Leveling up the World

Chapter 936: Familiar Guardians

Reality shifted, transforming into an endless forest of purple glowing vines among green and yellow trees. Minuscule creatures of all shapes and sizes flew about. To the untrained eye they seemed charming, even beautiful, yet they were all parasites taking advantage of the richness of magic threads for sustenance. They werent the problem, though. Other entities were also present in forceaether golems.

Summoning a clay cylinder, Dallion unleashed a ray of destruction, shattering hundreds of the crimson-purple constructs like glass. The spell was followed by a spark infused spiral attack directly below.

Realm section damaged!

Overall completion 78%

Large chunks of land erupted at the impact, transforming into clouds of dirt high up in the air. Thankfully, there didnt seem to be any more golems hidden in the soil.

Seventy-eight, Dallion said as he gently floated to the ground. Mages really dont maintain anything, do they?

The life of academia is filled with its own challenges, dear boy, Adzorg protested, practically admitting the statement. Thats a domain rulers job.

I suppose it is.

Dallion looked at his feet. They were there, along with his shoes and the lower part of his trousers. Nothing seemed to be wrong with them, yet this was only a fake projection. In the real world, they no longer existed.

Theres no reason to be alarmed. With your magic and body levels, you should be able to have them restored in a matter of months. Until then, youll just have to use aether stand-ins, or even a good illusion, if you prefer.

Dallion considered it. If there was someone whod know, that would be Adzorg. The mage had his hands severed not too long ago. Looking at him now, no one would be able to guess that they had been gradually restored over the course of months.

REALM INVASION

Red rectangles filled the sky.

Seems like theyve taken me seriously. Dallion stood up. His real-life troubles would have to wait.

Knowing Alien, he probably only modified the golems to treat you as an intruder. The area guardian must have stepped in.

Doesnt the emperor control this? Or an overseer?

The Academy has always been sort of different, dear boy, Adzorg explained. While we serve the emperor, were technically autonomous.

Like the Order.

To a certain degree. Think of this realm as isolated. Thats why moving it around isnt as easy as moving everything else. Due to the magic concentration and frequent experiments, the area has become more susceptible to other worlds. Thats why I did my experiments hereits far easier to break through the protective barrier here than elsewhere. Well, except the fallen south, possibly. The old mage added with a brief laugh. To prevent anything spilling out into the rest of Tamins domain, the Academy is isolated from everything else.

That shouldnt stop him from coming here in case he wants to, Dallion said.

Not in the least. That doesnt make it desirable, though.

That was a strange statement. There were too many benefits for the emperor not to get involved. Even if he were afraid that someone might do what he had done to the archbishop. Either way, the faster Dallion could take control of the domain, the better. He knew he couldnt keep it, but that wouldnt prevent him from transporting a few pieces to his own territory. As for what was left, hed make sure that no one could take advantage of it in the future.

Aqui, he said within his personal realm.

The orange-scaled dragon emerged within seconds. Ten times larger than in the real world, she was doing her best to present herself larger than she actually was. Even so, her present level was clearly visible should anyone look at her white rectangle.

Grasped the concept of eating? Dallion looked at her.

The large dragon snarled.

Can you do it from within the realm?

The anger changed into bewilderment.

No one can consume magic from within a realm, she said defensively. Dallion knew for a fact that wasnt the case. He himself had done so many times and he wasnt the only one.

What about outside? How fast can you drain the area of magic?

Why? She lowered her head, bringing it to Dallions level.

Im going to do something and when I do, well have to get out of here quickly.

The dragon snorted right at Dallion.

It would be nice if you can reach level ten at least.

Pride filled the dragons body, as blue blobs the size of houses emerged within her. There was no way that she would only level up to such a low level. Of course, Dallions subtle use of music skills had also helped in the making of the decision.

Before anyone could say anything more, a cluster of aether cones flew straight at him. Free of the confines of reality, the armadil shield teleported between him and the projectiles, growing three times its size.

Unable to counter the force, Gem was pushed back dozens of feet to the point it reached Dallion himself. Extending one hand, the otherworlder easily countered the attack.

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Aquilequia, on her part, had used her natural speed to move away before the cones even got close.

Best leave. He said, glancing at her new location. After Im done, Ill need you to be at least as strong as this.

The dragon didnt respond, yet didnt leave the realm, either. Curious as every low-level companion, she moved a safe distance away, eager to see exactly what was referred to. Meanwhile, Dallion sprang into action. With speed surpassing that of Aquilequia, he dashed around the shield, heading straight for the source of the aether cones. To little surprise, they were being released from five spell circles, at huge intensity. More curious was the entity that had cast them.

LEARNING HALL GUARDIAN

Species: COPYETTE

Class: SHADOW

Health: 78%

Traits:

- BODY 45

- MIND 60

- REACTION 55

- PERCEPTION 50

- MAGIC 100

Skills:

- ATTACK

- GUARD

- ACROBATICS

- SCHOLAR

- CARVING

- MUSIC

- SPELLCRAFT

Weakness: NONE

Never thought youd be a copyette, Dallion said as he performed a series of slashes targeting vital points on the guardian.

