The Mysterious Black Magician

This thing! Yman picked one of the Iceweeds Cold-Reliever. He pinched to discard the ice. With his strength, it turned into powder in no time. He then blew to get rid of it.

Staring at the bare weed on his palm, he narrowed his eyes then used his channeling ability onto it. Yman was surprised at the result. A fluctuation of mana emitted on his hand.

A cursor was summoned on the tip of his finger. Unhurriedly, he pointed it on the weed. Without a lag, a screen section with twelve inches height and 6 inches width appeared in the air in front of his face.

What written on it was a list of data concerning the weed:

[Weed Lunaria]

•Magical weed.

•Rich in mana.

•Grow in places with direct moonlight and in places with an abundance of mana.

•For medicine purposes.

...

Such information was listed in it together with the other related data.

"Looks like this is not a simple weed, but a magical weed. And the reason why this weed coated by ice is the ice was trying to absorb mana from it. For this weed to grow here, this place might be rich in mana, and that mana source was no other than the ice itself. The weed and ice are seemingly in a 'give and take' relationship or 'friends with benefit' or something like that, but in a weird way," Yman muttered in surprise.

<An ice? Then it probably made by a strong magician, because there had no way ice would appear here from out of nowhere.> Sistela stated.

"Mhm..."

He agreed to Sistela, There was no way a massive amount of ice would appear here. In the first place, it was weird that this ice did not melt. Could it be the caster was... behind this wall too?

He was taken aback at this thought.

Thinking about it, when he first saw the camouflage cloth on the hole, he had a suspicion that something was amiss in this place.

"Regardless, it's difficult for us to lift this wall," Yman said in dismay.

<How about breaking it?>

He glanced at his comrades. Most of them were breathing heavily, yet the number of monsters did not decrease. They keep on coming from who knows where.

"Hmm, looking at it is, I think no one can do it at the current state. This wall is not ordinary. Rather than that, everyone is exhausted."

<....> Sistela fell silent.

Yman squinted his eyes around him as he fell into thinking...

Could it be a preset trap? To trap someone who was trying to come here. Whoever did this must be hiding something behind this wall. Or he/she itself must be hiding behind this wall.

The place and the ice were rather suspicious to him.

How come a thing that materialized through mana able to absorb another mana? It was as if — the same as my channeling ability. Eh? Right! Why I just realized it. Damn it!

Yman thought with a grin.

<Partner, I think it is better to help your companions instead. Look, more monsters are coming. And there are few Wanderer class as well!> Sistela worriedly told him.

Yman made a quick glance at the back and saw the unfavorable situation. Almina and the rest had received bruises. Their bodies were covered by blood from the monsters and a little of their own.

He felt a little regret for bringing them here together with him. Never did he imagine that the situation would become as dangerous as this.

He shook his head slightly to get rid of the unnecessary thoughts for his current situation. No matter what happened he must do his part.

He bit his lips and focused his mind. If ever he failed on it, he would activate his Black Mana and force his way for them to escape this place, even if there was 20 or 10% or lesser chance of escaping alive.

<Partner, what are you...> Sistela wanted to ask him, but when she noticed his concentration she quietened.

"Let me try something first," he said.

<Hmm, okay.>

He tapped the wall without using Sistela's mana. Yman's brows twitched because of the coldness of the wall. The cold was biting him and his hand immediately turned numb.

However, he had to endure.

A moment later, he activates his channeling talent. His hand immediately glowed. As long as he had direct contact on the mana, Yman believed he could modify it using his channeling ability.

<Eh?> Sistela was surprised to see his partner's hands were deliberately glowing.

|I was right!| He exclaimed in his mind. It was his first time doing it to the mana owned by someone else beside him and Sistela. It seemed his channeling talent could actually be activated as long as he had a contact on it. 

He was able to connect to the flow of mana on the wall. The coldness that he felt a while ago had finally eased.

Before getting drowned to his excitement, the next step he must do is to alter the construction of magic.

However, something unexpected happened.

His hands further glowed in a more blinding brilliance of silver.

Almina and the rest felt a strong fluctuation of mana behind them. They sneak a glance and gape at what their eyes were seeing. Yman's hands were enveloped by blinding brilliance.

Yman struggled to maintain his bearings. The massive surge of mana was trying to devour him. 

Tsk, it was trying to go against my will. Whoever was controlling this magic... must be a renown magician!

He shouted in his mind.

