The skill description gave him a general idea of what he could do with it, and by using it every day, he was able to do some basic stuff.
After eating his hunt for breakfast, he stepped out and moved towards a rock hill to start his daily training.
“First, a normal punch.”
He balled his right fist and threw it forward, pung the rock.
As Xaren's fist collided with the rock, the force of the impact reverberated through the stoh a dull, resonant ‘thud’.
The surface of the rock yielded uhe pressure, splintering outward in a cascade of jagged lihin, web-like cracks spidered across the rock’s surface, radiating from the point of impa a chaotic pattern.
“Now, with the skill.”
Taking a deep breath, he circuted his energy through his circuits and activated the Unique Skill, sighing as he felt 30% of his energy disappear.
Reminding himself it was the cost of the power boost, he infused demoniergy into his arm and in seds, a dark red aura covered his forearm.
He repositioned himself and unleashed a powerful punch against the rock.
**BOOM!
The impact was explosive. Birds on trees flew away and wild monsters scampered out of the area as the sound echoed through the air.
The surface of the rock buckled uhe force, and spiderweb-like fissures erupted from the point of tact, quickly expanding and deepening. The trated energy from his strike drove through the cracks, creating a deep, gaping hole in the rock.
ks of debris were bsted outward, and the surrounding area was showered with fragments as the once-solid barrier crumbled into a jagged opening.
“Is this really the power boost from doubling gravity?”
Xaren uood that gravity was the force keeping him grounded and preventing him from floating away. With his skill, he could amplify this force up to twice its normal strength.
He surmised that as he grew stronger, he might be able to achieve eveer feats, but for now, his maximum increase was 2x, while his decrease was limited to 0.5x and it was only for a few seds.
“I use the redu to achieve speed bursts, and the i to increase my power at the point of impact.”
Wheivated the 0.5x gravity redu, he felt a sudden, disorienting lightness in his body. His movements became more fluid and effortless, and he experienced an odd sensation of floating slightly with each step.
It was easier to leap and he could manoeuvre with less effort, however, keeping his bance became harder due to his altered weight.
“o get used to this.”
As Xaren tinued his tests, he noticed an uliion above him. A surge of demoniergy rippled through the air, drawing his gaze skyward.
He saw a massive vortex f in the sky, its dark, swirling tendrils stretg ominously from a distance. Surrounding this tral vortex were multiple smaller whirlpools of energy, creating a dark swirl in the skies.
Suddenly, the loud roars of tless demons filled Xaren’s ears and he saw as they began to be violently pulled toward the vortex, like leaves caught in a whirlwind.
Xaren watched in shock as the vortex's pull intensified, drawing in only the older and stronger demons, those behind a translut barrier.
The weaker demons outside the barrier, even thht at its edge, seemed ued, their panicked movements trivial in parison.
‘So, it's after those guys? Even so, let’s move further away.’
Xaren had just made that decision when he felt a peculiar lightness in his body and furrowed his brow.
“I switched off my skill, didn’t I?”
He checked again, firming that his gravity manipution was indeed deactivated. But why did he still feel so light?
Xaren had a bad hunch, and unfortunately, they usually teo be correct. A sinking feeling gripped him as he turned back to the vortex.
“No way, right?”
As if replying to him, a sudden force began t at him.
“Fuck!”
Xaren cursed under his breath and swiftly activated his gravity skill, trying to increase his weight to ter the pull.
For a few desperate seds, the increased weight resisted the force, but it wasn’t enough. The pull tinued, dragging him toward the swirling darkness.
Instinctively, Xaren grabbed onto a nearby tree, his hands gripping the bark with white-knuckled iy.
He used his skill itently, boosting both his and the tree’s weight in a frantic bid to stay anchored.
Still, the vortex’s force was relentless, and the roars of the demons being sucked from the forest behind the barrier became a harrowing soundtrack to his struggle.
‘I nning to wait for the other demons to level up so I could kill them and gaio reach level 100 before trying to leave. There’s no way I’m letting myself be dragged into some unknown pce before that!’
He ched his teeth, every muscle straining against the overp force, determio hold his ground.
Xaren’s persistence paid off as after a few minutes, when his energy could barely hold up any more, he noticed the vortex begin to shrink.
‘Good!’
For a moment, he gnced bad in that sed, he caught a fsh in his peripheral vision.
‘What was that?!’
Answering his thoughts was a deep voice that came from behind.
“Oh wow, look at this little oruggling.”
“?!”
Xaren slowly turned his head and came face-to-face with a t figure that loomed over him, twice his height.
Standing over 7 feet tall, the behemoth had a hulking frame, a beard of fmes, and two curved horns protruding from its head.
Its powerful legs, ending in hooves, supported its bulk, while a pair of reversed wings sprouted from its back.
Crimson eyes filled with mirth stared at him and Xare his blood run cold.
‘A Higher ranked demon!?’
The demon arched a brow when he saw the realisation in Xaren’s eyes, before chug as he raised…a finger.
Moving the fiowards the tree Xaren was holding onto, the demon flicked his finger and this casual flick shattered the tree trunk into splinters.
“??!!”
Xaren lost his hold and the vortex’s pull took over, pulling him towards the sky.
Suddenly, he felt a firm grip on his arm. Turning his head, he saw the demon who had shattered the tree clutg him tightly and propelling them both towards the vortex.
In mere moments, they were pulled inside and the world around Xaren swirled into a dizzying blur, a kaleidoscope of colours and shapes that twisted violently, making his head spin.
For an instant, his visio bnk, then it snapped bato focus in the .
He found himself in a sprawling clearing, surrounded by a sea of thousands of demons. Looking around, he spotted some of those who had been pulled through the vortex alongside him.
Before he could fully grasp his new surroundings, the demon who had seized him took to the skies and flew forward with a speed that made Xaren's head reel, and the ground below rushed away at a dizzying speed.
When his senses finally stabilized, he was faced with a grim se: four imposing, higher-ranked demons now stood in front of him.
The one who held him, raised his body to face the new four faces as he spoke.
“Hey, guys, check out this little one I found.”
The demon’s voice was filled with amusement and Xare his heartbeat rapidly accelerate.
‘What’s with this situation?! Was resisting the vortex some kind of crime!?’
Ignorant of Xaren’s ihoughts, one of the demons who held a box of ons turowards the fire demon holding Xaren and spoke with an exasperated tone.
“Floch…what the hell? Put that guy back with the others.”
“Dude, at least hear me out. You certainly wouldn’t say that when I tell you how I found this guy.”
The fire demon called Floch spoke to his on-carrying friend, shaking Xaren’s body as he tinued.
“I found him in the newborion. Ahe vortex ulling him!”
“The heck are you talking about? The vortex only pulls Level 50s and above.
It’s been barely two weeks sihe st batch should have hatched. There’s no way he got to level 50 in two weeks.”
The only demoness among the four replied to Floch, before turning her eyes towards Xaren.
“My Partial Appraisal shows he’s Level 52…”
From the words of these demons, Xaren realised the reason for the barrier that separated the forest. The demons beyond that barrier were from a previous batch that had hatched and they’d been there long enough to surpass Level 50.
