Metting

In the middle of the forest, Akira stirred from his slumber atop a large tree branch, by the chirping birds. With a swift jump, he descended to the forest floor.He stretched emanating crackling sounds from his bones.

Wasting no time he headed straight to the nearby river. He jumped into the water, swimming to the middle where a solitary rock protruded. He sat in a meditative posture as a thin layer of mana enveloped his whole body in a purple glow.

As the sun rose higher in the sky,Akira sat on the rock enjoying the feeling of mana around his body. Since his mother passed away he found solace in the presence of mana.

While meditating he recalls, in which he heard about a beast escaping Grand Magic Zone and entering village and it took 5 magic knights to kill it.

'A beast that, powerful won't leave its territory and come to a low density mana zone unless there would be a shortage of food because of the high population or another beast.' Akira thought while compressing mana to form a thin and dense mana skin.

'I have to give it a visit' he thought as he made mana skin more denser.

Scene change,

Lava and lava everywhere, Akira vision could go he only says lava.

" Let's see what's hidden in those mountains " Akira muttered as he looked towards mountains which were red due to high temperature.

He coated himself with mana skin to shield the heat, and flew towards the mountain with a boom tearing through the sound barrier,

'Thanks to mana skin, I could fly independently.'

He flew through beasts who tried to block his way.

He reached the top of the mountain and looked around,

'These weren't the ones who escaped. I have to track their territory' he thought as he observed the surrounding area and flew to search for signs.

'There is it' he thought as he descended towards a cave underneath the volcano.

'This is a network of caves that leads to the underground mass of superheated mana that fuels the volcanoes. These tunnels are even hotter than the surface' he concluded while observing the network.

'It must be their territory,' he thought examining the Walls of caves.

He walked inside killing the beasts who attacked him thinking of an easy target.

'These beasts survived here, evolving themselves using surrounding mana to resist the extensive heat.'

'These weren't the ones who escaped, they were weak. Maybe deep inside.'

After searching for any other lifeforms he came across a door made of stone blocks.

'A dungeon, It shouldn't be this surprise this region will act as natural defence, perfect for storing treasures. Let's check what it stores.'

He thought as he made two sharp whips of shadow to cut open the door.

Door sliced opens revealing a tunnel with large crystals on either side of it.

He made his way through the path that led him into a chamber with three doorways having a large red gem above it on each.

'Let's test them' he thought and raised his hand summoning an army of black coloured humanoid beasts from his shadows.

He sends them inside in all three doors first to test them against the creatures inside to fight

While he made his way towards the leftmost door following his army, because mana emitted were much higher in these gates.

As he was deep inside the cave, he felt many shadows were dissipating, so he rejuvenated them.

When he reaches the end he sees an ornate door, which was guarded by twenty giant golems made of stones.

His army started attacking them after receiving his orders.

As his army were attacking he observed that they were continuously dissipating after getting a hit or two, while he regenerated them using his own mana but this would be futile while fighting stronger opponents.

After an hour the sheer number of his army destroyed the stone golems,

'This won't do, As if now I can't use them in direct fight' he thought and he dissipated all the summons.

'If I could make them more sentimental or more aggressive' he thought while examining the outcome.

He made his way towards ornate doors and pushed open the door.

As he entered he had to suddenly jump sideways to Dodge a fire attack.

He turned to see a woman in her late twenties. She has fiery red hair, fierce golden eyes and a muscular yet feminine body.

She unleashed a torrent of flames from her outstretched palms, the searing heat engulfing the space between them in punching motions. Akira reacted swiftly, weaving through the flames with agile grace, his shadowy tendrils flickering in and out around him like a shield.

With a roar of determination, She charged forward, her fists wreathed in flames as she aimed a devastating punch at Akira's midsection. Anticipating her attack, Akira sidestepped at the last moment, narrowly avoiding the blow as he countered with a swift kick to her side. She grunted in pain but quickly recovered, spinning to deliver a fiery uppercut that Akira deflected with a shadow-infused arm.

Their movements were a blur of speed and intensity, each strike met with a counter as they danced around each other in a deadly ballet of combat. Akira's shadows snaked out to entangle her, but she deftly dodged and weaved between them, her movements fluid and graceful.

