Walking through the road towards Drewco a bit lets me arrive at a spot where the river is quite close to the road itself.

I look around to see if there is anything noteworthy nearby, but the only thing I see are some field beasts in the distance.

"Too far for me to go kill them when I have to get water."

Jumping over a road guard and then come to the riverbed and crouch bringing the bucket into the water and then pull it out once it's full.

"No snakes in this part of the river huh? Maybe they aren't so common."

As I am about to take the bucket with me to return I have a sudden thought.

"Come to think of it, I haven't done much training in order to learn more about my power and the limits of it. For example range of my Dark Bolt."

I summon a single Dark Bolt right above my open palm.

"Back when I just got this I think I could only just shoot it straight forward toward the enemy, yet later I could summon multiple at the same time, make them stick near me to empower my spear strike back when I fought that Mimic."

I make it fly around palm like a fist sized vaguely ball shaped with a pointy end darkness, or perhaps lack of light.

"Hmm, I can feel a slight drain on my mental fatigue as it flies around, but it's not really significant."

I accelerate it towards the field beast closest to me.

Woosh.

"I think summoning it takes a bit of my energy but also sending it forward, not instant acceleration but a continuous one?"

The bolt fizzles through the air as it gains speed. Just now it passed the distance which I use it most of the time and the drain felt very similar, it then flies farther and farther while the drain seemingly increases.

It finally hits the field beast after some time, piercing it's armor and killing it instantly. Other field beasts around it notices it and look around looking for the culprit yet fail to see me from so far away.

"This thing uses more and more energy the farther it is from me, useful but also dangerous. That one long-range Dark Bolt cost me quite a bit more than my normal one."

I hum to myself as I release another two Dark Bolts at the same time and try to home in with them onto moving targets that are these Field Beasts.

They respond to my thoughts and slightly change their direction but only one manages to hit.

"My fine control is lacking, distance possibly affects it."

I quickly send another Dark Bolt and successfully kill last beast.

"I should check later my medium-range control."

I take the bucket and turn back, already spent too much time on this. But I will make sure to take some time later to properly figure it out.

Re-entering the road proves less easy as just jumping over it with a bucket full of water so instead I have to climb the slope of earth a bit and then bend over the road guard placing the bucket on the other side then hop over.

Seeing no abnormalities once again I walk back towards the estate.

My skeletons are nowhere to be seen for now as I told them to patrol the area, only my pack wolf stands nearby.

I once again enter the house and see Third standing guard over the bathroom door. Walking by him I enter it and see the girl still sitting there."

"What took you so long?"

"Carrying a bucket full of water is very hard work." I laugh and then place it beside the bath.

"Sure, I guess?" She furrows her brows at my sarcasm but doesn't ask again.

"Do I need to bring you a towel or do you have one on hand?" I ask, looking around.

"No need, I have one right here inside the shelf. You can leave now, so I can clean myself." She stares at me.

"Alright." I leave and close the door after that to let her do her thing.

"It's probably going to take a while, isn't it?" I ask Third.

He just stares at me.

"Yeah." I answer myself and leave the house.

Walking over to the backyard I'm left alone for the time being.

"I should have some time to experiment again."

"Alright, let's get my facts straight now. Based on what I know about Dark Bolt."

I summon one again.

"Summoning itself takes a bit of my energy."

It just hovers above my open palm now.

"It just hovering there doesn't seem to be using my energy or uses an amount so small I can't perceive it."

I make it fly circles around my hand.

"My control over it is excellent when it's close, moving it near me uses a small amount of energy."

Dark Bolt then flies to the farthest area from me that still allows it to circle myself.

"My distance measurement with just eyes is garbage but it should be a bit more than 10 meters now. This is a medium range, I use most of the time."

With my thought it starts to fly around in circles around me steadily.

"It's flight path is stable, my control is still good enough but it took me a bit more effort to control it, the consumption is also greater. For now it seems the perfect distance for using it."

"Very long-range test is already completed, it was a few hundred meters to these Field Beasts. Consumption was significant compared to close and medium range. My control over one was enough to strike relatively slowly moving Field Beasts. Two Dark Bolts was beyond my control and only one hit then."

"So very long range control is 1, consumption high."
"Medium range control is good for 1, consumption small."
"Close range control is excellent for 1, consumption nearly insignificant."

