Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master c1-1074

by Zhuang Bifan

  "I thought you said you had deactivated the magic traps? What are these statues?" Rosen could not help but snap at Lin Li accusingly.

  Lin Li was indifferent to Rosen's criticism. He was too lazy to give him a response. Lin Li stepped aside to show his lack of interest in participating in the battle. Although each of the 16 statues had the ability close to the Legendary-level, they were still at a great disadvantage in the confrontation with the team of mages. Lin Li knew that they posed no threat to the team.

  Unlike him, Angelano who had been helping with the deactivation of magic traps became agitated by Rosen's criticism.

  "If Osric's traps are so easy to deactivate, why aren't you helping? Do not join this team if you have the ability to do it yourself! You have no right to nag in front of the almighty Angelano!" he retorted in a shrill voice.

  "BOOM!"

  The heavy swords of the statues struck the magic shields. They created ripples of magical waves and cast numerous spells that engulfed them instantaneously. When the rays of magic dispersed, there were only piles of debris left on the ground.

  None of the mages had expected such a result. They had expected the enemy within the palace to be more powerful than what they'd dealt with outside. But, it seemed that these statues were lousier than the silver knights they had met previously. No matter how great of an impact their attack could bring, their ability in defending against magic spells was pathetic.

  Chapter 728 - Fire Demon

  Of course, the large team could have been left with a few men if not for Angelano's help. Then, these statues would have been a real threat for them.

  The 16 statues were swallowed by the magic storm instantly, and they left behind a bunch of debris. This had to be the most relaxing battle the mages had from the time they entered the mausoleum.

  Yet, Lin Li who had not been participating in any battle up till now suddenly felt a chill up his spine. A shadow emerged from the darkness and waved a dagger at his throat as he deployed an Elemental Shield.

  Lin Li had found 20 alchemy shadow assassin puppets in Immortal King's laboratory, and he discovered how to control them, yet he still could not understand why Osric had not brought the shadow assassins away when he emptied the laboratory. Now, Lin Li's query was resolved. It was obvious that the shadow assassins here had greater power.

  There was not only one shadow assassin. Just when the others were feeling relieved after they had defeated all the statues, shadows sprung out from different corners of the palace and struck at them. The ability of these shadow assassins was comparable to that of the first two shadow assassins Lin Li had met at Immortal King's laboratory. They were definitely in the Legendary-level.

  Lin Li had used the Soul-devouring Domain's Light and Darkness Sword to deal with the two shadow assassins then. But now, he did not intend to do the same. He knew that the ability of his current team was far better than before. He had the confidence that the team had the ability to overcome more than 20 shadow assassins.

  Although the team of mages had suffered significantly, it was a fact that the remaining mages had improved tremendously. Their sense of camaraderie was an impregnable fortress that turned the sneak attack into a confrontation. As shadow assassins were not created to confront their enemies directly, they would be at a disadvantage when they clashed with the team of mages.

  Streaks of black lightning swirled around the team of mages to scan for their weaknesses, yet the team of mages let out a magic storm every time an assassin slowed down. Although the body of each assassin was made of shadow iron, it did not have the ability to withstand the extremity of the magic attack. It was torn into pieces instantly.

  As the shadows around the team of mages were reduced rapidly, a thunderbolt struck the mages like a storm. Suddenly, gusts of crazy wind appeared in the palace and brought wind elementals out of nowhere. Their upper bodies resembled humans, but their lower bodies were like tornadoes that shot lightning in all directions. It was like what Lin Li saw in the Seven-Realm Spiral.

  Although the ability of the wind elementals was at maximum of level-17 or level-18, which was not comparable to the shadow assassins, their numbers grew over 300, and they surrounded the team of mages as well as Lin Li and the others. Streaks of thunderbolts landed on the mages' defensive mechanism like massive wind blades.

  However, although the number of wind elementals was greater than the number of mages, it was obvious that they had no teamwork. The wind elementals only knew to smash powerful spells into the mages repeatedly. After a while, the mages regained the initiative. Some of them took charge of defense, while the others gathered all their firepower to create a highly effective spell to counter each of the wind elementals.

