Chapter 40: Sleepless Night (4)

The flow of space and time formed a mottled display of light and shadow before his eyes, like the overlapping of countless colors, dragging that hazy glow along with it.

This was Lier Boger’s first time undergoing spatial teleportation; before this, he had never even imagined possessing the abilities of a space mage. He felt as though he were amidst the clouds, seated upon the mist, sleepwalking through a phantasmagoria...

But in that very moment, he realized he had fallen into a massive trap set by Huey Grall. Clearly, Huey had been preparing to force his hand all along. His goal was to teleport Boger away alone, creating a one-on-one confrontation.

To achieve this, Huey needed Boger to link them together through a spell—Huey had been waiting precisely for Boger to seize him, triggering the magic circle at the most critical instant.

He had succeeded!

Although Lier Boger was a Level 6 Purple-Robed Archmage, he knew full well that if Huey Grall desired a solo duel, it meant the opponent already held at least a ninety percent chance of victory in this battle.

As the dreamlike void vanished and the harsh light of reality returned to Lier Boger’s sight, he reacted instantly.

On both his hands, the blood-patterned gemstone and the pine-green gemstone flashed with crimson and emerald light simultaneously.

A drop of blood fell from Lier Boger’s fingertip; before it hit the ground, it had already formed a brilliant blood mist.

Blood Magic: Erosion Blood Mist.

Simultaneously, Lier Boger’s physique expanded instantly. Compared to Kahl’s "Steel Roar," the transformation of the thin and withered Lier Boger was far more visually shocking.

Dense black fur erupted across his entire body, sharp claws sprouted from his fingertips, and even his head enlarged, mimicking a ferocious giant bear. He opened his maw and let out a furious roar:

"ROAR!"

Nature Magic: Earth Bear.

Astonishingly, the entire spellcasting process took Lier Boger only a single second to complete.

It was in this exact instant that a brilliant silver light pierced the sky, stabbing toward Boger’s throat—it was the gleam from the tip of Huey’s sword.

Like Boger, Huey had launched his attack the moment the teleportation concluded, taking advantage of the split second Boger was casting to close the distance.

Yet, Huey had still underestimated Boger’s casting speed.

The deadly cold light struck toward Boger, while a vast expanse of blood mist drifted and swirled, engulfing Huey’s entire body.

Huey let out a muffled grunt and was forced to retreat; he knew the potency of this erosive blood mist. Yet, as he retreated, the Undead Demon Rat fired a bone spike at Boger.

The bone spike pierced through the blood mist, coated in a mesmerizing red hue. The corrosive mist, capable of eating away flesh, had no effect on the bone spike, which drove fiercely toward the bear-transformed Boger. It was lightning-fast, and it seemed Boger had no way to dodge.

A trickle of blood leaked from Boger’s eye. The blood-patterned gem on his left thumb flared with crimson light again, and the bear’s wide maw spoke clear human words: "Blood-Light Escape."

In a leap of crimson light, Boger’s bear form suddenly vanished.

When he reappeared, he was right in front of Huey.

"ROAR!" With a thunderous bellow, Boger’s massive bear paw swiped down hard at Huey.

Combat energy flickered in a brilliant white light around Huey. When the paw struck him, it was as if it had hit a giant boulder, sending him flying backward.

The Blazing Bird let out a mournful cry and spat a torrent of fire elements toward Boger. The ice-soul stone on the middle finger of Boger’s left hand flashed once more, and four cold words spilled from the bear’s mouth: "Polar Ice and Snow!"

An extremely bright and freezing cold light broke through the air from Boger’s hand, piercing the night sky and expanding into a massive, circular pillar of ice that rose to the heavens, barely parrying the rushing stream of fire elements from the Blazing Bird.

Water magic was perhaps the branch with the most sub-disciplines; beyond basic water spells, there were three derivative branches: Ice magic, Lightning magic, and Blood magic. As a Level 6 Water Archmage, Boger was proficient in at least three of these.

Huey Grall had not expected Lier Boger to possess a method for rapid casting without incantations. Clearly, the four gemstones on his hands were the key.

A sharp, piercing sound cut through the air—it was the Vacuum Blade fired by Xu, slashing horizontally toward Boger’s arm. Although Huey’s personal strength was no match for Boger’s, the sheer number of his pets and puppets gave Boger a massive headache.

