fluid motion, he drove the sharp metal deep into the beast's eye, temporarily blinding and disorienting the predator.
The wolf began twisting its head around violently, howling as a stinging, white-hot pain radiated from its socket.
Grey retreated, standing two feet away from the thrashing monster with his hands raised one final time.
"Goodbye! Aerius!" he bellowed, pouring every last drop of mana he possessed into one final, decisive strike.
The Aerius gale created a concentrated pressure that drove the shrapnel further into the wolf's cranium.
After a brief, gruesome struggle, the jagged edge of the metal popped out through the other side of the creature's skull.
The massive wolf swayed unsteadily for a moment before collapsing with a heavy thud—and Grey, completely drained, fell right alongside it in total weariness.