Chapter 121: Overload: Obsession 2/4
Chapter 121: Overload: Obsession 2/4
Chapter 121: Overload: Obsession 2/4
Astrid dodged a sudden attack from a leaping Femora. As the monster missed its intended target, the golden haired young woman ripped out its eyes from its skull.
With a shower of blood, she shot through the air and hurtled toward her next target.
Four hours had passed already, and she had massacred around fifty, but Astrid was sure it was more than that. She just stopped counting after a while.
Surprisingly, they were the only monsters in the area. The dense jungle made it their perfect hunting ground, so she guessed that this was their domain. Their sense of companionship was also something she had to applaud, once she killed one–they all chased her as if they had injected drugs into their veins.
Well, it made her life a lot easier as the experience she was gaining was rapid. She had already gained two levels from the slaughter, but there was still no sight of her friends.
This dungeon was obviously a lot bigger than she had originally thought.
Stopping for a moment, she encased the tree in hard metal, then took a breather as she gazed at the System messages.
You have defeated - Strengthened Femora - level 98
You have defeated - Strengthened Femora - level 105
You have defeated - Strengthened Femora - level 112
…
You have levelled up!
Psychokinetic level 90 -> Psychokinetic level 91
Voidmare level 90 -> Voidmare level 91
Gained 10 stat points.
You now have 234 wisdom.
Skill level up!
Void Graviton level 3 -> Void Graviton level 4
Eye of the Void level 3 -> Eye of the Void level 4
Void Storage level 2 -> Void Storage level 3
[ Stage 2 ] Major Image level 15 -> Major Image level 16
[ Stage 2 ] Mind domination level 15 -> Mind Domination level 16
[ Stage 2 ] Weightless Levitation level 13 -> Weightless Levitation level 14
[ Stage 2 ] Mind Armour level 17 -> Mind Armour level 18
[ Stage 3 ] Mind Barrier level 1 -> Mind Barrier level 2
[ Stage 2 ] Crash level 19 -> Crash level 20 [ Max ]
[ Stage 2 ] Psych Warp level 10 -> Psych Warp level 11
[ Stage 2 ] Psych Domain level 14 -> Psych Domain level 15
[ Stage 2 ] Psychic’s Power level 14 -> Psychic’s Power level 15
[ Stage 2 ] Psychokinesis level 3 -> Psychokinesis level 4
[ Stage 2 ] Anti-Disabling Field level 6 -> Anti-Disabling Field level 7
[ Stage 2 ] Mental Redirection level 10 -> Mental Redirection level 11
[ Stage 2 ] Illusion detection level 2 -> Illusion detection level 3
Experience gained!
Crash has reached maxed level for [ Stage 2 ]
Requirements met for Crash [ Stage 3 ]
Evolving Crash to [ Stage 3 ]
Active Skill - Crash: Violently trigger your psychic mana to deal massive damage. Using Dark Matter Sight, you can now create extra attacks.
| [ Stage 2 ]: Extra damage. Lesser mana consumption.
| [ Stage 3 ]: You are more in tune with the destructive properties of matter. Any created technique made of [Crash] has its damage increased and mana usage lowered even further.
With the notifications grinding to a stop with the [Crash] evolution, she rushed out of the tree as a femora was passing by.
Astrid immediately connected to the matter within the air around its body then [Crashed] it with the same amount of mana she would normally use.
The strengthened body of the monster was completely obliterated into a bloody mist. Although the femora was on the weaker side, the extra strength was nice to see. But it was the lower mana cost that made her giddy in excitement.
Especially with how many monsters there were around this place. Astrid was already forced to use some of her precious mana potions as they constantly swarmed her like harvest insects.
Having recovered some of her mana, she was ready to travel once more. But the moment she was about to set off, a streak of matter pierced towards her like a phantom assassin.
Already having her armour set up, and Mind Barrier at the ready, she willed a wall of metal to form in front of her with Psych Warp.
The wall didn’t last a second as it was chopped entirely in half. The sight of the monster came into view as the metal slab fell to the ground.
It was a Femora, but far larger than its brethren. It was triple the size, and large branched horns had sprouted from the top of its head like antlers–although they were razor-sharp, unlike the more mundane deer. Its muscles were also like bundled steel-wire. They contracted as the monster flew towards her unimpeded.
Astrid blasted the air with a high powered [Crash], but the monster’s high speed managed to get in-front of it just in time. However, the residual blast caught its lagging leg, but surprisingly, the hit hadn’t caused a lot of damage as the monster tore at Astrid with its scythe-like arm.
Astrid altered the matter within her body and spared no mana as she did so. She ducked down, under the blade as the evolved femora’s scythe swiped through the air, and into the tree behind her. The forward momentum of the monster worked against it as it crashed into Astrid’s Mind Barrier.
Her Stage 3 Mind Barrier caused a portion of the damage to return to its body as the beast’s eyes winced a little.
Before the monster could attack again, Astrid smashed her shoulder against the femora in an attempt to create some distance from the murder machine. It sent the monster a few steps back, but Astrid didn’t dare stop there.
