Chapter 259: Counter

Fern, the one known as the Sacred Sword Arcana and currently the leader of the Mind Collection, received a communication from their headquarters at Enetha Empire.

"A prison of an Ancient Cursed Arcana? What's going on?" Fern was confused about the message that he just received. 

He had no idea about its existence until the Blessed Arcana in the headquarters notified him.

He's still trapped on a stone and was about to meet a couple of Arcanists that would try to pull him out.

There have been over 500 attempts in the past five years but none of them was successful… However, he hasn't given up yet.

"Is there something wrong, Fern?"

Neri, the Divine Shield Arcana, asked. She noticed that there was a mysterious link from afar that connected to the Sword… Because she was close to him, it didn't escape her senses…

"Mhmm… I was told to investigate something. It's about a prison hidden in the unclaimed land in the north."

"A prison?"

"Yes, they said that the one imprisoned there is an Ancient Cursed Arcana…" Fern explained. 

"Wait… An Ancient one? So they are still existing?!"

Neri asked in disbelief. Fern is not the type of Sentient Arcana that would joke around. So he meant what he said… 

As far as she knows, any Ancient Creations should've been destroyed by now… 

Ancient Arcana, Ancient Arcane Stone, Ancient Energy, Ancient Array Core, and other Ancient Creations should be a thing of the past!

After all, they all possess cheat-like abilities that shouldn't exist in this world.

Probably, among the Ancient Creations, the Ancient Arcane Stone that could summon an unlimited amount of Arcana in the Arcane World is the most terrifying among them.

"It appears so… This is also the first time I'm hearing about their presence."

"I see… So, why are they asking for an investigation there?"

"Ah, they said that there are some trespassers who managed to find the prison… If they accidentally released the Cursed Arcana, it would be a huge trouble for everyone." Fern explained but he doesn't seem to be worried about this.

Anyway, it doesn't feel like it's an emergency mission considering that the message wasn't urging him to immediately go. It appears that they are also not fully aware of the situation.

If that's the case, he should take his time and ensure that he can prepare everything. 

"How about the couple of guys that will attempt to pull you out?"

"Mhmm… I will wait for them… I'm planning to send my servants to that place instead… As for my clones, I guess I'll be sending two of them."

Fern's clone is completely different from other Arcane Magic. 

His clone isn't just a projection made by his Mystical Energy to look like him… It is a genuine copy that has 30 percent of his strength.

However, whenever someone is attempting to pull him out, his connection with the clones can be disrupted and once it was cut off, it will take a long time for him to reconnect or reestablish their link. 

"Who are the ones going to pull you out this time? Vivi has been grumbling a lot since you can't show your full strength… She's working a bit too hard in the past five years, you know?"

"Sigh~ I don't want to be like this as well… I just hope that the elites from the Sun Fire Knights are as capable as they said."

Fern prayed silently. It has been a very long time when he was stuck here on the stone… He's unable to release his might and during the war against Erliente Dukedom, their city was almost besieged if not for Vivi's aid.

The Majestic Quill Pen Arcana had actually created false information and provided them to the Dukedom… Messing up with their communication network and feeding them false news allowed them to fight the Dukedom without lifting their weapons…

"That's true… I heard that they are the ones who stopped the Angel's Mercenary Squad…"

"Mhmm… I'm not sure about that. From the very beginning, the angel's squad doesn't seem to have plans to advance from their territory…"

Fern shared his thought about the previous war. 

The angel's squad is not really the squad's official name. It is the Broken Fang Mercenary Group but because of the presence of an angel-like being in their midst, they gained the nickname Angel's Squad.

Neri decided not to comment about it since she did not participate in the war. 

Nevertheless, she's hopeful that one of the people that are about to arrive can already end their leader's suffering.

"What are their names again?" She curiously asked.

"Hmm… Diether Luxford and Rufus Magnolia… I heard that they'll be accompanied by several Sun Fire Knights, so I already asked my servants to take care of things… You might want to consider hiding after a while…" 

Fern answered as he looked at the distance. 

It was as though he can already feel their presence.

'I wonder if they can finally lift the curse…' The Sentient Sword mused as he waited within the protected room of the Mind Collection's Base.

***

Reiji has finally rested. It took him about 15 minutes before he managed to regain some of his Mental Strength.

Controlling multiple clones and allowing them to use Arcane Magic is very taxing…

Perhaps, if he wasn't training his Mental Strength, he wouldn't be able to last this long at all.

'Alright, it's time to end this.'

Reiji looked at the bottom of the clear lake as he used his Arcane Sensitivity.

'Impressive… I can't feel him at all.' He praised.

He's being honest with that compliment as he couldn't really find the Trident Arcana at all!

The Trident must be using a stronger Stealth or Traceless ability…

Nevertheless, Reiji didn't give up… He then used his stone's Spiritual Pressure.

Whom~ 

The power was released and even the Array reacted to it… As if it was trying to bear the pressure and avoid being destroyed…

'Found you!'

Due to the sudden pressure, the Trident Arcana had a natural reflex of defending against the pressure.

However, if he did that, Reiji wouldn't be able to miss even his slight usage of power! 

His Arcane Sensitivity is already level 5! As long as it's within his range, no arcane activity will escape his senses! This ability is extremely useful in this kind of situation.

Then, Reiji decided to dive inside the lake…

Right now, he's planning to take everything within this cavern. 

He wanted to see what's special about the silver skeleton, the undamaged robe, and the three other items suspected to be an Arcana… He's already itching to try and use his Appraisal skill on them.

Nevertheless, he's also interested in the three Aqua Pearls acting as the core of this Confinement Array.

He might be greedy but he knows that he's powerful enough to deal with any problem that may arise. 

Splash!

As soon as he dived, he found the Trident Arcana and carefully used his Ice Wave to contain it… He's also maintaining his Spiritual Pressure so he won't be able to move unless he wanted him to.

Ssshh!

The Trident was quickly covered with ice as it was unable to move… 

He also wanted to complete his other mission…

[ Slaving Arcana Mission] 

[ Your Sword Slave Marker has reached level 8! You can now try it on a Sentient Arcana! ] 

[ Mark a Sentient Blessed Arcana: 2000 SP Reward ]

[ Mark a Sentient Cursed Arcana: 1500 SP Reward ] 

[ Mark a Sentient Arcana: 800 SP Reward ] 

[ Mark a total of 5 Arcana: 0/5 ] 

That's right, this is why Reiji didn't want to destroy this powerful Arcana! He wanted it to become his slave!

Currently, he has four remaining missions left.

Aside from this mission, he still has the Killing Spree mission which is very tough to complete, besting mission in which he needed to defeat another Sentient Arcana, and finally, a blood-related mission in which he needs to take 30 pints of blood from his wielders!

Luckily, that last mission can be done as long as he had accepted them as his wielder. He made a good decision of taking a lot of wielders in the past years so they can all share the burden…

Of course, it's possible to complete the mission faster if he accepted more. However, his principles wouldn't allow him to do that.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Reiji suddenly noticed that the Trident was still fighting against him… He actually wanted to use his sword slave marker now, but he learned that powerful beings would resist the Marker and might cause them some damage if they resisted. His 1 Durability might be gone if that happened.

Nevertheless, after seeing that the Arcana is still looking strong, Reiji has finally decided to just use his skill.

'Sword Slave Marker!'

As soon as he activated the skill, he realized that the Trident had also activated an Arcane Magic…

"Haa! Let's see who's mental strength is stronger! Kakaka!" The Trident laughed like a deranged person as he seemed to be waiting for this chance!