Fighting the Grey(1)

Lance first activated the cells in his leg for a boost. Jumping forward like a rocket, punched into the sand with a loud "THUMP".

Although he carried with him a lot of explosive force, it wasn't nearly enough to break through the barrier.

He had smashed into a few heads of the sand devils that were forming. What was strange was that these heads stopped and froze for a period of time after his punch.

"All 4 of you, start smashing the forming heads! It seems to slow them down! And be prepared for combat. I'll break this sand wall in a few seconds."

"Let me do it Lance. Although I might injure my legs, the rest of you will be in top fighting shape.", said the usually quiet Entsy.

He would have taken up that offer if he were still the weakling like before who would have to depend on his team mates. That was not at all the situation now.

"No. Trust me, I can do this. Just save your power. We will need you in the coming fight."

Seeing the confidence in Lance's eyes, Entsy nodded and returned to bashing heads of sand devils in.

Lance on the other hand concentrated on the space in his dantian. It was finally time to use the stored energy.

He had spent the majority of the 3 days to condense and store a lot of energy. He visualized a structure of interlocking complex squares. This was the storage unit that the secret technique modified by the Scholar allowed him to make.

The golden ball that was the wishroot turned into a golden fire as it melted the structure above it. Droplets of pure energy dripped down into the magnificent golden ball of fire. The familiar flash of light started appearing in his dantian.

"Wishroot, activate!", was what he shouted in his mind as he visualized these things happening. It all required barely a second from when he started the visualization.

Power surged inside him like a tide. Hastily, he diverted this tide towards this legs and hands.

He had understood why having a connection with an IN resulted in the wishroot needing less power. This was because awareness of how the IN actually works allowed him to both control and command the wishroot with better clarity and also direct the resulting power with precision.

Indents formed in the stone ground this time as he leaped off again. Hearing the cracks that echoed in the cavern due to the sheer force of Lance's feet on the ground, the team looked around and became instantly shocked.

Like a meteor, he shot across the air and impacted the sand. It was almost like there was no wall as he passed through making a human shaped hole. Hurriedly, the team members controlled their shock and followed, running through the hole. After punching the sand devils, they knew just how hard the sand was. It was practically like hitting a steel wall. Only, Lance had blaster thought it like it was nothing. What kind of power was needed to accomplish this? they wondered.

Lance's fists led his way through the sand. In a second, his view opened up into one of the most magnificent rooms he would ever see.

Only, an 8-foot tall grey creature with an egg-shaped head stood in the center. surrounded by what seemed like swirling sand particles. Seeing Lance burst through, it turned around its large head and focused the unnaturally enormous and pitch-black eyes on Lance.

"So you really did come looking for your death.", it said, in a voice that sounded like it came from the depths of hell.