Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master c1-1074, page 335
Under the powerful pressure imposed by a level-22 Legendary powerhouse, Lin Li, who had exhausted his mental strength beyond means, surprisingly fell into a fascinating realm. The entire world of magical elements was presented clearly in front of his eyes. Although he endured even greater pressure than before, he was now able to control magic with more ease. The magical elements strictly followed his instructions, and executed each magical sequence with precision like trained soldiers.
Lin Li could even feel many things that he had never felt before from the waves of the external pressure. The magic of this level-22 elven Legendary-mage was no longer mysterious. It was as if he had grasped the pulse of his opponent's magic. Even a minute change couldn't escape Lin Li's eyes.
This felt like a spark of light in the darkness. Lin Li consciously wanted to grasp something, but there seemed to be a veil in between. He could see it, but couldn't touch it.
"Hmph!" Vidas snorted. He was rather surprised that a human level-20 Legendary-mage could still remain standing under his powerful aura for so long. At the same time, he felt rather ashamed. Moreover, he had the Helios' Scepter with him. Even though it didn't help to increase his level, the magical attacks from it were far beyond the capacity of a level-22 Legendary-mage.
Vidas raised his Helios' Scepter up high, and recited a string of whimsical Elven Language quickly. Powerful magic rippled through the defense shield of the square, and made the spectators experience a moment of suffocation. It was not hard to imagine how much pressure Lin Li would be experiencing inside the defense shield as Vidas' opponent. The spectators could clearly see that the pathetically small Magical Domain surrounding Lin Li's body completely disappeared under Vidas' powerful eruption of power. Was this the end? Everyone had this thought in their minds.
At that exact moment, Lin Li clearly felt the layer of veil hindering him was sliced apart by a sharp knife, and everything became clear.
Perhaps Lin Li looked no different from just now from a spectator's point of view. However, Lin Li knew very well that his acc.u.mulation of all this time had finally led to a qualitative change under the strong pressure of the level-22 Legendary-mage at that very second. He had broken through to level-21.
Though the difference of one level between level-20 and level-21 seemed insignificant, it meant two different worlds to the Legendary-realm, especially for Lin Li. The understanding of World Laws and usage of nomological power were totally different upon reaching level-21, and he was like a frog leaping out of a well. With a different view, the perception of the world in and out of the well were completely different.
The mysterious and pressuring magic applied by the level-22 elven Legendary-mage seemed to have taken off all its camouflage and exposed its core essence. The magical elements' sequence, the waves of mana… no detail could escape Lin Li's eyes.
After deciphering every detail of his opponent's magic and domain, Lin Li could reconstruct his Light and Darkness Magical Domain under the strong pressure of his opponent's domain through his understanding of nomological power, although he couldn't directly alter the rules of the Nature Magical Domain.
The snow-laden forest slowly lost its original green, and those leaping tree men turned gray and dull. What surprised people more was the fact that the Crimson Dragon that was fighting with the tree men lost its red color too. The entire Harvest Square slowly turned into a black-and-white world.
People were used to seeing a vibrantly colored world, so they were not ready to see this black-and-white world at all. The spectators gasped. They had never seen anything as peculiar as this. Could it be a Magical Domain? Then was it Light or Darkness? In people's understanding, light and darkness were two conflicting elements. How could they be used to form a Magical Domain together? Moreover, Lin Li's abilities made many puzzled. He didn't seem to be behaving like a Legendary-mage who had just reached the Legendary-realm recently.
Lin Li strengthened the powers of Light and Darkness continuously, and even gave up on the control of the Frost Domain. Without the support of the Frost Domain, the thick layer of snow melted quickly, revealing the charred trees beneath.
From this moment onwards, in fact, Vidas was no longer fighting with Lin Li, but rather the two pieces of the debris of the stars that Lin Li held onto—Holy Light and Gloomy Dark. Vidas was fighting with the pure and powerful Light and Darkness Laws that these pieces contained. Lin Li wasn't as unfamiliar with the usage of the two pieces of the debris of the stars as before. His understanding of the two Laws was also much better than during the several times he'd used them before.
