Part 1 – Statistics
Ever since the last battle where we freed the knights from the control of the black demon that was in control of the late King's body, a large number of knights and other soldiers came to us wanting to be part of the force that would get rid of the 5 Shadow Dragon Kings.
Along with 5000 knights, there were hundreds of more knights coming in to Jacksville Castle in order to be part of the army. Due to the number of rumours that we would pay well for mercenaries to be a part of the army as well, a number of mercenaries also joined in as well. This levitated the army numbers to a total of 35 000 which was a high number.
Of those numbers, 7000 were powerful elite knights, 12 000 were mercenaries that wished for battle, fame and money and the last 16 000 were common soldiers that had no home or needed to eat to survive and joined for their survival. With the support of the nobles as well as my cash deposit of 600K gold, they seem to be able to manage all of those troops.
Naturally these troops did not do nothing all the time. In fact most of them were working around the western continent in order to bring peace to the lands that once more been placed in war. Almost half of the soldiers were in charge of defending various locations such as villages and towns which need protecting from monsters. The knights and mercenaries combined their forced to create several punitive forces to take down monster nests time and time again to lessen the load on the soldiers as well to get stronger as well. They also took on the remaining soldiers with them to train them up as well.
Because of the large scale of the operations they were taking as well as they need to keep on moving in order to allow things to be run efficiently, most of the time the men in the army were exhausted from overwork. Roughly 10% of the entire army was bedridden with a lack of stamina all of the time. After noticing that there were too many people falling over from exhaustion, the system was changed to be much slower but also more dangerous as the large groups were split into smaller ones to cover the space that the new system of patrols and monster elimination left out.
As for food, there was actually a lot of villages and towns that spared any food they could to the army in order to help them in any way. They also allowed the men to sleep in some empty homes as well for free which greatly reduced the costs of the army at times. This was due to the resentment towards the 5 Shadow Dragon Kings rising higher and higher thanks to not completely helping those people in the first place. All that was done was to sustain those places barely and to put the blame all on those 5 at once bit by bit. Thanks to this, the entirely of the western continent was convinced that everything that happened to them was of the fault of those 5...though it was their fault to begin with. This was only done to make sure no one wants to join them out of free will which would be troublesome later on on the clean-up.
As for me, Alexandra and Viv? We were still running around the western continent collecting materials from either monster or from mining. Thanks to the rapid number of times we did this over several months, my Spacial Teleportation skill was levelling up quickly to the point that it was in the intermediate level. And now to certain battles that took place in these 2 months.
Part 2 – The Battle-Mage's Grave
The the ends of a cliff, it is said a certain battle mage fought his last battle wounded and to the point of death fought bravely against elite knights and mages that were faced against him. Because of his brave nature and heroic deeds even at the end, he was burying at that very same place in his honour with a monument engraving his name and deeds on it. However after the tenth full moon where he died, lightning stuck the grave at the same moment a foul necromancer wanted to use the corpse of the battle mage as a servant for evil.
Due to the lightning strike and necromancy being casted at the same time, the Battle Mage rose again as an undead however as a being that was only half undead. Without a weakness to Holy light and yet the power of an undead, the Battle Mage easily slain the necromancer. But things did not stop there, the Battle Mage still angered by his awakening attacked the nearby village burning it down with fire, lightning and ice of all kinds leaving no one alive. Since then, every full moon the Battle Mage would rise and seek a place nearby to cause havoc.
“Interesting story, so we just have to kill this undead battle mage that ISN'T affected by Holy Light?” I asked with great suspicions. An undead that was not affected by Holy Light and yet had the power of an Undead was powerful and very dangerous. If the forces of darkness know of this and mange to replicate this case, then undead would be an even more pain to deal with.
Because of this, many churches have sent people to take care of this but they all died in the end when they faced the Battle Mage.
“Well that just means we have to smash it into pieces instead of trying to purifying it then” said Alexandra.
“You mean only you have to smash it into pieces without purifying it. Me and Viv pretty much smashed undead all the time since we can't use Holy Light to purify them. Plus Viv is more of the dark side of magic so he is at an disadvantage against undead” I said annoyed.
“Well I do have my nature and star type magic as well. Plus spirit magic as well” said Viv.
That's true, even with only those two types of magic, Viv is extremely strong as well. I think he now has around 50 or 60 spells he can use which makes it very difficult of me to predict what kinds of spells he's going to use next though he always seems to use the best spell as an ally and the worse spell as an enemy.
Eventually we got through the mountain pathway that was littered with a few wolves here and there as well as some cave monsters that I rather not describe since they were hideous in appearance. The majority of the wolves didn't attack and only observed from afar while we intentionally seek out to extinct those cave monster for the good of the world. At the end was the cliff at which the battle mage would appear at night when the full moon was up.
Setting up camp since we have to wait for another few hours, I took out the sleeping bags which while not as good as the real life one in softness was fine for sleeping in the out doors though it was really only some blankets that were thin. However due this body's strong resistance to practically everything, the night isn't so bad since I rarely get cold to begin with.
