Leveling up the World

Chapter 935: Academy Invasion

DOMAIN INVASION

DOMAIN INVASION

DOMAIN INVASION

Rectangles kept on flashing in front of Dallions eyes. The emperors attempts to kick him out of his domain were increasing. The first wave had been merely a test to probe the defenses. Since no immediate response had followed, Jeremy had pushed on with more settlements, wedging them within Dallions territory.

Both attacks were performed in perfect coordination. It was obvious that the emperor was leading Archduchess Priscord, who in turn had decided that the risk was worth the potential reward.

As Dallion flew from his domain in the north in the direction of the Academy, he concentrated on a top-down view of his domain. It wasnt so much looking as a general feeling of the dimensions changing. Moving settlements about had trained him to have a full sense of his territory.

Circles of nothing kept on eating into his domain as settlements with reasonably large populations invaded. Dallion could tell that they were soldier forts full of Priscords troops. The moment they got anywhere close to a settlement of his, they would rush out and attack outright. So far, they had captured three minor towns with minimal resistance.

DOMAIN INVASION

You have increased your domain

The TOWN of GRIFFIN FORT has become part of your domain

Another pair of rectangles popped up. Euryale had sprung into action, taking on one of the invading forts.

For a moment Dallion hesitated whether to get involved as well. If he made a push in the same area, he could well strand several of the invading forts, potentially commencing a counterattack.

No, the wiser part within him said. There would be time for that later. For the moment, all his focus had to be on the Academy.

Summoning three clay cylinders, Dallion cast three aether echoes and sent them to scout the general area he where remembered the Academy being. Adzorg had done a good job suggesting that as a target. In theory, the emperor could move its location like any other settlement. However, that wasnt entirely true for the Academy buildings. Having them remain so long at their original location had caused the magic lines of the area to thicken like roots taking hold. Moving the buildings would rip a large part of them out, severely limiting a lot of the spells that the mages took for granted. In a worst-case scenario, a series of wild vortexes could appear, turning the Academy into the vortex fields. The archbishop was probably aware of that, which was why he hadnt attempted to glass them with his magic rockets until now. That left the morsel ripe for the taking.

Veil, any trouble? Dallion asked through his domain.

You bet. Nothing we cant handle, the overseer replied. Shes using hunting troops.

Actual hunters?

Nah, just the common riff-raff that we were volunteered to way back. Level twenty, all of them.

That was somewhat strange. Provided that the emperor was still in possession of the skill altar, one would have assumed that hed boost the skill level of all his troops. Or maybe that was on purpose. After all, Priscords troops remained loyal to her, not the emperor himself.

Be ready, Gleam. Dallion summoned the shardfly near him.

You know they must have added a few extra illusions since our last visit, the creature said.

I see them, Aquilequia said in a smug manner. Being a great dragon, even when reduced to level one, had more advantages than the achievement had let on.

Dallion could feel the anger and bloodlust erupt from Gleam. It was the shardflys nature to face something strong, especially a dragon. Thankfully, she was loyal enough to keep herself from doing anything rash. After all, Dallion had promised her a go at the emperors great dragon in the near future.

Its right over

Before Aquilequia could finish, a purple beam of light erupted from below. Shattering the area illusion hiding it, it struck one of Dallions aether echoes, evaporating it on the spot.

Instinctively, Dallion thrust his harpsisword in the direction, sending a spark infused spiral attack. Dozens of aether barriers emerged in an attempt to block the attack. All they did was shatter one after the other, barely diminishing its power.

Careful, dear boy! Adzorg warned. There are buildings you dont want to destroy.

I know. Dallion split into fifty instances.

In sync, Dallions remaining two aether echoes performed a series of line attacks, scarring the ground below them. Chasms, several feel wide and hundreds of feet deep, covered the terrain, breaking any illusions along their path. In the cases when buildings were destroyed, Dallion would ignore the instance, choosing one more appropriate.

Aqui, can you consume threads? Dallion asked.

Not directly. The dragon glided closer. Why?

No reason to waste a good opportunity.

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COMBAT INITIATED

A purple rectangle flashed, then disappeared. It was immediately followed by a cluster of purple rays. Over half of Dallions instances were instantly vaporized, along with another one of his aether echoes. Alien was clearly not pulling any punches, making full use of the imperial rune golems entrusted to him. Curiously enough, there didnt seem to be any bladerers or battle mages.

Stop! Dallion shouted, mixing his music skill with magic.

There seemed to be a momentary pause. The new set of rays quickly made it clear that his attack wasnt as effective as he thought.

Theyre not letting any mages take part? Dallion wondered.

There might be a whole range of reasons, Adzorg explained. My guess would be that Alien is keeping them close at hand.

Even the skilled ones?

Choosing to push the archmage into action, Dallion landed on the ground on a cluster of magic concentration. Based on the intensity, there could be no doubt that a building of moderate importance had stood there in the near past.

Aqui! he shouted. Better learn this fast!

He reached into the ground and grabbed the threads of magic flowing through it. With measured strength and perfect precision, he pulled them out as if he were taking out a weed, careful not to have any threads snap. Once he had pulled enough of them, he tore them out with one brisk action. Losing their contact with the rest of the mesh, the magic threads merged together, forming a ball of pure magic.