<Partner, this is bad! A massive amount of mana trying to invade!> Sistela's warned.

"Is it affecting the resonance?!"

<No, but it will going to destroy your body if nothing is done!>

"Tsk," He clicked his tongue while trying to brawl the unrestrained mana.

Damn it, stupid brain! Think, think think...

Yman curses and chants the words repeatedly.

"Ymaaaan!!"

Darn, now I started to hear Almina's voice calling my name. Or was it just my hallucination?

The unrestrained mana crawled to his shoulder. Then it started to appear on his feet and climbed to his legs.

<Partner, release it! If this keeps going on, you will lose your life!>

Yet, he didn't let go of it.

Because even if he let loose on it, there's still a little chance of them surviving.

The unrestrained mana climbed to his neck. Yman's vision started to get tipsy. 

"Yman let go of it!" 

For some reason, he heard Almina's worried voice again.

"Hmph, that idiot!"

Ironically, he also heard the snort from a certain blonde.

<P-Part-Partner...i-its trying to i-invade the System!> Systela's voice turned like a broken machine.

He heard hasty stepping sounds behind him.

Could it be Almina? He thought while thinking that Almina's concern towards him was a good motivation.

Yman shook his head to get rid of the dizziness he was feeling.

Suddenly, 

Yman felt a soft sensation hugging onto his back.

He was surprised and a little happy that someone wanted to embrace him out of worry. His mouth extended into a smile. He slowly glanced behind but he already expected who it was.

Who else could it be if not Almina?

Yman glanced to his back to see her worried pretty, beautiful, charming, lovely, and attractive face.

But what greeted him made him freeze on the spot. It wasn't the expected pretty, beautiful, charming etcetera...

It was an ugly, grotesque, hideous, and poisonous creature instead!

Yman's eyes become dead as the dead fish. His face becomes blank. Spinning flowers in the background recently turned into a nightmarish Castlevania.

The kissable rosy lips he expected to see when he turned around had become two frontliner-teeth. Her supposed to be a beautiful soft face had turned into a pointed dark blueish face and with some whiskers protruding onto it.

For some reason, in his mind, he heard the Evil Rat saying, "Are you lost, baby boy?".

Damn it, I'm so dead! He exclaimed inwardly.

It was followed by two frontliner-teeth bore on his shoulder.

"Ugh!" A deep inarticulate sound escaped from his mouth.

-43 hp

He saw a certain number of his health points departed from his health bar.

Those numbers were the equivalent of the pain plus the blood loss he suffered after he was bitten. And also the monster's poison ailment took a minimal effect on him which subtracted little health points on him per second.

But these numbers were just there to measure or calculate the damage on his body.

Yman immediately used his healing ability. He didn't even notice that at the moment he was using the mana he was channeling to activate his heal spell.

However, the clingy Evil Rat bit him again, then again he shouted 'heal'.

Almina and the others did not notice as they were facing one of the Wanderer Class monsters together with lowly mobs.

Yman and the clingy Evil Rat repeated a bit and healed.

A moment later, he noticed that the wild mana that was trying to devour him was retreating every time he used his healing spell.

Who would have thought that I just need to spend it to calm it down.

A smirk happened on his face. Then he let the rat bit him and used his healing spell after the bit.

His problem was the ticklish feeling of being poisoned. But he knew, he won't die by it. The pain from being bitten was endurable somehow. After all, he had a high pain tolerance.

Someone like him who survived for long torture from the facility, this kind of pain he was suffering at the moment was insignificant compared to that day.

Yman focused once again.

He needed to modify the magic structure of this so-called ice.

Since ice is a solidified water, he could modify it back into a liquid or break it by turning it into dust.

Once again, he pointed his hands on the wall. Then he closed his eyes. Trying to process the information on how ice was formed and the ending it might become.

In order to get rid of the ice that was blocking on the other side of the wall, Yman opened his eyes once again and spoke of the modified version or the outcome of ice that he chose.

"Crumble!" He spoke the word a little louder than a whisper while simultaneously gripping his hands like he was crushing something in it.

They unexpectedly felt vibrations coming from the other side. The wall trembled and so the ground.

Ironically, the frenzied monster returned to normal. They hastily scurried away to escape, like they were scared of something.

Almina and the others were startled by it. They glanced at the back to where Yman was.

They saw the wall in front of him shook slightly and fell.

He grinned at his new ability. His belief turned to be right, he could use his channeling talent to someone else mana. It also means he could modify their magic!