With a calm motion, Gabriel raised his left hand.
Pale white mana condensed, coalescing into a mist.
In a fraction of a second, the mana spiraled, forming a small tornado. The air around it was drawn in, sucked, and forcibly compressed.
A sharp whistling cut through the space as the rotation pierced the sound barrier.
Mach 1.
Without pause, Gabriel swung his hand toward the ground.
BANG!!
The air collapsed at the point of impact—not a fire explosion, not heat—but a blast of pure pressure that slammed into the earth like a massive hammer.
The creeping vines were torn apart instantly.
The stone arrows cracked—and then shattered midair.
The water spear vanished as well.
Earth was thrown skyward. Dust, sand, and shards of rock erupted, forming a dense cloud that swallowed everything.
The bandits were thrown backward.
Coughing echoed in all directions.
And through the haze, the silhouette of a boy stood tall.
Calm.
Untouched.
"Leave," Gabriel said softly. "…this is your last chance."
His voice wasn't loud.
He did not shout.
Yet its chill was sharper than any threat of mana.
"Vacate this place," he continued, his eyes half-hidden behind his bangs. "And take nothing with you but your own bodies."
The dust slowly settled.
The bandits exchanged glances.
No one laughed, much less dared to argue. All that remained was a creeping fear, crawling from spine to fingertips.
One by one, they got up. Hands trembling as they helped their wounded companions.
Some stumbled.
Some nearly fell again.
None dared to look back.
Their steps turned into a frantic, chaotic sprint, driven by fear.
It didn't take long before their voices faded among the trees. At last, only Gabriel remained, standing alone at the mouth of the cave.
A gentle breeze blew, carrying the lingering dust through the silence.
A thin smile appeared on his face. Then, Gabriel stepped into the cave.
***
Gabriel could be seen sitting beneath a lush tree, his eyes narrowed. In that position, he felt like a true pale mist, watching over every age.
Three months had passed since Gabriel had taken over the bandits' hideout and turned it into his place of exile.
There, he spent his days—crafting simple spells without a Grimoire while experimenting with his Dark Matter powers.
During the first month, his focus was on forming physical objects out of Dark Matter.
Since he didn't yet possess a Grimoire, the spell structures he could use were extremely limited.
He was only able to create simple forms and laws—not complex, but stable, controllable, and with relatively low Mana consumption.
One of his most successful experiments was a creature he named: Beatle.
A pale white beetle, entirely made of Dark Matter.
This artificial, inorganic being could enlarge or shrink its body at will and adapt to any attack.
(Author's Note: This is the same Beatle Gabriel had once created after Kakine.)
Most importantly, if desired, Beatle could be linked directly to Gigan.
Through this connection, Gabriel could see the world from Beatle's perspective, using it as an "extra eye" that he could send to various locations.
While his original body rarely left the hideout, he still gathered information from the outside world through what Beatle saw, heard, and recorded.
To the outside world, Gabriel seemed to have vanished. Yet in reality, he was quietly building a network of observers.
There was only one limitation: Mana.
In his current condition, Gabriel could only create three Beetles per day before his Mana reserves were completely depleted.
For that reason, over the next two months, Gabriel experimented with his Mana.
Three days later, he discovered that he could use a method similar to Cid Kagenou's—though the difficulty was far from easy.
The method involved compressing the Mana within his body to its absolute extreme and smallest point, then waiting for the entire Mana reserve to fully recover—and repeating the process… over and over again.
Each full recovery took about two days, and up until now, Gabriel had successfully compressed his internal Mana ten times.
Of course, it wasn't easy. Even with his Mana control reaching 100% from the first week thanks to his Equipment and Skills, Gabriel still faced tremendous difficulty.
On the other hand, this process proved that there were still levels beyond the one hundred percent mark.
Finally, after a full month of perseverance, Gabriel gained a passive skill born from that process… and now, he was reading and studying his newfound power.