The aquamarine on his left index finger flashed again, and Boger roared to the heavens: "Water Barrier!"

A surging curtain of water appeared around Boger, forming an inverted waterfall. The Vacuum Blade vanished without a trace upon entering the water curtain.

However, having been blocked twice in quick succession by the Blazing Bird and Xu, Boger had missed his chance to kill Huey.

When Huey landed back on the ground, accompanied by a sharp hiss, a gale of wind completely swirled around him, obscuring his trail from sight.

Because of this, Boger did not notice the trace of blood flowing from the corner of Huey’s mouth.

"I must admit, Master Boger, your strength even exceeds Ablitt’s. I didn't expect you to possess gemstone rings capable of rapid spellcasting. I had thought that once I brought you here, you might not even have the chance to use a spell before dying by my sword. Yet, you almost killed me in return. I must be grateful that I am a Level 4 Warrior; otherwise, your strike just now would have been enough to claim my life. It seems my intelligence work wasn't meticulous enough to uncover something so important. Hmm, then again, this must be your life-saving trump card, so you wouldn't easily let others know, would you?"

Huey’s voice drifted in.

Having failed his surprise attack and been injured by Boger’s swift and fierce counter-offensive, Huey had to admit that the Level 6 Archmage was indeed powerful enough. Since he hadn't been able to take Boger down in one blow, he was in no rush to finish him off.

At this moment, the Undead Demon Rat, the Blazing Bird, and Xu returned to Huey’s side.

Only now, after the fierce clash, did Lier Boger have a chance to re-examine his surroundings.

It turned out to be a silent, hollow valley. Strange flowers and plants were everywhere, and not far away was a flowing spring and waterfall. Below the waterfall was a pool, surrounded by high mountains, with lush green grass beneath his feet.

Huey Grall had actually brought him into the wilderness!

Boger looked at Huey, who was swirled within the wind, and his anger surged.

Huey did not know, but Boger was all too aware: each of these four gemstones had the ability to record spells, allowing for instant casting without incantations. The problem was that recorded spells could not be reused, and each stone had a limited capacity.

For a mage, without the protection of a warrior, having lost their distance from the opponent, and lacking the time to cast spells leisurely, their combat effectiveness would plummet. He had been forcibly dragged by Huey to this strange place and immediately ambushed; had he not been wearing those four rings, he would likely have been killed by Huey already.

Even so, he had been forced to use five different life-saving instant spells, and his frustration was palpable.

Roaring to the sky, Boger ignored Huey’s words and shouted: "Blood spirits bathed in aurora, I call for your response with the power of my life..."

A large spray of blood mist erupted from his tongue, condensing in the air into a small, red arrow.

Blood Magic: Blood Arrow.

Directing the arrow with his finger toward Huey Grall, Boger sighed in relief: "Huey Grall, I must admit your cunning is shocking. To be able to create a one-on-one situation with me, and to be absolutely unafraid of confronting a superior opponent—I express my admiration and respect for your courage and wisdom. However, this does not mean you possess victory. As you said, these four magic-memory gemstones were collected at great time and cost. If not for them, I might have truly been assassinated by you."

"So, they are magic-memory gemstones." Huey nodded. "I know of them. As far as I know, depending on their quality, they can record one to five spells. How many can yours record?"

"That is for you to guess."

"At least two," Huey replied. "Your blood-patterned gem used two blood spells, while the others were used once each. But this doesn't mean the quality of the other gems is the same as your blood-patterned one; they might be lower or higher. I noticed you used the word 'collected' in your speech, which means you couldn't selectively acquire specific gems. For such rare items, you wouldn't have the luxury of being picky. Considering you prioritize using blood spells twice, I believe your blood-patterned gem is the highest quality one, likely possessing at least three slots. Therefore, your other gems... I estimate they have at most one more spell usage left."

Boger’s expression shifted slightly. He had not expected Huey Grall to analyze the quality of his gems from a single word.

