Elio Elian plumted back into the abyss from which he had fought so hard to escape.
As the wind rushed past him, a strange calm settled over his mind. He had given everything, pushed beyond what he thought possible. If this was to be his end, at least he would et it knowing he had given his all.
'Is this how my father felt?' The thought flashed through his mind, unbidden.
But even as he contemplated acceptance, a part of Elio refused to surrender. His mind raced, searching for any possibility, any chance, no matter how slim. He still had 10 mana points. He still had his wits. And as long as he had those, hope remained.
"What are you made of?" His father's voice echoed while asking him.
Elio's eyes snapped open. He missed his father, loved him, accepted him already, but he wouldn't repeat the sa story. He wouldn't leave his family behind… No matter what.
'What am I made of?'
Images from the privileged families' building flooded back, the hypocrisy, the opulence contrasting sharply with the poverty of the majority, of his own family. His mother's gaunt face haunted him.
He left her enough mana, so what? She will never go back to poverty, so what? His brother and sisters had their life secured, so what?
He knew if he died… They would miss him.
Could his mother bear it? Would she maintain her smile on that emaciated face?
He imagined her hearing the news of his death, her son, gone. Her now healthy face, turning sad and defeated, far worse than the thin but firm visage he saw the day he first left.
He couldn't do that to her. He couldn't give up.
Would he let that Fathoran decide his fate? To hell with that!
What would he do for his family? For survival? He'd show him what...
He'd show that narcissistic, abusive family who Elio Elian really was.
Fury consud him. His jaw clenched so tight his teeth ground together, his muscles tensed. He wouldn't black out.
Not now, not ever again.
He wasn't made of cowardice, fear, or submission.
He was forged from fury, courage, and sheer will.
He couldn't reach the safety of the parapet now? Fine!
He'd get there later. Elio opened his book to the fifth challenge page.
Preparations? To hell with preparations! If Fathoran could do it, so could he.
The familiar words appeared before him:
"Do you wish to challenge the fifth level?"
A defiant smile curved Elio's lips. Bring it on!
Elio materialized in the chamber, the fall's montum vanishing instantly. He appeared standing but imdiately fell to his knees. He had only 10 mana points left, his armor at half its resistance.
Ignoring his depleted state, Elio's first action was to take a deep breath of oxygen from his hand.
His body, adapted to low oxygen levels with the System's help, felt reinvigorated. His clouded consciousness snapped back to full alertness.
His gaze turned serious, fixing on the creature at the chamber's center. So that was an elephant, Elio mused.
The 5-ter-tall beast was black, round, and oddly... cute?
Elio readied his lance, his mind imdiately focusing on the core. If it was in the creature's center, reaching it would be nearly impossible. But if the Genesis book was right, the creature would only have 50 resistance points, its attacks dealing just 5 points of damage.
He had 9 attacks left, having used a fraction of a point to breathe. Two magical attacks would leave it at 2 points, and Elio could finish with his lance or another magical attack.
He didn't even need to hit the core. It sounded easy... too easy.
Wasting no ti, Elio summoned a fireball. It looked different from his usual ones; those 24 magic damage points seed to affect his magic.
The fire was more intense, larger, the color brighter. Elio realized he could propel his attack much faster now, finally understanding why the family's summoners could cast magic so swiftly.
His? Much faster.
The fireball flew at great speed towards the elephant. It seed it would hit, but of course, Elio thought, it couldn't be that simple.
A wall of "black rock" appeared between the elephant and Elio's attack. It was destroyed on impact, but another imdiately rose, then another and another. At great speed, several layers enveloped the creature and continued generating outward.
So this was the carbon the book ntioned, the sa Fathoran had used to trap him and prevent his movent.
He couldn't waste more attacks. He had to find a way to eliminate the wall layers before he could deal damage.
Well, it didn't have to be easy. It never had been…
Elio charged forward, lance raised high. On impact, the outermost wall crumbled with relative ease.
Good, he thought. The lance's 9 damage points were sufficient; the wall must have lower resistance, perhaps related to the elephant's damage? 5 resistance points?
Elio executed a series of quick thrusts with the lance, but the walls' generating speed overwheld him, pushing him back.
The chamber was enormous, perhaps slightly larger than the swift's, but based on previous encounters, the elephant likely had unlimited mana.
Elio could end up crushed.
With a fluid motion, he slung the lance onto his back and clenched his fists. He began pumling the wall with rapid blows. Two punches seed enough to destroy a section, but the hole he managed to open was small, and more walls covered the damage he generated.
He was still slower than the elephant.
Elio looked up. Could he attack from above?
No, the Elephant had enclosed itself in a do.
Think, Elio, think!
Suddenly, one of the runes he'd seen in the Genesis book ca to mind. At the ti, he hadn't fully understood, but necessity brought a significant increase in his comprehension.
He seriously didn't want to die.
God had said the first power they were given was oxygen. Elio recalled so runes represented it as 'O'. Hydrogen in the second power with an 'H', and the Book explained that the combination of these two powers with magic was what gave "holy water".
3O* 3H* Ni* Mana → Ni(OH)₂ · H2O (??????)
He* C* ??????? Mana ????? (Barrier)
2Ni* 3H* C* Mana → Ni₂C(H₃)* (Advanced Magnetism)
As this realization dawned, Elio's mind raced with newfound possibilities. And in that knowledge, he found not just hope, but power.
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