Chapter 280: Disruption

Matthew remained silent for several seconds before slowly raising one hand with a small chuckle. "I’m sorry. I saw you analyze the Basilisk’s ability and find a way to counter it, so I wanted to see how good you really were at analyzing things. I shouldn’t have done something like that here."

Alex continued staring at him before finally retracting his mana. Only then did he realize how angry he had actually become, especially since even his Advanced Battle Instinct Spell had been working to keep his emotions under control.

Given that everyone around him was essentially an armed soldier, starting an internal conflict could easily turn into a disaster. Alex also understood why he had lost his temper so quickly, because his mother was already in danger and he couldn’t bear the thought of losing another family member he cared about.

Mia could have been injured because of Samuel’s blessing, and the thought of that happening had made him momentarily snap.

Alex took a deep breath before looking at his team and saying, "Just relax for now. We’ve already done a lot today, and the night should be coming to end. If any of you want to return to Earth, go ahead. We need to start looking for the portal as soon as the morning comes. Since there might be high rank monsters there, you all should make sure to be rested. Until then, I’m going to spend some time with Mia."

Alex’s team slowly lowered their weapons after hearing him. Matthew also turned toward his companions and told them to stand down, causing the tension between the two groups to gradually disappear.

Everyone eventually sat down to rest while Alex walked over to Mia. He placed one hand against her body and said, "I’m going to push some of my mana into you, and then you can use that breathing ability. I’ll try to observe how it works before attempting to copy it."

Mia looked at him for a moment before giving a quiet meow. She then began using the strange breathing technique, and Alex immediately focused all of his attention on the flow of energy within her body.

Alex wasn’t even sure whether the method could really be considered a blessing. It seemed possible that Mia had simply discovered a method that all Classes could eventually use, especially since separating Origin Energy should naturally be useful to anyone who needed to replenish their energy.

Alex pushed more mana into Mia’s body while carefully observing how she handled it. The amount of mana he was concentrating inside her was enough to cause serious damage if he wanted to, but Mia didn’t back away or hiss at him.

Instead, she deliberately pulled back her Will, making it easier for Alex’s mana to move through her body. Her behavior was completely different from how she had reacted when Samuel tried to use his blessing, and Alex immediately realized that she trusted him enough to allow him to examine her energy directly.

It made him feel warm. Despite how she always acted, she clearly trusted him a lot.

Alex continued observing her without saying anything. He became so focused on the process that he eventually lost track of time.

His consciousness slowly entered a strange trance, yet he remained vaguely aware of everything happening around him. His physique had apparently activated, and even though his attention was completely focused on Mia, his Advanced Battle Instinct Spell helped him monitoring his surroundings in the background.

Time seemed to pass much faster while he remained in that state. At first, everyone around him stayed alert, but Matthew and Emma eventually began making jokes and talking with each other, gradually improving the atmosphere after the earlier conflict.

Some people also appeared to have returned to Earth. Alex didn’t pay much attention to them because his Advanced Battle Instinct only drew his awareness toward situations that might develop into a threat.

At one point, Frank woke up, and something seemed to have gone wrong with Yulia’s situation. Alex could tell that it was related to her Species Evolution, although he didn’t know the details because the situation didn’t appear dangerous enough to demand his attention.

Later, Emma began cooking some of the leftover Kraken meat. She had apparently brought several spices back from Earth, and the smell quickly spread through the surrounding forest.

Even some of the Netherclaw Prowlers seemed interested in the food. Emma hesitated for a moment before calling several of them over and giving them some meat, which caused the creatures to become noticeably less hostile toward her.

That was the last thing Alex clearly sensed before his trance became even deeper. His attention gradually separated from the outside world, and he stopped observing Mia as he slowly sat down on the ground.

He finally understood what he had learned from watching her, although it wasn’t the method itself. Mia seemed to be using a special method involving Faith to separate Origin Energy, and since Alex didn’t possess Faith, he couldn’t simply copy what she was doing.

There was still a reason his mind had entered that strange trance. By watching Mia repeatedly perform the method, Alex had realized that he could achieve a similar result as a Mage through a completely different method.

He slowly breathed in, taking a large gulp of air. He could clearly sense Origin Energy entering his lungs, but none of it was being absorbed, and all of it was eventually released back into the surroundings.

Origin Energy was made up of three different forms of energy: Mana, Aura, and Faith. If Alex wanted to absorb only Mana, he first needed to find a way to cut—or split—those three components.

Fortunately, he already possessed something capable of doing exactly that. His Mana Disruption Blade Spell could disrupt and cut all types of energy.

Alex had previously used it against the Origin Energy of monsters, but he had never been able to do anything that hinted the Origin Energy could be split into Mana, Aura, and Faith. Now, after observing Mia, he finally understood why.

The Origin Energy inside monsters contained their Will. That Will held the sub forms of energy together and gave their Origin Energy a stable foundation, making it extremely difficult to separate without directly overcoming the monster’s Will.

The Origin Energy floating through the air was different. It had no individual Will holding it together because the Will that had once existed within it had already dissipated.

If that was the case, then separating the Origin Energy in the air should be much easier. Alex immediately began experimenting with the idea by creating a thin sheet of Disruption Mana inside his windpipe and using it as a filter to separate the Origin Energy he inhaled.

The first attempt failed almost immediately. Alex carefully observed what had happened before making several adjustments to the structure of the Disruption Mana, then took another breath and tried again.

He continued repeating the process, changing the filter slightly each time he discovered a problem. Sometimes the Mana separated properly while the Aura and Faith remained mixed together, while other attempts caused too much of the energy to disperse before he could absorb it.

Alex didn’t stop. He continued refining the method, observing every failure and making small adjustments until the process gradually became more stable.

Eventually, the Origin Energy entering his lungs separated cleanly into Mana, Aura, and Faith. Alex immediately absorbed the Mana while allowing the other two energies to flow back into the surrounding air.

He opened his eyes.

A notification was already waiting in front of him.

[Mana Breathing Spell detected.]

[Would you like to learn Mana Breathing Spell?]

[Yes/No.]

..

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