The swirling wind lessened slightly, revealing Huey’s clear and handsome face. A cunning smile played on his lips: "Actually, I saw more than that. At the central plaza, I noticed you wore three gem rings on your left hand and only one on your right. At the time, I didn't know what they were for, so I was only curious. But now I understand, and I’m curious why you would wear them this way; they look so uncoordinated. Others might think it's because of different spell systems, but I don't see any reason why a water-magic gem ring must be separated from a nature-magic one, unless that pine-green gem has some other special purpose. I noticed your left palm is engraved with strange markings—they look like magic patterns, but I’ve never seen such ones, so I think they must be magic circles that borrow from certain pattern techniques. In the center of this circle is a gem imprint. So, I think I can assume you possess a special spell that, when necessary, requires you to press your right-hand gem ring onto that circle. To avoid confusion, you are forced to wear three rings on your left and only one on your right. Such a cumbersome method... shouldn't the purpose of gems be rapid casting? This usage completely subverts the meaning of a memory gem, so I think it must be a very powerful spell—powerful enough that your pine-green gem cannot record it completely and requires the supplemental magic circle on your left hand. So that must be your last-resort trump card. It is truly surprising that as a Level 6 Water Mage, your trump card is actually a nature spell. Considering this, as a Level 5 Nature Mage, I think I can roughly guess what your true trump card is."

Hearing this, Boger’s entire body could not help but tremble.

The battle hadn't even fully begun, yet his trump cards had already been laid bare. In terms of momentum, Boger had already lost a great deal.

Huey smiled even more happily, but within that radiant smile, his eyes grew gradually chilling: "See, this is why I like talking to enemies during battle. Through necessary chatter, observing the opponent's reactions, they always provide me with the information I need. This is very beneficial for the upcoming fight. So please believe me, I will never give you the chance to use that spell."

Raising his long sword toward Lier Boger once again, Huey’s face displayed immense confidence.

"I must admit, killing you is harder than I imagined, but you will still die by my hand in the end."

***

The site of the explosion was a mess, with everyone busy cleaning up the scene and rescuing the wounded.

Kevin Bills and Garrick Ingston gazed at the ruins of the central plaza with heavy hearts.

They had thought dealing with Huey Grall would be easy, but they hadn't expected to fail before they even began, only to have him use their own magic to teleport a Great Mage away.

In the past, Bills would have been absolutely certain that even two Huey Gralls would be no match for Boger. But after witnessing Huey’s methods, he had to admit that when facing a prepared alchemist, there were many times when you simply didn't get the chance to exert your power.

As a youth who had emerged from Purgatory Island, Huey had too many cards to play. If he wanted, he could pull all sorts of tricks to deal with those hunting him.

He seemed to care nothing for the waste of materials.

That was the shared realization of everyone present, including Rasher.

At that moment, Rasher couldn't help but think of that young master, Cether Dadaniel.

If one were to ask who in Royo City possessed the most alchemy materials, it was surely him.

With a gleeful look at the crestfallen Sky Warriors, Rasher retreated from the center of the whirlpool and took out a communication crystal to contact Bailey.

"Bailey."

"Yes, I am here."

"Is Cether Dadaniel there?"

"Yes, he is."

"I wish to speak a few words with him; give him the communication crystal."

"...That, Master Bailey, he is currently a bit indisposed."

Rasher frowned slightly: "Is there a problem?"

"Actually... he is taking a bath," Bailey replied.

"Then I will contact him later." Rasher put away the communication crystal, his brow furrowing deeper.

He lowered his head in thought.

"Is something wrong?" Chackle asked, walking toward him.

"No." Rasher shook his head. "Nothing."

"I thought there was more bad news."

Rasher nudged his chin toward the miserable scene in the distance and sneered: "It won't get worse than that, at least not tonight."

"True enough." Chackle nodded. "It’s strange, why am I neither surprised, nor angry, nor even disappointed by Huey Grall’s escape?"

"I feel the same," Rasher shrugged. "Isn't it boring if the opponent is too weak? An idiot isn't worth me pouring all my heart and soul into a full-scale response. Of course, it’s also possible that we hate arrogant allies more than we hate difficult enemies. At least the enemies aren't always beside us, while those arrogant allies are constantly making us sick."

"Makes sense. So, where to now?"

"Back to the ball, how about it? The Dadaniel family’s ball hasn't ended yet. That little girl might still be waiting for me. I’ve discovered that tonight I’m a charming old man; don't you think that’s interesting?"

"I don't," Chackle replied flatly.

"You really are too boring, Chackle."

The two walked away, hands behind their backs, chatting idly. They had no interest in worrying about anything here anymore; let those big shots deal with the headache.