The Insurrection of the Inept Hero
Chapter 97: Distortion

"So… umm… Joseph." I began speaking.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"I know you are trying to get me to obtain the ability to manipulate space but… do we really have to come here to do it?"

"This is how I learned it."

"But isn't there another way?"

"Yeah, but this way is way easier for Warlocks. Now, stop complaining and get to it."

"A-alright…"

You might be wondering what we were talking about. Well, I was just complaining to Joseph about why I am going to obtain the ability to manipulate space here.

By here, I mean… space. Literally, space… and the only reason how I'm not running out of oxygen or frozen yet is because of Cursed White Arts and the void. Believe it or not, the void is also an unlimited supply of oxygen, though I still wonder how that works.

The earth or that is what I assume the planet to be called was right behind us. There wasn't really a difference that this earth had but it was a bit bigger and rotated faster. Well, that is just me assuming since I've never actually been to outer space before until now.

"Anyway," Joseph began. "I have an errand to run. It doesn't take that long to manipulate space out here since… well, it's everywhere. I'll come back in an hour or two to pick you up since you don't know where to go."

"Wait, you haven't told me how to do it yet!"

"Hmm? There are many variations. The one I learned is the ability to shift and delete space. The only way I could do that though was because of Rejection and my Inborn Principle, Erasure."

"Ah, I see… wait, Inborn? Erasure? There is another type of Principle?"

"Ah, right, I believe I haven't told you yet. Ahem… Nero, when you first activated Cursed White Arts, did you see a little purple spark?"

"Purple spark?"

If I recall, I think I did see a purple flash before I managed to activate Cursed White.

"That is the sign of your Inborn Principle awakening. Unlike the Principles you obtain with the Void Master, Inborn Principles are inscribed into you from birth. Every being is born with a talent, just that it is hard to replace out what that is. When you converged your two principles to activate Cursed White, your Inborn Principle awakened… well, not fully, just a sign. The only thing you have to do now is try to bring it out."

"And how do I do that?"

"Hmm… focus on trying to manipulate space first. The void will be useful for this. Anyway, see you in a few hours. Oh wait, I almost forgot, watch your back. There are rather strange creatures in space and they are pretty hard to kill. I think they like to hide in pockets of space so they can be of great use. They are also very difficult to kill since you can't kill them with red or blue or any principles… well, except the Inborn. Anyway, see ya later."

And then he vanished in thin air, leaving me floating around in space.

I blinked as I scratched my head and looked around.

…

So this is how it feels to be in space alone…

Wait, did he say strange creatures?

That was when I heard a loud screeching noise.

I swiftly turned around, only to see nothing but a black background and stars.

Strange… I swore I heard something.

I used Dragon's Blood and searched around for any signs of life. There wasn't any life around me but I did sense a strange portion of energy.

I felt something touch my shoulder, and when I shifted my head to see what it was, there was a glowing green tendril on my shoulder.

I quickly smacked it away and attempted to strike whatever it was, but it disappeared.

[Mana: 1,450,396,827/1,560,000,000]

…I see…

Whatever this thing is, it's some kind of organism composed of energy and it disappears when it is looked at. It also drains the energy of whatever it touches. If I remember, Joseph said it likes to hide in pockets of space. If I were to interpret what that meant, that would mean that they were hiding in some kind of pocket dimension that they own.

Well, I think I know what I need to do.

I activated Devil's Azure Palm and amassed energy towards in my palm before performing Abyssal Blue.

The black hole began sucking in energy and matter. Since space is completely filled with energy and matter, I don't have to worry about causing a mess since I can't.

After a while, the creature was in full view. Or should I say, creatures?

There wasn't just one or two, but ten of them. They all looked like green masses with undulating tendrils. They also had many eyes and a jaw in between those eyes.

I noticed that despite being only made of energy, they weren't being sucked into Abyssal Blue.

Strange… could they not be affected by Banishment? Wait no, Joseph mentioned that they can't be affected by red or blue.

If that is the case… then it looks like I'll just have to resort to different techniques, but what techniques?

Before I was brought here, Joseph mentioned that due to the vacuum of space being so fast, the flow of mana is so sluggish that performing elemental attacks is futile. Luckily, I can still access energy from the void.

