R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 33 (Patreon)

R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 33 (In editing-v1)

The split second he was freed and able to use his Abilities, Micheal activated his Eyes of the Deep.

‘Divine Scan!’

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— - Divine Scan— -

Race: Dark Wraith

Title: -

Traits: -

STR - 20 (C-)

END - 20 (C-)

REG - 20 (C-)

SOL - 34 (A+)

Path Notes: A Dark Wraith that walks the Path of the Undying Ice.

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He quickly compared the results to his own Divine Scan.

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— - Divine Scan— -

Race: Heartflame Human

Title: -

Traits: -

STR - 25 (C)

END - 16 (D+)

REG - 11 (C+)

SOL - 39 (B)

Path Notes: A human that walks a cluttered Path. Traces of the Path of the Sword, the Path of Time, and the Path of Rebirth are present.

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‘He isn’t stronger than me, but his physical stats are well balanced overall.’ To have reached base 20 stats on the Second Layer as a Dark Wraith, a species that usually had flat C- Growth Talent in all things physical, meant the being before Micheal had trained incredibly hard.

Micheal grinned as he saw the rest.

‘It’s just as I remember.’

This Dark Wraith Sorcerer specialized in using Elemental Ice.

In the moment Micheal took to activate his Eyes of the Deep, the Dark Wraith Sorcerer didn’t just sit still and watch. The creature immediately raised its grey staff upward and began to chant.

“Frozen Art: Chains of Ice!” Blue glyphs appeared in the air in front of the Dark Wraith, glowing brightly.

A moment later, dozens of palm-length thick chains of ice burst into existence, wrapping around Micheal’s arms, legs, and body, and chaining him to the floor in a heartbeat.

Micheal grinned as he felt the freezing sensation begin to seep into his bones, his blood pounding in his ears.

“Finally… an opponent that uses Magic.”

Dark Wraiths were not a species that specialized in close combat. In the first place, Dark Wraith mythology claimed that they were born from the mystical energy that serenaded the Ancient World at the dawn of its creation.

If the Toren Race was a species that specialized in the physical world, the Dark Wraiths were a species that specialized in all things spiritual or related to the Soul.

Micheal flared the Sky Tier Ki within him, his entire body pulsing as he sent out a tiny shockwave of energy. This miniature shockwave lost all impact to anything more than half a meter distant, but that range limit didn’t matter for the chains binding him.

With a loud, screeching warble, the magic chains holding Micheal down began to crack and twist, falling to pieces.

“Annoying as always.” Micheal flicked off large chunks of ice from his back and rolled his shoulders.

He then pulled Lightshorn out of its sheath and dashed forward, kicking off against the hard brown dirt.

Magic.

The 7 Layers was full of many mysterious and wonderful things. There were many different combat systems that existed, including the very wide-sweeping category of Magic.

Most beings that used Magic possessed a ‘Mana Heart’ and a ‘Mana Circle’ within them. They drew energy from their Mana Heart and constructed complex, powerful Spells through their Mana Circle. The Rakkonians to the south that Micheal hadn’t really interacted with followed this line of thought.

Dark Wraiths, on the other hand, utilized Magic, but not in the same general sense as most.

Instead of building a Mana Heart and forming a Mana Circle, Dark Wraiths were spiritual beings that relied on their unique Physiques to directly channel Elemental Energy.

Elemental Energy made up the building blocks of reality in the 7 Layers. In Micheal’s first life, human researchers had determined that the 7 Layers were not within the same ‘universe’ as Earth.

Reality here functioned in ways science could no longer easily explain. Many facets of life were the same, or near-identical. Many other facets, however, were not.

One of those things was the concept of ‘Elemental Energy.’ This unique type of energy was a volatile substance that tied together the very fabric of reality. It was a type of energy that was empowered by the various Laws governing reality.

“Frozen Art: Goliath Spear!” The Dark Wraith chanted another spell as it jumped backward, away from Micheal.

