"Hey you! You shouldn't just go around killing people so recklessly."
Nick heard the voice, but didn't like its patronizing tone, so he did not respond to it. He just thought:
(Looks like there were other people watching us.)
No sooner than Nick had this thought, a man dressed in a tan-colored magician's robe emerged from the entrance that Jezda had used earlier. The man had long, straight, green hair, a tanned, white complexion, and dark eyes. Nick did not turn to look at the man. Instead, he observed Jezda's body for a while before he mused:
(Oh. She's not dead.)
The new comer was also observing Jezda's condition, and soon spoke, his voice clearly being amplified by magic:
"Jezda, he has already noticed that you are still alive. You will not be able to make a surprise attack. Heal your body before you actually die."
(Persistent Flames - Living Fire)
Nick heard the man's words, and was secretly glad that his suspicions were confirmed. He watched on as the lower, and upper halves of Jezda were suddenly engulfed flames, following which, the blue flames moved to combine into one entity.
A few seconds later, the flames dissipated, and the seemingly healed Jezda appeared half-kneeling on the ground. Her breathing was labored, though. She looked up at Nick with annoyance, and defiance just a few feet away from him.
Nick returned her gaze with his usual indifferent expression before looking towards Galen, and asking:
"Have I won the battle, or not? After this woman used her life saving method, she is clearly drained of power."
Jezda's body shook in anger when she heard Nick's words, but she could note refute him:
(Living fire also has a passive ability that performs extreme healing after I have received a life threatening injury. It is not that special because many powerful inheritances have such a life saving method. Mine comes at the cost of all my magic energy, and a great deal of my physical energy, though. This Nick Capitol is really hateful. I had a magic tool prepared for times like this that would have allowed me one last attack, but he never dropped his guard…)
Galen observed Jezda carefully for a few seconds before announcing his decision:
"Nick Capitol has won the battle. Jezda Auburn, thank you for your service."
Jezda's body shook in anger again after she was thanked for losing. Her mind roared:
(Son of a bitch! This is the most humiliation that I have ever suffered…)
Pleased with the result, Nick stored Hard Marvel back into one of his space bands, canceled Seeker Instinct, Soul Haze, and Dragon Form, deactivated Sheer Soul, and forced Dragon Armor to recede into being imperceptible. That way, the consumption of his latter spell no longer exceeded his passive recovery while he kept it active. The existing black haze quickly faded from the fighting area.
Galen didn't really know what to say regarding Nick. The man's power was unfathomable even though he himself was ranked one stage higher:
(He maintained so many high quality spells for so long. His magic energy holding capacity should be above average, which means that it is more than 60,000 magical units…)
Nick removed his left hand from his left pants pocket, and was about to join Galen in the spectator stands when the green-haired Magician approached his, and Jezda's position, saying:
"Hello. My name is Phelix Orville. I am a rank 3 Inspector like Jezda. I am also her friend, which is why I was watching your battle from the beginning. Although I didn't like that you sliced her in two without hesitation, I do think well of your power. Do you mind being recruited by my Orville family?"
At this time, Jezda began to slowly stand up while scolding her supposed friend:
"Phelix! Couldn't you have waited until I left to attempt this? You are really shameless."
Phelix chuckled a bit before replying:
"You know that I never hesitate when I see an opportunity."
Nick turned slightly to place his vision on Phelix, after which, he gave his reply:
"No thanks. I don't want to join any families, so don't bother pressing the issue. I am leaving."
Nick felt suspicious about Phelix:
(He says that he was here since the beginning but Spatial Awareness never exposed him. He must not be simple. Based on the faint magic energy that he is leaking, he seems to be rank 3 middle stage…)
Phelix had maintained a neutral expression since he had revealed himself, which did not change when Nick turned down his offer. He responded using a polite tone:
"I see. Well then, I hope that you find success in your endeavors."
