Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master c1-1074

by Zhuang Bifan

  Furthermore, he was younger than Hutton. He was just 20 years old…

  Maybe within a few years, there would be another Legendary mage appearing in the Breezy Plains. A Legendary mage that was shockingly young…

  "Eh…" Just when there countless thoughts revolving around Adelo's mind, that black fog had been dispelled by the light. The whole world had suddenly become clean, and even the sky seemed to be brighter. The Undead creatures summoned by the Tide of Death and remaining tens of Vampires had evaporated in the midst of the Eternal Light just like snow under the sun.

  However, those 20 Death Knights were fine.

  All of that instantly caused Adelo to have a rather shocked expression.

  Even Liches could not defend against the level-21 Eternal Light Spell, so how could it fail to exterminate 20 Death Knights?

  This time, it was not just Adelo. Even Norfeller, Ujfalusi, Rina, and the rest were stunned. Could it be that these 20 Death Knights were so strong that such a powerful magical power could not kill them?

  This strange sight made everyone's heart tightened after they became relaxed.

  Chapter 401 - Holy Light, Gloomy Dark

  After being baptized by the Eternal Light Spell, the Scar of Death became unusually bright, and looked like a piece of pure sapphire. Warm sunlight fell on it, filling the Scar of Death with the aura of life. All the Undead creatures summoned by the Tide of Death had disappeared, and so had the Vampires that had previously forced them into dire straits. Even the stench of decay that had once permeated the air seemed to be expelled by the Eternal Light, and the whole world was suddenly purified.

  However, the 20 Death Knights were unscathed…

  They rode their Shapeshifters and held a sharp sword each; they looked like black statues as they surrounded the young mage and trapped him in the center…

  The scene scared everyone silly, and all of them suddenly became fully alert after having let down their guard earlier.

  Nobody would have thought that this would happen. Could these Death Knights be made of steel? Alright, even then, shouldn't they have melted under the scary strength of the magic earlier? How could they be unharmed?

  "What do we do…" Adelo looked blankly as he felt utter fear and devastation while looking at these black statues.

  Adelo could see from between these Death Knights that the young mage was now very weak—his face was pale, and his breathing was shallow as he barely propped himself up with his mage.

  Yet, his opponents, the 20 Death Knights, stood there unscathed.

  What do I do, what do I do, do I attack?

  Adelo mopped his sweat as he felt anxious while being caught in a dilemma. He had two choices now: one was to help, and another was to escape with the Teleportation Scroll. The first choice was undoubtedly a gamble, a gamble that the powerful 20 Death Knights might be close to being defeated. However, if he bet wrongly, he'd have to pay with his life. The second option was much safer, but if he did that, then his mentor Cheyenne's entire plan would come to an end…

  Adelo was not the only one in a dilemma, as Rina, Ujfalusi, and the rest were also stuck at a crossroad themselves. They realized that the 20 Death Knights did not do anything after surrounding Lin Li, but remained there quietly, almost as if they were protecting him.

  Hence, both parties carried on without making a move…

  Perhaps Lin Li was the only one who wasn't nervous at all, for only he knew what kind of magic he had used earlier.

  That was a level-21 Eternal Light Spell, known as the holiest of all magic. It was comparable to the Holy Cleansing Spell of the Brilliance Shrine when used against Undead creatures and demons. With just one blow, even a Lich or a Demon Lord would be heavily wounded, much less a mere Death Knight.

  They had not been purified simply because he had had no such intention.

  But, Lin Li did not have the time to explain this…

  He was really busy.

  Adelo thought that Lin Li looked very weak, but, on the contrary, Lin Li felt stronger than ever. After using the Eternal Light Spell, Lin Li was immersed in a strange state; it was hard to describe it, but if he had to do so, he could only say that he felt unimaginably powerful—scarily so. He felt as though he held the world in his hand, and even the Death Knights that he had been no match for were now as tiny as ants to him. He could easily crush them with a finger if he wanted to…

  Lin Li even felt that if he used the Eternal Light Spell again, he would not even need three minutes, no, not even two minutes for it to light up the whole Scar of Death.

