Chapter 1045: Hotter Than a Summer BBQ (3)
Chapter 1045 Hotter Than a Summer BBQ (3)
As the thirty-second countdown ticked away, Erik knew he had to act fast or risk being cooked alive. The approaching creature's heat was already unbearable, as it was at this distance. If he didn't do something drastic now, he would die in thirty seconds.
Without wasting another second, Erik sent mana into his Frostwind Fire Tempest's neural links, channeling an enormous amount of mana into them.
The wind howled, and the sound cut through the air while the temperature dropped. Erik felt the chill seep into his bones, which at least helped him fight the scorching heat he was feeling since the creature had appeared minutes ago. The water condensed in front of the ship, transforming into an enormous glacier right before his eyes.
The gigantic ice formation hung suspended in the air for a moment before gravity took hold of it. The glacier fell from the sky with terrifying speed and when it crashed into the ocean; the impact made a deafening noise.
A monstrous wave, born from the glacier's violent entry, spread and surged towards the ship. Erik gripped the railing, his knuckles white as the vehicle lurched violently. Then they sizzled, because they made them almost incandescent.
For a moment, it seemed the ship would capsize, tipping to one side.
<Maybe I exaggerated a bit.>
Erik felt dizzy as the ship rocked violently. He struggled to stand upright on the tilting deck. Everything around him spun, making it hard to tell where the sea ended and the sky began.
However, that wasn't the only result coming from the glacier, because as soon as the extreme cold surface of the gigantic ice boulder hit the boiling waters, a geyser of steam and water erupted.
The area around the ship cooled down. This gave Erik some brief relief from the extreme heat, but not that much.
But Erik's victory was short-lived. The intense heat radiating from the still-hidden creature melted the glacier at an alarming rate.
Clouds of steam kept billowed up, creating a thick fog that enveloped the entire area, and not just that around the ship.
Though, while this prevented Erik from seeing the thaid, it also hid the ship from the creature's sight.
The temperature then started rising again. Thinking quickly, Erik used his Frostwind Fire Tempest power once more, this time creating several large blocks of ice on the ship's deck.
These would help the young man fight the heat that was slowly coming back in full force. No, it was even worse, because the creature traversed several nautical miles in just seconds, and as it got closer, the temperature increased at a much faster pace.
Erik realized his mana wasn't enough to match the creature's. The change in temperature was too much, despite Erik pouring a ton of mana into making the glacier. This could only mean one thing: the sea thaid had much more of the ethereal substance than him.
<But I am at the fucking A rank!>
It was scary to think there was something that could make him feel like having an E-ranked brain crystal again, but here it was. It was a dreadful thought, one that made his insecurities surge again.
At that point, Erik, hidden by the cloud, could only wait. Five tense minutes passed with Erik standing on the deck. If the ship wasn't hidden by the fog, the creature would have already attacked it.
<Well, at least I got five more minutes.>
But Erik could see and feel the water shifting and rippling around the ship. Something massive was moving beneath the surface, and judging by the increasing intensity of the disturbances, and of the rising heat, of course, it was getting closer.
"Damn it."
Even though he hid the ship, whatever was approaching seemed to have some other way of tracking him.
<I need to do something. But what?>
In desperation, Erik willed his biological supercomputer to display his status, hoping there might be some ability or power he had overlooked and that might help him get out of this situation.
—
[Host Information]
NAME: Erik Romano.
AGE: 18
POWER LEVEL: 279
SYSTEM LEVEL: 236
EXPERIENCE: 1,034,762 /1,278,611
DNA POINTS: 318,342
HEALTH: 22,440/22,440
MANA: 22,370/22,370
{Attributes}
STRENGTH: 394
INTELLIGENCE: 326
DEXTERITY: 374
ENERGY: 1117
Available attributes points: 0
{Powers}
[Biological Super Computer Powers]
-Brain Crystal Manipulation
Brain Crystal Power Extraction
Brain Crystal Power Merging
Brain Crystal Power Analysis
Brain Crystal Power Editing
Brain Crystal Power Strengthening
(LOCKED)
-DNA Manipulation
DNA Extraction
DNA Merging
DNA Analysis
DNA Editing
DNA Strengthening
(LOCKED)
-Analysis
-Brain Information Injector
-Device Manipulation
[Host's Powers]
PLANT MASTER: Aι3B-RANKED
CHIMAERIC DEMON: Aε2X-RANKED
SELF HEALING: Aμ1A-RANKED
INSTABILITY: Aλ2B-RANKED
PHANTOM VEIL: Aο3A-RANKED
FROSTWIND FIRE TEMPEST: Aο2A-RANKED
FORCE BASTION: Aσ1B-RANKED
LIGHTNING LORD: Aσ1A-RANKED
BEASTWALKER: Aσ1B-RANKED
{Skills}
Kyokar hand-to-hand style (MASTER)
Etrium's sword style (ADVANCED)
Crypt of the Desert Style (MASTER)
—
As the interface appeared before him, he gave it a quick look. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could use among them that could help him in that situation, at least not apparently.
The reason Erik remained on the ship was to protect it. He made the others leave so that they could be safe. But he was in the middle of the danger.
The problem was he did not know what to do, unable as he was to think clearly. <Think, Erik. Think!>
His mind went into over gear. Trying to come up with a solution. There were only two things he could actually use, and that came to his mind: the Instability, and the Phantom Veil brain crystal powers.
The first option was to manipulate the creature's mental state, disorienting or confusing it, or at best pacifying it. The second was to create an illusory copy of the ship, which might divert the creature's attention and lead it away from the ship.
However, this plan came with significant problems. Creating an illusory copy of the entire ship would demand an enormous amount of mana, and he didn't have much to begin with, at least not compared to the sea thaid.
Besides, there was no guarantee that this would work against the thaid, at least based on how powerful it looked to be just from the distance. The same could be said for the Instability brain crystal power. What if the creature realized he was trying to mess with it? With how much more mana it seemed to have compared to Erik, it would break the mental attack easily.
Besides, while the surrounding steam might help to conceal the illusion's nature, Erik doubted it would last for long. Given the creature's apparent strength, Erik was sure he would need to use his Instability brain crystal power to further muddle its perceptions.
<The creature is going to see through the trick...>
The young man was starting to lose hope.