"Hehe!" he let out a small laugh. Afterward, the man took out a thin bottle with some kind of blue liquid inside. I could hear a small 'pop' as he removed the cork from the small container along with the gulping as he drank its contents.

Then the wound on his chest began to heal under a green light. Once I saw that I pulled back. "Damn you boy!" The man said angrily. "Making me resort to using such a thing. Just who the hell are you?"

There was a change in the air. His mana became so pure and abundant. But his face twisted in agony as if he was in pain. "What did you do?" I asked but he didn't respond.

'He took a drug that enhances the purity of his mana. This comes at a cost. A person cannot handle the stress of this kind of power. So if he uses his abilities for too long, under the drug's effect, his body will get destroyed,' Amarok said.

"So I just need to hold out until he can no longer fight," I said.

'That is possible, but I don't recommend it.' He said. 'While he can die over time that route takes far too much time, since he is a demon he'll last far longer, you might tire yourself out and he'll take you down.'

"So what do you think I should do?" I asked. "I doubt he'll let me go now."

'fight,' He answered. 'Fight with all your strength and win.'

"What if it's not enough?" I said, disheartened and unsure of my ability to win.

'Then go past your limits and make it enough,' Hearing his words I, for some odd reason, felt the courage to succeed.

"Fine! Here I go!" I once again charged up my lightning and charged at him.

Before I could even get close to him, I slammed into a conjured wall. And then a stone pillar hit me on the side pushing me back some distance. 'It would be in your best interest to ignite the runes on your back,' said Amarok.

"Don't need to tell me twice," I grumbled in pain as the runes on my back emitted a faint glow with a brief hum. Turning my head up, I took in the sight before me which left me speechless. My eyes widened in awe, and my jaw dropped as I witnessed the incredible spectacle. The entire cave came alive, its walls pulsating and shifting in harmony with the mage's will. I couldn't help but feel a shiver run down my spine, and an instinctual fear took hold of me, causing me to cower back in awe-struck terror.

But despite my trembling, I summoned all my courage and determination, mustered up my inner strength, and pushed through my overwhelming fears. I rose to my feet and charged forward. As I made my way forward, I sensed a cluster of mana gathering in my path. Its raging waves pulsating against my senses as if warning me about the impending attack.

And so, I came to an immediate stop. My eyes widened slightly as right before me was a stone wall that erupted from the ground. If I hadn't stopped I would've run straight into it, causing me some serious damage. Quickly moving past it I continued moving but instantly came to a stop once again before another wall and then another.

Taking a brief pause in my step to assess the situation, I sensed a gathering of mana particles below my feet, a range too wide for me to get out. Taking the only option available, I jumped in the air as high as I could, following close behind were stone spikes that shot out of the ground.

Above me! I realized as my senses skyrocketed. Too late. I thought, readying myself for the impact. Above me was a thick surface of stone that I crashed into, stopping my getaway and causing me to fall back down into the incoming spikes.

Raising my hands, I began to mess with the particles of mana that allowed the stone to take form and threw them off balance. Within the next moment, the spikes stopped moving before cracking and crumbling to dust, allowing me a safe landing.

Immediately after, I moved my head to dodge a stone pillar that came from behind me. Then I took a step back to dodge another. Again, two more aimed at me from both sides, I jumped and with my hands, I pushed myself off one of the pillars. As I landed, however, my senses became overwhelmed by the multitude of attacks that came crashing down on me.

Dodge after dodge, I knew as well as I sensed that I would soon be struck. And so I did, the pillar hitting my leg causing me to stumble and be hit on my back by another. Stumbling forward, I raised my hand in an attempt to dismantle his spell but got hit head-on by another. Soon enough I was being tossed around from all sides and with all the constant movement I never got the chance to dispel his attacks.

If this keeps going I'm going to lose consciousness. With my lightning already charged to its maximum I shot it out and destroyed all the pillars in my surroundings. With this brief opening, I ran toward my enemy at full speed. In turn, he put up stone walls in my way which I managed to destroy by using high amounts of mana behind my attacks. This is an all-out attack, if this doesn't work I won't be able to conjure up attacks this potent again.