Phelix continued to walk pass Nick so that he could stand beside Jezda, who was standing completely upright at this point. Nick was about to leave when Jezda attracted his attention with her words:
"Hey! You won this time, but now that I am familiar with your power, I will wreck you next time. I already know where to find you for a rematch."
Phelix slightly smiled in response to Jezda's stubborn attitude, but Nick simply sighed without saying anything. His black miasma magic energy quickly engulfed him before he activated Cursed Vessel, at which point, the black miasma transformed into red-blue aura that vanished the next moment along with Nick.
Nick then instantly reappeared, standing beside Galen. He asked the older man:
"May I have the goods now?"
Galen could not delay once the battle had concluded in Nick's favor. All the Necessary paperwork had been submitted, and he even had the hope marrow stored within his space band. Therefore, he summoned a thirty kilogram parcel in the form of a sealed, brown box between Nick, and himself before he spoke a few words:
"It's all yours. Your first payment is due at the end of the month."
Nick had already signed papers that gave him the details of the transaction, so Galen wasn't saying anything that he was unaware of. He quickly stored the parcel into one of his space bands before engulfing himself with black miasma, which then turned into red-blue aura that vanished along with him.
Phelix, and Jezda were watching the hand-over the whole time, and once Nick left, Phelix asked Jezda:
"What an interesting movement method. He covers his physical body with magic energy before it turns to magic power. How did it feel fighting against him?"
Jezda grumpily replied:
"The fight induced a headache. That guy is not simple. He was even holding back, and I still couldn't beat him. Though, that was not because my spells lacked explosive power that could hurt him, but because he was more developed in other areas."
Phelix responded:
"It's good that you are so self-aware. Let's go get some lunch at the cafeteria before we talk about how you can improve. Oh, I hear that your little brother has joined the Ministry of Magic's military. Let's also make plans regarding that."
Jezda didn't feel like eating now, or talking about her brother, but Phelix really was her close friend, and she did not want to disappoint him after he stayed to watch her fight. She assented:
"...Okay."
While Phelix and Jezda left through one of the large entrances, Galen made a call to someone using his smartphone. The other person accepted the call quickly:
"What is it?"
"It's about Nick Capitol, and the hope marrow. It looks like another interesting Magician has appeared…"
**************************************************
By the time that Nick had retrieved the hope marrow, it was near sundown, and so Nate had already went home. This was no real problem for him of course since he just had to use Spatial Awareness' power to get a decent image of his building before activating Cursed Vessel to teleport there.
Spatial Awareness worked especially well when the environment was filled with non-magical beings like the situation in London's commercial districts. His property was only a few kilometers away as well. In quick succession, Nick appeared within his fourth floor office.
He sat in his office chair, and made a call to Riley, who usually stayed at work very late. She accepted the call quickly:
"This is Riley."
"Hey, it's Nick. I need you to procure some magic materials, and get them to me as soon as possible. I'll send you an email with a list."
"Oh, alright. By the way Nick, how have you been?"
Nick went silent for a moment after Riley asked him that. He momentarily took the smartphone from his right ear to look at the screen blankly before placing it back to say:
"Ahhh…I've been doing fine, I guess."
"That's good. You know, I don't think I have every seen you taking some leisure time. That isn't good for the body, not that I am lecturing you, you know. Anyway, I will get you your items as soon as I can."
"...Sure."
Nick ended the call, and placed his smartphone into his right pants pocket. He was a little perturbed:
(Why was she speaking to me so warmly? Did I imagine it? I don't think that I'm that imaginative…weird.)
Nick ignored the experience, and sent Riley the email. Following that, he started making plans:
(With the hope marrow in hand, what I need to do now is to decide which rank 4 magic beast to prey on. It needs to be alive when I extract its magic energy. It also needs to be completely healthy, unmaimed, and be of a path which matches one of my highest affinities.)