She quickly sent out multiple illusionary doppelgangers out from her body, then leapt up into the air.
The evolved femora jumped back, squatted, then leapt toward a thick tree trunk at a speed Astrid could only barely track with her eyes. It slammed against the tree, but with its spring loaded legs, it negated all of the impact and used it to further increase the power in its legs.
Astrid rotated her illusions and mixed up her positioning in an attempt to confuse the monster. Then, she spread a handful of created Voidbent needles all around the floor to lay a trap. She didn’t bother hiding them, but instead used it as another threat.
As if she was playing chess.
After creating her battlefield, Astrid [Crashed] the matter located at the monster's skull to stop it from completely loading up its movement. The [Crash] battered the femora’s hardened exoskeleton, causing it to moan in pain.
The monster screeched and leapt before it had fully locked its powerful legs back. It blasted toward her like an artillery shell and thankfully, it tore into one of her illusions before landing on another tree trunk.
Astrid immediately blasted the monster with another [Crash], halting it from gaining a majority of its power. The explosion blew up the tree, causing it to slam to the ground. Leaves and dirt were tossed into the air from the heavy tree.
She steered away from the idea of using Mind Domain. Having her body unguarded in the middle of this death zone was suicide.
Glancing at the missing tree, an idea formed within her mind–a plan.
Creating more illusions, and multiple layers of Mind Barrier, Astrid started [Crashing] the matter just behind the femora. She focused on destroying the trees.
The monster would attempt to gain power in its leg every time, but Astrid’s range and power meant that it didn't have time to use its advantageous surroundings. But that wasn’t all. Every time the monster landed, it lost a tree.
Soon, most of the trees in the area were wiped out from Astrid’s psychic attacks.
Astrid grinned as the monster looked around, only for a [Crash] to rock its body. It was sent tumbling. Blood seeped from the cracks in its durable exoskeleton. It bore its fangs. It was then that Astrid felt a power well up inside the monster. It was mana, but it was unusual.
It was difficult to describe, but it felt almost… primal in nature. Uncontrolled. Beastly. Whatever it was, it felt dangerous.
She heard a crunching noise from the beast's legs as it crouched into a squatting position.
Astrid immediately connected to the matter within the air, but the femora cocked its legs instantly, then leapt forward.
Her eyes widened at the speed. The femora was but a blur within her vision as it streaked toward her illusion, severing it in two with its deadly scythe arms as it passed by.
It had obviously already calculated its trajectory as it was heading for another tree in the distance. Astrid attempted to connect to the tree, but it was just barely out of range.
Does it know my range? Astrid had a sinking feeling as it took only a couple seconds for the femora to load up its spring-like legs once more and sprung toward her like a bullet.
Once again, it tore through another one of her illusions with one swipe and landed just out of range of her attacks.
It leapt at her again. But Astrid refused to stay still, she surged the matter within her body and dodged to the side.
As the femora was going to pass by, its mana suddenly surged. It twisted its body in mid-air. Then, it created a translucent barrier around its foot, and cocked its leg in one swift motion.
Astrid could hear the crack as it smashed the barrier and hurtled toward her. She instinctively raised her arms as she had no time to dodge.
The monster’s scythe cleaved through all her barriers, its attack slowed, but it wasn’t enough. The blade met her Mind Armour as the attack was slowed even further, then it sliced through her flesh like cutting through butter.
Astrid felt no pain, only a hotness from the blood spilling onto her skin, and clothes.
As the scythe struck her Voidbent metal forged bones, purple, and orange sparks flew in the air from the impact. With the monster stopped, Astrid wouldn’t let the opportunity go to waste.
Ignoring the pain, she amassed the matter within the air around its legs and [Crashed] it. With a devastating explosion, Astrid, and the monster were flung into the distance.
Without looking, her mana reconnected into the needles that she had left lying within the jungle leaves. She fired them into the femora’s body as it screeched in pain.
Astrid controlled the matter within her body and immediately destroyed the surrounding trees. [Crash] after [Crash].
The monster stood panting. Blood seeped from its face, and the cracks within its exoskeleton. It must have suffered quite a lot of damage from destroying all three of her Mind Barriers. Then there were the impacts from the multiple [Crashes], and the needles that were still embedded in its flesh.
It let out a primal screech and leapt straight for her.
Astrid grinned as the needles within its body returned within her range of control. With a twitch of her mind, the needles pierced its heart all at once.
Stepping to the side, the monster slammed into the ground and left a trail in its wake as it passed by Astrid.
Walking up to the monster, she pulled out its eyes and happiness welled up within her when her bonus attack activated from the ring. With a pop, it’s skull opened up
Get somewhere safe, then open the System messages. Astrid reminded herself.
Pain wrecked her body and mind. Blood dripped down as she finally spared the energy to stop the stream of red. Despite her wounds throbbing, the euphoric sensation of winning a hard fought battle filled her with excitement.
You have defeated - Femora Prince - level 128
That means, it’s not the strongest femora within this area. Astrid rubbed her hands in anticipation.
But first, some levelling was in order. A lot of it.