Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master c1-1074, page 72
In contrast, he needed to lower down his tone and make explanations. "Misunderstanding, misunderstanding, that was really a misunderstanding. Mage Felic, please don't take it to heart…"
Lin Li was still all smiles when he replied, "Mason Kayla, you must be kidding. Since you are brother Mason's friend, what misunderstanding could there be? Do I look like that type of petty people that would put such a trivial matter to heart?"
"…" Kayla was on the verge of spitting his saliva onto Lin Li's face.
Dammit, how are you not a petty man? Fedrick only said a few lines, and you already used the Flaming Hands on him?
Of course, Kayla would not dare to say that out loud. That was an unpredictable dude. What if he smashed the Flaming Hands onto his face if he were to say any word wrongly?
"Oh, yes. Mage Kayla…" Lin Li smiled as he brought the topic back before continuing his speech with utmost sincerity, "What do you think of my suggestion? To say the truth, I feel that this cave is a tad too small…"
"…" The smile on Kayla's face froze. After hesitating for a while, he squeezed out some friendliness, and said with great care, "This… Look, Mage Felic, it's the last day of the mission, and Fedrick is injured too. Could you just let us stay here for the night?
"Of course not," Lin Li replied without thinking at all. He rejected it straightforwardly. "Larry is not in good health, what if he caught a cold from sleeping outside the cave?"
Facing Lin Li's pressure, Kayla had no choice but to submit to him. He clenched his teeth, and said, "We will stay outside the cave!"
After saying that, Kayla looked at Lin Li again.
Do you have anything else to rebut me with? Since Shadowglen is not your house, even if you could prevent me from living inside the cave, you have no right to decide where I stay!
"You can't do that," said Lin Li. Who knew that he would reject this suggestion right away as well? He continued, "Hey, look. I'm a light sleeper, and I'll get insomnia from the sound of snoring. What if you are noisy at night?"
"F*ck…" Kayla was on the verge of vomiting blood from debating with Lin Li again.
"Mage Felic, are you trying to provoke us?" Sarsen finally spoke, but his question was extremely confrontational. He was a level-13 mage, after all. The Instantaneous Flaming Hands was not a threat to him. To him, only Gryffindor was qualified to be his opponent among all the participants of the trial. This arrogance allowed him to hold back his frustration until then. Or else, he would never care to give any verbal threats to anyone.
However, the progress of the matter finally exceeded the limits he could tolerate. Sarsen did not mind teaching that c.o.c.ky fella a lesson personally.
"You're not happy?" asked Lin Li. That was the only thing he said when he turned around. The tension had reached the max now.
Kalya could not help but gasp…
Never would he believe that that fella had the balls to defy Sarsen, and with such provocative words!
Who was Sarsen? He was a rare genius coming from Nightfall City, and the man who could pose a threat to Gryffindor.
"Felic—" Mason said as he pulled on Felic's sleeves. He wanted to remind his teammate of Sarsen's abilities.
Before Mason could complete his sentence, the Mental Protection Field at the entrance shook with a great force.
What followed was Lin Li's change in expression. He knew better than anyone else that the Mental Protection Field he'd put up was a high-grade magewealth. It would not bulge if it were to come in contact with normal spells. From the impact that was just created, he could tell that it was a Mental Spell of at least level-eight.
"Let's go and have a look first." Lin Li grabbed his Winter Staff, and dashed to the mouth of the cave, leaving behind a baffled Sarsen.
The moment Lin Li exited the cave, Orrin and Mason followed suit immediately. The trio had always been moving together. Naturally, they understood Lin Li's actions more than anyone else. It had to be a terrifying thing to be able to change Lin Li's expression. They grabbed their staffs without any delay.
The moment Lin Li set foot out of the cave, he heard a low voice from afar that was not the usual recitation for spells. The sound was mellow and distant, and underlying it was a tinge of sinister and deadly force.
As the recitation continued, black smoke clouded the air. A huge amount of Death Energy filled the surroundings, and a dark figure started to emerge from the black smoke. From afar, it seemed to be a ghost in a dark night.