The stone beneath me came up and encased my feet, holding me in place so that I couldn't move. Particles of mana gathered at my feet as the ground began shaking. Spikes! Was the only thing that came to mind as I shoot several lightning bullets down at my feet, breaking them free.

I thrust myself forward, out if the way of the spikes only to see that there were stone projectiles all around me. I was too focused on my feet that I didn't notice. Maximizing my gravity I pushed out at full force. For a second the projectiles stayed in place then the next, they got thrown back.

My senses spiked as I quickly dodged several stone spikes thrown at me. Turning my head, I looked around only to see several more spikes fly out of the walls like projectiles. I deflected the ones aimed at my body as the rest crashed into the ground and I kept moving forward.

As he was now within my range I swung my lightning-coated sword with all the strength I could muster straight at him, lighting slash. I got him now! Before the slash reached him he put up another wall for defense. Once my attack collided with his defense I noticed that the stone wall didn't break. There was only a shallow cut on it.

Witnessing this my eyes widened and I felt my heart drop in terror as I immediately put some distance between us. My lightning. Did it get weaker? Why didn't it destroy his stone that time? 'He's compacting his earth to make it stronger.' Amarok commented.

"Then what should I do?" I asked, all my hopes of winning this fight were now gone.

'You have to get away,' was the only thing he said. Hearing this my mind clouded with protest. Before I could voice them, Amarok spoke again, 'You know as well as me that you won't be able to pull something like that again. The best option now is to run.' As I heard him talking, I began dodging as the mage began to attack once again. 'Don't feel guilty,' he continued, 'You put up a good fight. The only reason you didn't win was because he drew out too much power. Know that this battle has not only shortened that man's life span but will also leave him with lifelong physical disabilities.'

Even though my insides were brimming with defiance I knew his words were true. With that in mind, I slowly backed up, dodging my way through some attacks and even launching some of my own at times. Until I had a clear path to the tunnel exit.

Before I could even do anything the walls moved and closed off the tunnel. "Trying to escape?" the mage's voice echoed through the cave, his voice ringing clear in my mind. "I gave you a chance and you didn't take it, now you'll die."

At his words, I stood frozen for a second, my insides twisting in response to my fear. My head began to ache, the sensation that brought me back to reality. Looking around I saw thick walls begin to surround me from both sides, threatening to crush me. With gravity, extending both arms out horizontally to each side I began pushing out. But no matter how hard I pushed they were still closing in, slowly.

Dammit, I'm running out of mana. He's too strong... I can't beat him. I feel weird. I thought I felt scared but it seems that isn't the case. I've been close to death so many times now that I don't feel afraid. I feel... strangely calm. I thought as the walls around me were now beginning to crush me.

Just as I lost my will to fight. Memories began to resurface in my mind. Memories of when I got reincarnated, how I felt sad and alone. Then my family, how Emma and Leon took care of me when I was a baby.

Growing up I always played with my sisters and my best friend. I learned magic and Leon taught me to fight with a sword. I always enjoyed training with Leon. He was always such an idiot. But still, it goes without saying that I love both him and Emma as my parents and I love both my sisters as well.

Is my life flashing before my eyes? No. That didn't happen the last time I died. "Amarok, is this your doing?" I managed to squeeze out but no response came.

With a sudden burst of determination. My mind began to protest the thought of me dying once again. I can't die here. I have a family to return to. So I can't! I refuse to! Amidst my feeble attempts to muster forth the little mana I had remaining, my senses were drawn in by the ambiance around me. That is, the specs of mana that were embedded in the conjured earth that was currently crushing me were unstable.

'It seems you've made the mage overexert himself,' said Amarok. 'This is your chance.'

Two options were presented to me, one was to stall for time until the mage's body gave out, which Amarok warned that It was unlikely to succeed. The other option, which I took, was to fight the mage with the intention to win, but that failed. Yet, through that process, a new opportunity was revealed to me which was a combination of both. By using my magic capabilities to their maximum I made him use powerful moves that strained his body. Did Amarok know this was going to happen? He had told me to run before. Was that a way to stall for time in order for this outcome to occur?

