Shutting Mireloom off had been the only way Ebony could have the free mind power to prepare a second gravity vortex. It was ultimately weaker since he couldn’t pack it with flames as well as he did the first but he succeeded.
‘About 40% strength of the first? I want to see the power of the full-strength spell but I also want to equalise them…I'll watch what the first one can do for now.’ Checking his numb mana chassis, he nodded in satisfaction when he realised he could just do this again. The only lacking resource he had was Will keeping the spell together.
He didn’t see the need to warn the Nebula Watch and tossed the slow ball at the ground before Flickering upwards as fast as he could. He used too much Will and might not be able to protect himself with a flimsy Domain.
However, he had time. The spell was thrown slowly since the Will he imbued would reverse the gravity only when it hit the designated target. And the fact that he simply didn’t have the mental strength to move that immense mass fast. That gave him time to run and he didn’t need mental effort for manual or time-based denotation. It no longer matters if he went out of range of his control as long as he used the appropriate amount of Will to handle the stress of the spell, meaning the mental capacities required.
He protected his ears and organs with mana stabilisation before augmenting himself while turning and facing down just in time to see his creation.
The flash across his retinas was unexpected but it only blinded him for a moment before his eyes readjusted themselves. The explosion of energy was beyond his imaginations as his flames was free from their tight prison. Covering his entire view and peripheral vision despite the height he was flying within moments. He didn’t know how far liquid flames were sent flying but the second phase didn’t come till ten seconds later when the ground cracked a second time.
Gushing high-pressure liquid flames clouds high, it settled after a minute. Then an eruption of flames was spit out from the crevices and fissures. A longer wait and jets of flames re-erupted.
Then frosty gas started leaking out of every new hole and crack that appeared.
Ebony Flicked down and touched whatever qualified as ground to sense his own spell at work.
It was still going.
‘It takes too long and too much effort to cast this spell. Can’t use it in a battle but if I ever need to break something, I have my answer.’ Sensing all the ice mana around, he stomped the ground to send one of the targets back up to the surface.
“Wow. This is some impressive stuff.” He voiced his true impression. The scarecrow was in one piece, not a single straw shattered from the ice shattering that the soil and earth succumbed to. It was frozen and burning, but his flames failed to dig into them.
‘Is this some form of equipment to test damage? It is even tougher than me by magnitudes!’ Ebony dispersed the flames and removed the layer of ice to see that the scarecrows were completely undamaged.
“Of course. We would like to say the same to you…Grade 5 Global Hazard. Now. Is that the greatest destructive spell you can use?”
“It is but I haven’t unleashed this. Will it change the result? I think I can gather enough Will to cast another full-strength one in a few hours. And if I use a weaker version after I exhaust my Will, I think I can cast a few hundred more of these. And by then my Will would have recovered so I could cast these a few more times. If I have food, I can cycle through as long as I’d like. Maybe a day or two for a mental break after a month, two months?”
“...Just common sustenance, and you can do that for a month straight?”
“I mean, you saw how long the spell took.”
“What does that have to do with what I asked? Is food all you require, what about the mana?”
“I suppose a lot of food. People convert sustenance to life force, stamina and mana. I am the same. Casting time matters. If I could cast faster it means I tire myself faster and can sustain that effort for a shorter period. If only I had more mental power and Will, I could concurrently cast two or three full-power versions. That should dry my mana up faster.”
“One day break to recover a month’s worth of mana to power hundreds of those spells?”
“No? It's to rest my mind, actually, I think two months is a better estimate. You can sense it, my mana pool is already filling up. Destruction isn’t something I’m good at, endurance is. Should I continue?”
“Footnoted. No, that is not necessary. Grade 6 Planetary Hazard.”
“I don't know if that’s good or bad.” Ebony knew the ratings went from Local, Regional, National, Continental, Global and Planetary. Grade 6 was the same as Ezekiel but there were many smaller layers of classification known only to the Nebula Watch. Despite Ezekiel’s reflexes or relatively weaker personal fighting skills, he had powerful tricks up his sleeves that dealt massive damage to nature.
“For us, bad. Here is the Book of Laws.”
When the voice said that, a white cover book appeared at the outer edges of his mind space.
“Huh, that was not supposed to happen. You’re supposed to internalise the contents immediately.”
“Well, by the time I finish reading this and go back out. It is pretty much ‘immediate’.” Ebony noted that this was an individual he was talking to. Not artificial intelligence of some sort. He or she was also a person with abilities like that of a mind mage or telepath. Most importantly, ultimate stealth.
Ebony didn’t even know someone was looking inside his head or if anyone was looking at his body much less mind.
It was a book that he couldn’t flip to the end in hours.
There were a lot of odd rules that he couldn’t understand the reason for having but he wasn’t bothered since he didn’t think he would ever commit or do specifically weird actions like tickling a Tumble Warp Worm?
