CHAPTER 120.

The vault was blasted with thunder as the invading guards were hit, their barriers cracking and exploding as they ran away. Blue light flickered in the entirety of the room as molten gold exploded as if magma was billowing out from the ground. The sound of clinking metal, of stone shattering, of electricity crackling; all blended together in a symphony of destruction as holes were punctured through the entirety of the structure.

Cold wind billowed from outside as the sounds of barriers shattering echoed, and was trembling as the staff lost power, her Essence completely empty as a notification loomed in front of her.

[All your attributes have increased by 25.]

But she didn’t focus on that⁠— no, she didn’t even care about that. All she cared about was the fact that she had learned two Essence skills, Storm of Destruction and God’s Dynamo the latter completely unexpected but also more exciting than the former. And that was because of what it did.

Essence regeneration. That was a dummied down version of what it did. It could forcefully regenerate her Essence, and it could even take her mana and convert it into Essence⁠— it was stupidly good. And it could do even more.

Amber laughed, almost feeling like a villain as the guards screamed, Storm of Destruction was an indiscriminate attack that tore through everything. And then, as fast as it came it dissipated with a red flash, she paused and Remmel put a white helmet over her, as he hastily raised his daggers.

“The head guard is here, Aveline.”

“On it!”

She paused and when the smoke cleared she saw an elf with marks of aging on his face, and to her surprise she recognized him because he was in the hall of fame for having reached the 4th Tier of magic⁠— level 400.

An Archmage.

And he was level 350.

Even if she was still riding the high of her previous battle, Amber knew better than to be stupid, she wanted to run and yet Remmel was gritting his teeth.

“We have to stall him,” he said. “They won’t kill us if they can help it.”

Amber frowned. “There are holes all over the walls, can’t we just jump?”

“If you want to hit a teleportation barrier and end up in a jail cell, yes,” he said. “Otherwise we wait for Aveline to use her spell.”

Amber clicked her tongue and she watched as the guards stormed the room and Lubaum was quickly arrested, his mouth agape from the previous fight. Some guards were injured, some had even been at death’s door but had been taken away, however none died for her attack had been stopped by the Archmage, who was currently meeting her gaze.

“Even as a warrior you can make great use of Arkara’s Staff, with your talent you could’ve been awarded it if you worked diligently enough,” he said. “But, instead you’ve chosen to become a thief. Give it up and maybe then I shall spare you. Your mage friend won’t be saving any of you.”

Aveline was still focused, completely ignoring whatever he was saying, Remmel seemed wary but still in control.

“What’s this staff anyway?” Amber raised it as the guards raised their weapons. “It’s pretty nice; aside from it being a divine artifact. How did the elves get since it’s not from the spirit near Cytel?”

At her words the Archmage’s eyes flashed with surprise for a brief moment before he shook his head.

“This does not concern you, dishonorable berserker.” He shook his head. “It is a pity your classes are so rare, you could’ve been great and instead you became a thief.”

Amber said nothing and just frowned. She was, more than anything, stalling time and should’ve been focused on that.

“Does it have to do with the spirit of Arveil, perhaps?”

“No,” he said, frowning. Then he raised his staff. “This is your last warning, either hand it over and turn yourself in or be killed.”

At that, everyone readied themselves and Remmel also tensed. This confrontation was… troublesome. But she still had to do something.

Amber glanced over at Remmel.

“Do you trust me?”

“Do I have a choice?” he asked, not looking over.

“No.” Amber turned back to the Archmage who had a deep frown and finally, she gave her reply. “You can have it.”

She tossed the staff in his direction and he smiled, Remmel’s eyes widened and Amber moved. She used the 3rd Rank of Quick Dash, appearing in front of the mage and kicking. His barrier cracked and he flashed with surprise, but Amber didn’t stop it there as she drew her hand back, and gripped onto the staff.

She charged her Essence and slammed⁠— a slightly charged Primordial Blazing Bolt burst in all directions, shattering the barrier and causing the mages in the surrounding to loose spells in a panic.

Amber however, didn’t stop there, instead she followed up with a slash of both of her skills, causing a rippling explosion of blue as another cracking sound resounded, smoke billowing into the surroundings. Then, she felt danger as she backed off. A moment later, the air in front of her burst as two barriers slammed into it.

