Chapter 64
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Black Sky (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Several days had passed since I gave Yutenia the skill book.
To me, it was only a few days, but for the characters in the game, it must have felt much longer.
Had she managed to decipher the entire magic scroll Id given her in that time?
Logging into the game after work, I found the Magic Scroll: Control Weather in my inventory.
It seemed Yutenia had been diligently practicing the magic in her spare time while carrying out the missions Id assigned.
Yutenia had always shown an ability to master any magic scroll I gave her without difficulty.
Considering that Loan couldn't achieve similar results even when he held a skill book, it was right to think of Yutenia as special.
"I really lucked out with this character."
I felt a sense of satisfaction as I gazed at the Magic Scroll: Control Weather in my inventory.
How many other players of this game were lucky enough to have such a devoted character like Yutenia?
Yutenia was a diamond in the rough, a gem of talent I had managed to discover among countless other characters.
You could call it a stroke of luck, won against incredible odds.
I gave a cake to Yutenia, who had returned the magic scroll through an offering.
Perhaps because it had been a while since she last received one.
Yutenia devoured the entire cake I offered, a blissful smile on her face.
As expected, she didn't share a single slice with the coachman character in front of her.
- "Thank you for your grace again today."
After watching Yutenia eat for a while, I shifted my gaze back to the inventory to look at the magic scroll.
Unlike other magic scrolls, the Magic Scroll: Control Weather in my inventory was emitting a purple aura.
It was the kind of aura you'd only see on rare items like the Magic Sword: Ednos.
It made me wonder just how powerful the magic would be.
Tap.
When I tapped the magic scroll in the inventory, a message popped up asking if I wanted to learn the skill.
- Would you like to learn the skill Control Weather?
- The magic scroll will be consumed upon learning.
- Yes No
Of course, 'Yes' was my only option.
As I hit the learn button, the magic scroll vanished from my inventory, and a new skill icon appeared at the bottom of the screen.
An intuitive skill icon, depicting a cloud and a sun.
I had successfully learned the Control Weather skill using the magic scroll.
- You have learned Control Weather (Lv.MAX).
- You can now use Control Weather magic by consuming mana.
Now that I had a new skill, it was time to try it out.
I panned the screen, moving as far away from Yutenia as possible.
If I cast the spell recklessly, Yutenia might get caught in it.
Swipe. Swipe.
After a few swipes, a village came into view.
Having found a new village, I immediately tapped the Control Weather skill icon to activate it.
"So, first I have to choose the weather I want to change it to?"
The moment I tapped the Control Weather icon, six buttons appeared on the screen.
Clear. Cloudy. Rain. Heatwave. Storm. Solar Eclipse.
This was the list of weather conditions supported by the Control Weather skill.
Of the six buttons, I tapped 'Storm,' which seemed the most straightforward.
I figured it would let me see the change on the tiles more clearly than the other weather conditions.
Tap.
As I tapped the Storm button, a targeting reticle appeared to set the skill's range.
"I can adjust the skill's range, too?"
The newly appeared reticle had adjustable markers on its border.
I tapped a marker to manipulate the reticle's range.
Pulling the marker increased the skill's range, while pushing it in seemed to decrease it.
Of course, increasing the skill's range wasn't without its penalties.
As I pulled the marker, the estimated mana cost displayed at the top of the screen increased.
Conversely, reducing the range showed a decrease in the estimated mana cost.
"Besides the range, there's also a duration setting."
In the top right corner of the reticle, there was also a button to set the duration.
The minimum duration was one hour, and it seemed the weather effect could be maintained for up to seven days.
I could see that setting a shorter duration for the skill reduced its mana cost.
Since Control Weather's mana cost was clearly not low, it seemed I wouldn't be able to spam the skill even with my significantly increased mana pool.
After reducing the reticle's size to something reasonable and setting the duration to one day, the estimated mana cost came out to about 2.
That was a manageable amount for testing purposes.
With all the settings configured, I tapped the reticle to activate the Control Weather skill.
- You have used Control Weather: Storm.
- The effect of Control Weather will last for 1 day.
As soon as I used the skill, dark clouds began to gather.
Perhaps because I had chosen the 'Storm' option instead of just 'Rain'.
The trees within the skill's range began to sway violently.
It didn't take long for the rapidly gathering dark clouds to produce results.
Just a few minutes after the clouds started to form, rain began to pour from the sky.
"Whoa..."
A downpour began.
Thick raindrops were falling in the area where Control Weather was active.
The surrounding weather had changed according to my command.
As the storm raged in the village, a piece of laundry hanging on a line was sent flying into the distance.
Watching the rain pour from the sky, I felt a strange sense of wonder.
This was the most wide-ranging and intuitive magic I'd seen so far.
The sight of the weather on the tiles changing with a single touch of my finger was truly fascinating.
"It's pretty good, aside from the high mana cost."
Perhaps because it was a high-tier spell, the mana consumption was by no means small.
But even considering that, it was undeniably a fun spell.
I could change the weather on a whim just by using this skill.
"But... how far can I extend the range?"
After using the skill with a reduced range, I now felt the urge to try it at its maximum.
If I used Control Weather by consuming most of my mana, just how far could I change the weather?
It was a question any gamer would be curious about.
My gaze naturally drifted to the Control Weather skill icon.
"I guess I'll have to find out."
When you get curious, you experiment. It's only natural.