She could feel the power emanating from her adversary, a primal energy that ignited her fighting spirit. With each punch, she strained against the force of Akira's attacks, his resilience matching her own.

As they clashed, the force of their blows sent shockwaves rippling through the chamber, forming cracks in the walls as the very earth trembled beneath them. Akira focused on his opponent's movements, analyzing her attacks and searching for an opening to exploit.

Suddenly,she lunged forward with a ferocious barrage of punches, her fists blazing with fiery energy as she unleashed a relentless assault. Akira ducked and weaved, his shadowy form flickering in and out of sight as he swiftly avoided each strike.

But she was relentless, pressing forward with determination to overwhelm him. Akira's defenses began to falter under the onslaught, his shadow constructs proved slow in comparison with her assault.

While Dodging , he analyzed her movements, searching for any weaknesses to exploit. He could feel the power behind each blow trying to overwhelm him.

But he refused to back down, he started emanating more and more mana outside his body, with each passing moment he felt himself growing faster and faster, more attuned to the rhythm of the fight.

Seeing this she also did the same, releasing her mana to the very nature of making it her own.

One side of the chamber was filled with bright orange flame while another was filled with darkness.

Whoever overpowered others would win.

'I can't hold it for more, I have to create a distraction.' Akira thought as he infuses more and more mana to its surroundings, cracks started getting bigger and bigger beneath his feet with more infusion.

"Shadow Summiong - Dragon"

The entire cave trembled, a dragon head of size bigger than the cave itself was launched from his shadows towards the opponent. Destroying the surroundings completely as it came in contact.

She had a crazed smile, witnessing such a powerful attack and decided to show her's also.

The area surrounding her started to melt. She launched a barrage of fist shaped fire projectiles through her fist.

Both attacks came closer and closer, as they were about to collide, silence then

*Booooooooom*

Their attack collided, sending shockwaves rippling through the cave and its surroundings.

The force of the impact shattered rocks and sent debris flying in all directions, creating a chaotic scene of destruction.

Inside the cave, stalactites and stalagmites crumbled, falling to the ground with resounding crashes.

The walls trembled, and fissures formed, releasing clouds of dust into the air.

The ground shifted and heaved, causing rocks to tumble down from above.

Outside the cave, Lava swayed violently as the shockwave traveled through the surrounding volcanic terrain. The beast escaped in a panicked frenzy, small animals scurried for cover.

As the shockwave dissipated, a hazy cloud of dust settled over the landscape, obscuring the once-clear view of the surrounding area. The aftermath of the collision changed the landscape. The area became a huge crater, the collision point being its centre.

Dust settles revealing a stranding figure of a woman in battered and torned dress, panting while clutching her left shoulder and a boy who lay prone on the ground, his body battered and wounded.

Which caused a smirk to form on the her face.

She started making her way towards him while limping.

But as she reached him she caught completely off guard when a similar figure appeared from the shadow, delivering a devastating punch on her sideways which sends her flying backwards.

She slowly rises on her feet while clutching where he had punched with one hand and used the other to support her. She had blood leaking from her mouth. But despite all, the smile never left.

"I have underestimated you" she confessed

"Yes, you have" he confirmed

'His attack was never meant to hit me it was merely a distraction, when our attacks collided its hindered our vision at that time he replaced himself with his clone.' she concluded. Seeing his magical prowess picked up her curiosity.

"Tell me, who are you?" She asked

"Why don't you go first?" He retorted

She chuckled hearing his response and

"I am Mereleona Vermillion." She introduced herself.

"I am Akira, Kurogami Akira" he introduced.

"Kurogami Akira, it's a fitting name for some one like you" she commented

"I am honoured" he mocked

"Haahaa, you are nice kid. So why did you come here in the first place are you an outsider from different kingdom." She again asked

"You're in no position to question me but just to clarify your suspicions no I am not." He said while refusing to answer further.

As he was about to leave he heard

"What you are doing is the basic applications of the Mana zone. Improve to create your own attack and be prepared because when we meet next we are going to fight again." Mereleona explained while also declaring her wish for a rematch.

With that he left.

********

Soo how is story so far? Comment down to motivate me to post more of them...