Leveling up the World

Chapter 739: Realm Devastation

Daggers rained on the tower like meteors. Each strike chipped away at the realm, creating crater after crater. The overall size of the top had already shrunk by half. What was left was more scarred that a newbie hunter in a cutling pit.

Dallion watched the destruction as he fell. Every second brought over a dozen strikes, all of them a safe distance away from Raven. The enemy echo made some attempts to limit the destruction, though not very successfully. Neither his skills nor his advanced weapon were able to effectively block the Nox dagger. Had this been the real person with his actual gear, things would have been different. Yet, no matter how impressive, everything seemed. It was nothing but a copy, and copies couldnt be indestructible.

Nothing like a view of destruction, Nil said.

Not funny, Nil, Dallion whispered.

It wasnt meant to be. This might seem like another realm to you, but its the boys domain. Without the reality chameleon, it will revert to normal once all this is over. He doesnt have Nox to fix things up. Without the effects of the Moonstone and the mage echoes within his realm, it would take a lot to fix things. And thats assuming the empire is even interested.

You just dont give up, do you?

My personal issues aside, do you think that the empire would spare resources when parts of it are crumbling? I wasnt lying when I said that no one can take on the emperor, but that doesnt mean they cant ruin the empire. History is full of powerful awakened. Some fury notables were said to be on par with Emperor Tamin I. What happened to them? Im sure they lived long lives, though never prosperous.

All I have to do is make sure their plan doesnt succeed, then.

Dear boy, their plan has already succeeded. Youve limited the damage, no doubt, but the archmage was killed. Other planned events are also taking part throughout the empire. By the time the dust settles here, there will be

A blur darted towards Dallion. He barely noticed it with one of his instances, before the harpsisword appeared on her own accord, guiding his hand to a perfect block.

Blades clashed, thrusting Dallion back, as he found himself unable to compensate for the raw strength.

Always relying on others, the echo of Grym hissed, twisting in the air while performing a series of slash attacks.

Using both his harpsisword and armadil shield to attack, Dallion called Lux back to him. This was something he hadnt foreseen. The acrobatics skills of a high-level awakened allowed for impressive feats, but even they werent supposed to allow Grym to achieve what he had.

As Lux covered Dallion, granting him the ability of flight, there were no doubts left that the noble had something else up his sleeve. There was one thing that Dallion quickly noticed, thoughwhile impressive, the speed of his opponent was nowhere as fast as it had been not too long ago.

Attack and guard markers started appearing, lagging events by seconds. Dallion swung his shield in an attempt to bash Grym, only to receive a stab in the right leg.

AGGRAVATED WOUND

Your health has been reduced by 15%

It took mere moments for Dallions health to get restored, but the combat difference was obvious. The gap wasnt as large as he had feared it would be, though sizable just enough to force him to be on the defensive.

Dallion attempted to pull back, he tried to out combat split his opponent, even cast a spell or two, but no matter what he tried, Grym was one step ahead, mostly thanks to his weapon.

As if walking on air, the echo made a summersault, finishing it off with a vertical chop. The weapon changed from a saber to a massive axe, aiming to split Dallions head in two. At the very last moment, Dallion managed to block the attack with his shield. In thirty-three instances he failed to do so, causing them to fade away.

Whats his style? Dallion tried to go on the offensive, doing a three-sixty line attack, followed by a dozen piercing strikes in the direction of the echo. All of them got even close.

Combat acrobatics, Dallion thought. It had to be. The manner in which the echos body bent and twisted reminded him of the way Euryale used to fight.

Extending magic threads through his harpsisword, Dallion attempted to cast a spell or two while fighting, or at the very least, draw a weight symbol on his enemy. That changed the dynamic of the fight. It was unclear whether Grym had fought mages in real life, but blobs of caution appeared within him, making his attacks just a bit slower.

How are you flying? Dallion asked, attacking with his music skills as well. You dont have familiars, so you must be using some artifact?

MAJOR WOUND

At this point, it was obvious that he had lost. Nothing prevented the echo from chasing him out of Ravens realm, then continuing the fight in the archmages room.

So close and yet so far away, Dallion said to himself. Did he have a real chance of winning? Maybe if he had kept further away during the bombardment of the tower, Grym wouldnt have managed to attach to him. Maybe if his traits were a bit better, he might have put up a better fight.

Bitterness filled Dallion like purple vines.

Felyg, if you dont want to help me, at least help the kid, Dallion said.

With the fight effectively over, so was Ravens sanity. The moment Dallion was back in the real world, hed be left with the boys husk. He no longer feared continuing a fight in the real world; he was terrified of what his classmate would become. They werent close by any means; they werent even friends, but the hostilities couldnt be said to be entirely Ravens fault. Quite the start difference from the day he had set foot in the Academy. Back then, Dallion would barely have cared. Now he did once more.

Do you really want to save him? Nil asked. He tried to kill you. Several times and on his own accord.

He never had his own accord, Dallion thought. That was the price for being a pawn. Even the important ones were moved about with barely any idea what was going on.

You really wont change a thing.

Probably.

You still dont trust me, do you?

Ill never be able to trust you, Nil. Youre only a guest now.

I understand.

Purple symbols appeared in the air, causing both Dallion and Grym to move away. The interesting thing was that neither of them was the reason for such an occurrence.

A ball of pruple light formed, then slowly stretched, changing shape. Soon enough, Nil was there, floating between them as if it were the most normal thing there wasy.

You? Grym asked, brimming with anger. Dont forget your Moon vow!

I remember it very well, thank you. Just as I remember the one you made. None of us can harm the others. Thats why its a good thing that youre actually an echo.

Nils hands moved throughout the air, leaving multiple five-circle spell patterns as they did. Unlike most of the usual spells, these just remain there without coming into effect, as if the echo was stacking them up, slowly building a mega spell.

I still think youre making a big mistake. Nil turned to Dallion. Youve so many options provided, and yet youre determined to pick the worst one. Still, its time you make your own choices. Let this be my final gift to you.

Grym burst into hundreds of instances, all of them striking the mage with his shapeshifting weapon. The saber extended, piercing through the old man. However, nothing changed.

Magic, Nil explained in an almost bored fashion as he continued with his spell. There always are exceptions.

Suddenly, all spell patterns flew towards one another, merging into a sphere. The purple glow changed into green, as the sphere shrunk, getting smaller and smaller, until it was no larger than the head of a pin. Then an explosion followed.

Light burst in all directions, sweeping through everything like a supernova.

REALM RESET

A green rectangle emergedthe only thing visible within the incandescent light.

Goodbye, dear boy, the old echo said. Take care of yourself.

Reality shifted.