The First Dimensional Rift (2)
Shortly after, Lia returned with the materials.
“Tower Master, I brought the materials!”
Gasping for breath, Lia set four items down in front of me.
The refined flame stone gave off a red glow, and the Abyssal Water Droplet sat inside a small crystal vial filled with a dark blue liquid.
The Light Crystal shone with a pure white radiance, while the Essence of Darkness was a black orb that seemed to swallow the light around it.
“Good. Let’s begin.”
I set the materials before me and took a deep breath.
Four-attribute fusion.
I’d already succeeded once before while creating Mana Amplification.
But back then, I’d had the perfect experimental facilities of Vilheim Magic Tower and seven layers of protective barriers.
None of that existed now.
Only me.
But now I’m at the 4th Circle too.
I had to trust my mana control, which was far stronger than before.
I reached out and began drawing mana up from the four materials.
Fire mana gathered in my right hand, water mana in my left, light mana in my chest, and dark mana in my lower dantian.
The four attributes began to pulse in their own places.
Change in flame, adaptation of water, dispersion of light, convergence of darkness.
I recalled the essence of each attribute, which I had come to understand upon reaching the 4th Circle.
Light was the attribute that revealed and spread everything outward, while darkness was the attribute that concealed and gathered everything inward.
To block mana means to hide the signal it emits.
Then the converging nature of darkness was the key. But darkness alone wouldn’t be enough.
I needed to stabilize the mana itself and prevent it from leaking outward.
Use fire to alter the flow of mana, water to adapt to that change, light to restrain its dispersion, and darkness to draw it all inward.
I slowly drew the four streams of mana closer together.
Sizzzz—!
At once, a violent repulsion erupted. Light and darkness, especially, shoved against each other.
“Ghk…!”
I clenched my teeth and forced the mana under control. But this time, unlike when I created Mana Amplification, my special trait didn’t activate.
Why?
I was startled. Didn’t the Mage of Fusion trait always trigger?
No, wait.
Even when I made Mana Amplification, the trait didn’t activate at first. It only did when I tried to find the fusion point on my own.
Then it was the same now.
I had to find the method myself.
Mana block, hiding the mana signal…
I sorted my thoughts.
A mana signal was created when mana was released outward. Then what if I kept it circulating internally?
Circulation!
The principle of circulation I had realized during my 4th Circle breakthrough.
Not releasing the four attributes outward, but keeping them in constant circulation within.
When fire caused change, water would adapt, and light would not spread the resulting flow but confine it inside.
Then darkness would gather it again and send it back to fire.
A perfect closed circuit.
Yes. This is it!
I poured that intent into the four streams of mana and attempted the fusion.
Fusion Trait activated.
Once the trait activated, the four streams of mana naturally began forming a single cycle.
Whooooosh——
In my hands, a strange mass of mana took shape.
At first glance, it was a gray orb that gave off no light at all, as if it didn’t even exist.
“It worked!”
Lia cheered.
“Tower Master! You really did it!”
I let out a breath of relief. My back was soaked with sweat.
“No, this is just the beginning. I need to make a magic circle and fuse it with the spell.”
A spell version of Mana Block alone wasn’t enough.
Its effective range was only one meter. That was far too small to cover our entire tower.
I had to turn Mana Block into a magic circle and expand its range.
Only then could I completely block the tower’s mana from leaking outside.
***
Right after the dimensional rift began, Vilheim Magic Tower also moved to respond at once.
“Chief Roimdel! One of the enemies that emerged from the rift landed near the Blue Rose Magic Tower.”
A young mage reported urgently.
“I know.”
Roimdel stood in the tower’s highest observation chamber, calmly watching the situation unfold.
But sweat had gathered along his brow.
“What’s the status of the defensive magic circle?”
“It’s currently operating at 20% output. We’ve prepared it so it can be brought up to 100% immediately if needed.”
Roimdel thought to himself.
Would our defensive magic circle at full output be enough? No… it wouldn’t.
He had watched the situation at the Blue Rose Magic Tower just moments earlier, and he couldn’t be certain.
The crystal golem had shrugged off the final strike of a 5th Circle tower master.
If something like that came to Vilheim Magic Tower…
It would smash through their defensive circle and launch a direct attack on the tower.
“...No. Not like this. Build another outer defensive magic circle in the crystal golem’s path.”
There was no way to strengthen Vilheim Magic Tower’s ancient magic circle right this instant.
So Roimdel decided the least he could do was buy time to bring down the crystal golem.
“What? You want to install a magic circle now?”
The young mage asked in surprise.
“Yes.”
“That’s impossible, Chief. It takes at least a week to construct an outer defensive circle. And for a magic circle of that scale…”
“I know.”
Roimdel raised a hand and cut him off.
“We don’t need a perfect magic circle right now. Our goal is to buy time.”
He used long-range scrying magic to observe the crystal golem again.
“Still…”
“Move quickly. Finish it as fast as possible. Summon ten mages of 4th Circle or higher immediately, and have them bring all the materials needed for the circle.”