Well, whatever it was, I now have a chance. With a strained effort, I dismantled the walls around me, and as soon as all that pressure was released off me I fell to one knee, gasping for air. Turning my head up, I took the sight of him and realized that we were both basically in the same condition, beaten and defeated. Raising both his hands, the mage focused a large portion of mana into one attack, his last attack.

So I did the same and called forth all the mana I had remaining into a final attack.

I need a strong attack. Lightning works best to destroy his earth... but he adapted his magic to accommodate it to the power of my lightning so I need to do the same. I thought as purple lightning raced around me. I've made many breakthroughs throughout my time here in Canavar and this time is no different.

When casting magic, a lot of mana leaks and doesn't take on its intended purpose, so people train to better their control over it. Through this training, individuals are able to maximize the potential of each drop of mana, enabling them to perform powerful spells and manifest their desired outcomes. This pursuit of perfect mana control not only enhances the effectiveness and efficiency of magic but also empowers individuals to accomplish greater feats with seemingly minimal amounts of mana.

Through the runes, I came to a realization, not only was I able to interact with the mana particles and throw off the balance of spell formations. I was also able to interact with my own, but instead of disturbing the mana particles in my own magic, I was able to guide the flow of my own mana, enabling every single drop to align with the properties of lightning. Resulting in the enhancement of the spell refinement process.

Soon, the purple hues of lightning began burning brightly as they took on a new form. Within the next moment, all the lightning around me shimmered into shades of black. The air around them brimmed with energy that pulsed intensely against my senses. The bolts of electricity twisted and intertwined, entangling themselves in a mesmerizing dance that emitted a high-pitched crackling noise.

Raising both my hands forward, it was a challenge in and of itself to control them as they weren't responding to my call. Looking forward, I took in the sight of the mage once more and noticed that he was about to strike. And so he did, a projectile of compacted stone came flying through the air at an incredible speed.

In a panic, I let go of several tendrils of dark lightning, which dissipated into the air, and mustered forward the few under my control. I gathered them all into one spot and, without much thought, I shot it out. In a shockwave of force, the lightning roared through the air, the sudden force of it knocked me to the floor. The next thing I knew, the cave rumbled under a thunderous crash that filled my ears.

Turning my head up, my eyes widened at the sight before me. Standing in front of me was the mage I battled, my eyes firmly fixed on the gaping hole in his chest. With a loud cough, blood gushed out of his mouth before he fell to the ground, dead.

'That was incredible. Well done,' the voice in my head said. It

"No," I cried out, the word escaping my lips in a desperate plea for it to be untrue. "No! No! No!" I repeated, each repetition more forceful than the last, my voice filled with anguish and fear.

My heart thundered in my chest, the rapid beats matching the chaos within. 'Hey! What's wrong!? Calm down your heart is racing,' Amarok said.

"I-I didn't mean to kill him," I stammered, my voice quivering with disbelief. "I didn't want to kill him." The words repeated like a broken record, my voice cracking with the weight of reality sinking in. "I- I- killed someone."

The sickness intensified, rising like a tide within me. Nausea overwhelmed me, twisting my insides, and I grasped my churning stomach as if trying to wrestle control over my own body. A thick, warm liquid rose in my throat, threatening to escape.

Unable to hold it in any longer, I vomited violently, my body convulsing as the acidic taste burned my throat. I broke my connection to the runes on my back as my head began to ache. The ground rushed up to meet me as I collapsed, feeling weak and defeated. Gasping for air, I brought myself to focus on deep breaths, attempting to calm the storm raging within me.

***

'Are you calm now?' Amarok asked, his gentle voice resounding through my head. In response, I let out a low grunt, not bothering to speak out loud as I laid with my back to the floor, staring at the stone ceiling. 'If you break down like this after killing a person you won't make it far in his world.' He said.

He's right, if I want to continue to grow stronger they will always be those who'll try to stop me. "Killing monsters is one thing, but people..." I trailed off. When I first came to Canavar I even hesitated and felt guilty to kill monsters but as time passed that feeling faded away. But if I end another person's life and the cycle continues. Will I stop caring about the worth of a human life?

