?The technique Greg employed wasn’t rooted in energy manipulation but an unconventional application of sculpting, as explained by Howard.

He began experimenting with this method, using mana for precise sculpting to form a thin, yet durable shell, then transforming mana within into highly condensed and unstable light and heat, releasing it in a directed burst.

When the dosage was right, light and heat too could become deadly weapons.

The impact of Greg’s attack might not have been massive, but its effect on Soma was undeniably significant.

The intense flash of light, exploding at a moment when Soma’s attention and senses were sharply focused, left nothing in his vision but blinding white.

Unable to see anything momentarily disrupted Soma’s combat capabilities significantly.

Though this wasn’t a complex Blinding Spell, Greg felt that in some scenarios, this simple burst of light was even more effective.

In the fierce throes of battle, a mere second could be the thin line between life and death.

Greg nimbly used the blade as leverage to dodge the attack.

Under normal circumstances, if Soma’s vision hadn’t been impaired, Greg would have had no chance to evade, as Soma would never provide an opportunity to counter.

But now, Soma too was thrown into disarray.

As the warhammer flew from his grasp, Greg landed swiftly, his stout legs stamping down with such force that even the ground beneath him dented slightly.

With his body following through his punch, Greg’s entire strength concentrated into his right fist.

This moment felt eerily similar to a scenario from their previous encounter, with no hesitation, Greg’s fist met Soma’s slightly bent form.

A muted, deep thud resonated, akin to a punch hitting an old punching bag.

The force of the punch penetrated, then exploded within, creating a shockwave that swept everything in its path.

Before Soma’s body could be flung away, a gush of blood surged to his throat.

The remaining force exploded as Soma’s body twisted and flew backward, finally vomiting the blood that had reached his mouth, crashing into the ruins of an abandoned cottage.

“That night, seven years ago, was just like this one,” Greg stated, lifting his Crusher and advancing step by step into the ruins, “The fires blazed just as fiercely as they do tonight. You, it was you! If not for you, Mongkato and Tatali wouldn’t have died!”

“You killed them.”

Greg found Soma amidst the rubble.

Lying among the debris, Soma looked up at the sky, touching the blood at his mouth’s corner.

“Yes, I killed them,” he suddenly laughed.

“I remember the way that woman begged for mercy in front of me!”

“Today, you too will die here! Just like those fools!”

Suddenly rolling over, Soma pushed himself up with his hands and feet, lunging towards Greg with bare hands.

His eyes were blood-red, half from the punch just received, but the other half from his current frenzied state.

Soma’s breathing turned beast-like, heavy and ragged, his muscles swelled, and his mana shifted from a light grey to a dark grey mingled with black mist.

Though unarmed, his mutated, elongated fingers were like ten daggers.

Greg hastily raised his Crusher in defense, but Soma’s speed had increased by more than a third compared to before. .

Unable to block several attacks, Greg was caught off guard and flung a dozen meters away by a blow.

Soma slowly straightened up, his back cracking as bones snapped back into place.

“You’re still as foolish as ever,” he said, his face expressionless, but his eyes twinkling with mockery.

“Not even able to discern the state of your opponent, have you not learned to be cautious after losing so much!”

He advanced step by step, his body undergoing further mutations, with dark grey mana forming intricate patterns on his skin, emitting an aura similar to that of a wild beast.

Greg, staggering to his feet, noticed the changes in Soma’s body, his own trembling slightly.

“Beastification!” he exclaimed, staring incredulously at Soma.

“Where did you learn that!”

“Do I need to tell you?” Soma scoffed.

“What you could never achieve, for me, Reagan, is as easy as flipping my hand!”

Beastification, contrary to its literal implication of turning into a beast, is a technique of mana circulation within the body, named for its brute nature.

However, this brute force comes with significant rewards, allowing a magus to unleash several times their usual combat power.

Whether it’s mana flux or mana capacity, both are greatly enhanced under the state of beastification.

The most distinct feature of the beastification state is the physical transformation; mana forms patterns on the skin resembling certain totems, though seemingly without any discernible pattern.

The magus’s limbs swell with muscle, and their hands mutate into shapes resembling beast claws.

