***
Alert...
'More notifications? Well its going to have to wait. I can't lose focus here. I almost died to these things and I need to keep up with these monsters.' Alexander sighed as the seemingly endless army of skeletons laid before him lost another soldier, bringing his sword down bisecting the skeleton.
*Alert*...
Looking up he could see his teammates dispatching two for every second he fought one.
The team trained for years before Alexander teamed up with them to be the most effective killing machines and defenders of humanity. This battle was the climax of all their hard work and they fought as if it was.
Even by normal standards to the team Alexander was a genius compared to his classmates, exceptional even. However, to him, in the moment, he truly felt he was in the presence of real warriors.
Moments later...
Alexander collapsed onto his knees in exhaustion amongst bits of bones and pieces from broken shields. Even his nanites couldn't completely relieve the fatigue with nurishment. His legs felt like jelly as a feeling of vertigo washed over him.
He looked at the rest of the team who were experiencing something similar. Fighting for extended periods of time was all consuming.
Alexander looked to Max, his every twitch causing his mind to protest. His teamate stood completely unharmed defending the others with his floating screens. Heads went flying and bones cracked when the hardened corners slammed against them.
"What are you doing? Shield yourselves with mana and stand up. I can't teach you mana basics in battle anymore. Its literally part of the contract you all manhandled me to sign."
Max spread his mana towards his companions, a warm and compassionate feeling like home, encompassing and healing their wounds. Allowing them relief against whatever was affecting them. An unfortunate skill he learned after many failed experiments in his lab.
One after the other, Kalani, Kahawai, then Kai and Nakamura spread their mana like Max.
A small portion of their energy came back along with some mana fatigue from using so much mana. They were used to exerting mana into their intent, so their learning speed was near masterfull when learning a new technique.
Watching the scene might make those who were not used to Maxs' instruction think the team were just too exceptional to be ranked in lower D rank. The team knew Max was a true savant. His teaching was through and allowed one to understand both physically and with Mana.
While the team recovered, Alexander used a slightly different technique than how Max showed him. 'It is risky, but I could do it better. While giving the Swarm something to do, I can increase my efforts with controlling them. Even if the Proctors see something strange they won't have any proof.'
Alexander visualized the technique through the connection with his nanites as a medium. They sensed their masters intention to protect. With the supply of mana running through them, they formed what Alexander would call Hextech.
Thousands of hexagonal shaped mana shields formed and fit together close to his body like a second skin with just a small amount of space between.
To anyone seeing Alexanders' mana shields it would seem flimsy and small. The nanites only used efficient and versatile shapes which others might not understand without experience in geometry, not knowing that the structure of dense layers and individual strength of a hexagonal, six sided, shape could be.
Alexander stood up from his knees, feeling his energy return but his shins hurt. A sense of freshness and understanding dawned on him. They were attacked like he was against that strange creaturein the forest.
"Regroup, everyone regroup." Max signaled to everyone to form a defensive line away from the skeletons.
"New variables have shown themselves to be more formidable. From what I could decerne there are four such control level skeletons in the crowd. What we jus felt a moment ago was a tier one Darkness spell, Curse. I know you wouldn't know what a Curse spell is, let alone know how to defend against it. I have been afflicted with this type of spell before. So I had the experience to know it comes from a ranked-D creatures."
Four displays floated around the team with a different skeleton able to control the skeletons masses. Each one commanded nearly two hundred and fifty skeletons, all headed towards the teams location.
"Whats the plan, Brainiac? We can't just sit here and wait for them to close in on us. These guys aren't going to let us rest and recoupe," Alexander spoke in-between sword swings.
Circled around Max the team held off the growing sea of bones. In tandem the team defended Max, a well practiced group, covering for eachothers weaknesses.
"On your right," Kalani warned Nakamura. Allowing him to doge a thrown shovel from behind him.
"Jump," Nakamura responded as his hands slamed on the smooth stone flooding his mana into the rock, sending cold air in every direction.
The team jumped in synced rhythm at Nakamura's signal, lifting above the suddenly frozen air blade shot out like deaths messager. The mana changed the air into a frozen solid crescent that shot out slicing the skeletons shins around them.
With a line of amputated skeletons blocking the others, Kahawai used much of his mana creating a jet of fire to set the ones on the ground ablaze. Creating a temporary barrier to give them some space.
"That'll do meathead. Everyone just buy me as much time as possible. I would explain but that would be a waste of my talents and our time." Max clicked at his computer with a mechanical speed.
At the same time Max produced a large swaft of mana to make several runes in four directions. The speed he clicked at his computer was far swifter and intentional than his normal lazy clicks, as the timer in the corner of his screen got smaller and smaller.
'My experiments need my full attention. I can't keep wasting time on this when another solution is at hand. I hope I changed those vectors from explosion to piercing, otherwise this is going to hurt. I'm sure past me did his due diligence.' Max thought to himself.
Max placed a large array of runes on the ground with one hand and kept typing with the other. Everyone knew only a god could pry Braniac from his computer. Whether on his body or very near him, his reach to the technoverse was whithin his grasp.
The array of runes he placed on the stone shone brightly under their feet. His mastery of light in the fray of a heated battle coming through.
A shimmer was all the enemy could see as the light within the circle distorted around them. What was once the team fighting desperately, the skeletons saw an empty courtyard.
The few skeletons that where left within the circle were dealt with.
Using Line they spoke to eachother through the aether, the Mana projected thoughts were quick as Max relayed the plan going forward.
'Everyone got that? Good. I want everyone ready on three, and I mean three. Kai, I mean it this time. Do not go jumping the mark or you will be sorry.
"Yeah yeah. I get it," Kai retorted.
Max activated his magic, a spell that used his Light specialized magic. A spiral of rainbow colors materialized in the four circles of runes. An oppressive force dawned as a high pitched noise screamed from the power quickly accumulating.
Three!" Max yelled as a force of wind blew past them, mana shot out towards the four goblins.