Leveling up the World

Chapter 806:

Gorgons mounted on griffins approached from the distance. A large dwarven army was also approaching on the ground. Moments ago, there werent any of them to be seen. Dallion was more than certain about that. Clearly, the third force in the conflict had its own method of transportation unknown to anyone else.

Close your eyes, Euryale shouted.

Her words had the opposite effect on the nearby wyverns, who looked in her direction only to turn to stone and fall to the ground, hitting it like cinder blocks.

Unlike all the previous times, Dallion didnt, either. The level of his magic trait had made the symbols visible in the gorgons eyessymbols which interacted with his own magic threads, sending instructions for them to affect the entity by turning its flesh and bone to stone. However, when it came to magic, there was always an exception. With a bit of will, Dallion forced his magic threads to settle down. It felt remarkably close to suppressing a shiver during a cold day. It wasnt so much about strength of endurance, just knowing the effect and having the mind not to let it affect the body.

Your eyes, he thought. For the first time in his existence, he had managed to seeto really seethe eyes of a gorgon. The color was indescribable and yet felt so familiar.

Defying Nature

(+5 Perception)

Looking into a gorgons eyes usually happens once. In your case, it was a bit more, but this is the one that counts. Now youre ready for anything.

A split second later, a new breath of fire shot out, as Dark attacked the enemy battle mage, who also wasnt affected by the gorgons stare.

Still Wyverns stacked up in front of it as a shield, their petrification only further protecting him from the flame.

Seeing proof that his enemy wasnt invincible, Dallion cast a series of flame shard spells, sending them flying at Tisaku like homing missiles. Each of them was shot down by an appropriate counter spell, although unlike before, the mage pulled back. Even he realized that he didnt stand a chance against a mage and a dragon, not to mention a gorgon.

Why are you here? Dallion asked in one of his instances as he chased after Tisaku with all the rest.

Nice to see you two, the gorgon replied with one of hers. With everything going on, you clearly needed some help.

That wasnt entirely true. Dallion did have a few cards to play, although the current outcome was preferable. With all three armies on the battlefield, the Azures had no way of controlling the vortexes. Even now, the distribution of forces shifted. Half the wyverns and all the golems turned to clash with the armies of the Stone and Steel Alliance. The rest continued pressuring the imperial cloud forts.

Theyre still taking too few losses, Vihrogon said. Theres no way they would be able to continue towards the imperial capital, or anywhere for that matter, but theyve by no means suffered the blow you needed them to.

The emperor is certain to understand. Adzorg joined in the conversation. A victory is a victory, after all.

Its nothing to do with the emperor. Preventing a defeat isnt a victory.

Then lets have them lose what they came for, Dallion said.

What? One of the dragons instances looked at him.

The wheels in Dallions mind were already turning. There was a time when one would call the action he was about to do reckless. Not any longer, though. Now it was decisivehe knew exactly what was at stake, just as he knew he had all the strength to back it up. For so long he had been a fly flying through the webs of others. This time, he intended on becoming the spider.

Lux, he said openly in the real world. Boost me.

Cyan flames covered his body, propelling him down and forward like a cannonball. Hitting the ground at such speed wasnt going to cause any serious injuries, although it might still sting a bit.

In the blink of the eye, Dallion was on the ground, the enemy battle mage high up above him. And just then, the otherworlder slammed the hard soil with his fist.

REALM CREATION

A green rectangle emerged before him. Yet nothing else changed. At this precise moment, Dallion was simultaneously in a realm and the real world as well. Rather, his realm was part of the real world. The only thing missing were the other living beings.

Name the Land you wish to create.

Finally, creating a world, Dallion thought. He could feel the realm forming around him, like a bubble in the wilderness. It wasnt largeno more than a thousand feet in every direction, but enough to encapsulate his enemy, along with a healthy dozen of wyverns and aether golems. On the positive side, he could feel that Euryale and Dark were also there.

I name it Temp, he said.

You have created the Land of Temp Level 1.

You have full control of the Land of Temp.

A glass colossus has been made the lands guardian.

Defeat the guardian to change the lands destiny.

A glass colossus? Vihrogon asked, appearing in his dryad form. Of course it had to be something exotic.

Land Creator

(+5 Body)

You have created your first realm domain. Hopefully, youve gathered enough strength. Its all uphill from here.

You have broken through your eighty-first barrier.

You are Level 81

Choose the trait you value the most.

When it rains, it pours, Dallion thought.

Once again, one seemingly simple action had granted him so much. Without hesitation, Dallion chose to boost his empathy trait by one.

Owner, a new voice said respectfully in his head.

That glass colossus had emerged directly in Dallions personal realm. While the familiars were somewhat startled, the notion wasnt as unnatural to Dallion as one might think. He could feel the new realm linked to his own, as if it were part of it. That was what gave nobles their power and explained the mystery of them being all knowing. It was true that Dallion could feel the entities within it, as long as he really concentrated. That had more to do with his magic trait.