  The once incredibly complicated elemental structure was now clear to him, and the power of the magic that he had been once incapable of manipulating suddenly yielded to him. It was as if all he had to do was say the spell, and this level-21 magic would do as he wished…

  Lin Li knew that this was a gift from the Eternal Light Spell…

  Even though he was still at the peak of level-18, and his abilities did not change much from before, after he used the Eternal Light Spell, his understanding and grasp of magic were entirely different from before. This had to be what they called experience—there was a difference between having used a Legendary-realm magic and not having done so, definitely a difference.

  Even though he'd relied on the power of the Multicolored Potion, the spell came from his mouth, and the elemental structure was pieced together by his mental strength. This couldn't be changed, so this level-21 magic had left a deep mark in his brain.

  There was no greater wealth than this in the eyes of a mage.

  If he did not have enough mana, he could supplement it with potions, and if he lacked mental strength, he could also make up for it with magical equipment. If he lacked the knowledge, he could also rely on his books. However, if he did not have enough experience, there was nothing he could rely on.

  Why was a good magic teacher so important? It was because they could pass an entire lifetime's worth of experience to you, which could help save you from many wrong turns in your journey of learning magic. If magic was like a vast sea with no boundaries, then a mage apprentice was like a tiny boat in the middle of the sea, and the teacher was like a guiding light pointing him in the right direction…

  But, some experience couldn't be taught even with the brightest light.

  Many things could only be understood, but not verbally taught. Only after one had experienced them would one truly understand what they were like.

  Just like Lin Li—his teacher was Andoine, a Legendary mage renowned in Anril, who even had a good chance of becoming an Arbitrator.

  Logically speaking, Lin Li had talent and passion, even mastering close to 10 core magical mantras, so coupled with the Legendary-realm teacher he had who was not afraid to teach him everything he knew, Lin Li should have reached the Legendary-realm by now. Why had he not done so, then? That was because he did not acc.u.mulate enough experience…

  The Legendary-realm was like a pavilion in the air—many mages spent an entire lifetime trying to reach it, but they might not even get close, only standing on the side faraway as they looked at it respectfully and longingly. Only the lucky ones who found the stairs were able to reach it by following the steps.

  And these stairs were called experience…

  After absorbing the gift of the Eternal Light Spell, Lin Li might still be at level-18, and would not look too different, but his understanding of magic would be entirely different. The Legendary-realm was no longer mysterious to him now, and everything was within reach. As long as he acc.u.mulated enough experience, he would be able to take the life-changing step.

  This was a complicated and slow process, and merely re-living the moment had taken Lin Li an hour.

  In that hour, the advance party gradually realized that the 20 Death Knights did not look like they were intending to harm the young mage.

  Still, nobody dared to lower their guard…

  They were powerful Undead creatures that could rival Liches and Humerus Wyrms. Wh
o knew how long this strange situation would continue? What if they decided to do things differently all of a sudden? One attack from them would leave everybody with devastating regrets! With that in mind, everyone remained highly strung up and ready to go.

  Until an hour later…

  "Alright, the fight is over, keep your weapons…" Lin Li said something that nobody would have thought of as he suddenly opened his eyes.

  What surprised them more was that after Lin Li said that, the 20 Death Knights really did as he said and kept their weapons. The strongest of them even jumped off his Shapeshifter and knelt on one knee before Lin Li.

  "We await your orders, Master." The Death Knight's voice was hoarse and deep, but everyone heard it clearly.

  "My God…" Adelo's eyes were as round as saucers now. This was even scarier than the level-21 magic from before! How could this Felic command the Death Knights? Has… has this world gone mad?

  Even the Tide of Death was not able to summon them, and even Liches could not control them. Even a fool knew that only a Retribution Knight could give orders to them!