___________________
Special Abilities:
> All-Seeing Eyes of the Gods (Kamigami no Gigan)
Passive Abilities:
> Puppeteer (Lvl 1)
> Slayer (Lvl 1)
> Compression Energy (Lvl 1)
Description:
A skill born from the extreme compression of Mana performed repeatedly. The energy within the user's body is condensed, forming Compression Units—internal pressure sources that surpass the natural limits of living beings, even exceeding the user's own limits.
Each Unit contains the maximum amount of energy the user can hold at their current state, stored in a perfectly compressed form.
Limit: 10 / 50 Units
Control: 100%
(Note: This skill can level up)
Active Ability:
> Dark Matter Magic (Lvl, 1)
> Mana Skin (Lvl, 1)
___________________
Upon reading the description of his new skill, Gabriel didn't move immediately.
His black bangs still hung over his eyes, slowly reflecting a faint glimmer—the glow that always appeared whenever the Ash persona began to awaken.
Gabriel lightly touched the black feathered scarf around his neck, as if soothing the thick mist whispering in the back of his mind.
When he opened his mouth, his words sounded like someone reciting an ancient script of the gods.
"Compression Units… vessels of energy condensed beyond the limits of life… and beyond my own limits."
He drew a faint breath.
"Ten out of fifty gates have been opened," he murmured softly. "Forty empty spaces still waiting to be filled."
A small, almost imperceptible smile curved at the corner of his lips.
"Truly… how generous the universe is to me."
(Author note: Thanks...)
As described in the skill's explanation, Gabriel's internal Mana is compressed unit by unit, each storing the maximum energy his body can hold at the current state.
In other words, Gabriel's internal Mana isn't just increasing—it continues to grow, surpassing the natural limits of ordinary Mana users.
It was true that a Herald could only grow stronger by increasing their attribute stats.
Training and battles were merely means to gain experience and techniques—they didn't truly enhance one's fundamental capacity.
Yet there were exceptions. Compression Energy was one of them—a loophole in the system, an anomaly that allowed growth that shouldn't normally occur.
A beautiful concept, one that made Gabriel's heart beat faster, as if he were brushing against the secrets of the world that were meant to remain tightly sealed.
Still, Gabriel wasn't satisfied. He finally let out a soft breath, his black bangs trembling slightly.
"…this isn't perfect yet," he murmured quietly, the Ash persona creeping into his tone. "Full recovery in two days… still too slow."
Gabriel fell silent, letting his thoughts trace the total recovery process of his internal Mana, which took two full days.
That meant, if he ever unleashed all the Energy Units he had stored so far, restoring them could take months.
For Gabriel, this was a flaw that needed to be overcome—immediately.
Because Ash—the pale mist that watched over the stars—did not merely possess forbidden knowledge, but also harbored forbidden power.
Gabriel lowered his head slightly, his posture forming the silhouette of someone speaking to an unseen entity… or perhaps, only to himself.
"I need more power."
And like lightning flashing through his mind, an idea struck.
Gabriel smiled. Not an ordinary human smile—but a small, almost predatory curve, as if he had just discovered a loophole to a new level of power.
"Mana Zone…"
The whisper escaped like a forbidden incantation.
"If I can draw Mana from this world… let it flow into me like the breath of gods… then I will no longer be bound by the limits of my body's recovery."
He closed his eyes, while a gentle wind swept from afar, rustling the tips of his black hair.
"Yes… Mana Zone isn't just for strengthening spells—it also accelerates Mana regeneration, expands the 'space'… and speeds up the creation of the next Compression Units."
Gabriel opened his eyes. A faint dark purple gleam shimmered behind the bangs that shadowed his face.
"Beautiful. Truly… absolutely beautiful."
He stood up. His body felt strange—lighter, or perhaps denser from within, as if the energy had just found its proper space.
"I will master it," he murmured. "Even if the world resists me… I will steal its breath, like mist choking the very life from existence."
With that resolve, Gabriel closed his skill status window and stood fully upright, ready to open the next gate.
His goal was clear: to master Mana Zone, and the perfect location for it had already been chosen—Ultima-Volcano Mountain.
___
Author's note:
Give me some power stone, Comment and best review. Don't forget that 😉
Ah, there's a core reason why Gabriel needs Mana, which will be explained in later chapters...