Utopian System

\'I AM NOT INDECISIVE!\'

One mana point channeled into neon with his summon\'s help, his body shooting forward.

Elio Mana: 21

The tunnel became a blur around him, but it wasn\'t enough.

The spikes were still gaining ground, their metallic whispers growing louder with each passing moment. His enhanced senses caught every detail of their advance, the way they twisted and reached for him like hungry fingers.

The exit, his only hope, began closing before his eyes.

Through his heightened perception, he could see the individual formations interweaving, their deadly dance creating an ever-shrinking window of opportunity.

Helium joined the equation, catapulting him from his initial 18 with neon\'s impulse to a staggering 27.

Elio Mana: 20

He could hear the metal\'s screech around him, getting closer with each heartbeat. The sharp points almost brushed his body, promising death by a thousand cuts. The air itself seemed to vibrate with the tension of his desperate flight.

Another mana point flowed into the wind emblem, the power surging through his body like liquid lightning.

Elio Mana: 19

The sudden acceleration to 36 made his eyes water, his muscles screaming in protest. The world became a tunnel of pure speed and desperate hope.

Almost as fast as the Artromus.

But even as he flew toward the exit, his analytical mind had already made the ruthless calculations.

The speed wouldn\'t be enough, and he knew it with mathematical certainty.

He could see the spikes converging, could calculate exactly where they would catch him, where they would begin to tear his flesh. Time seemed to stretch in his enhanced perception, allowing him to map out every possible trajectory, every potential outcome.

None of them ended well.

The space between him and freedom shrank with each fraction of a second. The metallic formations sang their deadly song ever closer to his ears. The opening, his only hope, was now barely larger than his body.

Thoughts crowded Elio\'s mind as time ran out.

A four-point explosion might be enough, leaving him with only 15 points to face the thirty-two creatures. The numbers danced in his head, each calculation more desperate than the last.

But amid that mental chaos, a brutal clarity emerged.

He had already chosen pain.

Pain always offered options that comfort concealed. If he truly wanted to be at the Artromus\'s level, if he wanted to move at those impossible speeds, he couldn\'t back down now.

Besides, this speed would give him the surprise factor to attack the creatures, and an explosion would only slow him down.

The decision was instantaneous: maintaining maximum speed would mean being shredded by the blades, but his nickel armor and the alloy he had created gave him one last card to play.

It wouldn\'t be the first time he had used his own body as a conductor for violent chemical reactions.

The acid covered his armor, transforming Elio into a living corrosive projectile.

Elio Mana: 17

The pain was immediate and intense, chemical burns devastating his skin as he tore through the last barrier like a toxic meteor. Every nerve ending screamed in protest, but Elio channeled the pain into focus, into determination.

The chamber entrance exploded in a shower of corroded metal and acid.

His arrival moment instantly fused with the beginning of the battle against 32 creatures floating in concentric rings around the orb that controlled the tunnel, their rhythmic dance interrupted by Elio\'s violent entrance.

The creatures didn\'t have time to react, their perfect formations remaining intact. Elio didn\'t let them act.

The surprise factor was his, and despite the pain threatening to cloud his consciousness, he smiled. The final battle began now.

In the midst of his deadly flight, Elio gathered the nine mana points he needed.

Elio Mana: 17

Quick Charge: 9

The 17 mana points were all he had left, and 9 would disappear in an instant. There was no margin for error.

When he reached the orb, the creatures were still in their hypnotic dance, their rings perfectly synchronized. Time seemed to slow down.

The first acid explosion burst like a chemical supernova, the corrosive liquid expanding in all directions.

Only 4 points were enough to cover the entire area they orbited.

Elio had bet correctly… The creatures, despite having something like armor, were vulnerable to corrosion.

Elio Mana: 13

Quick Charge: 5

But Elio knew it wouldn\'t be enough. He had 58 damage points against the 100 resistance the creatures should have... The mathematics were relentless.

However, he still had 5 points charged.

That\'s why, when the second explosion immediately followed the first, the effect was devastating. The acid didn\'t just corrode, it disintegrated.

The nearest creatures didn\'t even have time to make a sound before being consumed, their bodies dissolving in the toxic mist.

Some, protected by their companions\' bodies, managed to avoid the worst impact. The perfect formation they had maintained became both their doom and their salvation, while some served as involuntary shields, others were completely exposed.

Elio Mana: 8

Quick Charge: 1

With his last charged mana point, Elio expelled the remains of acid still devouring his own skin, turning it into one final desperate attack.

Elio Mana: 7

When the acidic mist began to dissipate, the reality of his situation became clear: only five creatures had survived the chemical assault.

But Elio still had enough, just 4 mana points were all he needed.

The formula was simple: two for fluorine, one for pure hydrogen, another for water.

A smaller explosion, but enough if he could land it.

\'Just need to charge the mana,\' he thought as the creatures began to move.

Elio Mana: 7

Quick Charge: 1

His daggers flew through the air, a desperate attempt to buy time, but bounced harmlessly off the beasts\' armor.

So he took his other weapon.

Quick Charge: 2

The spear was ready in his hands, his eyes searching for exposed points on his enemies, but the creatures had other plans. The metal began to flow around him like living mercury, serpentining through the air in hypnotic patterns.

A metal prison.

\'Like the elephant,\' Elio realized, but the comparison only made the current situation seem more terrifying. These creatures were faster, more precise… And there were 5 of them.

They didn\'t bother covering the chamber in barriers when they could simply trap Elio.

Not only that, the metal flowed over them too, creating additional layers of protection. And worse still, that protection became a weapon.

Their bodies covered in blades floated with lethal grace while manipulating the metal to create a prison around him.

Quick Charge: 3

If his explosion wasn\'t powerful enough to pierce those new defenses...

But before...

The metal prison began to close. Five creatures coordinating their powers to trap him. A single error, a moment of doubt, and he would be finished.