[Metal-bending – tier 1 metal spell]

According to the Djinn, even though its name wasn’t as awe-inspiring as its predecessor, [Metal-bending] was an advanced tier 1 spell that served as an upgrade to the common [Metal Manipulation] spell.

It was still the most basic spell a metal element user could learn, but it could be comparable and as useful as a high-tier spell if utilized correctly.

Unfortunately for Viktor, unlike what he thought at first, to actually use the spell, he apparently first needed to find a piece of metal to be used as material.

The only metallic items he had at hand right now were the alien dagger and the desert eagle gun, and there was no way in hell he would choose to sacrifice them to test around stuff that might broke them.

Both of these items were very crucial for his livelihood, and therefore, Viktor decided not to mess with them and look for any piece of metal he could find around him instead.

He walked along the desolate street void of living beings, and a few moments later, saw a traffic sign that hung on a wooden street pole.

“Woof woof!”

Even without him asking, the blue husky told him to stay where he was and try to pull the metal sheet toward him.

Viktor raised his hand in the air and made a gesture as if he was trying to grasp that metal sheet from afar. To his surprise, he could clearly see the metal sheet crumpled a little as it leaned towards him.

It was a simple thing in this changed world, but for Viktor, it was nothing short of a dream come true.

He still remembered that scene from a movie he watched long ago, a movie that was really famous when he was 11. The movie told a story about a certain boy his age who was trapped in a nazi concentration camp. When the boy was desperately trying to reach for his mother, he had somehow managed to pull apart the prison gate from a distance with the power on his palm.

Now, the far-away metal sheet in front of him bent and moved under his command, and Viktor felt like one of his childhood dreams had finally come to fruition. A smile grew on his face, but quickly went away because he knew this was just the beginning._-.

With enough force, Viktor eventually managed to rip the whole sheet from the pole. He directed it to come closer until the metal floated in front of him; a glint of determination flashed past his eyes.

The Djinn did not even have any chance to explain as Viktor quickly went ahead and experimented with it.

When he pushed both of his palms closer to each other, the metal sheet would slowly but surely crumple into a small steel ball, and when he pulled his palms apart once again, the metal ball unrolled back into a sheet. Even though its current appearance was not as smooth as it initially was, the form was very close.

<If you had better control over this element, you would be able to easily restore it to the way it was before, smooth the way it was.>

As soon as the Djinn finished speaking his piece, Viktor swung his arm on top of the floating metal sheet. Following his move, the metal sheet instantly flattened back, its surface as smooth as if it just came out from the press machine.

<Oh? That is quite a display of good control> said the Djinn in an interested tone.

It did not take long for Viktor to become completely obsessed and fully immersed himself with the new skill he obtained. Along the way back toward the hut where the others were, he couldn’t stop himself from playing around with the sheet of metal he obtained.

Not only that, but whenever he passed by another street sign, Viktor would immediately take the metal away, and thus, the volume of metal he could play with continued to grow steadily. It was as if he was born to do this.

On the one-hour journey, Viktor learned that the more the steel mass he tried to bend, the harder it was to control. Another thing that came to his attention was his inability to bend the alien dagger. Even so, he was still able to make it float up 10 meters away before he lost control and the dagger clattered to the ground.

Finally, right before he needed to make a turn on the road that led straight to the hut, Viktor realized that he still had more metal on him.

His bulletproof chest protector.

With his mind once more focused on his survival, Viktor decided to use [Metal-bending] on the vest and combined it with the metal he collected on the way. Manipulating them with the proficiency he gained along the way, he made a thick armor for himself to cover his chest and hid the armor under his shirt and jacket to deflect suspicion.

Aside from protecting him, the armor would also be useful when he needed a ready material to bend.

He hummed a little tone as he made his way towards the hut because everything seemed to be going smoothly at the moment.

When he entered the hut, Viktor found that the others were patiently waiting for him. The two bodyguards and Barry were standing on guard at the entrance, while Eva was sitting in the room with the small golden lemming lying comfortably on the princess’ lap.

Right after he entered, the two bodyguards’ stance changed from relaxed to alert.