Joseph mentioned to me that the void is also like outer space, except the indefinite space inside is divided infinitely. In other words, it is the opposite of space where space will exist no matter how much space you take away. The only similarity between these two is that space exists omnipresently in both realms.

Now then, resuming to the topic at hand.

The creatures turned to Abyssal Blue and headed over to it. The next thing that happened actually shocked me.

They were eating it… literally! It was almost as if the attractive force from Abyssal Blue wasn't affecting them! Even if blue energy doesn't affect them, the Principle of Banishment should at least do something!

Eventually, Abyssal Blue wasn't so abyssal anymore and was literally the size of a ping-pong ball.

After consuming it whole, the creatures would then turn towards me.

I quickly hit them with Total Oppression. A violent force wrapped around them and began to squeeze them but no matter how hard they were squished, they just seemed to slip out of my grasp.

Tch, slippery bastards… it seems that even that won't do anything. I can't fight them in close combat since they would just drain my energy if they touched me. I can't activate Rebellious Shield, I need to let down Cursed White Arts for that, otherwise, I'll die by lack of oxygen instead of being killed by these things.

So what can I use?

…Inborn…

Right, Joseph said that these things can't be affected by anything except the Inborn Principle. The only problem is that I don't have one, or I do but I just haven't awoken yet, only a sign.

If I remember, it appeared only briefly before I used Cursed White. Maybe I just have to do it again…

But I'm gonna need to fight off these things while I'm at it.

The creatures rushed towards me and attempted to latch on, but I managed to swiftly evade them. After I dodged the last one, I activated Angel's Crimson Hand and created a sphere of red energy consisting of Oppression while on my other hand, I created a sphere of blue energy which held Banishment.

I then began to merge the two together and while the two orbs converged, I just need to evade the incoming attacks. It is a good thing that Cursed White Arts allows me to move around quickly and freely.

The creatures began to rush towards me. To make it specific, they were aiming for the converging energy in my hands. Looks like they go after anything with a high-energy signature. I should launch another Abyssal Blue, but currently, my hands are busy.

I quickly evaded and created some distance between me and them. I stared at the converging red and blue orbs and it seems that it was still converging.

"Come on..."

The creatures darted towards me once again, but something seemed odd.

Their numbers... did they increase?

There weren't just ten of them anymore, there were almost a hundred of them now.

"What the-!?"

I quickly dashed away, but no matter how far I went, more just seemed to appear!

Where the hell do they keep coming from!?

I stopped to check up on the orbs and they were still converging. That was when the creatures began to surround me. I was trapped.

They all rushed towards me at the same time, trapping me in as they got closer and closer. I couldn't do anything as both my hands were occupied. I thought I was done for, but that's when I heard a noise that sounded like glass shattering.

Suddenly, the creatures split up and crashed into each other in multiple places. I was confused until this message showed up.

[Passive Skills Obtained: Principle of Distortion(Unique Skill), Space Manipulation]

[Skill Obtained: Total Distortion(Lvl.1)]

Distortion?

Instantly, my entire body was engulfed in a weird physical sensation. My body felt... lighter... almost too light, to be exact.

I tested my body, throwing kicks and swift punches. What the hell?

Ding!

[Principle of Distortion: Twist, distort, and cut through energy and matter with the power of the Void| Effects: Allows the host to control the Principle of Distortion; Host will be resistant to momentum, mass, and inertia, allowing the host to move freely even without Cursed White Arts active]

[Notice: With this principle and Total Distortion, your physical attacks can be enhanced and fire distorted space that can cut, pierce, and crush matter. All energy that it makes contact with will be dispersed...]

How interesting...

I looked at the creatures around me and smirked. Then, with a swipe of my leg, the creatures were split in two and faded away.

[Skill Obtained: Distorted Kick(Lvl.1)]

I continued to kick in the direction of the creatures, launching shockwaves produced of Distortion before stopping and switching to my fists, impaling the creatures with the force of Distortion.

[Skill Obtained: Distorted Fist(Lvl.1)]

I repeated this and continued to do so until they were all gone.

Clenching my fist, I smirked as I turned towards the earth.

This is nice...

Now that I achieved Space Manipulation and unlocked my Inborn Principle, I can go now.

...right, I still need to wait for Joseph to come back.

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