Music spark attack, Dallion thought as he played a few chords on his harpsisword.

Tendrils of sound shot out in all directions. What they couldn’t attach to, they sliced. What they couldn’t slice they purged.

With a single set of sounds, the whole area around Dallion became empty of void matter. Another, and the metaphorical bubble of purity doubled in size, allowing him and all his guardians to ignore any corruptive attacks. Once that was settled, he went on the attack.

No one interfere, Dallion ordered his familiars as he cast a speed spell with his aura sword.

Since spark dissolved magic as it did void, he had to switch between the two to make sure the effects of his spells held. As Adzorg would say, it was all a matter of speed. Breaking a flight spell for half a second didn’t cause any immediate damage or disruption. And if Dallion could reduce the time he was spell-less even further, it would be as if he hadn’t lost anything at all.

You can also stop going all out, dear boy, the mage suggested.

Against void I don’t take any chances. Dallion played another chord, this time targeting the twin guardians specifically.

Nosh and Zdrach split up, each flying off in different directions. That didn’t help much—the glowing tendrils of music split after them, each set at their own target.

Black vines emerged from the female guardian, forming a shield of void matter. Several dozen of spark tendrils hit it, letting off steam. One burned its way through, hitting the dagger in the shoulder.

AGGRAVATED STRIKE

Damage dealt is increased by 100%

The strike wasn’t at all bad for a first hit, but Dallion remained displeased. With what he had put in, he was hoping to achieve at least a critical.

Meanwhile, the other guardian changed approach. Instead of a leaf shield, a torrent of void drops flew at Dallion like daggers. In the past, Dallion would have required help and a lot of instances to avoid such an attack. Now, both seemed useless.

Could that be the reason why Euryale didn’t resort to splitting so much? Dallion used to think that it was a personal preference, but there was no denying that if one was skilled enough to counter any attack, instances were useless.

Spark music attack! He played his harpsisword again.

The first wave of strands destroyed all the dagger guardian’s attacks. The second shot right at him.

There was no time for either of the twins to react. Rays of light pierced Zdrach, causing dozens of red rectangles to appear in the air.

CRITICAL STRIKE

Damage dealt is increased by 200%

That’s better, Dallion thought, continuing with the next set of cords. A semi victory wasn’t a reason to let down his guard. One guardian still remained.

Three shields of void matter sprouted in front of the entity, one after the other, like layers of an onion. Each was drilled full of holes almost the moment it appeared. And with each attack, the distance between the shield and the guardian was pushed further back.

“You can always surrender,” Dallion said, as he kept on playing. “It’ll be faster that way.”

The pressure was too much for the guardian to even make a sarcastic remark. Unable to maintain three shields, it cut them down to two, then one. Then, even that proved no longer enough.

CRITICAL STRIKE

Damage dealt is increased by 200%

CRITICAL STRIKE

Damage dealt is increased by 200%

Red rectangles stacked over the other. Just for good measure, Dallion sent out another wave of spark attacks to pierce the already defeated twin.

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TWIN DAGGERS Level increased

The TWIN DAGGERS have been improved to AETHER CRYSTAL.

Your MUSIC skills have increased to 81.

The rectangle of victory emerged. Almost out of habit, Dallion had taken the opportunity to manipulate the improvement so as to get the rarest material available in the circumstances. Aether crystal was a new option, but one he readily accepted.

“Not bad,” he said as the improvement threw him out of the realm and back into the real world. The major difference now was that the blades were glowing in a warm, semi-transparent purple. “Any chance you remember anything more about the void?” he asked, gently returning the weapons to the box.

Sorry, Zdrach replied. We only knew what to expect from you.

You were way stronger than we were told, Nosht added. Better be careful. The void learns all. The next group that takes you on will be stronger and more prepared.

You weren’t as strong as Vihrogon, Dallion noted.

True. We weren’t, but the void we had was.

Dallion closed the box, then looked around where to put it. It was cliché having weapons on a bookshelf, but lacking other immediate options, we went with it.

“Taem,” he opened the door and shouted into the corridor. “Bring me some pieces of wood.”

“Wood, young master?” There was just a hint of uncertainty in the servant’s voice.

“I want to practice my carving until the duchess arrives.”

“Ah. of course, sir. I’ll be sure to bring them to the library.” Unlike Adzorg, the man didn’t dare use any sarcasm.

The next few hours were spent carving various items, occasionally improving them. Like most skills, using carving for the first time was interesting, though after the tenth statue, things were far less amusing. The process was unlike the other skills. The closest one could compare it to was pruning. Back on Earth, a great artist had said that the secret to sculpting was removing all the excess material of an object. If the world had been different, Dallion would have assumed him to be an awakened.

Step by step, his skill rose to twenty, then thirty. Mixing it with attack within the awakening realms, Dallion managed to boost it further to forty-two. Of all the crafting skills, this was the most obviously useful in combat. It didn’t take a lot of imagination to use it to skewer an enemy or weaken a weapon by chiseling away at it.

Dallion was just about to get inventive and try something new, when he felt a foreign presence in his domain. It was almost like an invasion, but subtler, as if someone had slid through his realm’s barrier all the way to his room, without meeting any resistance whatsoever.

Instinctively, he summoned his harpsisword.