"Knowledge is the most powerful belief of a mage." This was the true gift Lin Li had gotten from the Blackstone Mountains. The Book of Eternity was not just a tool for becoming a god, but also contained a lifetime of experiences and thoughts of the God of Mages, Geresco. The "Eternity" in the Book of Eternity wasn't referring to the leaves of Eternity, from which the book was made, but rather the deep knowledge inside the book. Only knowledge was truly eternal.
As the God of Mages, Geresco certainly had god-like magical skills. His magical skills shouldn't even be labeled as skills, as they had surpassed the levels of an art, and truly reached the divine realm. Lin Li read the Book of Eternity ever since he had come back from the Blackstone Mountains, and he gained so much from every single read. His understanding of magic itself as well as its usage now was far beyond what he had had when in the Blackstone Mountains.
With the acc.u.mulation of knowledge through constant study, Lin Li naturally became more powerful by the day. The power that Holy Light and Gloomy Dark could release under his control was far greater than when he'd been in the Blackstone Mountains. Holy Light and Gloomy Dark were not just magical weapons now, and were not even limited to constructing the Light and Darkness Domain.
Back at the Endless World, Lin Li was only a Hunter when he had gotten the Stars of Fury and the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Hence, his usage of the debris of the stars was very simple: he'd install them on the Stars of Fury and pull the trigger. Back then, he had never thought that the debris of the stars could be used for anything other than shooting.
To a certain extent, Holy Light and Gloomy Dark had integrated with Lin Li as one. However, they also seemed to be gifted with life, and became individual presences. Even without Lin Li's control, they still followed their own Laws and unleashed their nomological power to deal with the various changes in the Law Domain.
Although others saw a battle between Lin Li and Vidas, the actual battle played out between Vidas and the two pieces of the debris of the stars—Holy Light and Gloomy Dark—which made use of nomological power. Lin Li just waited in silence at the side, waiting for an opportunity to truly threaten this level-22 Legendary-mage.
After all, Vidas was still a level-22 Legendary-mage who had created a Nature Magical Domain with Small World Laws?. Hence, he had immense advantage even when battling a human mage of similar level, not to mention Lin Li, who had just reached level-211.
The series of shocking moves that Lin Li had made, including summoning the level-21 Crimson Dragon and the two pieces of the debris of the stars, were just to cause some trouble to Vidas while ensuring his own safety. In order to truly defeat Vidas, this was far from enough. It was level-20 here, but it should've been a typo, unless author thought that the breakthrough just now didn't really matter in this context.
Chapter 562 - Nightmare
Everything in the square turned black and white. The Crimson Dragon turned into a black dragon, and the fire it spat out became white. Those leaping tree men turned charcoal-black when they didn't even reach the flames. Although the battle in this black-and-white world seemed dull compared to the vibrant world earlier, it was still something new for the spectators who had never seen a black-and-white world before.
Before Lin Li had released his Light and Darkness Domain, the tree men smashed by the Crimson Dragon and the grass burned by the dragon's fire all returned to their original state instantly. However, in this black-and-white world now, the recovery of the Nature Domain was evidently much slower. This made Lin Li gradually relax his locked eyebrows. With William's vision, he could naturally see that Lin Li's life wasn't threatened at the very least.
"How is that? Continue the bet! Nobody wants to increase his bet? Hey, old gambler, you'd better be clear with that betting list. If there's any problem, I will go to your casino every day with my men," Sienna yelled excitedly. He couldn't help but feel excited, since those people who had bet against him had bet a total of more than 7,000,000 gold coins. Although these coins were not his yet, he believed that they were just temporarily in the hands of others now.
Seeing Sienna's arrogance, the others didn't mock him like before. Instead, they stared at the center of the square tensely, praying that the elf named Vidas wouldn't disappoint them. They had thought the outcome of the battle was clear, and wanted to mock Sienna. That was why they had bet so much money, thinking it would still be in their pockets in the end. However, judging from the current situation…
They regretted their decision so much. They had outsmarted themselves.