Each of them hit, yet instead of red rectangles, the form transformed into cyan sludge that splashed onto the ground.

Lucky coincidence? Dallion split into instances, using his music skills to add doubt and weight into his words. Or were you working for the Order all this time?

Nice to see you too, apprentice. A new figure formed. It was very different from the first, taking on the form of Alien. Spells circles formed in different spots hundreds of feet from Dallion, each releasing anything from lightning to aether shards.

Despite the overwhelming amount, not a single one of Dallions instances got harmed. Performing a three-sixty line attack with his harpsisword, he sliced through the new appearance of the guardian, breaking the spell circles in the process.

Dont be overconfident, Giaccia said. Experience trumps level every time.

There was no way Dallion could disagree. There was a time when he, too, had defeated opponents many levels above him. While it was said that a ten-level difference was insurmountable, the guardian was a copyette with a very high magic trait.

You can always surrender, Dallion said, looking in all directions with his instances.

Its just like you to offer. Two forms of the guardian appeared in different locations, now taking on the forms of children in Dallions class. And no, Im not working for Simon, even if he put me here.

Dallion dashed, appearing next to one of his former classmates, slicing it to bits using a multi attack.

Wrong one. The other form laughed.

Dallion was fully aware that both of them were wrong. His real goal was to try and figure out where the rest of the guardian was hiding. As a copyette, he could create dozens of copies, all an insignificant part of his overall body. Destroying each individual one wouldnt do anything; harming the one considered the main one might.

Hes stalling for time, Giaccia said.

Your music attacks are rather good. Two more copyette forms emerged. Sadly, it doesnt depend on me. Youll have to deal with the main guardian for that. Im just here to obtain information. Being a hunter, you should know that. Its been a while since I was a hunter, Dallion replied. Im not an apprentice, either.

Thats true. You made full mage, didnt you? Also, I heard that you were an archduke shortly before rebelling. Quite the achievement.

Yeah, yeah. Im just like my grandfather. Dallion let it slip.

Your grandfather? Confusion emanated from the copyette. I was about to say that youre like Jeremy. A lot more straightforward, to be sure, but the drive is there along with the skill.

Going by large areas, there had to be roughly ten guardians responsible for the realm. Defeating them would effectively make Dallion the new owner. A faster and more challenging way, though, was taking on the main guardian.

No time to hesitate, the harpsisword Guardian reminded Dallion.

It would be a lie to say that Dallion wasnt. Even with all the copyettes tricks, he had enough raw power to defeat the guardian, destroying a large part of the realm in the process. It was no accident that of all the key guardians, this one had been sent to reveal his skills. Dallion had spent a significant part of his life in the Learning Hall. While not particularly long in terms of time, it had marked a significant change in Dallions life. Before that he was little more than a skill game piecebarely defeating the Star, he was on the run from Countess Priscord, and in debt to the void. His life at the learning hall of the Academy had elevated him to the point that the emperor, the Order, and even the Moons themselves had taken notice.

Yes. Dallion sighed. Theres no time for hesitation.

Summoning his aura sword, he slashed the air, casting a flight spell that propelled him up like a rocket. Half a mile above the ground, he stopped.

Sorry, Learning Hall, he said, slashing the air in what appeared to be a multi attack. Magic symbols and connections were drawn, yet instead of casting multiple five-circle spells, Dallion cast one complex spell chain.

A vortex of spell circles emerged beneath him, shooting bolts of magic draining lightning.

Realm section damaged!

Overall completion 77%

Realm section damaged!

Overall completion 76%

Red rectangles popped up as the ground became covered in craters. Aether projectiles shot up to him in response, most of them blocked by the aether shield before reaching Dallion himself.

Thanks, but no need, Dallion unsummoned the shield, unwilling to have it be accidentally affected by his magic draining spell.

CRITICAL STRIKE

Dealt damage is increased by 200%

A few purple rectangles appeared among the mass of red. At the current rate, the Learning Hall guardian would be defeated in a matter of seconds. Hopefully, there would be enough left for Dallion to restore afterwards. Were this to be the Halls realm, there would be no concern on the matterdefeating a guardian merely improved it. In this case, the realm was the Academy, though, not the Learning Hall itself.

Suddenly, a sun gold colossus emerged less than a few hundred feet away. A massive hand reached out and grabbed the vortex from beneath Dallion. Sparks of lightning enveloped the fingers, yet had no effect whatsoever.

A second hand reached for Dallion himself, but he had already darted further back, safely avoiding the attack.

So, thats the Academy? Dallion looked at the glittering mountain of gold. When it came to the colossus, he shared many of the same characteristics. The one major difference was the colossus attire. Not the usual Roman-Greek design that Dallion had seen before, the design followed twenty century Earth norms.

Its been ages since a domain ruling mage has ventured in this realm, the colossus said in a booming voice. Youre the second so far.

What happened to the first? Dallion concentrated. Not a single domain marker appeared anywhere along the guardians body.

He created this area and made sure that no other mage will be able to take it.

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