  The battle came and ended really quickly. Although 300 wind elementals was a huge number, the team of mages did not allow the battle to continue for long. Everybody sighed in relief as the last wind elemental dissipated. Macklin touched the staff in his hands, and said, "Seems like this is nothing much. Although it was a little nerve-wracking at first, it seems like the ability of these enemies was not even comparable to what we met outside."

  Indeed, the 16 statues, the shadow assassins, and the army of wind elementals were similar in how they appeared very suddenly. Yet, the biggest threat faced by the men was only the team of Death Knights with divine power. Lin Li could not help but feel weirded out by the unexpected weakness demonstrated by the core of the palace's defenses.

  At the same time, Lin Li heard Connoris' scoff in his mind. "This is the mausoleum of the Highlord Osric. How could you use human logic to make sense of this place? Wait for it, there should be greater things lying ahead," he spoke in disgruntlement.

  Connoris' sarcastic warning surprised Lin Li. Although Connoris did not have much knowledge of the palace, the understanding he had of Osric had to be beyond imagination. After all, he had been with Osric when the latter constructed the Eternal Furnace. If he said that, did that mean there would really be more things that had yet to appear?

  Lin Li did not manage to convey his thoughts to the others. Before he could warn them, a terrifying gust of magical wave erupted within the palace.

  Blazing flames came to life in the empty palace. The tongues of the flames licked the ceiling of the palace, and the rising flames emanated a pungent evil aura. A huge figure emerged from the flames slowly. The men could see that it had a huge pair of horns on a head that resembled a wyrm's and a body that looked like it had been soaked in fresh blood. There were also crimson scales covering its the body and huge pair of wings on its back.

  An inconspicuous yet insidious face and pair of wings appeared from the blazing flames. The huge body that was covered in scales emitted a suffocating and tyrannical aura. It was as though it had the power to destroy and engulf everything in the space instantaneously.

  "Darn it! That's a Fire Demon! How would a Fire Demon from the 66th level of Abyss be in such a place?" Lin Li and the rest could not help but cuss at the sight of the demon.

  It was general knowledge that the deeper into the Abyss, the more dangerous the demons would be. Even the almighty Dragon of Destruction chose to be at the 25th level of the Abyss. The 66th level was definitely the forbidden ground in the Endless Abyss. Almost all of the demons that lived in that level were those had close relations to the ancient deities in the Age of Mythology; the Fire Demon was the direct descendant of the ancient deities, and had the purest blood of a deity.

  The demon's identity as an ancient deity's descendant did not matter to the men. What mattered to them was the terrifying power he openly exhibited. Even though Lin Li was at the peak of level-23, and Andoine and Rosen were esteemed Legendary-mages at the same level, they could not help but feel nervous.

  Sanctuary-realm!

  The men could sense that the Fire Demon had the aura of the Sanctuary-realm. Even though it was not entirely in the realm yet, the fact that it was dangerously close to the realm was what mattered the most at the moment. The terrifying natur
e of the Sanctuary-realm had been exhibited by Arbitrator Megard. He had the ability to eliminate the Undead Lords with a single spell effortlessly. This was extremely close to the power of divine. Even though the Fire Demon before them was not a real Sanctuary powerhouse, it was definitely an invincible opponent for Legendary-mages.

  The Fire Demon ignited the entire space instantaneously with its appearance. It was as though the men were in a huge furnace. The environment in the palace—the walls, floor, ceiling, and the numerous defensive mageweaths—emitted a blinding glow, withstanding the impact of the demon's Volcano Domain.

  The defensive mageweaths within the palace were fully functional despite the pressure from the Volcano Domain. This meant that it had the ability to turn people who were not strong enough into ashes. Lin Li and the others did not dare to have any delay. They cast their Elemental Shields immediately to protect themselves from the tyrannical Volcano Domain.

