Chương 82: Interlude 8

Supreme Warlady Elena Burstock My foot slammed down onto the barren landscape, shattering the ground, as I continued rushing forward towards the College of Advancement. I stopped by the Last Bastion on the way up out of the dungeon and learned the location of Legend Xanatos. He was present in Undercraft, beneath the College of Advancement. He was targeting my son again. He would not live no matter what.

My foot slammed into the ground again, causing a minor earthquake as I propelled myself forward, flying through the air, Sarah in hand, my Mana thrumming beneath my skin. My messy golden hair trailed behind me, but I didn't mind. Ensuring my hair was properly done up was far less important than trying to save my son. I saw the Ice-Capped Mountains in the distance. I continued my rapid pace to reach them and Undercraft. As for the dwarves getting upset, they didn't matter in my mind. Only my son did.

I wouldn't hurt them, but I also wouldn't help them. Those who would harm my son had a plan to deal with me. The Dark Cabal employed traps and terrorism, seeking to destroy the world, allowing the ultimate being to appear from the endless conflict. At least that was what they claimed when they weren't being criminals and terrorists. I may disagree with my fellow Supreme Legends on most things, but civilization was important for growth.

The Mathemancer demonstrated this through his College and structured skill advancement. I landed at the main tunnel entrance to Undercraft. The road broke apart, and a crater appeared where I landed. I hurried, but I stayed on the ground. I ignored the dwarves' shouts. I knew the location of my target through a rare tier 5 skill called Locked Endless Pursuit. If I knew the name, appearance, and enough other information about a target, I could lock onto them.

I couldn't change targets with my skill until the target was dead. Xanatos was safe behind his anonymity, but once I knew his name, a Divination specialist was all I needed for the rest. Normally, I wouldn't use this skill or get a divination done, but Xanatos had crossed a line he shouldn't have crossed. Now he was going to die, nothing would stop me. I emerged from the tunnel into Undercraft. There! I leaped into the air." Air Platform." A platform of air formed underneath my bent legs, and I kicked off it.

A sonic boom echoed throughout the enormous cavern that held this city under the Ice-Capped Mountains. I angled my sword, Sarah, in front of me and sliced through the air, using a basic application of Mana Manipulation. I hadn't gone this far before, since I didn't want to exhaust my Mana before the battle. Now that my target was close, there was no need to hold back. There was a burst of blue and red lightning as a massive wave of Mana exploded outwards from Xanatos' position. I didn't hesitate in the slightest.

I would cut through anything he sent towards me. A giant Winged Serpent emerged from the pillar of multi-colored lightning." SLICE!"" Force Nullification!" It wasn't The Mathemancer, but a cloaked figure who could only be Xanatos, since my skill had locked onto him. He floated above my attack, which continued forward, cutting through the large pillar that contained the elevator up to the College of Advancement.

The Winged Serpent breathed out a glittering cloud of sparkles towards me as Xanatos flew at an angle, forcing me to move through the cloud to get him. My analysis and sensory skills had already detected the Winged Serpent as skilled in alchemic skills, and it had just unleashed some super acid that could melt space itself. A level 450 monster, while dangerous to others, was something I had dealt with before. Well nothing this high level. The monster wouldn't live long regardless.

It was clear a ritual had been done to feed it a lot of Mana over a long period of time. Probably something the Dark Cabal kept in reserve to give a strong opponent a hard time. I had seen similar things in the past, but nothing to this extent. As for the monster core, it was most likely indigo and violet. Also, completely useless since it was highly unstable. Power leveling a monster like this came with consequences. But those consequences wouldn't show up fast enough, compared to me killing it."

Dawnbreaker Destruction!" My blade pulled mana from the surroundings and unleashed it in a torrent of absolute destruction." Spatial Curve." Space twisted, sending my attack directly upwards. That would have concerned lesser people, but I was Elena, and I had kept a tight grip on my Mana throughout the attack, expecting something like this. Annoying monsters and people never went down with a single powerful attack. They always had a trick. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road.

Report any occurrences. Legend Xanatos of the Dark Cabal There was a moment of shock as Elena's tier 6 skill turned on its own, while I kept twisting space to disrupt it. The problem was that it was drawing in Mana, disrupting my skill while empowering itself.

"Fine!" I gritted my teeth and dug deep. She didn't even stop to banter, she was utterly relentless, as I knew this fight would be. I bent the tier 6 skill, creating a dangerous fire loop. The spatial loop was bound, but its containment was temporary. It would obliterate the cavern, along with Undercraft and the College of Advancement, achieving a goal. She didn't hesitate to fly through the spatial acid that the Winged Serpent had unleashed.

It was its most powerful area attack, but Elena just tanked the damage, which barely did anything. For a super powerful monster, its skill levels were lacking unfortunately. She ignored the Winged Serpent, heading directly for me." Spatial Portal." I floated back and snapped the portal shut just as another Slice flew at me. I emerged a distance away. My Mana was down by a third already, which was terrible.

