A Wizard’s Secret

As a second-generation member of the Tree Tribe, Alcra’s talents were rather terrifying. His room system was like tentacles that pierced the air. He was able to employ the Origin Power of this dimension to trap Merlin.

With Merlin’s abilities, he knew that it would be challenging for him to break Alcra’s binding in a short time.

“Fire!”

Merlin waved his hand and the Four-Elemental spell fusion exploded instantly. Raging flames and thunder rippled out in all directions. However, Alcra was different from the previous nine Saplings. The net of roots that Alcra had woven was not completely incinerated by the exploding flames. Instead, it glowed with an emerald light, and held on.

“Spell fusion? You Spell Casters really have some incredible techniques. However, you can’t possibly break away from my binding, so die!”

The green glow of the Tree Folk Alcra grew even brighter. One by one, robust roots of immense vigor uncoiled toward Merlin like tentacles.

If Merlin was caught by these roots, he knew he would likely be done for.

“He’s on the level of a preeminent Great Wizard! I’m afraid even Darkness Eye would be useless here…”

Merlin’s face sank slightly. The power displayed by this Tree Folk was on the level of a preeminent Great Wizard. When push came to shove, Merlin was no match for him.

“Must I use my trump card so soon?’

Merlin furrowed his brows. His trump card was using Titus’ help to mobilize the Illusory World of the illusion bead. Even a Great Legend would be caught in the illusion, let alone the Tree Folk before him.

Moreover, if he was not mistaken, the Tree Folk’s defense against Hallucinating spells was not that strong, far from Mind Power Masters who had consolidated Mind Hearts.

“That’s right, I still have Hallucinating spells!”

Merlin’s heart leaped. Besides being a Spell Caster, he was a peculiar, mysterious Mind Power Master. In the beginning stages, a Mind Power Master’s greatest asset was their Hallucinating spells.

In addition, Mind Power Masters were rare among Spell Casters. It was a completely new system, one that was born from the Spell Caster system. To foreign tribes, it was something unfamiliar, and they had not even experienced a Hallucinating spell attack.

Thus, Merlin’s current abilities of second-stage Hallucinating spells was enough to mystify most Great Wizards. Although the Tree Folk before him now possessed the strength of a preeminent Great Wizard, his defense against Hallucinating spells was not even comparable to an average Great Wizard.

At this point, Merlin’s tremendous Mind Power rapidly shrouded the Tree Folk Alcra without making any sound.

“Hmm?”

After all, Alcra was a being on par with a preeminent Great Wizard. Even if he was unable to sense Mind Power, he could still feel that something was odd, and instantly became on his guard.

Nonetheless, Mind Power had no sound nor shape, and could not be defended against. Although Alcra felt a sense of uneasiness, he was powerless, immediately falling into an illusion.

Seeing that the Tree Folk Alcra had lost consciousness, Merlin was gleeful. This meant that his Hallucinating spell was effective.

“Darkness Demon Spirit!”

Merlin instantly unleashed Darkness Eye. A dark veil descended, and the fearsome Darkness Demon Spirit stepped out of the darkness once more. Its hands were like hefty hammers that frantically destroyed the dense root system.

“Bang!”

After it had torn apart the thick roots, the Darkness Demon Spirit crashed its heavy fist into the Tree Folk Alcra. Alcra recovered his senses all at once but that massive blow only caused him to take a few steps back.

“What a frightening illusion. You’re actually able to create illusions?”

The Tree Folk Alcra cried out in astonishment.

The Tree Folk seemed to be undamaged after receiving a blow from the Darkness Demon Spirit. Merlin was stunned as well. He had just experienced the Tree Folk’s binding methods but did not expect that the scariest thing about the Tree Folk was not his binding methods but his defense!

As a second-generation Tree Folk, Alcra’s defensive powers were outrageous!

The Tree Folk Alcra gradually grew somber. Merlin had launched an unpredictable attack earlier, which caused him to fall into an illusion. He did not wish for more mishaps to happen.

Therefore, the verdant glow around Alcra grew in intensity, following which his body seemed to explode.

“Buzz.”