  It was fortunate that the other mages had been following behind Lin Li from a great distance, and were outside the Volcano Domain. If not, they would have turned into ashes. Numbers did not matter anymore. Even if the team of mages were to cast an Elemental Shield together, their lack of nomological power would put them at a great disadvantage.

  Lin Li and the other Legendary-mages did not dare to waste any time they had under the protection of the Elemental Shield. They called onto their Magical Domains immediately to resist the demon's Volcano Domain. Domains gave them absolute control of their energy. They allowed their creators to be as almighty as the divine. After all, domains could only be withstood by domains.

  Chapter 729 - Battle of Domains

  As the Light and Darkness Domain unfolded, Lin Li's surroundings rapidly turned into a black-and-white world, and the bright red color reflected off the flames disappeared from his domain. However, under the pressure from the Volcano Domain, Lin Li's Light and Darkness Domain was much smaller than usual. At the border of the domains, one could clearly see the bright red flames and black-and-white color constantly trying to snatch the opponent's territory like two armies in a close fight.

  Lin Li continuously strengthened his Light and Darkness Domain while paying attention to the other Legendary-mages around. From a mage's understanding of Laws. he could use the nomological power he had mastered to create a Magical Domain. Thus, the Magical Domain could be described as the total display of a mage's abilities. Lin Li certainly wouldn't miss such a good opportunity to judge other mages' abilities.

  Andoine was the first person Lin Li had encountered after coming to Anril. He was Lin Li's mentor who had brought him into the world of magic. However, Lin Li didn't know much about Andoine's abilities before this mission—he only knew that Andoine was a level-23 Legendary-mage.

  Andoine had fully expanded his Magical Domain now. A patch of green contrasted sharply with the burning flames around as countless plants started growing in his domain; vines stretched to the edge, fearlessly competing with flames for territory.

  Thorn Domain! Lin Li was shocked upon seeing Andoine's Magical Domain. Typically, only the elven mages who specialized in Nature Magic could use this kind of plant-related Magical Domain. Human mages were rarely seen using this kind of domain. This wasn't because the Thorn Domain was weak, but the nature of its Laws determined the emphasis of this domain. Given that its Laws were related to the lives of plants, it was more suitable for pharmacists who dealt with herbs every day.

  Looking at the plants that grew in the Thorn Domain with astonishing speed, Lin Li secretly shook his head. Evidently, Andoine's obsession with pharmaceutics had seriously affected his progress in magic. Although the Thorn Domain possessed powerful strength, its attacking abilities couldn't be considered strong. Moreover, the Laws upon which the Thorn Domain was constructed were mainly extended-low-level Laws which were far less powerful than core magical mantras like Darkness and Light.

  At Legendary level, the difference in terms of the strength of Magical Domains' nomological power wasn't very obvious. In fact, the strength of Legendary-level Magical Domains was determined by the mage's understanding of Laws. The more one knew about Laws. the more powerful one's Magical Domain was.

  However, once one reached Sanctuary-realm, everyone's understanding of Laws had reached the peak, and their Magical Domains started to transform into their ultimate form. By then, the strength of the Magical Domain's nomological power was the underlying factor that decided the strength of the Magical Domain. As such, one could easily envision the performance of the Thorn Domain that consisted of low-level Laws when it reached the Sanctuary-level.

  Lin Li wouldn't say that Andoine's choice was totally wrong. After all, everyone had different pursuits. Given that Andoine had pretty good relations with arbitrator Apophis, he might clearly understand what this choice meant to him. This could only show that his passion for pharmaceutics had exceeded everything else, although his pharmaceutics level was terrible now.

  On the other hand, Andoine's competitor Rosen's Magical Domain made Lin Li's eyes light up. Thunder flames and gigantic boulders continuously resisted the Volcano Domain's pressure. Even though Lin Li detested this old man who always picked on him, he couldn't deny that the path Rosen had chosen was the one that mages should go.