"Now!" I shouted out loudly, my voice echoing over the city in the enclosed space. Ten Great Wyrms burst out of the ceiling, raining debris down upon Undercraft. Cracks spread. The whole chamber would soon be buried, becoming Elena's tomb. My face broke into a grin. Let the world know terror and despair! Break open the dungeon! Let monsters run rampant and bring about the apocalypse to herald a new age! For a single moment, everything froze. I struggled to process what I saw. Elena was moving and swinging.

In a single instant, the attack decapitated all ten Great Wyrms, thus preventing regeneration and burning through the Alchemical products that had filled them.

"Impossible," I muttered in shock as she kicked off the air itself, flying towards me. Even with the Great Wyrms dead and their charred and flaming corpses falling on the city, cracks were spreading. It was too late. The entire mountain was going to collapse. I would escape to the Dark Library when the time came, but she would be trapped. The Winged Serpent wasn't just to create a cloud of spatial acid, it prevented any spatial skills. While she had resisted the obvious effects, there would be no rescue for Elena.

This would become her tomb no matter what. Darren Burnstock" Stone Pillar!" A legend quickly reinforced the edge of the city and one of the emergency exits.

"Everyone, quickly evacuate!" My voice echoed across the city. The College of Advancement had mobilized the various legends. Saving the city of Undercraft and confronting the minions of the Dark Cabal throughout the city was a significant starting point for my future army. The goodwill of the dwarves would create a core of highly useful technology. Unlike others who could only think with weapons or fists, like my wife, I saw the power in such tools.

The evacuation wasn't going fast enough as more debris rained down." Mana Shield!" An enormous boulder shattered on the magical shield of another legend and tumbled off to the side. The entire city shook again as my wife unleashed another massive attack on the Winged Serpent. Much of the city slid free." Stone Wall!"

"Stone Pillar!"

"Binding Earth!"

"Everyone, clear the center. The place is coming down in under a minute," I called out. I had loved to bury the dwarves in the past. I knew how much their caverns could take. But in a minute, The Mathemancer would act. Elena's contained tier 6 skill was about to erupt and break free. Legend Xanatos's endurance against Elena demonstrated his tricky nature. I considered using my best skill to kill him myself. However, things weren't yet dire enough to warrant action.

Its force stemmed from its unforeseen characteristic. It could be easily countered if someone were prepared. The shock made it work so perfectly. Using it when not absolutely necessary in front of a crowd was not going to happen.

"The city is now evacuated! Everyone retreat to the rally point!" I called out. Unfortunately, a handful of dwarves remained, but I estimated that over 90% had escaped the city's collapse. Through acting, preparation, and the cooperation of the dwarven leaders, their people were saved when I sensed Elena's return. I watched Elena's sword as she flew. I didn't know how the fight would finish, but I'd never underestimated her. She was a force of nature unto herself.

I rushed through the tunnel as the last people and vehicles departed Undercraft. The ground shook again, and another wave of Mana washed over the area. The Mathemancer was about to do something that was the dream of everyone who had worn the crown of a King or Emperor. I couldn't help but smile, since I was alive to see a dream of this scale made manifest. The Mathemancer"All warding schemes are stable. Mana flow is stable." I nodded slowly as I sat on my throne at the center of my tower at the core of my College.

"Current differential?" I asked out loud.

"At 27% and decreasing at a quarter percent per second," the ward technician reported. The ultimate achievements of science and magic were about to be combined. Only with the precision engineering that the dwarves had created to make their devices was this ward scheme implemented in such a way that the cost wasn't ruinous to maintain. A work of centuries. It had been ready for over a decade, undergoing several tests and refinements to ensure it worked properly.

Now it was time to ascend towards the heavens, a fitting conclusion to my tenure as Dean.

"Should we separate?" a technician asked me, and I shook my head.

"No. We will be good neighbors to Undercraft and take the top of the mountain with us to be cut away later."

"The weight might be unbalanced." I extended my sensory perception and quickly perceived that the ground was separating below us.

"We are still within the margin of error. Proceed as planned, but without the separation for now."

"We have achieved gravitational equilibrium!" There were quick rounds of applause and cheering at this momentous achievement.

"Increase output to negative 17. 312%. That should be in line with the extra weight we are carrying." I had already done the math to ensure a smooth ascent. There was a slight vibration. A flying attack required me to make an immediate correction as a sizeable chunk of stone fell from the ceiling of Undercraft.

"Adjust to 17. 214%."

"Weather wards are holding."

"Stress on the anchor stones at 37. 4% of rated maximum." I felt it as my College took to the air. An institution of learning should be majestic, soaring through the skies. One would look up at the heavens and see a beacon of knowledge, advancement, and accomplishment. I smiled as we continued to rise. Now this place would be beyond the petty politics of the nations below. My College was above all others. It would be a story that people would carry on for millennia.

That was when I sensed something in my College that shouldn't be present, and my smile disappeared. The Dark Cabal is constantly causing trouble. Justin was under my protection. Trying to distract Elena through her son while he was here was a dangerous game. I raised my hand and concentrated. It would be a struggle at a distance, but it was nothing I couldn't accomplish in the center of my power." Absolute Force Nullification."

My Mana plummeted to a third of my full reserves as I used my most powerful tier 6 skill.