A skyscraping tree materialized in mid-air. Its heavy branches and lush leaves, and its terrifying roots especially, numbered more than millions. They snaked through the air extensively, further solidifying the existing cage.

Alcra had revealed his true form. His defense increased many times over. He had strengthened his resolve – he would keep Merlin in this Inceptive Dimension at any cost.

Seeing that Alcra had revealed his true body, Merlin sucked in a deep breath, and did not hold back anymore. His massive Mind Power began to create illusions one after another.

Even though the Tree Folk Alcra was being vigilant by forcefully focusing his willpower in defense, he was still susceptible and sank into another illusion. This was when Merlin wielded Darkness Demon Spirit, and his spell fusion in a frenzied attack.

Based on Merlin’s Darkness Eye and his spell fusion, his attack was completely on par with a peak Great Wizard. Even if it could not compare to the power of Alcra that was like a preeminent Great Wizard, it should still injure Alcra somewhat.

However, the truth was, no matter how Merlin attacked, Alcra was practically unharmed. That thick body of his contained incredible defensive powers, and the Darkness Demon Spirit was unable to cause him any fatal injuries.

Merlin could not possibly escape as well because Alcra’s roots had formed into an all-pervading net that tightly sealed off the air, leaving behind not a single crack. Merlin could forget about escaping.

Thus, both of them were caught in a deadlock. Merlin attacked incessantly using Hallucinating spells to disturb Alcra so that Alcra could only suffer his attacks passively, but Alcra’s terrifying defenses had left Merlin at his wit’s end.

One day, two days, three days…

Time flew by one day at a time. In the blink of an eye, both of them were deadlocked for half a month but neither was able to do anything about the other. Merlin had to use elemental crystal stones to replenish his Magic Power a few times.

At first, Alcra thought about draining Merlin’s Magic Power, exhausting him to his death. However, when Merlin casually took out a few hundred thousand elemental crystal stones, and even revealed that he had more, Alcra completely gave up on this plan.

Even if Alcra was displeased, he had to admit that the Spell Caster before him had all sorts of weird tricks, and they were equally matched. Both were unable to deal with the other.

Finally, Alcra no longer wished to be locked in a stalemate, and made the decision to tell Merlin, “O powerful Spell Caster, you’ve overwhelmed me with your powers! Thus, I’ll let you go but you must swear on the Ultimate Order to not tell anyone about the situation in this dimension.”

“Let me go?”

Strangely enough, Merlin was now smiling coldly. In the beginning, he was indeed planning to leave and look for the Saitu Dimension right away, but having battled against Alcra for so long, he gradually learned that Alcra could do nothing to him. Equipped with his Hallucinating spell and his other techniques, Merlin could sustain this impasse with Alcra for a long time.

Consequently, Merlin would not give up this Inceptive Dimension so easily.

“However, I don’t wish to leave. This is an Inceptive Dimension. You can stay here, so I can stay as well. The Origin Power here is very docile, and even I can control it. I’ll obtain great benefits from staying here!”

Merlin and Alcra thus continued their deadlock.

After three more days, Alcra could no longer stand the endless impasse because he had wasted too much time over this. He was unable to absorb the Dimension Core, which was doing nothing to further his goal of becoming an upper rank Tree Folk.

At last, the Tree Folk Alcra finally nodded. “Powerful Spell Caster, you’ve obtained my respect! This dimension is large enough, and its Dimension Core is rich enough. You and I can both control half of the Dimension core but you must make an oath of the Ultimate Order to never dispute with me on this!”

“Each of us gets half?”

After a moment of consideration, Merlin felt that this was not a bad deal. If he could command half of the Elemental Origin, that was enough for him.

“Very well, I make an oath of the Ultimate Order!”

Merlin agreed with Alcra’s suggestion. Between Spell Casters, one could sign a contract but some foreign tribes were unable to sign a contract, lacking even Mind Power.

Thus, foreign tribes would typically make an oath of the Ultimate Order between themselves. The natural order was omnipresent, existing even in the vast Void Zone that contained no space nor time. As such, swearing on the Ultimate Order was the safest and most common procedure.

