Chapter 241: Ninja Badger [GOLDEN TICKET BONUS]

He had already thought about something similar before coming to the Land of Origin, after reading about origami balls and how folded structures could expand into much larger shapes. The problem was that creating such a structure with mana was far more complicated than simply folding paper.

Alex needed to create a hollow mana sphere with a compressed mana core in its center, then surround it with an elastic mana lattice that could store the force required for expansion. He also needed several mana ribs connected to the core and a mana ring that could distribute the movement evenly, allowing the entire structure to expand in every direction instead of collapsing.

He had originally planned to sit down and study the spell properly, experimenting with different structures until he understood how to make it stable. Right now, however, he didn’t have the luxury of time, and this was the only method he could think of that might save both Petra and Joseph.

Alex took a deep breath and began.

He first created a hollow mana sphere between his hands. A dense sphere of compressed mana formed in the center, and Alex carefully surrounded it with thin strands of elastic mana, stretching them around the core before connecting them together.

The structure was extremely difficult to control, but Alex continued working. He created several curved mana ribs around the sphere, connecting each one to the central structure through a small mana hinge before forming a mana ring around them.

The mana ring was the most important part.

Alex needed it to distribute the movement evenly so that when the elastic mana contracted, all the ribs would move together instead of one side expanding faster than the other. Even a small difference in their movement could destroy the entire structure.

Alex slowly increased the compression.

The mana core became smaller while the elastic lattice stretched further, storing more and more energy inside the construct. Alex had to maintain an enormous amount of control because even a slight imbalance could cause the entire sphere to collapse before he released it.

After several seconds, Alex finally reached the point where he could no longer add more mana without losing control. He locked the compression seal and looked toward the tunnel while keeping the sphere between his hands.

"Emma, be ready to attack."

Emma immediately nodded and raised her weapon. She understood that Alex had found something and didn’t waste time asking questions.

Alex released the seal.

The elastic mana lattice contracted, pulling the ribs outward while the mana ring distributed the movement through the entire structure. The tiny sphere began expanding rapidly, unfolding into a much larger sphere as the stored force was released. The spell wasn’t perfect. Several sections of the sphere broke apart as they expanded, and Alex could feel parts of the mana structure becoming unstable. Despite that, the overall shape remained intact long enough for the sphere to expand through the area around them.

Mana spread through the tunnel and reached much farther than Alex’s normal mana pulse could have traveled. The moment the sphere covered the area, Alex immediately noticed something strange.

There was a location farther inside the tunnel where the concentration of Origin Energy was unusually high. It wasn’t simply the Origin Energy of the dungeon, because the Origin Energy felt similar to the badgers.

’There you are.’

The hidden monster seemed to realize that it had been discovered at almost the same moment. Alex sensed the concentration shift as the creature started moving, probably intending to escape through the shadows before he could attack.

Alex was faster.

He had already prepared a Fire Bullet and immediately fired it toward the location where the Origin Energy had been concentrated. The projectile struck the tunnel wall and exploded, but Alex had deliberately kept the explosion’s power low because he didn’t want to risk causing a collapse.

Instead, the Fire Bullet released a large amount of flames that spread through the area and illuminated the tunnel. The shadows covering the walls disappeared for a brief moment, leaving the hidden monster nowhere to hide.

A badger was suddenly thrown out of the wall as if an invisible force had violently pushed it away. It stumbled through the air before landing several meters away, finally revealing itself to Alex and the others.

The monster looked different from the ordinary badgers.

Its body was larger and more muscular, with dark brown fur covering most of its body and several old scars running across its face and shoulders. Its eyes were narrow and sharp, while several black spears were strapped across its back and another spear was already held tightly in one hand.

The hidden badger immediately understood that it had been exposed. It didn’t hesitate and threw the spear toward Alex while moving toward the shadows that were beginning to return around it.

The spear tore through the air with terrifying speed, but Alex had already prepared another Mana Shuriken. He launched the construct directly toward the incoming spear, and the two attacks collided in midair.

The Fire Element Mana inside the hollow Mana Shuriken immediately exploded. The explosion destroyed the black spear before it could reach Alex.

At almost the same moment, Emma released her attack.

Her Mana Arrow flew through the air while the hidden badger was still focused on Alex. The monster had been forced out of its hiding place unexpectedly, and because it had been concentrating on throwing its spear, it failed to notice the arrow until it was too late.

The arrow struck its eye.

The badger let out a furious scream and staggered backward. It tried to move toward the returning shadows, but the pain had disrupted its movements, and it failed to reach them before Alex’s next attack arrived.

Alex created another Mana Shuriken and launched it without hesitation. The spinning blade crossed the distance between them and struck the hidden badger directly, cleaving through its body with ease.

The monster collapsed onto the ground.

Alex didn’t immediately relax. He waited for another second while carefully scanning the surroundings, making certain there wasn’t another enemy hiding nearby.

Then, finally, the familiar notifications appeared in his mind.

[Level 18 Ninja Badger killed.]

[Level 17 Warrior Badger...]

[Level 17...]

[...]

[You have leveled up. Level 17 → Level 19.]

[Mana (+1), Mind (+1), Stat Points (+2)]

[Mana (+1), Mind (+1), Stat Points (+2)]

[Superior Body Reinforcement Spell has leveled up. Level 4 → Level 6.]

[Soul Reinforcement Spell has leveled up. Level 6 → Level 8.]

[Blood Vitalization Spell has leveled up. Level 8 → Level 9.]

[Minor Heal Spell has leveled up. Level 3 → Level 4]

[Minor Tumor Growth Spell has leveled up. Level 1 → Level 2.]

[Mana Shuriken spell has leveled up. Level 2 → Level 3.]

[Mana Sense Spell has leveled up. Level 9 → Level 10.]

[Mana Sense Spell has reached Max Level.]

[Mana Sense Spell can now be evolved. Choose an evolution...]

..

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