Going after a rank 4 magic beast was, plainly speaking, suicide for a rank 3 Magician, but Nick was determined to do it, and that was only because he was a soul path scholar. Because of his high attainment, he could possibly create a favorable outcome despite the odds if he prepared enough.
(Many rank 4 Magicians do not attempt to fight rank 4 magic beasts alone, but I likely will have to in a sense. I am really pulling myself out of my comfort zone, here.)
Nick summoned his laptop from his space band onto his desk, and started doing some research. After a few hours, he decided on what magic beast he was going to go after, and what realm he needed to visit to find it:
(I will be going after the rank 4 misfire dragon. It is a rank 4 magic beast at the lower rungs of power among dragons of the same rank. It also belongs to the space path.)
Nick had his reasons for choosing to go after a dragon, which was likely to be stronger than many other species of magic beast:
(I still remember the awesome pressure of the qi path dragon that I encountered in Forgotten Peril; I want to approach that kind of menacing strength. Not to mention that I have a kind of draconic bloodline, and talent. There is also the dragon residing in my mindscape. These latter signs indicate to me that I should interact with dragons more; that's it.)
When thinking about how he was going to hunt such a magic beast, he first contemplated getting access to the right realm:
(Misfire dragons can be found in the realm, Wide Crag. The only way to get access to that realm is through the Nefari family, the only family with access rights to that realm. Luckily, they have a company that allows third parties to make use of some of their exclusive realms for a price. Since I still have to pay off the loan from the Magicians Association, I will have to make part payment this month to ensure that I have enough Capital to visit Wide Crag.)
Nick didn't need much time to prepare since he already had most of what he needed stored within his space bands. Despite losing a lot in Forgotten Peril, he was actually still fairly well-off. He only needed the materials that Riley would procure.
(I didn't request those materials from the Magicians' Association because better deals might be available elsewhere. Riley is the procurement specialist, so it is up to her to decide where the materials come from.)
In the mean time, Nick spent two days meditating, and planning until Riley came to his office. She dumped the requested materials onto his floor using her space band. Nick thanked her, expecting her to leave afterwards, but she stayed, which made Nick feel awkward. He soon asked:
"Do you need something?"
Riley opened her mouth, then closed it, before opening it again, and finally making a request:
"Do you mind if I bring my brother to work for a few days to take a look at the magic materials, formations, and equipment that we have? Although he is just in his mid-twenties, he is about to graduate Raylam Priest Academy. I would like to give him an advantage over other graduates by allowing him to gain valuable experience in a real company."
Nick was caught off guard by the request, but it didn't make him suspicious, or anything, so he assented:
"You can have him look at our operation, but if he makes any trouble, I will ask you for an explanation."
Riley nodded her head once, saying:
"Thank you, Nick."
She left after that while Nick mused:
(Must be nice to have help from family…)
Nick soon placed those thoughts out of mind, and focused on his next actions. He inspected the magic materials, which included a mix of plants, metals, and dried magic beast parts. Most of them were soul path materials, and some space path. Nick stored them into his space bands before muttering:
"I'm ready."
Black miasma immediately engulfed him, following which, the miasma turned to red-blue aura, and then vanished along with Nick.
*****************************************************
At a commercial district in London called Canturberry Pines, a ten storey office building stood in the most populous area where shops that sold little magical gadgets, and apparel also resided. The building was painted a rustic, red color, was made from mostly stone-like material, had only a few glass-like windows, and had a large signboard at its front that read, Nefari Travel Company.
Non-magicians could be seen everywhere, either loitering in designated rest areas, or visiting the stores. Even non-magicians on Grand Earth were fascinated with magic, and even though they could not really command it, that did not stop them from being close to those that could, or interacting with objects imbued with it.
Canturberry Pines was just one of many commercial districts where magic tools, and items, or services for even the common man could be bought, and sold freely.
Within the offices of the Nefari Travel Company, the ground floor reception hall had several rows of silver, throne-like seats reserved for its customers. The floor was well-carpeted using magic beast material that consisted of thick red fibers. A few people were currently present, scattered in the hall, and discussing matters with their associates.
