Chapter 578: Illusory World I
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The humongous Illusion Monument shrouded inside Merlin's Mind Power, becoming like a dream. This feeling was too familiar to Merlin. Back then, the Blackfire Lord's Hallucinating spell also had such a feeling.
Illusion!
Merlin was dumbfounded when he had realized it. Apparently, he was already in an illusion, and he was not the only one. Everyone who could "see" the Illusion Monument, and thought that it existed, had unknowingly fallen into an illusion.
Such a Hallucinating spell was simply unheard of!
Merlin took a deep breath, and calmed his raging emotions. The Illusion Monument was still there. Merlin might have noticed the clues but he could not see through the illusion.
Thus, he slowly closed his eyes with unprecedented peace of mind… At this moment, his mind inadvertently drifted toward the Kingdom of Blackmoon. He thought of his father, Old Wilson, his wives Avril and Charise, and his children. He also thought of Blackwater City, Wilson Castle, fatty Gutt, Carise, and many more.
Perhaps influenced by the invisible force field around the Illusion Monument, suddenly, a pang of loneliness and solitude began to fill Merlin's heart. In the blink of an eye, he had been in the Void Zone for a few decades. In Spell Caster terms, this was only a very short period. Even the black cat Didimoss would sleep for a few years at a time… A few decades were nothing more than a few nights of deep slumber for the black cat Didimoss.
However, to the Normies, a few decades constituted more than half of their entire lifetime… Even if Old Wilson was still alive, he would be old and frail. His two wives might no longer have their youthful beauty but had grown into ordinary old ladies that even Merlin might not recognize.
As for his son and daughter, they seemed a little fuzzy in Merlin's memory…
In Merlin's heart, there was an inexplicable sense of emptiness and loneliness. A Spell Caster's life was destined to be lonely. They had a long lifespan, so their life goals were not what ordinary people could imagine.
"It appears that there's still no peace in my heart…"
Merlin smiled bitterly, and opened his eyes. He knew that the reason he was remembering these things was because of this non-existent Illusion Monument! It was the strange force field that stirred up the feelings of loneliness and solitude in Merlin's heart. Throughout the Spell Casters' long lives, relatives were mere passers-by who could accompany them only for a few decades.
"Spell Casters aren't born emotionless but with the departure of our relatives, and being slowly replaced by strangers, how can we not feel lonely?"
Merlin muttered softly. Right now, a sense of peace blossomed in his heart, and the feeling of loneliness no longer festered but gradually faded away.
"Illusion Monument… Thank you for making me feel lonely but I'll not be lulled by the loneliness. Instead… I'll enjoy this loneliness!"
Merlin raised his head fiercely. Suddenly, without warning, his Mind Power began to grow rapidly, just like when he was in the Mind Tower. All of Merlin's understanding and Mind Power multiplied wildly.
At Merlin's level, the only way to increase Mind Power quickly was to gain an understanding of it.
Merlin looked up at the Illusion Monument. Before his eyes, the Illusion Monument slowly disappeared. There was naught but a casting tool which contained Mind Power in the middle of the square.
It was this Mind Power that was broadcasted across the entire Spellcast City. Almost everyone was trapped in this Mind Power's Hallucinating spell. Most of all, this was only a single strand of Mind Power.
"Such a terrifying Mind Power, and what an impressive broadcast!"
For the first time, Merlin felt the greatness of Titus, which far surpassed Eldo's introduction. Just by leaving behind a strand of Mind Power, Titus had entrapped people in an illusion for so many years. They truly believed that there was an Illusion Monument left behind by Titus, and so many people even studied underneath the "Illusion Monument", which was both funny and shocking.
Merlin looked around. The Mind Power Masters were still deeply entranced by the illusion of the Illusion Monument, thinking that they were gaining some insights. Across the Illusion Monument was Spellcast City, where there were countless people looking wistfully from afar.
The entire Spellcast City had been enchanted by this Mind Power's Hallucinating spell!
"Titus…"
Merlin whispered the name. Then, he slowly stood up, and came to the Illusion Monument. He reached out his hand and gently touched the Illusion Monument. Although he had come to realize that it was merely a Hallucinating spell, that sense of solidness as well as strange familiarization feeling made it easy to convince anyone that this was a real, magical Illusion Monument.
"A Mind Power broadcast that didn't disappear after so many years… Titus, I want to know your purpose!"
Merlin appeared to be talking to himself but he slowly extended his hand as if he could not see the Illusion Monument. Subsequently, he directly "extended" it into the Illusion Monument, and held it gently.
"Boom!"
Everyone in the entire Spellcast City seemed to endure a huge shock in their hearts. They were momentarily stunned, uncertain where the feeling had come from.
"Whoosh."
The Mind Power Masters underneath the Illusion Monument suddenly jolted awake. They were astonished to discover that the Illusion Monument had disappeared. All that was left was an endless square.
