After a few minutes had passed, a surge of mana fluctuations burst forth from the ground, immediately engulfing the area. Albert felt the mana within the area becoming more abundant, refreshing and vast, as if he was standing atop a forested mountain breathing in the refreshing air.
If the mana density he felt before he buried the token was comparable to a lake, then he now felt like it was a vast ocean.
The surrounding area didn't visually change, but he knew that if any mage were to wander near this area, they would immediately sense that the mana in this area had become more abundant. This would likely lead to them investigating, bringing more unnecessary trouble.
Albert walked to the entrance and said to one of his subordinates who was guarding the area, "Lock down the area as per the protocol."
"Yes, my lord," the subordinate bowed and immediately instructed his comrades to carry out Albert's instructions.
As for Albert, He couldn't dawdle here; if the information the patriarch told him was accurate, it means another breach in security that needed his immediate attention and maybe... some preparation for the worst case scenario.
— Meanwhile - The Hightower HQ —
In the personal office of the Grand Councilor, a man in a white robe knelt on the ground, clutching his chest and coughing violently, as if his lungs were about to burst. In front of him, unstable blue ethereal blood hovered, flickering as if it could vanish or remain in this world.
This blood indicated that the man in the robe was struggling to maintain his existence in reality, as though he might slip out of it at any moment.
Around him was a modest-sized magic circle, glowing with a barrier-like light that stabilized his existence, preventing him from crumbling and fading into nothingness.
"Albert... Worseley!" the man spat out the hated name through gritted teeth. His ungloved hand, barely more than an outline of unstable energy, trembled as he struggled to keep it from dissolving.
The man was none other than Golden Scale, who had literally lost half his life. The magic he had used was a true projection, creating another reality of himself anywhere in the world. This magic was superior to cloning, as it shared the same mind and allowed the projection to wield his full power.
But the downside was severe. If the projection were destroyed—especially through the method Albert used, which destabilized its existence—the backlash to the real body was immense, almost to the point where the real body could suffer the same fate as the projection.
Fortunately for Golden Scale, he had prepared reality stabilization magic in advance. Without it, his existence might have been erased from this reality.
As Golden Scale stared at his half-stabilized hand, it became clear that he would never return to his peak without drastic measures. Worse still, his lifespan had been cut in half—or possibly even more—because of Albert's method. His existence had become so unstable that it was like clinging to a cliff with just his fingers.
It was only a matter of time before his existence would be erased from reality, and that time... was not far off. Golden Scale roughly calculated that he had about a year—two years at best—during which he could forcibly maintain his existence, no matter what measures he took.
Golden Scale had been improving significantly, nearly returning to normal after integrating the Origin Element he obtained from Daniel through the extraction ritual from Victor. But now... it was as if he were starting from square one again.
"I... I don't have much time..." Golden Scale muttered, his feelings conflicted. He realized that he would have to resort to drastic measures.
— New Atlantis - Montgomery School of Magic and Magical Technology —
"Help me with this guy, will you? He hasn't budged an inch!" the officer shouted to a junior colleague, who immediately came to assist.
Thus began a tug-of-war between the police and the robot, with the officers using every ounce of their strength to try to move Will toward the police car parked nearby. Meanwhile, Will remained stationary, unbothered by their efforts.
"Move, dammit! Uwwwoooooo!" the officers grunted as they pushed, but Will didn't move an inch. Eventually, they gave up and stopped pushing.
Zap!
The senior officer fired a taser gun at Will, hoping to incapacitate him and force him to comply. But aside from the taser needles embedded in his muscles and the sparks along the wires, nothing changed. Will stood there, unmoved, showing no signs of pain, leaving the officers stunned by his resilience.
"What the hell is this guy made of?" the senior officer cursed aloud, preparing to fire a second shot. But at that moment, the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day.
It was 3 PM, and the primary school children ran out to play or meet their parents, who had come to pick them up.
"Uncle Will! Let's go!" Little Sylvana called out, running toward Will at the school gate, leaving the officers in shock. Did this girl just call this intimidating man "Uncle"?
"Young Miss, please follow me. Your father seems to have a surprise for you today," Will said, effortlessly shrugging off the taser wires as if they were mere toys. He began walking toward Sylvana, casually pushing the officers aside like bowling pins.
Will then snapped the handcuffs off his wrists with his bare hands and tossed them back to the police.
The officers were stunned. How had he just snapped a pair of handcuffs like that? Was this guy made of metal?
"Err... Little lady... you call this big guy 'Uncle'?" the senior officer asked Sylvana, still in disbelief.
"Ah! Yes! Uncle Will. He's the bodyguard Papa assigned to me!" Sylvana cheerfully introduced Will to the officers.
"But... you said you came to kidnap her!" the officer exclaimed at Will.
"I said I came to take her home, but you didn't listen," Will calmly replied
"Let's go, young miss. I'm afraid if we delay any longer, you might catch whatever disease is causing these people's IQs to drop," Will said matter-of-factly. He then picked up little Sylvana and placed her on his shoulder, leaving the police too exhausted to respond or object.
Since it was all just a big misunderstanding, they decided to let it go.
Will brought little Sylvana to the car he had parked nearby and immediately drove her back home.
"Who the hell was that guy? He's like a steel wall; didn't even budge an inch," one of the officers muttered, panting on the ground.