There was a grand reception desk at the very far end of the hall made of copper-colored stone that surrounded the female Magician sitting there on three sides like a sharp cornered 'U'. The woman seemed to be in her late twenties, had flowing, long, blonde hair, pale-white skin, and dark eyes; she wore a yellow, and white colored magician's robe.
A Magician wearing a dark-green magician's robe slammed his fist against the service counter, complaining:
"What do you mean that Chill Stone is not open for travel, right now? We had a deal!"
The man had a wide girth, a slightly scarred face, olive-colored skin, short, grey hair, dark eyes, and seemed to be middle-aged. He appeared enraged, in response to which the blonde-haired woman said:
"Sir, we did, but certain Magicians have priority use of the realm, and they are now using it for an expedition. Unrelated parties are strictly prohibited from being sent there at this time."
The middle-aged Magician sneered:
"Certain Magicians? Who here does not know how you Nefaris operate. I bet that someone discovered some valuable resources, and your family acted to restrict news and access immediately. Chill Stone is relatively small so your family is trying to control the situation. You people are shameless!"
The female Magician coolly replied:
"Good sir, do not slander us Nefaris. We always operate on the up-and-up. Do you want me to show you some testimonials from satisfied clients?"
The middle-aged Magician almost spit blood after he heard that question. He shook in anger, and seemed as if he was about to pounce on the woman, but a scholarly-looking man appeared from the side door, and tried to ease the situation.
"Sigh, it is unfortunate that Chill Stone suddenly became restricted, but we are helpless in this matter; my rank 2 friend there has already told you so. Don't worry, sir. You will get a full refund for your troubles."
The scholarly-looking man seemed to be in his early thirties, had pale-white skin, short, blonde hair, dark eyes, and wore a purple and red magician's robe. The middle-aged Magician glared angrily at the Magician trying to calm the situation, but soon cooled his temper when he sensed the rank 3 middle stage magic energy being emitted by the man.
The middle-aged man then stood up straight, and spoke with more decorum:
"...Well, you people should really make sure that things are more fair for your customers. I will drop the matter this time because I am your senior."
The man shamelessly said that despite being only rank 3 initial stage himself, but he did not expect that the man would retaliate against him with so many other customers around. The scholarly-looking man's genial expression deepened as he threatened in response:
"If you keep making a scene, I will gut you where you stand. Please accept the full refund."
The middle-aged Magician unconsciously took a step back in discomfort at being threatened while every other customer laughed at his situation:
"Ha! Old Jock, it looks like you have met your match today, huh?"
"Just go explore a different realm. There are better ones than Chill Stone, anyway. Why raise an issue?"
"He must be trying to impress the little cutie at the counter with his bravado."
…
The Magician called Jock stepped back continuously while his face flushed red. He then turned around, and spoke with stubbornness in his tone:
"No need for a refund. I will come back another day when Chill Stone is open for travel, again."
The scholarly-looking Magician openly sighed before replying:
"Have it your way, sir."
Jock left the reception hall on foot in a hurry while the other customers still laughed. On his way through the glass double-doors, he encountered a white-haired man with strange, spiraling, blue eyes. Jock instinctively glared at him, but the man only returned an indifferent glance before walking through the glass doors.
Nick wore a black, and grey polo shirt, a blue denim jacket, a pair of dark-blue jeans pants, a pair of black leather gloves, and a pair of black leather combat boots. By the time that he entered, everyone had already stopped laughing. Nick went up to the reception desk where the blonde female, and male Magicians were still present. He spoke to them plainly:
"I need to get access to Wide Crag. What is the cost?"
The female Magician responded politely, sensing Nick's rank 3 magic energy:
"Wide Crag is not one of our popular realms, but it is rich in various magic materials. That being the case, the cost for entry is ₤50,000,000 pounds."