'Stop thinking about it. You won, that's all that matters. Now, keep moving,' he said. Yeah, he has a point I can't just sit here regretting my choices, I have to learn from this and move on.

"About that, what exactly happened?" I asked. It all happened so fast that I didn't get to see it with my own eyes.

'The dark lightning burned straight through his earth and then through his chest. An impressive feat.' He said. 'Through your thoughts, I understood in theory how you developed lightning magic but I've never heard of someone learning it that way.'

"So you're going to learn it?" I asked.

'I already know how to use it. Lightning is a common attribute in the Lycaon tribe.' he said. Oh, so I'm really nothing special, I thought. 'Come now, don't put yourself down like that. For a human to master lighting magic is quite impressive. Not even I managed to master it at your age.' He praised.

"Master? Is this as strong as it gets?" I asked.

'Black Lightning is the final stage to it. But as you get older and your mana control gets better the lightning will continue to grow stronger with you,' he said. 'So the earlier you master it the better.'

"That's good," I said as I stood up and looked around. "So where exactly do I go?"

'There's a tunnel in the wall behind you,' he said. 'Just follow it.'

"Got it," following his instructions I walked down the tunnel into another open part of the cave.

Inside was a large space with various tunnels leading who knows where but what caught my attention were the various bodies piled up on the floor. With wolfish ears and tails, the people looked like they had been sucked off all their blood as if they were dried up.

"What happened to them?" I asked as the scene before me made me feel a little sick but no response came.

"I-Is someone there?" I heard a weak female voice call out from a distance.

As I looked in the direction of the voice I saw a woman tied up in what looked like tree branches. From where I was I could sense her mana levels dropping in large quantities.

Quickly, I made my way toward her. "Stop!" she said, stopping me before I got closer. "If you get any closer you'll be sucked dry of all your mana and die."

The wooden branches she was wrapped up in looked to be sucking her dry of all her mana. My gaze wandered around and caught sight of several other pillar-like structures made out of thick branches that tied people in place, all encircling a tree trunk at the center that looked like a pedestal. Atop that pedestal rested a glowing white orb, wrapped up in several small branches.

"So how do I get you out?" I asked. She wasn't the only one trapped in whatever this was. There were several others but none looked like they were waking up anytime soon.

"It's too late for me. I didn't call you over to help break me free," She spoke. "There is a cage in the far corner of this cave with my daughter trapped inside. Please, I'd like to see her one last time."

I nodded and looked around, quickly making my way to the corner of the room where there were several boxes barrels, and other supplies. As she said, there was a cage along those many things. I expected to see a beast folk-looking person but In the small cage was a silver baby wolf with a black rhombus-shaped marking on its forehead.

Without questioning it I quickly took her out and carried her to her dying mother. "Thank you, child," she said with tears running down her face. "One last favor... P-Please take care of her," she said, her face falling as every ounce of strength left her body. "H-Her... Her name... I-Is... Flare." she said as the remaining moments of her life came to an end. She was dead.

After that, a low humming noise came from the center of the room. The branches surrounding the white orb untangled, revealing it completely.

"I'm sorry... I took too long, and your people died," I said looking down at the small wolf in my arms. I noticed she had a few injuries and so I used my healing magic on her, she hummed quietly in response while still unconscious.

'Don't be. It's not your fault, you just happen to get caught up in this whole mess,' he replied. Even if he says that I still feel guilty knowing that if I'd gotten here faster I could've saved a few more.

"You already knew I wasn't going to make it. Didn't you?" I said.

'Yes. I'm terribly regretful about not being able to protect my people,' He said. 'Even if you only saved one I'm truly thankful,' after I couldn't form a response he kept speaking. 'The monsters that attacked us took the enhancement drug the human mage took earlier. They're all dead now but we suffered a great loss. Due to that, I can't make any proper arrangements to send a team to retrieve the bodies along Flare. So would you please look after her?" He asked.

I looked down at the small wolf pup as it began moving around in my arms. She slowly raised her eyelids revealing a pair of dark blue eyes. For a second she just stared at me, then. "Woof," It barked and began licking my face.

