LiseEclaire
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Leveling up the World (Chapter 782)
🕑 Added 2023-07-13 22:49:34 +0000 UTCThe moment Dallion struck, a surge of magic rushed up the blade into him.
PARTIAL ABSORPTION
Your MAGIC TRAIT is now 30
Partial absorption? Dallion wondered.
This was new in more ways than one. Harp must have done something for the attack to drain magic instead of dealing damage. Just like the mage duels back at the Academy. The difference was that, as far as he had been taught, an agreement between the participants was necessary.
Of course! A smile formed on Dallion’s face. The laws of the Moons didn’t apply here. As long as he was in the vortex, he could use any methods he wished. Equivalently, all methods could be used on him—something to keep in mind.
The expression of the twin guardian suddenly shifted. The calm, almost statuesque, expression was replaced by that of a normal person. A speck of relief shone through the layers of purple.
Ceasing his attack, the guardian pulled back, splitting into ten instances of his own.
Dallion did the same, adding twenty more instances to his usual splits.
Nine instances of the twin charged forward, his attackers faster and more vicious than before. Just at first glance, one could see three skills being combined in the process. The last instances, however, kept its distance at ten feet from Dallion.
“You’re an otherworlder,” the instance said, in a voice much different from before.
Dallion could feel Harp’s desire to take this opportunity to go all out at the instance, possibly even urging him to force that outcome into reality. At the same time, he could still see emanations of longing and reluctance coming from his opponent; to be more precise, only from that specific instance of his opponent.
Don’t hesitate, Harp said.
The right thing was to listen to her. Or was it? Hundreds more of Dallion’s instances were flying about, fighting the guardian as well, also keeping an eye on the other fights. For the moment, everything was going as well as predicted. The giant chainling had engaged the other guardian twin, while Adzorg and Diroh were engaging in any rogue wasp that ventured to approach Dallion from behind.
Sorry, Harp, Dallion thought. I can spare one instance.
“What about you?” he asked. “Were you one?”
“No.” The guardian laughed. “I’d seen a lot. They used to be common before I was exalted. Not anymore, it seems.”
“Exalted?” Dallion asked.
The fighting instances of the guardian were pushing him back, but in one case, Harp managed to strike another target marker.
PARTIAL ABSORPTION
Your MAGIC TRAIT is now 31
“Good approach,” the talking instances noted. “I don’t think it’ll help you, though.”
“Not worried?”
“Why?” The twin shrugged. “I’ll still win. The voidling is attracting all my attention. Once it’s destroyed, I’ll focus on you and even your nymph guardian won’t be able to present a match.”
“Is that why you’re chatting with me? To gloat?”
“I’m talking to you because I can. Exaltation is a gift and duty, but it’s a life of solitude. Everything sad has been said. Only when the void tries to breach into the world, do we get to glimpse a part of it.”
“We? So, there are others like you?”
“The Order has exalted thousands. If one falls, two must take their place.”
There it was again—the shiver that went down Dallion’s spine. There was no doubt that the Order had the means to banish people, or “exalt” as the twin referred to it. Most likely, they presented it as a blessing or some sort, the highest goal that could be bestowed upon an exalted. From a certain point of view, it probably was.
PARTIAL ABSORPTION
Your MAGIC TRAIT is now 32
MAJOR WOUND
Your health has been decreased by 50%
Two rectangles popped up simultaneously. The wound was serious, but Dallion had no choice but to have it become reality. The greater his magic trait, the better he got to see the weaknesses within the guardian’s armor.
“You could have joined the Order,” the talkative instance continued.
“I’m working for the Order,” Dallion insisted. “When were you exalted?”
“During the second Conquest War.” He paused for a moment. “During the era of nymphs,” he added.
PARTIAL ABSORPTION
Your MAGIC TRAIT is now 33
Another point was absorbed, but Dallion’s attention was elsewhere. The order had banished the guardian all the way back during the era of nymphs? That meant that other than the Pan and Harp, this might turn out to be the oldest mortals he had met. Furthermore, it proved that the Order existed in some form even back then, and had the power to banish people.