  Could it be that the magic from earlier was not the Eternal Light Spell, but a mysterious ritual that could make a human a Retribution Knight?

  Of course, Adelo could not be blamed for thinking that way…

  He was only an Archmage at the peak of level-17, after all, and even though he had a Legendary-realm teacher, he was still far away from the Legendary-realm himself. He had only heard of level-21 magic like the Eternal Light Spell, and all he knew was at most that the Eternal Light Spell was the bane of all evil existences…

  When it came to the details regarding the Eternal Light Spell, perhaps even his Legendary teacher would not be able to give a detailed explanation, as in the Legendary-realm, a level could make a whole lot of difference. Naturally, a level-20 mage would not know a level-21 spell in detail.

  Only Lin Li who had used the Eternal Light Spell himself knew that this level-21 magic was called the bane of all evil existence not only because of its devastating powers.

  Legendary magic was called Realm Magic because all the rules besides time and space could be altered in this realm.

  And that applied to light and darkness as well…

  Under the cover of the Eternal Light Realm, even the Holy Light could become the Gloomy Dark…

  Chapter 402 - For the sake of being there

  Of course, this change was not a long-lasting one. The Holy Light abided by the Holy Rules, and even though it was not the strongest in the world, it was definitely the purest. The purer the Rules, the harder it was to alter them, and even if it was a domain created from the Eternal Light Spell, it merely allowed the change between Light and Dark to last a short while.

  But even a split second was enough for Lin Li.

  In that split second, the Holy Light became the Gloomy Dark.

  In that split second, Lin Li was the incarnation of the gloomy dark itself, a Retribution Knight born from the Gloomy Dark. None of the Death Knights could go against his wishes, and everything became much more simple—he could easily brand their soul fire using his mental strength.

  The most straightforward and effective method of controlling an Undead creature was to use one's mental strength to leave a brand on their soul fire. This was much easier than a blood oath or a Soul Contract as no spells or rituals were needed. All it needed was a little bit of mental strength, but this was provided that the mental strength was not met with resistance by the other party.

  Of course, this nearly instantaneous way of doing it had a fault as the brand would weaken over time and eventually vanish. The Undead creature it controlled would thus be freed as a result.

  However, this was not important to Lin Li, as his motive was merely to have these 20 Death Knights protect him for the time being. This was the Scar of Death, where there were countless creatures born from the Dark, after all. Dangers hid at every turn along the way; who knew if he might suddenly be surrounded by hundreds of Vampires again? He would be stuck in a predicament if he did not have the Death Knights' protection.

  Thus, Lin Li spared their lives when he used the Eternal Light Spell, and used the domain energy of the Eternal Light Spell to change the Holy Rules of the Holy Light instead. He turned the Holy Light into the dark in a split second, and then used that dark energy to control the 20 Death Knights.

  He did not need a long time, either. A couple of days would be more than enough, and if he could find the Gloomy Dark, it would not matter even if the Death Knights were no longer under his control.

  All of this happened and ended within a second. Nobody but Lin Li knew what had actually transpired.

  Even a seasoned Archmage like Adelo only knew that the young mage had used magic of devastating powers in that second, but he was perplexed as to what happened with the 20 Death Knights.

  But whatever it was, he definitely needed to change his original plans.

  According to his plans, this young mage and his companions, as well as the four Bandits including Reggie, were supposed to be sacrificed when they destroyed the altar.

  But now, Adelo dared not even think of doing that…

  Sacrifice a mage who could use a level-21 Legendary magic and control Death Knights? That was crazy…

  The advance party suddenly became incredibly powerful after the Death Knights joined. They had been running away to escape the thousands of Skeletal Warriors previously, but their journey through the Scar of Death was now unbelievably smooth. Even the largest groups of Skeletal Warriors could not withstand a blow from the Death Knights, and often all they heard was a crushing sound before the Skeletal Warriors turned into a scattered pile of bones.

