136 The Most Likely Path V — Ambrosya

The collective gleam of the eyes of an army of undead puppets dyed the room a deep crimson. Sweat dripped down my brow.

I had to do something significant in the next second. Otherwise, the army of high-ranking puppets would signify our demise. I had seen it all through my [ Foresight ].

Thus, with Hyperfocus, the world around me grew even slower. My mind worked at a pace greater than any living being beneath S rank.

My eyes gleamed a beautiful golden shade as Aventine shone with a flash of similar brilliance. Constellations danced within my irises as I drained a significant of mana out of my body.

I dove into the world of reflections through my own dagger.

Then, in an instant, I sprung out once more. My body emerged out of Vlønn's eyes. His gaze which had once reflected me from a distance now did so up close.

His height of nine feet was no longer his advantage as I unsummoned Aventine from where I left him and summoned him back into my hand. Then, with a simple mana-enhanced stab as taught by the [ Rushing Shadow Art ], I pushed Aventine straight into Vlønn's dilated iris.

It was pinpoint precision, and a howl of suffering swiftly came ringing into my ears.

Vlønn grabbed me with both of his hands, but before he could fully wrench me off his face, I pulled Aventine out and stole the remaining half of his vision.

"GRAAAAAAAH!"

I was then flung into the army of puppets. My back smashed into a body of solid white bone and I felt the gaze of at least a hundred undead land upon my frail form.

My vision blurred.

I had seen this scene of the future, but it was a sacrifice I had been willing to make.

"Now!" I roared.

Another volley of attacks rained upon the monstrous blacksmith, with each one more lethal than the last. Wounds littered his body, and he was left practically mangled.

And yet,

It was at this moment that the army of puppets made their move.

My vision was bombarded with images of my death. I would be mauled by a dozen bony fists, all created by beings of a much higher calibre than myself. My body was like jelly before such forces.

I was blasted into smithereens!

'It isn't enough!' I cursed. Even if the blacksmith perished to Camellia's and Rose's attacks, his army would complete his final wishes.

Thus, I hurriedly dove into the mirror world once more. This time, when I emerged, it wasn't from Vlønn's eyes. His eyes had already been sliced apart, after all.

Instead, I appeared through the eyes of my own living reflection. He, who was aware of our insufficient forces after initial observation, had rushed forward with Han.

[ Explosion (Conical) ].

I aimed my spell at a shimmering blue gem on Vlønn's workbench. The mana that flowed out of it was palpable, making my heart tighten. But that would soon end.

I designed the control device myself. As per the rules of mana, it had certain weaknesses that became apparent after connecting to so many puppets.

It was practically overflowing. Any small prodding would shatter its thin shell.

Thus,

Boom—!

The blast swallowed it whole, and I heard an audible crack despite the explosion.

A powerful outflow of mana suddenly burst forth. The flames created by my spell were forcefully dissipated. I was launched back once more, straight into my own living reflection, Han, and the rest of the group.

We were all slammed into bone puppet after bone puppet until we were finally stopped by a solid stone wall. My entire body shook from the force, and perhaps a rib of mine had fractured.

Victory, however, had gone to us, the wiser.

Vlønn's mangled body had been torn to pieces, with body parts scattered across the walls. The immense wave of mana had thoroughly ended his life then and there.

It was a satisfying achievement to defeat a monster such as him.

And so I stumbled back onto my feet. I ignored the groans of my companions behind me and limped toward the reward for this room.

The [ Starlight Anvil ].

With this, a lot of enchantment avenues had now opened up to me. Should I implement Plan: Star-Destroyer-Inspired City? Or perhaps dabble in self-mending items?

'These plans need better names now that they might come to light...' I thought to myself as I admired the brilliance of the item before me.

Although I was in no state to drag around a heavy anvil throughout the tower, I could leave my companions here to guard it while I retrieved the final item needed to escape. I could easily return, after all.

I only had to worry about the presence of other races. Without the Equalizer Card, annihilation would be knocking on the doors of their lives.

I couldn't simply leave them behind.

Unless...

I looked around the room. This was a blacksmith's abode, and because of that, a lot of items were scattered about.

A lot of the more fragile, more important ones had been more or less damaged by the wave of mana, but it wouldn't be a problem. At least in theory.

As I picked up the nearest item to me—an armguard—I remembered that the enchantments that Vlønn had forged required the process of actual smithing.

My type of enchantment was engraving, which was only made possible by the unique properties of the Mana Core and other mana-based items. Engraving, when it came to objects that were not made out of mana or were not the physical body itself, had a more... tedious requirement.

Long story short, I lacked expertise. The knowledge that I had chosen to collect was rendered insufficient.

Thus, I pursed my lips and looked around, browsing my own memories for any items that I had specifically placed in Vlønn's workshop.