"Why are we so unlucky…" Mason complained as he followed behind them. Right after he saw that the figure had a Bone Staff and it was Death Energy that it was emitting, Mason was terrified. He started stuttering, "T-t-that's a freaking lich!"
"Troublesome." It was rare for Orrin to frown.
Since even Orrin showed signs of disapproval, it was obvious that the undead creature was an extremely troublesome one.
The birth of the undead creatures was a slow and complicated process. There were many different conditions required to birth one creature. If any of the factors were to be absent, it would be impossible to breed a true undead creature.
No one could define how complicated such a process was—not even a wise and knowledgeable man like Andoine.
The only thing certain about those creatures was that their power would be determined by that from their previous life.
For example, the most common creatures in the Shadowglen would be Skeletal Warriors. In their previous life, most of them were adventurers with their own skill set and fighting abilities. After death, and under the influence of the massive aura of death in the Shadowglen, they got converted into Skeletal Warriors very quickly.
And what was more powerful than the Skeletal Warriors would be Hell Ghouls. They were usually the reincarnation of mages, and their levels were decided by the level the mage was at when he died.
If nothing were to go wrong, mages who were above level-10 would generally transform into Hell Ghouls. Compared to Skeletal Warriors, Hell Ghouls were a more powerful existence. They retained a small amount of magical knowledge from their previous life, and were to a certain extent intelligent as well. With those abilities, they would be able to achieve breakthroughs and upgrade themselves into a real Lich!
As for mages who were at least level-15, they had great possibility of becoming a Lich immediately.
A Hell Ghoul and a Lich only differed by one level.
Yet it was that single level that classified them into high-grade and low-grade monsters.
One would only become a high-grade undead creature after becoming a Lich.
The Hell Ghouls, on the other hand, retained a small portion of magical knowledge. Apart from summoning Skeletal Warriors, they only knew a limited number of low-grade magical spells. On top of that, they had weak cognitive ability. If they were to meet enemies a little slyer than them, they would naturally be at the losing end.
But for Liches, it was another matter.
Especially the Archmages—they'd transform into Liches immediately after death. Not only would the knowledge they gained stay with them, they would also be mightier than a normal Archmage. Their acc.u.mulation of the Death Energy and the proficiency in the spells of the undead—particularly in the mental field—would make them the master of everyone!
And because of that, their intelligence was no different from a normal human being's. Their long lifespan as undead would give them unlimited time for rationalizing. A Lich that had lived for a hundred years would be like a living encyclopedia, and the amount of knowledge it had would intimidate everyone.
If possible, Mason would rather be faced with 10 Hell Ghouls than one Lich…
But unfortunately, there were just some things that he could not choose not to deal with.
While the mellow recitation continued, black smoke moved towards the Lich. Everybody knew that that Lich was absorbing the Death Energy—it was a skill that empowered them to become a high-grade undead creature.
Its abilities would increase at the rate of its absorption of the Death Energy.
After its energy had reached the maximum capacity, what they need would just be one favorable circ.u.mstance. With that opportunity, they would be able to transcend into a higher-grade being.
Since there had been a battle between the undead near the cave, there were countless dead bodies—many Hell Ghouls, numerous low-grade Vampires, countless Death Knights, and of course… a level-18 Vampire. To any undead creature, the energy they'd left behind would be a deadly temptation…
Unfortunately…
The Death Energy got wiped off by Lin Li's crystal the moment it was released, and its remnants would be far from meeting the needs of a Lich…
Chapter 148 - The Origin of Liches
Lin Li could clearly sense how rapidly the mental spell of the Lich was rising—it was going to reach the entrance of the cave very soon. The two magewealths at the mouth of the cave were meaningless. Mental Protection would not prevent the Liches from coming at all as they were all Mages by nature. Even the Archmages were of a lower ability compared to them in the field of Mental Spells.
"Mage Felic, what happened?" Kayla asked anxiously. The huge impact caused by the Force of Death was so oppressive that it could drive people mad. Hence, everyone decided to head out to take a look.
