63 A Serpents Cry and a Dragons Help (1/2)

Rainer rushed deeper into the mountain. Hours passed by as he alternated between flight and foot, reminding him just how truly massive this network within the mountain truly was. The vastness became apparent as he waited for Jor to fully recover once more.

Recalling his last [Sleep Learning] session, he wished to bang his head against the wall, assuming he'd remain conscious after such a thing. Preparing for the Trial was hardly a priority when his life was at risk. And barring circumstances that would force him to try and rush back to Luna, subclasses were currently an issue. An issue more than solvable with an Abyssal Dungeon and the numerous Devils of this world.

Even in this situation, the prospect of the classes his titles have unlocked fills him with anticipation.

As much as he wished to ignore his frustrations with Arcane-Ice and peer into the endless Void, such a thing did not solve the problem at hand. And with the size and strength of the Devil horde he can't imagine any alternative other than a powerful and proper Arcane version of [Frozen Sun]. Even if he learned the tier 6 [Inferno], he's all but certain that the stronger Devils could avoid or survive it.

The only thing such a spell could accomplish is leaving him Manaless in the face of his true enemy within the horde.

Stuck on the advancement of Arcane-Ice and yet stubbornly not wishing to linger on his abilities of the Void, Rainer thought to the future. A future that couldn't exist without seeing the horde of Devils entombed in in this mountain.

Healing both Quera's mother and Maya's wife lingered on his mind, whether by his own hand or by the supposed means the Courts had. From there he'd raid the Blood Soul Guild, now lacking its leader, and head as far South as the Fairy Rings existed in the Northern Continent.

All that was left would then be a boat ride to the Dragon Isles. With the Horde around him Rainer was reminded of his pursuit of the Mana-Well and what would have likely been a similar situation had he not pursued the [Arch-Lich] directly, rather than try and flee.

He couldn't help but sigh wistfully as he planned on purchasing a ship with Fae gold and then enchanting it to the brim with the Mana-Well. To him, that sounded like a vacation and a practice of Magic in one.

But the scratching of claws brought Rainer's attention to the present. There was not a single entrance nor a single path that led to the fortress, and he was about to deal with yet another group of Devils coming from a different entrance.

Seeing only moving shadows, Rainer opened [Arcane Sight] for his eyes to nearly bulge at the sight. A single presence of shadow seemed to contain dozens of Souls. The shadow approached and then erupted in a fervour, [Deviling]s pouring out and the transporter hiding long before any [Arcane Bolt]s tore through the new arrivals.

He took flight almost immediately, intent on escaping the assault. Yet, he found the moment he did, a dark Aura hit him in an instant. He had only enough time to land properly, let alone actually find the source.

Rainer gritted his teeth in annoyance. His flight spell had a decently high initial cost of Mana and Arcane Power, even if the upkeep with Arcane Power was quite small. This was either a trait of flight spells that the Devils seem to be commanded to understand and interrupt, or they simply didn't like him flying.

Either way, a simple flight wouldn't give him the relief he sought.

Seeing more shadows on the horizon, and still feeling the presence of the first transporter, Rainer knew it would not be as simple as before.

Rainer gasped for breath as he leaned against the tunnel wall. A Mana potion he had stolen from Yulia's spatial ring entered his lips. Letting out a deep breath, he straightened himself and moved forward once more.

Looking down at the map of the mountain, he realized just how much he still underestimated its size. Traveling for countless miles, he was quite a distance away from the so-called fortress.

Rainer froze for a moment. He had experienced near death several times. At the hands of the [Death Knight] boss in his first dungeon, ambushed by the Vampire capable of teleportation and the Miasma of the bound and sealed [Devil King] in his second. As the [Arch Lich] stole his life and Mana, he came to precipice of death.

As Yulia tried to take what he held most dear, along with destroying his heart.

But it was all an instant thing. He was close to death, and then he wasn't. Never once did he truly believe he'd die. Even as he painted a Rune for Necromancy in his own blood across his forehead, he knew he'd rescue Luna.