There were words he didn’t even know that he needed a translation for. However, the Book of Laws seemed to transcend language and like the old mind magic tool, it transmitted intent and meaning directly to his mind when he saw the words.
Some of the most interesting that piqued his immediate interest was that some elements were completely off-limits to be used in certain areas such as the Sector’s Station. One of them was the Void element, Radiation and another example was Soul.
Ebony was explicitly forbidden from using his only offensive soul skill on the station.
The Nebula Watch would find out. They would know.
Especially now that he had an official Hazard rating. There would be eyes on him.
“Unregistered one, we will determine your homeworld to be Elcra.”
“Alright.” As he expected, they knew who he was. Probably because they saw him when they were watching Ezekiel. The implications of such a thing was that even though both of them were classified the same, the Nebula Watch would not interfere with what Ebony did on Elcra because he was deemed as an original inhabitant of Elcra, not a visitor.
Elcra, classified as a natural Worldcore, was protected by these laws. And these laws didn’t interfere with whatever original inhabitants were doing in their own world, including mass destruction. It would be seen as a civil war or a natural accident at best or worse.
“I’ll bring Scarlet over. Just do your thing and we’re done here.”
Despite what he said, they had to wait for Scarlet to recover her mana. She was a Grade 4 Continental Hazard and he sort of knew it was because the heat she could produce would melt most things and creatures that don’t actively protect themselves with mana or life force.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Whether it was fire or blood, she simply didn’t have the reach or capabilities to spread her spells far. But if she were to centre herself, just augmenting herself could kill creatures in the vicinity. He knew she had a spell, like the one they combined but he was not aware if she had anything else. Hearing her rating, she probably didn’t. Without his gravity vortex, her spell simply didn’t have the reach or power that he could produce.
‘So her life force reserves are deep enough for her to melt through a large area now.’
They had a hearty meal with limited amount of ingredients in his bag before she was ready.
The illusion was renewed but the scarecrows stayed a constant. The Nebula Watch person was kind enough to tell them that these targets were to record damage. While Ebony’s spell range and destruction went far and wide, the damage it would do to a person was multitudes lower than Xin’s. They both lost to the creation because Xin similarly did not put a single scratch or singe on the scarecrow. They must have some method or device to read how much damage was done.
There wasn’t any fanfare when they packed their combined bomb. During the break, her rest state recovered energy quickly and she probably moved her stats about. She still couldn’t saturate his vortex and he had to pull back his freezing flames since it was just weakening the spell. The resulting explosion was lacklustre.
More molten earth than shattered grounds or massive craters.
They were out of touch and had balancing issues with the spell. She didn’t have the mana to feed the spell like he could. It was a smaller explosive that did far more intense direct damage and he underestimated her conjured blood. As a container of energy, it seemed almost as good if not even greater than a gravity mana whirlpool. It should be her Fortification and Physique backing that up.
The Nebula Watch released them from the realistic illusion and they found themselves standing under the shuttle they alighted from.
There was no guide. The people in charge of the shuttle found them standing in place and kindly guided them out.
Ebony misunderstood the ‘station’. He imagined a massive space station, a mix of futuristic, magical, mediaeval or even alien. But they weren’t trapped in a metal construct. There was a sky above them and earth below their feet.
“You’re really newcomers. Haa, I’m on my way out so follow me. There is a map of the station outside.” Surprisingly the bald merchant who sold them tickets was holding tools. He had the average garb and look of a mechanic. Taking his thick coat with pouches of tools off his body, he led the two of them out of the stretch of hangars and other odd-looking shuttles and vehicles.
It was probably not the first time he saw newcomers disappear thanks to the Nebula Watch. He must have been waiting for them to reappear.
There were enough parking spots for thousands of shuttles the same size as the one they came on but there were many larger vehicles. Some looked similar to spaceships he saw in movies. Some were actual wooden ships that sailed the seas. There was even a giant fishbowl that took a parking spot. It didn’t look like it had flight capabilities but Ebony wasn’t deceived when magic would be at play.
“Now that you have registered, you should be able to trade with ease. Money would definitely be your top priority. Can’t do anything or go anywhere without money. You were looking for a way home ain’t ya?” The bald man was a head shorter than they were and he seemed more comfortable than the stiff act he placed when he sold them tickets.
“Mmm.” Ebony nodded, he was not registered but Xin was. Having learnt the laws, he was quite comfortable knowing that he was probably safe from most people on the station. As long as Cinderash or Gearhart wasn’t part of the ‘government’ and they probably weren’t.
“Look here.” The kind old man pointed to a paper-printed map on a wall. He might not be a fighter but his base stats seemed pretty high so they made it to the entrance of this stretch of vehicles fast. “We’re here,” He paused while pointing to a white-shaded area on the map. The map was a few metres wide and long so the short man had to tilt his head up.
