A Group of slimes made out of magma were jiggling in the middle of the volcanic plains, and then a thick beam that looked like a solar eclipse in purple swept through them, making explosions every moment it was touching anything. All of the slimes dissipated under the massive temperature of a beam. They could be made out of magma and resistant to the high temperatures, but it was no use in front of my Solar element and my [Elemental Penetration] bonus from my class. It makes sense as even magma can evaporate with a temperature high enough. I ignored system announcements, casting eight of the [Death-Sun Solarbombs]. Miniature purple suns flew towards a group of salamanders that were loitering in the distance. Multiple purple explosions annihilated them. Another announcement came, but I ignored it too as a massive magenta sphere that radiated a purple light like a purple sun formed at the tip of my staff, forcing me to close my eyes. My lowered stats balanced with increased stability of the Solar element, making it difficult to cast as normal [Death-infused Empowered Plasmabomb] when my stats were at normal values. With closed eyes, I sent as a sphere flying towards a position of golem's auras. Shockwave hit me with the wave of heat, and another announcement came.
Ding!
System Announcement
You killed LV 17 [Flame Stone Golem] X2
You killed LV 18 [Flame Stone Golem] X2
You obtained 982 XP
You obtained 2406 CE
You gained a new skill [Solmancy I]
'Such a shame. I really wanted to see that explosion. I really need eye protection with this kind of magic. ' then I realized something, and happiness filled me so much that I wanted to jump like a small kid, and so I did, 'At least I finally got a skill I wanted after so much of grinding, I even increase my level twice. Alright system, show me a log of my earnings.'
Ding!
System Log: Rewards
You obtained 11392 XP
You obtained 26895 CE
You are now level 29
The level of your passive class skill [Increased Elemental Damage] increased to 4
Proficiency of [Death-Infused Empowered Solarbomb] increased to 6
Proficiency of [Bending Destruction Solarbeam] increased to 6
Proficiency of [Death-Sun Solar Bomb] increased to 11
Proficiency of [Ice Spike] increased to 3
Proficiency of [Waterball] increased to 2
Proficiency of [Windblade] increased to 3
Level of [Hydromancy] increased to 3
You earned 10SP as a reward for reaching level 3 of [Hydromancy]
Level of [Geomancy] increased to 3
You learned [Create Lesser Golem] spell as a reward for reaching level 3 of [Geomancy]
Level of [Aeromancy] increased to 3
Level of [Sky Foothold] increased to 4 as a reward for reaching level 3 of [Aeromancy]
Level of [Hastened MP Regeneration] increased to 9
Level of [Improved Mana Control] increased to 8
Level of [Hastened Mana Manipulation] increased to 5
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Even the levels of magical schools corresponding to an element that I replaced with a higher tier variant were still extremely useful to me. It was because a spell using higher elements were still gaining bonuses from magical schools from lower-tier elements that it contains. For example, spells with plasma would gain bonuses from a [Pyromancy], [Astrapomancy] and finally a [Plasmamancy].
I carefully read through the log as I started to walk back to the secret room.
In the end, I spent two days grinding skill levels and a little bit of normal levels. It was exhausting and slow due to my lowered stats decreasing my mana, but it was worth it. During my grinding, I was only using mana hungry Solar element spells and occasional spells of elements I am not normally using in regular combat like a [Waterball] to increase its level at least a little bit. Most of the time was spent bullying weak second-floor monsters or casting low-level magic onto innocent and unarmed walls. I also spent many hours watching a Bifrons doing his science stuff as I waited for my mana to regenerate. It was relaxing to watch as he nimbly used one hand to inscribe mystical glowing symbols at some skin with origins I rather did not even want to guess. At the same time, with his second arm, he kept mixing glowing liquids in small bottles creating a small explosion of colours.
'My stats will be weakened for a few more hours, but I am already bored of this dungeon. I want to go out to my city. I want to enjoy my life as a ruler. It's unlikely that something bad will happen during that few hours.' and so I decide to leave, but before that, I made a stop to ask Bifrons about my army.
"What is the progress on my golem army? And please make them golems from the third floor. They look way more stylish than the piles of burning rock from upper floors."
Bifrons put a capsule containing some purple liquid on the table and said, "Well, dungeon almost collected enough energy to produce the number of golems you requested. And of course thanks to my intelligence I already predicted that you would rather want golems from the third floor. So a price was set for them from the beginning."
"Alright, thank Bif. You are a really great help."
"My name is a Bifrons and... be careful. You might feel powerful and almighty after your few victories, but don't let it get into your head. All of them were just small fishes, so be beware of sharks."
I responded with a gentle nod and left for the exit from a room.
My form appeared out of the portal. Sun was still high on the skies shining over the landscape.
'I always liked evenings more than mornings.'
Ding!
System Announcement
Your are under a sunlight, you Solar element spells will deal damage increased by 15%
That was a nice bonus, but something more interesting to me was there, so I spread my wings and flapped them. To my dismay, nothing happened. Luckily my instincts were telling me what I did wrong. I tried again. That time, I poured mana into them and flapped again, and my feet slowly lifted from the ground. Then I poured even more mana into them and flapped them faster. My figure shot into the sky like a rocket. The landscape under me quickly turned into a canvas of green and brown, with people working on the field turning into small dots. Wind currents were soaring around me, creating a loud noise in my ears until I stopped, levitating high above the city with slow claps of my wings. For the first time, I could see how big was my city. There are streets upon streets of big buildings neatly arranged around wide roads. These wide streets were in the central part of the city, and wide roads connected the city's centre to the gates. On the city's outer edges were much more chaotically arranged small buildings. Roads there were much smaller and arranged in chaotic cobweb-like patterns.
The whole time I was smiling as it felt amazing to be freed from the tyranny of gravity, 'Everything is so small from up here... Wait a second, can I bomb my enemies from a height like a bomber? Would my spell be ably to reach a ground while still retaining enough energy? I am not sure if it's good to test it so close to my city. I do not want to hit my underlings. I will test it later, further away from a city. Wait, I still need to pick up my reward.'
Ding!
System Announcement
Level of [Hydromancy] increased to 4
Level of [Geomancy] increased to 4
Level of [Aeromancy] increased to 4
Level of [High Pyromancy] increased to 2
Level of [Cryomancy] increased to 5
Level of [Photomancy] increased to 4
Level of [High Astrapomancy] increased to 3
Level of [Plasmamancy] increased to 4
Level of [Solmancy] increased to 2
Level of [Chorosmancy] increased to 4
Level of [Necromancy] increased to 7
I dived directly towards a city centre, creating a black gold and purple trail with my wings. The city in front of me was growing bigger and bigger. Sweat formed at my temple for a few moments as I realized that I had to stop before hitting the ground. The ground was only a few dozen meters away, and I could see people on the streets looking with interest at my diving form. I finally changed my angle and used my whole strength in wings. My speed started to decrease, but I was still too fast. The ground was only ten meters away and was quickly closing on. Fear filled me, but I didn't panic and blinked a few dozen meters upwards. Finally, I managed to slow down and safely land in the castle courtyard with a bang creating cracks on the ground. A bunch of darks rushed out with weapons in their hand, looking for the source of the commotion. They put down their weapons when they spotted me, and one of them said, "There is plenty of work you have to do. Stop running from your responsibilities".