Nick mused:
(Sure enough, it is expensive. As expected of the Nefari family. Normal Magicians cannot afford such a price, but it ensures that only worthy Magicians, and good companies have access to the resources within the realm. To be honest, a rank 3 Magician would probably be able to make a few times that amount if they spent some months in a resource rich realm by selling the magic materials that they find.)
Nick replied:
"I will make the transfer now. When is the soonest that I can leave?"
The rank 3, scholarly-looking Magician answered this time instead of the rank 2 female:
"As soon as you make the full payment."
Nick nodded his head once in response, following which, he took out his smartphone from his right pants pocket, and made a bank transfer to the Nefari Travel Company. After showing the two Magicians the electronic receipt, the rank 3 Magician said:
"Follow me."
The rank 3 Magician led Nick through the side door that he himself had emerged from earlier. Beyond the door was a long hallway with many brown, wooden doors as far as the eye could see. To Nick, the hallway was clearly being manipulated by space magic. The walls were made of hard, grey, cuboid stones.
The rank 3 Magician brought Nick to one door several meters down the hall on the right side, and then told him:
"This door is linked to an outpost in Wide Crag belonging to our Nefari family. It is linked to a few space path formations, so you just need to enter through it to get to the realm. You will only be able to return through our channels using the outpost. We will not be held responsible if you die in Wide Crag, either."
Nick replied to the Magician's words simply:
"I get it."
The Magician maintained his genial expression as he opened the door, revealing a dark void beyond it. Nick had no suspicions about the man's intention, since Magicians usually made sure that customers would have a reason to purchase their services more than once.
Nick proceeded to walk through the door, at which point, he disappeared from view. The Magician then closed the door, and returned to the reception hall.
*****************************************************
Nick suddenly found himself in front of a door in what looked like a tavern that you would see in fantasy anime. There were wooden tables, sofas, and chairs, people eating, and drinking, and various staff that walked around attending to customers.
One such staff walked up to Nick while sporting a genial expression. The man was wearing an all-black pants suit, and leather shoes. He had dark skin, well-groomed hair, and dark eyes. The man also appeared to be a rank 2 Magician. The staff inquired:
"Do you need help, sir?"
Nick replied:
"I need a map of Wide Crag, and I also need to know where I can find misfire dragons."
The man looked at Nick weirdly when he heard the latter's demand. He thought:
(Why would he want to go looking for misfire dragons? The weakest ones are rank 3, but the strongest ones can have strength equivalent to rank 4 late stage. Maybe he wants to go suicide.)
The staff already noticed that Nick was rank 3, so there was no doubt in his mind that Nick wanted to throw his life away, but even so, he would do his job correctly. The staff summoned a rolled-up map from his space band before handing it to Nick, and saying:
"Misfire dragons are actually not that hard to find in Wide Crag, because they are territorial, and stay within the Samsar region. They are not the only troublesome magic beasts that live there, so be careful, sir. The map is free."
The staff gave Nick a polite bow before moving on to assist another customer. Nick went to an empty table where he unfurled the map, and began studying it. He spent one hour looking it over before he furled it, and stored it into one of his space bands.
Nick was about to head for the door, but a Magician intercepted him at his table, and began speaking:
"Hey, you look like a fresh, young face. You do know that Wide Crag has rank 4 magic beasts, right? Because of that, it is better to travel in parties, you know. Why don't you join up with me to go on an adventure?"
The man was a head taller than Nick, seemed to be in his mid-thirties, had tanned, white skin, brown eyes, and a head full of short, black hair. He wore a red, and black magician's robe along with a pair of combat boots. Nick easily noticed that the man was a rank 3 middle stage Magician, so he replied politely:
"I do not intend to travel with companions. I will be going now."
Nick walked past the Magician, and proceeded to leave the Nefari outpost through the wooden, front double-doors. Their interaction was simple, but the face that the man made as he watched Nick leave revealed that he had felt slighted by Nick's frank rejection.