But the three of us didn't go to sleep at all. We were waiting for the Battle Mage to appear.
Hours later when the full moon was clear in the night sky, the grave of the Battle Mage shook and an undead hand shot out of it revealing the undead that was once known as a legendary battle mage that was stronger than any other in close combat magic battles. Coming from the grave its eyes glowed brightly as its old rusted armour that was half falling apart stuck on its rotten flesh that with time rotted away too. It was already half turned into a skeleton with some of its rotten flesh falling off as it moved.
“You are an enemy!” It shouted chattering its mouth rapidly. While unlike other mages that used staves to use their magic and amplify it, the battle mage instead used rings that worked in substitute for the staff it was missing though it lacks power compared to other mages.
“Flame Impact!” the battle mage charged at the three of us splitting the three of us in three different direction as we dodged its flaming fists. The battle mage then slammed its fists into the ground where flames erupted from the ground below us.
“Tch! Mana Shield!”
Jumping out of the way shielding myself using a mana shield, I started activating my buffs that would be useful right now.
“Dragonic Release, Dragonic Overload, Battle Aura!”
Dragonic Release is now active
Dragonic Overload is now active
Battle Aura is now active
Golden aura appeared around me as I charged in not using my sword but my fists and legs to fight against the battle mage. I punched and kicked it several times but it easily dodged those attacks and countered by using lightning to try and stun me. I increased the density of my battle aura to deflect such an attack.
“Haaaaaaaaaa!”
Then Alexandra jumped behind the battle mage as it concentrated on me attacking from behind with her sword. However the battle mage moved quickly and tapped Alexandra's sword with its hand gently and ice exploded from the blade side of it heading to Alexandra. Unlike anything I saw before Alexandra let go of her sword and started firing Holy Magic at the battle mage while also blasting off the ice on her sword.
“Crimson Spear that rejects the heavens! Starfall Series Spell #7 Longinus Strike!”
From Viv came several red spears made from his magic that pinned down the battle mage in place in the air.
“Let the stars fall into dust and nothingness. Starfall Series Spell #3: Meteor Stream!”
Viv then created a mass of black mana and fired it at the battle mage like a beam which consumed the battle mage immediately. However in the middle of the attack, it seemed like the spell was deflected away from the battle mage for some reason. Then an undead appeared from the beam deflecting it.
“Shit! This thing has really high magic resistance!” I shouted while grabbing my sword out preparing to fight it once more.
“Then...Sword Wave!”
Alexandra fired one of her sword waves at the battle mage but it quickly dodged it moving to Viv to attack him. Running to intercept the battle mage I expanded my aura out to the extreme and fired it at the battle mage as well which resulted in it dodging it as well.
However it jumped in the air landing on a nearby tree for support.
Fire Formation ? AOE Form ? Fire Explosion
“Fire Explosion!”
Targeting the tree and not the battle mage itself, the tree burst on fire and turned into ashes before the battle mage could jumped away from the tree and fell to the ground. Taking this chance Alexandra ran in and attacked the battle mage in a series of combos made from using skills over and over again against it.
“Triple Flame Impact!”
The battle mage moved dodging Alexandra's attacks and pressed its hands on her where three explosions of flames happened on Alexandra at the same time staggering her. The battle mage kicked her away before using lightning to strike her. Alexandra however absorbed the damage using her Holy Aura.
The battle continued for several more hours with either us or the battle mage being pushed back with sheer force and skill that we used against each other. However eventually the battle mage was continuously put in a disadvantage with the three of us going full serious mode.
“Crimson Lance!”
Covering my sword with red aura I burst with speed towards the battle mage piercing it and letting my red aura explode in it over and over again as its flesh and body was being broken down bit by bit. However it used its spells that forced me to back away since it would be dangerous to be near it when it used those spells.
“Sword Wave!”
Alexandra swung her sword at the battle mage and it finally died leaving only an old book behind. Viv identified it and it was a recipe in making the same battle robs it had when it was alive.
Part 3 – Holy Demonic Beast
In a place that had been isolated for a long time, lies a fallen shrine to a God that has been forgotten with time. This shrine was once worshipped in order to gain protection to cross the mountain plains nearby but it soon fell out of practise with time when there were more convenient methods to cross the mountains without actually crossing them. As such, this shrine was abandoned by the people. However ever since the beginning of the shrine, that was a guardian beast that always protected the shrine no matter what protecting the people in it from monsters and even other humans that threaten those inside.
When when the shrine was abandoned, the guardian beast continued to protect it no matter what. The guardian beast slept to conserve its power to protect the shrine and defended it when monsters and other evils tried to take it over. But soon even Demons came to claim the fallen shrine as it still holds some power that that God of the shrine used to protect the travellers on their journey. The guardian beast fought to the end and when the shrine was about to be defiled with Demonic power, a change occurred in the Guardian Beast. It half fell in becoming a Demon itself and became a Holy Demonic Beast that easily destroyed the demons and survived off both the Holy energy of the shrine and the Demonic energy that came from the mountains.
