Chapter 246: The Trapped Arch Lich

The magic circle enveloped the ghost ship and the rest of the coast in one go. The spell of the Arch Lich did not hit Elona but the spell effect disrupted the main caster so Adrian took damage. The spell fired off by the Arch Lich shaved 90% of Adrian's health in one go even though he used all his soul essence to strengthen his body.

Adrian could not handle the total power of the spell of the Arch Lich so Trois redirected some of the damage to the others including himself. The three imps were also damaged and lost 50% of their health. Trois was only able to do this because their magic powers were linked together using the magic circle to make the Quantum Corridor.

The three imps did not handle the backlash of the spell of the Arch Lich well due to the undeath attribute of the spell. Adrian immediately summoned Kanlaon to catch the three imps so that they would not be trapped inside the Quantum Corridor.

The spell of the Quantum Corridor will persist for two days maximum or 48 hours if nothing happens inside to affect the spell matrix. Since the Quantum Corridor is cast by four Greater Demons, the spell should be as strong as if a newly evolved Arch Demon cast the spell. Though Adrian did something to influence the spell to make it stronger.

Trois who is now being carried by Kanlaon managed to glimpse the change that Adrian used on the Quantum Corridor. Trois looked at it with amazement as even he would not be confident to change the spell structure of a spell that can normally be used by Arch Demons. The spell now not only has spatial and time elements but also an unfamiliar energy that he has yet to identify.

Trois looked at the badly damaged Adrian that is actually coughing blood due to the backlash and his eyes widened. The unfamiliar energy that is woven into the spell matrix of the Quantum Corridor is actually being emitted from Adrian. Trois is now looking at Adrian with admiration and a sense of rivalry.

[You have influenced someone in your own race to do better and strive for more.]

[All stats + 5]

[You have gained the title Worthy Rival.]

"How did I get this title? Who did I influence?" Adrian thought as he downed a potion that restores 50% health that can also cure bleeding status ailment. He then looked at the three imps but they are tending to their injuries so it could not be one of them.

Kanlaon placed the three imps on the ground where the Ice Queen is currently resting. The Ice Queen Elona's hair looked disheveled and her crown is a bit tilted. It seems that blocking spells from the Arch Lich while maintaining the blizzard is too tall of an order even for a legendary NPC.

"Did your spell work? How long will that blasted thing be trapped inside that thing?" The Ice Queen Elona asked as she fixed her hair and clothes.

"If nothing goes wrong then he could be trapped there for two days at most." Adrian stated as even he does not know if the spell could hold a boss like entity like the Arch Lich for too long.

Adrian then gave potions to the other three and thanked them for helping him. He also told them that they can return to the Paradox Planes first and that he would report to Bronx that they performed excellently. Une and Deux said their farewells normally but Trois looked at Adrian as if he is saying farewell to a rival or something.

Adrian did not think too much of it and said goodbye to the three as they chanted the spell for dimensional travel.

"Greater Teleportation" The three imps led by Trois chanted at the same time.

The three imps vanished in a flash of light without even a trace that they were once in the location they are standing on. Adrian had another problem and that was leveling up to become stronger. He cannot even survive one spell hit from the Arch Lich.

"Can the players even raid that undead? No…The Arch Lich is probably an enemy that the Undead King must face with the players because it would be impossible for normal players to raid a level 280 NPC by themselves even if it is an NPC." Adrian muttered.

NPCs have lesser health than monster enemies because NPCs have higher intelligence and better abilities. The bigger problem for Adrian is the unknown health and mana of the Arch Lich. Adrian guessed that the phylactery or life vessel of the Arch Lich must be destroyed first in order for them to see the details of the Arch Lich completely. Even Adrian's evil eye came up with question marks rather than numbers.

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Inside the Quantum Corridor is a world filled with nether mist that is lethal to undead. The undead are currently experiencing a decrease in their health per second. Adrian carefully weaved the nether energy into the spell so that the nether mist would not disperse with a simple attack. The Arch Lich thought that the enemy just used a mist that can deter and damage the undead.

The Arch Lich is also getting damaged though it protected itself with an aura that can deflect the damage from the nether mist. Although the Arch Lich protected itself, the same could not be said to its followers. Despite being a control freak, even the Arch Lich knows that it needs an army to protect it when it chants spells now that its instant cast spells are on cooldown.

The Arch Lich extended its aura to cover the whole ghost ship in order to protect its underlings. The undead players that are in the ship are in awe of the Arch Lich' power because it easily protected them from the mist that decreased 1% of their health every five second.

The ghost ship continued on with the Arch Lich' protection with the coast of the northern continent in sight. As soon as the ghost ship is about to dock on the coast of the northern continent, the vision suddenly turned blurry as the nether mist covered their frontal vision.

When the undead regained their vision, they are once again at the four kilometer mark from the coast of the northern continent. The players could not believe what they are seeing as it seems that they have reset to the point where the strange mist started to envelop them. The undead NPCs did not falter or rather did not question when they were back at that certain position as the Arch Lich ruled it to be illusion magic.

The voyage went on and on to the point that the undead players felt a sense of panic and dread as their voyage never ended despite the coast being at their view. It took about ten times of them returning to the point where they entered the mist for the Arch Lich to tell for the ghost ship to stop sailing.

The Arch Lich surveyed the area they were in but could not tell what is wrong. The Arch Lich ordered the ghost ship to sail backward and the players thought that they were retreating but they could not dare question the Arch Lich. The ghost ship moved backwards successfully and they thought that they have successfully escaped the illusion.

The happy hearts of the undead players is short lived as the nether mist once again clouded their vision and they returned to their original position once again. The undead players could only lament as they have been stuck for about two hours already. They tried logging out but the system stated that they could only log out for fifteen minutes real world time or else they would fail the mission.

The Arch Lich finally realized that it killed a demon earlier before they departed. It almost forgot about the demon because it was just a small fry that is no more than an insect in its way. It suddenly thought that a higher ranked demon might have come to avenge the demon it killed because demons are rather sentimental which the Arch Lich thought as nothing but a nuisance.

The Arch Lich started launching spells into the air by the dozens while maintaining the protective layering it had cast on the ghost ship. The mana of the Arch Lich could be seen dropping at a fast pace but it could see that its attacks are hitting a boundary which should not happen.

"We are trapped inside a space created by demons." The Arch Lich stated while it continued to fire off spells until its mana reserves reached ten percent which made it stop casting.

If the Arch Lich did not stop then it would have stopped coating the ghost ship with its aura. It commanded the liches at its disposal instead to launch attacks at the boundary. One way to destroy spatial magic is through a greater force. But with nether energy fueling the Quantum Corridor, the needed force is much greater than the usual because a quantum corridor fueled by nether energy is something akin to being cast by an elder Arch Demon.