A Wizard’s Secret

Eight pairs of eyes were locked on Merlin. The Spell Casters were, to some extent, imperceptibly accumulating their powers. In order to obtain the Neverending Book, these Spell Casters from Subzero Snowfield were ready for the worst-case scenario.

“Kill him!”

Suddenly, without warning, a Seventh-level Spell Caster led the first attack. Wind Elements started to flash on his body and subsequently converged into a strong tornado. Inside the tornado were also some ice crystals.

This was a combination of a Wind-type spell and an Ice-type spell, and the resulting power was astounding! Even though it did not have any Pandora Demon Ability, its power was no less than an average Pandora Demon Ability.

The truth was, once Spell Casters reached the Seventh-level, their ability levels would begin to differ greatly from one another. One reason was that Seventh-level Spell Casters with Pandora Demon Ability would be able to cultivate their Pandora Demon Ability to its third form or third stage, thus they would witness a massive leap in their abilities.

Nevertheless, Spell Casters with Pandora Demon Abilities were of course very few in number. The other reason for the ability gap between other Seventh-level Spell Casters was due to the power level of their self-derived spells.

If a Spell Caster was proficient at constructing spells and spent the time to slowly derive a spell, it would be extremely powerful compared to Spell Casters who just rushed through the process.

This Spell Caster who led the first attack had derived a very powerful spell, one beyond the level of an average Seventh-level Spell Caster!

“Crash crash crash.”

A huge tornado filled with ice crystals as sharp as jagged rocks hurtled violently onto Merlin’s body. Merlin, however, was ready for the attack and already cast Rippling Armor. When hit, Rippling Armor released waves after waves of ripples that dispersed continuously, thus reducing the impact of the attack.

The power of Rippling Armor was rock-solid but with the infusion of Pandora Demon Ability Fuse Earth, its defensive power was even more impenetrable. It was impossible for a Seventh-level spell to break the defense of Rippling Armor.

Even the most powerful Seventh-level spell would only end up consuming more of Merlin’s Magic Power. This was of course unless the spell contained a Pandora Demon Ability but then again, that would no longer be considered a mere Seventh-level spell.

The ripples on Rippling Armor gradually weakened and disappeared, which meant that the attack had been completely dispersed without causing any harm to Merlin.

“Swish.”

Merlin made his move at the exact moment his opponent attacked. His bodily movement was indecipherably fast. In the blink of an eye, he was already right in front of the Spell Caster who led the first attack.

“Darkness Illusory Death!”

Merlin was not targeting this Spell Caster alone. He knew that although the remaining seven Seventh-level Spell Casters had not launched their attack, they were simply waiting to gauge his abilities.

However, if one of them was being threatened, Merlin was sure that the other Spell Casters would not stand down. Therefore, he decided to keep them preoccupied with their own predicament, and in the meantime, kill as many as he could as fast as possible. Any one less would help reduce Merlin’s burden later.

After all, not everyone could stand up against eight Seventh-level Spell Casters without feeling unnerved.

“Fuu…”

Darkness descended abruptly and turned the entire passageway pitch-black. This pitch-black darkness was woven together by thick Darkness Elements and was not a mere illusion.

In fact, once a Spell Caster’s Mind Power had achieved the Seventh-level, it was very difficult to entrap them in an illusion. At best, they would only be slightly disorientated, and would recover soon enough.

Merlin’s purpose of casting Darkness Illusory Death was not to cause any harm to these Spell Casters but only to disorient them. Once they were disoriented, even for a split second, he would have the advantage to initiate the first move. He could also focus his power and kill at least one Seventh-level Spell Caster.

“Sh*t, this is a Hallucinating spell, act quickly!”

Some of the Spell Casters immediately sensed that something was wrong. Merlin’s tactic was meant to give himself an opportunity but these Seventh-level Spell Casters were almost as old as time, hence they would not be fooled so easily.

However, despite their realization, it was not an easy task to regain consciousness. Darkness Elements had enveloped the entire passage, so everyone who was inside the passage would be affected by Darkness Illusory Death.

Just Darkness Elements alone would not cause them any harm but instead, the time spent being disorient would pose the greatest danger.

“Incinerating Fire!”

With a slight narrowing of Merlin’s eyes, he transformed into an embodiment of raging fire with flames covering his entire body. Then, he pointed a finger toward the Spell Caster who had made the first attack.

“Boom!”

Endless surging flames began to burn rapidly on this Spell Caster, frantically attacking his Defensive spell.

Soon enough, the Defensive spell collapsed, and a sliver of fear appeared on the face of that Seventh-level Spell Caster. He did not expect that despite the threat posed by eight Seventh-level Spell Casters, he would be killed so quickly.

“No…”

With one final wail, the Spell Caster was swallowed by the column of pale white flames…

“Damn it!”

When the other Spell Casters recovered from the illusion, it was already too late. Merlin had already killed a Seventh-level Spell Caster at top speed. Some of their faces appeared gloomy because the killing of a Seventh-level Spell Caster had caused some apprehension and anxiety among them.