When Nick exited the outpost, he took a good look at the surroundings, and the building itself. The surrounding area seemed to have been intentionally cleared and made into flat, arid land, while the outpost stood erect at the center, made from some kind of brown wood, and constructed over a concrete-like foundation.
The clearing seemed to have a radius of about four hundred meters, while beyond that was a large expanse of bronze-colored trees, and sparse hills.
Nick cast Dragon Hold, following which a special space formed all around him that had a radius of about one meter. Nick used the spell's power to raise himself off the ground by sixty meters before he flew off in the direction of Samsar, thinking:
(It is probably not safe traveling at high altitude, but I doubt that it is safe to travel among those trees below either. I shouldn't use Space Craft. If a rank 4 magic beasts shows up, the magic formation can't hold out against it, anyway, and otherwise, its radiated magic power will just constantly attract powerful, territorial magic beasts.)
Understanding those things, Nick chose to fly using his bare body that was more maneuverable, and flexible than Space Craft.
(The region that I am currently in is called Boser, and is about five days away from Samsar at my current speed. Come to think of it, one day on Grand Earth is about five days in Wide Crag. I'm not going to rush, but I'd rather get my mission done quickly…yeah, that's not likely.)
Nick openly sighed, and continued flying. After a few hours of flying, a magic beast began following him. This magic beast looked like the skeleton of a winged horse except that it had glowing red eyes, and was the size of an elephant; its insides seemed like hollow darkness. It was clearly rank 3, and had black magic power being exuded from it bony wings. Nick internally commented:
(A dark path magic beast? I'll deal with it…)
Nick stopped flying away, and readied himself to do battle with the magic beast by summoning his soul path sword, Stoic Grave, into his right grip. He then entirely covered his right arm with the charcoal-black scales of Tyrant Armor, and activated Sheer Hold before casting another spell:
(Dragon Form.)
When the magic beast had reached within one meter of him, Nick exuded black miasma that engulfed him before activating Cursed Vessel. The resulting black miasma turned red-blue aura immediately vanished along with Nick. Within the next moment, Nick reappeared at the magic beast's right side, and swung Stoic Grave down.
The magic beast's bony frame was hard, but Nick's magic power was too fierce. Stoic Grave cut through the bone with slight resistance, and then also cut through the darkness beneath. Surprisingly, black-blue blood sprayed out from the darkness as the magic beast shrieked in pain. Nick ignored the black-blue blood, even when it stained his clothes.
Before Stoic Grave left the magic beast's body, it brightly flashed with grey blade light that almost instantly enveloped the entire magic beast. Loud, beastly shrieks of pain followed, being made by the magic beast until those shrieks ceased five seconds later when the magic beast fell out of the sky towards the trees below while soaked in its own black-blue blood.
The grey blade light quickly dissipated after that, and Nick stored Stoic Grave back into one of his space bands, canceled Dragon Form, deactivated Sheer Hold, and caused Tyrant Armor's scales to recede completely. Nick was satisfied with his current power, and had no interest in the carcass of the fallen rank 3 magic beast.
(Magic beast carcasses can be sold but rank 3 carcasses only attract a satisfactory price when sold in bulk. I can make more money from extracting minerals.)
Nick flicked his right index finger, and as if responding to him, the surrounding power of Dragon Hold forced the blood that had caused the black-blue stains on Nick's clothes to separate from him, and fall towards the ground. Nick continued flying to his destination thereafter.
Over the next few days, Nick realized that the magic beasts weaker than rank 3 were intentionally avoiding him. When flying rank 3 magic beasts appeared, and followed him, Nick would turn around, and kill them. Some took longer to kill than others, but most could be dispatched with a little over a dozen swings of Stoic Grave, or less.
Nick always knew that blade magic was very efficient when it came to killing, so he was not at all surprised at his efficiency. On the fifth day of his travels, Nick finally flew down to the ground because he had discovered a wide lake with sparse trees around it, and wanted to rest there before entering the Samsar region.
