Ray very much wanted to take a look at which spells he ought to upgrade and combine, but was that really going to help against something like that?
The monster hurtling through the air in his direction was so huge. Despite still being way too far for Presence of the Primordial to act on it, Ray had no trouble making out its form. Much of it was obscured by a gigantic, tattered cloak, but the beak jutting out of the hood and the wings leaping off its back were unmistakeable.
As was the huge spear in its hand.
A spear which glowed for a moment before it shot in Ray’s direction.
Ray wasted no time leaping out of the airship’s cabin. He was still pretty high above the ground. The maximum elevation granted by Soaring Wings was still rather limited, so Ray had no choice but to plummet straight down. At least, by stretching his wings out, he could control his fall.
The spear from the huge monster crashed in an instant later. Ray’s ears went numb at the sheer volume of the impact. Even besides the massive tearing, cracking, and rending, the explosion itself was breathtaking.
It made the blast from Ray’s construct look like nothing more than a pinprick. The side of the airship facing Ray simply collapsed. Its engine detonated into a fireball the size of a small building, burning debris shooting out in every direction. Unlike when Ray had attacked, the whole airship really did begin falling.
Ray pulled his attention away from the plummeting airship. His main concern was approaching fast. That was what he had to deal with.
As the huge guardian approached, the spear that had struck the airship pulled out of the falling dirigible and flew back to its owner’s hand. Damn, that spear alone had to be as long as a small jetliner. Fucking insane.
For a short moment, Ray almost salivated at the prospect of figuring out how to beat that thing and earn himself a crap ton of Essence.
Then he mentally slapped himself as his descent began slowing down. The humongous monster was closing in, lowering itself towards the land as well. Ray suspected fighting that thing would be an undertaking well beyond him, but there was one way he could make sure.
As the monster’s enormous spear moved again, Ray shot forward. He applied Occultic Apparition on himself, moving as fast as he was able to. The huge spear swung down but missed him by a wide margin. Ray was zipping by far too quickly, though he did feel the air ripple in the spear’s passage.
Then Ray used Presence of the Primordial, focusing entirely on the creature he was shooting past.
[Warning!]
Due to great level disparity, Presence of the Primordial can only show basic information of target. Identification effects of Presence of the Primordial partially blocked by Eternal Mantle.
[Presence of the Primordial]
Eternal Guardian [Monster] [Tier 18] [Level 61]
An ancient guardian tamed and modified by the Everair Imperial Handlers to safeguard their most important matters. These guardians were few and far between, with less than a dozen existing in the entire thousand-year-plus existence of the Everair. Cursed to forever guard their charges, even in death they remain active, though their strength has decayed greatly over the aeons.
Race: Everair
Path: Path of Cosmic Wind [Legendary]
Skills:
Ray stared at the blue box of information for a few seconds. The next instant, he flew away from the enormous monster as fast as he could.
There was no way he was wining against something at level sixty-fucking-two. Also, Tier 18? That fact that a monster like this existed on the First Floor had to be some sort of crime. Especially since it was tied to a Tier 8 dungeon. How was it legal to set a Tier 18 monster as a Tier 8 dungeon’s final obstacle?
Ray tried to get his flagging thoughts in order. No, no the description hadn’t told him to beat that thing. It had said to pass the encounter however he could.
He looked back. The monster was giving chase. Of course. It wasn’t going to let Ray go that easily. Even worse, with its enormous size, it was going to catch up to him rather soon. He needed to settle on a course of action.
Ray was already connecting two and two in his head. Everything he had heard from the last Sylvan he had killed was starting to fall into place.
The Floor Lord wanted a way to control that monster.
But how exactly? The answer was obvious. It was related to the airship one way or another. The Sylvans had all been seeking to fly it up, most likely to take it to their central headquarters. To the Floor Lord.
Ray jerked to a halt in mid-air. Then he immediately began flying back the way he had come.
It had been a while since he had used a Mana crystal, so he popped one out and crushed it. The light blue glow around his hand confirmed that his Mana store had been partially replenished.
Ray also replaced the Mana-Infuser ring with the Jade Ring of the Phoenix. If there was ever a time he could die from a single blow, then this was it. Putting on the ring didn’t make him feel any different, not really, but the boost to his confidence was enough. Ray could do this.
Especially because this was a situation where he could finally use Goliath Eater again. The sudden rush that coursed through him raised his belief even higher.
He zipped by the Eternal Guardian in a second again. Once more, the monster tried to hit with its spear but missed. Ray had to wonder why it wasn’t using any of its skills. Not that he was complaining, especially since Presence of the Primordial wouldn’t even tell him what the abilities the Eternal Guardian possessed even were.
Ray reached the broken airship moments after it struck the ground. The impact was deafening. His ears cringed, though the last few blasts were really giving his ear a volume workout.
Finding what he needed in a destroyed airship that had just crash landed and was on fire to boot would probably have been too impossible of a task.
That was where Presence of the Primordial came in.
