During the fleeting pause, anticipating Craig’s subsequent response, numerous pivotal junctures race through the consciousness. Each one is retained without omission, progressing towards a distinct pivotal moment of triumph.
Frantically wielding obscure dark magic in every conceivable direction—an instant when, by some means, the energy is harnessed, seeking a slender strand of retaliation.
A transient interlude, a daring gamble for a comeback.
Woooooo!
Seizing and elevating the force’s head that had been driven downward.
In the moment when the intangible power is imbued with will, six bright blue lightning strikes rise, instantly encircling and tightening around Craig.
A unique spell created by mixing control-series magic with the power of electricity.
[Hex]
Crackle!!!!!
“Ugh!!”
By wrapping electricity around the neck and suffocating, Craig’s movement quickly began to subside.
Only then did Lennok exhale with a pale face.
Although it looked fierce at first glance, it was an overwhelming victory.
In an instant, they exchanged over a dozen spells, but the fact that Craig never landed an effective hit proved the gap.
It’s only natural.
Despite Craig’s wealth of experience as a practitioner of dark magic, Lennok’s skill and combat proficiency have started to surpass the limitations of time.
It extends beyond mere adeptness at deflecting the adversary’s assaults.
Lennok has adopted a combat approach that seizes the fundamental objectives.
Lennok’s mastery over magic has outgrown prescribed thresholds, attaining the rank of a true master.
Particularly in encounters against fellow wizards, the notion of defeat becomes challenging to fathom.
Lennok’s comprehensive wizardry talents were propelling them past the confines of a mere high-powered artillery unit.
Even though Craig boasted exceptional prowess as a necromancer and had even readied a countermeasure, the outcome had been predetermined by his decision to forgo employing necromancy.
The two sorcerers exchanged glances across the desolate terrain.
Was this sufficient?
Lennok addressed Craig while contacting the operational team.
“I have something to ask you.”
There existed a further rationale behind abstaining from the use of potent, unique magic and striving for swift victory.
Craig’s life could not be snuffed out at this juncture.
There existed more than just one or two pieces of information that required extraction from his lips.
While inquiring about Reisen’s hidden funds could be the initial step, that wasn’t the reason Lennok had ventured this far.
Something held more significance to him than even Vulcan’s security.
Lennok withdrew the artifact ring granted by Raul and held it before the pained Craig.
GRRR…!
Channeling harmonizing wave energy into the ring through a transmutation of properties, the form of a colossal tree materialized above the ring.
Lennok queried, revealing the shape identical to the tattoo etched beneath Craig’s eye.
“This tree symbol, the tattoo under your eye. I heard it’s related to the wizard family. Tell me everything you know.”
“This is….”
Craig cast a fleeting gaze at the ring, his eyes lightly brimming with surprise, then firmly sealed his lips.
After a brief vacant stare, a forced smirk gradually twisted across his face.
“Ha ha ha…!! Never did I anticipate you possessing this ring. Did you receive it from that old crone, Raul? But then again, he likely remained ignorant of the true significance of this symbol.”
Even though his flesh was pierced by six strands of electrical energy, Craig’s countenance calmed as soon as he recognized the emblem.
A response that defied the realm of sanity in a typical human.
Only then did Lennok distinctly perceive the emotion lurking beyond Craig’s eyes.
It wasn’t a devotion that could be discarded as easily as straw in the pursuit of desires.
It veered toward a form of insanity, an obsession fixated solely on one’s wants.
“I believed that death was the sole offering I could bestow upon the ignorant, yet this alters the equation.”
“What?”
In the interval between asking once more, Craig raised his gaze to the surroundings, his expression clouded with an intoxicated reverie.
“The guardian of the Philenom Lighthouse has passed away, thus signifying the end of ‘observation.’ The heir is evidently diligently preparing to assume the role, but the boundaries between sea and land have already blurred, and the apocalyptic prophecies dreaded by the ascended ones are drawing near.”
“‘Guardian of the lighthouse?'”
Wasn’t that an alternate appellation for the ascender, recognized under the moniker of The Great Seer?
Upon the abrupt mention of the name, Lennok hesitated, and Craig pressed on with his narrative.