“It’s a pity you have to die,” the twin sighed. “You sound like you’re telling the truth, and if you’re an otherworlder you’d have helped fight the void in the real world.”
“Then let me go.”
“You’re a mage. You know the rules. Nothing can get out of a vortex unless it consumes its heart.”
“The rules have changed a bit since your time.”
“No, they haven’t.” The guardian’s tone became deadly serious. “And you don’t have the tools to use an exception.”
Several miles away, the giant chainling burst in an army of normal sized versions of itself. Seeing that its size provided no advantage to the stronger twin, it apparently decided to rely on quantity. That seemed only to make the guardian’s task easier. With a zig-zag slash attack, it flew through the armies, slashing them by the dozen. In contrast, only one single chainling attack managed to land, reducing the twin’s health by a percent.
“He was almost like you when he was exalted,” the weaker twin told Dallion. “So determined to become a noble that he almost lost his chance. If I hadn’t been selected, he might have even left.”
“I thought humans couldn’t become nobles back then.”
“They could, yet only through the Order. The nymphs and the furies were guarding all the shrines. The dryads scoured the wilderness, hunting for ruins that still had any. That’s why we joined the Order—to protect the world and the human race in its time of need.”
The harpsisword in Dallion’s hand lashed out, shooting a jet of water in the direction of the twin’s talking instance. The water twisted around like a drill head. Before it could reach its target, a sword of magic emerged in the guardian’s hand. Several octagonal patterns formed in the air—spells, but far more different from the type Dallion knew. They were like a precursor to modern magic—with clusters of symbols, but no circles.
As the jet of water smashed through them, it became slower and slower, until it was barely moving. Then, the twin struth it, severing the barely visible threads of magic that gave the liquid its strength. The front of the jet exploded into fine spray, evaporating an inch away from the aether armor.
Suddenly, Dallion realized that he wasn’t taking part in a fight. Even against the weaker one, he never had a chance. The guardian was only prolonging the fight so he could have his conversation.
Harp had been right all along. The reason for her bloodlust wasn’t born out of her desire to slaughter the twin, but to protect Dallion.
“I told you you can’t win.” The guardian shook his head, leaving the aether sword to disappear once more. “Tell me, what is the world like? Have humans joined the strong races?”
Looking at the information rectangle, the twin’s health was still above ten percent. If the chainling died, as the guardian claimed it would, there’d be no hope.
“Yes,” Dallion said. He knew that he was going to change his strategy. “We’re the strongest race left.”
“I knew it would happen, and still it was so difficult to believe.”
“Even the war now is between human empires.” Mostly.
“And the Order?”
“The Order is always neutral…” Nox, buddy, you’ll have to go through some pain. Can you handle that?
Within Dallion’s realm, the crackling snarled in the affirmative.
“It’s still helping all those in need,” Dallion continued. “There are more monasteries every year.”
“All over the globe?”
This world is a globe? “Only in the known world so far, but they are always moving further.”
Several of Dallion’s instances flew to Diroh and Adzorg. Knowing that his allies could see them, he whispered a single word in front of them. With a bit of luck, they would have managed to make it and do as he asked.
“I killed the Star,” Dallion said. “A star,” he quickly corrected himself.
“The Stars…” The guardian frowned. “When I was still in the world, I thought they were the greatest enemy there was. After my exaltation, I saw they were just a nuisance.”
“In what way?”
“Stars come and go. They only bring chaos out of envy, but can never destroy the world.”
“You haven’t met anyone like the Star I’ve been dealing with.” Not to mention that they caused the banishment of entire races. “What about the colossi? Are they a nuisance as well?”
“They’re not a problem in the world. Not anymore,” the being said with absolute conviction. “They’ll never be let back.”
“Unless the barriers are weakened.”