The spell let him discern Mana in the air, so long as he focused on it. That ability was going to come in super handy here.
Of course, he was assuming that whatever he needed—that whatever the Sylvans had truly been taking with them within the airship—would be processing or using Mana in a way that Ray would be able to detect. His back itched. Something told him that if the Eternal Guardian attacked, his Valorous Back Shield wouldn’t be able to protect him.
Not if the level difference was making even Presence of the Primordial malfunction.
Focus. Ray squinted his eyes and tried to reenact the same thing he had done with the dungeons a while back. He tried to become one with the Mana, tried to feel its flow within him. The tiny streams of sparking energy, the fuel for everything in this new world.
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Glowing blue strands appeared in the air far from him. They thickened as they got closer to the airship’s corpse, turning brilliantly bright somewhere within its burning heart.
Of course, he would need to dive into the inferno.
Ray took a quick peek behind him. The monster was almost upon him again. Forget using any skills, for some reason, it wasn’t even chucking that enormous spear in his direction. Maybe it understood that Ray was too small in comparison and would dodge too easily.
Whatever the case, he had to act now. A little burn from some fire wasn’t going to be a problem if he got quashed like a bug under that Eternal Guardian’s foot.
Ray shot into the flames. He tried using Mottling Membrane to blow away the flames. Surprisingly, it kind of worked. Much of the inferno was doused out by the growing curtain of chaotic energy, giving Ray enough space to find what he was seeking.
The point where all the strands of Mana were converging to.
Unfortunately, the Eternal Guardian wasn’t just going to sit back and allow Ray to do whatever he wanted. He looked back just in time to see the massive spear thrusting in once more. Ray had just enough time to throw himself to the other end of the burning cabin as the spear crashed in with another massive concussive impact.
Ray found himself screaming as he fell through the collapsing floor. He might have dodged the monster’s direct attack, but at this rate, he would be killed by the impact’s effects.
Somehow, Ray managed to land on his feet. It hurt, pain spiking up his leg and into his groin. He sent some Recovery to fix it up quickly, also blessing the fact that he hadn’t been hurt worse.
At the same time, he finally found it. A new Tower Node.
[System Artifact—Tower Node]
Tower Node of the Songstress
With the Node of the Songstress, you can now employ Flight Mana to sing the song of the air. The airy melody is said to be capable of enchanting even the greatest of the Everair. A tune that everyone knows, that is notched into the heart of every Everair, however young or old they may be.
Ray stared at the new Tower Node. It was diamond-shaped like all the others but had little pipes coming out of one end. They reminded him of a miniature church organ.
Incredible. Vague as the Tower Nodes’ description had been, compared to the usual fare, he was pretty sure this thing could control the massive Eternal Guardian. It didn’t respond directly to him, though. Even when he focused, it didn’t simply float out of the fire and into his hands.
“Not coming out now?” Ray asked, wondering if the Tower Node of the Marauder would appear just as it had done when he had found the Node of the Mentor.
Nothing came. Sighing, Ray hurried forward on all fours before picking up the Tower Node. Undamaged though it might be, it was still hot enough to singe his skin. He bit down on a scream. The impulse to chuck it was strong too, but he mastered it. He was not about throw away the only thing that could save him.
Employ Flight Mana… Fuck, Ray didn’t have Flight Mana. The Greater Windbane Maw he could call upon was somewhat related to it, but that didn’t mean the Maw could actually channel Flight Mana.
Shit, shit. Was Ray about to be crushed by the Eternal Guardian’s spear just after finding his only way out of this situation?
Desperate and not really thinking, Ray applied his Mana. He tried using True Mana, but his Hallowed Reputation only worked for spells and skills, not items apparently. So, Ray was relegated to using his regular Mana, trying to feel its flow as he directed all the magical energy within him to enter the item he held.
The Artifact began glowing softly. A moment later, eerie music began emanating from it.
Beyond Ray, the enormous monster froze. The sound was so soft, yet it had somehow heard it. Ray could barely make it out over the noise of the collapsing airship. Wild. His heart thumped. Could regular Mana actually work as a substitute for Flight Mana?
The sound intensified. Ray frowned. It wasn’t musical or melodic as the description had suggested. Instead, the sound turned discordant, like all the instruments were out of sync.
Ray cringed at the growing noise. It wasn’t just the disturbing music itself. There was something about the new Tower Node. Its music was digging into Ray’s head, messing with his thoughts, burrowing into his skull. Almost literally. Ray had the sudden urge to stuff his fingers in his ears, to tear them off entirely if necessary.
He had to stomp down on a powerful urge to scream. This Node of the Songstress was going crazy. He wouldn’t be able to withstand this sort of mental attack. Even Presence of the Primordial wasn’t working against it.
But whatever Ray was experiencing, it was at least a hundredfold worse for the enormous monster. With an ear-splitting screech, it pulled itself back. Its massive footfalls made the entire area shake. The Eternal Guardian shook its head, waving its spear at nothing in particular, continuing to shriek out into the air.
