Chapter 308: Descender

Samuel could hardly believe what he had just witnessed. He was currently inside the cave that had once been the Badger Dungeon, along with the others who had returned there to wait for Alex. However, unlike everyone else, Samuel had been secretly observing Alex’s battle by twisting the space around him through his Talent.

’How is this possible?’ Samuel thought, struggling to understand what he had just seen.

Alex had killed the Stone Basilisk in a single attack, and what made the situation even more unbelievable was that the monster had been neither injured nor exhausted. Unlike the previous Basilisk they had encountered, this one had been at its peak strength when the battle began.

If anything, Alex was the one who should have been exhausted, considering that he had spent hours flying and repeatedly consuming mana while practicing his spells. Yet somehow, he had managed to unleash an attack powerful enough to kill a High Rank Species monster instantly.

Samuel’s hands trembled slightly, forcing him to slip them into his pockets before anyone noticed his reaction.

’What was that attack? Could he be a Descender? Or perhaps someone from a Descender’s lineage?’

Samuel wasn’t sure which possibility was more absurd, and the more he thought about what he had witnessed, the harder it became to understand Alex’s strength. Just yesterday, Alex had barely managed to defeat a dying High Rank Species monster, yet today, he had completely demolished a healthy one with a single attack.

Even more concerning was the fact that Alex had immediately begun preparing another attack before confirming whether the Basilisk was dead. That meant he was capable of using such a devastating attack at least once more, although Samuel couldn’t tell how much it would cost him.

While Samuel was still trying to process everything, Matthew approached him and casually wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"So, how is Alex’s battle going?" Matthew whispered, making sure nobody else could hear their conversation.

Samuel stiffened before slowly turning toward him, unable to hide his surprise completely. He had never revealed the full extent of his Talent, much less mentioned that he could use it to observe distant locations.

"Don’t look at me like that. It’s pretty obvious that you’ve been secretly watching Alex’s battle," Matthew said with a smile.

Samuel managed to keep his expression relatively calm, but the movement of his Adam’s apple betrayed his nervousness.

’There it is again. That stunningly dangerous observation skill of his.’

It was precisely because of Matthew’s unusual abilities that Samuel had decided to remain close to him. He wanted to determine whether Matthew was a Descender or someone who had inherited a Descender’s bloodline.

However, another person who seemed even more monstrous had now appeared before him, and that person was Alex Mercer. Samuel still believed Matthew would win if the two fought seriously, but considering Alex’s ridiculous growth rate, he wasn’t certain how much longer Matthew would remain stronger.

"So? Are you going to tell me what happened?" Matthew asked when Samuel remained silent.

Samuel hesitated briefly before replying, "Alex killed the High Rank Species monster."

He deliberately left out the fact that the battle had ended in one attack, but Matthew seemed to have already figured it out.

"I only heard one explosion, so I suppose he finished it with that attack," Matthew said, his expression becoming serious.

He remained silent for a moment before smiling wryly. "I thought we were doing pretty well after killing those two Level 5 High Rank Species monsters, even though we haven’t told the others about it. But after seeing what Alex can do, I’m starting to wonder whether we’re actually ahead of him."

Samuel didn’t respond immediately, although he found himself wondering the same thing. The difference was that Matthew sounded more impressed than concerned, while Samuel was beginning to feel increasingly uneasy about Alex’s existence.

...

Meanwhile, Alex was examining the notifications floating before his eyes. His Disruption Mana Blade Spell had gained two levels, while Mana Sphere and Mana Circuit had each gained one. Most importantly, Mana Shuriken had advanced by two levels and finally reached the threshold required for evolution.

It was excellent progress, especially considering that he had accomplished everything while preparing for a single battle. However, Alex was initially somewhat confused about why Mana Shuriken had improved so much.

He had assumed that the System would only count his progress with the spinning shuriken behind his back, which hadn’t undergone enough improvement to justify two levels. After considering the matter carefully, however, he realized that the foundation of Mana Shuriken was the rotational force created through elastic mana.

He had applied that same principle to his Mana Railgun projectile, improving its rotation and stability considerably in the process. Since he had improved his control over that spinning force, it made sense that Mana Shuriken would benefit from the progress.

’So the System doesn’t care about the exact form of a spell as long as I’m improving its underlying principles,’ Alex thought.

It was similar to how Disruption Mana Blade could improve even when he applied Disruption Mana to bullets, Mana Spheres, or Mana Shuriken instead of creating an actual blade.

Once he understood that, the notifications made considerably more sense. As long as the fundamental principles of a spell improved, it apparently didn’t matter what form the spell took during practice.

Alex dismissed the notifications for the moment and looked down at the hill, whose appearance had changed dramatically after the explosion and subsequent landslide.

He hadn’t expected his improved Mana Railgun to possess such destructive power, so the result was a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, the attack had also placed a considerable burden on his mind. His head felt as though it was splitting apart, and the pain was severe enough that he could still feel it despite keeping Advanced Battle Instincts active.

He slowly descended, wiped the blood flowing from his nose, and approached the location where the Basilisk had fallen. However, both its corpse and the Gene Potential it had dropped were buried beneath the debris from the landslide.

Alex considered digging them out, but it would take a lot of time if he did it alone. He returned to the others, and brough them to the location where the corpse was.

A strange silence settled over the group as they looked past Alex toward the hill, which had lost a considerable portion of its original shape.

..

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