Eat this, Dallion offered, bursting into another set of instances. It was a good thing too, for one ray vaporized that particular instance of him.

Damn it, Dallion thought. The golems were adapting to his actions.

The dragon sniffed the ball of magic like a cat. Her indecision might have been described as adorable if it didnt occur at the worst possible time. There was an option to have Gem assist, but that might prove rather risky. Aquilauias nature tended to be on the vicious side, same as Gleam.

Aqui. Dallion gently pushed her using his music skill.

Able to see the strands of music, the dragon still felt compelled to hurry up, gobbling the ball of magic in one bite.

AQUILEQUIA has assimilated the MAGIC cluster.

A purple rectangle flashed. Sadly, there was no mention of level increase. Even for a level one, the dragon required a lot more to advance. That wasnt the point, though.

Shards of hardened aether rained all over the ground, as Dallions last aether copy cast a myriad of spells, providing him and the dragon with cover.

Did you understand the principle? Dallion asked as he pulled out another cluster of magic threads from the ground.

Yes. The dragon attempted a pout as she devoured the next ball of magic offered. I got it.

And just to prove it, she then sunk her teeth into the ground, draining an even larger amount.

AQUILEQUIA has assimilated the MAGIC cluster.

You know what to do, Dallion said, splitting into instances again. Gleam, watch over her.

Do I have to? The shardfly sighed like an older sister being denied a night out to look over her infant sibling. Even so, she did flutter close to the dragonlet, as did Dallions aether echo.

Dallion performed another spiral attack. Hed already discovered a number of buildings, yet not the one he needed. Fortunately, the Learning Hall also wasnt among the revealed areas. As far as he could tell, hed stumbled on one of the academys libraries and the senior mage cluster. The latter had been transformed into a battle mage training area, with most of the previous occupants having gone rogue or finding refuge among influential provincial nobles.

Its always the rats that run first, Dallion thought as he summoned his new armadil shield.

Gem, he said. Guard my back. Lux, help him. A dartbow wrapped in blue flames emerged as well.

Alright, boss. The aetherfish said, floating the shield to cover Dallions back.

Lux followed, chirping instructions in his typically cheerful fashion.

Id almost forgotten what this was like, Dallion said to himself. Sadly, there wasnt much time to reminisce. While the human mages were focusing all their effort on casting defensive spells, the golems were attacking in full force. At any single point several cast days of destruction indiscriminately in Dallions direction, while dozens more were charging straight at him, as if that would make any difference. Done was the time when he would be intimidated by a twenty-foot entity made of stone with speed and reaction in the high eighties.

Music spark attack, Dallion thought as he slashed the air with his harpsisword. Strands of music shot out, drilling through anything they came in contact with. Just for good measure, Dallion followed up by a line strike with his aura sword, casting twenty spells as he did.

Use a bit more instances, Adzorg suggested. Even when observing near perfection, the old man had something to criticize about. You still could be a target for rockets.

AQUILEQUIA has assimilated the MAGIC cluster, increasing her level to 2.

Good work girl, Dallion praised as rune golems disintegrated by the dozens.

MULTI KILL

(+2 Body, +2 Perception)

Killing twenty in one strike isnt anything special. Killing twenty entities with an awakened level of eighty, is.

A kill achievement? For some reason that made Dallion think of his grandfather. He, too, had killed off dozens of similar levels. Did that mean he had earned that achievement as well during the Order of the Twelve Suns massacre?

Careful, boss! Lux chirped.

A wave of destruction came out from beneath the ground, vaporizing all but five of Dallions instances.

Instantly, Dallion split again, and just in time as more waves followed from beneath the ground.

MAJOR WOUND

Your health has been reduced by 50%

Even with all his effort, Dallion had still suffered a partial hit. A ray of purple had effectively severed both his feet. The pain was tremendous, though severely dulled by his high body level, as if he was having a tooth pulled with partial anesthetic.

An immediate soothing sensation followed, as the firebird moved the dartblade to where his legs were, transforming it into a pair of metal bowls.

Is everyone alright? Dallion looked about with his instances.

There was no trace of his echo, though Aquilequia and Gleam seemed unharmed, located on the only patch of land that remained unaffected.

Nymphs arent the only ones who can play tricks, the shardfly said. Looks like you lost a few inches.

Smiling at her humor, Dallion performed a series of spiral attacks directly below.

The ground tore, revealing hundreds of partial golems buried there. The designs seemed ancientsomething that must have been constructed during the first days of the Academy.

You really were planning things out forward, werent you? Dallion said out loud. Even back before Jeremy had openly rebelled he had set things up so nothing he had created would fall in enemy hands. The capital, the Academy, and Moons know what else were nothing but expendable pawns that had served their purpose.

The realization sent chills throughout Dallions body. If the emperor was willing to use them here, hed be willing to destroy every structure of the Academy, people included.

Damn it! A hundred instances of Dallion darted straight down. Unsummoning both his blades, he reached forward in an attempt to come in contact with the ground as fast as possible.

AREA AWAKENING