But now, over the course of many hours, death was constantly on his mind. Every time his Mana dipped too low, or he felt himself nearly lose consciousness in a fight. There was no huge injury to heal, nor a clear-cut foe to slay, there was only exhaustion and a depletion of Mana.

With a hand still on the wall, he moved forward, waiting for his Mana to fully recover. Suddenly he pushed against the wall as an Aura manifested claw slashed past him and into the stone.

An Armed [Arcane Bolt] attacked the would-be capturer at the same time. Once more the creature fell back into the darkness, leaving only a frustrated Mage.

Capturer…

Rainer thought and grimaced as he recalled the leg he nearly lost, both the mark and blood still marring the magically created pants. All the Devils coming after him so far, he realized wanted him alive, for whatever consumption [Devil King] Agmar had likely mentioned in the past. Though, for different masters this time.

Along with the usual flying Devils bringing others forward, another group seemed to crawl along the very shadows, coming from likely the other entrances to the mountain and meeting him on his path to the fortress.

Their darkened form that ran on feet and hands, with a tongue matching their limbs in length, scurried across the wall, often too fast or too hidden to be thought of as anything other than a trick of the eye.

But Rainer's [Arcane Sight] knew better. At least, when he could spare the cost to use it alongside his already draining [Arcane Awakening].

Just as Rainer thought over how to capture the slippery Devil, the small tell-tale burning of Jor awakening answered his query. His sigh of relief seemed to echo as he felt the serpent leave his arm. His violet form a comforting presence for the tired Mage, and a harbinger of death to the Devils after him.

Rainer looked back in awe as the elusive Devils within the Shadow were consumed normally, drawn by the serpent, as if they always existed so clearly visible.

Taking out the map of the mountain, he noted that there wouldn't be a branching path for quite some time, making his current location applicable for taking a rest while Jor harvested any who would interrupt him. His armed [Arcane Bolt]s provided another layer of protection as well.

He all but slammed against the ground as he sat on the dark gray stone. He felt Jor's presence was close enough, a calm reassurance that even as the serpent hunted, Rainer's protection was at the forefront of the Violet creature's mind.

It took only a moment for his vision to change to that of a White Void.

Rainer calmed himself as best he could to try and focus on the task ahead of him. Immediately his mind filled with nothing else but how to properly use [Arcane Frozen Sun] as a truly powerful spell of mass destruction.

The first weakness, and likely the greatest, was his pools of both Mana and Arcane Power being too small. While he could convert over 1200 total Arcane Power, there was no way for him to sustain the cast long enough or stable enough to use more than 200 before he'd either must release or let it fail.

And then there was the problem of the Arcane-Ice itself that he didn't fully understand, weakening the otherwise mighty spell. And not only weakening it but no longer freezing Magic or Aura as the original. For it to be weaker in the first place, under Rainer's massive Arcane bonuses, was a testament to how poor the spell currently was.

[Frozen Sun] alone was not an option, for even freezing just a single, though quite large, target of the [Devil King], had drained him quite a bit.

He let out a breath of frigid air as the ground around him started to freeze with a violet hue. Arcane-Ice began forming around him as he manipulated it directly. He formed spikes in the floor, swirled the frost around him, or simply unleashed the element with all the power he could muster.

And while he did this, his eyes looked over the spell formula for [Arcane Frozen Sun] in front of him, written on a created paper.

[Arcane-Ice Manipulation has reached level 2]

He ignored the message as while he certainly gained a better and more efficient control, he still didn't understand much more.

His eyes suddenly opened wide as he took out a far different formula. Scanning across it, he found that his practice with [Void Call] had an unintended bonus: dealing with the pain from reading runes far above his ability. What was before a crippling weakness that took time to recover from, was now merely an annoyance.

Though in the end, he still succumbed to the pain. Even forced to look away, his grin did not fade as he isolated what he was looking for. While the spell itself still escaped his understanding, he was practiced enough with Mana packets and channels to understand that portion of it.