Ray quickly moved out of the airship. The monster had begun rampaging, and he didn’t want to be anywhere close.
It was impossible to tell what exactly the Tower Node’s range was supposed to be. But then again, considering it was a Tower Node, he figured it could work from pretty far away.
Having reached relative safety, Ray was considering his next move when the monster just took off. He stared. The Eternal Guardian loosed one last glass-shattering screech before spreading its sail-sized wings. Then it took off, retreating away from the discordant, disturbing noise from the Tower Node of the Songstress.
[Dungeon Cleared—Everair Airfield]
Rewards
* 1 Skill Tier Point
* 1 Flight Mana Gem
* 1 Tower Node: Tower Node of the Songstress
* 1 [Selectable] Gear
* +1,600 Essence
* Reputation: +20 Chaotic, +15 Cunning
Essence to level 19: 2,260/18,900
Ray continued to watch past his notifications as the Eternal Guardian’s form dwindled in the distance. He couldn’t believe that he had actually done it. That he had survived that encounter.
It was impossible not to laugh, partly in incredulity, partly in disbelieving relief.
But fuck. Imagine actually killing that thing. A Tier 18, level 62 monster. That would take him halfway to his next level with ease.
Shaking his head, Ray got moving. He ought to give the airfield dungeon a wide berth. No telling if the Eternal Guardian would return, and no telling if the same strategy of using the Songstress Tower Node would work again. Best to get himself far away and not look back.
As Ray travelled, he finally took a peek through all his rewards. All four of his free stats went to Intellect. More spell damage was great, but more than that, Ray was curious about hitting the next Intellect Tier. He was unlikely to hit it any time soon. But who knew, maybe his class evolution would boost the growth.
It was a little annoying that the bonus Intellect he got from Reputation Points, items, and so on didn’t count. Ah well.
The Spell Synthesis Point needed a bit more consideration, but one quick look at his Status had made his choices clear. Ray decided to combine Mottling Membrane and Sphereguard of Chaos.
Considering they were both barrier spells that he had neglected to upgrade so far, they were perfect. Plus, they filled up similar roles.
[Information Request—Spells]
Mottling Sphereguard [Barrier] [Tier 2]
A barrier spell that summons several orbs of chaotic energy around the caster. Each orb can fully block a singular attack at this spell’s Tier or launch an attack upon one or more targets. Either action causes the orb to dissipate. At Tier 2, this spell summons 10 orbs that last 2 minutes.
Ray did his best to remember the description of Sphereguard of Chaos. Mottling Sphereguard definitely summoned a lot more orbs. Ten was over three times as much as the three his Tier 1 Sphereguard of Chaos could bring up.
More than that, it appeared he could configure each orb separately to either restrict it to his vicinity as a means of protecting himself. At the same time, he could make them shoot out and attack his opponents too. Sounded a bit like Chaos Chymify at home, but Ray felt there was more utility at having multiple—ten—orbs at the same time with just one cast.
One thing he would no longer be able to do was use Mottling Membrane as a barrier to obscure himself from his foes. That had been rather useful against more powerful opponents like the Sylvans and Derrick Orden.
Although, if Ray could control Mottling Sphereguard carefully, could he possibly recreate the same effect? Hmm, some testing was definitely necessary.
The dungeon rewards themselves didn’t seem like that big of a deal. More Essence was always great. Interestingly, he had received a Tier Point specifically for a skill. Alright then, where would it go?
Ray had no idea if Adaptive Breath actually helped him much. Killer Instinct’s background effect of raising his stats when he performed a successful kill wasn’t bad, but then, it wasn’t super useful. Too situational. In circumstances where Ray was killing a bunch of foes already, he was unlikely to need even more power.
Settling on raising Goliath Eater’s Tier for now, Ray peeked at its description to see how it had changed.
[Information Request—Skills]
Goliath Eater [Conditional] [Buff] [Tier 3]
A multi-effect buffing skill that only works when the wielder is facing one or more foes a level threshold stronger. All spells and skills, minus this skill, are raised by (an) additional Tier(s) equal to the Tier of this skill. The user’s stats are raised by 25%, with an additional 5% for every level difference above the threshold. Successful defeat of adversary grants user a guaranteed Tier point. At Tier 3, this skill’s level threshold is 1.4 times the wielder’s level, costs 100 Mana, and lasts 2 minutes.
Alright, if Ray wasn’t mistaken, he had not only raised the spell’s cost with that upgrade, but he had also improved the level difference threshold needed to activate it. What was one-point-four times his current level of 18? Damn it, where was a calculator when you needed one?
Interesting, the skill still said it would raise all his spells’ Tiers by the Tier of the skill. That meant, if Ray could find himself in a situation that could activate Goliath Eater, then all his spells would get boosted by three additional Tiers. A boost like that was massive. Ray was almost tempted to go hunting after the Eternal Guardian just to test that out.
Shaking his head, Ray opened up the Gear options. Time to see if he could get something more useful than what he already had.