Wilkinson and his companions stared at the center of the square with admiration. Nobody would believe the person standing on the back of the black dragon was just 20 years old. Nobody would also believe that he had already reached the level of a pharmaceutics Master. Though being a pharmaceutics Master and a Legendary-mage wasn't conflicting, and was even a typical phenomenon, it was still unbelievable when it came to a youth who was just 20.
Wilkinson thanked his teacher who had sent him to the Tower of Dusk all the more in his heart. This training was a chance for him to achieve a meteoric rise in abilities. If not for this chance, he would still be a medium-level pharmacist, accepting all the flattery from others in the Pharmacist Guild.
The spectators each had different thoughts in mind, but all of them locked their eyes above the square to concentrate on the black-and-white but vigorous battle, not wanting to miss a moment of it.
Suddenly, everyone thought they had seen an illusion. The black-and-white scene flashed quickly for a few times as if they had blinked. Many people robbed their eyes hard simultaneously, only to realize the frequency of the flashing had increased.
Vidas finally retaliated. No matter how bizarre Lin Li's Magical Domain was, the difference in level wasn't so easily made up for. As he increased the power of the Nature Magical Domain by giving his all, the flashes turned longer, changing the scene from black-and-white to green for an instant each time. Even people who weren't sure of the situation could see that Vidas had regained the upper hand now.
However, what Vidas was battling wholeheartedly was in fact merely the two pieces of the debris of the stars—Holy Light and Gloomy Dark. Vidas' real enemy, Lin Li, didn't suffer much pressure from Vidas, and just stood there like a spectator.
This was the chance Lin Li had been waiting for. When Holy Light and Gloomy Dark had taken up all of Vidas' attention and strength, withdrawing it all at once wasn't an easy task.
Lin Li's Summoning Lamp flashed, and the Magic Lamp that was first sealed—Lord of Nightmares—was summoned. This Lord of Nightmares was first used by Lin Li to deal with those mercenaries sent by Harvey back in the Blackstone Mountains. However, the Lord of Nightmares wasn't so weak given the fact that it had once been a true Demon Lord.
However, the Lord of Nightmares didn't pounce at Vidas directly. Its body spread all around the area like fog. Lin Li put away his Summoning Lamp, and resumed control over the Light and Darkness Domain. He exerted more pressure on Vidas in a bid to prevent him from being able to deal with external factors.
The Lord of Nightmares had completely lost its original form, and blended into the Light and Darkness Domain. It turned into a faintly discernible fog, slowly expanding in the Light and Darkness Domain. Nobody noticed that the fog the Lord of Nightmares had transformed into expanded more and more with every flash between the colorful and black-and-white world. The area it covered was even approaching the tree crown Vidas was standing on.
Only when the flashing stopped and the world was fixed as black-and-white did people realize in shock that a thick fog had enveloped the spot that Vidas was standing at. This fog didn't stop just right there. After the Light and Darkness Domain stabilized, it spread throughout the entire domain with astounding speed.
"Finally no more flashes!" Many spectators g.r.o.a.n.e.d as they rubbed their foreheads. The high-frequency flashes between a colorful and black-and-white world had made all low-ability spectators very dizzy. They even thought they were under some magical curse. Now that the world was fixed as black-and-white, they felt much more comfortable and less worried.
These people were just dazed by the flashes, but didn't understand anything about the battle at all until now. A battle between Legendary powerhouses couldn't be understood by people who hadn't reached the Legendary-realm yet. They could only know something about the battle from legends and hearsays.
Not to mention these people, even the knowledgeable appraiser, Master William, couldn't figure out what was going on now. Arathor's lips moved, but he didn't dare to ask William, and only stared at the center of the square with many thoughts in mind.
Everyone was staring at the square, but the square had nothing to see. There was no sign of Vidas or the lush forest in the Nature Domain. Only thick fog was visible.