“Woah!” Micheal casually leaned back and to the side, dodging an enormous, meter wide spear of ice as it hurtled through the air where he had just been. The movement caused him to skid and slide in the dirt for a split second before regaining his balance, sending out and using one of his Life Orbs to nudge his body back up.

By this point, Micheal had covered 70% of the distance between himself and the Dark Wraith. Micheal’s movements were incredibly swift and direct, showing no sign of hesitation.

The opposing Dark Wraith’s movements were just as direct, however, indicating the battle experience of a veteran. Few Wizards or Sorcerers could even partially stall the frontal assault brought by a Master without extensive preparation.

“Frozen Art: Waterbane Knives!”

Just as Micheal came within 5 meters of the Dark Wraith, his foe got off one last Spell. While Micheal couldn’t really read the expression held by the vague, shadowy being, he sensed just the slightest bit of panic in the creature’s movements. Micheal’s extremely fast advance had caught it off guard.

A dozen white knives appeared in the air and shot towards Micheal in a rush. Each knife was around a foot long (0.3m) and roughly as thick as two fingers held together, made of condensed Elemental Ice and packing enough force to penetrate a tank. 

Dodging such a coordinated, point-blank attack was a nigh impossibility, even for Micheal. The Dark Wraith Sorcerer had planned this last attack with exactly that in mind, drawing on its own vast experience fighting Toren warriors.

Micheal didn’t even have time to consciously think when he saw the knives appear in the air.

Instead, his body reacted almost autonomously, his instincts and training allowing him to move without thought.

Micheal’s right hand transformed into a blur as his sword cut out, moving so quickly it set the air to trembling. His muscles heaved and his lungs burned, following a technique his mind had trained in for more than a decade. 

12 knives shot towards Micheal.

Less than a second later, 12 loud ‘ting’s echoed out as those 12 knives were obliterated, cut down in mid-air.

“Not bad.”

Micheal twirled his blade in a full circle, rotating it in his palm as he continued smiling at the Dark Wraith Sorcerer. Small shards of ice fell off the sword, remnants of the icy knives. 

He was having fun.

The Dark Wraith’s body twitched as it saw Micheal’s grin, its vague, shadowy eyes glowing with angry light. While Micheal knew it was merely a recorded Clone created by the Inheritance, the Dark Wraith Clone didn’t know that at all.

In its eyes, Micheal was a very real opponent that appeared to be mocking it.

“Frozen Art: Chains of Ice!”

The Sorcerer cast the same Spell as before, chaining Micheal in place. Just like before, Micheal casually broke free from the chains, this time using Lightshorn to slice them apart.

The Dark Wraith had managed to buy itself some room, however, backing up around 12 meters from Micheal. The Sorcerer now floated in the air, its vague shadowy feet standing atop two flying chunks of ice.

“Oh? Bringing out the big guns already?” Micheal’s eyes narrowed as he saw blue light appear from the Dark Wraith’s eyes.

“I guess you’re angry.”

Dark Wraiths, unlike most other species that used Magic, could continuously cast Spells without worrying about running out of Mana. The only burden they felt was the accumulated stress on their Spirit Bodies, which would eventually force them to stop and rest.

Their ability to channel Elemental Energy without stopping had its merits, in that aspect. While their Spells could never reach the level of finesse and elegance that proper Wizards could show, they instead possessed raw, primordial power that was not easily matched by Tiered Spells.

Micheal purposefully paused for around half a second, giving the Dark Wraith just enough time to unleash the Spell it was forming.

“Frozen Art: Domain of Ice!”

The Dark Wraith’s voice boomed out in the air, warbling with power. A visible wave of blue light rocketed outward, spreading so quickly it went by in a flash.

As soon as it passed by Micheal…

The world around him began to slow down.

‘There it is… a Dark Wraith’s Domain Proclamation.’ Micheal’s eyes glowed as he flared his Ki, regulating his body temperature.

A Dark Wraith’s ability to channel Elemental Energy was a potent, rare thing, and their kind were a species that took full advantage of that.

By channeling a sufficiently massive amount of Elemental Energy into a limited area, Dark Wraiths were able to form a temporary ‘Domain.’ Within that ‘Domain,’ certain facets of reality would shift, based on the laws governing the Elemental Energy they were drawing upon.

