"Understood, Adam. The plan is active," Lyra's voice resonated with cold precision in his mind. "I will control the localized dimensional rifts to intercept incoming projectiles and facilitate capture. Your task is to follow the optimized route and maintain maximum speed. This entire engagement will be over in less than ten minutes."
Adam braced himself, a surge of adrenaline momentarily overriding his fatigue. The image of Emily's face, her plea to live, spurred him forward. The Mana-Repelling Tent's barrier shimmered one last time, then he lunged.
He burst from the tent, a blur of motion in the dim pre-dawn light. As he sprinted towards the first Red Goblin's mana signature, crude arrows and jagged rocks materialized from the dense foliage, whistling towards him. But before they could strike, Lyra's controlled rifts flickered into existence around him, ethereal slits in reality that swallowed the projectiles whole, vanishing them without a sound.
Adam closed the distance in a few powerful strides, his Mana Vision locking onto the goblin. It shrieked, raising a crude, obsidian-tipped blade. Before it could swing, Adam extended his hand, and a dimensional rift, shimmering like disturbed water, opened directly in front of the creature. The goblin's shriek cut off abruptly as it was sucked into the swirling void, vanishing as if it had never been there.
Without breaking stride, Adam pivoted, Lyra's mental map guiding him. The next Red Goblin, still processing the sudden disappearance of its comrade, was already in his sights. It barely had time to turn its head before Adam was upon it, a swift hand gesture and another shimmering tear in reality absorbing it instantly.
He continued his relentless charge, a phantom in the early morning mist. Projectiles continued to fly, but Lyra's perfectly timed dimensional rifts intercepted every single one. Swish, absorb, gone. Swish, absorb, gone. The rhythmic captures became a deadly dance. Another goblin absorbed, then another, Adam moving with a speed and efficiency he hadn't known he possessed. He was a hunter now, and the forest's apex predators were suddenly the hunted.
Panic rippled through the remaining Red Goblins. Their low, coherent mana signatures frayed into chaotic spikes of fear and confusion as their numbers dwindled with terrifying speed. Three desperate goblins lunged simultaneously, crude blades glinting, but Adam was already there. A single, sweeping motion of his arm, and three dimensional rifts snapped open in unison, devouring them.
"Adam! The last goblin is escaping!" Lyra's voice, usually so calm, held a rare note of urgency. "If it reaches the main tribal compound, hundreds will return! You cannot allow it to escape!"
A fresh burst of adrenaline ignited in Adam. He pushed past the burning in his lungs, his legs churning, dirt flying. The last goblin, a small, terrified shape, was a faint red blur in his Mana Vision, frantically scrambling deeper into the undergrowth. Adam pushed harder, faster, his new power an intoxicating hum through his veins. He leaped, a desperate, final surge of effort, extending his hand. A dimensional rift erupted directly in the fleeing goblin's path. It screamed, a tiny, desperate sound, as it too was swallowed by the void.
Silence. The forest, so recently alive with the sounds of battle and fear, was utterly still.
"Confirmed, Adam," Lyra announced, a note of quiet satisfaction in her tone. "All fifteen Red Goblins captured. Total engagement time: 9 minutes, 47 seconds. Mission successful."
Adam collapsed to his knees, gasping, sweat plastering his hair to his forehead. His body screamed in protest, every muscle aching, but it was a different kind of exhaustion than before. This was the burn of effort, of triumph.
"Adam," Lyra's voice sharpened slightly, though still calm. "Focus. Your mana levels are spiking from the exertion. Begin mana regulation immediately, or you risk acute mana poisoning. Breathe."
He nodded, forcing himself to concentrate. He closed his eyes, visualizing the turbulent mana within him, guiding it, soothing it, pushing out the excess as Lyra had taught him. The world, though still vibrant through his Mana Vision, slowly began to stabilize around him. He had faced death again, and this time, he hadn't just survived—he had conquered.