But....
“This place is really in the middle of nowhere....”
The closest place we could teleport to from this place was hundreds of kilometres away. We spent a good week using various means to quickly transverse the land to get here. Namely, me casting flight magic on everyone until we got tired and rested. However without using flight magic to quickly fly over the land it would've taken us months to get here. At the end of the journey here, we had to walk some of the way because there were flying monsters in the air at times and they would attack us in flocks while not deadly to us but took a hell of a lot of time to deal with.
“Well at least there aren't any more mobs since the boss monster thing is near by.” I muttered scanning the skies for flying monsters. However there were no monsters in sight at all plus there were those cursed mountains that were said in the rumours.
Eventually we found the old path to the mountain path which was not in use anymore. Walking down the very old stone pathway that was literally cut off the stone ground itself, we eventually made it to the fallen shrine that was forbidden to enter due to the danger of the Holy Demonic Beast.
“That's one big door” I said while looking a the very large double metal door that had old engravings on them.
“Doesn't seem to be an easy way to open them” commented Alexandra.
“I wonder if there is a side door for humans to use” commented Viv as well.
I looked around and there seems to be only that one large door.
“Doesn't seem like it, we have to either push those doors or break it....the latter seems impossible so let's try with the first option.”
And so the two of us, me and Alexandra since Viv had low strength stats, went to the door and tried to push it open.
“Haaaaaa!”
“Heeeeeeeeha!”
Both of us tried to push the door with out full power. After taking a moment to buff ourselves with some buffs to increase our strength, we tried again but the bloody door did not budge at all. Partly giving up, we let Viv do his own thing while we waited for something to happen.
“The size of the people on these walls and doors....and the size of the door itself...were the people who worshipped here actually giants? Rather than the creature here being a Guardian Beast, its more like it was a pet of some sort that aged after the giants disappeared from these lands” muttered Viv in speculations of the past.
Anyway a lot more things happened and eventually through some sort of thing that Viv did, the giant metal doors that didn't even budge when me and Alexandra tried pushing it opened. I think it something to do with placing items in certain orders, figuring out puzzles and such that no one really had the time for. Well it took Viv a hour to get this damn door open so it couldn't be that bad of a puzzle to figure out.
“I had to learn an old giants ritual and their language to get this door open. The entire place has all the content you need to learn it all though its shattered around and some parts were missing.”
Okay maybe not....it was highly difficult and I respect Viv for being here else we would've never gotten through this damn door.
Walking through the giant doors, we continued our way walking through the fallen shrine that really hasn't been cleaned in a few hundreds or even thousands of years. There was dust everywhere as well as plants that grew from the little sunlight from the cracks in the ceiling. The path through the fallen shrine took us further down and eventually underground where touches still burnt brightly even for so long.
There were no monsters here, but I could feel an immense presence in this place which should be the Holy Demonic Beast. With the dim lighting, we eventually went and came to a large underground stadium with a sleeping beast in the centre. The stadium was perhaps....50 metres in diameter in total but the beast itself was easily 5 metres long and was twice our height. Unlike certain large creatures, it seems this thing was compacted with power in its body which did no justice to its small body compared to its large power.
Upon activating our buffs to be on the safe side, the beast woke up due to our increased presence and power levels in the stadium where it slept.
“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!”
Waking up with a scream of anger, the entire stadium shook threatening to crumble at any moment though it didn't. The vibrations on the ground was to such a point that we actually staggered a bit which gave the beast time to get the first attack.
CHUMP!
Unfortunately I was the furthest in the front and the beast aimed for me.
You got to be fucking kidding me!
Barely getting out of the way of being swallowed completely by the beast, it chumped on my arm causing a massive amount of damage and pain.
“Ahhhh!”
You took 63 724 damage
If it weren't for the fact that I had my buffs on and my mana was doubled to a respectable 240 000, I would've died with that one hit even with battle aura on. This once again reminded me of how low my defences were.
Due to my arm being almost ripped off me with several muscles ripped and bones cracked in multiple places, when the beast flung me away to the side so it could attack the others, Recovery Burst activated on its own.
Recovery Burst has activated automatically due to injuries
Injuries will healed completely
Mana Regeneration has increased by 300%
My arm snapping back into place, I watched as the other two now with the time to actually dodge the beast's attacks run around attacking it while retreating at the same time. This place had a abnormal amount of air in it so its best not to use fire spells in here as much as I want to slowly cook that damn beast. Because of this, I resorted to earth magic instead.
Earth Formation ? Spike Form ? Earth Spike
“Earth Spike!”
I slammed my hand onto the ground and the dirt ground of the stadium burst upwards at the beast and hit it. Unfortunately, the beast's fur or skin was harder than I thought and it did not cause any critical damage to it in one go. However I did manage to piss it off again.
“GAAAAAAAAAAARR!!”
The beast leaped at me with its sharp claws and teeth.
