Free Web NovelChapter 4: Chapter 4: Mental Images
Riven stared at the kneeling undead covered in a blue aura and remembered the last words of the system. He repeated the system’s last word.
"A subject."
He stared at his subject in a new light and then felt a strange connection with the creature. Not of a citizen or something like that, but of a ruler and a subject.
He felt like he could issue commands to it without speaking. So did it mean that he had gained a real subject?
Riven wasn’t sure but the way to test was very simple. He just had to find out if it would obey his command or not. He stared at his subject then turned towards the other undead and commanded mentally.
"Attack them."
His so-called subject lunged towards the other undead. Not the level 10 one but the lower level undead. It launched a barrage of attacks using its sword but each attack was either blocked or dodged by the undead.
They exchanged dozens of blows in a matter of seconds but no one could hurt them after all their levels were the same.
Riven watched the battle silently. Although, his subject wasn’t winning and was stuck in a stalemate, one thing was proven. His subject was completely loyal to him and he could issue a command without speaking a word.
That was all that mattered to him.
Suddenly, he heard a loud grinding sound coming from his right. He turned around, and the level 10 undead was charging towards him at an incredible speed.
The bandages around its body came undone and it lunged towards him a lot faster than the undead could run. He didn’t panic, instead tightened his grip around his mana sword and mumbled.
"I will seal you too."
If he succeeded and it became his subject, he would be certain that every enemy he seals would become his subject.
Riven inhaled and then exhaled. He lunged towards the undead as fast as his legs allowed. He moved faster than he had ever moved before.
"It’s because of buff."
He continued charging when he was close enough, he swung his sword, cutting any bandages that were within his range in half.
But he didn’t manage to cut every single one. One slipped away from his sword and wrapped around his left arm. The undead pulled him towards it and he moved close to it.
Riven drove his mana sword to the ground, anchoring himself and he stopped moving. He bit down on the bandage wrapped around his arm and using his buffed strength, he severed the bandage, freeing his arm.
The undead was within striking range so it thrust its sword towards him.
Riven quickly pulled his sword out from the ground and used it to block the attack. The two swords slammed together, producing a sound.
The undead kept pushing, his feet moved a few centimeters backwards despite his strength being buffed. He gritted his teeth and continued pushing back with everything he had.
But even that wasn’t enough. He was still being pushed backwards. That is when realization dawned upon him. He glanced at his free palm and mumbled.
"I can manifest another weapon."
Not wasting even a single second, he thought of a spear since it was the best weapon he could think of for stabbing, and willed it to form.
He saw mana rushing out of his left palm and taking the shape of a spear but then his sword started to become transport and cracks began to form on its surface.
The system whispered into his ears.
(Maintain the mental image of manifestation! Otherwise it will cease to exist!)
Riven’s eyes narrowed. So maintaining a clear mental image was a must to keep his manifestation formed. Due to manifesting the spear, the mental image of his sword in his head deteriorated.
Riven took a deep breath and maintained a coherent image of both weapons in his mind. His spear manifested a heartbeat later.
A second later, he felt a minor headache, not the kind that rendered him useless but the kind that made him feel very uncomfortable. It was probably the result of maintaining two high-quality images.
So he ignored the headache, and he thrust his spear forward but the Undead gripped the spear with its free hand. Sand leaked out from its palm which was being carried by the wind.
The undead didn’t care, it roared. The sound of sand grinding against each other resounded through his ears.
Before he could even react, the undead landed a clean hit across his chest. He was hurled backward, slamming into the ground before bouncing into the air and crashing down again.
The first impact tore the sword from his hand. It spun away as he continued bouncing across the ground, disappearing into the dust. The second impact did the same for his spear.
Worse, each time he slammed onto the ground, he felt his bones cracking and the hole in his chest widening. Blood sprayed from his chest, staining the sand with a crimson red color.
By the time he came to a complete halt, his entire body was drenched in blood leaking out from his chest.
The condition of the Undead wasn’t great either. Its palm was covered in a blue aura and had grown stiff. The aura was also rapidly spreading from its palm to the rest of its arm.
That was when the undead did something he did not expect. It placed its sword over its palm and drove it deep into its own hand. Its hand hit the ground and disintegrated into sand.
Only a few words escaped his mouth.
"It’s smart."
A few seconds later, he felt someone nudging. His body jerked, afraid that another monster had come to attack him, and he turned his head around.
Surprisingly, he saw the woman whom he was fighting to save him. Her face was kind of red.
The woman said.
"Can you move your feet away?"
Riven turned around and saw his feet touching the woman’s chest. His cheeks become kind of hot. He moved his feet away in a hurry, then asked.
"How did you get here?"
The woman blushed slightly and replied.
"You landed just beside me."
He didn’t say any more and focused his attention on the undead. He saw bandages charging towards them.
Riven grabbed the girl by the shoulder and threw her to the right, getting her out of the path of the bandages.
But the bandages wrapped tightly around his limbs and rapidly spread through his body. He tried to move his body but every little movement made him feel like his body was being cut in half.
There was no way to break free with his injuries even with the buff. The buff was practically useless because of his injuries.
A curse escaped his mouth.
"Fuck."