Despite what the Moons had claimed, nobles werent omnipotent, they were just linked to their domain, which meant that they could learn most things that happened within it as long as they put in the effort. Given enough true time, an awakened could visit every area guardian within his domain and force them to provide all sorts of information. That would be a waste of time, especially since the task could be delegated to key guardians orin the case of major citiesto overseers.

How do I create limiting echoes? Dallion asked.

Using that trick already? Vihrogon shook his head.

I just want to know. I wont use it. Yet in the back of his mind, a voice said that he might have to.

You just put them there. Your realms are your realms, and the real-world domain is nothing but a massive realm. It mostly works on the non-awakened. Anyone stronger can treat it as a realm invasion and get rid of the echo.

I had an echo without my realm being invaded, Dallion countered.

Every awakened was a non-awakened, the dryad said in a bitter tone. Its all a matter of patience. Try it if you want. Even if the battle mage is flying, youre the owner of this domain, which means you also control the air.

The suggestion was frightening with its implications. If the average awakened knew they wouldnt set foot in another settlement ever again. Probably that was precisely why nobles didnt resort to such extremes, even in dire situations. Similar to what Tisaku had said, a noble without anyone to follow him was nothing but a standard awakened.

I have something else in mind. Dallion returned to the real world.

Wyverns and golems came into existence, along with the battle mage, who was still attempting an escape. If it were anyone else, Dallion would have felt pity for him. Unlike Nerosal, or all the other cities in the world, this was a completely uninhabited settlement, so there wasnt any point in him being gentle.

Temp guardian, Dallion said. The moment he did, he regretted his original naming choice. I challenge you.

The entity rose up from the ground. Similar to its name, it had the appearance of a faceless marionette made of transparent bluea living placeholder to take on the role of key area guardian. This was its first time in the real world, pulled out from the realm thanks to Dallions awakened ability. And just as it had emerged, it was destroyed by a shattering point attack in the chest.

TERMINAL STRIKE

Dealt damage is increased by 1000%

TEMP Level increased

The VILLAGE has been improved to Level 2.

Your Awakened Level has increased to 82.

Choose the trait you value the most.

Shards of glass filled the air, quickly fading away. At the same time, the diameter of the domain area doubled.

Without hesitation, Dallion repeated the process. This time, a stronger version of the colossus emerged, standing twelve feet tall. The results, though, were the same. Having spent years fighting item guardians to improve his skills back when he was part of the Icepicker guild, Dallion had gotten rather efficient at it. And while it had taken a series of five point attackshalf of them probably unnecessarythe guardian wasnt able to put up any resistance.

The domain doubled once more.

A sensation of strength and power rushed through Dallion, urging him to continue. Overconfidence tried to latch on, whispering that he could easily take on if not Emperor Tamin, then at least the former Countess Priscord. The notion was quickly cast off. The only person Dallion wanted to crush right now was the battle mage and, in a way, to send a clear message to Grym and all the other nobles watching. In the awakened world, a nobles debut was more important than anything else, and he intended to give them something to talk about.

TEMP Level increased

The VILLAGE has been improved to Level 4.

Your Awakened Level has increased to 84.

Choose the trait you value the most.

A new glass colossus emerged, now over fifty feet high, ripping the ground as it did. Its size was imposing enough to cause any golems and wyverns nearby to see it as a threat. Some even attempted to chip away at it, only succeeding in getting themselves squished. Even Dark was tempted to engage, forcing Dallion to use a bit of force splitting to prevent the eager dragon from destroying the guardian.

Last one, the otherworlder said, letting out a barrage of point attacks and ten circle spells.

The size of the domain had grown to the point that it was impossible not to notice, even from the cloud forts.

Shards of glass the size of houses fell off the guardian as Dallion kept on pummeling it with everything at his disposal. As before, victory came a few seconds later, boosting the nobles level to eighty-five. There were no new achievement rectangles, nor any indication that the settlement was close to turning into a town. Then again, that wasnt Dallions goal.

Come again, he ordered, pulling the colossus into reality.

The colossus did.

Grab him.

With reflexes rivaling those of his owner, the colossus reached up, his massive fist closing around the unsuspecting battle mage. Just to be on the safe side, Dallion cast a series of aether spheres around the guardians fist.

Like to see you get out of that, he thought.

Not bad, Vihrogon said, walking up to Dallion. Just one thing, though. Roots shot up from the ground, entangling all golems in the area. The roots themselves werent enough to keep the constructs down for long, but no matter how many times the golems ripped them off, new ones would emerge. Never ignore the small fries. In large amounts, everything counts.

Ill keep that in mind, Dallion said. Lux, get me to him. He turned in the direction of the captured battle mage.

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