After that, they saw that black and scrawny floating shadow; the hoarse and low voice added an ominous and sinister quality to the figure.
"Oh my god, a Lich…" Kayla said nervously as he broke out in a sweat. He was a level-11 Magic Shooter, after all. How could he not be able to recognize the monster? It was just not within his expectations that he would see such a high-level undead creature there.
Sarsen frowned, but remained silent. Since he came from Nightfall City, he was more aware than anyone else the danger a Lich posed. With its proficiency in Mental Spells and deep knowledge of magic, the undead creature was comparable to any Archmages in terms of abilities. Even if it was the level-13 Sarsen, he would not dare to challenge a Lich.
Just when everyone was stunned by what they saw, that Lich suddenly stopped in its tracks. Then, everyone heard a hoarse voice echoing in their heads. "Who's there…?"
The voice of a Lich carried a screeching noise as though it was an old pair of bellows. When the voice reverberated in his mind, a chill went down his spine. The buzzing in his mind was so tormenting that it was like a hammer smashing onto him, breaking his head into pieces.
Kayla was not only the only one that experienced discomfort from it. Everybody's faces ashened at the moment they heard the Lich's voice. It was pure mental disturbance that no magic shooter could shun.
Although Sarsen's expression did not change, his hand gripped tightly onto his magic staff. Despite having the ability to forcefully resist the mental impact created by the Lich, it was obvious that he was still disturbed by the tremendous noise.
Lin Li was the only one who stayed unaffected.
After all, he had a freakish mental strength. Even if it was a Lich that was proficient in Mental Spells by nature, it would not be able to pose any risk to him. Freaks would be freaks, we should not use the yardstick we measure normal human beings to measure Lin Li's capability.
"WHO'S THERE…?!" The Lich repeated impatiently. Underlying its croaky voice was a greater force compared to before.
"Damn…" Mason felt suffocated by the huge Mental Energy it produced, and was nearly breathless. After he finally managed to resist it, he spat out a swear word with great difficulty.
Right after Mason's swear word left his mouth, Lin Li knew that the fella was going to create havoc. Unlike Hell Ghouls and Skeletal Warriors, Liches were real Archmages. Although Mason kept his volume soft, since he was standing at the entrance of the cave without the protection of the Seal of Life, his Scent of Life went out immediately. If the Lich did not discover that, it would not be true to its name.
"IT'S YOU…!" Another growl sounded out in everyone's heads.
"We are in big trouble…"
At the moment it growled, the black haze flew towards the cave menacingly as though it was blown by strong wind.
"HUMANS, HOW DARE YOU CHALLENGE BHASKAR IN THE POWER OF DEATH!" The Lich hovered within the cloud of black smoke, and its pair of green eyes flashed like phosphorescent light. Under the strong wind, its wide sleeves flapped, and it unleashed its powerful Mental Strength again.
Its target was Kayla.
Since Kayla was just a level-11 Magic Shooter, he was not as strong as Sarsen. Yet, he reacted very quickly. Right after the Lich started talking, Kayla's magic staff was already high up in the air, establishing Mental Protection Fields around themselves.
Although the collision of the two's Mental Energy was unlike the Elemental Magic that would create brilliant sparks all over, the danger within it was a lot greater than how calm it appeared to be. The moment Kayla established the Mental Protection Fields, the surroundings started to distort. Subsequently, a tremendous gust of energy flooded over, tearing the fields apart.
When that happened, the vicious bite of mana caused Kayla's face to ashen.
"HUMPH!" The Lich growled in the air. And… that was only the start.
"AH…!" Kayla screamed as he was harshly thrown against the wall of a crag like a kite that broke its string.
"…"
Someone drew a mouth of breath among the crowd.
Everyone was stupefied by what they saw just now. Even though Kayla was a level-11 Magic Shooter, before he was able to unleash any magical spell, he was severely injured by a mental spell.
That Lich, which claimed to be Bhaskar, was indeed terrifying…
"WHO'S NEXT…!" The sleeves that were flapping in the strong wind and the pair of bright green eyes scanned the crowd. Then, the strong aura it transmitted forced everyone to feel breathless.
