Awakening: I Ascend Alone-Chapter 34: Big Mistake
Aurex continued staring at Melvin as if the boy had just said something completely out of line.
’Bloodshed? What exactly did he mean by that?’ he thought.
Squinting his eyes, Aurex turned and looked back down the hill. Only then did he truly take in the situation.
Below the valley, dozens of hungry wolves prowled across the snow, their silver-gray fur blending into the frozen terrain. Their glowing eyes burned with predatory hunger as they circled their prey... but now, focusing their attention above the hill.
Melvin’s whistling was to blame for the unsettling attention.
Around the wolves stood thin forest trees, their branches weighed down by thick flakes of snow.
And in the middle of that deadly circle... was a girl.
Aurex leaned forward slightly to see more clearly.
His eyes widened.
It really was a girl.
And worse... it was a girl he recognized.
With concern, he turned back to Melvin but saw that the silver-haired boy had his attention focused on the sight below the valley. While Aurex discerned the situation, Melvin was thinking about something entirely different.
His sharp, purple eyes studied the wolves below while his mind worked quickly, calculating possibilities and outcomes.
’How many are there?’ he mused, trying to count the numbers in the pack. ’Thirty... maybe more.’
Fighting them directly would be foolish. Especially as he was not entirely sure what rank the creatures were.
It’s true that there was an order in which creatures appeared in the Silver Spire, but that was not a certainty. Especially considering Melvin’s mark, and most importantly... his instincts.
He needed them to space out for his battle to be easier and more predictable.
Melvin squatted with his focus still on the wolves. A wonderful thought had appeared in his mind.
This situation was going to be perfect for testing his ability.
Currently, Melvin understood three important things about it.
First, as long as he could determine a point within his perception, he could teleport—or rather shift—to that point over a visible distance.
This meant that he could possibly be able to perform some phantom steps. Appearing and disappearing around his opponents as he wished, although it all depended on the second note.
On a second note, the rules that limited his ability were clear. It could save his life if used correctly, as long as he obeyed the true probability involved and established a clear and achievable fixed point. Therefore, it meant that distance was going to be very much a determinant in this case.
And that made the third point a very important note to take into consideration.
Every usage of his ability came with a cost of his fragments... literally a loss of his soul flux, which determined his strength in battles. Although the loss very much doesn’t totally affect invincibility, it was still a loss regardless.
And the more loss, the more weakened he can become.
He really needs to train with this ability to nail it into his being. That way, he might not even need to worry about loss as far as they were still recoverable.
Melvin glanced sideways at Aurex.
"Bring out the Storage Orb."
Aurex frowned.
"What do you want to use it for?"
"Just get it out first."
Aurex hesitated but eventually extended his hand.
The glass Storage Sphere materialized in his palm. The moment it appeared, Melvin snatched it.
Then he asked calmly, "You can make this disappear back into your soul space even while it’s in the air?"
"Yes," Aurex replied slowly. "Why—"
Before he could finish his question, Melvin suddenly threw the orb far down the valley.
"Release the meats."
"What? Are you sure?"
"Just do it. Release the meats."
Then, as the glass sphere flew through the cold air, chunks of monster meat spilled out of it, scattering across the snow-covered valley.
The wolves, having been made to watch all these happen, were reluctant for a bit. Meanwhile, it seemed that distraction had somehow bought their supposed prey time to escape.
Looking down now, neither Melvin nor Aurex could see the girl. She had disappeared even without a trace.
This made the wolves angrier than they seemed. And the reaction was immediate.
Like a single mind, the pack rushed uphill. However, as inevitable as hunger can be, especially among wild creatures, most of the wolves didn’t lose the opportunity to see a free meal.
They rushed toward the fresh meat.
Aurex stared at Melvin with visible concern.
Melvin simply smiled.
"Don’t worry," he said calmly. "I never spend my resources uselessly."
He shrugged slightly.
"And even if it looks like I do... it just means I have a better option. I never risk without rewards. No matter what it is I have to risk."
Melvin glanced down at the wolves now tearing into the meat before his attention shifted to the ones currently lunging up the hill in a frenzy.
"Besides," he added casually, "I’m sure wolf meat tastes better than that crap back there."
Aurex stared at him silently for a moment. Then he sighed.
"Do whatever you like."
With that, he walked toward the crest of the hill and sat down cross-legged, watching the valley below.
Melvin wondered what it was he wanted to do, and when he couldn’t make sense of it, shook his head slightly.
Then he focused on the wolves.
’Time to test it.’
He activated his ability. But for a moment, nothing seemed to happen.
He had almost lost hope when something strange occurred.
A faint illusion separated from his body.
It looked like a translucent version of himself. At a glance, one could tell it was almost like a walking shadow. The phantom figure slowly stepped away from him and began walking down the valley step by step as if under a remote control.
Silently, it moved invisible to the wolves until it reached the opposite side of the valley, standing directly behind the wolves that were now busy devouring the scattered meat.
Then the phantom stopped and shattered almost immediately. Just as if it had never existed. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
Melvin nodded slightly in understanding.
"So that’s how far you can go... huh?" he murmured. "I would make sure to make proper estimations henceforth."
At that moment, the system runes appeared before him.
[Cost]: 3 Fragments
Melvin blinked in surprise.
The distance was fairly long, yet the cost was small.
’Interesting...’
That meant that the shorter the distance, the cheaper the cost, right?
At this realization, Melvin couldn’t help but sigh slightly.
’I really should have practiced with this ability earlier.’
If he had already mastered it, he would be far more dangerous in combat. But there would be time for that later.
Besides, if he was able to kill the most number of these wolves, it also meant losing fewer fragments for more. He just needed to make their death precise, swift, and less painful, just like that Frostmaw Ravager.
Melvin summoned his weapon.
The Aftertick disappeared from the diagonal tie around his body and appeared in his hand with a soft metallic whisper.
Without hesitation, he lunged forward.
For the normal eyes, it looked as though the poor lad was currently traveling at the speed of sound... if that could even be seen.
However, to Melvin, every motion around him seemed to slow as he completely disappeared from his current position and was soon standing behind the wolves, which were busy devouring fresh meat.
’Damn. Big mistake!’
