Chapter 409: Level-19
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Only the most proper education in magic possible would produce a clingy b.a.s.t.a.r.d of such caliber!
This Lich and Ujfalusi were both level-20 Necromancers, and were both able to summon a Humerus Wyrm, yet they were worlds apart in terms of combat skills. While Ujfalusi had once ruled over the ruins of Syer Town, he was nothing more than a harmless lamb compared to this clingy b.a.s.t.a.r.d—there was no way to compare them at all.
This b.a.s.t.a.r.d was awfully difficult to deal with because while he was skilled in Necromagic, he did not use any summoning spells, which were the most effective spells Necromagic had to offer. Even though he conjured hundreds of corpses using death aura, they were only meant for the last Corpse Explosion.
There was only one reason why a Necromancer did not summon Undead creatures—it meant that he had far more powerful tricks up his sleeve.
That was what happened indeed. The Lich had only used three level-15 spells, but they formed a flawless trap, one that made the advance party inch closer and closer to their death. If Lin Li had not used the Dragon’s Eye at the very last minute, there would be less than three people from the advance party still alive now.
Even the usually calm Lin Li could not help but shudder as he recalled the earlier events carefully.
What would happen if he had not taken the All-Knowing Potion? What if he did not have the Dragon’s Eye? What if he had been a tad too slow in channeling his mana…
Many “what ifs” appeared in his mind…
If any of these “what ifs” became a reality, there would be unimaginable consequences.
Luckily…
Lin Li celebrated internally while he sized up the Lich with a strange look. For some reason, Lin Li found this Lich’s power a bit strange, but did not know what was strange about it, either. Yet, it felt somewhat familiar to him.
What’s with this b.a.s.t.a.r.d…
Lin Li racked his brains, but could not think of any reason behind this feeling. Hence, even when he got the upper hand using the Arcane Wall and the Lich was experiencing the bite of mana for the time being, Lin Li did not take the chance to nail his victory. Instead, he stood there with a doubtful look as he pondered this question.
Strictly speaking, this was a mistake. Duels between Legendary-mages were of a different caliber, and opportunities came and went in such duels. If Lin Li continued his attacks after using the Arcane Wall, he would definitely get the upper hand in no time, but unfortunately, Lin Li had forgone this rare chance because he was dumbfounded by this strange feeling.
He could not blame anyone for that…
The bite of mana caused by having his magic being interrupted was nothing to a true Lich, and just as Lin Li hesitated for a while, the Lich had already brushed off the effects of the bite of mana, and chanted in his hoa.r.s.e voice to summon numerous Bone Spears.
“d.a.m.n it, I’m such a fool!” As the sound of the Bone Spears wheezing through the air reached his ears, Lin Li immediately came to his senses, and realized that his previous hesitation had caused his loss of a rare opportunity.
But Lin Li was different from when he’d just arrived in Anril. He had experienced many life-threatening fights from the Sunset Mountains to the Breezy Plains, and had just as much experience in fights as those the likes of Andoine. Even though he was kicking himself for his mistake, it only lasted a second before he immediately calmed down as he devoted all his concentration to the resuming duel.
The fight had only just started as they were merely testing the waters in their previous exchanges. Both Lin Li and the Lich had gotten a rough idea about the other from the previous exchanges, and now they moved without hesitation as the strength of the Legendary-realm was truly unleashed, causing a crazy wave of magic to break out in the cave.
Now that the fight had reached this stage, there was no room for luck. They could only depend on their abilities to win. Hence, both Lin Li and the Lich brushed away any thought of winning by chance, and completely unleashed everything they were capable of.
Amidst the endless chanting and the torrential magical waves, there were only two figures moving at lightning speed in the s.p.a.cious mid-mountain area. The both of them moved from the ground to the air and back to the ground again using the Power of Flight, moving as fast as lightning as they perfectly showcased the capabilities of the Legendary-realm.
Some rapid chanting could be heard between most of the instantaneous magic they used, and the momentum of the duel was unimaginably fast for most. The constantly changing gestures, magical waves on the brink of exploding, and mental strength that was being pushed beyond limits added a tinge of craziness to the fight, but in the midst of this craziness, there was also a sense of discipline and precision that left the onlookers in awe. Should one be watching the duel at this moment, they’d realize that while this human and Lich were constantly in a trance-like state as they cast spell after spell, every step was carried out flawlessly as every chant and every gesture they made looked like they would not be out of place in a magical textbook.
They were like two machines, operating at incredibly high speed but with impeccable precision.
Adelo was truly stunned now. As he was a level-17 Archmage, n.o.body in the advance party knew better than him that this was truly a fight of its own caliber. Not many mages had an opportunity to witness for themselves something as exciting.
Adelo stared at the two lightning-like figures greedily as he paid close attention to every gesture they made and every spell they uttered. He was well aware that being able to witness such a fight would be the greatest fortune of his lifetime. Every gesture and every chant in this duel encompa.s.sed the lifetime experience and accomplishments of both of these Legendary powerhouses, and would allow any mage with the opportunity to witness this to save themselves from many wrong turns during their journey through magic.
He was entirely engrossed in his happiness as he had thought that plain old him was lucky enough to have a Legendary-mage as his teacher, but had resigned himself to the fact that he’d probably remain at the peak of level-17 all his life. It would depend on his luck to reach level-18, or even level-19.
Yet, to think that he would be so lucky as to witness the fight between two Legendary-mages in the Scar of Death. This was fortune beyond the wildest dreams for an Archmage stuck at a bottleneck; Adelo was convinced that he would definitely be able to reach level-18 within the next three years with this alone.