PARTIAL ABSORPTION
Your MAGIC TRAIT is now 34
Another successful hit. Was the twin so confident that he had allowed himself to be hit five times? Dallion had heard that some people wanted to live on the edge, but this was too much. One more successful absorption hit and the vortex would be consumed, bringing to the guardians’ death. Just to be sure, he glanced at the info rectangle once more. The value of the magic trait remained at sixty, as it was supposed to be.
“Do you want me to win?” Dallion asked.
“No,” the other replied.
“Then why give me all the hits?”
“The first one you did on your own. The rest were just a way to illustrate how helpless you are. An outsider with void within, a crippled old man, and a fury that isn’t a fury. Only the Moons themselves can help you get out of here alive.”
Dallion said nothing. He really didn’t want to resort to using the Moonstone, but it seemed like he had no choice. Before that, though, there were a few more hands he had to play.
It’s never over until it’s over… he told himself.
“What is the Eighth Moon?” he asked.
The question brought an explosion of fear within the guardian, one far stronger than Dallion expected.
“There is no Eighth Moon,” he whispered.
“I’ve seen it,” Dallion said. Gem, count to five and show up next to Di, he added mentally in his realm.
“There never was an Eighth Moon!” the guardian shouted. “Lies to keep the faithful away from the deities!”
All but one of the twin’s instances erupted in rage. Weapons Dallion had never seen emerged within their hands, all made of aether: halberds with triple chained daggers instead of blades, scythes with heads as large as a crescent moon, even a crossbow that held eight sets of bolts.
Strikes and projectiles flew at Dallion’s instances, all reinforced by the twin’s octagonal spells. It was at that point that Gem emerged.
Got you! Dallion thought and forced reality.
All the armed instances of the guardian vanished, leaving only the talking one present. Dallion struck forward with his harpsisword again, letting Harp shoot another jet of water. Meanwhile, he drew his aura sword back, as if preparing for a line attack. However, that never happened. Threads of magic shot from the tip of the sword, flying towards the person who had just appeared there—Adzorg.
The guardian drew his sword, evaporating the water attack with one strike.
“Keep the wasps occupied, dear girl,” Adzorg said, as he weaved a completely new type of spell. It was a lot larger than the ones he’d done in the past, also the shape wasn’t circular as was standard, but cubic.
New layers of aether armor appeared around the guardian. Like massive slabs of hardened light, they completely encased him, making him invulnerable for attack. His usual aether sword disappeared, replaced by one three times larger.
Now Dallion saw why his opponent wasn’t worried about having the final vortex point absorbed. It would take dozens of spark attacks to break through that shell, maybe more. Walking a thin line between hope and defeat, he struck forward with his harpsisword once more, performing a multi-attack.
“You can’t win,” the twin said, darting forward straight at the jets of water.
Dallion held his breath. Just then, Adzorg completed his spell.
The cube he was casting turned solid. Thousands of poles shot from its sides, growing in size as they moved forward. Bending around Dallion like an arc, they focused on the vortex guardian, striking him from the sides.
The twin instinctively performed a slashing motion with his sword, aiming to shatter the new constructs. To his surprise, the blade stopped at the first one, incapable of continuing.
CRITICAL STRIKE
Dealt Damage increased by 200%
Hundreds of rectangles emerged as the massive pieces of armor were shattered one after the other. The guardian made an attempt to replace them with new ones, but as many as he created, more were shattered by the merciless poles.
Dallion concentrated, carefully observing every inch of the twin’s armor, waiting for the targeting marker to appear. Two seconds later, it did.
PARTIAL ABSORPTION
Your MAGIC TRAIT is now 35
MAGIC TRANSFER
Level 6 Vortex has absorbed 1 magic from Level 9 Vortex.
Level 9 Vortex has been converted to a Level 8 Vortex
DUAL VORTEX ABSORPTION
(+2 PERCEPTION)
You have managed to absorb magic from both parts of a double vortex. Good start. Now you just have to survive and see it through.
Oh, crap! Dallion thought.