Beastification isn’t a technique exclusive to any particular faction; it’s public knowledge.

However, the original version of the technique is seldom used nowadays.

Most magi employ variations of beastification that have been modified in various ways, each adaptation focusing on and achieving different effects.

Generally speaking, the greater the physical transformation, the larger the boost in strength!

Soma’s transformation did not cease.

His stature forcefully increased by over thirty centimeters, his limbs becoming muscular and twisted, no longer resembling human arms but rather those of some kind of monster.

It wasn’t just his limbs and height; the grey-black patterns that started on his chest had now spread to his face, and the grey-

blue of his pupils deepened to a dark grey-black.

Such an extent of transformation cannot be achieved by ordinary modifications.

While he still maintained a humanoid shape, the coverage of mana patterns was too extensive.

Even without direct combat, Greg estimated that Soma’s strength had at least doubled.

Standing three steps away from Greg, the transformed Soma breathed heavily, appearing no different from the monsters described by wandering bards.

“Do you know where my beastification spell comes from?”

Soma asked Greg, his voice now coarse, as if previously it was the sound of sandpaper rubbing, but now resembled a barrel of gravel being stirred, making it nearly impossible to discern individual syllables.

Greg had an answer, but he chose not to voice it.

It would be pointless; Soma was merely trying to provoke him.

It would be pointless; Soma was merely trying to provoke him.

What Soma didn’t realize was that such tactics no longer had any effect on him.

Pouring oil on a raging volcano, after all, is a rather uninteresting endeavor.

Now, both combatants were without their weapons and had no opportunity to retrieve them.

Soma was confident in his clawed hands and close-combat abilities, while Greg, being a magus gifted in sculpting, could create weapons with mana even when unarmed.

Clasping his fists, Greg steadied his stance, grinned, and said, “Is that all you’ve got to say? Has your brain devolved after beastification? Such things no longer matter to me.”

“You only have one life; it’s a pity you can’t die a hundred times.”

“Ha ha ha ha! A hundred times? A hundred times?” Soma burst into laughter as if he had heard the funniest joke, shaking his head after finally catching his breath.

“That line should be mine to say to you!”

Before his words even faded, Soma’s massive form vanished from the spot, his sharp claws whistling through the air as they aimed for Greg’s head.

A direct hit would mean not even a stone could escape unscathed.

However, due to Greg’s height, Soma’s attack posture was awkward.

Without a weapon in hand, he had to bend down to strike Greg, making his center of gravity unstable during the assault.

Greg spotted this flaw.

Without enough experience fighting dwarfs, one wouldn’t know this.

When facing a dwarf, never bend down.

Though Greg lacked beastification and was at a disadvantage, his movements didn’t require the broad range that Soma’s did.

Ducking under Soma’s attack, he used his legs to power a backward leap, putting distance between them.

The height difference troubled Soma, but it equally affected him.

With his hands spread, mana burst forth from his palms, forming a Crusher entirely made of mana.

While not as sturdy as its physical counterpart, it served well as a weapon.

The moment the Crusher materialized, Greg, holding it with one hand, swept it across in a horizontal strike.

Not aiming high, but just sweeping across the chest.

The head of the hammer whooshed through the air, and Soma, who lunged forward like a specter, momentarily paused, then shifted direction and continued his assault without losing speed.

The two clashed once again in combat.

Even though Greg wielded a weapon, Soma, with his superior mana capacity and flux, did not yield, pressing Greg hard and effectively containing him.

Although a victor had not yet emerged, Soma undoubtedly had the upper hand.

Greg struggled to maintain his defense.

It wasn’t that he lacked opportunities to counterattack, but he chose not to.

Counterattacking now was futile; even if he momentarily regained the initiative, he struggled to match Soma’s speed, risking a return to the current predicament, or worse.

He decided to wait, aiming to wear Soma down in a battle of attrition.

Beastification consumes mana, and not insignificantly.

Even a level 3 magus could sustain beastification for no more than fifteen minutes.

If Soma couldn’t breach his defenses within that time, the one to perish would be Soma.

A magus without mana is more helpless than a tiger without its claws and teeth.

Updated from 𝘪.𝘤𝑜𝘮