“East is the market, be careful of some seedy areas and alleys. Some races have exceptional thieves. Your belongings are not safe. But…well, I doubt you’ll be a target. It's a common skill to be able to tell how much wealth someone is carrying around.” The bald man scratched his head when he turned to look at their worn-out robes and small spatial bag.
Ebony wouldn’t be surprised if a merchant had the same type of skill set that this man was referring to.
“North is the residential area. There are hotels or inns, if that’s what you’re familiar with. There are a few restaurants but exceedingly expensive. But don’t go extreme north, see this wall. Don’t cross it. The higher beings live there or have permanent residences there. South is where you can find affordable food. A lot of bartering and special requests for individuals are done here. This is an area where people find others for dungeon exploration, exploring unexplored areas in the Spirit Realm and such. If you’re looking for jobs, this is where you can go but as a Grandmaster…good luck finding a job.”
“What about West?” Xin pointed on the blank part of the map that the bald man ignored.
“Ah, off limits. Just forget about it and don’t go there even by accident.”
Ebony looked west of where they were. The Hangar could be considered in the western region. From the map, he already realised that they were standing on a planet, albeit a small one. It was possible to go south and end up where the man said was ‘extreme’ north.
‘The gravity is not unlike Earth and this feeling…this is a moon we’re standing on.’ Ebony wasn’t sure why he knew but gut feeling told him he was standing on a moon. It might be due to his experience of sensing celestial bodies. The moon might be considered as one.
To the west was an endless sea.
Ebony’s perception was going off the rockers and his mind automatically shut his senses off from going any further.
“That is Demi-God Hydra’s Domain, don’t touch the water.”
“I see.” Ebony gave the kind merchant a pat on the shoulder and they said their farewells. Knowing his perception range, the merchant was already doing him a favour by speaking out loud. It didn’t matter if he silenced their conversation with sound magic.
“What did you see?” Xin asked him while grabbing his sleeves as they turned around and headed east.
“I want to know what you felt too.” He questioned back.
“Death.”
“That is pretty much the same as what I felt.” Ebony didn’t go into detail of how a drop of water might have blinded his gravitational perception if he looked any further. At a certain distance, the water changed. Dense gravity mana wouldn’t hurt him but his mind protected itself by shutting down. His Will felt crushed when he got close to what may have been the edge of another person’s Domain.
‘So a water mage…never fought a good one before.’ On Elcra, water magic was not an Elves speciality and human mages rarely impressed him. He knew of a Noble family that was a line of water mages but never interacted with them.
It was too bad this particular water mage was too far off his strike zone of a ‘good opponent’.
They headed east where the marketplace was. One, the Main Modules of Eidolon Nexus that he could try to use again was there. Two, they still had materials they could sell for money. He knew enough that selling everything on Teheil was a stupid mistake. Moving it here would reduce the transport fee.
“Huh.” Ebony accidentally voiced out his surprise on his way there. The station was large but it was technically a small planet.
“What?” Xin got pulled along and was stopped abruptly.
“Can you wait here?”
Although she gripped his sleeves tighter, she trusted him and let him go after she raised her situational awareness. “Please, don’t hide things from me.”
He didn’t have Will to conjure another clone after the bomb test but he wasn’t going far and there shouldn’t be any problems arising if she didn’t pick a fight.
“There is just payback and favours I have to settle. If you kill someone here, I can’t protect you.”
“...I’m calm now.”
“Fine, let’s go together.”
She stayed in half, the most balanced mode with her fringes being the brightest red.
Ebony pulled and Flickered. When the population density increased, they weaved through the crowd of many races to a stone building amongst wooden, bricks, metal and rancid jelly constructs.
A signboard was hung up, carved with the words ‘Ultimate Masonry’ in Gia.
Ebony walked in the open double stone doors and steadily walked to a person resting his elbows on the counter speaking with a rock-skinned person. Pinching the woman by his side when he sensed the rising aura, he tapped the short man’s shoulder.
“Hello.” He spoke in Elcrain to get the person’s attention.
“Haha. Small world, Ebony. I knew you weren’t dead.” Turning around, the Elcrain didn’t change his tone or cadence.
“Which one are you?” He asked the grey-haired man with a baby face.
“Pettock.” The stone and petrification mage grinned.
“Good. Ready to receive the favour I owe you?” This one was the one they had problems with.
Wiping the smile off his face, the stone mage paused, “which one?”
“We can do things in order. If you want to receive the second, take the first. I wil-” A strong scent brushed past his nose when the hair of the masked lady physically cut between him and the petrification mage.
“We.” She glared at him before turning to the stone mage.
“You know what, you can choose. Either we return the first favour. And if you’re alive after that, I suppose the second is up for discussion. Or, let’s just forget we ever met.” They had a weird relationship. This was a man who once tried to take Xin’s life and then saved it on another occasion when they were young. At least, younger than they were now.
Ebony tried to find the man when he was back on Elcra. Never did he think he would find the stone mage outside of Elcra, over ten years after he left. On a casual shopping trip.
Truly, what a small world.