"I guess... I can," I said showing a small smile while petting Flare's head.

'Thank you. Now I owe you two favors.' He said.

"Anyway." I said walking to the orb at the center of the room. "What's this?"

'Hm,' he let out before answering. 'That is the Exousia Orb.' as he spoke this was the first time I heard or rather felt a change in his expression. Sounding, if only a little, angry.

"What does it do?" I asked a bit curious due to his change in tone.

'If absorbed the orb doubles your mana capacity as well as the purity.' he said. 'It's like the drug the mage took earlier but more potent.'

"Didn't you say that if anyone gets that much pure mana their bodies would get destroyed?" I asked.

'Yes. But the orb makes your body go through a change. It infuses pure mana in your muscles and bones making them stronger in order to be able to hold the power of the orb.' He said.

"Meaning anyone can use it?" I pointed out.

'Yes, but the power of the orb differs due to the individual who takes it in,' he explained. 'As for me I absolutely hate that thing. It drains pure mana off of an extant race member and gets pulled into the orb. Too many of my people have fallen in order to fuel that thing.'

"So what do I do with it?" I asked, looking at the pure white orb in front of me.

'Destroy it if you want, or take it if you want.' he said. I mean not to be selfish or anything but I guess I can take it. 'You're totally being selfish.' Amarok said, stating the facts.

"Hehe," I let out a small laugh out of guilt. "Sorry," I said. I mean really the only option I have is to take it no one else apart from me and the centaurs are here to claim it.

'If you do plan to absorb the orb. Do it after you reach the limit of your mana growth capacity,' he said. 'Although be warned. Having that orb might come at a price, so keep it well hidden,"

"Got it." I said as I picked up the orb and put it inside a small leather bag that I found along with one of the many things that reside within this room.

'Well then, this is goodbye. Thank you, again, for saving Flare and agreeing to take care of her. I'm sure we'll meet again,' he said.

"Already huh?" I said letting out a sigh. "You know it's kind of sad to say goodbye," I pointed out. Even though we've only known each other for a short period of time I kind of...

'What you grew attached to me or something.' he said, interrupting my train of thought.

"Ha! Not a chance!" I told him sarcastically, unsure if I even believed my own words. "Just leave already."

'I'm breaking our connection now,' was the last thing he said before everything went quiet.

"Amarok," I said aloud. "You there?" I spoke just to make sure he was really gone but no response came. I took in a deep breath and looked at Flare who was still in my arms. "Come on let's get out of here."

"Woof!" She let out then wiggled out of my arms. Jumping to the ground, she began walking toward one of the many tunnels then looked back at me signaling me to follow. "Woof!"

"I'm coming," I said as I started walking right behind her.

Flare then made her way through the cave, while I followed behind hoping she knew the way out. The reason I didn't retrace my steps is because the mage blocked off that path. So now I'm just relying on this wolf pup to get me out, and that she did. After some walking through the darkness, ahead of us, sunlight caught my eye and eventually, we made it out.

Looking around, my gaze naturally narrowed for a second since I had been inside the dark cave my eyes needed to adjust to the daylight. However, I still caught sight of the three centaurs resting, with the whole army of monsters dead around them along with Oris and that one other demon guy.

"Hey, Arata! You're back," Asonius said, turning his head as he was the first one to notice me.

"Hey," I replied sounding tired since so much had happened inside that cave.

"Who's that?" Deleina said pointing at Flare.

"Oh, her... I guess I need to give you my report on what happened," I pointed out.

"Come rest with us and tell us what happened." She said motioning with her hand for me to get close.

So I did and told them everything that happened. From going inside the cave, fighting the Earthen Mage, and finding Flare along with the Exousia. I left out the part about being contacted by Amarok simply because I didn't think they'd believe me.

They didn't know what the Exousia orb was, so I explained everything that Amarok told me about it, and I even showed it to them.

They said for me to keep it since I was the one who found it. Also, they didn't want to take it from me because of their honest nature. And so grabbing Flare I climbed up Deleina's back, and we set off.