Vale followed the signs that led him to the dungeon, where Philip was being held captive.
He had to go through several corridors and stairs, avoiding more enemies along the way.
Most of the time, he would just use his Lightspeed to bypass them. Dealing with them with Spells would just waste his limited energy, so if he wanted to attack, he would just rather push them with brute force or slam them to the ground.
If he had to use a Spell, he would use his Darkness Manipulation since it barely consumes his energy. With such a Spell, he could easily control the shadows around him and create distractions or traps for his foes.
He was basically unhindered after dealing with those two Dark Spellcasters.
'It's here…' Vale stopped in front of the dungeon's door.
It would lead to several cells, one of which was where Philip was being held.
Vale then triggered his Divine Sense and Spirit Vision to confirm that Philip was still there.
Martial Arts Practitioner with 5 filled Spell Lights.
Martial Arts Practitioner with 5 filled Spell Lights.
These two Knights were behind the door waiting for him to enter.
His Divine Sense then detected the other prisoners inside.
To Vale's surprise, most of the prisoners here were practicing the Holy Arts!
Holy Arts Practitioner with 1 filled Spell Light.
Holy Arts Practitioner with 1 filled Spell Light.
Holy Arts Practitioner with 1 filled Spell Light.
...
Holy Arts Practitioner with 1 filled Spell Light.
There were a total of 8 Holy Arts Practitioners with a single Spell Model recorded in their Spell Light.
This was quite confusing since he thought that the Secret Organization was nurturing False Priests to fight against Dark Magicians.
It seems that this organization was hiding too many secrets.
Nevertheless, Vale wasn't bothered by this as he locked on Philp's position.
Dark Arts Practitioner with 5 filled Spell Lights.
Dark Arts Practitioner with 13 filled Spell Lights.
Transformation Arts Practitioner with 6 filled Spell Lights.
Philip was certainly the one with the 5 filled Spell Lights. The others were probably the ones managing this castle.
'Hmm? 13-Slotted Arcanist? He's the same as the Headmaster…' Vale thought as he swiftly made his plan.
There are numerous traps and formation circles inside the dungeon, and it would be difficult to enter unless he destroyed them first.
Furthermore, he has to consider the 7 Elementalists behind him, who probably thought of ambushing him once he engaged in battle.
They must have felt confident with their stealth techniques, but they were so easy to find with his Divine Sense active.
It didn't take him that long to decide what to do as he put his full force in his right foot before kicking the rusted metal door of the dungeon…
Bam!
The force shattered the brittle metal door surprising the two Knights behind.
Nevertheless, they swiftly used their Aura Shield around them, which blocked any physical or magical attacks.
Vale knew that these guys had terrifying vitality, so there was no point fighting them with brute force. According to the books he read and from his Master Heinz, even shattering their hearts wouldn't kill them immediately. They could still fight for a minute before completely falling down.
With this in mind, he knows that he has to use his Spell Dispersion to cancel their source of magic and make them vulnerable.
'Let's see how powerful this spell has become…' Vale thought as he triggered his Spell.
It must be remembered that his Spell Dispersion had now reached Level 7 or the Advanced Realm. He spent over three thousand Energy Points to upgrade this Spell, so he was expecting to see the effectiveness of this Spell against all of these people.
Whom~
As soon as he triggered the Spell, a wave of light swept over everyone inside the dungeon. This includes not only the Knights, but also the prisoners, the elementalists, and the three people at the very back of the dungeon.
The wave disrupted everyone's magic, and those who were casting spells caused it to backfire on them!
Vale witnessed everything clearly because his Phantasm State and Spirit Vision were activated when he did this.
He saw how they screamed in pain as their own spells and mystical items turned against them, burning or freezing or electrocuting them.
That's right, his Spell Dispersion no longer just stops any Arcane Spell, but he could use it to disrupt the direction of the Spell or even trigger them prematurely while being casted!
Of course, if he used this power of the Spell Dispersion, it wouldn't look stealthy since there would be a wave of light visible to everyone. Nevertheless, this was still a very powerful wide-range disruption spell!
After that, Vale canceled his Spirit Vision as he used his Ghost Hands and summoned Yvaine to deal with the aftermath. They were to finish off the struggling enemies.
He then entered the dungeon unhindered as he saw rows of cells filled with prisoners who looked weak and hopeless. He searched for Philip at the very end of the dungeon and was surprised at what he saw.
Even with a weak light, he saw the three figures he was looking for.
At the center was an old but dignified man standing firmly while holding his cane with his right hand. He looked at the masked Vale warily as he silently gauged his strength.
Vale ignored him and saw Philip sitting weakly on a cot in a small cell. He looked pale and thin, but he had no visible injuries. Vale felt relieved to see him alive but also worried about his condition.
However, as he looked at the other man, he saw a similar face and figure. It was another Philip Hoffman!
Vale's eyes lit up after seeing this, and he couldn't help but smile at this trick they had prepared.
'No wonder there's a Shapeshifter I sensed a while ago…' Vale thought as he looked at the old man who seemed to be gathering his Dark Energy and was prepared to fight.
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