Mana Burn

Char could clearly feel death coming for him. If he did not do something, then he would be split in two by the giant berserk orc.

"Damn it!" he cursed as he activated the last magic he would use. He would not use it if his life was not on the line.

Mana gathered toward him like a vortex. He could feel strange warmth from the mana that filled his body, it was intoxicating, but he did not have time to be idle.

Char activated all of his magic once more, mana covered his limbs and muscle, he quickly took a side step to dodge the ax coming for his head.

"I would not make it, he thought as he raised his black sword and tried to parry the ax. It gave him enough time to dodge, but the sword got knocked away from his grip.

Char did not dare to block with the bone sword since it would be the end if it got destroyed. He would not have any chance to kill the orc without the skeleton.

The black sword held surprisingly well. If it had not been made from both adamantine and black steel, but only black steel, then it would have been cut in half by the ax.

Char could feel his arm growing numb but soon another feeling attacked him, the intoxication warmth got too much for him to handle.

Instead of a pleasant feeling, the warmth started to become hot. He could feel his body burning from the inside.

"Too much mana is being absorbed, I need to do something about it," Char realized as he pushed all of his magic to the limit.

He used the reconstruction magic to heal his body from the burning, but it was barely enough from stopping it to do further damage.

Char tried to control the absorption but he could not control it yet, the burning feeling started to spread and he started to grow sluggish even though he already used all of his magic to push it to the limit.

"My body is breaking down, I need to stop absorbing mana," Char hurriedly deactivated his absorption magic, but the burning and spreading did not stop.

Char gritted his teeth as he did another roll toward the orc's blinded side. He used the bone sword to do a quick slash at the orc's side.

He quickly moved back so he would not have the same fate as the skeleton. He would not survive if the lower half of his body got turned into dust.

The orc was not able to catch him since it was missing a limb, Char was also being extra careful with it.

It could only roar in frustration and pain as another chunk of its vulnerable soul got sliced off.

Char could feel the spreading slowing down with each mana he consumed, but the rate of it slowing down was not good enough!

"I need to consume mana faster, but I don't know how, I already run my magic at its limit!" he lamented.

It was then that he felt another vortex of mana formed, but this time he was not the source but the bone sword.

Char panicked as he thought it was trying to suicide, but to his surprise, the vortex was absorbing his mana instead of the surrounding mana.

The burning sensation slowed down considerably, that he could start healing his body, but on the other hand, his mana consumption grew once more.

Char attempted another strike at the orc, but to his surprise, it cut its thick skin more than he could before.

"It is using the physical boost too!" he realized that the bone sword was consuming its mana by activating the physical boost so it would not explode from overcapacity.

"Wait, can it absorb mana from others too?" he wondered.

For the first time, he attempts to communicate with the skeleton; he sent his intention through their bond and he could feel a vague reply.

"Possible, but not possible?" he needed to think what it meant.

Char did another hit-and-run while thinking about it and for the split second the sword touched the orc, a vortex of mana appeared on the sword.

"Ah! That's it! It can only absorb its mana with physical contact!" he connected the dot.

He almost ran out of mana once more. He was wondering if he should risk another usage of the mana absorption magic when a red-skinned imp rejoined the fight.

Anne was able to summon the imp once more, she also shot another arrow and got her second bullseye, it hit the orc's remaining eyes, causing it to move frantically as it lost its sight.

"Imp! Taunt it!" he ordered the imp. He knew that it would understand him even though it was not his summoned creature.

It made a loud voice and threw rocks to attract the blinded orc's attention. That gave Char a leeway and he could tone down his mana consumption.

The fight dragged on for hours and he was finally able to damage its soul to breaking point. It grew sluggish, and Char could see a chance to shatter its soul completely.

He activated all of his magic once more, his speed increased to the limit, and then picked up his black sword, he raised both of his swords and he did his iconic vertical strike from behind the orc.

The astral blade shattered the orc's soul into pieces, and it fell on its knee.

Char did not stop and used his black sword to behead the orc with a spinning slash. He put his all in it but even then; the sword was barely able to finish the job.

"Finally!!!" He stabbed his swords to the ground and leaned on them, he was too tired to move.

He looked out of the cave where the orcs were watching their fight; they were watching but did not join the fight.

Char expected them to run away once the giant orc was killed, but the reality was not as forgiving. The orcs roared and continued to besiege them.

Char raised his sword as the orcs were already coming for him. He did not have time to rest!