“That’s why it has not become difficult to borrow the power of the end, which has now become much closer. Astrologers who read the fate of the sky, and ritualists conducting sacrificial rites, must already be aware of this fact and alerting those around them to the danger.”
Craig’s words flowed as he gazed at the tree-shaped apparition soaring above the ring, a blend of wonder and reverence on his countenance.
Within his eyes, it appeared that all rationale had departed.
In this instant, Lennok grasped the reason behind Craig’s audacious and fearless charge, summoning his magic without a hint of hesitation.
Craig, an adept of the Practical faction skilled in the arts of dark magic, was a master of necromancy.
Yet, what was the significance of his assault on Lennok without the application of necromancy during their combat?
It wasn’t that necromancy was absent.
It had already been in use.
The rite had commenced long ago.
“The form of the tree you now hold signifies Acrotreenia, the Annihilator that devoured a civilization, its boughs extending to the very edges of the heavens…!!! And the deity descending here now symbolizes the great ally of the apocalypse!!!”
KWAAAAAAAAA!
Amid the obscurity of the shared realm.
Within a surreal space that seemed to rupture the fabric of time and space, the phantom of an immense tree manifested.
Although an otherworldly presence, it felt intrinsic, as if it had existed since time immemorial.
Its roots wriggled as though steeped in blood, and its branches drooped as if casting downward gazes.
The mere presence of this specter radiated an overwhelming aura of intimidation, sufficing to gauge its enormity.
In this moment, Lennok comprehended.
What Craig had labeled the ‘artificial domain’ was a platform devised exclusively for summoning this fraction of the apocalypse.
WOOOOOOOONG!!
The potency of energy, so formidable that it defied belief that such might could be considered a mere trace, constricted around Lennok’s breath.
Then, stillness.
The magic circle spun with unbridled frenzy, drawing in the phantom of the tree.
And it thrust the vast essence it had absorbed into the expanse beneath Craig’s feet.
FIZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!
Amid the air tainted with the scent of blood within the tomb-like surroundings, an alien shade of purple energy splattered outward.
Simultaneously, a sapling that had punctured the unyielding floor burgeoned swiftly into a youthful tree.
[AAAAAAA!!!]
Without cessation, as though emptying all the assimilated magic in one instance.
SCREEEEEEECH!!!
An indescribable, bizarre sound, reminiscent of a tree’s growth sped up thousands of times beyond the norm.
THUD!
The spectacle of a youthful tree sprouting through solid steel was an anomaly in itself.
The vista, where leaves began unfurling upon the branches, indirectly illustrated the potency of the entity Craig had conjured.
“The fragment of the apocalypse, you mentioned?”
Lennok murmured.
“Your intention was to initiate necromancy from the outset.”
No reply ensued. Solely echoing back was the mocking laughter of one brimming with assurance in his triumph.
Lennok redirected his attention away from Craig, focusing his scrutiny on the ceaselessly burgeoning young tree.
‘Annihilator… what an imposing title.’
While not comprehending the entirety of Craig’s exposition, Lennok could, at least, discern the underlying intention behind those words.
The Lighthouse Keeper of Philenom, Madrea Falcia, had surveilled the denizens of the outer sea, acting as a guardian against their incursion into this realm. Her passing and the ensuing weakening of her vigilance created a more accessible conduit for others to establish contact with the beings known as ‘the end.’
Such an outcome wasn’t unexpected.
Especially if one considered that this world had originally been conceived as the backdrop for his anticipated enjoyment in ‘WORLD 3.0.’
Setting aside the debate over the authenticity of this reality, isn’t it rational for there to exist adversaries in a world tailored for player engagement?
Even if that adversary assumes the form of a colossal tree-like monster.
Perchance, everything had been predetermined from the outset.
The demise of the Great Seer. The scrutiny of urban governance. The resistance of the dark wizards.
Craig’s sudden entrance.
The tangible presence of genuine monstrosities traversing the outer sea.
Is he being swept along a preordained course, all the while oblivious to the fact?
Whither does the destiny of this world flow?