  As Lin Li looked at this landslide victory for their side, he could not help but secretly feel thankful that he had taken the Multicolored Potion earlier and had studied the Eternal Light Spell prior to this, and also thankful that Ujfalusi's Tide of Death had bought him those three minutes of time earlier. If something had gone wrong in this whole process, he would have been squashed into a pulp by these Death Knights…

  "Mage Felic, look…" The advance party moved at an astonishing speed, and they had passed through the danger zone filled with Undead creatures in just under two hours. After they carried on for another 200 meters or so, Adelo stopped suddenly.

  Lin Li looked where Adelo was pointing. There was a lot of weeds, something uncommon in the Scar of Death, growing underneath the mountain wall ahead of them. Amongst the weeds was the opening of the cave that looked like a beast opening its maw; a chilly aura came from within the cave…

  "Indeed…" As Lin Li stopped in his tracks, he knew immediately that Adelo had not been spouting nonsense—the aura coming from within the cave was the Gloomy Dark's aura that he was familiar with. It was profound and mysterious, just like the nature of the Dark itself…

  The opening of the cave was unusually narrow, and even the Death Knights had to abandon their Shapeshifters to continue on foot. They wore heavy black armor and held swords crafted from ice, and when they walked into the cave, it was like a drop of cold water in a boiling pot of oil, making the oil sizzle immediately…

  Everyone felt the earth shaking as swarms of Skeletal Warriors appeared from the ground with their eerie white bones and swinging machetes. The silence in the cave was broken all of a sudden; just like how the fights with Undead creatures usually were, there was no shouting or screaming, only the mind-numbing sounds of weapons hacking away at bones.

  A dense black fog continued to come from deep within the cave. Many Hell Ghouls and Liches hidden in the fog fired Deathfire Bombs at them…

  "The heck…" Lin Li was shocked by the sudden attack as the Undead creatures that had appeared just now were vastly different from the ones outside, be it the Skeletal Warriors or the Liches. These Skeletal Warriors were at least level-8, and the Liches were even somewhere near level-18.

  What kind of an existence was a level-18 Lich? Even Bhaskar that had used a Death
Sentence back in the Shadowglen was only level-16…

  Lin Li chanted spells with all his might as he angrily complained, "Damn it, it's the Gloomy Dark again…"

  This fight lasted for a whole hour, and Adelo was near the point of exhaustion before these Skeletal Warriors close to level-10 had all been wiped out. However, the Hell Ghouls and Liches hidden in the black fog did not seem harmed at all, and, for some reason, disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. When Lin Li was done with the Skeletal Warriors and wanted to deal with them, he could not find even a trace of them.

  Don't let me bump into you again…

  Cursing at them internally, Lin Li never thought that he would not only bump into them shortly afterward, but more than once as well.

  Honestly, the advance party had been bumping into them continuously throughout their nearly half a day's journey. Each time there had been an influx of Skeletal Warriors sprouting from the ground and many Hell Ghouls and Liches hidden in the black fog, all the while hurling Deathfire Bombs at them with an infuriating half-heartedness as though they were only doing so just for the sake of being there.

  The advance party had entered the cave in the afternoon, but they were still stuck in the maze-like tunnel all the way until the evening. In Adelo's words, they had only traveled less than 10 percent of the journey, yet their party encountered more than 20 battles. Every fight was as big as the next one, and they never won easily. It was always a few hundred Skeletal Warriors, a few dozen Hell Ghouls, and a few Liches who fought merely for the sake of being there. Although they did not lose anybody in these fights, everyone was nearing exhaustion, including Lin Li.

  Fights of this level were the most torturous as they always thought they had lost all hope, and that they would never be able to see the end of their enemies. Lin Li even thought that someone was bound to be driven to the brink of insanity if this continued.

  "Mage Adelo, we can't carry on like this. Let's have a talk." After one of the fights, Lin Li really could not bear it any longer, and silently pulled Adelo aside to talk during a break.