Creation system

Mitch closed his eyes and extended his mana sense, feeling the familiar tingling sensation as his consciousness expanded outward like invisible tendrils.

The forest around them pulsed with life, but among the natural rhythms of trees and wildlife, he detected something else, hostile signatures burning like malevolent stars in his perception.

Six tier 1 signatures clustered together, their mana signatures crude and chaotic, while a seventh presence loomed larger and more organized, a tier 2, its energy dense and threatening.

"Can you fight?" Mitch asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he slowly drew his sword.

The familiar weight of the blade felt reassuring in his grip.

"Yeah," Leya nodded, her jaw set with determination despite the exhaustion that lined her face.

The first volley of arrows whistled through the air with deadly precision, their crude fletching spinning as they sought their targets.

But without the element of surprise, both fighters had precious seconds to react.

Mitch threw himself to the left, feeling the wind of an arrow as it passed close enough to ruffle his hair.

Leya rolled behind a moss-covered boulder, bark exploding where an arrow struck the tree just behind her previous position.

"On your left!" Mitch shouted, his voice cutting through the forest's sudden silence.

Leya's training kicked in instantly. She pivoted on her heel, raising her sword in a textbook parry just as a rusty knife thrust toward her ribs.

The moment her blade met the crude weapon, a brilliant white aura flared to life along the sword's edge, cold and beautiful like winter moonlight made solid.

The attacking goblin's eyes widened in shock as frost began spreading from the point of contact, racing across its weapon like living ice.

The creature was smaller than a human child but more muscular, its green skin mottled with scars and grime.

Tattered cloth barely covered its lean frame, and its yellow eyes burned with feral hatred. As the supernatural cold reached its gnarled fingers, the goblin's grip faltered, its weapon clattering to the forest floor.

The frost didn't stop there. It continued its relentless advance up the creature's arm, turning flesh rigid and blue-white.

The goblin opened its mouth in a silent scream as its hand became useless, fingers locked in frozen claws.

With fluid grace, Leya brought her sword around in a perfect arc.

The blade, still wreathed in its icy aura, separated the goblin's head from its shoulders with surgical precision. Dark blood steamed in the cold air as the body crumpled.

"Mana ball!" Mitch's voice rang with power as he thrust his palm forward, channeling his magic into a sphere of crackling energy.

The spell formed instantly, a perfect orb of compressed mana that pulsed with inner light. He hurled it at another goblin that was charging toward Leya's exposed flank.

The tier 1 monster had no chance against the concentrated magical force. The mana ball struck its chest and detonated in a shower of blue sparks, the explosion tearing through flesh and bone.

Gore splattered across the nearby trees as the creature's body simply came apart, painting the forest floor crimson.

Another arrow barrage erupted from the shadows between the trees.

Mitch tried to dodge, but one of the crude shafts found its mark, punching through his left hand with a spike of agony. He gritted his teeth against the pain, feeling warm blood run down his wrist.

I need to deal with the archers before they pin us down completely.

A flicker of movement caught his peripheral vision, too late.

A goblin had managed to circle behind him while he was focused on the ranged attackers. Its rusty blade scraped against his leather armor as it slashed across his back, the crude weapon managing to part the material but lacking the power to cut deeply into his flesh.

The wound burned, but it was survivable.

Mitch spun with practiced efficiency, his sword finding the goblin's chest before it could withdraw for another strike.

The blade slid between ribs with a wet sound, piercing the creature's heart. It died with a gurgling gasp, its weight nearly dragging Mitch's weapon from his grip.

"The archers!" he called to Leya, and together they began advancing toward the treeline where muzzle flashes had revealed their enemies' positions.

The goblins had chosen their ambush site well. Each archer crouched behind the thick trunk of an ancient oak, using the natural cover to make themselves difficult targets while maintaining clear lines of sight to their prey.

Their bows were crude things of bent wood and sinew, but in skilled hands, they were deadly enough.

Another volley flew at them, and this time Leya wasn't quick enough.

An arrow caught her in the shoulder, spinning her around with the impact. She stumbled but kept her footing, her face pale with pain and shock.

"Mana ball!" Mitch's spell flew true, striking the closest archer center mass. The magical explosion tore through the creature's torso, destroying half its body in a shower of gore and splintered wood.

