GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

He needs more energy if he hopes to become a mana entity. That means he has to kill more vestiges of gods in the form of mana entities. So he rested and primed his spell. Then he chose the right screen of light to exit from.

He entered another circular room, he was ready and alert. He scanned the room with his divine sense and eyes. He spotted his opponent immediately in the center of the room. The mana entity was wearing light armor but there was no visible weapon on him. The armor indicated a need for defense but with easy mobility as a priority.

His opponent also spotted him. The mana entity didn't take him seriously when it saw that he was at the vitality core stage. But its face changed before it could mock Soverick.

A blur smashed toward it. Soverick had gone on the offensive immediately after he found his opponent. He couldn't risk giving his opponent time. Still, his opponent reacted and shifted slightly. The spear that Soverick had thrown missed the mana entity but not completely. It clipped its shoulder and took an arm from it.

No matter the type of warrior his opponent is, it must need arms. It is one of the weaknesses of close combat specialists and weapon users. Soverick smashed into the mana entity almost immediately. The mana entity was ready for him. It used its other arm to throw a punch.

Soverick reciprocated. Their fist smashed against each other. The mana entity was thrown while Soverick's arm almost snapped out of his joint. His opponent was wearing something on his hands that amplified his punches.

He ignored the pain and chased after the mana entity. He had his foot on the ground, so he could accelerate easily. He caught up soon after and punched the mana entity again, and again. Each of his punches created shockwaves, the air expanded and exploded with the impact. But the mana entity remained largely intact except for its missing hand. There was a barrier around it that protected it and prevented Soverick from grabbing it. But not for long.

After 5 swift punches that occurred in a little over a second, Soverick's fire torrent spell finally formed a ring around him. It is a simple replication of a domain. The ring of fire extended for a meter around him. As long as he stays close to the mana entity and keeps it within the ring of fire it will continue to take damage.

It is his trump card to deal damage to the mana entities. So When the mana entity recovered from its brief stun and caught Soverick's fist like a vice, the tides didn't change too much. This mana entity isn't physically stunted like the former one. It is a warrior, not a spell specialist and it showed soon after. It recovered and began to brawl with Soverick.

Its skill in hand-to-hand combat was top-notch. Soverick had thrown his spear so he couldn't use his spear skills, in exchange this mana entity had only one hand. Still, Soverick was on the losing end in the brawl. The mana entity was just that good, capable of overwhelming Soverick with just one hand.

Soverick's punches were easily resolved. The mana entity moved in a strange way that rhymed with Soverick's body movements and made his attacks ineffectual. He mostly held on because of his superior power. Each of his punches hit harder and destabilized his opponent which prevented it from doing more against him.

Even worse is that its arm was regrowing. If it got the use of its other arm then things will escalate for Soverick. The mana entity will be able to do more than just defend, it will be able to counteract.

It could cause a stalemate with one hand, two hands will make it bring out its full capabilities and Soverick doesn't want to see that happening. The difficulty of this fight reminded him that these mana entities are vestiges of gods. They can be mocked but they are ancient. They have experienced a lot and seen even more.

They are much older than Soverick. He may have spent only 5 origin cycles being alive but he isn't helpless against them. He stuck close to the mana entity as they tussled throughout the room.

It helped that the mana entity is also a close combat warrior. They punched and blurred within the room. Hits were deflected, counterattacks were made and attacks were dodged. Throughout it all, Soverick held faith in his spell. The fire ring couldn't last forever, it just had to hold on until the mana entity couldn't handle more. It happened 4 seconds after the fire ring was established. The barrier around the mana entity winked out of existence. Two seconds later the mana entity burned up and the fight ended. The fight lasted a total of 7 seconds.

"I knew I could count on you," Soverick said as he let go of his spell.

He started prepping another one soon after. Then he sat down to rest and ruminate about his fight. The mana entities were strong but they were glass cannons. They weren't living beings, just energy vestiges. But they could dish out damage and exhibit skills worthy of a mana entity.

"Time to go." He said after he was rested enough.

He took his loot before leaving. There was a pair of brass knuckles and light armor. He changed into the light armor and picked up the brass knuckles.

Then he absorbed the ball of light. He gained an understanding of fist fighting. Mastery in it was a little different from spear mastery in that it focused more on redirecting the momentum of the opponent rather than that of yourself and your weapon.

"That explains why it was able to keep me off even with a single hand." He mused.

He was made to fight half of himself plus the strength of the mana entity. It is a different approach to skills and mastery.