She landed, flipping back as spells that were flung at her barely missed, yet her eyes remained looking ahead where the Archmage had been. The smoke cleared and soon she saw him, but aside from some small burns on his face he had nothing but his present frown.

“Petty tricks, you should’ve given up peacefully,” he growled, lifting his staff. “Now you will have to die⁠—”

And a mage was flung against him, hitting against his barrier. He let out a grunt as he turned towards Remmel, and Amber turned to see Aveline still preparing whichever spell she was trying to do. Spells could also be enhanced with runes, but they required complex formations, and this one was one of those.

She scoffed, as Remmel took down another guard, he seemed to be avoiding killing them, and Amber too chose to do the same as she decided to only focus on the Archmage. The first thing she did was, enhance her body to its limits before replacing the staff with Cursewelder, immediately pouncing on the man.

She swung with all her strength, cracking the barrier as she cocked her head back. He raised his staff and Amber headbutted, the barrier shattered and she used Inexorable Will as the man had a minute pause, one that allowed her to headbutt again, causing his eyes to grow wide as his nose was broken before being thrown away and crashing into a wall.

“Archmage!”

“Help him!”

“Aid the head guard!”

Amber immediately took a deep breath and began to circulate her Essence with God’s Dynamo. It almost felt like breathing, and for each cycle a small bit of Essence was made, but she could also do it faster.

Amber let out her breath as two cycles were made, then three, and then four⁠— her core quickly began to strain as it regenerated its lost Essence in a single moment, and the mages fired spells at her. However, Amber dashed forward, ignoring them all. Some missed, merely hitting nearby, and others struck her squarely but all she did was regenerate the damage off and sprint towards the Archmage.

And then, she took out the staff as it began to shine in a blue light, this time, she held it on her left hand as she raised it covering it in flames creating a long bow, a\nd on her right an arrow was made.

“Enough!”

Smoke billowed from its spot and the mage stepped out, only for Amber to greet him jumping mid air⁠—

Primordial Blazing Bolt.

“You⁠—”

And the attack hit, the entire chamber exploded in blue as a caldera of flames was made on the spot where the mage had been standing, and as Amber landed lithely before a barrier⁠— crushed her.

Her bones gave out as she was pressed right into the ground, and from within the smoke a rather unscathed Archmage came out.

“You should understand the difference between our stratas, I will kill you now.”

Two more barriers squeezed Amber as she screamed, and then they began to crackle as she felt danger like never before. She teleported and⁠— the barriers reappeared next to her, her eyes widening.

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“Goodbye⁠—”

And Remmel stabbed, breaking the mages’ concentration. The Archamge grunted before blasting the assassin with a barrier, and Amber seized the opportunity to rush at him but with a mere turn of his head she was slammed against a wall.

Then a moment later, the Archmage appeared and jabbed at her throat holding her against the wall. Her strength easily exceeded the mage’s however, the barrier around his body overwhelmed her as she squirmed.

“First, I will take my time,” he squeezed and her neck cracked.

Amber grunted and Remmel tried to come, but he was blasted away by other mages.

“I could cut your arm off and take your ring, but that would be too easy, so instead, how about I take your fingers off one by one⁠—”

She was slammed against the ground, her shoulder blade cracking under the incredibly high level magic, and Amber took the chance to use her Essence, blue flames flaring threatening to burn the mage.

“It’s useless, woman.” He grabbed her finger and snapped it, then a barrier intertwined between her flesh and ripped it off. “You cannot defy me.”

It was a humiliating position, at the same time she didn’t want to use Storm of Destruction given it wasn’t the right time, but at the same time⁠—

Amber summoned the staff on her free hand, and at point blank range burned all of her rage, she pushed her core to the max, then used the trigger of Curse of the Vanquished and swung as a measly blue flame ignited⁠—

Primordial Blazing Bolt.

She hadn’t used that much Essence, but it was enough⁠—

The barriers shattered and the mage was sent flying with a loud bang. Then, at that moment Remmel appeared by her side, and grabbed her.

“Aveline is almost ready.”

With those words, she was teleported away and they landed next to the companion non-combatant mage.

And a grave voice echoed. “You can’t, that measly mage is not able to do anything.”