[Deliverance] was based upon a single, heavily compressed Mana packet. Most importantly, released at the command of its caster after allowing the gravity to draw in as much Light as possible. The design heralded a true wide scale destruction.

He grinned; for now, he had a way to alter [Frozen Sun]. Instead of a focused Mana Channel, it would be a spell that unleashed a wide area of frost.

With a fervour, he began altering the formula. He knew such a task could take years if not longer of testing and careful planning and studying. To create an entirely new spell based upon [Frozen Sun], that not only exceeded the original but would allow Rainer the time to fill it with the full force of his Arcane Power.

And it was the White Void that provided a solution to that dilemma. There was no need to study patiently, to take care that the formula worked perfectly, that it didn't draw too much Mana or turn inwards on the caster.

Every single change, every single step he could test with abandon, over and over again, slowly refining his work to his goal.

A powerful surge of Mana escaped Rainer as he tested his newly written spell. And at almost that very same time the powerful surge backfired, held in a Mana packet for not even a second, before rebounding at Rainer.

Refreshing his body, he went back work. Failure after failure of the he floated a brief thought at how lucky he was to be alive. His spell for wall-walking truly contained the potential for catastrophic failure. He frowned for a moment as he thought of his coming to a new world those months ago. After temporarily concluding it must have some sort of strange Void or Spatial weakness, or perhaps even a solar flare he returned to the task at hand.

Just as he was about to test the next rendition of the patchwork monstrosity that was a spell formula combining parts of [Arcane Frozen Sun] and [Deliverance], he heard a horrid scream that brought him out of [Sleep Learning].

Rainer shot straight up as he immediately knew where the horrid cry of pain came from. It sounded just as the tortured cries that would be released when Rainer attacked the fallen Souls he tried to capture with the [Devil's Soul Language].

The cry reverberated within him.

Jor!

Rainer yelled in his mind as used his bond to the Serpent to Void-walk to Jor instantly.

The serpent lay pinned to the ground, numerous teeth of pitch-black [Deviling]s biting into the serpent. Holding a staff right above Jor's head was a Devil chanting in the [Devil's Soul Language].

In a white hot rage, Rainer countered with his own language as his [Arcane Blade] tore across the Devils pinning Jor down, and his eight armed [Arcane Bolt]s simultaneously attacked the caster.

The Devil Mage vanished in a flurry of shadow to avoid the bolts as Jor escaped the last remaining Devil pinning him down and consuming him.

Tendrils of shadow shot out to attack Rainer but were destroyed in only a moment with his [Arcane Blade].

The cloaked Devil did not even have a chance to act before Rainer was in front of him, the mage's hand gripped across the cloaked figure's throat and slammed him against the wall.

[Arcane Sight] lit Rainer's eyes as he took in the figure. The sound that seemed to come from Jor's very soul still fresh in the [Archon]'s mind.

A skill was gained.

[Skill Gained: Devil Anatomy lvl 1/10]

And Mana was used.

The Devil thrashed and screamed in a pain far stronger than anything Rainer had ever heard. But he ignored it entirely, the pain and guilt he felt for Jor filling his mind.

He realized now he never once considered how dangerous it was sending the serpent alone. How he never even considered the Devils would be a true threat to Jor. How the serpent's constant presence and help against Devils and Divinity itself was something Rainer had begun to take for granted. That he never once thought of the dangers and only selfishly enjoyed the rest. Just as this caster of Devil's angered him, so too did his own failings.

He dropped the figure onto the ground as it twitched in pain.

Rainer looked back at Jor to find the serpent rushing to his side.

”I'm sorry…”

Jor only twisted in response, wrapping around Rainer, before gently reentering the Rune on his shoulder. Rainer did not even register the pain of the rune as he contemplated what had happened.

He let a smile touch his face and then he turned back on his captured target. Picking him up and slamming him against the wall once more, Rainer spoke.

”You'll tell me everything I need to know, and I'll let you die quietly,”

The Devil laughed in his face, his pitch black eyes staring in mock.

