Chapter 732: Moonstone Apprentice

Chapter 732: Moonstone Apprentice

Several things were wrong with what Dallion planned to do, not least of which was the potential reaction of the Moons. Already being in their bad books, this had a chance of getting at least one of them really furious. On the other hand, even the Moons had to follow their own rules.

Please let this slide, Dallion thought as he dashed towards the large glowing cluster of Moonstone within his realm. Ill pay the price, just give me a bit of time to see this through.

He knew that the Moons could hear his thoughts. The question was whether they would punish him for it. That was one of the tricky things when it came to deities. Sometimes their punishment was swift, other times it took months or even years for the effects of their wrath to become noticeable.

Splitting, Dallion looked over his shoulder, half expecting Nil to see Nil rushing behind him in an attempt to stop him. The old echo had done no such thing. That made things a bit easier.

Upon reaching the Moonstone, Dallion stopped. Purple crystals, the size of high-rises, reached up to the sky. They had definitely grown a lot since the last time Dallion had checked. There was no telling whether that was a good or bad thing. Ultimately, it didnt matter.

Galatea Dallion placed his hand on the smooth surface. The material resonated, sending vibrations through his whole arm.

Sorry, Dallion whispered. Ill need that boost.

Dallion extended the magic threads through his fingers, then pulled.

The magic within the Moonstone felt like pure electric current. Dallion felt the raw energy sweep through him. The pain was combined with a euphoric high, wanting him to crave more while simultaneously wanting to pull away. Hed only experienced the sensation once when absorbing the magic of an aether whale in the Moons domain. The power he had briefly achieved had been out of this or any other world; even so, compared to what he was pouring into him now, it felt like rotten candy.

In the blink of an eye, Dallion remembered all the spells hed seen, not only the one memorized through diligent toil and study, but anything hed seen since the moment hed entered this world. He could easily cast the spells Alien had performed during the Nerosal Festivalnot that they were particularly usefulKatkas combat repertoire, and also everything Palag had done. Magic that had seemed too fast and complicated now appeared childishly simple.

Magic kept flowing into Dallion, turning the sky and sea of his realm purple. In the distance, the Vermillion lifted its massive head, frightened by the sudden change. Seeing it was Dallion who had initiated it, the island serpent quickly submerged.

Theres no need to be scared, Dallion said. The power of the Purple Moon had also boosted many of his other abilities. He was able to hear the thoughts of every entity within his realm. Several of them knew exactly what he was doing, but even they were frightened, like all the rest.

Its alright, Dallion thought. This was necessary if he were to defeat his opponent in the real worldno different from getting a level boost before fighting a chainling, or so he kept telling himself.

Time burst like threads of spaghetti. Dallion kept absorbing the Moonstone for hours, while simultaneously being done three six seconds after he started. This wasnt a case of instances; both realities were just as true, as were the hundreds of others in between.

Magic, Dallion whispered with a smile. The universal exception.

There was no longer a trace of the crystal cluster. Dallion looked at his hand. It was so full of magic that he could no longer see the threads within it. Instead, his entire skin glowed purple, as if it were made of it.

Turning around, he expected to see all the inhabitants of his realm gathered there. However, there were only three: Nil, Harp, and Vihrogon.

I have to admit, youve really outdone yourself this time, the old echo said.

In a good or a bad way? Dallion lowered his hand.

Frankly, I dont have the slightest idea. Id never have dreamed of using a Moonstone in such fashion.

Oh?

I doubt any mage would. You had an item that could be the answer to any question, and you used it for a temporary boost.

Dallion couldnt see the logic. His music skills clearly showed that the echo wasnt lying or exaggerating, and yet that didnt make sense. Argus hadnt given him any alternative. Even if Dallion agreed to surrender, hed still have to give the Moonstone away.

MAGE APPRENTICESHIP

(+2 Reaction)

Through skills and knowledge, you removed the obstacle keeping you from joining the ranks of apprentices. Or, at least, you would have if you hadnt cheated your way there! Still, a pass is a pass.

Not now. Dallion waved through the purple rectangle that had emerged. Achievements could wait, the fight to the death couldnt.

Youre magic, Dallion heard a distant whisper.

He quickly recognized it belonged to Ruby. It was followed by a chorus of others. It was not clear that the novice seal had done more than change his appearance into that of a child during class; it had also strongly diminished the effects of his empathy trait. With it gone, and thanks to his boosted magic state, Dallion could hear millions of voices. No, not voiceshe could hear thoughts. He knew what every single one of the shardflies was doing, he could taste their anger, their determination to protect their nests, and their false conviction that they had been here before. In some other reality, that might well have been the case, not this one, though. The reality chameleon, under mage Argus orders, had seen to it that both realities merged, creating the current mess. Both sides refused to surrender what they viewed as theirs and were willing to go to any length to achieve victory, leaving Argus and his group free to aim at bigger, unsuspecting targets.

Clever, Dallion waved his left hand through the air. In his present state, that was enough to cast a dozen spells, sending hundreds of aether projectiles at the fury. It almost worked.

It worked. The mage couldnt keep himself from having the last word, even as his puppet was busy casting barriers by the dozen. I just need to attack. I just need to keep you here.

That sounded exactly like what the platypain had said.

But if I manage to kill you before the Moonstone wears off, I might be able to salvage something.

Then lets make things interesting, Dallion thought.

It wasnt much effort to cast a flight spell. Dallion had spent weeks trying to learn the symbols that went into it, to little avail. Now, they came naturally, allowing him to rise into the air with little effort. Dallion had to constantly maintain the spell with one handflying was not as free as it seemedbut that was a minor inconvenience.

Shardflies, he thought, combining spellcraft, linguistics, and zoology.

It would have been faster to cast a mass telepathy spell, but that was one more thing Dallion didnt know how to do yet. Besides, if he did, he wouldnt be able to use another skill.

Theres no point in keeping this up, Dallion said, using music skills. Youve already started to lose, and even if you do, more mages and golems would come.

Then what? Abandon our nests? A chorus of voices asked.

Your nests were never here. Help me and Ill find your nests. And if I cant, Ill find you a place where you could make new ones. I vow to the Moons that Ive done it before.

The attitude of the entire swarm changed. Instead of attacking anything in sight, as they had been doing till now, massive groups of shardflies pulled back away from the unprotected buildings.

Seeing the shift in attitude, the mages were smart enough to deescalate the situation. None were convinced that the fight had ended, but welcomed the pause to regroup and assess the situation, if nothing more.

A reality chameleon caused your nests to exist where they shouldnt, but there are plenty of places in the wilderness just as good and without mages.

What will you want from us? Several dozen voices askedlikely the shardfly ringleaders.

I just need to save the mage that rules over this place, Dallion said. And also beat up the one who caused the reality chameleon to bring you here.

All shardflies darted in Dallions direction. Their glee was so intense he could scoop it from the air with a spoon.