The ground was a shade of dull-green, and consisted of mostly hard dirt, and stone. The trees were still bronze-colored, but most of them near the lake had grey spots on them. The lake itself had murky, grey water that was impossible to see through without a scouting method.
Nick did not approach the lake, and sat cross-legged two hundred meters away from it. He canceled Dragon Hold, and summoned a bag of butter bread from one of his space bands. Nick had never ditched his habit of eating his most beloved snack. After eating, Nick quietly looked up at the cloudy, grey skies for close to two hours, after which, he muttered:
"I hope I am doing the right thing."
He the got up from his sitting position, and was about to cast Dragon Den again when his Spatial Awareness talent showed him the image of a man fast approaching his position by riding on a moving mound of earth that was ten meters high. Many trees were ripped out of the ground, and thrown away as the man moved closer to Nick.
Nick easily recognized the man that was approaching him. He was the same Magician whose invitation to party-up Nick refused at The Nefari outpost. The man's short, black hair seemed oily, and his expression appeared a little down-cast at this time.
Nick wondered:
(Has he been following me this entire time?)
Nick simply stood on the spot as the man approached, and when the man reached within sixty meters of him, he concentrated magic energy into his throat, so that he could speak to the man clearly without shouting:
"Come any closer, and you will regret it."
The man immediately stopped the earth mound from moving any further, but his expression turned into one of mockery, and disdain. He spoke at this time using the same trick that Nick had used:
"Do you regret it now? You refused to party with me back at the outpost, and now you are alone with someone who is at a higher stage than you. Listen, I won't be hard on you. Just give me everything that you possess, and I will let you off the hook. I swear."
Nick raised is right eyebrow in slight surprise:
(Robbery, really? He is literally surrounded by magic resources. Why does he need to rob me? He even has higher cultivation than me.)
Nick silently shook his head to show his refusal to do as the man had said. The rank 3 middle stage Magician wickedly grinned as if he was hoping that Nick would reject him again. Without delay, the man exuded a massive cloud of formless magic energy before the ground started to rumble. Nick mused:
(I am sensing the magic energy signature of earth path. That plus the moving mound likely means that he is an earth path Magician…)
Only a moment later, the ground over two dozen meters in front of Nick writhed, and then rose up over thirty meters to form into the shape of two morning stars that were each the size of houses. The rank 3 middle stage Magician, who was wearing a red magician's robe at this time spoke again:
"This is your fault. I'll take what you have after you die, then."
While he said those words, he thought:
(The moment that you rejected me, you were living on borrowed time. I didn't get to rank 3 middle stage by living down slights, no matter how small…)
The earthen morning stars suddenly slammed down towards Nick's position. They moved like two cold guillotines - swift, and fatal. Knowing that his opponent had higher cultivation, Nick was not intending to hold back.
He immediately folded his left hand into his right hand, and cast his spell:
(Malevolent Shrine.)
The space within hundreds of meters of Nick was suddenly enveloped by a seemingly solid, pitch-black void. Thousands of scattered, pale-white bones appeared, scattered in the surroundings, and a decrepit temple that was about fifteen meters tall stood erect behind Nick.
The Earth Magician's eyes opened wide at perceiving the sudden change. He became wary of Nick's magic power:
(This spell has to be at least rank 3 advanced grade. Shit…I've met a hard stone.)
When the earthen morning stars reached within twenty meters of him, they were instantly split into thousands of small pieces that crumbled to the ground. Nick stood on the spot, his mind having grown a little fuzzy from the use of Malevolent Shrine:
(Malevolent Shrine cost me 75,000 magical units in one go. The cost was probably that high because this guy's cultivation is higher than mine. Hopefully I can put him out of commission without too much surprises…huh?)
