LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 384: Critical Mistakes
Mandra managed the strain she put on Zach's body flawlessly by alternating between her Eyes of Truth and magic output. But that didn't mean it wasn't taking its toll. If using magic was like opening the valve to a water fountain and using the magical energy pouring out to draw beautiful pictures, Mandra's magical energy was like a raging river held up by a dam.
When she used magic, she raised the dam slightly, letting her magical energy pour out. But shutting it again meant restraining the magical energy. Even with perfect control over magical energy that bent over backward to obey her, it wasn't an instantaneous process.
Like turning a faucet, the water—magical energy—was gradually shut off.
But if she wasted time by waiting for that to happen before she activated her Eyes of Truth, she would miss the Great Ugor's movements and tells. She would lose the fight in a heartbeat. Likewise, she needed to instantly reach as much magical output as she could to hold back the Great Ugor.
The dam was too slow. It had never bothered her before, but she had never needed to limit her strength like she was doing right now or alternating between magical energy and her Eyes of Truth before this.
Becoming Zach's familiar was a unique circumstance she had never experienced before. It was an interesting one. Mandra had many thoughts about it, and given her nature, she had naturally thought about how she could optimize her magic to maximize her current strength. She had made minor improvements.
But it was only when she was fighting with her and everyone else's lives on the line that she was finally pushed into a spot where she had to improve. The fight with the Great Ugor gave her direction. She knew what she needed to improve.
Unfortunately, there wasn't room for her to come up with an improvement or replacement for the mental dam controlling her magical energy when she wasn't using it.
All she could do right now was erase part of the dam and then put on a temporary band-aid for the few seconds she used her Eyes. It wasn't a long-term solution. Even now, it took a significant portion of her mental strength to do it.
It wouldn't have mattered much if she was winning the fight anytime soon, but she wasn't. If the fight were to end, it would be because the Great Ugor finally improved enough to catch her. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire
It wasn't fast, but he was making steady progress as he adapted to the changes his body had undergone throughout the years without him giving it much thought other than comfortably accepting his new strength and durability. He had never needed to fight before. The closest he had come was instantly subduing weaker underworlders.
But now, the Great Ugor had to squeeze out more and more of his strength to try and grab the elusive Mandra.
The repeated failures and Mandra's continued tickling and evading irritated the Great Ugor beyond reason. It was the first time in several centuries he felt this powerless in his own home.
It would have been one thing if someone like the principal had managed to sneak inside and was toying with him. At least then, the Great Ugor would know why he was being treated like an annoying kid throwing a tantrum. There was no way he could escape or even think of putting his hands on that monstrous man. The principal would tear him to shreds without even needing to use his hands.
Mandra, however, still couldn't scratch him.
The Great Ugor's caution and reliance on wits gradually faded as he repeatedly pursued Mandra all over the sixth layer. The fact that Mandra had barely scratched his skin even after several hundred different attacks gave him confidence. He could rest assured. While he couldn't catch her, she couldn't defeat him.
That was why he missed two things. The first was that he was improving. Of course, it would be difficult for him to sense the changes in Mandra's state when he hadn't even mastered his own condition. But the time between Mandra's magical surges was growing irregular, and the margin she had when escaping his attacks was shrinking. He was gaining on her.
If he had caught that, he could have pressured her more and been more methodical in his approach. But while the Great Ugor liked to think of himself as a predator, he didn't have the natural instincts of one.
The other thing he missed was that Mandra could, at best, gently adjust his trajectory right when he lunged or when he was in the middle of the air.
If he wanted to go somewhere, she couldn't stop him.
He had tunnel-visioned on Mandra. In his anger, he had forgotten who his enemy was.
Mandra was an annoyance, sure, but she wasn't a threat.
If the Great Ugor had his wits about him, he would have realized that he could just go for the Daughter and finish the usurpation that had been nine centuries in the works.
If Mandra or the others tried to get in his way or interfere with the process, there was a simple solution.
Kill Zach.
Just like they would be unable to stop him from taking the Daughter, the three maids would be unable to stop him from getting to Zach and shattering his stone body.
But scheming from the safety and privacy of being alone in the sixth layer when his enemies were on the surface was different from being confronted by others directly. Put on the spot, enraged, and a little stressed, the Great Ugor made several critical mistakes in judgment.
Even so, there was nothing Mandra or the other maids could do.
The Great Ugor was just too strong.
It was only when the Daughter returned that they would have a chance. But the liquid underworld energy had stopped boiling and hissing a while ago, but there was still no sign of her.
Mandra started wondering if they could escape the Underworld without the Great Ugor catching them. It looked like there was no hope left for their success.