“Dance of water!”
Dance of Water is now active
“Burst Strike!”
I sped forward dodging the attack from underneath the beast and cut part of the stomach of it at the same time. When I was in the clear and the beast was regaining its balance after the leap, Alexandra and Viv used long range attacks to deal damage.
“Hoy Bolts!”
“Dark Bolts! Magic Arrows!”
Those attacks were like rain drops to the beast but they did cause damage to it at the same time though it was on the low scale. What it did do well was draw its attention from me. Though somehow I feel that I'm getting the shorter end of the stick here being the one in the most danger when it attacks me.
Viv split off from Alexandra and started moving to the right while still attacking. Following this approach I started firing ice bolts at the beast as well. Soon it directed its anger at Viv and did the same jump attack as towards me from earlier. However unlike me, Viv did not need to dodge at all.
“O forest, O calm forest. Your seeds have flown countless lands, countless seas and have spread to the four corners of this world. Light and water gives life to your children and I ask that you allow the birth of a forest that would protect the innocent. Wall of Roots!”
The attack was blocked by a large amount of roots appearing and forming a wall.
“O forest, O fierce forest. Your leaves have flown countless lands, countless seas and have lay on the four corners of this world. Light and water gives strength to your children and I ask that you Bind the ones that disrupt this balance. Binding Roots!”
Then more roots appeared around the beast and bind it onto the ground while the wall of roots changed and started whipping the beast.
“....”
I could not help but to feel that Viv was an actual sadist for a moment there.
“Sword Wave!”
Alexandra also attacked it from afar once and then ran in close to attack the beast's legs in order to cripple it. I followed suit and tried to stun it using lightning spells over and over again.
Lightning Formation ? Bolt Form ? Lightning Bolt
“Lightning Bolt! Lightning Bolt! Lightning Bolt! Lightning Bolt! Lightning Bolt!”
While as a boss monster, the beast had an insane amount of resistance to a number of things including status effects such as stun or blind or anything similar to it. It wasn't like it was actually completely immune to those effects though some boss monsters were but usually had high resistance to them as well.
Due to this I finally managed to stun that damn beast which lowered its active guard against us and furthered increased the amount of damage we could deal to it.
“Starfall Series Spell#2: Star Burst!”
Viv gathered black mana into a ball and fired it at the beast. When it exploded, it became a large sphere of black mana that continuously damaged the beast as it was in the black mana sphere. After a few seconds the black mana sphere disappeared and the beast was left extremely hurt by the attack.
Lightning Formation ? Axe Form ? Thunder Axe
I gathered lightning in my hands and formed a large axe that was connected by a chain of lightning whip and swung it at the beast.
“Thunder Axe!”
ZAAAAAAAAAAP!!
The lightning hit the beast head on its back and caused a large cut on it where it bled quite a bit.
Then from the body of the beast, Holy and Demonic power mixed and it grew red.
“Shit! Its going berserk!” I shouted running away from it. The other two took a hint with me and ran away from it as well.
“GARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!”
The beast with its massive strength ripped through the roots that bind it and charged hitting and breaking down one of the walls in rage.
[I to awaken am the Tyrant whom stole the throne of God]
[I devour the wisdom and rip apart the Knowledge]
[I will become the Magic King that rules over all Creation]
[And I will show you true Despair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
[Magic King Drive!!!!!!!!]
Magic King Drive has been Activated
- Spell Damage Increase by 180%
- Spell Range Increase by 180%
- Freely able to use the Elements at Will
- Strength Increase by 180%
- Agility Increase by 180%
- Movement Speed Increase by 180%
- Defence Increase by 180%
- Able to use 'Golden Weapon Trio' Freely in this state
- Resistance to Magic Increase by 49% (Max is 99%)
Time Limit: Until you die or Stamina is exhausted
Trying to increase my chance of survival, I activated Magic King Drive which increased my golden aura size several fold.
“No choice, aim for the legs!” I shouted gathering red aura around my body and sword.
“Armour of Blood Warrior! Crimson Lance!”
Damage you deal with double in exchange for taking double damage
Along with the doubling effects of the blood warrior skill, crimson lance further increased the damage my sword did as well as giving it an explosive effect when I attack as well.
“Divine Beast Shift! Compressed Light Warrior! Blood Destruction!”
Looking at Alexandra, it seems she wants to finish this in one go before this beast decides to power up again.
“Dragon rampage!”
All Stats will double for 1 minute in exchange for all your stamina
After this, only Viv would be able to battle the beast properly. However now is not the time to think about those worthless things!
“Flash Steps!”
Alexandra disappeared from sight first and appeared to the side of the beast.
“Triple Sword Waves!”
Three flashes of explosions hit the beast at the same time pushing it off balance for a split second.
“Golden Spear!” Is shouted summoning the spear in the air and shooting it at the leg of the beast. While this was happening I was charging at the beast aiming for its head.
“Burst Strike! Double Strike!”