This was because at some point, they might also be killed by Merlin’s lightning speed!

“Everyone, let’s not hesitate anymore. This person is very powerful and can kill any of us in a moment’s notice. If we don’t join forces now, I’m afraid we’ll be in trouble today!”

The remaining seven Spell Casters quickly formed an alliance. Merlin’s tactic had shocked and repulsed them. At the same time, it also made them feel extremely threatened, so it was easier for them to join forces.

“Darkness Illusory Death!”

Merlin did not hesitate and cast Darkness Illusory Death again. For a moment, Darkness Elements filled the entire cave but this time, these seventh Spell Casters were prepared for it. They released their Mind Power at full blast, their concentration locked on Merlin.

Their strong Mind Power managed to pierce through Darkness Illusory Death, and the Darkness Elements gradually collapsed and disappeared. Merlin’s attack did not work.

On the contrary, these seven Seventh-level Spell Casters released a party platter of attacks as spells filled the air and began to rain heavily on Merlin.

Merlin’s Rippling Armor emitted a huge glow, and at the same time, Merlin gently extended his palm. This time, everyone could clearly see the oddity in his palm.

A blood-red vertical eye seemed to be embedded in Merlin’s palm. The eye was blinking continuously, and whoever crossed gaze with this blood-red eye felt a heart-faltering sense of fear in their hearts that could not be dismissed.

“Is that the legendary Darkness Eye from the Great Legend of Darkness?”

Even though the Spell Casters in Subzero Snowfield were isolated from the rest of the world, there were occasional Spell Casters who came to them from the outside, so naturally, they knew of the legendary infamous Darkness Eye.

It was an accursed power, and any Spell Caster who cultivated the Darkness Eye would not have a pleasant outcome awaiting them. Yet, every Spell Caster who cultivated Darkness Eye had been incomparably fearsome.

Darkness Eye represented something far more terrifying – wherever Darkness Eye appeared, darkness and murder would follow!

“Darkness Eye, dispel!”

Faced with the endless spell attacks, Merlin dared not act carelessly. He did not want Rippling Armor to withstand so many Seventh-level spells. Even though Rippling Armor was powerful enough to withstand the attacks of Seventh-level spells, there were too many spells, so he was afraid that his replenishment of Magic Power might not be able to keep up with its consumption. In that situation, it would be dangerous for him.

If Rippling Armor disappeared, no matter how strong he was, Merlin would be decimated into fine powder by that barrage of spells.

Therefore, Merlin wielded the third form of Darkness Eye so that it could at least reduce, if not completely dispel, the attacks from the seven opponents.

A crimson ray flew forward and transformed into a large net, aggressively tackling the barrage of incoming spells.

“Hum hum hum.”

The crimson ray glowed bright red as the attacking spells began to weaken, with some even fizzling completely. Facing Darkness Eye, many spells could not contend against its strength.

Even the strongest spells would only cause Darkness Eye to consume some additional Magic Power at most!

With Darkness Eye blocking the barrage of spells head-on, Merlin began to feel a great amount of pressure. At the same time, the blood-red eye in his palm seemed to be emitting a mournful wail. Although the third form of Darkness Eye was capable of withstanding Seventh-level spells with ease, it could only hold up for a short while in face of such a constant siege.

“Crack.”

Finally, the crimson light ray split apart. The blood-red eye in Merlin’s palm appeared to be gravely injured and became lethargic. Even the crimson ray faded slightly.

Darkness Eye was indeed gravely injured as its third form was incapable of withstanding so many Seventh-level spell attacks. However, Merlin could also distinctly feel that there was a stronger force within Darkness Eye which was trying to break free of its bindings.

This force, once released, would not allow any of these Seventh-level Spell Casters to escape unscathed. In fact, even an Eight-level Spell Caster was not a noteworthy opponent!

In his heart, Merlin knew very succinctly that the vicious force inside Darkness Eye should not be released. It was the fourth form of Darkness Eye which had been sealed by Wizard Leo.

Once the seal was broken, an unparalleled force would burst forth from within. Back then, Wizard Leo had used the fourth form of Darkness Eye to kill a powerful Eighth-level Spell Caster!

However, despite having obtained unparalleled power, Wizard Leo paid a heavy price for it. Not only had his body became skin and bones but he was also killed by the backlash from Darkness Eye when he wielded the fourth form for the second time.

Unless it was the last resort, Merlin would not break open the fourth form of Darkness Eye. It was his final trump card, one that he would not use unless and until he was faced with a life-or-death situation and had no other way out.

Right now, the spell attacks had been greatly weakened and his Ripping Armor had not shown any indication of failure. The spells were still landing relentless on the armor, but all they did was stir up waves of ripples on the armor.

“It’s my turn!”

Merlin withstood the first wave of attacks from the seven Spell Casters, and now the Runic Heartprint began to appear subtly in between his eyebrows.