Chapter 47: Third Wave
Dhruv began to panic, looking at the Vexar, who was still in the form of an egg, knowing that even the slightest scratch could mess up the Fragile process of evolution. On top of that, a mere half-hour remained before the next wave would flood the surroundings in a turmoil of combat—a scenario far from ideal for keeping an object as delicate as an egg safe.
But panicking isn’t going to achieve anything, and Dhruv quickly realized that he needed a solution. He turned his attention to Alaric, formulating a plan in his mind before voicing it. With resolve, he spoke,
"Alaric, could you stay within my shadow, along with Vexar, throughout the entire duration of the wave?"
Hearing the words, Alaric began to tilt his head in disagreement.. "No, master, I can’t keep any living being in the shadows yet. And If i do that, the living beings will begin to corrupt, slowly killing them."
Upon hearing the plan, Alaric began to shake his head in disapproval. "No, master, I am unable to hold any living being within the shadows as of now. Doing so would begin a process of corruption that would eventually lead to their death."
"Fuuuuck..!"
Gritting his teeth, he forcefully kicked a nearby corpse out of frustration. Observing the lifeless bodies around him, a new idea began to form in his mind. He quickly summoned Azarex and commanded, "Azarex, instruct all the undead to gather and transport these corpses near the wall. Once that’s done, make all of your undead out of Crystallce instead of goblins, and Task them with creating a strong ice shield around Vexar to ensure his protection."
"As you wish, my lord." With those words, Azarex swiftly moved into action. He commanded all the undead to gather the corpses scattered across the battlefield and transport them toward the gate.
Dhruv watched the process unfold with a mix of frustration and determination. He wished he could personally protect the egg using his magic; he could create a really strong metal shield with the help of [Metal Construct], but the limitations of the spell prevented him from doing so. The spell required a continuous supply of mana, and he couldn’t afford to do that in the middle of the battle. Despite being this strong, he felt he had a long way to go before he could truly protect those who were dear to him.
He had also invested some coins in his stats. He invested coins in upgrading his stats, particularly his stamina, to increase his endurance in battle. With the left-out coins, he buys some more health and mana potions. There wasn’t that much need for a health potion, but the mana potion is truly the life savior, as it is used by all four of us, especially by Azarex, as he had to constantly maintain the undead.
He opened the status to check how much he had leveled up in past fights. The only thing that kept him sane during these fights was the knowledge that he was growing every second he remained on the battlefield. With a sigh, he opened the status...
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Name: Dhruv
Class: Magic Warrior
Level: 04/10
Title: First blood
Magic Affinity: Metal (S), Illusion (D)
Stats: Strength Lv. 65(71), Stamina Lv. 50(55), Agility Lv. 45(49), Magic Power Lv. 82(90)
Abilities: Advanced Metal manipulation Lv. 2, Illusion manipulation LV.3, True fusion Lv. ??, Fire manipulation Lv.3
Skills: Precise Mana manipulation Lv. 2, Basic illusion resistance Lv.1, Faster Mana absorption Lv.2, Adaptive Mastery Lv.1, Mana Drain Lv.2, Mana Infusion Lv.2, Fire manipulation Lv.3, Normal Magic Sensitivity Lv.2
Spell: Metal arrow, Metal shield, Metal Constructs, Mana bolt, Phantom voice, Elemental bolt, Tempest Charge, Basic Heal
Cosmic coins: 5000
Skill point: 6
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’So I leveled four times in the last battle; only six more to go,’ he thought, struggling to keep an honest smile despite his progress. He looked at the skills, which had upgraded some more from the last time, especially metal and fire manipulation.
’Talking about metal manipulation, I didn’t check the new spells I got during the last upgrade...’ With this thought, he began checking out the new spells he had gotten last time; he couldn’t practice them earlier due to not having enough time. This wasn’t the perfect time, as only twenty minutes were left. Still, he made up his mind to learn at least one, if not two, of the new spells.
As Dhruv practiced the new spell, he could feel his mastery over it slowly improving. Each repetition gave him a better understanding of the minute focus required to control the spell effectively. He adjusted his mana flow, focused on the structure of the blueprint, and honed his concentration to make the spell as precise as possible. With time and practice, he could see the improvements he was making, and he gained confidence in his ability to use the spell in battle, but it still wasn’t on the same level as [Metal arrow] or [Elemental bolt]
’But something is better than nothing...’ he thought with a sense of relief. He started practicing the second spell, which turned out to be more challenging than the first. He became deeply engrossed in learning it, only to be interrupted when he suddenly heard Azarex calling him.
Stopping the spell, he turned towards Azarex, nodded, and gave him the chance to speak.
"Master, our task here is complete," he explained, motioning towards the gathered pile of corpses near the gate.
Agreeing with a nod, he approached the egg, which was quite large, and carefully lifted it. Slowly, he started walking towards the sea. When he reached the midpoint, he gently set the egg down on the ground and signaled for Crysatallce to begin its work.
With everything set, they all turned towards the gate and patiently waited for the last few minutes to tick away.
’Whoever said the last minute is the longest was definitely not joking,’ Dhruv remarked, feeling the truth of those words as he endured these last few minutes that seemed to stretch on like an eternity.
Despite Dhruv’s perception of time, the minute eventually passed like usual. As the final second ticked away, the invisible force field around the gate disappeared, and the entrance of the gate began to emit a white glow. Emerging from this glow was Crystallce in truly staggering numbers, a sight that would have left them all in awe if they weren’t already familiar with it.
Observing the approaching monsters, he started using his newly learned skill—[Serrated Blades]—casting it with all his strength. The spell he had selected was a multi-target one that launched multiple blades at the target, which proved to be extremely effective in this critical moment.
After seeing the impressive damage caused by the first spell, he immediately started preparing another one, his most devastating at the moment. Raising his hand, he cast an enhanced metal arrow, obliterating another row of monsters in a powerful display.
Things were going smoothly for a few minutes, but when he decided to glance at the egg, his heart skipped a beat when he realized that the goblins had nearly finished consuming the corpses and were now making their way toward them. Meanwhile, there was still a lot of Crysatallce left.
"’Ohhhh! Fuckk..!"
***
[Serrated Blades]:- Manifesting multiple floating metal blades that slice through the air, targeting multiple enemies.
