Chapter 331: Outlandish

The first was to continue using Mana Sphere Spell as he had been doing until now, repeatedly expanding mana spheres at extremely high speeds. By creating several spheres every second, he could continuously sense the objects surrounding him and identify approaching attacks.

However, no matter how quickly he created the spheres, there would always be small gaps between them where he couldn’t properly sense anything. Until now, those gaps hadn’t mattered because Alex could rely on his vision to compensate for them, but fighting without eyesight made even those brief gaps dangerous.

The second solution was considerably simpler. He could just create two small openings in the helmet and use his eyes normally, although he wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about that idea.

After all, the entire purpose of creating the helmet was to protect his head. Leaving openings around his eyes would introduce weaknesses into something he had deliberately constructed to eliminate them.

Alex remembered reading some historical trivia about medieval armor on the internet. Apparently, knights had used helmets with small openings for their eyes without suffering too many problems, mainly because those openings were designed rather cleverly.

The areas surrounding the eye openings were often raised or angled, preventing swords from sliding directly into them. Furthermore, the openings themselves were narrow enough that accurately striking someone’s eyes through them was extremely difficult.

Against ordinary humans wielding swords and spears, such designs provided considerable protection. Unfortunately, Alex wasn’t fighting ordinary humans.

There were monsters larger than buildings, creatures capable of jumping higher than skyscrapers, and others possessing abilities that could turn materials into stone simply by looking at them. Against such opponents, he wasn’t confident that even the smallest eye openings would remain safe.

’There has to be another way,’ Alex thought, continuing to examine the possibilities. After considering the problem for another moment, he suddenly remembered something interesting about Mana Vortex Spell.

The Spell contained three distinct vibration patterns, each responsible for a different function. Since his Talent had provided him with a complete understanding of its construction, Alex already knew how those patterns interacted with one another.

The first was the Disruption vibration pattern, which allowed his mana to exploit weaknesses in other forms of energy and break them apart. The second was the Boomerang vibration pattern, responsible for making the circulating mana return to him after traveling beyond his normal manipulation range.

Finally, there was the Vortex vibration pattern, which caused the disrupted energy to circulate inward. This allowed Alex to collect mana from the Origin Energy broken apart by Disruption Mana and absorb it into his body.

’What if I remove the Disruption and Vortex patterns and only use the Boomerang pattern?’ Alex wondered, growing increasingly interested in the possibility. Without the other two patterns, the circulating mana would no longer interfere with his spells or draw surrounding energy toward him.

Instead, he would simply have numerous mana wisps continuously traveling outward before returning to receive another infusion of Will. Since he could sense the locations of mana and anything it touched, those wisps might allow him to perceive his surroundings without relying on Mana Sphere Spell’s ordinary structure.

Alex immediately began experimenting, carefully separating the three vibration patterns before recreating the spell using only the Boomerang pattern. The process was considerably easier than constructing the original Mana Vortex Spell, although he still needed several attempts before achieving the desired result.

Once he succeeded, hundreds of thin mana wisps began circulating around him every second. Unlike Mana Sphere Spell, which created a relatively thin spherical surface, the circulating wisps spread throughout the surrounding space, constantly passing through different locations.

He had created a solid sphere, within which he could sense everything.

Alex immediately noticed an enormous improvement in his perception. Although each individual wisp provided only limited information, their sheer numbers allowed him to sense nearby objects continuously without leaving the same gaps as his previous method.

’This is much better. I should be able to fight without relying on my eyesight now,’ Alex thought, smiling beneath his helmet.

Just then, two notifications appeared before him.

[Mana Vortex Spell has leveled up. Level 1 → Level 2.]

[Mana Sphere Spell has leveled up. Level 7 → Level 8.]

Alex examined the notifications with satisfaction before gradually reducing the output of Advanced Battle Instinct Spell. He continued maintaining his Fire Mana Armor and the improved sensing technique, finding that neither required particularly intense concentration anymore.

He then turned toward his companions, who had already finished preparing their diving equipment. Interestingly, although Alex was no longer using his eyes to perceive their positions, he still instinctively turned his head toward whoever he wanted to look at.

’I suppose old habits aren’t that easy to get rid of,’ Alex thought, finding the experience rather amusing. Nevertheless, he could distinguish everyone’s positions clearly enough that moving around without vision no longer felt particularly difficult.

"We can move now," Alex announced, turning toward the opening in the corridor’s floor. However, instead of receiving an immediate response, he noticed that his companions had become strangely quiet.

After several seconds, Emma finally spoke. "Alex, I’m honestly getting a little overwhelmed here. First, all our abilities suddenly stopped working except the ones that circulate energy inside our bodies, and then you started creating that armor around your head. And now you’re walking around with your eyes completely covered. How are you even seeing anything? I can’t sense those mana domes you usually create, so I don’t understand what you’re doing anymore."

She added, "Can you explain what is happening?"

Alex was slightly surprised by her observation. He hadn’t realized that Emma could detect his Mana Spheres well enough to distinguish when he was using them, although her description of them as mana domes wasn’t entirely inaccurate.

More importantly, it made him appreciate his improved sensing technique even further. The mana wisps he was currently using were considerably thinner than his previous spheres, making them much harder for others to detect.

’This should also help me obtain the evolution I’ve been wanting from Mana Sphere Spell,’ Alex thought, feeling satisfied with the discovery.

"Alex? Are you listening?" Emma asked, interrupting his thoughts.

Alex turned toward her again, realizing that he had become too focused on his experiments again.

"Remember how Mia taught us to splice Origin Energy into different types of energy? I’ve learned how to do something similar over a much larger area. That’s why your abilities stopped working earlier. It’s a new Spell, and I’ve also figured out how to use part of its method to sense my surroundings," Alex explained.

Emma seemed to consider his explanation, although Alex could tell that she still had several questions. He didn’t mind explaining how he had used Disruption Mana to interfere with their abilities, but he had no intention of revealing the exact mechanism behind his improved perception.

It wasn’t that he distrusted his companions. However, Alex understood that information about his abilities could eventually be used against him, and he wasn’t willing to reveal every detail simply because someone asked.

After all, someone could have a friend they trusted dearly, but that didn’t mean they would share their bank account password with them. The same logic applied to his abilities, especially when revealing their weaknesses could potentially put his life in danger.

Emma opened and closed her mouth several times, seemingly unable to decide which part of Alex’s explanation was more absurd. Was it the fact that he could now splice energies at a distance when the others could barely accomplish it within their own bodies, or that he was confident enough to fight without using his eyes?

Seeing her expression, Sarah patted her shoulder and said, "There’s no point being shocked anymore. Just accept it. Whenever Alex does something ridiculous, nod your head and don’t think too much about it."

Her words earned several chuckles from the group, and Emma eventually shook her head with a wry smile. "You’re absolutely right. I don’t think I have the energy to keep being surprised every time he does something outlandish."