Leveling up the World

Chapter 888: Control of Reality

Music, magic, attack, art! Dallion flew through the air, constantly waving his aura sword as he did.

There were no additional instances of himhe was too afraid that any use of combat splitting would reveal his location. And since any direct attacks would also have easily given him away, he resorted to a combination he had rarely tried before.

Normally, music attacks combined with magic were his trump card when dealing with waves of enemies. This time, the method was completely reversed: the magic threads coming out of the sword were turning into sounds whose melody completed spells, only they did so a fair distance away. Harp could, of course, see the threads, but since Dallion was in constant motion, shed only see where he had been.

Perception is your weakness, he thought. Although calling it a weakness was very subjective. Most high-level nobles would have a tough time hiding from her. Even as a guardian, even archdukes would have an impossible time.

Turning yourself invisible, Giaccia said all of a sudden.

Dallion felt as if chunks of ice had formed in his stomach. It was too soon for her to have noticed. His instinct was to burst into instances to charge at her while he still had some sort of advantage. A moments hesitation made him delay just for long enough to see the nymph look away.

Itll be useless against my sister, she continued. Shell be able to see that while making you think she hasnt.

Threads of music went in all directions as she spoke, in an attempt to interact with Dallion. Countering them would serve no purpose, yet not doing so ran the risk of them having an effect. The illusion had provided him with a momentary tactical advantage, and now it was time to use it.

Using his domain powers, Dallion punctured holes in the nearby sea surface. Jets of water mixed with rocks flew in Harps direction. The nymph turned around, taking control of the incoming water. It was at that point that Dallion made his move.

Spark flowed through his aura sword, consuming all the illusion patterns hed drawn. A white glow appeared, culminating in a point attack set on Harps back.

CRITICAL STRIKE

Damage dealt is increased by 200%

The amount of damage was less than Dallion would have liked. That didnt matterit had proven that his attacks could land.

Dallion quickly followed up with a multi point attack.

Although off balance, Harp managed to evade most of the blows, though not all.

CRITICAL STRIKE

Damage dealt is increased by 200%

CRITICAL STRIKE

Damage dealt is increased by 200%

Two more rectangles emerged, reducing her health by close to two-thirds. Thanks to the numerous healing spells, Dallion wasnt far off. They were at parity now, which gave him a slight advantage in the long term.

Darude! he shouted, summoning half a dozen clay cylinders.

Three were instantly shattered with a slice of his sword, causing three aether copies to emerge. The remaining three continued floating around him, waiting for the right moment to be activated.

In normal circumstances, the nymph would have no problem against his echoes. At the moment, every additional threat couldnt be taken lightly.

Threads of water shot up from the sea, reinforcing Harps armor. Dallions spark attacks had burned through the magic threads, creating holes in the defense. In less than a second, there was no longer any trace; a sphere of water ten feet wide surrounded the guardian, providing a vastly superior protection than before.

GIACCIAs health has been reduced by 1%

POISONED

GIACCIAs health has been reduced by 1%

Red rectangles stacked. By every account, Dallions plan had succeeded. Part of him was ready to rejoice, but anotherthe more cautious onekept its guard up. There were countless times in which Dallion had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. There was no reason to think that Harp was any less capable.

To be on the safe side, Dallion grabbed one of the remaining floating clay cylinders and waited.

Several more red rectangles popped up, after which the entire rock prison cracked, sliced in two. Immediately, Dallion broke the cylinder, sailing forward.

The spell capable of destroying mountains struck the side of the rock, burning through as if it were paper. As the remains shattered, the ray continued towards the horizon, yet no new rectangles emerged.

Damn it! Dallion burst into instances.

Somehow, Harp had escaped. Even after Dallions meticulous planning, and a lot of luck, he had still failed to win outright. His pulse tripled in anticipation. The guardian had one course of actionattack.

A green cone flashed on Dallions chest. Taking no chances, he performed a spiral slash. The cone vanished, as Harp darted to the side just in time to avoid the lethal attack sent her way. She was still surrounded by water, though far less than before.

I thought I poisoned you, Dallion said, following up with two more line attacks.

ATTACK NEGATED

Your attack has been sliced in two by GIACCIA.

Attack has no effect.

ATTACK NEGATED

You have sliced GIACCIAs attack in two.

Attack has no effect.

A pair of red rectangles emerged.

You tried, the nymph replied. But I control water.

That was true. Despite everything, she remained a nymph. Even when the water was poisoned, she could still move it away from her with the same ease a cat wagged its tail. Imprisoning her in rock had managed to earn Dallion a few points, but nowhere enough. Hed have to do a lot better. No doubt that was Harps way of giving him a taste of the battles to come. If he was expected to win against the nymph empress, hed have to fight in her own territory. That meant fighting in the open ocean, where Tiallia was in full control.

Thats the question, isnt it? He told himself.

Everything he used so far amounted to interestingpossibly ingenioustricks, but they werent the answer.

What could one do when facing a nymph in its element? A split second later, a smile formed on Dallions face. It seemed so simple now, and something he could certainly pull off. It would be the same in the real world, but on a whole different scale.

Yes, you do, he said, flying right at the harpsisword guardian. And here, so do I.