I tapped the Control Weather skill, then pressed the 'Solar Eclipse' button to select the desired weather.
Then, I moved the markers to expand the Control Weather magic's reticle to its maximum limit.
When I expanded the reticle to the limit of my mana, it grew to cover about twenty percent of the movable area.
Compared to a single village, it was an undeniably vast area.
"If I reduce the duration, I can probably make it even bigger."
The current range was based on the default duration of three days.
If I were to reduce the skill's duration further from here, I might be able to expand the range proportionally.
I modified the Control Weather's duration setting, lowering it to one day.
The moment I reduced the duration, the estimated mana cost dropped to a third of what it was.
In this state, I should be able to expand the skill's range even further than before.
"Nice. The range keeps increasing."
I continued to move the skill markers, widening the spell's area of effect.
When the reticle's size grew to cover fifty percent of the movable area, the estimated mana cost rose to 89 of my maximum mana.
I had already spent 2 of my mana on making it rain.
If I used up all my mana here, there was a high chance my characters wouldn't be able to properly share my mana pool.
I stopped moving the skill markers when the estimated mana cost reached 89.
Then, I tapped the reticle once more to cast the Control Weather skill.
- You have used Control Weather: Solar Eclipse.
- The effect of Control Weather will last for 1 day.
Upon tapping the reticle, a series of messages confirming the skill's use were displayed.
Simultaneously, a strange phenomenon began to unfold across the entire screen.
Ruuuumble.
The screen darkened as a loud noise began to reverberate from somewhere.
I couldn't tell exactly where the sound was coming from, but it was clear that some massive change was occurring.
"Whoa, the skill sound... why is it so loud?"
Ruuuumble!
The sound coming from the speaker continued to grow louder.
In sync with it, the smartphone's screen also kept getting darker.
Rumble. Ruuuumble.
The ever-increasing volume had reached a point where it more than filled the entire room.
The moment the escalating sound reached the speaker's output limit.
A deep darkness fell over the entire screen.
The western Empire. Keterunt Province.
Van Krait, a special investigator from Cloud, stared ahead with a sharp gaze.
Before him lay several black-robed dark mages.
All of them had been struck down by Van's swordsmanship.
The dark mages lying before him were grunts from a secret society known as 'Abyss.'
Van, a special investigator, had been dispatched here personally to investigate traces of Abyss, which had recently become active.
"Have you found any clues, sir?"
His subordinate, who was accompanying him, asked Van, who was deep in thought with a serious expression.
Van Krait was a rather famous investigator within Cloud.
Immense martial power. Brilliant strategic mind. And to top it off, handsome features to match.
Countless investigators in Cloud admired him.
The subordinate with him now was one of those who revered Van.
He had asked the question because he trusted Van's keen insight.
"This altar is bothering me."
"The altar, sir?"
At Van's words, the subordinate's gaze turned to the nearby altar.
It was a demon-worshipping altar used by the dark mages of Abyss.
The altar was covered in numerous geometric patterns.
To gain power, dark mages had to offer sacrifices through such altars.
The subordinate knew that such altars existed from seeing them before, but he didn't know the details about their different types.
For his subordinate's benefit, Van elaborated on the altar before them.
"Dark mages tend to offer sacrifices to beings of the abyss to build their karma."
"It's well known that they sacrifice animals or people."
"But this altar is much larger and more ornate than any I've seen before."
Larger and more ornate than the usual ones.
That was the reason for the dark expression on Van's face.
The patterns on the altar were not mere decorations; they held ritualistic meaning.
The size and intricacy of the altar's patterns were factors that Van had to consider seriously.
"If it's ornate... it might be a more important altar."
"It might be dedicated to a being far more extraordinary than the usual demons."
This particular altar used by the dark mages was one that required a considerable level of craftsmanship to create.
Just how great a being would require such an elaborate altar?
As Van pondered, a name he had read in an ancient text flashed through his mind.
Necro King Akrosis.
The most wicked and terrifying demon, summoned by the progenitor of all dark mages.
Could a being like that be summoned through an altar of this scale?
Mulling it over, Van sighed and turned his back on the altar.
"Is the investigation finished, sir?"
Clomp. Clomp.
Van's footsteps echoed through the cave where the dark mages had been hiding.
Seeing Van about to leave the hideout, the subordinate following him asked.
The subordinate was holding several pieces of evidence collected from the hideout.
Van nodded in response to his follower's question and said.
"I have a bad feeling about this. It feels like this will be different from the demons we've faced before."
"We might end up fighting a demon far stronger than any we've encountered."
"Perhaps. It looks like I'll have quite a lot to report today."
The higher the class of the demon contracted with the dark mages, the greater the sacrifices Cloud would have to make.
If their opponent was the legendary Necro King, there was a chance that even Van, with all his skill, would be unable to stop him.
Just because he had easily subdued the enemies he just fought didn't mean he could afford to underestimate the next one.
The moment Van, still contemplating the demon's identity, stepped outside the hideout.
He was confronted with a problem entirely different from his previous concerns.
"What... in the world..."
"...."
Right in front of the hideout he had just exited.
In the sky where the sun had been shining just moments ago, a black sun now hung.
Not even the stars could show themselves properly in the dark night sky.
A black sun. A pitch-black sky.
And beneath it, a darkened world.
Van's eyes, gazing upon the black sky, trembled violently.
"What... what is happening?"
Van Krait.
Before his eyes lay a scene that defied all human comprehension.