Magus Supremacy-Chapter 72: Mana Skin!

"Come to think of it, I haven't tried to go up to that volcano, I always stopped here at the foot of the lava." Grey said as he looked around and then he clenched his hands in and out.

"It's taking all my willpower to stand here at the foot of this lava, not to talk of heading to the volcano." He said then a small smile appeared on his face. "If I can't get anywhere with lightning magic today, let's try to train my fire magic and body so I can become more stronger. So I'm going to try my best to cross that volcano and see what is behind it!"

With that, Grey began his journey to explore the volcano a few metres away from him and it wasn't easy as immediately he left the foot of the lava, and he took about five steps forward, a heavy pressure descended on him as he suddenly felt unable to work forward.

"Shit! The heat…" Grey sucked in a sharp breath, only to choke as it seared down his throat. It felt like he had inhaled fire itself. The ground beneath his feet was nearly unbearable, radiating heat strong enough to make his soles ache with every step. His muscles screamed in protest, his body sluggish as if he were wading through molten tar. Even the air around him felt heavy, pressing down on him like a living force. Still, he gritted his teeth, forcing his legs to move forward.

He managed to walk for a bit when he suddenly was unable to anymore as the heat and pressure descended on him more which could be seen as he was on his knees panting while his body was drenched with sweat.

"Shit! I'm not even anywhere close to the volcano and I can feel the heat and pressure here? And I thought the lava was hot." Grey said as he looked at his body covered in sweat to the extent his clothes were clinging onto him.

Slowly rising to his feet while clenching his jaws tightly to the extent that his teeth were so tightly grit that it looked like even air would find it hard to escape from his mouth, he finally pulled his shirt from his body and wrapped it around his waist revealing a lean and skinny young boy.

Since mages didn't really require to train their body to use magic, they didn't have a fine and toned body and that was what Grey displayed. But one thing that was undeniable was his handsomeness.

Wrapping the shirt around his waist, he continued his journey with his feet blazing and his body covered in more sweat while his throat was feeling parched and dry as his lips was looking dried but he didn't allow that to stop him as he could see the volcano around ten metres away from him.

So he continued walking with more resolve but when he got around five metres away from the volcano, he finally collapsed to the ground hard while breathing in and out in pain as his eyes began closing in and out.

"Shit! Who sent me to even do this? This torture, for what? Curis… curi… for curiosity?" Grey cursed angrily as he managed to lift his head to look in front him to see the volcano around five metres from him.

"Darn it! I don't even have the strength to turn back." Grey's vision wavered, the edges darkening like ink bleeding into water. His body convulsed involuntarily, heatwaves rolling over him in suffocating layers. The ground beneath him felt like burning coals, but he lacked the energy to even lift a finger. His breath came in short, ragged gasps, each inhale scraping his throat like sandpaper. His lips cracked, and he could taste the faint metallic tang of blood on his tongue.

Just as Grey's consciousness began to slip, his core trembled, a deep and resonant vibration that spread through his veins. A sudden, tingling coolness washed over him, like plunging into a pool of refreshing water in the midst of a scorching desert. His skin burned—but this time, it wasn't from the heat. It was something else entirely. Something powerful.

A red glow pulsed beneath his skin, lighting up his veins like molten lava. The overwhelming pressure that had crushed him just moments ago seemed to ease. The heat was still there, but it no longer burned—it merely existed around him. He blinked in confusion, flexing his fingers, feeling the new energy coursing through his limbs.

And then his heart began beating loudly as it pumped blood faster and harder and then his fingers twitched slightly, then his full hand and finally, his whole body began twitching and also glowing slightly red.

It felt like a red wind surrounded Grey's body from head to toe like a blanket or something but not quite. And then, his eyes snapped open while slowly rising and looking at his hands and body.

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Closing his eyes, he could feel the mana all around him clearly and his aching, pressured body was no longer being pressured. Even the heat had receded to a bearable level as a confused expression appeared on his face.

"What the hell is this? How am I glowing? And why aren't I feeling the heat like before?!" Grey asked himself feeling confused as he touched his mana core.

"Is this what I think it is? But how? You are still young!" Noir mumbled loudly as Grey became slightly confused.

"Do you know what this is?" Grey asked and he heard the wolf sigh in his head.

"This is mana skin!" Noir exclaimed.

"Mana Skin, huh?" Grey muttered, staring at his glowing hands, feeling the soft hum of energy encasing his body. The red glow flickered like embers in the wind, pulsing in sync with his heartbeat. The air around him no longer burned—it felt like he had merged with the environment, adapting to its harshness.

"It's a protective barrier, you idiot," Noir scoffed. "A second skin of mana that shields you from environmental extremes—heat, pressure, even magical radiation. Most mages struggle for years to awaken it, and here you are, dumb luck on your side as usual."

"Woah! That is so cool! No wonder I'm no longer feeling the heat!" Grey exclaimed. "But how did I unlock it and why is it looking red?"

"Obviously you unlocked in this harsh condition since your body wanted to shield you from the heat so it naturally adapted and helped you unlock this skin. And it's colour is like that because of your natural affinity to fire and where you are right now." Noir explained.

"Oh?! Now that is what I'm talking about!" Grey smiled as he surrounded his body with wind magic and then he looked at his hand. Seeing the wind magic not interfere with his mana skin, he shot forward towards the volcano at tremendous speed despite the intense heat.

"Now I'm going to see what is behind that volcano." He smiled as he was approaching the volcano at tremendous speed while it was coming into view rapidly and finally, when he was close, he halted his flight as he was seen flying above the intense volcano and despite the heat, he wasn't feeling it at all.

"Weird! I thought it was going to be something special but it just looks like a normal volcano." Grey sighed as he continued looking at the volcano. "All these torture for nothing. At least I gained mana skin."

Just as he was about to dismiss the entire ordeal as a waste of time, Grey turned—and his breath hitched.

His fingers trembled, a cold shiver running down his spine despite the heat around him. The sight before him was nothing short of unnatural, something that should not exist. His pupils constricted, his heartbeat hammering against his ribs as an unexplainable sense of dread settled over him.

"What the hell…?"

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