Rivers of the Night
Chapter 447 - 447: Shredding [400 GT Bonus]

'This feeling…'

Theron felt the equivalent of a twitching finger, but in the depths of his Meridians instead. Every time it happened, he had the urge to complete a new circulation path, each one calling to him in a different way.

There were just… so many.

Even though his Water Mancy Meridians were only 4–5% of his channels, the number of variations within them was countless. It felt like there were an infinite number of Spells he could cast, each one unique from the one following it, or the one before it, or the two preceding it.

Even Theron found himself being quickly overwhelmed, and he had to pull himself out of that state, his brows furrowing.

'I need to focus my attention more. I'm lacking powerful attack Spells… and defense Spells… and area control Spells…'

In reality, he was lacking in everything. All of his Spells were weak, and he only managed to take them so far because of his ingenuity. But after a moment, he relaxed and decided on something.

They said the Black Clan was most well known for their defensive capabilities, right? And that came from their Black Limbo Tortoise Echo, as far as he was aware.

In that case, if there was one thing he could definitely get from those Runes, it was defensive capabilities.

Theron threw all distracting thoughts out of the window, focusing on defense.

'Still too broad.' He noticed immediately. But he also realized that focusing on a particular type of defense wasn't working either.

There were too many ways to form a shield Spell, or an expulsion Spell, or a water prison-type Spell. There were too many countless variables involved. Theron could pick one at random, but there would be no telling—without trial and error—what was best.

Pulling back again, Theron paused before he came to an idea.

Maybe instead of trying to just build a new Spell, he should take a page out of his own thoughts.

Hadn't he said to do what the Dark Mancers had done in reverse? They had taken a complicated Spell and dumbed it down. So shouldn't he take a simple Spell and smarten it up?

[Shedding Water Skin].

It was his current favorite defensive Spell, and it was very versatile. He could coat his body in a layer of water, use it to disperse impact over a large area, and even apply [Pressure Burst] to it to accelerate his speed and agility at opportune times. This content is hosted at NovelFire.

However, what if he applied these Runes to it?

His mind entered an unprecedented state of focus, and he honed in on two things: the Runes of the Black Limbo Tortoise and the Law of Density.

Almost instantly, the countless streaming paths simplified down. There were still so many it made his head spin, but the fact the foundation had now become [Shedding Water Skin] meant that there were only so many ways to improve it.

Theron thought more and then added another Law to his focus—the Law of Vibration.

He had used the concept of resonance and vibration with [Shedding Water Skin] more than once. The first time was against the Sangun to counter their Sound Spells. Now, he was receiving a chance to do exactly that once again.

The number of paths shrunk even further.

Theron's eyes glowed from within their lids, but then he calmed himself.

Some of these paths he sensed… even with his shocking amount of Mana and Control, many were too complex for him to use in a timely fashion, and others would leave him drained of all the Mana he had.

Some of this was because they weren't optimized and had flaws, making them not worthwhile. But there was another, larger reason for some of them as well…

And that was because they were beyond Silver Mancy—beyond even Gold Mancy—touching a realm that made his head hurt to even look at. Some were so blinding they threatened to tear him apart for even glancing at them a moment too long.

If there were Spells on that side of the spectrum, then there were certainly ones on the other. Ones that were so simple and easy to use that they weren't worth the upgrade or effort at all.

What was interesting, though, was that even these simple ones were easily twice as powerful as [Shedding Water Skin], if not more.

So Theron focused once again, eliminating those too powerful, too weak, or too flawed to use.

The region and variation of the circulation fell shorter and shorter until it was in a tiny range with just a few dozen options.

This number was still a shocking amount, especially since Theron had been very strict with the range he chose.

Even so, it was perfect for him.

There were almost 50 Spells here to choose from, each different by just a minor detail. With his capacity, he could test them all personally one by one. But first…

'Which ones work best with cooled water, and which ones work best with heated water?'

This eliminated even more, halving them. The ones he threw away either had clashing effects or had no benefit from the synergy between the chilling and heated paths at all.

Once he had a selection of just over 20, he began to test them one by one.

One armor after another took shape on him.

He dismissed maybe the most powerful Silver Mancer Spells this continent had ever seen on a whim, as though he hardly cared. But before the Water Mana could even fall to the ground in a splash, he cast another, and then another, until he found one.

'You can be called… [Shredding Water Skin].'

Chi. Chi. Chi.

With a flash, Theron's body was contained by a mass of churning water, a cyclone of water mist forming behind him. This cyclone wasn't a part of the Spell, but rather a natural phenomenon that formed as a result of it. The vibrational cadence of the new defensive armor caused Water Mana to spontaneously fall into it, making the air around especially heavy…

And if Theron chilled or heated it, he could control the flow of this Water Mana to make an enemy feel as though the weight of the world was falling on them, or like they were being launched into the skies.

This Spell… let alone Silver Resonance Spells, it was probably stronger than any Gold Resonance Spell on the continent.

BANG!

Dean Pennel was smashed heavily to the ground as she walked into the domain of heavy Water Mana mist.

Theron frowned, looking back. Truthfully, he really hadn't been paying attention at all, leaving it to the Alpha. But the Alpha hadn't reacted to Dean Pennel either, clearly feeling like the woman was neither here to harm Theron, nor was she a threat.

"Theron… please… I'm… sorry… I…"

The old woman struggled on the ground, and Theron dismissed his [Shredding Water Skin] before she was crushed down to her flesh and bone.

Dean Pennel gasped for breath, but the water content in the air was so high that she started coughing again, unable to do anything but wheeze. Though it was just mist, it practically felt as though water had gone down the wrong pipe.

"Please… please… save… my son… Please…"