The Girl Who Hacked The Magic System
Chapter 42 - Honorary kitsune versus mad scorpion (2)

Chapter 42: Chapter 42 - Honorary kitsune versus mad scorpion (2)

I open my eyes again, analyzing the scorpion’s movement patterns.

This feels like a boss fight in a video game. The only difference is that the pain is real, and if I die, I die.

Not much to worry about.

At least I have the amulet that will ward off one killing blow. Which means that I have room for one error, and no more than that.

The scorpion seems to have picked up on my intentions, as its scuttling around is getting more frantic by the second.

I chant the lightning bolt aria in my head but don’t launch it yet. I let the mana build up inside me, waiting for the opportune moment to jump into the chamber.

The moment the scorpion’s scamper get it further away from the barrier, I jump in.

From the description on the barrier, what triggers the deflection of magic is contact, so I want to be with my whole body on the other side of the barrier when I launch the bolt.

I can’t say for sure if the barrier would deflect the bolt on me if my heel or something is touching it the moment I cast the spell. And I don’t want to test that in the middle of combat.

It takes me a bit more than a split second to make sure I crossed the barrier completely, and by then the scorpion is already jumping on me.

I launch the lightning bolt right at its face, hoping to get a clear hit. Scorpions’ brains are normally at the upper front of their heads, so I’m expecting to do more damage by targeting that place.

Its pincers are almost getting me when the bolt hits it.

It’s as big and powerful as the one I used against the statue the other day, turning the whole world white for a second.

I don’t wait to see the results, immediately jumping back to safety, while the loudest screech I’ve ever heard reaches my ears.

In this last movement I trip, falling on the staircase’s steps. This thing is too close to the barrier, so depending on the way I jump back, I will always trip on it.

But this causes only minor bruises, compared to what awaits me if the scorpion gets me. I look at the other side of the barrier, where the scorpion is still reeling from the shock.

So, it hurt, huh?

The thing doesn’t seem very damaged by it at all. But at least it received some damage. There are wounds here and there on its body, which are releasing a weird smoke.

I get back up, chant the aria silently, and jump in to launch a second attack.

The scorpion came reeling towards me the moment it noticed I was about to jump, so this time when I launch the lightning bolt, I do it at point blank, practically touching its face.

At the same moment, one of its pincers landed a blow on my torso. Gladly, it didn’t manage to pick me with the pincer, so it was more like a punch instead of a cut.

A punch done by a gorilla with fists of iron... but still, better than being sliced in two.

The force of the impact launched me to the side, and I collided with the column at the side of the archway.

I twist my body and launch myself backwards, falling on the safe side of the barrier.

Damn, that was close.

It hurts, but it’s not so bad. It doesn’t seem that I broke anything, for now.

It seems that, if we were to measure in percentage of the HP taken, the scorpion probably is in a worse state than I am.

Or is it?

The weird smoke from earlier, which is coming from the open wounds, is getting thicker. And at some points, the wounds have closed completely already.

So, this little shit can regenerate.

Tsk.

This will be a battle of attrition. If I only also had any healing ability...

Oh.

I still have skill points left, right?

I quickly open the system again and go to the skill screen.

Here I can pick whatever skill I want to acquire. The problem is that it doesn’t show me a list of skills.

Instead, I have to type a skill name. So I basically picked stuff I thought was important while I remembered it.

And yeah, stupid little me completely forgot about healing.

I type ’heal’ and click the search button.

I’m glad that the barrier means I can do this mid-battle without worries.

The scorpion on the other side is screeching and launching itself against the barrier over and over again. It’s the same behavior it was showing yesterday, before it sensed me.

But now the focus of its mad fury is... well, me.

Ehe.

So, the system screen.

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Skill Search ’Healing’

Results:

Healing magic [50,000]

Empowered healing [25,000]

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Okay, that’s not useful. Healing Magic, despite the name, does not give me any magic for healing. Instead, it just makes my healing magic stronger.

Empowered healing makes any healing I perform stronger. Be it magic, potions, amulets, or health regeneration...

Oh, health regeneration.

Let’s search for ’health’ instead.

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Skill Search ’Health’

Results:

Health regeneration [10,000]

Improved health [1,000]

Healthy body [5,000]

----------

Okay, this is better. Health regeneration is exactly what I need, a passive regen that ticks automatically.

Improved health gives me more health points per level, and healthy body makes me less susceptible to diseases.

I pick the three of them. The number at the right is the amount of skill points required to unlock it. It’s also the base value to level them up with SP.

I level up Health Regeneration by three levels. Then I search again for ’healing’ and pick the Empowered Healing, as it boosts my regeneration.

I feel the effects immediately, as the pain on my side starts subsiding slowly.

It isn’t the best heal, but it’s better than nothing. And it might make the difference between life and death in a situation like this.

I think that this was my first time getting truly hurt in combat.

I take some time, just breathing and studying the creature’s movements as the regeneration does its work on my body.

The only problem is that the creature’s regeneration also did its work, and a lot faster than mine. Its injuries were a lot more serious than mine, and it got fully healed before me.

Tsk.

Time for round two.

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