[Novice sword array]: Array disc inlaid with “Seven Dipper” formation.

Additional effect: Can be evolved into a higher grade by enchanting with ‘meteorite ore’

It was an array disc which had intricate markings on it. It was no bigger than the dishes in the kitchen, but its powers were astonishing.

He understood how it worked after a quick look. He would need seven swords to use the formation, but they merely acted as a guide and not the main attack itself.

The array formation triggers world resonance on its own and it utilizes world’s energy. By coating that energy around the sword it can inflict heavy damage on the opponents.

It also had its limitations, that being it can only use a few types of attacks

It's fine to use it in a blitz attack style but in a prolonged combat it is practically useless.

However, for Odin it was perfect. Not only did it give him the means to attack and defend, he could also study the methods of applying world energy through it.

He had already begun reading about Corvidae and he was only lacking in the knowledge of world energy to create his first skill

Odin selected the array formation without hesitation, and the scroll in his hands scattered into light fragments that miraculously morphed into the array disc in reality.

‘I am quite fortunate as I already have quite a lot of swords to use this’ thought Odin as he shifted his consciousness from ominira and looked at the pile of swords beside him.

He then took out ominira and started reading further about the law of illusion while practicing with the array formation in between.

The heat began to rise as the orange sun changed its color. Hours went by and Odin was progressing by leaps and bounds in the land forgotten by humanity.

...

Unlike before Odin decided to strike the orcs in the afternoon. It was barely past midday when Odin headed towards the castle's direction

‘The only orc-made constructs I can think of are the watch towers, so there is no point in fighting at night’ thought Odin as he wandered around.

This time he brought two cudgels with him just in case he needed them in an emergency

‘Swards are good for attack and all, but learning from my past mistakes using a cudgel for blocking is much better.’

‘Besides with this here I don't need any more Swords,’ thought Odin as he stroked the array disc in his hands.

Odin was very surprised when he found out that he could store the swords required for array formation inside the disk itself

And as the array formation was given by ominira, he could naturally keep it inside ominira. So, in a way he could carry quite a lot of swords with him by using the array formation

‘Not to mention the power this baby holds is ridiculous.’

The original might of the formation combined with his newly learned innate skill was nothing to laugh at

‘That skill alone caused my level to rise up by 5!’ thought Odin gleefully as he walked on. As he came closer to his destination he decided to first organize the new knowledge he comprehended on the law of illusion, the knowledge that created the incomplete skill “[Deception]”

What he read today was about the solidity of objects. It wasn’t specific enough to create a unique skill but it acted as a base for a lot of skills on the path of illusion. Compared to stealth it’s incomparably more difficult.

One of the main pillars that maintain the reality is the experience of solidity. Objects such as boulders and swords are experienced as solid, but Odin read that one can claim that this is an illusory perception because their atomic studies reveal that the objects are in fact 99% or more “empty space.”

Does this experience of solidity then, qualify as an illusion? The normal answer would be “No.”

Why? Because this “empty space” is filled with force fields. The properties of these force fields are to repel the advance of our finger as we attempt to penetrate the spatial region of the object.

Illusions are the types of phenomena that are specific to human interaction with the physical reality, not the manipulation or modification of the underlying physical reality. So by definition here “illusion” is a sensory experience by humans or other organisms that is considered as aberrant (diverging from the normal type) by the experiencing organism.

So, the experience of solidity is a functional property of the interactions between the force fields within the object and the force fields within our finger. This interaction is very much real and as far from illusory as it can be.

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The nature of the object is different from the experience it evokes, for example

An apple is red, but if it was shown to an observer with different light then it might seem yellow or purple. This changes the observer’s perception of the apple, not the apple itself. Another example would be when rubbing a solid object for a while might make it feel soft, but again it doesn’t change the surface of the object itself.

Odin then thought about how he made the orcs fall into the pit and perhaps without realizing himself, he had already used this principle albeit in a crude way.

Another thing he realized was that these laws are by no means absolute. The whole purpose of using the world energy is to meddle with reality. The core of The Conjurer class resides in the manipulation and the alteration of ‘Reality’ and ‘Illusion’ to suit himself.

In short, illusions are special situations that make objects appear different from their typical appearance which can be verified by the sensory domain under normal conditions.

They are experienced as real in the first instance, but any verification activity they are experienced as an illusory distortion. The key here is the change from immediate perception to the verification and confirmation of underlying reality.

In the first instance, the observers are subject to the illusion but unaware of it, while in the second they become aware of the contradiction between the two modes of interpretation—real and illusory

Thus, a very important aspect of creating an illusion is observation,’ and the moment the person afflicted by his skills discovers the true reality, his illusion will fail.