“Young master! That wolf is following you!”

Shocked, Viktor instantly turned around to look, only to see that Boris was talking about the blue husky that had just entered the room.

Viktor sighed.

“Let me introduce you all. This is Max, and he’s my new pet.”

Max was the name of his late Siberian husky. He left it in his house while he escaped to the bunker to survive the apocalypse, so the dog was most likely dead. Still, this didn’t stop him from reminiscing it through the appearance the Djinn took, which was strikingly similar.

“Woof woof!”

Seeing the blue husky, Eva’s eyes glimmered with happiness. She excitedly rushed to the dog and patted it while introducing it to the golden lemming who seemed to have become her ‘pet’.

“Hi, Max, this little fellow is Gucci. I hope you two will get along with each other!”

The golden lemming was named after one of the famous fashion brands that she liked. It seemed that the two got along quite well in the hours he left them.

Before he decided to rest for the night, Viktor checked the group’s stats one by one after he previously left them with six spirit stones each.

[Torri Helsinki – Battle Power: 18 (20) – Mortal Realm – middle stage]

[Boris Oslo – Battle Power: 19 (21) – Mortal Realm – high stage]

[Evangeline Amelia Bardott – Battle Power: 13 (17) – Mortal Realm – middle stage]

[Barry Pennyworth – Battle Power: 14 (17) – Mortal Realm – middle stage]

[Viktor Romanov]

[Strength – 29] [Agility – 49 ] [Endurance – 30]

[Battle Power – 36] [Spirit Force – 37]

[Earth realm – initial stage]

It was comforting to see the increasing numbers. This was especially the case with Boris, who already reached the high stage. On the other hand, the other two, Eva and Barry, should now have strengths similar to the two special forces’ initial strengths.

With his current stats and how the others’ stats had increased by a lot, Viktor now became more confident to continue their journey. After all, he still planned to find more metal and further improve his skill.

Tomorrow, they would need to start hunting together for more of those spirit stones as well and probably find a bigger and fancier place befitting of his status than this run-down hut that looked like it was about to collapse at any moment.

In the middle of the night, Viktor heard footsteps, and in his half-asleep state, he felt Eva come closer and enter his embrace.

“Dear, we need to find a bigger hut tomorrow.”

“Ah, yes… I was actually thinking about the same thing.”

“You did?” Surprise was apparent in her voice.

Under the dim light, he saw the woman’s face slowly turn red. As he stared at her, Viktor remembered something he almost forgot due to all the trouble these past few days. Tomorrow would be time for the weekly routine he looked forward to the most.

Viktor cracked a secret smile as he hugged the girl sleeping next to him. Looks like there were more things to look forward to tomorrow.

“I can feel it.. Its going to be a good day tomorrow.. Wonderful day”

However, when the morning came, he was abruptly awakened by a panicked voice.

“Master… master… wake up!”

“What the f*ck, Torri!? Why are you waking me up! Are you courting death!?” Viktor snapped as he shook himself awake. “Urgh…! What happened?”

“I am sorry, master, but there are people outside! I think we are in danger!”

Just when Viktor grasped his surroundings after such a good sleep, he heard a shout from outside.

“Mister Romanov! I know you are in there, come out now!!”

————-

Author Special Note

Dear Readers,

Thank you for all your support, I hope all of you have been enjoying the story and hope you will continue supporting the novel in the premium chapters.

What will you see from this point on will be Viktor – who never had people to care for – will start making his own circle. Naturally, this gradual process will be his character development on surviving the apocalypse – although some habits are hard to change.

As a note, this is my 4th contracted novel, and hopefully, this one would clearly express my accumulated experiences.

All novels are under the same Spirit Magus Universe, but this doesn’t mean that you – the readers – need to read the previous three to enjoy each story as all stands on its own.

However, if you have the chance, please do check the other novels through my author profile, or check the youtube trailer video on my website –

There is also a discord link on the website, for you to join with all my other readers/supporters to discuss. There are also monthly events happening there, with thousands of coins giveaway.

Once again, I thank you for all the support you guys have given me.

Yours sincerely, Avans.