"My spirit is 101 for now. I don't feel tired from those few tests."

Before anything else I focus my eyes on my wolf and go nearby to take some food and water. I don't know how far I will push with this test but I want to be full, just in case.

I take out a water bottle, one of several I have which should've lasted me maybe a week, probably less with this girl now.

Next I take out some smoked meat I still have, it has great expiration date.

"You can sit Wolf."

He does as told and I have support so I can sit and lean a bit to eat.

Munch munch,

"It's good but salty, if only they used less salt."

Gulp.

"Water feels great after becoming thirsty with this meat. I wonder if the shop in Drewco still has some supplies or was it scavenged already."

Done with eating I go back to the middle of the backyard, my one Dark Bolt still floating beside me using a bit of energy.

"Okay, let's start with a close-range test, then medium range, and add more and more until my control or consumption is too much for me."

I summon another one and order both to fly in circles around one of my hands.

"Nothing changed aside from making consumption a bit higher."

I raise my other hand and one of Dark Bolts starts to fly around that hand.

"No problem still."

"Let's try to make an eight."

I make the Bolts interchangeably around both of my hands making a nice 8.

"That was a bit harder to do."

I stop the flying around.

"Close range, 2 Dark Bolts, consumption 2x higher so nothing to cry about, control went from excellent to nearly excellent, meaning it took a slight effort."

"Next medium range."

My two Bolts fly away to the required range, one Bolt on my left side and one on my right side.

They start to slowly go around in circles before accelerating.

"Control is still quite good, consumption twice as presumed."

"This is going to take a while if I go by one, let's pick up the pace before she is done with cleaning herself."

"This will be something greater than me just spamming Dark Bolts multiple times like before or making several dark bolts to empower my spear attack. Possibly dangerous."

I make a mental note to use the other side of the backyard and hold back from sending my Dark Bolts in that direction.

"Alright then, two more."

Four Dark Bolts circles around me with a stable orbit.

"Good, four more."

Eight Dark Bolts now fly around me making me look like some dark tornado of human size.

The orbit is still relatively stable but it takes a reasonable effort to control them all.

"Now this will be really something, eight more."

As I summon another eight Dark Bolts I have a slight feeling in my head. Each of these sixteen balls of darkness fly around energetically, taking real effort out of me.

"Stop flying around!" I command.

All Dark Bolts stop as if frozen in time, feeling in my head gone as I'm now unable to move with these things right around me like a tornado.

"Okay, now medium range, very carefully."

I prepare myself and order my Dark Bolts to fly away from me and form a circle around my body.

Steadily, but slowly they do as ordered while taking effort and a very noticeable amount of my energy to do so.

"Fly around now."

I manage to make them spin around making me look like the center of some kind of dark circular saw.

"Still managable, I feel as If I still have more than half my energy."

"Got to see what my limit is."

I order the Bolts to gather around in one place away from me and then summon sixteen more.

I send them towards the earlier group and take command over whole 32 Dark Bolts.

Ordering them to move proves a challenge as I now start to feel a headache incoming.

Still I preserve and make them fly like a cloud of darkness.

"The consumption is very high but I can feel it becoming easier as I move them around."

The dark cloud flies around the backyard like an envoy of apocalypse, if it were to strike that Mimic from before with a greater speed than I can control now then it would probably obliterate him.

"The headache is becoming worse, last test."

I order the Bolts with a significant effort to create a hemisphere a few meters away from my body and then make it spin around.

Suddenly I hear the house-door opening and look at the girl that came out of the house.

"What is this?" The girl wonders as she sees a hemisphere of darkness spinning crazily around the guy who saved her.

My concentration slips briefly and thirty-two Dark Bolts Instead of becoming motionless act upon my senses and accelerate towards her.

"Fuck."

Blood pours from my nose and eyes as I try to reign in the Bolts I lost control over and manage to scatter almost all of them to strike the building behind her but few slip through.

Suddenly at the last second, Third as if understanding more deeply my intention of being the guard, jumps out of the door and in front of her holding the shield he had with all his might.

A loud sound is created as her home is completely obliterated.

"Ahh!" She screams.

Boom!

Three of my Dark Bolts strike Third and proceed to smash his shield into nothingness as two Dark Bolts dissipate doing so, the third one striking him with decelerated power as I use last reserves of my energy to slow it down after which I black out with a face full of blood and head-splitting ache.