[The first is a coincidence. The second is inevitable. The third is fate.]
That solitary phrase, retained from the day he clicked ‘WORLD 3.0,’ how profoundly does it shackle him?
With a somber sensation, he let his gaze roam into the distance.
However, the present isn’t the opportune moment for indulging in such contemplations.
“Magic is…”
The desiccated roots, having transformed into a sapling emerging from Craig’s form, avidly commenced siphoning the ambient magic.
Beyond merely making contact with the untethered energies in the vicinity, they insidiously eroded the foundation of Lennok’s protective shield magic, even appropriating that magic.
Despite the crimson-hued roots not directly contacting his person, they endeavored to infringe upon the magical bedrock underlying Lennok’s power.
Agitation surged, and concurrently, Lennok’s focus intensified sharply.
His mastery over mana manipulation, transcending innate aptitude, wasn’t so feeble as to succumb to such interference.
Swiftly regaining command over the magic, Lennok advanced, his hand sweeping through the air.
The momentary, potent magic absorption, formidable enough to tamper even with Lennok’s control, rent through the cavity’s barrier, causing the rugged ceiling of the quarry to collapse.
Kwaaaang!!
The quarry’s ceiling crumbled entirely, disgorging its contents.
“If the floor gives way…!!”
“Watch out!!”
Freelancers—Chen, Hina, Cheisha—and others descended from the airborne heights.
“Damn it!!”
Jaun Odyss, voicing his frustration, also loomed within the scene.
Lennok’s countenance assumed an ambiguous shift due to the unexpected intrusion, but that was to be expected.
The collapsing pit promptly became a hive of activity.
“We’re late.”
Hina alighted with grace, unsheathing her sword as she spoke.
“According to the report, Craig is still within these confines, and Cheisha has also entered. It would be ideal if we could summon Team Leader Marcia…”
Evelyn would be leading the other operatives, entangled in a battle against Reisen.
The fate of either faction hung entirely on the outcome of this mission.
“That jewel thief isn’t taking my rockets. We need a plan.”
Cheisha muttered, punctuating her words with a bubble gum pop.
Lennok, without verbosity, promptly relayed the critical information they needed.
“Niro Cohen is dead. Craig summoned a monster.”
A momentary stiffness marked the expressions of the duo, yet, as seasoned agents, they promptly regained their poise.
“I understand.”
“Well, can’t alter the situation now.”
Cheisha snapped her gum and added,
“He wasn’t a bad old fellow.”
“We have a task at hand. Grieving can come later.”
Hina asserted, leveling her drawn blade with precision at the transmuted figure of Craig.
“At present, the paramount objective is to quell the criminal confronting us.”
“You think I’ll remain idle?”
Thud, thud.
Jaun, stepping forth with an easygoing grin, released the tension from his neck with a chuckle.
“Though it veers slightly from the plan, we’ve achieved partial success by arriving at this point. I can’t tolerate insects like you buzzing around any longer.”
Swoosh!!
He extracted two gems from his attire, clasping them in both hands while adopting a crouched stance.
“If only we eliminate that blasted wizard…!!”
KWAAAANG!!
Before his utterance could conclude, Chen and Jaun collided once more, while Cheisha and the freelancers hastened to contribute covering fire for Chen.
Lennok cast a glance at Hina, who poised to leap into the fray, swiftly restraining her with a grip on her shoulder.
“……Yes?”
“Wait a moment.”
“We don’t have time for this!!”
“I’m not trying to hinder; just hold on.”
Lennok’s words punctuated his gradual gathering of mana, allowing it to course between his digits. Hina flinched as she witnessed the crackling electricity, yet she refrained, placing faith in her past observations.
Observing her, Lennok directed the crackling current directly into Hina’s crown.
“There’s a realization I made while studying ‘Introduction to Necromancy.'”
WIIIIIING!!
Rather than searing through Hina’s skull, the electric potency flowed into her, coursing throughout every crevice of her form.
“I might not wield the incantation itself, but there’s a principle I gleaned from it.”
An incantation of lightning enacted through enchantment.
[Thunder of the Surplus Self(余身雷)]
FIZZLE!!
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