Slamming my red aura covered sword into the forehead of the beast twice using double strike, I let out two explosions of red aura in it at the same time.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
The red aura exploded and even damage me while active.
“Aura Sword!” shouted Alexandra covering her sword with her entire aura in it while stabbing the beast at the side. Her aura too exploded inside the beast as both our auras caused rapid damage to the beast at once.
“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRR!!!”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
However a shockwave blasted us away from the beast.
You took 164 421 damage
“Tch!”
Recovery Burst has activated automatically due to injuries
Injuries will healed completely
Mana Regeneration has increased by 300%
My mana was regenerating rapidly but my stamina was also dropping at a faster rate, the same could be said for Alexandra as she used everything in that last attack. Was this the end.
“The stars fall one by one as the witch laughed with mercy as the Gods fell and the Demons rose. Starfall Series Spell #13: Heaven's Fall!”
Then the world became black as Viv used his final spell from his starfall series set of spells. Moments later, the beast was dead and the loot was on the ground. As usual by taking down a boss monster like this we gained fame and other stuff that increased our stats slightly and some level ups.
We walked exhausted, well me and Alexandra were exhausted in using all of our stamina at once. Viv took the liberty of identifying some of the loot that dropped which were mainly ancient slabs and such that may be sold for a high price.
However the true gem of the loot was the body parts of the Holy Demonic Beast itself. There were several horns, some flesh and its hide there.
Rumble Rumble Rumble
From the opposite side of the entrance to the stadium, an entrance opened. However we had no intention on going further in. Maybe sometime later but not now, we had things to do. I teleported everyone out when we got the loot we wanted.
Part 4 – The Ancient Ent
An Ent is a living tree with a conscious. They live among other trees in which they usually hide from others and live peacefully. However when disturbed or threaten, they will become a raging monster with can use the forest itself as a weapon against you. But this was extremely unlikely since Ents live in the depths of forests to the extent that it was near impossible to find one even if you try and chop down the forest in which they are living in. It is simply due to the fact that Ents are also very sneaky as well. When the lumberjacks takes a break to sleep, the Ents slip away.
Another thing about Ents are that they are extremely old as well, only growing stronger with age. Even the more young Ents are several hundreds of years old and some even thousands. But this time, there was a legend about a certain Ent that lived through several ages where mortals forgotten about, this Ent remembered. It lived for tens of thousands of years and its lifespan gone back to when Gods lived among mortals and roamed the lands. Its power could take down a dragon and it is the sole ancestor of all Ents that remain.
This is the thing we were going to hunt.
“Who are thou to awaken me?” A deep low voice was heard where there was a giant ancient tree....well Ent. It was completely black and honestly looked half rotten at this point. However I could feel that there was a strong magical force inside of this Ent.
Frankly it was worth coming here to collect it. This thing was in the deepest part of the forest where there were other equally large trees blocking most of the way here. If it weren't for the fact that Viv could casually move the trees away using his magic, I would have to burnt through the forest to get here.
“To be blunt, we want a large branch of yours” I said. I could feel that there were things moving around us and it was not monsters. I had a feeling that if this goes bad then we would have to fight from all sides.
“Why does thou need a branch from me?” the ancient Ent asked.
This time Viv stepped forward and said, “I wish to make a staff that will be stronger than any other that will enhance my nature magic.”
Viv was also blunt with his words but it seems like there were hints of respect towards the Ent which it picked up immediately.
“However may it seems, you are strong already contractor to the forest. I have heard that you have aided the wind and water and was gifted with a powerful reward quite recently as well...that necklace filled with their power is proof of ye actions.”
Wait, what?! When the hell did Viv have the time to do whatever was said?! I looked at the chest area where there was a necklace that had two gems of different colours blended towards part way. One was the colour blue while the other was azure and both had enormous magical powers in them.
So....now Viv has contracts with Water and Wind spirits as well? Damn....
“Yes, but our enemies that threaten the continent cannot be matched with just our level of power. Please give us some aid in our fight!” pleaded Viv. This was honestly the first time I've seen Viv act like this, normally he did what he wanted with an innocent smile on his face.
“Hmm....the contractor of the forest is asking for my help....one that turned part way to be a living spirit.....another that ascended to beyond mortals to divine....and one that is ye enemy to all...divine and mortal and all creation....you tell me that even with this, the enemy is too much?! Blasphemy! Leave or die!”
I could feel the forest was moving and there were a number of living creatures nearby...probably other ents in the area.
Viv simply sighed and said in a tone that was completely different from the one he had before, “Well I tried but it seems like we have to kill it to get the materials off it.”
With these words the ancient Ent was even more enraged.
“I have lived from the beginning of countless eras. I have seen the Gods walk in this world and am more ancient on the spirits you have!” the ancient Ent raged as it uprooted itself from the ground.
The ancient Ent with pure black branches that were burnt as well as normal colour beaches that were rich with life and magic power called upon its comrades.
“I'm guessing you want the branches that aren't burnt right?” I asked preparing a fire spell in my hands.
