I stood with my back to the pool and braced myself for the spirit to attack. It charged headlong, just as I had done at the start. At least, the acid spirit didn’t share the multiple fighting techniques of the sap spirit. I went low, caught the spirit around the waist, and drove it back over my head and into the stream of water. My arms screamed as the acid ate the skin and burrowed into my flesh.
The pond bubbled behind me, and I turned around as the acid spirit started to dissolve. It writhed as its oozing flesh diluted and tinged the water a sickly green. It grew thinner and weaker by the second.
But it wasn’t enough. The spirit waded through the water and started clambering out. I would have given anything for a martial technique right then, but I still had my feet, so I kicked the spirit, and it fell back into the stream. My foot blistered as the acid bore into it, and more toxic clumps spattered all the way up my leg.
I grimaced at the pain. I needed to finish this thing off while I still had some unburned skin. The spirit was flailing in the pond as it attempted to reach the bank. I didn’t have much time.
I rushed to the river, grabbed a chunk of stone from the bridge, and ran back to the pond. The acid spirit climbed awkwardly to its feet just as I smashed the lump of stone into its face. The spirit fell back with half its head gone and landed in the pond for the third time.
I knew the water was now poisoned with acid, but I couldn’t see another way to defeat the spirit, so I leaped in after it with the stone held above my head. I brought the rock down on what was left of the spirit’s head, then its chest, and on down its body. With each strike, the water became more toxic, and my skin began to broil.
But I couldn’t let up. Not when I was so close to victory. Agony screamed all over my body as I continued my work.
My improvised weapon crumbled as I crushed the semi-solid mass of acid a piece at a time. The acidic water sloshed around me, eating down to the bone. If this wasn’t a spirit world, I was sure I would have collapsed already, but biology seemed to work differently here.
When there was nothing left of the stone except a tiny pebble, I grabbed the acid spirit by both hands and tore. The water and my blows had weakened its body, and I managed to rip its head from its shoulders. I plunged the head beneath the surface as my hands melted. Every part of me felt like it was burning alive, and my body rapidly disintegrated into the pond.
My awareness vanished for a moment before it returned. I could feel soft grass beneath me, and I opened my eyes.
I was back on the island in the Vigorous Zone. My flesh was unburned, but I could feel something else inside me.
I reached out and touched the core and let just a fragment of its power flow through me. Strands of fire and water opened within me, and I bound them together to create a new pathway.
My vision flashed black and red as I forged the new core within myself. A primal roar exploded from my chest and echoed throughout the marshes .
I struggled to clear my mind and find an end to the sudden tunnel of screaming pressure. Channels of boiling energy burned as Vigor ran through my flesh.
A hand touched my shoulder, and I turned to see Kumi standing behind me. Her fingers trembled as they brushed the sweat from my face. I fought through the echoes of horrific sensation and finally smiled at her.
“I thought you were dying,” Kumi said, horrified. “Does that happen every time you do this?”
I sat up and rolled a shoulder to loosen up my neck. “Pretty much. But it’s worth it.”
I got to my feet.
“You look exhausted. You should rest.”
“It’s not that bad. I’ll perk up in a minute or two.”
The princess shook her head. “You’re swimming in sweat, Ethan.”
“How long was I out for?”
“Maybe half an hour. Are you sure you’re able to walk?”
“Kumi, I can do a lot more than walk now; trust me.”
She shook her head in astonishment. “I don’t like this.”
I offered her a hand up. She took it and surprised me with a hug. Her arms slipped under mine and curled tightly around my chest. Her fragrant hair brushed my cheek as I held her there for a moment.
“Don’t scare me like that again,” she said. “At least, tell me if you’re going to start screaming like that.”
“You got it. Thanks for watching over me.”
Kumi’s gaze swept past my shoulder. “You’ve probably attracted every monster in the Vigorous Zone. We should leave before they attack us in force.”
“Right behind you.”
We swam back across the lake and walked along the trail toward Qihin City.
“Labu always told me that Augmentation was difficult. He never said it would be anything like that,” Kumi said. “How many times have you done—”
A smothering fog rose from the pathway around us. The Qihin princess stepped in front of me and held out an arm to stop me.
“I’ll deal with this,” Kumi said.
“No.” I took a step forward. “I want to see what I can do with my acid pathway. Better take a step back just in case.”
The combination element allowed me to merge multiple techniques into something new, and I had a few ideas already.
“You’re out of
