1240 Stand-in Figures Part 1 (2/2)

The Flower of Evil disappeared and Theisio took the red-robed bishops into the portal behind the gravestone.

Theisio did not pay any heed to the curse of the King of Glory.

Saleen did not pursue them. The Thunder Dragon Blaster would be recovered an hour later and his magic chords would be replenished by then as well. He stood before the cemetery's portal and said to the ones behind him, ”Do any of you fear the curse?”

”We do,” everyone said at the same time.

”I'm going in, are you people going to follow me inside?”

”We will!” No one hesitated then.

”Don't let it get to your head. Hold on for a bit,” Saleen said as he took out some star figures and handed one to each of his followers.

Saleen smiled and said, ”I'm an astrologer. While there is no way for me to resist the curse of a level-18 professional, I can do something to deflect the curse nonetheless. Wait for me for about half an hour. I'm about to advance.”

Saleen was going to advance to become a level-10 astrologer. When he reached level-10, he was certain that he would be able to lower the power of the curse. Level-9 astrologers had hardly been considered powerful in ancient times.

Lex had the protection from God's Ring. Saleen did not need such protection for himself. However, he did not want any harm to come to his own people. By getting to level-10, he would be able to use more of the Star Gathering Needle's power, enabling the star figures to take the curse in their steed.

However, he needed to fulfill his promise and return to the Imperial City of the Abyss after advancing to help Gaine find a level-19 Star Gathering Needle.

Saleen did not mind at all. He had a level 19 Star Gathering Needle in his hand to begin with. Even if he gave that to Gaine, he still had the Ring of Cosmos. Saleen deemed its powers more useful than those of the Star Gathering Needle.

Saleen had no intention of wasting more time on astrology after getting to level-10. The level-19 Star Gathering Needle was little more than a weapon to him, resembling something like the Dragon Crystal Needles.

Saleen had made up his mind—give up on further training in astrology and continue to research magic.

If he were willing to continue training in astrology, Gaine would definitely be willing to stay within their plane and continue to guide him.

However, there is no way Saleen will give up magic!

Regardless of how powerful Gaine was, Saleen deemed that Jason could give him more.

Nailisi, Eleanor, Jola, Sul, Nicholas, Isabella, Daniel, and the others looked at Saleen. He took out the Magical Element Tower and said, ”I can train anytime, anywhere. No worries, people. Even if Theisio comes back after getting in there, there is nothing he can do to me.”

Despite what he said, he still felt somewhat disappointed. He had even managed to pierce Theisio's heart, yet the pope lived.

Theisio would have to be prepared for their next encounter. That skill of his could be nullified by Theisio's equipment, making it difficult to use on the pope himself.

Seems like the only option left for taking on Theisio is mastering balls of lightning.

Saleen knew that he had been able to hurt Theisio because the pope had underestimated him. Furthermore, the pope was not used to the way he fought.

There was no other mage that was able to move as quickly as Saleen. The pope was unable to calculate Saleen's movements. That enabled the Crystal Finger to be so powerful. The range of its attack was simply too short. Even when it was used in conjunction with Comet Flash, there were still some loopholes to be exploited.

Those few microseconds were more than enough for Theisio to prep his defenses.

The Magical Element Tower blocked the portal of the cemetery of the giant. Saleen was not concerned about anyone making it out. In actual fact, he would be able to trap everyone inside using such means. However, although Theisio possessed all three of the godly items, Saleen would be able to hold Theisio back for half a month if he used the tower.

With so many red-robed bishops around the pope, they would be able to cast some skills to push the tower further away.

The entrance would truly be sealed off if the tower merged with the cemetery of the giant. It would trap those people inside forever.

The advancement of astrologers was a far more quiet affair than the advancement of mages. They did not even need to lay star charts out. Saleen only needed to absorb the power and knowledge that Gaine had hidden within the level-16 Star Gathering Needle and he would naturally make it to level-10 as an astrologer.

Saleen reached the edge of level-10 after multiple uses of astrology. He even came to possess the power of the level-10 astrologers. It was a benefit brought to him by the level-19 Star Gathering Needle.

Starlight filled the insides of the tower. The space created by the mechanical core of Sky City seemed to have truly been turned into a natural world. If not for the fact that it was only 360 meters in diameter, such illusions would be near-impossible to see through.

Those starlights possessed equal power to the constellation. They basked in every single one of them as if they were being blessed by divine spells.

Eight star-figures were lined up before each of their owners. Saleen took out the level-19 Star Gathering Needle and began infusing power into the figures.

There was a starry sky contained within the level-19 Star Gathering Needle. The power of that sky was ample and seemingly bottomless, enabling Saleen to siphon power from it almost indefinitely.