"I remember it now!" At this moment, Mason suddenly exclaimed. "I remember who this fella was already…"
Lin Li was surprised for a moment before he turned towards Mason, and whispered, "Who's that?"
"He is Bhaskar from Chevan City. During the huge massacre after the Dark Age, he was one of the mages executed by the great lord, Osric. I read about him in the Guild of Magic before, but who knew he came to Shadowglen to become a Lich…"
"Such a big shot?" Lin Li's heart skipped a beat. That Lich before him existed since the Dark Age!
"I'm impressed that people still remember me…" Even the Lich could not hide his astonishment.
Since it had a body and was skilled in spiritual magic, it was natural for it to have a sharp hearing too. Although Mason's voice was soft, Bhaskar could still hear what he was telling the rest.
"T-t-that's because… you are a renowned figure!" Realizing that the tone of Bhaskar became gentler, Mason praised the Lich as he tried to squeeze out a smile on his face. He was a shameless fella, after all. If he didn't mind flattering Macklin, how would he care about buttering up a Lich?
"Oh?"
"Really, really! Mr. Bhaskar, weren't you the hero who pioneered the revolution against the High Elves for the freedom and harmony of humanity? Not to mention the small Chevan City… even the entire Felan, or the entire Anril, was singing appraises of your gallantry! Why don't we set a time and date to allow me to bring you around personally? I'm sure you might meet a few pretty ladies who admire you…" Mason poured out his flattering words in a steady flow. Before Bhaskar got convinced by the boot-l.i.c.k.i.n.g, his friends already swooned at Mason's obsequiousness…
"…" Lin Li almost choked on his saliva.
What's Mason thinking about? To bring a Lich out of the Shadowglen… Is he crazy? Without the Death Energy in the Shadowglen, not only a Lich like Bhaskar, but any powerful undead creature would be like a fish out of water.
"There're really people who remember me?" asked the Lich. No one could decipher Bhaskar's thoughts from its gruff voice due to the lack of emotional waves.
"I swear!" Mason assured Bhaskar sincerely. He was not lying. The huge massacre conducted by Highlord Osric was recorded down extremely clearly in the entire Felan, and hence Anril. And that included the namelist of those victims…
The strong wind around them seemed to stop, and even the black clouds started to fade away. Bhaskar's pair of bright green eyes turned dimmer gradually too. It just hovered in the air quietly, as though it was deep in thought, recalling its past memories…
Seeing how his words evoked Bhaskar's memory, Mason was secretly elated. When he wanted to enhance his art of flattery, fierce wind howled. The black fog that were dispersed gathered together again, thicker than previously…
"HUMAN, THIS IS MEANINGLESS!"
…
Chapter 149 - Make Love
Mason's words got stuck at his throat, and his smile became very awkward due to the suppression from the death aura. After scratching his head, he whispered to Lin Li, "Damn, why is it so capricious?! Was it a woman in its previous life? Fine, when I go back, I'm going to tell everyone that Bhaskar was actually a woman…"
"…"
"Fool," Orrin said behind him, "do you think you are a bard?"
"No matter what, thank you for telling me all these." There was a sinister quality to Bhaskar's voice. Underlying it was cruelty. "As a reward, you are going to be the last to be killed by me. You can witness how your companions die one by one, and rejoice in their helpless cries… And after you die, I'm going to preserve your soul in the Shadowglen. Then, you will accompany me here, and tell me stories of the outside world for a few hundred years…"
"You're welcome…" replied Mason. The smile on his face was uglier than a crying face.
"Who asked you to suck up to it?" Orrin chided Mason and glared at him angrily.
"Bhaskar, don't think that you have won!" Sarsen exclaimed as he walked out of the cave with strong magical waves from his body.
"I'd never expect that human beings could still be so arrogant even after 1200 years—" Before Bhaskar could finish his words, a huge mental strength surged towards it.
Concurrently, Sarsen established a Mental Protection Field too. As his abilities were far better than Kayla's, he managed to hold off Bhaskar's mental attack.
