The stone craft was sent hundreds of meters away from the river; hot red water flowed inside the holes, burning everything within as if with a mind of its own.
Temperature rose inside, as if an oven was on, and when the steam reached him, he panicked; his skin burning.
Bubble!
Thick gravity force enveloped him out of instinct from deep inside him, preventing the steam from doing any more damage. But the vile red water slammed at the force and coiled around it like a living thing.
Elias was beyond fear, his body stiffened, eyes wide, face pale against the damn boiling water.
Bang!
The stone craft rammed on the ground; Elias bounced around like a tennis ball in confined space, but his barrier held on.
And as he was bouncing, the boiling water in ball shape, slamming at the barrier, trying to break it.
This is the ability of Rank 2 and above Calamity Beast Skills. The attack retains the will and intent of their master even after long distance.
Unless the energy within the water drained, it would keep hunting Elias.
Unlike the Rank 1 Beast that couldn't identify the stone, that river beast was able to do it with ease. But it pushed him away because the book was an unknown factor.
The stone craft hummed and rose again; despite the punishment, it had no scratch. And whatever damage the boiling red water made, it healed.
Still encased in his instinctual defense, Elias was thinking how to kick the water out. His barrier doesn't allow air inside; he was trapped by his own ability.
Also, he was afraid the skill would slip off him and turn off. The red boiling water would dissolve him in seconds.
In the book were numerous similar skills, Gravity Force Barrier and one that allowed air and other things inside.
Elias pushed with his hand and stump at the barrier, and it expanded with slight instability until it touched the small stone craft walls. Pinning the boiling water on one side.
He tested, moving his hand back slightly; the barrier stayed but was shaking. He grabbed the book from the floor and threw it at the boiling red water.
Knowing his barrier would prevent the book from touching the red boiling water, he turned it off.
Pssst!
The book destroyed the will inside the red water but at a cost. Skin red, eyes bulged out, and breathing difficulty. Coiled at a corner as he stared at the red energy dissipating, leaving behind cool drinkable water.
The stone craft hard-landed when the book wasn't on its floor, but now that it settled down, it hummed and floated again.
He sat; he trembled as blistered skin was left behind on the floor. His whole skin was swelling, his body jerking at intervals.
His only uninjured location was from waist to his feet that were covered in the remnant suit. He spread his hands from his side ribs so as not to cause more blisters to peel off.
Ignoring the pain, he pulled the book toward him; page after page, he went through to see if there was a gravity skill for healing.
He never heard about it, but maybe there was. There was no specific skill like that, but he saw other things that would have helped him.
If he had activated a barrier around him while turning off the bigger one, he wouldn't have gotten boiled.
Or, if his barrier had allowed the book to pass, he wouldn't have gotten boiled.
There was another better plan, and that was: he could have focused the barriers and pushed the red water through a hole and then clogged it with the book; that would have destroyed the water, and he would be unharmed.
Inexperience in using his talent was his limitation. He had power to destroy worlds, stars, and even galaxies but was almost killed by a water skill.
Pain is a friend; life is all about struggling; he shall push forward.
Elias went back to the Internal Gravity Core and then closed his eyes. With the image of his body in his mind, the pain vanished but with a lingering worry; his energy reserves were truly low.
Every organ made a ripple that went outward and came back, along the way merging with other ripples but without losing much.
He searched for skin ripple; skin was a barrier that absorbed the ripples and sent it back to a degree.
Not skin only but muscles and veins too. Through them, the ripple can escape outside. He wondered if the ripple coming out made the gravity force.
Atmosphere shifted, the wind blew, and Elias' body tensed. It reminded him of something he had gone through. First activation of his talent.
He opened his eyes, levitating as he saw flashes of lightning, too bright, too strong, sharp, and deadly.
Bubble!
Gravity Force Barrier activated again as the stone craft singed, lightning slithering on it before the stone exploded.
The source of the lightning was not close; it was kilometers away from him, but earth, stones, and anything solid was conducting the lightning through flashes of lightning alone and exploding.
Boooom!
Akin to a nuclear explosion, the world became too bright for the eyes. The barrier used the last of Elias's energy to protect him.
Smoke rose from the scorched land and the broken rocks; beasts silent, even those illustrious Rank 2 and 3, because if they were caught in that, it might be their end or incur severe injury.
The world was silent!
'Basically, this place is just a Forbidden Talent Awakening ground!'
The moment he gained his bearings, Elias looked around for something to eat and drink.
"Wow!"
Numerous animals that had no place to hide were killed by stone fragments, and the lightning on the stone fragments burnt them. Some were ashes, but some were very much edible.
Using his knowledge, he prepared them and ate them raw. The trees weren't affected directly by the lightning's appearance, but the rocks did them damage.
He went through those he recognized as edibles and packed them in his suit trouser pockets before he ran around looking for a hiding place, and he found one.
Placing the book down, sand rose and made him cover.
No water, but the fruit provided that for now.
There was a silent weight in the air, one of waiting, as if a guillotine was raised and everyone anticipated when it would come down.