As the weapon appeared, so did two unexpected “guests.” One was the young duchess—as he had been warned—and the other an overseer Dallion had never seen before. The new entity was old, white hair held in a ponytail, replacing the standard platinum hair overseers were born with. Unlike most others, his face was completely revealed, displaying a stern expression more suited to an aging principal than a city guardian.

“You were expecting someone else?” Liya Elazni asked, looking at the pile of wooden objects on the floor.

“No duchess,” Dallion stood up. “I decided to practice my new skill while I waited.”

“Putting your carving to good use. There have been seven nobles in the capital that sharpened their crafting skill to the absolute limit.” The noble made her way to one of the few chairs in the room and sat down. “All of them lost their favor. I’d advise you to wait for a year or two before following their example.”

“Duly noted.” Dallion turned to the overseer. “Interesting way to make an entrance,” he said. “Who can block someone who’s part of the city and everything in it?”

“Astor used to be my caretaker as a child. His duties have largely diminished since then, but I can still rely on him now and again.”

So, you don’t trust the rest of the imperial family either, do you? Dallion thought.

“I’ll get straight to the point. Tors is planning to kill you.”

Hardly could such a serious warning be presented in such a casual way. Judging by her tone, one might think that the duchess was discussing going shopping or something of similar nature. There were no emanations of joy or anger coming from her, just a dull boredness that covered whatever other emotions there might be.

Unsummoning his sword, Dallion sat back down in his seat.

“Please don’t tell me you’re surprised,” the duchess frowned.

“I’m surprised that you came to warn me.”

“I thought I told you. We’re better off as allies. Grandma likes you, and you don’t have a chance of replacing me. Tors, on the other hand.”

“Has a chance?” Dallion found that hard to believe.

“He thinks he has, which is enough for him to try something stupid. Like killing you, for example. He won’t do anything direct, of course, nor will he be sloppy as those Mizovy clowns. It’ll be just subtle enough to be noticeable—a trap that tricks you, thinking you have the upper hand. Possibly an alliance offer or even the promise of information about your grandmother.”

Despite his efforts, Dallion didn’t manage to keep all his emotions in check. He quickly tried to make up for his mistake, but it was too late.

“Definitely information about your grandmother,” the duchess nodded, pleased with herself. “Whatever it is, ignore it.”

“That’s all?” Something felt wrong. “Why tell me and not the duchess?”

“Grandma’s fond of him. If I go to her then at best, he’ll get a stern talk, and at worst, he’ll try to come up with some convoluted plot to get back at me. With the outside expansion, now isn’t the time for the family to squabble. I’m not warning you so you could do anything to him. I’m doing it so you ignore him and keep doing what you’re doing. As grandma said, you’ve been given the role of the jester so the real work could be done behind the curtains.”

“I don’t believe you, Lady Elazni,” Dallion said in a firm tone. He was fairly certain she hadn’t uttered a lie since she’d come here, but she wasn’t telling him the truth, either.

“Good. It means you’re getting used to the capital.” She stood up. “Continue to make contacts, distinguish between allies and enemies, and maybe you’ll get to blend in, after all.”

Before Dallion had the time to respond, the old overseer put his hand on Liya’s shoulder and pulled her out of Dallion’s domain. The room was empty again, leaving him slightly anxious.

Lux, check for echoes. He summoned his bladebow.

While the weapon floated around the room surrounded by blue flames, Dallion cast every spell he knew seeking any unwanted presence. There seemed to be none, which made him even more anxious.

She’s just toying with your mind, dear boy, Adzorg said. It’s a common noble tactic.

“What does she have to gain?”

Might be nothing. For all you know, she might be doing it out of boredom.

That didn’t sound like the answer, especially since it had happened so soon after his conversation with the copyette. There was a very real chance that she was a cultist, if not a Star candidate.

I really need to get out of here, Dallion thought.

Unfortunately, as it quickly turned out, leaving the capital was no easy matter. The many golem statues, metalins and bladeres abundant throughout the city weren’t just a symbol of authority. They were the best guards magic could create. Nearly impossible to defeat, they were placed at strategic points, ready to react to anything, anywhere in the city. Whoever had originally placed them there was a skilled strategist, creating an invisible cage within the cage. But even if Dallion somehow managed to get past them, he couldn’t escape the overseers.

Each time he got remotely close to a city gate, or even the outer wall, one of them would appear. They wouldn’t say a word, nor make any threatening actions, just stand there looking at him—a reminder that there was no escape without the proper approval.

The only way that remained was the questionable method of the leech Bar, but all the times Dallion tried to get an audience with Duchess Elazni in order to obtain the ring in question, his request was ignored.

He made two subsequent attempts to use the Academy as a means to temporary loosen his leash, but the archmage was less than charmed, personally taking the time to send a crimson fury with an assurance that “the Academy had no need of his assistance” and that his previous request was going through “the proper channels,” whatever that meant.

With no other alternatives, Dallion was left with nothing else to do, but increase his skills and, given his proximity to Count Pilih, subtly purify a few weapons in his collection. Things seemed rather bleak, when a couple of days later, he received two surprises in the same day.

The first came in the form of two swallows flying right into Dallion’s mansion. It only took a moment for him to spot that they were, in fact, Gleam and Ruby under an illusion spell. Thanks to her current level, the shardfly’s illusion abilities had increased quite a bit, although Dallion strongly suspected they had been allowed to reach him by the city overseers. Either way, he was more than happy to see them.

The second surprise, the very same evening, was an official visit from the envoy of the Stone and Steel Alliance.