After Vale closed his eyes, he started focusing, reaching out with his Divine Sense.
Whom~
Suddenly, the surroundings became clear for Vale.
It was as if a veil had been lifted, revealing the hidden reality behind the illusions. With each step he took, he could sense the energy of the true path, guiding him through the maze of illusions.
'As expected of an Advanced Realm Spell of the Holy Arts Factions… This is too useful.' Vale thought to himself as he navigated through the chamber.
He encountered whispers and echoes, illusions that tried to deceive him.
There was even a "survivor" of the Tower, that tried tricking him. Well, with his Divine Sense, he was able to realize that it was just an undead shrouded in illusions.
He extracted the undead before killing it.
[ Extraction Successful. Energy +4 ]
[ Extraction Successful. Memory Fragment. ]
The Memories showed him the life of the undead as a thief who tried entering the Academy.
'Hmm? Are they placing the criminals they caught inside this Tower?' Vale thought to himself.
This situation happened a few more times as he extracted their energy and memory fragments. This time, Vale realized that most of the undead here were criminals, unlike the ones on the first floor.
Anyway, his Divine Sense acted as a compass, guiding him towards the source of the illusions.
Finally, as he reached the end of the chamber, he heard several shrieks coming from the ones controlling the illusions within the whole floor.
Undead Imps!
It led him to a group of Undead Imps, mischievous creatures that had been responsible for the illusions that plagued the chamber.
The Undead Imps, sensing Vale's presence, scattered everywhere.
However, there were a few of them who revealed themselves with wicked grins upon their half-skeletal faces.
These Imps were probably the leaders of their small pack.
'So this is how they look…' Vale thought as he already knew about them through his studies.
Of course, he wasn't aware that the Undead Imps were here. The Professors told him it would no longer be a challenge if he knew everything inside the Tower.
'They're already undead, but they can still use their Arcane Spells? What Necromancy is this?' Vale thought as he felt the Arcane Energy coming from these Undead Imps.
The Undead Imps didn't waste their time as they started making noise and activated their Spells.
They unleashed a flurry of illusory attacks, trying to disorient and confuse Vale.
There were screams of terror, waves of confusion, and other Spells he couldn't guess, but he was undeterred.
His Phantasm State remained strong, and his Divine Sense provided him with the clarity and focus to see through their tricks.
Shing~
With a swift motion, Vale unsheathed his Stormbringer Sword… He could probably easily clear this floor with the power of this Divine Sword, but it would unnecessarily consume his energy.
Instead, he decided to use the Shadowblade Dance technique he had just learned. He moved gracefully and precisely, striking down the Undead Imps one by one.
Luckily, these Undead Imps weren't that nimble.
His sword sliced through their ethereal forms, dispersing them into nothingness.
'Ugh… That was a mistake. I couldn't extract them like this…' Vale thought.
Killing these undead beings wouldn't leave corpses, so he has nothing to Extract after.
After realizing his mistake, Vale stopped using his sword and opted to use his Ghost Hands and Spectral Hands.
He started Extracting them this time and was surprised by the result.
[ Extraction Successful. Energy +10 ]
[ Extraction Successful. Imp Essence. ]
"Ahhh… I can extract this?" Vale was stunned as soon as he saw what he had just extracted.
One of his Transformation Arts, called Beast Shapeshift, has one vital requirement regarding what creature he could shapeshift. That was the Essence of the Creatures he wanted to shapeshift.
This was why he could not use this Spell even after recording the Spell Model unless he only wanted to shapeshift into normal animals.
He was thinking of buying these Creature Essences in the Exchange Hall, but he had forgotten about it since it wasn't really necessary and he had no use of them yet.
Now that it had appeared, Vale couldn't help but smile as he had saved some of his Contribution Points once again.
As he accepted the Essence, he didn't feel anything aside from the pulsing of his Beast Shapeshift Spell Model.
"Alright… Let's continue." Vale muttered as he looked at the remaining Imps…
Slash!
With a wave of his hand, the Undead Imp he had just extracted was cut into two. It then vanished into nothingness, never to spawn again in this chamber.
Shriek!
The other Imps didn't like what they saw as they attacked Vale together.
"Come!"
Vale didn't falter after being bombarded by Spells as he continued with his onslaught, and as the last of the Undead Imps fell, the illusions that had plagued the Chamber of Illusions dissipated. The chamber transformed into a serene and tranquil space, devoid of deception.
Vale stood amidst the aftermath of his battle, his breath steady and his spirit unyielding.
'I think I got too much Imp Essence… I guess my Shapeshift won't just copy their appearance but also their Aura and Spells at this point.' Vale thought to himself as he considered using his Shapeshift Spell before entering the third floor.
He probably extracted more than 30 Imps just now… All of them provided 10 Energy Points and Imp Essence!
"Yvaine… Come out." Vale said as the Dark Spirit, shrouded in a huge black cloak, came out of his shadow.
"Do you want me to guard you again?" She asked with her ethereal voice.
"Kind of. I will be using a Spell, and in case something goes wrong, you have to put me unconscious." Vale replied with determination.
Well, he was worried that the Essence he Extracted would also affect his mind when he completed his transformation.
Having Yvaine by his side would make him feel more at ease to experiment.
Yvaine tilted her head in confusion, but she still nodded after.
Vale was already satisfied with this as he focused and channeled his energy into the Shapeshift Spell.
As the Shapeshift Spell enveloped him, his body underwent a remarkable transformation.
His form shrank and contorted, taking on the appearance of a mischievous Imp.
Then, he sprouted leathery wings from his back, his skin turned a deep shade of crimson, and his eyes glowed with an otherworldly intensity!
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l