In the case of the Domain of Ice, the world around Micheal dropped to below freezing temperatures and began to directly suppress his movements, trying to achieve a state of perfect stillness.

‘What is this… 18%? No, it’s around 20%... 21%.’ Micheal’s Master-class senses quickly picked up on the discrepancy, missing nothing.

‘Everything within his Domain is slowed down by 21%, at minimum.’ The Domain had an even stronger effect on creatures that were unable to restrict it.

It wasn’t a temporal restriction, like Micheal’s Time Bubbles, but rather, a spatial one. Nothing could move as swiftly as it used to within the Domain of Ice.

“Frozen Art: Goliath Spear!” The Dark Wraith Sorcerer waved its hands, its grey staff lighting up as it cast another enormous spear Micheal’s way.

This time, Micheal simply side-stepped the spear, predicting the angle it would fly at before the Dark Wraith had even finished summoning it.

“Unfortunately for you...” Micheal muttered, his eyes zeroing in on the Dark Wraith.

“A dozen meters away is still within my attack range.”

Micheal’s right hand flickered.

A flash of golden light split the air.

The Dark Wraith Sorcerer froze, its hands trembling as it looked down.

The grey staff the Dark Wraith wielded fell from its hands as the Sorcerer collapsed, its body literally split into two. A large, golden gash formed along its waist, remnants of a Master Tier Sword Energy fueled strike.

Whatever contingency or backup plans the Sorcerer had immediately failed in the face of the furiously sharp edge of Master Tier Sword Energy.

The frozen Domain of Ice shattered as a long, golden trail of Sword Energy dissipated, alongside the body of the Dark Wraith Sorcerer. Faint sparkles of blue light drifted in the air as the Domain faded away, the temperature rapidly returning to normal.

Micheal’s lightning fast attack had literally cut the Domain in half, his Master Tier Sword Energy shattering its influence as it sliced it apart.

“I can see why you took me so long to beat in my first life.” Micheal murmured as he recalled memories of the first timeline, when he had attempted the Gate of Trials.

The Dark Wraith Sorcerer was clearly an extremely experienced veteran that possessed a very high level of skill…

But so too, now, was Micheal.

“The only thing that can stop a Master is another Master.” Micheal resheathed his sword as he watched the Dark Wraith corpse unravel, bits of dark essence disappearing in the air. 

Abruptly, the world around Micheal froze once more. Warm, green light enveloped Micheal, restoring his body and energy stores to their peak condition. The air around Micheal twinkled as he teleported back, returning to his starting position within the arena.

The world abruptly reset, any remnants of Micheal’s match against the Ice Sorcerer vanishing.

For a couple of moments, Micheal stood alone in the arena, in the cocoon of warm, green light.

As soon as that warmth faded, however…

Micheal’s eyes narrowed as he found a new figure spawning into existence, right where the other Dark Wraith had started.

Another Dark Wraith Sorcerer, this one wielding a red staff that had a bright yellow fire burning on its tip.

‘One down, 3 to go.’ Micheal thought as he tried to smile and failed, forgetting that the space around him was frozen.

‘This will be a good warmup.’

Micheal’s excitement wasn’t dampened by the easy victory.

After all, it was no surprise that he absolutely obliterated the foes he was facing. Micheal was a Grandmaster who had focused every iota of his being into growing stronger as soon as he went back in time.

It only made sense that he crushed them.

‘The first 4 won’t be a challenge. However…’

Within the Gate of Trials, given that there were no previously recorded participants for Micheal to face, he would only be going up against the original 5 Recorded Clones.

Four of them were Elemental Sorcerers, elite Dark Wraiths that manipulated Elemental Energy.

Micheal had complete confidence in facing those 4 down without a problem.

‘The real challenge comes at the end.’ The excitement that was burning in Micheal’s blood burned all the fiercer as he began preparing for his next Duel...

And for his final Duel:

A 1 on 1 match against the Soul King Tallanoran himself.

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