“More or less, I would like it if you didn't completely burn down that thing” replied Viv.
“Well Alexandra can probably cut those branches off before it burns completely. Fire Strike!” In the air several fireballs were shot out of my hands rapidly at the ancient Ent which lit it on fire quickly. However in mere seconds the fire was put out.
“How did ye think I survived countless eons if fire was my weakness! Become one with me my breathen!”
In the following moments, an impressive combining scene was played out as the single ancient Ent combined with possibly tens and hundreds of other ents to form a giant humanoid monster things made of wood. It was 40~ metres tall and its arms and legs were thick and powerful.
“Dragonic Release, Dragonic Overload, Battle Aura, Humanoid Dragon Transformation!”
Dragonic Release is now active
Dragonic Overload is now active
Battle Aura is now active
Humanoid Dragon Transformation is now active, all stats +66%
Turning into humanoid dragon form with most of my other buffs on I charged away from the giant Ent intending to do a long range battle using fire attack mainly. Although I suspect that the ancient Ent had a way to remove the burning effect on itself, it was likely that the other Ents could not. And being a giant made this easier for me.
Fire Formation ? Ball Form ? Strike Factor ? Impact Factor ? Fire Strike
“Fire Strike!”
Casting the same spell again but on a much higher scale, I bombarded the giant Ent with flames causing it to burst into fire.
Alexandra and Viv also went into battle mode already attacking the legs of the giant Ent. They were easily smashing through the trees that made part of its body. However quickly it was apparent that this thing also had extreme regenerative abilities as well as being able to put out the burning effect on itself.
“Tch” is the only way to use pure force to out damage its regenerative abilities?
“Starfall Series Spell #1: Downrain Hell”
From the skies that immediately darkened, came rain of dark particles in which mostly landed on the now giant Ent. After a few moments the Ent's movement became a bit slower as it attacked.
Using its giant body, I slowly but surely smashed where I was standing at.
“Flight Magic!”
6 golden wings appeared behind me as I quickly dodged such a slow attack and flew into the skies. I continued to rain down fire attacks to the giant Ent without end.
“Fire Strike! Giant Fireball! Fire Barrage! Flame Tower!”
Over and over again the battle continued with me dealing massive amounts of damage to that damn body of trees and it regenerating quickly while putting off the fires on its body.
“Sword Wave!”
Underneath was Alexandra who was trying to cut down the legs of this giant Ent as well but it also quickly regenerated there as well. Viv was trying to cause debuffs on the Ent to make our lives easier which actually worked since it targeted the other Ents not the ancient ones. Soon even Viv help with the destruction of the giant Ent.
“Spirit Summoning! Water Spirit: Undrine! Wind Spirit: Griffon!”
From the magic circles Viv drew on the ground came two spirits in the form of things that looked like humans but were definitely not humans. They looked at Viv with happiness and then looked at the giant Ent with a bit of fear.
The water spirit looks a bit like a Undine which is a creature that is part water that takes on a form that is very similar to humans but this one was armed with a light blue spear at hand. The wind spirit on the other hand unlike the elegant Undine was a creature that took on the form of a raging griffon that gathered wind as it flew in the air. Although the griffon was actually a monster in the game, it seems like there is a variant of it where it is a spirit creature as well.
Viv directed them to attack the giant Ent as well. The griffon with its wind threw blades of wind at the giant Ent at a time while the Undine used its spear and water attacks to splice it apart at the same time.
The battle continued until nightfall where a sudden change happened to the giant Ent. Its regenerative powers lowered. Backing away from the giant Ent for a bit and still allowing Alexandra to attack, me and Viv discussed it for a bit.
“It seems like part of its regenerative powers comes from the sun” commented Viv.
“The other source would be water then right? But we can't cut that off completely as well” I replied.
“In that case, we an suck out the water from it”
With this plan in mind, as the battle continued, Viv ordered his Undrine to instead of using water to attack and thus giving the giant Ent more water, to instead go and suck out the water from the trees that made up the body of the Ent.
Because of this within another hour, the giant Ent was destroyed and all there was left was the ancient black Ent. Cutting through the ancient Ent was Alexandra whom cleanly cut off the good branches that could be made into staffs. Afterwards I burnt the rest of the Ent into ashes.
However it left some words to us before it died, “The Gods of Chaos are coming back! You will not be able to face them destroyer!”
With those words, the most ancient Ent and possibly creature left on this mortal world died. Collecting the branches we headed back to the castle via the use of my Spacial Teleportation which can now go to towns or villages as well as long as I have visited them before.
Before we actually teleported, I asked Viv a few questions.
“When did you learn to use spirit summoning magic?”
“Oh? I learnt those spells a while back. It was just that I couldn't summon the nature spirit I was contracted with since it took too much mana to do so. Both those wind and water spirits were the ones I talked about. They're around the medium to high rank spirits while the nature spirit from way back was a high tier nature spirit. Even summoning those two took a lot of mana to sustain them in this world.”
