Chương 216

When the weathered stone of the observatory finally came into view, Orion had to pause to process how much it had changed since that morning. What had been a hastily cleared staging area just yesterday was now a fortified, busy encampment. Dozens of reinforced tents dotted the snow, glowing with the ambient warmth of high-tier wards.

Witches in heavy winter cloaks hurried between supply lines, and what looked like a teleportation circle in the center of the courtyard, which glowed with constant packages coming from the Sanctum. It wasn't the kind that could teleport people, since that required ongoing adjustments by the caster to prevent the Void between Worlds from affecting travelers' minds and bodies, but given how large this operation had become, it made sense for the Sanctum to set up a way to quickly deliver materials and supplies here.

That would have been very useful during the campaign on the Belt, but it requires at least a day of prep work and can't be moved after it's cast, since it's fixed on a specific coordinate. Orion led his team directly through the organized chaos, disregarding the curious glances at their battered gear and the unmistakably denser auras emanating from Dorian and Luna.

It would take a couple of days for their signatures to settle, but until then, everyone with a decent Attunement stat would know they had just ranked up. They found Asteria in the main planning chamber, standing over a large topographical map of the Silvermount range, dotted with dozens of green and red markers. Not the same one that still remained in the wyvern's lair at the back of the Observatory, but a copy that had been made and enlarged for everyone's benefit.

She was barking orders at a pair of Magistrae but paused as Orion's squad approached. Her silver eyes scanned them, briefly resting on Dorian and Luna. The corner of her mouth twitched slightly in a subtle sign of pride.

"You made it," Asteria said, dismissing the Magistrae with a wave of her hand.

"And it looks like the mountain has forged a few proper fighters in the process. I assume the mission was a success?" Orion stepped forward, reached into his coat, and pulled out the Void-Silk containment bag, gently setting it on the wooden table.

"The canister in the Shaded Ridge has been neutralized with no collateral damage, and we confirmed the extinction of the local treants." Before his mother could speak, he motioned for Pauline to go on, and she pulled out the remains of the spider Matriarch from her shadows. Asteria's eyebrows rose, and she reached out to test the chitin with her hands.

"A Tier Three monster. And the venom... I see, this isn't just corrupted material. The creature actively metabolized the Silence into a biological weapon."

"That's right," Orion confirmed.

"She somehow survived drinking directly from the canister and used her crystal web to broadcast a dampening effect through the Field that mimics what we know of gaseous Silence, even if it's slightly weaker. We managed to cut the network and put her down."

"You did, didn't you?" Asteria murmured, her gaze shifting to the newly minted Tier Two standing behind him.

"Excellent work. This venom will prove invaluable for synthesizing a localized antidote to the corruption. But given the state you are in and the sheer density of these two's new auras, your team is a liability in the field until you learn to control your output."

"We've moved the dormitories to the inner ring," she explained, gesturing out of the door.

"Take a partition for yourself and rest for the next few hours." Something more was happening in the camp, that much was clear, given the sudden increase in activity, but he was too tired to question her now, so he acquiesced to her request, even as Selene's words rang in his ears. Orion stood with his arms crossed, watching a boulder the size of a wagon hurtle toward his friend.

He had used a [Gravity Cannon] to rip the stone from the earth and hurl it at blinding speed, mimicking the crushing blow of a higher-tier two monster as well as he could. Dorian planted his boots in the snow and called upon the powers of his new class.

"Hold fast," he chanted. A wall of golden light appeared a moment later, all without requiring a physical shield to project outward. Unlike the translucent dome he used to cast, this barrier was composed of thick hexagonal panels that appeared solid. The boulder struck the construct with a loud crack, shattering into a thousand harmless pieces, while the shield didn't even flicker. Once the dust had settled, Orion saw that Dorian hadn't been pushed back even an inch.

Of course, he'd underpowered the spell, but that wasn't the kind of blow Dorian could have withstood before ranking up. If he wanted to break through, he'd actually have to get a bit serious, and that wasn't something they could do without proper supervision. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. He's instinctively understanding how kinetic force is distributed across a geometric plane, Orion thought, suppressing a proud smile.

He doesn't understand the physics, but his intent lines up perfectly with the structure. Seeing Dorian's stunned face, he explained, "Your foundation has grown stronger. As your spells and traits become more in tune with your class, they will grow beyond what you thought possible. Just keep building yourself up, and you'll go far." On the other side of the ledge, Luna was locked in a staring contest with a thick pillar of solid ice Orion had conjured out of the packed snow.

It wasn't exactly a spell, more like an application of kinetic and gravity magic to create a hardened structure, but given how much trouble it caused Luna, it couldn't have been too bad.

"Don't try to break it with a single explosion," Orion instructed, walking over.

"That blunt method might work for pure fire mages, but I doubt they would have an easier time with this either. You, on the other hand, aren't a fire mage, are you? So, focus on your strengths."

"I am trying, you know?" Luna replied, her brow furrowed in concentration. Despite her waspish tone, he knew it was just how she was, to feel frustrated with one problem until she finally managed to solve it, and then act as if it had been no trouble at all. Observing her with [Hypotheticism], he could see that the chaotic fire that once characterized her magic had disappeared. Instead, a tiny, impossibly bright bead of orange light gathered at the tip of the wood, humming like a trapped hornet.