“...Yes. Understood.”
At Roimdel’s decision, the young mage had no more objections.
Thirty minutes later, outside Vilheim Magic Tower.
The ten high-ranking mages were arranged in a circle in the direction where the crystal golem was expected to approach.
“Begin with the foundational pattern of the magic circle. Pour mana in from your assigned positions!”
At Roimdel’s command, the mages all raised their wands at once, and blue lines began to be drawn across the ground.
But there was a problem.
“Chief! The mana flow isn’t steady!”
One mage cried out in panic. The lines of the magic circle were wavering unevenly.
“Of course not. Ten people are channeling mana at the same time—it’s not going to synchronize perfectly!”
Roimdel gritted his teeth and tried to guide the flow with his own mana, but it wasn’t easy.
Constructing a magic circle was delicate work. Normally, it had to be drawn slowly over several days, one careful stroke at a time, but they didn’t have that kind of time now.
“Keep going! It doesn’t have to be perfect, just functional enough!”
Crackle——.
The mana collided unstably and threw off sparks.
“Damn it! Mana backlash!”
“Keep going! If you stop now, everything we’ve done so far will collapse!”
Roimdel shouted.
The mages of Vilheim Magic Tower clenched their teeth and kept completing the circle.
A little later.
The mages, drenched in sweat, finally managed to complete the basic framework of the circle. But that alone wasn’t enough.
“Now, insert the beads.”
Roimdel took several magic beads from his robe.
They were the beads needed for the defensive circle—defensive spells, shock-absorption spells, and the like.
One by one, Roimdel began placing the beads into the corresponding parts of the circle.
Then he drew up his mana and began fusing the circle with the beads.
Creak——.
But the hastily assembled circle and the beads’ mana didn’t fuse properly. The magic circle trembled violently.
“It needs stabilization!”
“I know that!”
Roimdel poured in his mana and forcibly stabilized the circle.
The overwhelming power of a 6th Circle grand mage enveloped the entire structure and dragged each part into forced alignment.
“Just a little more…!”
Sweat streamed down his face.
The surrounding mages also added their own mana to help sustain the circle.
Crackle—zzt—!
Unstable mana burst from all over the formation.
The poorly connected sections resisted one another and tried to tear the circle apart.
“Focus harder! Just a little longer and we’re through!”
Roimdel’s voice sharpened with force.
He drew on all fifty years of his experience and skill, adjusting each part of the circle one by one.
Another thirty minutes passed.
Kwaaaa——.
At last, the magic circle was complete. It was imperfect and rough, but it worked.
A blue, translucent barrier rose up as though blocking the front of Vilheim Magic Tower.
But that barrier was warped in places, and the flow of mana was uneven, making it tremble in ripples.
“It’s… successful.”
One of the mages said in a drained voice.
“Hah…”
Roimdel leaned on his wand and let out a long sigh. More than half of his mana had been consumed.
The other mages were in similar shape. A few had slumped to the ground, gasping rough breaths.
“Chief, do you really think that circle can stop it?”
One mage asked anxiously.
Roimdel didn’t answer. He couldn’t be certain either.
A makeshift circle assembled in a single hour. The fusion with the beads was incomplete, and the mana flow was unstable.
Once… maybe twice at best. Could it really hold?
While they were taking a brief rest after completing the circle,
they spotted the mages of Blue Rose approaching from afar.
“...Those are the mages from Blue Rose.”
A moment later,
they arrived, and grief and despair were etched across their faces.
“Chief Roimdel…”
The assistant chief mage of Blue Rose stepped forward and bowed his head. The corners of his eyes were red.
“Our tower master… Our tower master has fallen.”
“...I know.”
Roimdel nodded heavily.
“We were useless… We couldn’t stop that crystal golem…”
The Blue Rose mage said in a trembling voice. The other mages all lowered their heads as well.
“This isn’t your fault.”
Roimdel placed a hand on his shoulder.
“That monster is… far stronger than we imagined. I heard even a 5th Circle mage’s full power attack didn’t work.”
“Yes… Our tower master’s Thunderfall of the Flame Emperor didn’t leave so much as a scratch. Our attacks were even less effective…”
“Which way is that golem heading now?”
Roimdel asked.
“Toward the Fusion Magic Tower.”
“The Fusion Magic Tower…”
Roimdel’s brows twitched.
“The last thing our tower master said…”
The Blue Rose assistant chief continued.
“Was to survive, and to help Vilheim Magic Tower defend the empire.”
“……”
Roimdel fell silent.
The Blue Rose tower master’s final choice. Even if he died with the tower, he had still tried to save his disciples.
“I’ll accept you. Mages of Blue Rose Magic Tower, from this moment on you’ll fight alongside us as part of Vilheim Magic Tower.”
“Thank you, Chief.”
The Blue Rose mages all bowed at once.
“But there’s no time to rest. Once that crystal golem destroys the Fusion Magic Tower, its next target will be us.”
Roimdel looked back toward the crystal golem’s direction.
Grace… how will you respond?
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