Leya pushed through her pain, charging the next nearest archer with her sword raised high. But as she closed the distance, the goblin produced a battered shield from behind its tree, intercepting her strike with a metallic clang.

That's when the tier 2 revealed itself.

This goblin was different, bigger, more intelligent, and far more dangerous. Where its lesser kin were barely clothed and armed with scavenged weapons, this one wore crude but effective armor made from overlapping metal plates.

Its muscles bulged beneath scarred green skin, and it stood a full head taller than the others. In its hands, it wielded a massive sword that looked like it had been forged specifically for war, along with a shield that bore the marks of countless battles.

Leya's ice aura spread across the shield's surface, but the magical cold had too much area to cover. The shield was simply too large for her power to freeze it completely before reaching the wielder's hand.

Mitch eliminated the furthest archer with another precisely thrown spell, then turned his attention back to the main threat.

His heart lurched as he saw Leya sprawled on the ground, the tier 2 goblin standing over her with its sword raised for a killing blow aimed at her exposed neck.

Without hesitation, Mitch launched a mana ball at the creature.

The tier 2 was faster than its subordinates, raising its shield to intercept the spell.

The magical explosion didn't shatter the reinforced shield, but the force was enough to send the goblin sliding backward several meters, its boots leaving furrows in the damp earth.

From the corner of his eye, Mitch saw another arrow streak through the air, this one finding its mark in Leya's abdomen.

She cried out in pain, her face going white as shock set in. Blood began seeping through her clothing, and her sword arm went limp.

She was out of the fight.

Mitch's vision narrowed to a tunnel of rage and determination. He sprinted toward the tier 2 goblin, pausing only to hurl a spell at the last archer. The mana ball found its target, silencing the creature forever.

The tier 2 goblin met its charge with a vicious overhead swing of its massive sword.

Mitch's own blade came up just in time, the impact sending shock waves through his arms and shoulders. This creature was strong, stronger than anything he'd faced before.

But Mitch had advantages of his own. While his sword was locked against the goblin's weapon, he formed another mana ball with his left hand, the spell crackling to life just inches from the creature's snarling face.

The goblin's survival instincts kicked in. It wrenched its shield around to protect its head, releasing the sword lock to save its life.

The mana ball struck the shield dead center, and this time, the magical force was too much. The shield exploded into splinters, metal fragments spinning through the air like deadly rain.

"Mana ball!" Mitch shouted, pouring all his remaining magical energy into one final spell.

The orb of power struck the now-defenseless goblin in the head, and the creature's skull simply vanished in a spray of blood and bone.

The headless body swayed for a moment, then toppled backward to join its fallen comrades on the forest floor.

The sudden silence was deafening. The ambush that had seemed so deadly moments before was over, leaving only the sound of Mitch's ragged breathing.

He rushed to Leya's side, finding her lying in an expanding pool of her own blood.

Her face was pale as parchment, her breathing shallow and rapid.

Working quickly, he removed the arrows from her wounds, each extraction causing fresh bleeding that made his stomach clench.

Drawing on his healing magic, Mitch poured every remaining drop of his mana into closing her wounds.

The familiar warmth of holy energy flowed through his hands, knitting flesh and stopping the bleeding. It wasn't perfect, true healing her completely required more mana than he possessed, but it was enough to save her life.

When he helped Leya to her feet, she was unsteady but breathing normally.

Together, they made their way back to their former campsite, moving as quickly as her condition allowed and keeping one eye on the spreading fire that continued to devour the forest behind them.

At the camp, Mitch used the last of his regenerated mana to heal their remaining injuries and prepare a simple meal from their dwindling supplies.

The hot food seemed to restore some color to Leya's cheeks, but the ordeal had taken its toll. She fell unconscious almost immediately after eating, her body finally succumbing to exhaustion.

Mitch didn't dare sleep that night. He sat watch over his unconscious companion, every shadow potentially hiding another threat, every sound making him reach for his sword. Only when dawn broke and Leya stirred awake did he allow himself to consider rest.

While he waited, he began the process of absorbing the monster cores he'd collected, drawing them from his pocket space dimension one by one. The familiar notifications appeared in his vision as the system processed his gains:

[16 x Your efforts are rewarded! +5xp]

Only this much?! The thought came unbidden, tinged with frustration. I nearly died twice in the last few days, and this is all I get?

