Chapter 8: Ch 7: First taste of power
Alex walked through the forest. He could feel a lot of weird energies surrounding him right now. But most of these energies looked afraid of him and stepped out of his way.
Alex did not know why, but he knew that these energies belonged to the trees and animals around him. He could feel their presence very actually and it was overwhelming.
And not in a good way.
Since there were so many things Alex could feel, his brain was feeling overwhelmed and he stumbled. He tried to catch himself on a tree branch but his increased strength broke it before Alex could grab it.
Wooden splinters broke Alex’s skin and blood flowed down his hand and arm.
‘Be careful. You don’t want to die an early death, right?’
Alex ignored the goddess as he pushed himself back on his feet. He was careful to use his bleeding hand to aid him. And he was extra cautious about grabbing anything around him.
“For how long will this forest last? I am sick of looking at these trees."
Alex complained half-heartedly to distract himself from the pain of being hurt. His hand throbbed as a reminder that Alex had wooden splinters embedded in it and Alex pulled them out one by one.
Finally, after what seemed like a year, Alex walked out of the forest. But the view outside the forest was far from being splendid.
Fire ranged wherever one’s eyes fell. The city in the middle of the forest was covered in flames and they threatened to spread to the forest. Above the city, a very familiar figure floated.
Christy looked down at the unfaithful civilization with a dark look in her eyes. Her eyes looked at the civilization as if they were ants not worth her time.
Warriors tried to hit Christy and make her fall. But their magic and their weapons had no lasting effect on Christy.
“That demoness looks powerful. Are you sure I will be able to beat her?”
Alex doubted his strength for the first time. He could see how the demoness parried attacks headed her way and how her magic surged.
She was the sole spot of bright flames in the sky. Her aura could even compete with the sun that shined bright.
‘Ara, are you afraid? Don’t tell me that you do not desire to win. In that case, you will lose for sure. Both you and her have my powers. But the one who desires them more will be the winner.’
The goddess was a tease and her voice was filled with mischief. Her hands wandered all over Alex’s body and she tried to appear assuring to him.
“Oh my god, what happened to your hand? Are you alright? Come, I will help you out.”
Alex neared the city and watched as a person clad in white spotted him heading his way. The man looked shocked when he saw Alex.
“Hurry and sit down. I will treat your hand soon.”
The priest took hold of Alex’s hand and healed it. His power felt familiar, but a purer version of the goddess’s power.
Alex watched as his hand healed in a matter of seconds. The pain faded away but the lingering feeling of it hurting remained in his soul.
“Did you come across that demoness as well? A lot of people recently got hurt because of her. Are you one of her victims as well? Oh goddess, what is going on in this world.”
The priest clasped his hands and prayed to the goddess. Alex desperately wanted to tell the priest that his ‘beloved’ goddess was the reason beyond all his worries, but he knew that it would be better to hold his tongue.
Instead, Alex flexed his hand and felt how it behaved.
“Hurry and run. One of the demoness’s monsters is heading this way. We need to run away if you do not want to die.”
One of the messengers ran toward the small clearing where other injured people were gathered.
Many of the priests and volunteers ran away as soon as they heard the news. They left behind a lot of desperate people who needed help.
“Are you not going to run away? I am going to stay because there are a lot of patients here who need my help. But there is no need for you to stay here.”
The priest warned Alex and pleaded with him in the same line. He looked at Alex with pity and relief.
But Alex could not want to run away.
Or rather, he did not want to run away from this fight. This was the perfect chance to see how his powers worked. And the goddess’s presence was also encouraging him to fight.
“I cannot leave you people alone. Since you healed my injury, I will stay and fight together with you.”
Alex’s words caused a lot of people to gasp. Even the injured looked up at him in awe and regret.
But before anyone else could say anything to convince Alex to leave, the monster broke through the defense barrier and charged straight for Alex.
It was only because of the goddess’s gift that Alex was able to notice the attack in time and avoid it. The beast ignored everyone else and charged toward Alex again.
“What the hell? Why is the beast coming after only me?”
Alex asked with an annoyed voice. The beast ran toward him once more but Alex managed to avoid it again.
‘Don’t you like my gift? I made your aura special so that the beast would not be able to stay away from you. Don’t you like my gift? I thought you might appreciate it. Aren’t I so thoughtful?’
The goddess tased as her phantom swam in the air around Alex. Her form appeared translucent to Alex and it obstructed his vision.
The beast finally caught Alex at the wrong angle and ramped his head into Alex’s arm. Alex managed to bring his arm up in time to protect his face and that was how he was hit.
He pulled his arm back and waited for the pain to come. But he felt fine.
‘Your body is much tougher than you expect it to be. My blessing is nothing to scoff at. Now, try using magic. I think you know how to.’
Alex’s body took a few more impacts from the beast in front of him. But since he was tougher than before, his body did not feel much of the impact.
Concentrating on recalling any information was hard, but Alex needed to do this if he wanted to kill the monster.
‘Feel the energy and force it into a blade until it takes a solid form. Sharpen it like a blade and…’
The beast rammed its horns into Alex’s stomach. That impact hurt and Alex was winded. He tried to cough and open his windpipe and get rid of the pain.
But this impact had been enough to cause the beast to look satisfied.
‘Tsk, this annoying thing. I want it gone.’
Alex felt something brush around his palm as he counter-attacked the beast. His impact had only winded the beast a little until now, but this one felt different.
He finally managed to make the beast feel pain.
“Wow, he did it. He managed to hurt the beast.”
“Who is this man? Why is he so powerful? Is he here to help us?”
People around Alex were cautious, yet hopeful. They had no one to protect them other than Alex.
The beast looked back at Alex with a cautious expression on its face. It seemed intelligent enough to notice the energy that surrounded Alex. It was also aware that it had gotten hurt because of that energy.
So, the next time the beast felt Alex charge up his energy, it attacked. It was not allowing Alex to gather his thoughts and recall his memory.
Alex was getting frustrated with getting interrupted again and again. Alex almost managed to shape the shards of energy into a blade when the beast attacked Alex again.
But this time, Alex did not go down passively. He endured the attack and rammed his hand into the beast’s head.
“Just let me concentrate in peace. What are you afraid of? Death?”
Alex asked as his hand made a dent in the monster’s skull. Shards of energy broke the skin and the beast cried out in pain and finally took a step back.
‘Now, gather the energy and attack.’
Alex gathered the broken shards of his hand and attacked the beast. His sword was still not solid but the goddess’s magic and blessing made it much tougher.
The beast tried to resist the attack by reinforcing its body but its power was of the same kind as Alex had. The two powers did not resist each other and Alex was able to kill the beast.
‘Finally, I won.’
For the first time in his life, Alex had managed to win a fight against someone more powerful than him.
He knew he should have felt satisfied but instead, Alex felt hungry for more power. The small taste of thrill had not been enough. It had only given Alex a taste of what he carved for.
‘So, this is how having power feels like? It was so wonderful. I want more of this power. I want this power. This is wonderful.'
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone