The Mana-Stone Rhino roared, its bellows now laced with uncontrolled fury, its movements a terrifying, erratic dance. Its mana signature flared, pulsed, and surged, clearly on the verge of breaking.
"It's nearing its berserk threshold, Adam!" Lyra's voice was a torrent of data. "Focus on the cranial plates! Just a few more concentrated injections should overload its core. I will optimize your movement for minimal exertion, channeling your mana for maximum arrow efficiency!"
Adam gritted his teeth, his body screaming in protest, but his determination was absolute. He locked onto the Rhino's head, the Universal Shaping Tool a seamless extension of his will. Mana arrows flew, precise and relentless, each one finding its target with chilling accuracy. The Rhino stumbled, its roars devolving into gurgling screeches. Its eyes, once glowing, flickered erratically.
Berserker's Last Stand
Then, a sudden, terrifying shift. The Mana-Stone Rhino let out a final, ear-splitting shriek. The ground around it glowed with an ominous, deep crimson. Lyra's voice, now truly urgent, sliced through the chaos.
"Adam! Critical threat! It's entering its berserk state! It's unleashing an uncontrolled earth magic surge! Massive ground-based attack inbound! Spikes of mana-infused earth will erupt in a wide radius! There is no time to evade the entire area!"
Adam saw it, the ground rippling, cracks spreading rapidly, radiating outwards from the beast. He was caught.
"Initiating full link synchronization for automated defensive maneuvers!" Lyra commanded, her presence in his mind becoming dominant, yet perfectly integrated. "We must make pinpoint absorption rifts for each incoming spike! This requires absolute precision and simultaneous mana deployment across multiple vectors. Trust my calculations!"
Adam instinctively surrendered control. His mind became one with Lyra's, his mana an extension of her complex calculations. As the earth exploded upwards, jagged spikes of stone erupting from the ground, Adam's hands, his entire body, moved with impossible speed. Dozens of shimmering, small rifts, precisely timed and placed, winked into existence, swallowing each individual spike before it could touch him. The ground around him was torn asunder, but Adam stood in the eye of the storm, untouched, a testament to their synchronized mastery.
A New Revelation
The dust settled, revealing a ravaged landscape. And then, Adam's heart sank. The Mana-Stone Rhino still stood. Its berserk frenzy had subsided, its breathing was heavy, and its mana signature was stable once more. The chaotic mana he'd injected, the very mana that was supposed to overload it, was gone.
"Lyra..." Adam's voice was filled with dread.
"My analysis confirms," Lyra stated, her tone grim. "During its berserk state, the Mana-Stone Rhino possessed an inherent, undocumented ability to disperse excess mana from its internal system. It ejected the cumulative mana you injected, purging the overload."
Adam stared at the creature, now regaining its composure. He had fought a long, grueling battle, pushed himself to his limits, narrowly avoided a devastating attack, and the creature was still standing. He was facing a monster with immense mana capacity, immune to his primary overload strategy, and now, it knew he was there.
The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the creature's deepening growl. Adam was exhausted, his mana reserves tested, and the Rhino was ready for another fight.