Chapter 216: Semi-finished Explosive

A Weak Healing Potion wasn't the most effective healing method, but it was much cheaper. In Ron's hands, however, it had a rather different use.

"Material." Ron stepped forward, pulled the soft cork from the Potion bottle, and with a flip of his wrist, poured the entire bottle's contents onto the ground.

A red glint flashed in a Ratman assassin's small eyes. It instantly charged toward Ron, who was pouring out the Potion, dampening the soil at his feet. However, when its dagger whirled like a cyclone and shredded the figure before it, the Ratman discovered it had only struck a Mirror Image.

"Action." Ron reached out and clapped the assassin on the shoulder. The creature tried to turn and strike, but it was too late.

Ron's lips moved, rapidly chanting a strange incantation not of this world. The Ratman assassin felt a strange heat rush from the soles of its feet to the crown of its head. In the next instant, a tree taller than a man, formed from pure Arcane Energy, sprouted from the soil and completely enveloped the Ratman.

"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK—" Seeing this, the other Ratmen swarmed forward. They had fought Casters before; a Mage in this situation would have difficulty reacting. If they all charged at once, they could not only rescue their trapped kinsman but might even cut down this arrogant Mage who had foolishly exposed himself!

But Ron hadn't used an entire Third-Ring Spell Slot just to control a single enemy with a touch spell.

Seeing the swarm of Ratmen pounce on him, a smile touched Ron's lips. He activated Mist Step, his form reappearing behind the party in an instant. The Flaming Arrow in his hand struck the immobilized Ratman assassin, which was unable to dodge.

"BOOM!" Ron's own sound effect was drowned out by a deafening blast. The explosion, while far smaller in area than a Fireball Magic, filled the entire cave with terrifying destructive power. Licks of intense flame lapped at Aive's raised tower shield, resentfully retracting their fiery claws and teeth before they could reach Ron, the spell's creator.

The Ratmen at the center of the blast weren't so lucky. As the cave's temperature slowly dropped and the smoke began to clear, dozens of charred corpses lay strewn across the ground where Ron had just been standing. The soil beneath them was scorched, and some of the materials within had even vitrified into glass, a testament to the spell's intense heat and destructive force.

"Let me guess... you based this on Fireball Magic and Vampire's Touch?" Silvia walked up to the scene of devastation and poked the scorching ground with her finger. "But I seem to recall that Elf Mage was trying to create a Protective Magic, wasn't he?"

"That's why I said I just had an idea," Ron said, blinking. The explosion and his Mist Step had been almost simultaneous, and the terrifying heat had seared his eyes; they still stung. "I couldn't figure out how he protected himself, so I approached it from a different angle."

"If you can't protect yourself, why not just avoid casting it on yourself?"

"The raw materials in the Potion are inherently flammable. Combined with the Alchemy Trick it contains, a little tweaking during the Casting process is all it takes to create portable Casting Materials."

"However, during my previous experiments on beasts, the targets always ran around wildly. To stabilize the area of effect, I had to add an extra step and use a touch-based cast. The advantage is that I can precisely control the blast radius and make sure I don't cause any friendly fire."

"The cost is that you also need to use a Mist Step—and that's not even counting the Mirror Image Magic and Foggy Magic," Silvia said, covering her mouth with a smile. "If you want to perfect this spell, my dear benefactor, you still have a long way to go."

"Why don't you try Casting in armor, like me?" Victoria gestured to the suit of armor she wore. "You can apply an Enchantment to the lining for fire protection. It would be much more convenient."

'Casting in armor is a good choice for lone wolves and military Casters, but I don't think I need that just yet. After all, this spell is still a work in progress. With a bit more time to refine it, I shouldn't need such a complicated workaround.'

"Too bad I can't learn this thing," Aive said, kicking at the charred, half-rat, half-human flesh on the ground, which was giving off a... roasted smell. "By the way, does that mean you can cast this with any Healing Potion?"

"The spell's intensity depends on the Potion's strength," Ron nodded. "If a regular Healing Potion is used as the Casting Material, the explosion is on par with Fireball Magic. But then what would be the point?"

In this terrain, a Fireball Magic that hurts the enemy could just as easily hurt yourself—a lesson they had learned firsthand. A precise, controllable explosion was far better suited for this environment.

"Can you use it on inanimate objects?" Sera licked her lips, a sudden Spiritual Light flashing in the barbarian's eyes. "I saw a tree sprout from the ground to restrain that Ratman, right? Could you substitute it with something else, and then—"

She made a throwing motion with her Grip of the Vast Wave, making Ron's eyes widen in an instant.

"Sera, you're a genius!" Ron slapped his thigh. "Quick, charge! There are definitely more Ratmen inside! I saw some of them fleeing with a few giant rats!"

"After them! I need to know the answer!"

Ron's explosion instantly reversed their roles. The terrified Ratmen fled deeper into the cave; a Caster with a wide-area destructive spell was far beyond what their ambush party could handle. Meanwhile, Ron's group gave chase, periodically picking up discarded Ratman weapons and trap components to use as test subjects, launching them at the backs of the fleeing figures ahead.

With a THUD, a panicked Ratman cut a rope, and a massive stone door slammed down, blocking Ron and his party from the main lair.

But would that be enough to stop them? Of course not!

"It only works on something with enough mass," Ron said, "wasting" another Potion. He motioned for Sera to break off a stone chunk over a meter long from the cavern wall. "Put it here. The moment you see it get covered in energy, pick it up and throw it!"

The tree rooting into the ground was just a visual effect; only the primary target was immobilized. Other people could still move the spell's subject freely.

"But even if we can use it like this, it's no match for a regular Fireball Magic," Aive said, panting with her hands on her knees. 'These guys are charging ahead without any thought for me!' she fumed. "Wouldn't it just be more efficient to use Fireball Magic?"

"No, no, you're wrong," Ron grinned. "For a living creature, you need to control the target to keep it from moving. But for an inanimate object, you don't need to be so precise. Fewer functions require fewer resources—Sera, now!"