Odin wasn’t sure whether or not what he comprehended was completely true, but even with his lacking knowledge in this subject he still managed to create an overpowered skill.

The main difference between [Stealth] and [Deception(Incomplete)] is that stealth focuses on Odin himself whereas deception is targeted towards his opponents. It’s not even worth thinking about which one is better for attacking.

Odin was thinking about various scenarios in which he would apply deception while using the “Seven Dipper” formation. Deception, coupled with the complex sword movements of this formation would be a nightmare for the orcs.

‘It’s akin to giving wings to a tiger’ thought Odin as he checked the map. He didn't have to walk far as with his speed he could’ve reached the castle wall in an hour if he wanted to

‘But it’s different than what I thought it’d be’

He had a hunch that there would be some watch towers in front of the castle walls. Even though it doesn't make much sense from the strategic point of view as the fortress wouldn’t get attacked from the front anyway.

‘What did I miss? What orc constructs could there be instead of the watch towers besides this castle? It would be suicidal if the quest requires me to charge in the castle.’

He stealthily moved around as usual so as not to get caught and after a while, he finally noticed something that looked like an outpost.

It was a crude structure made out of wood and mud. Looking at the orc that patrolled five meters above the ground level, it served its purpose despite being poorly made.

‘Now this makes more sense’

No matter how you look at it, It doesn’t make any sense that this ironclad keep has watch towers outside the castle. Even if they were defending against someone, when the opponents came the towers would be destroyed without a doubt and all their work would be in vain.

Heck, it might even backfire on them as they could just sacrifice some of their soldiers to occupy these towers to serve as a foothold to attack the castle itself!

‘But they are the invaders, these damned orcs..’

Odin didn't have any good impression of people living outside or humans in general, but he was still angered by this nonetheless.

It was a natural reaction due to pure instincts. No species would like another one invading them and leading them to their extinction

‘Wait extinction? Why did I think of that?’ Odin scratched his head as he pondered about the weird sensation he felt

Although Odin had gotten used to most of the words and just random information given by ominira, he was sure that he didn't arrive at this conclusion on his own.

‘It must be something else…. could it be due to world resonance?

He thought about the incident and just as he was approaching the boundary of world essence, his concentration broke as he felt the environment around him change.

A group of orcs, no, a battalion of orcs were coming towards the outpost from the direction of the castle wall

‘What the hack? Why do I have such crappy luck now of all times!’

The problem weren't the orcs, even if there were more of them he could just abandon the mission for the time being and complete it later.

‘It's the goddamn direction’

They were coming from behind him, and in front of him was the outpost. And if this wasn't bad enough, there weren't any big objects where he could hide apart from the place where he currently stood.

It’s not easy to detect him when he used the powers of illusion, but if he were to move in between them when their attention was in his direction, they’d notice him without a doubt

‘Is there no other way than to fight them head-on? I wouldn't lose but I'll be exposed for sure and that means the end of this quest.’

Even though there isn't a requirement for not being detected, the orcs definitely aren't stupid enough to let him destroy their outposts after catching the wind of this

Time was passing by and the arriving forces were only a hundred meters behind him. A dozen more steps and they would detect him.

“I guess this is the only option left’ thought Odin as he lay flat on the ground. Despite the likelihood of his success wasn't much, he still decided to use the powers of illusion to hide his presence.

‘I just have to make them believe that I don’t exist here’

It's not so difficult, especially for the patrol teams. As they’re used to observing the terrain everyday, they would’ve formed a 'habit' which makes it easy to deceive them

It would be ironic if the patrolling orcs who were faithfully doing their job died due to their diligence. If it was any other intruder, the information, skills, and experience that they had accumulated over the prolonged time period would be their biggest advantage but against Odin, it became their harbinger of death.

And as if to prove just how amazing the law of illusion is for such a scenario, none of the Orcs noticed his presence. It was partially due to Odin’s skill and partially because the orcs weren't looking for anything suspicious in the first place

‘Right, I read about that as well.’ thought Odin as he wiped the sweat from his face. We wouldn't notice small changes and irregularities around us unless we pay a close attention to it. The orcs must have let their guard down as their destination was in sight

‘Now that I think about it, why are they here in the first place?’

The outpost was big, but it wasn't nearly big enough to contain these many orcs. At most a dozen would fit considering their size

Odin was tense but also excited thinking about the upcoming battle. He rested and adjusted his state of mind while he observed their activities and after half an hour, he got the answer to his question

‘hahaha….This is crazy but should I just do it?’ Odin looked beyond the watchtower with a crazed look in his eyes.

The nightmare that haunted orcs was about to begin, and it wouldn't just end with them.