'This is slow as hell.'
Jane was muttering thankful phrases under his breath while his food cooled down. Something about gratitude and asking for forgiveness.
'I don't think most mages do this.'
[We aren't magicians or mages. We are believers.]
After waiting for far too long, Jane started ripping into his meal.
'And what do I have to do with that belief?'
[Suspicious mana. Already enough to warrant targeting. Have some decorum, will you?]
'I think it's a little late for that.'
He had seduced the shopkeeper to get this food, so he needed to run off right after he ate. Using Vanessa's memories made the process quite easy, but it was a little strange that she cared more about etiquette than her dignity. Not that Jane would know, since he had neither.
[He's coming. We need to leave.]
Jane didn't object. The shopkeeper was approaching from behind, with an expectant gaze that ran over Jane's entire body. The latter weakened the 'Illusion', then ran out the door.
"The food was good, horny bastard!"
---
Immediately after leaving, Jane dispelled the illusion. He deactivated the locket, as well. In preparation for what would soon come, he poured half of his mana into physical reinforcement.
'Huh. I have a lot more mana now.'
[The total amount of mana I have has been added on to yours.]
Dying could be oddly convenient, at times. Jane, now looking like an exhibitionist, began running. He reached the gate in no time, and bowled over an armored guard who tried to stop him. On the bridge, his bare feet knocked against the wooden floor as they propelled him forwards. The moment he landed on the dirt road—
'I've been found.'
A high-speed particle slammed straight into him, shattering his bones and blending his organs together. The force of the impact knocked him all the way past the moat, and he ended up forming a crater in the grandiose wall.
'What a pain...'
[It has nothing to do with appearances, this time.]
Jane reactivated the locket for a second, scampering out of the hole in the wall to heal his wounds. Around him, several more particles turned the thick stone to smithereens. Jane focused on the area where the spells were coming from.
'371 merds, safe.'
Immediately after deactivating the locket, he cast 'Cross Distance' in the direction of his sight, and with a distance of 371 merds, leaving him in an empty field. All around him, he formed a barrier of negated 'Force' runes. However, they barely did anything to stop the barrage of tiny particles that once again sent him flying. As he crashed through trees, he remained focused on the origin of the spells.
[Won't be too far, now. 112 merds.]
Jane initiated another teleport, choosing not to heal himself this time. Once he arrived at his new location, he protected the right side of his body with negated 'Metal' runes, and the left side with negated 'Rock' runes. The next salvo of particles struck only one part of his body intensely, sending him into a spin.
'I need to wrap this up quickly. 79 merds.'
He teleported closer to the target, and protected his entire body with negated 'Rock' runes. Sensing that the end was near, he strengthened his legs and ran directly for his target.
[It's a trap!]
Several crescents of impossibly sharp metal rang out, slicing Jane's body into chunks. The sheer speed of them made it impossible for him to react. However...
'Since when did I need that heavy thing, anyways?'
Jane let go of the reinforcement on his body, and focused it all on his neck and up. Then, he began propelling himself forwards using 'Force' runes. Around a third of his current mana was being used to sustain and protect his head, so pretty much nothing would be able to instantly kill him.
[Remember.]
He cast a negated 'Teleport' rune inside his head, just in case. Then, he flew around, dodging the relatively weaker attacks that came his way. This was a battle of attrition. Jane, with his increased pool of mana, would be able to regenerate faster than most opponents, and his use of it was more efficient now.
'What a terrible joke...'
In the sky above them, he began casting hundreds upon hundreds of 'Water' and 'Lightning' runes. Then, he wrapped them all in a single 'Project'.
Where he aimed the water cannon, an entire region of the forest would be flattened. It wasn't too hard of an attack to defend against, but Jane was counting on something else.
[Where is it, now?]
The devastation spread outwards, replacing a large portion of the forest with a barren array of tree stumps. However, even after destroying it to that degree, Jane still couldn't find what he was looking for. He waited for one second, two seconds...
"Found you."
And spread his mana out. All this time, his opponent was close. They had been sneaking up on him, who made no efforts to conceal himself. As soon as he figured out his location, he released his concealed 'Cross Distance' magic in that direction.
"Gh... Uggh..."
His aim wasn't perfect, but a decent portion of his opponent's brain had been erased from existence. The unidentifiable figure quickly lost control of their concealment, and their body fell to the ground. Jane, meanwhile, had already gone to pick up the bodyparts he left behind. He was still just a head right now.
'So much work...'
Jane reactivated the locket, then teleported both himself and the dying flesh to a safe place. Then, he got to work on stitching himself back together.
[That person was weak.]
'I know.'
The blade of ice sliced through wound after wound, leaving smooth and unblemished skin behind.
[I'm not going to complain, though. That is one opponent down. How many are left to go, again?]
Jane chuckled a little while cutting himself apart. He needed to finish repairs quickly, before more enemy mages showed up.
'By the way, why exactly did you hunt down mages with high mana?'
[I told you not to look.]
'That's why I'm asking.'
[Not bad. I'll explain the most basic things, then.]