“Rustle.”

Alcra retrieved an oath stone and both of them began to swear on the Ultimate Order. Instantly, part of Merlin’s Mind Power was forcibly drawn into the oath stone, and a beam of green light from Alcra’s body also flew into the oath stone.

When making an oath of the Ultimate Order, the oath stone would absorb the most precious aspect of a foreign tribe, no matter what civilization it was. This was Mind Power for a Spell Caster, whereas the Tree Folks had something else.

Nevertheless, after swearing on the Ultimate Order, no one had to worry about anyone breaking the oath because those who did would suffer punishment from the Ultimate Order. Even the Ultimate Arcane Wizards would pay an unbearable price if they had violated an oath of the Ultimate Order.

Seeing that the oath stone had turned red, it meant that their oath had worked, and they could lay down their arms.

“Hoo…”

A breeze passed by. The thick roots that crowded the sky had already vanished, and even that gigantic tree had transformed back into a green figure.

Merlin withdrew Darkness Eye too, and the enormous Darkness Demon Spirit quickly dissipated in the air.

The Tree Folk Alcra flew toward Merlin, fixing his gaze on Merlin before finally forcing a smile. “Powerful Wizard, what do I call you?”

“Merlin!”

Both of them had been deadlocked for so long, and Merlin knew that the Tree Folk was named Alcra but Alcra did not know Merlin’s name.

“So, it’s Wizard Merlin. On this note, I’ve crossed path with Spell Casters in the open territory quite frequently. Your Spell Caster civilization is impressive indeed. I’ve heard that you’ve only entered the Void Zone for a mere three thousand years or so, and developed into such a formidable civilization today. Tsk tsk, having met Wizard Merlin, I finally know the impressive abilities of the Spell Caster civilization!”

A smile tugged at the corner of Merlin’s mouth. Compared to other foreign civilizations, the Spell Caster civilization was far too young. The Tree Folk civilization, for instance, had been in the Void Zone for more than a hundred thousand years whereas the Giant civilization was even older, having been here for over a million years…

Faced with so many ancient civilizations, the Spell Caster civilization arrived later but had overtaken them. After stepping into the Void Zone for merely three thousand years, they already had three Ultimate Arcane Wizards. Although they could not be considered a preeminent civilization, they were one of the stronger ones. This was inconceivable to other civilizations.

“You’re not too bad yourself. The defenses of the Tree Folk Tribe are powerful indeed. My strength is already that of a peak Great Wizard but I could do nothing against you. If it weren’t for your weakness against Hallucinating spells, I wouldn’t have been a match for you no matter what.”

Merlin expressed his sincere admiration too. Each civilization or tribe had its own aptitudes and specialties. The Tree Tribe excelled in their defense. One could attack them as one liked but they would not be harmed.

As for the Giant Tribe, they had boundless strength. Among the same level, when push came to shove, the Giant Tribe would be at an advantage. On the other hand, the Spell Caster civilization was known for their variety of strange tricks.

In short, every powerful civilization had its own greatest advantage!

Merlin and Alcra could set aside their vigilance after swearing upon the Ultimate Order. Conversely, they became more agreeable as they conversed, and spoke for a few days in a row.

“Haha, Wizard Merlin, if we go on like this, we’ll be wasting the natural blessings of this environment. According to the oath, we’ll each control half of the Dimension Core. Before this, I’ve been controlling all of it. I’ll hand over half of it now!”

The Tree Folk Alcra then began to relinquish control of half of the Dimension Core, and Merlin could immediately sense the fluctuations of the Elemental Origin.

Merlin drew in a deep breath, and tried commanding the Elemental Origin. This was his first time! Even when he was in the Mogan Dimension, he had not touched the Elemental Origin. After all, this was the root of a dimension. Other than the dimension’s master, no one would touch the dimension’s Origin.

Merlin promptly mobilized his Mind Power. After sensing the fluctuations of the Elemental Origin, his invisible Mind Power stretched toward the Origin like a giant hand.

This was the most direct way for a Spell Caster to control the Elemental Origin!