From within the smoke the Archmage walked out, his robes a mess and his body filled with burns. His eyes burning with hatred, as he summoned his staff out of thin air.

“There is no getting out for all of you⁠—” And he paused, his frown deepening. “That shouldn’t be possible, especially not from a level 150 mage.”

However, his shock didn’t last long as he raised his staff, multiple barriers appearing throughout the room in front of all mages.

“Guards, blast away, kill them!”

“Shit,” Remmel cursed and took out a scroll as it shone with a golden light.

In a single moment a barrier of golden light was erected, and Remmel held onto her hand, her mana immediately draining. All while a barrage of powerful spells assailed the barrier that was barely being maintained by hers and the assassin’s mana reserve.

“Where the fuck is your girlfriend?” Remmel asked in a growl.

“And who is that?” Amber raised the Cursewelder and stabbed it into herself.

Curse Battery began to be regenerated at a great speed. And Remmel snorted as Amber gritted her teeth through the sudden bursts of pain she was experiencing.

“Fucking Frei, she disappeared from one day to another, any news?!”

“No,” Amber grunted.

She didn’t know where Frei was, she doubted the woman was still dealing with her family given two weeks had already passed, but Remmel was right⁠— her help would be really useful right now.

“Whatever, Aveline will finish soon.”

The head guard and Archmage appeared raising a barrier in front of her to blow up and Amber in return pressed her hand against him and cast⁠—

Curse Battery.

The Archmage was blasted with a deluge of curses at point blank range, blood exploding in all directions.

Now was the right time to use her skill, now that the mage was point blank she could put an end to him⁠—

And Amber’s arm was amputated at that moment by a barrier being summoned. The mage came from within the smoke, headbutting her with a barrier in front of his head. Her head cracked back, her brain rattled and Amber saw the bloodied man extend his hand and she forced herself to use a different skill⁠—

Abyssal Blast.

The man was engulfed with a purple light, but it wasn’t enough. She knew that she needed to use Storm of Destruction at point blank, but only when the right time came. Only when they could escape.

The mage headbutted her again, Remmel tried to stop it but he was useless as a barrier blocked his attack. The mage slapped her with the staff.

“I’m the Archmage Xavier, as if a puny berserker like you could defeat me⁠—”

Reignition.

Amber used it on herself as she healed instantly, blasting the man with the curses covering her body and yet he scoffed as her left arm was blown off in a single moment. Being amputated as soon as she recovered to top condition by a barrier. And Amber gritted her teeth as a barrier crashed into her, sending her into the ground.

Aveline’s magic changed color, reaching its apex. Signaling what she had been waiting for all this time.

It was now or never. Amber summoned Arkara’s Staff, and her Essence flared as her core began to hurt. She drained her mana with God’s Dynamo as electricity coursed through her body.

“It’s useless.” She was blasted into the ceiling as Amber almost blanked out.

But as she hit the ground, she recovered, her bones cracking into place as Remmel managed to splash a potion onto her and finally, she cast the spell as the Archmage scoffed.

“Deflection of Protection.”

Storm of Destruction.

Both spells collided and the room roof of the vault was blown open as the Archmage gritted his teeth, being hit by the electricity. His barriers being stripped bare yet he tried to reach for her.

“Just what is this magic of yours⁠—”

And Amber kicked, breaking his ribs and sending him away as Aveline finally teleported them out to safety.

Her vision went white and a moment later came back as the ringing on her ears vanished.

The environment changed in an instant, from a raging battle to a warehouse. There were small and numerous barrels filled with some kind of runes. And the walls were lined with runes to… stop scrying spells? For once she failed to recognize their exact usage, but it was somewhere along those lines. It was more specifically a safehouse.

And a moment later, Aveline collapsed on the ground panting, and Remmel in response gave her a couple pats on the back.

“Good job, but we aren’t done yet.”

“Thank you…” she panted.

Aveline looked extremely pale. She was probably suffering from lack of mana, but Amber didn’t pay too much attention, instead she looked down at the divine artifact she was holding. At the white staff with engravings and a green gem. It seemed misshapen almost, suffering from the battle.

Thankfully, like any other high tier weapon it should have self-repair.

