"Hahahaha!" Sarah clutched her stomach and burst out laughing as she sat on the banks of a river.
"Hey! Hey! One more time!" Varian chased after a group of octopus-like creatures.
A blue light covered their skins and they swam away at incredible speeds—surely the highest ever in their lives.
"Urgh."
When Varian finally captured one of the creatures, it squeaked and burst into pieces of blue and black.
The blue and black liquids tried to enter Varian who simply swatted them away.
Sarah walked towards Varian. Her feet lightly touched the river surface, but never got wet.
And even though she was walking on water, she showed no sense of discomfort.
"These creatures can share their fear and it all adds up. Until now, you graced at least ten of their members. Now, their fear of you is ten times." She explained to the sulking Varian.
"I didn't even kill them though," Varian complained.
"You traumatized them." Sarah rolled her eyes. "Bad fellow."
"…I'm innocent, okay?" Varian looked at her with 'innocent' eyes, catching Sarah off guard.
"Y-You…" Her cheeks blushed and she quickly turned her head away. "Let's go to Giant Walrus."
Saying those words, a blue light flashed and she skated across the river and reached the other end.
"Tsk." Varian snickered and called up his status panel.
[Water Path Level 1: 100/100]
"Oh well."
[Lightning Path Level 6 (2/6)]
Varian felt the two distinct 'mana' in his body and probed them with his mental sense.
They were very similar, except for their orientation towards the elements.
If he had to use a very rough analogy, it was the same person wearing different clothes.
Varian recalled his advancement from Lightning Path Level 1 to Level 2.
It needed a more advanced control of water mana.
"Same with lightning mana. I wonder if…." Varian muttered and focused on the water mana in his body.
It swiftly flowed through each and every corner of his body before it hit what seemed like an invisible barrier.
"Hm," Varian closed his eyes and muttered to himself. "Compress the mana, control it through the water sense, and let it flow freely."
He created a lightning barrier around him to remain undisturbed and sat cross-legged in mid-air.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
It was the sound of water gushing from one end to another as it drowned everything in its way.
Huaa!
Then a distinct sound emerged. One that felt like this water was being pressed violently.
Kaa!
Varian's eyes snapped open and a blue light flashed in front of him.
The water far away twisted violently rose into the air and crashed the river.
Boom!
The impact was similar to a rock or any solid object colliding with the river.
[Water Path Level 2: 0/200]
Varian grinned and saw Sarah staring at him in the distance.
He waved at her and teleported to her.
"…Wow. It's been less than two hours." Sarah muttered with a breath of disbelief.
"Ai~ Being a genius is hard." Varian clutched his forehead and lamented.
"…" Sarah gritted her teeth.
Genius? Even geniuses wouldn't be so scary.
As far as she knew, even they took months to reach level 2.
This guy…
Looking at his goofy grin, Sarah suddenly had the urge to smash him.
"There! Sharks!" Varian suddenly pointed out and without waiting, dashed towards them.
As he moved at high speeds above the river surface, water blasted out from either side.
"Level 3? Good, good." Varian nodded in appreciation as he felt the creatures' power.
Graaah!
A violent roar sounded as the sharks noticed him with their water sense.
Then without any provocation from his part, the group of six sharks rushed at him.
Each of these sharks was as big as a bus and had a very sharp horn on their forehead.
"What's that for?" He wondered and they gave it away the next moment.
Klishhh!
A blinding blue light enveloped the river as the surrounding water mana was 'pulled' into the sharks' horns.
Then they formed large ice balls covered by dangerous spikes and shot at him.
At the same time, the water under him fluctuated violently and engulfed him before solidifying.
He was 'trapped' and the attack 'arrived'.
Boom!
The ice balls exploded into pieces and the water broke down.
Varian walked out of the site unscathed.
[+20 XP
Water Path Level 2: 20/200]
"That's actually good." He nodded at the horned sharks in appreciation.
He was about to say "one more time" but recalled his tragic experience with the octopus-like creatures.
So, instead, he clutched his chest and knelt on the river's surface before 'coughing' out blood.
Kreoo!
Smelling the fresh blood, the Sharks went insane. Their eyes turned bloodshot and their horns shone with a rather dark blue light.
For the next few minutes, Varian took the attacks head-on, came out, and coughed out blood.
The sharks were even more enthusiastic and kept attacking him with all their strength.
A few minutes later…even the sharks with their cognitive faculty knew that something was off.
Why was this man not dying yet?
And that blood...why did it resemble blood of a sea horse?
"Argh….I'm super injured, if you attack me once, I'm dead." Varian closed his eyes, clutched his chest, and announced in a tragic tone.
"…."
"…."
After a few moments of awkward silence, he opened his eyes.
The sharks were still facing him, but slowly they were moving backward…
Sarah on the other hand was recording the whole thing.
Seeing her mischievous smile, Varian could already imagine this video surfacing at many moments.
"Fuck." He clutched his chest and really wanted to cough out blood.
Then, he turned to the sharks.
The poor sharks flinched and stared at him meekly.
"Attack me again." He uses his telepath powers and conveyed the meaning.
Then, he heard their response.
"Boss, please spare us."
"Yes, Boss. You can have the river, we will live in a lake, no a pond is more than enough."
"Boss, I have an old grandma, an old mother to take care of. Please spare me."
"Boss, I have an old son and aged wife to take care of. Please spare me!"
"Bah! Boss, this guy took my line. I am the one with an old son. Please spare us."
"…"
"You attack me and you live. Or…" Varian's voice trailed off and the sharks immediately caught up.
"Haha! I must say, Boss, attacking you is my greatest pleasur—"
"He meant it is his greatest service."
"Ah yes, yes. How can we enjoy beating up Boss, right?"
"Indeed."
And thus, the group of poor innocent sharks worked overtime and complied in every way possible to this 'Boss'.
Listening to his demands that required more and more mana out of them, one of the sharks lamented.
'Don't humans call superiors who let employees work overtime as sharks?'
'Apparently, they do.'
'Then why is the other way around.'
'We, the real sharks are working overtime. Meanwhile, that guy is acting like a shark.'
'Mom Tsana, I'm so depressed.'
'Shut up! That's my mom.'
'Your mom is my mom, idiot.'
'Then is your wife my wife, stupid.'
"Why did the attack intensity drop?" The dreaded voice jolted all the sharks.
"We are just super charing for an incredible attack boss."
"Then do it."
"…yeah."