"What happened? How did the Illusion Monument disappear?"
"Earlier, my heart seemed to have endured a massive hit. What's going on?"
Only Merlin alone knew what was going on. At this moment, there was a white pearl-like bead in his hand. Inside, there was a strand of Mind Power. It was this strand of Mind Power that had been broadcasting throughout Spellcast City, causing everyone who entered Spellcast City to be unknowingly trapped within its illusion.
"This bead was left behind by Titus, for what reason? What was the motivation for creating this illusion?"
Currently, the white bead in Merlin's hand was no longer glowing. On the contrary, it looked quite plain.
Merlin frowned. He had noticed that there was a strand of Mind Power inside the bead, so it should have been left behind by Titus. It was quite incomprehensible to think that this bead was able to trap everyone in Spellcast City in an illusion.
"Swoosh."
Merlin mobilized his Mind Power, and encapsulated this bead. As Merlin expected, his Mind Power was swiftly absorbed by the bead.
Merlin found himself inside a foreign world. Amid the azure sky, the sun was scorching like fire. Merlin looked up, and surprisingly spotted three suns. He was dumbfounded. Was he still in Spellcast City?
Then, when Merlin looked downward, there was a large city floating languidly in the air. There were many Mind Power Masters coming in and going out, including some Mind Power Masters who were comparable to Great Wizards.
This city was almost the same as Spellcast City, and its surrounding was wrapped with layers of Runic Magic Circle. The only difference was the missing humongous Illusion Monument.
Despite the large number of people, Merlin did not know any of them.
"What's happening?"
Merlin used his Mind Power to sweep below him, but he could feel any life force. These people were all real, and some of the Mind Power Masters were even glaring daggers at Merlin. His act of using Mind Power to investigate them was considered an extremely provocative behavior.
Fortunately, the Mind Power currently demonstrated by Merlin was very powerful, in addition to the fact that he had just undergone a breakthrough. Hence, these Mind Power Masters did not dare pick a fight with Merlin but simply left in a hurry.
"Swish."
Merlin left Spellcast City, and began flying toward other places. He immediately flew to the Giant Mountain. There, the giants still remained. Some of them had even launched attacks on Merlin, but he did not care, and left at once.
This place was exactly similar to Spellcast City and the Slothful Beast world. There were even life forces, so it did not seem like an illusory world. So which world was the real one?
At this moment, Merlin's heart was burdened with a sense of confusion.
Soon, his confusion cleared up, and his heart became resolute. Looking up at the sky, he intoned, "Titus, come out, I know this is your illusion!"
Merlin could not detect that this was an illusion but he knew that his Mind Power must have been trapped inside the white bead. Merlin was beginning to gain an understanding of Titus' mindboggling and unimaginable Hallucinating spells, so he knew that they cannot be gauged by common sense.
"Finally, someone is able to see through the illusion and obtain the illusion bead…"
A faint voice echoed in all directions. Merlin looked around but did not see any silhouette.
"You don't have to look, I'm everywhere."
Just as the words subsided, more than a dozen young Spell Caster wearing long white Wizard robes materialized out of thin air around Merlin. These Wizards all looked exactly the same, down to the deep glint in their eyes.
"Titus!"
Merlin was immediately able to guess the identity of this white-robed Wizard. Other than Titus who had left the bead behind, there could be no one else.
"Yes, I'm Titus!"
Titus' figures began to overlap, and a dozen people quickly disappeared. All that was left was a single figure, who slowly made his way toward Merlin. He assessed Merlin, and nodded with satisfaction. "Not bad, finally someone achieved the second step of Hallucinating spells, and entered my world!"
"Your world?"
Merlin was shocked. All of this was beyond Merlin's comprehension. This world was almost like a dimension. Was this all created by Titus? Does that mean that he was equivalent to an Ultimate Arcane Wizard?
That was simply impossible!
"Yes, my world! This is the Illusory World that I've created!"
There was a hint of pride on Titus' face. Then, he continued. "You must've collected the inheritance that I've left behind in Spellcast City? The three main realms – Hallucinating spells, Illusory Heart, and Illusory World. The outside world all know that I have only achieved the Illusory Heart, but who knew that I have been trying to create my own Illusory World!"
"Illusory World? You've succeeded?"
There was a look of astonishment in Merlin's eyes. Naturally, he knew of Titus' theory, so he was aware of how formidable one would be upon consolidating the Illusory World.
The Illusory Heart was already comparable to a Legend. The Illusory World was something that no one had been able to achieve. However, according to Titus' deduction, if someone had managed to consolidate the Illusory World, he would never be harmed by a Legend ever again.
Invincible Legend! This was the formidable power of consolidating the Illusory World…
"Succeeded? If I had succeeded, then I wouldn't have left this strand of Mind Power here."
Titus' voice was full of despair and bitterness.