Hmm...sounds interesting. But there was another thing I was interested in as well.
“When did you get that necklace?” I asked once again.
“I got this from those two spirits when I helped them. Because of that I can now use water and wind magic to a certain extent though not as powerful as my nature magic as well as summon them at any time.”
I see....
“With those two now contracted with you, how many different types of magic can you use now?”
“Hmm....Dark Magic, Nature Magic, Star Type Magic, Spirit Magic, Water Magic and Wind Magic...that should be all. I have to still train in order to master them all though.”
It seems like Viv is getting really powerful....I suspect he's more powerful than me and Alexandra now and he doesn't even have our buffing abilities to increase his stats.
Part 5 – The invitation
“Master Eden! We got a messenger from the enemy!” cried one noble just when we teleported into the Jacksville Castle area.
“Hmm? What is it?” I asked confused since this was happening a bit too fast.
“There's a messenger with a message to you personally!”the noble cried in horror.
Walking through the lines of nobles that were running around panicking was worse than I thought. Also, when the hell did I become Master Eden? Is this because I tortured those fools that wanted to steal my gold?
Anyway the messenger was seated casually without a care that he was in the enemy strongehold. When seeing me, he immediately conveyed the message.
“I wish to invite you to see the fruits of my research, from the Magic Scholar.” the messenger spoke.
That was the entire message?
“Also, you can bring those two with you but no more. I will be waiting in my tower for you soon.” With that the messenger turned, took out some sort of scroll and activated it, teleporting him out.
“....”
There was silence around me when this happened. Then the commotion between nobles about how horrifying this was occurred. I ignored them and went to talk to Alexandra and Viv who quickly agreed on coming along with me.
When we tried to leave, several of the nobles tried to stop us crying on what we were doing. Eventually the old noble that now had a close friendship with us reported in several things.
“Our army's numbers increased to 50 000. With the restoration of several lands including the former capital city, we are able to sustain them with the funding that comes from those cities now. We plan to increase the army size to 150 000 by the year's end with 100 000 ready to go under your command.”
I nodded to those words teleported to the nearest fort where we took horses to where the Tower Fort thing was. If I was right, this was the Sage person which caused me to suffer head Training for more than 7 months.
I will pay him back after I heard what he wanted from me.
Part 6 – The Bloodstained Sage
Upon arriving at the third of five forts that had been taken over by the 5 Shadow Dragon Kings as they call themselves, I noticed that there was something a bit wrong about what I see. There was no armed soldier in sight, nor was there a row of mages ready to attack. All of those numbers about the 10 000 mages going to this fort was....false?
“There seems to be something fishy about this place” said Alexandra confirming my unease.
This place seems too....clean. Too perfect for it to be a place that harbours one of the worse criminals of the Western Continent. Well walking through the gates to this fort was also the worse criminal of the western continent no the entire continent so it was a bit ironic. Well the only difference was that I was trying to decrease my infamy by a lot and thanks to the fame gained from hunting down boss monster after boss monster, my reputation to the average NPC increased a bit to the point that they don't want to run away from me when they see me though if I even get a bit angry then they will immediately flee from my sights....
“Welcome to my tower where research into the unknown happens daily” said an old man that I immediately recognise as the Sage that I met before. I could feel the power of the mana fragment flowing through him but it wasn't active at all though I can tell he did use it on multiple occasions.
“It seems you dabbled into areas you should not have” I said mocking him. The reason was simply that he was going through a process I know as Dragon Transformation though it is incomplete and way weaker than my original version. Another thing was that it seems he's unable to revert back into a complete human form.
“Ah...this is the results of using the wonderful power of the mana fragments too much at once. It seems I was mistaken on how much power it truly had though I gained interesting data from it.”
The Sage signalled for the guards to disappear with a flick of his finger.
“The guards are just there for some protection just in case. However with you, guards means nothing at all” the Sage smiled unknown to the killing intent coming from the three of us towards him. Because of this, everyone had their sights on our due to both interest and suspicions. As we followed the Sage into the fort, it looked more like a mage tower than anything else.
“I changed the look so it fits my tastes better. I also made some underground rooms as well as deep as normal humans can take that is” the Sage explained all of this as we walked higher and higher until we were at the centre of this 'research centre' where experiments were taking place.
I looked around and everything seems normal for a person like the Sage so far. There was nothing horrible going on though there were large vases that had mana in them as well as other spells.
“Naturally I am interested in your change as I find that you three have become something more than mere mortals though in your case Eden you just simply took a step back to what you truly are” the Sage chuckled and exclaimed in a loud voice, “All of this is due to the research on the mana fragments!”
The Sage wildly pointed at various place around this large room.
“Countless and countless more methods of how to use the mana fragments were discovered in mere months! We traced the magic back and forth with every kind of magic being enhanced becoming more powerful without higher costs or in many cases even lower costs that make even ancient magick pale!”
The Sage ran wildly to a large glass cylinder where there lied the thing with the most mana in this room.