”You think you can break me before they come for me, you fledging Void Lord,”

Rainer paused for a moment as he stared at the figure. His eyes narrow, as he thought it over.

”I don't care,” He spoke quietly before the Devil's screams filled the tunnel once more.

Sometime after, Rainer felt the spatial fluctuations of more presences of Mana. He crushed the Devil's throat without hesitation, after finding out the Devil's boasts of holding out were lacking and he already gained all the information he wanted.

The other dozen figures turned to cast at Rainer, cloaked in the same black robes but one holding a far stronger power.

The [Archon] cast his recently rearmed [Arcane Bolt]s toward the group as the [Devil's Soul Langauge] erupted from all of then. Rainer grimaced as he returned the favor and then threw bolts one after the other.

Three fell before a strange connection set him on edge.

Rainer immediately Void-walked away as a wave of [Devil's Soul Language], far more powerful than he ever experienced, slammed into him.

Rainer grimaced in pain as he cast his flight spell and soared away as fast as he could. There was no question such a group of Devil Mages with such a powerful feeling were dangerous, especially for his tired self.

He went deeper and deeper into the tunnel, pushing the flight spell to his max before he suddenly found himself falling

[Skill Gained: Curse Resistance lvl 1/10]

Rainer collapsed to the ground, only his high constitution and overcoat keeping him from fatal injury, as the last of his Stamina and Mana left him. His body covered in crooked black lines, searing him with unimaginable pain. Were it not for his [Pain Resistance] and his countless experiences of death and worse within [Sleep Learning], consciousness would have long since left him.

He stared inwards with [Soul Detection], noting the black presence amongst his Soul corrupting him. With it already spreading to his body, only [Arcane Invigoration] with what little Arcane Power he had left supported him.

Using [Sleep Learning] to try to heal his Soul was only a last-ditch option, as Rainer feared his body would fail if he lowered his defenses for even an instant.

Rainer's thoughts cycled as he ingested Fairy Dust, converting the Mana to Arcane Power as quick as he could before the Curse consumed it first. He took a potion as well but found it didn't even seem to effect him.

[Fairy Dust has been absorbed. Affinity +4, Lifespan + 1]

It granted him 4 Mana, along with the increased maximum from Affinity.

The entirety of his mind focused on a single task. He cycled through anything he knew that might save him before he would flare his [Arcane Rage] and then [Arcane Invigoration] before then trying to cleanse the curse through sheer force in [Sleep Learning].

Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

He collapsed the ground, the ever present Jor patrolling around him, a worry hidden deep within. Rainer, finding no option prepared to flush his body before he noticed Tiamat escaping his jacket.

She stared at up him with worry in her eyes. He felt for a brief moment an infusion of Magic against his Soul, but far too weak to save him. Rainer did his best to smile amidst the pain before his expression froze. Her mana plummeted to zero in just a few seconds.

She took a deep breath of Miasma and recovered her entire pool of Mana.

[Arcane Sight] covered his eyes and he watched the dragon far closer than he ever had before. With every breath of Miasma, the little dragon seemed to flare with the a bit of Magic. Her very blood lit with power and absorbing the Miasma around her.

He watched, as if entranced, at how she did such a thing, with no mind for time passing. He only interrupted himself to take the occasional dose of dust.

[Fairy Dust has been absorbed. Affinity +4, Lifespan + 1]

Tiamat stared at him worryingly as Rainer ingested more dust and cried out in pain as the curse tried to rip the Mana from him.

[Curse Resistance has reached level 2]

Just as he took his third dose of dust, his [Archon] class presented a different way forward. With [Arcane Sight] he carefully memorized the flow of power within Tiamat as she breathed and converted the Miasma with Mana. His thoughts ventured on the power he noticed whenever he extracted [Draconic Essence] and his own theories on the nature of a Dragon's Magic.

[Fairy Dust has been absorbed. Affinity +4, Lifespan + 1]

[Draconic Runic Language has reached level 2]

So, It was about blood!

He exclaimed to himself finding a second wind even amongst the terrible pain.