Free Web NovelChapter 14: Chapter 14: Not Enough Mana
Riven stared at the kneeling swordsman; he didn’t say a word; instead, his gaze swept across all his subjects, particularly the axeman.
The act that it had performed had proven this class really deserved the Mythical rank and it proved one thing that made his heart beat faster.
He could become stronger without personally killing every enemy.
When his army was large enough, he could send his army to hunt monsters which would not only make him stronger, but also make the army grow stronger since his subjects shared the ability to seal living beings like him.
The axeman was living proof of that.
Obviously, there were risks... such as a part of his army that he sent to hunt getting destroyed causing his sealing power to plummet which in turn would cause his level to fall.
And if he were in a life-and-death situation, that would prove fatal. But the benefits outweighed the gains in his opinion.
As he was lost in thought, he heard footsteps that were growing louder with every passing second. He turned around and his eyes narrowed.
A horde of undead were charging towards him, these undead bodies were covered in bandages just like the undead that he had first seen when he had first met Ayala.
Then, the bandages wrapped around their bodies loosened and flew straight towards them at an incredible speed. He grabbed the hilt of the mana sword harder...
Then he cut the incoming bandages with his sword easily when it was within, locked his eyes onto the undead spearman, and issued a command mentally.
"Fight him."
The axeman obeyed, his gaze lingered on Ayala who was behind him and then his gaze moved to the swordman.
"Protect her."
The swordsman got closer to Ayala until it was just a few meters away from her. Certain of Ayala’s safety, he dashed towards the horde of undead desert soldiers who were charging towards him.
As he charged, countless bandages wrapped around their bodies loosened and charged towards him. He cut down every single incoming bandage.
When he was close enough, he thrusted his sword towards the chest of one of the undead but the undead blocked the attack with its sword.
Riven pushed the undead with all his might and it flew backwards until it slammed into the horde of undead causing the group of undead to slam onto the ground.
Another undead charged towards him from the side, its sword pointed towards his skull. He didn’t use his sword to block the incoming attack instead he landed a devastating blow across his chest.
The bandages wrapped around its body were destroyed, revealing the body made up of sand beneath him. The hardened sand cracked and sand leaked out from those cracks which was carried by the wind.
All of this was thanks to the buff of Ayala...
That is when the system whispered into his ears.
(The buff ends in 45 seconds!)
His expression darkened. If the buff ended then it would make the fight much more difficult to survive... their was still a lot of undead around him.
He had to think of another way to compensate for the lack of the buff if he wished to survive. His mind raced as he thought of what to do.
That is when realization dawned upon him...
"I have to gain more subjects quickly..."
Only that could compensate for the physical power that he would lose due to losing the buff. So he went on a complete attack mode.
He exchanged countless blows with several undead, each attack blocked by the undead but he continued striking hoping to drive his sword through the chest of one of the undead.
As he exchanged blows, the system whispered into his ears.
(You buff ends in 30 seconds!)
He increased the intensity of his strike since if he had failed to do so before his buff ended, the forces of his strike would drop significantly which would make it harder to gain more subjects.
He continued launching a barrage of attacks until he finally succeeded. He drove his sword into the chest of one of the undead and his sword dissolved into a blue aura that traveled deep into its body.
A brilliant blue light exploded from it... Blinding his vision.
(You have gained a subject!)
(You have gained 3 sealing power!)
Riven opened his eyes a heartbeat later, stared at his newly gained subject, and commanded it.
"Cover me."
He manifested another sword and used it to strike more of the undead near him. The support that the newly gained subject provided him was very helpful.
It blocked the incoming attacks and also counterattacked in his stead creating more openings for him. He seized this opportunity and drove his sword into another undead gaining another subject.
He ignored the whispers of the system and continued attacking. With more forces at his disposal battling became easier and he continued gaining more subjects.
Every time, he ignored the whispers of the system after gaining a subject.
Like this, his army and he continued to grow stronger.
Then the system continued whispering.
(Your buff ends in 10 seconds!)
Riven’s eyebrows knitted together as he thought to himself.
"Too little time. The army isn’t strong enough"
Although, his army was rapidly growing — he wasn’t sure if it was enough for him to defeat all the undead around him without his buff.
He glanced at Ayala and asked.
"Can you extend the buff!"
The reply came almost immediately.
"No mister... I have already used most of my mana!"
"Damn it!"
Left with no choice, he continued striking with everything he had and as he fought, the system suddenly whispered into his ears.
(Your subject is injured!)
(It’s requesting mana to heal!)
(Accept Request?)
(Your subject is injured!)
(It’s requesting mana to heal!)
(Accept Request?)
Riven eyes darted around. Wounds had formed across the bodies of his subject — the most injured were the axeman and the level 10 subject that he had gained while saving Ayala.
Holes had formed across their bodies from which blue sand leaked out. If he didn’t supply mana to heal then they could die... which he didn’t want to have. So he silently said.
"Accept."
Words flashed before his eyes.
(Your mana has decreased by 54 points!)
(Current Mana Reserve: 63/225)
Riven’s gaze lingered on the mana reserve for a heartbeat. Then he looked at the dozens of undead all around him.
This was not enough mana for the battle...