"Hmph! This is ridiculous! Do you think you can defeat me just like this?" Vidas sneered in the fog. This sudden change didn't affect his confidence. He mocked, "The difference between level-20 and level-22 is uncompensable. I acknowledge your abilities and techniques. After all, you were able to reach Legendary-realm at such a young age. However, don't forget that there's still different standards in the Legendary-realm. With your current abilities, you can't control a complex domain well. Give up! If you persist, you will only be injured by your own domain. I won't be harmed at all."
As Vidas' voice rang out, those people who were worried about their bet now jumped in joy. Although they weren't sure about the Legendary-realm, everyone knew what the difference in levels meant given that Vidas had said it so outright.
However, Lin Li neither responded to Vidas nor stopped his actions. The fog in the Light and Darkness Domain continued to toss and turn. It didn't get thinner as it spread over a larger area, but rather became thicker till it turned opaque. Under the puzzled glances from the spectators, the fog tossed and turned until Lin Li was also engulfed by it.
Everyone watched the square with a stunned face. That area was like a crystal jar filled with thick fog. Other than fog, all they could see was still fog.
The Lord of Nightmares was originally the Abyssal Demon Lord sealed in this Summoning Lamp after being defeated by the Magic Legion led by the Highlord of the High Elves, Osric. According to Connoris, there were 12 Summoning Lamps at first, prepared by Osric to be used as weapons for the Eternal Furnace. However, the High Elves' regime was completely overthrown before he could finish building the Eternal Furnace. Hence, the 12 Summoning Lamps all disappeared without a trace.
This lamp Lin Li held onto now was a gift from Englos from the Brilliance Shrine, given to Lin Li when he was appointed the President of the Guild of Magic. However, he hadn't gotten it for nothing. Pope Rosario had been poisoned by a prehistoric viper, and needed a cure, which was a potion hard to concoct.
Though the Lord of Nightmares had only been the Demon Lord of the first few levels of the Abyss, it still had the power of the Legendary-realm. However, its strength decreased immensely after being sealed by Osric. Although Lin Li was the owner of the Summoning Lamp, he couldn't gain full control of the Lord of Nightmares' power. He could only borrow a fraction of its power every time he summoned the Lord of Nightmares.
Instead of saying summoning the Lord of Nightmares, it was more accurate to call it unsealing. After all, Vidas was a level-22 Legendary-mage, and just summoning a shadow of the Lord of Nightmares wouldn't do any harm to him.
After the Lord of Nightmares had integrated itself into the Light and Darkness Domain, its sealed power was immediately recovered, and its strength increased exponentially, making it even more powerful than at its peak. An endless dream was created, and trapped both Lin Li and Vidas inside. This power wasn't violent, but it seamlessly reached the bodies of people without any defense.
The spectators stared at the center of the square, stunned, but they couldn't see anything other than that jar of fog. Moreover, they hadn't heard anything else after Vidas had spoken. Hence, nobody knew what was happening inside.
Chapter 563 - Victory
Lin Li was undoubtedly making a huge and dangerous gamble by coming up with such a move. He was putting Vidas and himself in a situation that was extremely dangerous. Although he had the Summoning Lamp, the effects of the lamp would be greatly decreased and hindered when the Lord of Nightmares maximized his abilities. However, it was indeed the best way to deal with Vidas at this juncture.
Lin Li had just broken through to level-21, but the difference between him and the level-22 Vidas could not be compensated for at all. Although Lin Li had summoned the Crimson Dragon and activated Holy Light and Gloomy Dark—the debris of the stars, there was still a huge distance between them that could not be closed.
Hence, not only did Lin Li release the Lord of Nightmares, he also controlled the Light and Darkness Domain, allowing the Lord of Nightmares to absorb all of the energy and advance from a fallen creature of the Legendary-realm, a level-22 legend. Although the Lord of Nightmares was on the same level as Vidas now, with the combination of the characteristics of the Lord of Nightmares' domain and the Light and Darkness Domain, there was no way Vidas could resist; hence, he sunk deep into a trance.