Before Nick could act further to kill the Earth Magician, a portion of the solid void created using Malevolent Shrine's power shattered. First, it shattered at a relatively small area, but then the void's cracks spread in a spiderweb pattern to include the entire void within seconds.
Following that, Malevolent Shrine fell apart, and was dispelled against Nick's wishes. The scattered bones, and the decrepit temple swiftly disappeared as a result, and Nick was left standing on the spot with his hands still folded together, shocked:
(What happened!)
No sooner than he had that thought, a male voice resounded:
"Yo! Samuel, I thought that you said you would dispatch that guy quick, quick. It looked like you were in one hell of a pickle, though."
A man wearing a dark-grey magician's robe approached the Earth Magician that he called Samuel while carrying a copper-colored war hammer over his right shoulder. The man seemed to be in his mid to late thirties, had a muscular body, tanned, white skin, short, brown hair, and dark eyes. All the while talking to Samuel, he kept his eyes on Nick.
Samuel looked at the man, and replied to him:
"I had things under control, but this man is tougher than I thought he would be. Although I told you before to hang back, I would like your help so that I don't waste too much time. We still have a huge distance to cross before we get to our destination. Interested, Becker?"
The grey-robed Magician licked his lips, and slammed his war hammer down onto the ground, resting it there. When his war hammer met the earth, and sunk into it, waves of magic power in the form of copper-colored sparks spread into the surrounding earth, which caused steam to rise from it in thick, but well spaced streams.
The man spoke to Samuel plainly:
"I want half of any loot that we take from him."
At that point, Nick sensed that the new comer was also rank 3 middle stage, and his expression became stern. Samuel agreed to the demands of the man that he called Becker immediately:
"Half is yours. Now, help me."
Becker smiled fiendishly before picking up his war hammer again using both hands. Samuel eyed Nick like he was facing a great enemy, and preparing to cast another spell. Browned-colored magic power was emitted from Samuel, and rose into the sky like smoke.
Becker, and his war hammer suddenly developed copious amounts of copper-colored sparks as he took steps forward towards Nick. At this time, Samuel quickly warned Becker:
"I doubt that he can pull of another spell like the one that you broke through for a while, but keep your guard up just in case."
Becker dismissed Samuel's concerns openly:
"Just watch. A pup like this cannot get the drop on me so easily."
Sensing the intense magic power of the two men in front of him, Nick knew that he was in a dangerous position, but he was already resolved not to doubt himself at this time:
(I can win! I won't die here.)
A line of blood suddenly fell from Nick's right nostril as he activated his spell again, this time having it consume 110,000 magical units of his magic energy:
(Malevolent Shrine.)
The surroundings within a few hundred meters of Nick was once again enveloped by a seemingly solid, pitch-black void, while thousands of pale-white bones were scattered onto the ground, and a fifteen-meter-high, decrepit temple appeared behind Nick.
Samuel was shocked that Nick was somehow using the same powerful spell again so soon:
(This is impossible! A spell like this would require a massive amount of magic energy. Not only that, but it is likely that this kind of spell has a cool down period too.)
Becker only looked around in disinterest at the manifestation of Malevolent Shrine:
(Since I had so easily broken through it before using my rupture hammer, this time will probably be no different. This spell is only a paper tiger…)
Unfortunately for Becker, even before Samuel could warn him again, or resolve his own advanced grade spell, Nick willed for Malevolent Shrine's power to go to work. In an instant, both men only felt a light breeze flow past them before they lost control of their magic power, and could no longer move.
Before Nick even blinked, he witnessed both Samuel, and Becker sliced into hundreds of pieces with many lines of blood being clearly visible on their bodies before those pieces tragically separated. The flesh of both men then fell to the ground, creating two distinct messes.
SILENCE
The black void, the scattered bones, and the decrepit temple all then dissipated, and Nick fell to the ground, lying spread eagled on his back. He soon wiped the blood from his face using his right hand, and smiled, saying:
"I won't ever doubt myself again."