More and more mana gathered, enough that Orion began to worry she might tire herself out, given how unnatural it was to summon in the icy range, but he needn't worry, as the moment it reached a peak, she flicked her wand, and there was a sharp hiss, like a drop of water hitting a hot iron skillet. A razor-thin line of orange light shot from her wand, pierced through the three-foot-thick ice pillar in a split second, and carved a molten hole into the mountain rock behind it.

Along the beam's path, the ice simply vaporized, creating a perfectly smooth tunnel through the center.

"Whoa," Luna breathed, lowering her wand as the edges of the hole glowed cherry-red.

"That took almost no effort to form, but I can feel it now."

"That's because tier two magic is fundamentally different from tier one," Orion replied, and his friends perked up. Even Selene, who had been sitting cross-legged on a stump and meditating while the others worked, opened her eyes and looked at him with curiosity. Suppressing a smile, he pressed on as if he hadn't noticed.

"This isn't exactly orthodox teachings, but I got confirmation from Elder Candra that I'm right, so I don't think there should be any trouble telling you. You see, tier one magic is mostly a power-up compared to cantrips. It is the replication of nature through magical means, and while that can go far, its conceptual structure is limited. Tier-two magic can include far more complex insights and thus be empowered much further.

You have to be careful not to tire yourself out too much, as there are no guiding rails at this level." That was to say nothing of Tier Three magic. Orion had barely dipped his toes into it, having cast it only once with [Gamma Ray] to escape from the factory, and while that had given him some insights, it had not been enough for him to grasp all its intricacies.

Considering that even Pauline, who was an actual tier three witch, had to work hard to cast it, he knew he was being unreasonable when he felt frustrated about his lack of success. I can only do this much because I'm an extra ranker anyway. There are still thirty-five levels left before I can learn all its secrets, like why it is so resistant to the Silence. But that just meant he had a goal to aim for. On the morning of the third day, their downtime officially ended.

They received a set of coordinates from one of Asteria's aides and were sent to the Glacial Crown—a ridge of permanent ice located well above the tree line on a nearby mountain. The air here was so thin it burned the lungs, and the wind howled like a wounded animal. According to the map, a canister had been dropped deep into a glacial ravine.

They found it resting at the bottom of a sheer ice cliff, leaking its poison into the frozen aquifer, which would cause an ecological disaster once true summer arrived and it thawed just a little. Unfortunately, it wasn't alone. Rising from the frozen lakebed was a monstrosity born of centuries-old ice and corrupted mana. It stood fifteen feet tall, its body made of translucent panels held together by grey veins of the Silence. It had no face, only a gaping maw of grinding ice shards.

Corrupted Glacial Elemental - Lesser Frost Titan Class: Guardian of the Deep Cold [C-rank] Level: 67 Mind: 29 Attunement: 270 Body: 129 Traits: Absolute Zero Body [C-rank]; Shatter-Proof Ice [C-rank]; Silence Aura [C-rank] They were on it before the elemental even realized what danger it was in. As the first volley struck, the Titan roared and swung an arm as large as a tree at them, aiming to knock them from the air onto the ice sheet, where its powers would be more effective.

"Mine!" Dorian shouted, turning his broom handle downward and flying to meet the blow directly. The golden hexagons of his new shield spell flared into existence, angling slightly to intercept the attack.

The massive ice club slammed into the shield, and although its sheer weight should have sent Dorian flying across the ravine, the golden shield absorbed the blow, perfectly dispersing the destructive force across its surface and redirecting the arm outward, where it collided with the rocky mountain, sending dust and debris flying in all directions.

"Is that all you have, you overgrown icicle?" Dorian taunted, pounding his steel shield against his breastplate. The elemental roared, using the surrounding cold to instantly heal its broken limb. It lifted both arms, ready to bring them down with a powerful overhead strike. That was when Orion cast a targeted gravity spell on the elemental's left knee, making that joint ten times heavier. The Titan lurched as its upper body swung with the blow, while its left leg suddenly sank into the ice.

The awkward momentum caused it to lurch forward, leaving its broad chest completely exposed.

"Selene!" he called out. She cast a blur of silver mana directly in front of its faceless head, and while the intense flash of pure light didn't damage the ice, it temporarily scrambled the elemental's mana-sense, causing it to thrash blindly.

"Luna, end it!" The girl aimed her wand, locking onto the core hidden deep inside the elemental's frozen chest cavity.

"Burn," she whispered, and a lance of fire shot across the ravine, melting through three feet of magical ice, vaporizing the core and releasing the Silence still trapped within its icy armor. The Elemental froze as the grey veins of corruption running through its body blackened, and a moment later, the magic holding it together completely failed. It collapsed into a harmless heap of ordinary snow and ice boulders. +37. 300 Exp Barely enough to make the trip worth it, but anything is better than nothing.

The others were much more jubilant about their easy victory against an opponent that would have outclassed them just a few days earlier, but unfortunately, the good mood didn't last long. The moment they returned to the Observatory, Orion knew something was wrong, as the usually chaotic peak had become almost eerily silent. I guess I'm finally getting an answer.