Amber injected mana into it and⁠— aside from igniting the rock, it didn’t do anything. In fact, within what she could sense in the staff, there was no sense to repair it. She instantly frowned at that. Though, she didn’t have too much time to think about that as Remmel pondered before turning to Aveline.

“Can you teleport us to the plateau now?”

“I… I don’t have enough mana, with a mana potion maybe in a minute⁠—”

“Amber can remove the curse from the potions last I checked, so drink,” he said, pressing a potion into her arms.

Aveline hesitated and Amber felt a bit bad, but she ultimately drank three mana potions and for a moment she convulsed before she erased the curse. And to her surprise, Aveline shed a tear in the process.

“That felt awful.”

“Teleport us Aveline,” Remmel said.

Amber raised her brow. “Why the rush, aren’t we safe?”

At that, the assassin laughed. “Of courses not⁠—”

And Remmel’s words were interrupted by loud calls as people sprinted down the street not too far away from them.

“Do not let them get away.”

“They have to be somewhere in this area!”

And she paused as Remmel continued.

“We just stole from the government of the Sacred Forest, of course it’s going to be difficult to get away,” he said as if it was logical.

Amber shook her head at that. “So will this affect the Dazdril family?”

“It won’t but you should lay low too,” he said. “After all, while they don’t have your name⁠—”

“What about that professor?” Amber asked.

“He’s dead.” Remmel had a frown present on his face. “Poisoned him mid battle. Just avoid the head guard at all costs, otherwise you will die.”

Amber nodded, heeding the stern warning she had just received. Remmel seemed on edge still, and he looked towards Aveline, who was still casting her spell.

“Any minute now.”

“You can’t hide, dishonorable berserker thief, I sense you nearby!” the head guard called from the other street. “Turn in and I shall be lenient with my torture.”

Amber nodded, gravely and everyone waited with baited breath as Aveline raised her staff, it beginning to shine in a greater light as she finished up her spell.

“We found them!”

Someone outside shouted and at that moment, they vanished.

There was a flash of light and they were carriers to the plateau, and their final destination, and Aveline fainted. It was hard to believe but she was the whole reason that they were even alive. But Amber made a mental note to appreciate the ex-noble’s efforts through all of this.

And it wasn’t all bad, she was inching closer to her Class Advancement thanks to the fight she had had earlier. Now she was level 187.

“Alright, now we are safe,” Remmel said, letting out a sigh. “Give me the staff so we can both go back to our daily lives.”

Amber hesitated for a moment, giving up something like that was… it felt off-putting. At the same time this was the whole reason for Remmel’s mission, and there was also the fact that the staff was unearned power. Though it had something peculiar to it, a way of using Essence that she wanted to learn.

“Can I keep it for sometime?” she asked after some deliberation. “I think it could help me get stronger.”

Remmel frowned before finally giving his answer. “Give it to me first so I can log it into my mission report then you can keep it for sometime before giving it back.”

Amber nodded and pulled out the staff to give it to Remmel, but at that moment, someone emerged from the bushes. Two men in white robes appeared. One was a tall and lithe man and the other was a mage with no particular features.

[???. Lvl. ???]

[Lightblessed Mage. Lvl. ???]

“Ah, what a stroke of fate, to meet one of Ishtar’s descendants,” the lithe man said. “Looks like my senses did not deceive me.”

“Indeed, Archbishop Amos, to think we’d run into her,” the other agreed.

Amber immediately tensed, they were from the Saints of Truth. She looked over at Aveline; she was fainted and wouldn’t be able to save them.

She gritted her teeth from the sudden development and yet Remmel’s eyes widened and he darted to look behind him. Instead, something that caused Amber to truly shiver from what it could mean.

Amber followed his gaze as two people emerged from the shadows of the trees within the forest, their collars of the twin moons. One of them had a mace and the other was a mage woman with rather revealing clothes.

They were from the Arcane Council.

[???. Lvl. ???]

[???. Lvl. ???]

“The two groups we intended to kill in the same spot, ain’t that nice?” the mage asked mockingly. “What a coincidence to run into Zodos’ killer.”

“Amber the Cursebearer and the stupid saints, what a haul!” the warrior guffawed.

And at that moment, Amber paled as she realized just how fucked she was in this situation.