[1 x Black spider Tier 2 core converted into 70 xp points!]

[62 x Black spider Tier 1 core converted into 10 xp points!]

The tier 2 core took significantly longer to process than the others, requiring him to focus his concentration as the system slowly broke down the dense magical energy within.

He opened his status screen to review his progress:

Name: Mitch (human)

Level: 10 [888 / 3000xp] (tier 2)

Class: Mage

Divine blessing: Creation system ★★★★★★★★★★

Body: 15

Mind: 19

Mana: 410

Mana storage: 11 + 8

Mana regeneration: 10 + 5

Achievements: [Otherworlder ★★★] ‚[Divine luck ★★★★★★★★]

Skills: [Gather], [Inspect], [Create common weapon], [Create element], [Small pocket space], [Mana ball]

Passives: [Apprentice mana manipulation],[Attuned with mana]

The numbers showed his progress, but they felt inadequate compared to the mortal danger he'd faced. It's so hard to level up at this stage.

When Leya finally woke, her first words were filled with amazement: "H-h-how?!"

"What?" Mitch asked, though he suspected he knew what had surprised her.

"How am I uninjured? I mean, I don't even have a scratch! Did you use a potion?"

"I have a healing spell," he replied simply.

"Of course you do..." she muttered, but there was gratitude in her voice beneath the exasperation.

"Now that you're up, I want to sleep too. Can you stand watch?"

"Mhm, you can count on me!" Her voice was stronger now, more like the confident fighter he'd come to know.

After what felt like the first peaceful sleep he'd had in days, Mitch and Leya prepared to continue their journey out of the increasingly dangerous woods. He was more determined than ever to escape this forest and its deadly inhabitants.

"So, what was that ice skill you used?" he asked as they walked, curiosity finally overcoming his caution.

"Oh, that's my sword aura. I have an ice affinity," Leya said, and despite everything they'd been through, she still managed to look slightly smug about her abilities.

"Can you teach me how to do it?"

"I can tell you how I do it, but I don't think I've ever heard of mages using sword aura. It's usually a warrior technique."

"Well, I want any advantage I can get," Mitch said firmly.

"I understand. So first, I will my mana over the sword's blade, wrapping it like a second skin. Then, at the same time, I will it to freeze, to become cold enough to turn water into ice instantly."

Will it to freeze, hmm. The concept seemed simple enough, but Mitch suspected the execution would be far more difficult.

"Let me try," he said, drawing his sword.

"It takes a lot of practice to get it right," Leya warned. "Don't be discouraged if it doesn't work immediately."

Mitch took his sword and began channeling his mana over the blade. This part came naturally to him, the basic manipulation of magical energy was something he'd mastered long ago.

He could feel the mana coating the steel like an invisible sheath, and immediately the blade felt sharper, more responsive.

He didn't have an ice element like Leya, but he did have fire. Following her instructions, he willed the mana to combust, to grow hotter and hotter until it blazed like a forge flame.

The mana began to glow, shifting from its usual blue to a deep red that pulsed with heat. Waves of superheated air shimmered around the blade, and he could feel the warmth against his face despite holding the sword at arm's length.

To test his success, he slashed at a nearby tree. The blade bit deep into the bark, and within seconds, the wood began to smolder and catch fire. Small flames licked at the cut, spreading slowly but steadily.

"Amazing!" Mitch shouted, unable to contain his excitement at the successful technique.

"You are truly talented," Leya said, her mouth hanging open in amazement. "It took me weeks to manifest my aura!"

As if responding to his achievement, the familiar chime of the system sounded in his mind:

Skill gained [Mana blade]

Skill gained [Fire aura blade]

So I can gain skills through my own efforts and experimentation, not just through level advancement, he realized. This opened up entirely new possibilities for his development.

They continued their trek through the woods, both of them more hopeful now that they were making progress toward safety. The forest around them was beginning to thin, suggesting they were approaching the edge of the dangerous territory.

"Look there!" Leya shouted suddenly, pointing ahead through the trees.

"What is that?" Mitch asked, squinting to see what had caught her attention.