Freedom Jumper-Chapter 144: Water Vortex

Elijah's hair flew to the back of his head – completely out of the way of his face as his speed increased to a level that allowed him to catch up to his thirsty comrades. Shuttling miniscule amounts of mana into his feet allowed him to traverse the surprisingly steep drop-offs, narrow pathways, fallen trees, and ponds that received just barely a shred of the moonlight.

All the while, a warm feeling surged through Elijah's body alongside a wide smile filled with happiness.

Anything of this nature – zooming through the woods full of people his age using the powers of the gods to achieve a goal – was not possible in Elijah's past life.

All of which were creating a flowstate from pure happiness and anticipation.

Flashing lights, incomprehensible abilities, and rumblings that created a nearly harmful battlefield blanketed the surroundings.

Elijah knew very well that not a single person was to be harmed as if it did intentionally occur, it would be seen – followed up by disqualification from the secret exam.

While increasing the speed of his steps, he passed by multiple people tied up in a white silk rope begging to be released.

"Thank you for the flag!" From behind, a black haired boy appeared with a mirage of speed behind him. Each word spoken revealed a cold mist that slowly dissolved into the air. Visibly, his hand instantly reached Elijah's back before he could fully turn around – only to find his pink flag missing with a soiled grin...

Instead of telling himself it was impossible to fight back against these powers, he threw off his shoes and began to create water under his feet, shuttling himself through the rough trails of the forest.

One by one, Elijah splashed water in the faces of many opponents while choosing which ones to steal flags from. With every grab while effortlessly traversing the terrain, he moved onto the next person who was preoccupied with defending themselves.

During this process, he saw many amazing and crude abilities ranging from the silk webs that tightly bound people to trees, a familiar force of mana that concussed any opponent on release, a shield that seemed to reflect anything that touched it, and even a translucent and pearlescent rimmed portal from which a small hand appeared through.

Of course, this was alongside the elemental affinities that half of these people possessed.

Painstakingly, he thought deeply about such an ability and even wished to have it for himself. The potential far surpasses just moving from one place to another.

Elijah's current understanding of the different abilities one could have is very minimal. The question of core stages having an impact on one's ability was something to be answered.

However, the main factor that separated each person from someone with the same power, was how they used said power in congruence with their flaw.

Only through a person's flaw would they be able to show their potential.

For example, the speedster that had stolen Elijah's flag at the very beginning of the game most likely had a flaw that continually lowered his body temperature the more he used his ability.

Some flaws can even create mutations of an ability, which are extremely rare.

Between receiving many defensive blows from different powers, Elijah finally had enough with three green flags in his pocket. Sitting on top of a grassy mound covered in the dim shadows of the trees, he waited for the next signal — the firework that would begin the second part of the game.

Boom!

A bright light of an orange firework exploded over the head of the forest, signaling the beginning of the free-for-all, where the goal is to gather as many flags as possible — no matter the color.

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This was what Elijah had been waiting for, everyone's flag had mostly been taken, which meant he would be wasting precious mana by chasing after people.

With a plan set in stone, Elijah made his way to a small pond with the intention to use it as a trap.

Already, people with affinities and powers were congregating around a pond. Shining brightly in the night was a ball of fire coalescing in the hands of what would have been the winner. Across the pond was a boy in the midst of creating a golem, and another boy with his hands held up high. Soonafter, a shield bubble materialized around the pond, enveloping even Elijah who had barely stepped into its boundary.

Elijah's face tightened, and quickly went to work at manipulating the water in the pond. Over the course of twenty seconds, the pond began to slowly rise while also picking up speed in a spiral rotation. Eventually, there was no small-scale battle occurring, but a symphony of cries related to the words "stop!", "get me out of here!", and "save me!".

Elijah scaled the short distance to the vortex while continuously focusing on his efforts.

The moment Elijah dove into the whirlpool, his figure became immune to the effects with the use of his power to fly. All around were the bodies being continuously dragged in a circular motion, while also constantly being dragged to the bottom of the vortex then returning to the top. This chaos would surely upset their stomachs.

Elijah flew to each individual, taking their colored flags that only totaled to four before letting go of his control. Bubbles were floating to the top as he stared at the struggling bodies.

Unexpectedly, the barrier that allowed Elijah to flourish began to disappear, and sent his intent to releasing his control over the water. Violently, the wave of water came to a calm stop with the waves splashing against the dissipating shield bubble.

Cough* Cough*

While Elijah had quickly recovered and began to run away, the other two were left struggling while trying to figure out what had just happened. A vortex of water had just swallowed them whole and succeeded so efficiently because of the stubbornness of the shield bubble kid.

"How disappointing... Only four." Elijah said while riding the waves through the forest with two shields of water to his sides — protecting himself from the anticipated silk strings that would once again bind his body.

...

Atop a tree branch, a tall woman with short black hair blended in with the shadows — completely unseen to the untrained eye.

"How interesting. 963... I guess I will mark that one down to watch closely."

Whoosh!

With her outstanding speed and lightweight figure, she silently hopped from one tree branch to the other without making even a single sound.

...

While Elijah was speeding through the rough terrain full of slopes, ponds, and boulders, a voice broke through the sounds clouding Elijah's judgement. "Well, well, well... A water mage huh?"

Instantly, Elijah knew this man was invisible, and likely near his body. When a massive wave of water was released from both his palms, nothing made contact, not revealing any figure from the water that should have made contact.

Without the knowledge that the adolescents around him had, he was at a severe disadvantage while trying to guess each power based on its characteristics.

A slight tug was felt within his right pocket, from which Elijah immediately shot a small blast of water, into the air above him.

"Found you!"

The boy likely had an ability related to a ghost, that allowed him to become invisible, but also fly at the same time. The mana usage must be quite more than his own ability, and his flaw must not be anything that causes pain.

Bam!

Elijah did what any sane person would do, and held the boy in place while a thick blast of water knocked him out cold.

Fortunately, it was not against the rules.

"What a freebie..."

Zooming past Elijah's eyesight was a blonde haired boy that held tightly onto silk strings attached to a group of trees far away.

From afar, this boy had seen the event unfold as he got closer, and when he realized the opening while noticing the two sets of flags dangling from Elijah's pockets, he decided to take action.

Zip!

Pulling himself violently through the forest, two more silk webs came from the tips of his fingers, grabbing one set of flags while missing the other.