NOVEL NEXT Chapter 182: Erasing Laws
Why did Zyrus start practicing now of all times? It was because although he was forbidden from interfering with the ongoing Holmgang, it wasn't against the rules to use magic as long as it didn't interact with anyone else.
'This form makes the practice 100 times more efficient!'
Zyrus was pleasantly surprised when the first magic circle expanded at a steady pace. The form he was in now was different from avatar. In 'avatar' state he used surrounding magic or natural energies in a broader sense. By stimulating his bloodline with he was able to exert more control over the surrounding mana, and that 'control' was manifested as his transformed state.
The key here was that the transformation was based on his bloodline and the surrounding mana. If he was practicing normal magic spells like arcane lance or vortex manipulation then avatar was a good match, however, the same wasn't true for something that relied on his physical cultivation.
After his breakthrough in the Streit bastion Zyrus had theorized an entire physical cultivation system based on the Void refinement. The curse of oblivion he created was based upon this and it proved that his hypothesis was correct. Nonetheless, it wasn't a physical cultivation in the truest sense. If compared with the martial arts civilization, the curse of oblivion was like a technique that body refiners could use after reaching a certain realm.
It was powerful and had the potential to develop the body, but still, it was a technique in the end. It couldn't help him reach a new realm.
Zyrus wanted to create a subclass that could help him in achieving that. His goal was to come up with a conclusive idea and make an achievement that was recognized by the system. His time was limited afterll and he couldn't spend centuries in isolation like martial artists of that world. Fortunately, sanctuary was the place that was most suitable for those who wanted to obtain power in a quick and efficient manner. There were disadvantages to this, but Zyrus knew that he was an exception.
He had the cube that could guide him on the path he chose. He could observe the paths others had walked upon and learn from them. And with the assistance of these two, he had developed his own understanding towards different realms– World Resonance, World Essence, and World core.
Zyrus understood the true meaning of world resonance at the Jindao Island. This was the fundamental realm and a starting point that focused on 'sensing' the world's laws and energy. The reason he was able to achieve that despite not having any systematic manual was due to his rich life experience and his source of origin. Even though this was a new field for him, his status as someone who stood at the peak of arcana wasn't just for show.
'This is why civilizations thrive- because they are built upon the hard work of the masses.'
Zyrus started expanding the second magic circle and recalled the worlds he had seen that fell apart. Their heritage was the most crucial factor if he wanted to reach a new level of power that was beyond the league of the sanctuary.
It might seem hard to imagine as to how they'd be more useful than skills and authorities, but think of it like this– it was extremely difficult to do complex calculations that involved large numbers if one didn't know the mathematical formulas.
Just how much collective time was spent before humans developed maths? How many geniuses and intellectuals had spent their whole lives dedicated to it? Can someone who only knows the basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division accomplish a task like this? It was hard to say. In a scenario where they had no one but themselves to rely on, it was impossible to predict what they would achieve in a given time.
They might get lucky and create a new formula based on their intelligence, and on the flip side, they might also die of old age before accomplishing anything. Zyrus was different from them as he had high intelligence and a long lifespan. No matter how complex an issue was, he was sure that he could figure it out given enough time. This remained unchanged for something like 'Void Body Cultivation Technique'.
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'But my enemies won't stop improving, nor will they let me grow strong enough to threaten them,'
Zyrus glanced downwards to check the progress of the Holmgang.
[Valor] Current effect: 132.07%
[Cowardice] Current effect: 205.74%
The results were as he expected. The numbers seemed big but the final difference was unlikely to be that drastic. Zyrus recovered his mental strength while observing the players who were focused on their grueling battles. Thanks to his recovery rates and strong willpower, he was able to start working on the third circle after half an hour.
Most of the participants including the imps were keeping an eye on the phenomenon in the sky. Two enormous magic circles were swirling around Zyrus's throne while a third was taking shape above his palm. Unlike the imps who were confounded by their inability to mimic that magic, the players were more interested in something else.
They didn't know what the black space at the center of the circles was, though they did recognize many of the runes that were moving around it while assembling and disassembling. How could they not? They were the all-too-familiar runes of metal and water laws.
They couldn't help but be curious. Although the runes were the ones they were familiar with, there was not a trace of laws present around them. They looked like simple drawings without a shred of power, and the players were certain that their observation was correct.
They didn't fail to sense any energy from the runes because they were too weak; it was quite the opposite. The runes in Zyrus's magic circles didn't resonate with the laws of metal and water, and thus, they were nothing but empty drawings.
No one believed that Zyrus was playing around at a time like this. They were eager to know what he was doing, but before that, they had to finish what was in front of them.
A leaders' actions held the power to influence their army, and the present scenario was no different. The players were no longer afraid of defeat and neither did they become lax after winning against the imps. Even someone as monstrous as Zyrus was making use of every second to improve his power, so who among them would dare to be lax?
The imps tried to incite their anger, but they were ignored like the healing potions in a troll's inventory.
*Fwooom*
Time trickled by and soon enough, the third magic circle was complete. Zyrus once again checked the battle results and to his surprise, the players were faring better than he'd predicted.
[Valor] Current effect: 187.26%
[Cowardice] Current effect: 234.90%
At the end of the day, there was a limit to the battle tactics the Imps and their cadejo mounts could use. Players had their class-related skills whereas the imps and strong physique and self-exploding ability. They might be weaker if this was a group fight on an open field, but on the platforms, they were indeed superior. The players realized this and used various means to counter the situation.
Thieves focused on evasion and critical hits to aim for direct kill or mutual demise. Swordsman treated this as a proper duel and played by the book; they didn't give any opening for self-explosion and did their best to turn this into a fight of tenacity and concentration. Tanks played like cockroaches and refused to be killed no matter what. They were the least affected by the imp's self-explosion as they had many interruption skills and high defense to avoid AOE damage.
Mages were almost all eliminated while the beasts that focused on close-quarters combat were engaged in a bloody tussle.
'Looks like they're all fired up huh,'
Zyrus leaned back and didn't create the fourth circle right away. Contrary to what others thought, he wasn't actually preparing for an attack. There was no trick or hidden mechanism behind the magic circles because they were already doing their job.
'There isn't any energy in the runes because that's how it's supposed to be.'
World Essence–It was a realm where one stored the world's energy in their body and formed the 'Essence'. This essence could be anything. Mana stored in one's heart, Spiritual qi stored in the dantian, or cosmic energy stored by his talent.
His mana was required for everything he did in the sanctuary so training by storing it was out of question. Not to mention that it was inefficient to store mana elsewhere in his body. According to research, heart was the organ that was most compatible with mana. There was no spiritual qi in the sanctuary so that too was a dead end.
That left the cosmic energy he could devour thanks to his talent. It was also the most suitable for him because unlike others, he didn't want to store essence but rather consume it to manifest the laws of Void.
What he was doing now was precisely that– using cosmic energy as fuel to 'erase' the laws of metal, water, and wood.