Banished from the herd, I was actually a member of a very rare species. ~With the unique skills that only I can use, I can grow and evolve quickly. I will become an unrivaled monster~ - Episode 60: Control of the [Dominion]

Episode 60: Control of the [Dominion]

“([Territory])”

A special force field spread out from the highly condensed |Mana|.

This force field is what is known as the [Dominion].

“(Phew…)”

With a sensation like exhaling slowly, I began to shrink the range of the [Dominion].

Without using Additional Effects like ‘Shrink’ or ‘Convergence’, I directly manipulated the force field.

“(Hnnng…)”

I couldn’t help but tense up my whole body, but what’s essential is the control of the |Mana|.

By finely adjusting the concentrated |Mana| gathered at my core, I could interact with the [Dominion].

However, this is quite challenging.

Maintaining the |Mana| in a condensed state is easy—honestly, I can even do it while I’m asleep—but the moment I try to make adjustments, the difficulty ramps up significantly.

“(Alright, done.)”

Still, it’s been a few weeks since I learned [Territory]. With this much training time, I’ve made some progress.

At this point, slightly narrowing the [Dominion] isn’t a big deal for me.

This time, the [Dominion] I created was a flat, circular shape. It was like a pancake.

There was little height difference, with the focus on horizontal expansion.

“(There’s no point in incorporating the sky or underground into the [Dominion].)”

Ideally, I’d be able to set it up like this from the moment I activate the [Territory].

It’ll still take a little more practice to reach that level, though.

“([Replicant Form])”

I extended my poison whip and pulled over a tree from outside the [Dominion].

As soon as the tree entered the [Dominion], it began transforming into a weapon. But I further manipulated the [Dominion].

“(Range Suppression…)”

It felt like blocking part of the constantly flowing mass of |Mana|. This created a gap in the effect range of the [Dominion].

The gap wasn’t physical, so it wasn’t visible to the naked eye. But I could clearly perceive it as the one who activated the [Dominion].

Inside the gap around the tree, the transformation into a weapon halted.

“([Intensified Warfare]… this tree seems suited to become a staff.)”

The transformation process is part of the [Dominion]’s weaponization feature, and the object changes into the weapon it’s most suited for.

For this tree, it would become a staff.

However, I’ve recently learned that the transformation can be influenced through [Dominion] manipulation.

“(Release the suppression, and then… adjust the bias!)”

The change was noticeable. The trunk began to thin gradually.

Like hot iron being hammered, it bent and compressed.

All unnecessary branches were shed. Eventually, the tree became a single blade.

Since wood isn’t the ideal material for a sword, its sharpness was dull, resembling a wooden practice sword. But a sword is still a sword.

“([Intensified Warfare]… good, the system recognizes it as a sword.)”

After confirming this, I played around with the |Mana| again. The sword began to distort.

The blade bent at a right angle in the middle, with a slight curve beyond that, resembling a sickle.

Satisfied with this, I further adjusted the [Dominion] and continued to reshape the weapon.

The sickle turned into an axe, the axe into a hammer, the hammer into a spear, and finally, it settled into a club.

“(That’s enough warm-up for now.)”

While reshaping something that’s already fixed into a form is quite challenging, I’ve become so accustomed to handling the [Dominion] that I could now do it as a warm-up exercise.

“(Next, let’s increase the number… but before that, I should check if the [Dominion] has grown.)”

I was too tired yesterday to check…

Depending on my progress, I might need to adjust my training approach. So regular monitoring is important.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Territory Details~

• • • • Your [Territory] is [Factory].

• • • • Within the [Factory], all objects are turned into weapons.

• • • • Additional Effects: ‘Absorb’ ‘(Blank)’, ‘(Blank)’

       ↪Option List:

• • • • ‘Limit’ (NEW): Restrict the effect range of the [Dominion].

• • • • ‘Absorb’ (NEW): Drain mana from any target.

• • • • ‘Direction’ (NEW): Specify the effect’s orientation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yeah, no significant changes since I last checked the day before yesterday.

Still, the [Dominion] has grown significantly over the past few weeks.

The most notable improvement is the increase in the number of ‘Additional Effect’ slots.

I can now apply up to three ‘Additional Effects’ simultaneously.

Of the new effects, ‘Limit’ and ‘Direction’ are useful for controlling the [Dominion]. They’re similar to ‘Shrink’ and ‘Convergence’.

Without needing to manually adjust |Mana|, I can now cut off the effect around a tree or fix the transformation into a sword.

However, this comes at the cost of increased |Mana| consumption, so it’s a trade-off.

The effect that differs from the others is ‘Absorb’.

I acquired it around the same time the additional effect slots expanded.

“Absorb” forcibly drains mana from entities within the [Dominion]. The description sounds strong, but in practice, it’s not that effective.

The first issue is how easily targets can resist it.

I attempted to weaken the opponent by trying several times against the Grand Beast, but I couldn’t steal any |Mana| at all.

That said, since I can normally steal from non-living things, I thought it might be useful not as a hindrance but as a recovery method. However, there’s another issue—the low absorption rate stands in the way. Once, I expanded my [Dominion] to its limit and tried ‘Absorb’. But the rate of |Mana| recovery didn’t significantly increase. It seems that the primary use would be to counteract the |Mana| consumption caused by using [Dominion], rather than for actual |Mana| recovery.

Apparently, creatures like the Forest Turtle and Hydra always have their [Dominion] activated, likely using this ‘Absorb’ method as well.

“(I can’t keep using [Factory] all the time since it stands out too much.)”

And so, I continued my training with the [Dominion] in this manner.

“(Alright, I guess that’s enough for today.)”

My |Mana| had decreased to about a quarter of what I started with. I decided to save the rest in case of a sudden battle. With that in mind, I finished today’s training by activating one last technique.

“(Earthen Spear Barrage!)”

It wasn’t necessary, but I extended my whip and thrust it forward sharply. Suddenly, the empty space ahead was pierced by multiple spears. The spears were brown, having shot up from the ground, with both their shafts and tips entirely made of earth. They were created by the power of [Factory], transforming the ground itself.

The strength and sharpness were still lacking. But it wasn’t bad as a quick trick.

“(Adjusting [Dominion], applying ‘Convergence.’)”

With that, I finished my training for the day and headed back to the base.

However, what greeted me upon my return was—

“(W-What the hell!?)”

—A swarm of monstrous bees gathering around the flowers and trees.