Defying Gravity

I didn't even get to rest.

As soon as I had arrived, I was already fighting a Cursed Tinge.

Emerging from the magic formation Joseph had created with the snow was a white monster. When it arose, the snow around it began to levitate and the air around us just seemed to stop. It literally stopped, almost as if the wind was afraid of its presence.

"Unlike Red and Blue Cursed Tinges, white ones can be taken down by any form of energy. They are weak to any element except wind."

"Why is that?"

"Because Cursed White Arts allows you to disobey the laws that keep us towards the ground in our previous world. If I were to explain it in simple terms, you don't obey the wind, motion, and gravity, they obey you. In simpler terms, you basically stop motion."

"So in other words-"

"Cursed White grants you resistance to any form of wind and gravity. You can turn it off by will, allowing you to obey those laws once again. These laws of motion and gravity keep us to the ground, but Cursed White breaks those laws, allowing us to move freely without any kind of disturbance."

"I see. So basically-"

"Oh, watch out."

Joseph pointed upwards and the Cursed Tinge's arm was being brought down towards us. Joseph had vanished while I stayed and watched as the Cursed Tinge collided with my Rebellious Shield.

Instantly, the Cursed Tinge's arm was slashed into countless pieces.

I see… Rebellious Shield works… a little too much. Well, I'm not gonna complain since it just saved me.

[Mana: 152,639,187/1,560,000,000]

Huh, guess I don't have a lot of mana left to perform any Oppression or Banishment attacks. Guess I'll just have to resort to whatever I have left in my arsenal.

And with that amount of mana, I know exactly what I'll be doing.

It also just became dark…

As I began the incantation, the Cursed Tinge once attempted to strike me once again with its other arm, but like its first arm, it was quickly sliced into pieces.

At that point, I had finished the incantation and activated Shadow King Domain.

…

…

…

[Passive Skill Obtained: Cursed White Arts]

I watched as its body dispersed into white particles. Soon, the wind around us and the snow floating in the air resumed their natural course.

"Impressive move," Joseph complimented as he came down from the air, landing in the snow.

"Now then," Joseph began, "Though you may have obtained Cursed White Arts, you are still unable to use it."

"What?"

"You don't just defy the winds and gravity instantly. First, you need to fight against it. Prove that you are more powerful and it will eventually obey you. We are bound by their rules so we need to sever that connection, then will you be able to use Cursed White at its full capacity."

"So how am I supposed to do that?"

Joseph smirked and turned.

"Follow me."

I followed Joseph as we walked to the other edge of the mountain. He eventually stopped and looked down. I walked up next to him and looked as well.

What was I looking at? I was looking at a pitch-black chasm.

Joseph kicked some snow off the edge and it fell down into the seemingly endless hole. After a while, the snow just faded into the darkness.

"So… why we here?" I asked curiously. Then I noticed my mana reserve depleting.

[Mana: 10,524/1,560,000,000]

"What are you-?"

Suddenly, I was shoved off the edge and into the bottomless abyss.

"Good luck Nero. Rumors say that no one has ever flown out of these chasms after they dived into it. I'm one of the few who managed it, I hope you are one of them."

"Wait but-!"

"Let's say your principles have something to do with Cursed White. The only thing left is for you to figure it out."

Joseph continued to speak, but I was already too far into the chasm to hear what he said after that. He then walked away, disappearing from the edge.

What the hell am I supposed to do in this situation!?

I tried to use Flight but I was completely stripped of all my mana! That fucker, he pushed me in here without any mana! What the fuck am I supposed to do!? He said that he managed to do it with his principles, but how the hell am I supposed to do that without mana!? How the hell am I supposed to use Cursed White Arts without mana!?

God damn it!

Technically, I am able to use the principles given to me. The only problem is I won't be able to launch any attacks with them. I need mana for that. However-

[Mana: 10,000/1,560,000,000]

Joseph only left me with a tiny percentage of what my mana reserve holds and he's somehow managing to keep it at that number! Just what the hell am I supposed to do with this amount of mana!?

I clenched my hands as I opened up a small void to draw Oppression and Banishment energy. With Cursed Arts, they manifested into their physical appearances.

As I held the two principles in my hands, I began to recall their properties and what they do.

The Principle of Oppression… it oppresses any form of matter and energy that it connects with as what it did when I activated Rebellious Barrier which opposed the winds and what it did to the Cursed Tinge. It's like a compelling force that objects matter, almost like its anti-matter. Well, it did almost crush a Cursed Tinge once, just that my control over it wasn't refined and still isn't.

I clenched the principle into my hands as it activated Angel's Crimson Hand upon dispersing.

The Principle of Banishment tosses energy and matter away to the point where it just doesn't exist anymore. It can pull anything into the void consisting of that principle and it will never be seen again.

…

But what does that have to do with Cursed White Arts!?

I know Banishment could create a metaphysical space that sucks in matter and Oppression creates an anti-matter field.

…when did I suddenly become so smart?

Gravity is a form of energy and Oppression and Banishment are able to affect that element. So that means…

If I combine the two, then I could defy the laws of gravity and the gravitational force that keeps us mortals grounded.

Hehehe…

I clenched Banishment, dispersing it into blue particles which formed at the end of my palms. At the same time, I formed two tiny orbs, each made with their own respective principles and energy.

If I just combine these two together, the two principles will converge, meeting at a specific point where the two opposing forces will shatter, developing a field void of all matter.

It's almost like magnets except the two principles will become the same pole after they have combined.

As the orbs of red and blue began to mix, I eventually spotted the ground.

Oh shit! I was so absorbed into the principles that I completely forgot that I was falling down a chasm!

"Come on!" I shouted as I began forcing the two principles to mix.

As I plummeted towards the bottom of the abyss, that was when the two orbs converged.

I didn't see it completely but I saw a purple flicker before I had closed my eyes to embrace the impact.

…

That's strange… I haven't hit the ground yet…

I slowly opened my eyes, staring at the surface that I was supposed to meet head-on.

Did… did it work?

I moved my body and stared at my hands. Then I looked around and noticed that I was floating in a small circle void of snow that was created by Cursed White Arts.

"Ha… haha… it actually worked. It worked!"

I waved my hand and didn't feel any drag. As I floated up, I began to accelerate as well. A few seconds later, I was flying at the speed of sound.

Eventually, I was out of the chasm and floating in the air. I looked around as the snow that drifted along the violent wind passed me. I waved my hand around and I couldn't feel the wind at all.

Yep, this really confirms it.

"Hey, you did it."

Joseph appeared in front of me and chuckled.

"I guess so," I responded.

"Now I didn't mention this, but Cursed White Arts doesn't really benefit much in combat, but it does allow us to fly freely without consuming mana. We can literally fly without mana. Obviously, you still have to be connected to the void in order to use it to draw the energy of nothingness, but at least you have a way to escape if you run out of mana."

"Does it do anything else?"

"Well, obviously you can turn it off by will. Besides that, you can also neutralize attacks. Though you can only negate minor attacks since it's not a barrier. It also can't collide with any other barriers. Whenever I use Cursed White, I can't have Rejecting Barrier on, otherwise, I'd be negating the effects of Cursed White. Anyway, you manage to finish this in one day so I think you deserve to rest. Now then, I'll bring you back to the camp."

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