“And then after so many sleepless nights, we found the origin of this power! Time Magic! A power that was lost to all but the Gods themselves! A forbidden fruit that must be taken by humanity! With this power the world will change! A brighter future will be the results of all these efforts!”
While the Sage was running his mouth to the ground, I was not amused. While others hear his voice as the words equal to Gods, I spoke aloud.
“Then you were not and will never be consumed by the power of the mana fragments?”
The Sage looked at me like I was insane and such a thing was impossible.
“Of course not! I am perfectly fine, always been this way and always will be. New things must always be discovered in order to make the lives of all mortals better!”
I gave the Sage a smug look.
“Then what's with the Dragon Scales you have on your limbs or the fact that you are more Dragon than man now?”
Anger in his eyes, the Sage retorted, “That does not matter! Surely you of all things will understand! Appearances do not speak louder than actions! My actions will help and benefits everyone equally!”
Well that was checkmate...for him that is. While he was talking about things I rather not understand, I pulled my soul scan downwards to the so called underground rooms the Sage talked about. There was an unusual amount of souls down there not moving at all while mana was being transported up to here.
“Well then, I'll take a look on what you are hiding down there.”
I immediately gathered an insane amount of mana in my hands and blasted the floor. However the blast did not even leave a mark on the floor. I sighed...this floor was magic resistance?
“Alexandra....” I looked her who had a grin on her face now.
“SWORD WAVE!”
I moved back making sure the explosion doesn't hit me.
“SWORD WAVE!”
“SWORD WAVE!”
“SWORD WAVE!”
“SWORD WAVE!”
Several more times it took until the barriers between the floor we were on and the basement level was gone. The three of us dropped down there without any care to what kinds of destruction happened to be in our path.
Landing softly on the ground and using wind magic to clear away the dust and other stuff that was around, I saw something I did not want to see.
Humans and other species, all of them capture and chained in place. As mana was being extracted from them at mass. Hundreds of them being used as a fuel source for this place.
“.....”
The Sage caught up to us with his old body.
“Help...me.....please...help.....” a hand extended towards me begging for help. While most of them were rendered to a state worse than death, some of them still held on to their consciousness and was therefore suffering.
“Fifthly Bitch!” shouted the Sage as he fired a magic attack that blew off the hand that was attached to me.
“Hmp! That one was called Maria I believe and she once troubled you didn't she? Well that as you see is her fate now. To become the fertile that will support the world.”
“....”
“Die.”
With one word I fired as much mana as I could to the Sage with the intent of killing him and leaving nothing left!
BOOOOOOM!!!
The Sage was hit back was still alive.
Dragonic Release is now active
Dragonic Overload is now active
Battle Aura is now active
Activating my buffs, I immediately started to destroy what I see. Over and over again I blasted everything in sight with magical force leaving nothing behind.
“NO! Stop! What are you doing?!”
With anger I glared at the Sage I concentrated my fire on him instead.
There was no need to think. I just needed to tell the spells my intent and it would do it on its own. As I stared down at the Sage I started chanting.
[I to awaken am the Tyrant whom stole the throne of God]
[I devour the wisdom and rip apart the Knowledge]
[I will become the Magic King that rules over all Creation]
[And I will show you true Despair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
[Magic King Drive!!!!!!!!]
Magic King Drive has been Activated
- Spell Damage Increase by 180%
- Spell Range Increase by 180%
- Freely able to use the Elements at Will
- Strength Increase by 180%
- Agility Increase by 180%
- Movement Speed Increase by 180%
- Defence Increase by 180%
- Able to use 'Golden Weapon Trio' Freely in this state
- Resistance to Magic Increase by 49% (Max is 99%)
Time Limit: Until you die or Stamina is exhausted
Nothing will remain of this place, NOTHING!
…...
…...
By the time I regained reason, the fort was completely destroyed with nothing left.
“....”
In my Dragon Form I reverted back into my human form seeking out Alexandra and Viv who were on the edge of what remained of the fort.
“Yo....” I said casually waving to them.
“You were completely berserked you know. First time I ever seen you completely lose it” said Alexandra with a bit of admiration in her voice.
“We had to quickly escape the place since you went into Dragon Form and started smashing everything up and leaving nothing behind. Everyone in that placed died and probably won't ever return to this place or the game in fact if they were players” said Viv.
“What happened to the Sage?” I asked.
“Well he used short distance teleportation to remain safe but them he went into the shadows and disappeared similar to how the others escaped” answered Viv.
I sighed, so we still haven't managed to even collect one mana fragment that was stolen from me. However now was not the time to think of those things. We need to report what exactly happened here though I really have only little memory of it.
Also, I don't think the other nobles will like to here that I completely eradicated the fort without leaving a stone behind.
Continue Misfortune?PreviousExitNext
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Author's Notes:
- Word Count: 9000~
- This chapter was a bit tedious to write and in the end I skipped most of the fight at the end
- Just finished writing this chapter as well so there may be some errors
- Just 4 more chapters.....which includes the epilogue of the series