Adelo did not know whether to laugh or cry at this windfall of his. Never had he guessed that he would be the one to profit the most from this fight.
Of course, little did he know that someone else had profited more from this.
That someone was Lin Li without any question.
Lin Li had had the opportunity to train with a Legendary-mage a long time ago as Old Grimm had volunteered to practice with him at the Guild of Magic in Jarrosus to express his apology. Lin Li had only been level-9 then, and was able to advance quickly to become a level-10 Magic Shooter thanks to Old Grimm.
However, Old Grimm had forcefully restrained his strength back then, and even though he still had experience at the Legendary-level, his strength was only less than level-15, and he focused more on giving Lin Li pointers during the training which had been very proper.
Moreover, Lin Li had not even been a Magic Shooter then, and his understanding of magic was incredibly superficial. While he’d had a Legendary-mage to train with him, there was still a limit to how much he could learn from it.
But, it was all different now. He now had the strength of the Legendary-realm thanks to the All-Knowing Potion, and was now dueling a Lich who had received most proper magical education—directly from the High Elves themselves. Adding on to that, he had had 1,300 years to practice. In terms of their understanding of magic, he was most likely well above the level of Old Grimm back then.
There was no limit to how much Lin Li would learn from experiencing a life-and-death fight against such an opponent.
Lin Li still felt a little uneasy at first; he clearly had the strength of the Legendary-realm now, but he was unable to fully utilize it. It was like he was a starving Sword Sage who, although he had skills and Combat Energy of the highest level, was unable to fully demonstrate his capabilities due to being weak.
But as time pa.s.sed and their fight became intense, Lin Li started to shake off this uneasy feeling as he wielded the strength of the Legendary-realm with increasing ease. It was like this strength had completely infused within his blood now.
As he wielded the strength of the Legendary-realm with increasing ease, Lin Li began to sink into an obsessive state as every chant and every gesture taught him something new, even combining with the core magical mantras in his head and forming a new Magic System unique to Lin Li.
Lin Li’s abilities experienced a shocking growth in that time…
While many required a lifetime to go from level-18 to level-19, Lin Li had only used half an hour in this peculiar circ.u.mstance.
When Lin Li felt himself reaching level-19, he even stopped casting spells for a moment as he inhaled the air deeply.
This was because Lin Li knew that he was not far away from the Legendary-realm…
The effect of the All-Knowing Potion only lasted an hour. After the effect vanished, so would the potential it ignited. This meant that after an hour pa.s.sed, Lin Li would be at the peak of level-18 again. However, Lin Li did not find this to be a pity, as he knew that it would not be long before he obtained similarly terrifying strength again.
There was a devastating gap between a level-19 Archmage and a level-20 Legendary-mage, and while there had been many magical talents in the history of Anril who had become a level-19 Archmage at a young age, many of them had never set foot into the Legendary-realm their whole life.
This gap had once caused great devastation to many mages…
But to Lin Li, this gap was not all that big.
Lin Li had already wielded the strength of the Legendary-realm twice with the Multicolored Potion and the All-Knowing Potion. The once unfamiliar Legendary-realm was now becoming clear before his eyes.
This was not too different from Ujfalusi’s case—even though this ex-Lich’s Humerus Domain was destroyed and he had fallen from the Legendary-realm, he’d be able to return to his original level in a short period of time. This was just like walking the same path twice—one would already know of any impending danger, and would be able to avoid taking the wrong turn. All they had to do was to follow along this familiar path until they reached the end of it…
Of course, this was all provided they could leave the Scar of Death alive.
But, Lin Li believed that time actually was not far away.
That was because at the same time he was becoming familiar with the strength of the Legendary-realm, he also found the answer to another question that had been bugging him.
He had found the Lich’s strength strange because that strength was not coming from the Lich himself.
Lin Li had not realized it at first, but as the duel became more and more intense, Lin Li began to find it strange. This duel had become impossibly fast, and most of the instantaneous magic they used was at least level-15.
What kind of concept was that? Using a level-15 magic instantaneously a couple of times would probably completely drain an Archmage of his mana. Only a true Legendary powerhouse would be able to keep up with such expenditure.
However, even a Legendary powerhouse would suffer from lethargy after using instantaneous level-15 magic for an extended period of time. And yet, this human and Lich seemed to become more and more energetic, with no sign of mana exhaustion at all.
There was no wonder why Lin Li could keep up with this, as he was different from anybody in this world, after all. Even Andoine had been envious of his seemingly endless reserve of mana.
But what about this Lich…?
How could he withstand this expenditure? Was he like Lin Li, and had come from another world?
As this suspicion appeared, Lin Li started noticing the changes in the Lich’s mana, and soon realized that the flow of his mana was strange.
Mages’ mana usually came from within themselves, and when they used their mental strength, it’d form a unique magical wave.
But this Lich was different. When he used his mental strength to cast spells, there indeed was a strong magical wave, but the Lich was not at the center of it; rather, it was from the endless darkness.
The altar! A thought appeared in Lin Li’s mind.
Indeed, it had to be the altar, or this Lich would not be so strange. It was as though he had dozens of magical crystals on him as he never seemed exhausted. If the Lich’s source of mana was the altar, it would make sense as the source of mana of the altar was one of the seven Debris of the stars, the Gloomy Dark. It was Dark Force in its purest form, and would definitely suffice to fuel a level-20 Lich comfortably.
This sudden discovery made Lin Li ecstatic. If the Lich’s strength really came from the Gloomy Dark, it would be all too easy to get rid of him…