  Rosen had displayed an Element Domain that contained the elemental Laws of earth, fire, water, and wind. When he had incorporated all four elements into his Magical Domain, he had pushed the power of his domain to a terrifying level. Evidently, Rosen was much more determined than Andoine on his path of magic. Everything that he had done was to increase the strength of his magic with the pursuit of maximizing his magical power. For a mage, the most reliable power was certainly magic. While other skills could help, nothing could be as reliable as magic in the most crucial moments.

  Of course, Lin Li didn't think that Rosen's Element Domain was perfect. Rosen's biggest problem was that he was too ambitious. Earth, fire, water, and wind… Every element's elemental Law was enough for a mage to spend his entire life examining it. However, Rosen attempted to completely master all four magical elements at his current level. In a way, he was taking a wrong path as well. Although Rosen's path wasn't in the opposite direction of his goal, it would make his goal seem so far away that it seemed impossible to reach.

  Meanwhile, Aldwin had expanded his Flaming Storm Domain—a pure fire element Magical Domain. However, its Laws were extended Laws from the fire elemental Laws. Countless fireballs fell from the sky like a storm, turning the ground into a sea of flames. The hot flames from the Flaming Storm Domain competed intensely with the Volcano Domain, trying to engulf each other.

  Evidently, this was a domain constructed with mature Legendary magic. The rules in this Magical Domain were all based on Legendary magic. The greatest trait of a domain constructed with Legendary magic was that it was extremely powerful. It was like he had solidified Legendary magic into his domain; rarely anyone in the same level could compete with such a Magical Domain. However, Aldwin sacrificed the space for him to level up in his pursuit for immense power. He would probably remain at his current level for his entire life, with no chance of improvement at all.

  Lin Li was a level-23 Legendary-mage like Andoine and Rosen, but his experience in battling at this level wasn't as much as the two's. After all, after understanding the ultimate form of Magical Domains at the Seven-Realm Spiral as well as reading the Book of Eternity wholeheartedly in the half a year in the crack between space and time, Lin Li's understanding of Magical Domains exceeded the level that a normal person could hope for.

  Although Lin Li had just reached the peak of level-23 when he left the spacetme rift, his knowledge about Magical Domains had already reached Sanctuary-level. Thus, his foresight was no worse than a true Sanctuary powerhouse's, and he could see many problems others couldn't.

  "Howl!"

  The Fire Demon whose body was surrounded by flames let out a deafening roar. As his roar reverberated throughout the palace, the entire building seemed t
o be shaking slightly. After that, the Fire Demon retracted all his surrounding flames all of a sudden, and shot them out with even greater speed. The Volcano Domain was filled with violence and rage. He wasn't using any skills, just suppressing the four Legendary-mages' Magical Domains with pure strength.

  Under the encroachment of the Volcano Domain, the palace's ground was completely turned into a sea of golden lava from the heat. The lava poured to all sides like a flood discharge channel that was just opened, continuously expanding the Volcano Domain's territory. Such scorching temperatures could make everything turn into ashes; even the most heat-resistant Infernal Magic Iron would probably melt into liquid under such heat. If not for the countless powerful defense mageweaths around the palace, even Osric's proud invention wouldn't escape the fate of destruction.

  The battle of Magical Domains at such a level was more similar to collisions between domains. There weren't many skills or tricks that one could use, and everything depended on one's understanding of nomological power. Any control, any skill, and any trickery was totally useless now. It was like a head-on battle between two armies—the strongest was the winner.

  In a flash, a large proportion of plants in Andoine's Thorn Domain was engulfed by fire. The area of his domain was directly reduced by more than half. Andoine's knuckles that held onto his magic staff turned pale, and veins popped out on his temples. Countless intertwining vines flooded towards his lost territory, fearlessly swarming towards the flames.

  Typically, plants would be suppressed by fire. If it was only Andoine fighting with the Volcano Domain alone, the Thorn Domain would be instantaneously engulfed by the Volcano Domain. However, there were three other mages fighting against the Fire Demon, helping to spread out the damage. Moreover, Andoine's Thorn Domain also consisted of many extended water elemental Laws. Thus, he wasn't totally passive when facing the Volcano Domain.