Chapter 45: I Win
The glass platform shattered as Andrew went plummeting to the depth of endless abyss.
But he didn't let panic overtake him as he swiftly released his mana sense.
Instantly, over 25 meters in spherical radius was covered with mana sense as it had radiant dark runes in it.
At the same moment, particular runes brightly lit up as vibrations spread in the air.
Andrew couldn't estimate where the bottom of the abyss was even with his inhuman eyesight.
He swiftly executed a particular sequence of runes as air around him started to solidify.
Yet, it wasn't nearly enough to hold over a hundred kilograms of bodyweight that Andrew had. Of course, those extra kilos were caused by nothing but the insane muscle density of a mage.
Andrew kept trying to make a proper foothold out of thin air, but he failed again and again due to his inexperience in such usage of runes.
Unfortunately, he had learned no flying or even floating spells as he solely dedicated his time to polishing his rune-making skills.
He knew that his time was running short...
Suddenly!
He created a parachute out of runes as they attained suitable properties to slow down his free fall.
Then, Andrew ceaselessly attempted to execute a proper sequence of runes so the air below his feet would solidify.
He kept meeting failure after failure as the air below him wasn't dense enough to hold his bodyweight.
If he only knew the distance between him and the surface, he would consider releasing all of his mana downwards in a straight line, forming a pillar for him to stand on. Yet, the uncertainty of distance and the tricky situation itself left him no room for such thoughts.
He even suspected that the abyss was bottomless and he was trapped in a circular space that had no beginning nor end.
'It will be just a waste of time and mana' he concluded as he slowly got the hang of the process after hundreds of tries.
'It's pointless to create an air platform since my proficiency with spells and arrays is far too low to achieve it. Instead, I need to create a mechanism that pushes me up at the right moment so I don't descend further. It's like creating an engine that doesn't let me fall out of a particular range of altitude' Andrew finally came up with a solid plan.
He didn't immediately succeed as he had to adjust the intensity and timing of energy bursts in order to keep him locked in a particular range.
'Finally!' he exclaimed in his mind as a smile crept upon his face.
The moment he descended for a meter, the complex sequence of runes acted as they pushed him upwards. The cycle continued as there was a time window of half a second between ascending and descending.
It gave more than enough time for combusting energy to gather under his feet and propel him upwards. Moreover, the mental strain on his brain was way less since the soul core constantly sent out pulses of refined mental energy to keep Andrew refreshed and let him maintain his peak state.
Andrew stood there as he went upwards and downwards. He spent more than half an hour in this position.
'Is she testing the limits of the array or my limits?' Andrew wondered as he pointlessly levitated there.
"Not bad" a chilling voice resounded once again as Andrew sensed imminent danger behind his back.
Without turning back, he created a revolving mana barrier and shot 20 meters to the side.
Andrew expected something to go amiss and made sure to make his levitating mechanism move in any direction.
Hundreds of spears made out of pure ice shot past him. They were entirely white and looked magnificent under the glow of original mana runes.
Andrew understood that those things were extremely sharp once they entered his mana sense. Moreover, he felt like those icicles were laced with poison-like substance since his instincts and data from his mana sense screamed for him to dodge at all costs as a small scratch would be enough to put him down.
The icicles disappeared into the far distance as they succumbed to endless darkness.
Andrew didn't relax as he kept reinforcing the revolving mana barrier. It acted like a chainsaw that shredded everything into nothingness.
As expected, the second wave of icicles barreled towards him as their number seemed to double.
Suddenly!
The giant stream of icicles split apart into tens of parts as they aimed to bamboozle Andrew from different directions.
The different streams kept splitting apart until Andrew's point of view was entirely covered by white radiance. They formed a spherical prison around him!
Instead of waiting for a seemingly unavoidable clash, Andrew shot off in a random direction as the sphere transformed into a sharp lance aiming to pierce its way through equally sharp icicles.
The ice spears didn't wait for the clash to happen as they shot towards the barrier.
Instead of piercing his way through, Andrew employed a completely different tactic. The lance gained drill-like properties as it yeeted all the icicles away from its way.
The ice spears in front of the drill showed great resistance as they slammed against the barrier to stall it so the other icicles behind the drill could effortlessly pierce it.
Yet, it was all for naught as powerful shockwaves were generated the moment the icicles were about to touch the spinning mana barrier.
But the situation for Andrew didn't improve even though it may seem like he was winning.
Large amounts of mental energies were being drained from him as his already snow-like skin, turned even paler. It took crazy, I repeat, CRAZY amount of concentration and mental fortitude to erect all those defenses against the oppressing ice spears.
Andrew was slowly approaching his limit as the depletion of mental energies far outweighed the replenishment that the soul core did its best to provide.
Andrew's senses started to dull even though his mana sense was fully unruffled. The data that mana sense provided was too much and fast for Andrew's mind to properly process
Suddenly!
Andrew broke out from the ice prison as previously small bursts of energy under his feet turned into full blown rockers!
He was flying!
Albeit uncontrollably...
He couldn't even control the trajectory anymore as his brain was being overloaded. He failed to properly control the mana around him even with over 5 times the Phase Power of Initial Apprentice Mage.
But it wasn't over...
'I will not give up' it wasn't a promise nor it was a warcry, it was a fact!
Andrew stopped mid-air as he employed the previous levitating mechanism. He kept falling deeper as he couldn't propel himself upwards much.
He once again reinforced the sphere as he had only one bet left.
Yes! A bet! An absolute uncertainty in the situation of life and death! There was no way out of the situation, even pleading for his life to Lilian wouldn't help. He had only one choice and one chance!
A bet...what a fool...yet, sometimes you need that foolishness to come out on top.
The icicles formed a spherical prison, once again trapping Andrew in its center. The icicles randomly thrust themself towards Andrew, as it could be clearly seen that it was physiological warfare. They wanted Andrew to doubt himself...his decisions.
It went on for several minutes...
Suddenly!
The icicles simultaneously shot towards Andrew with insane speed!
The icicles finally took the bait!
Andrew made a weak smile as he said:
"I win"
[BOOM!]
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