Instantly, I teleport back in front of the stone archway that leads to the open courtyard in front of the castle.
Before stepping forward, I open up my item storage to grab my sword and let Ember fly free. He flaps his wings as I grip the already glowing red blade.
We both burst into flames.
I allow my MP stores to be drained by both my sword and armor as I feel my body surge with power. It feels like excess mana is seeping out of my pores.
"I feel... great...."
Usually, I'd be craving mana at a time like this. Even if my MP bar was completely full. For some reason, this time after stepping out of the Titan's domain, while I'm using my skills and my bar is above halfway full, I feel oddly satiated...
I grin, stepping through the high arching entrance.
The moment both Ember and I reach the halfway point to the Castle wall, the massive iron door begins to scrape the floor as it slowly opens again.
The familiar glimmer of silver armor peeks out before 2 dozen Knights march in a single-file line toward us.
I grin, gripping my blade while crackling with flames.
The first battle begins.
Like clockwork, one of the Knights standing in line breaks formation and begins running at me with its long silver sword ready to strike.
I use Appraisal to double-check its stats.
____________________
[Lv. 430]
Active Items:
[Enchanted Armor Set] +1750 Defense
[Enchanted Long Sword] +1750 Strength
Active Skills:
[NONE]
____________________
I run forward, charging my blade with ease.
Mana flows through my body so quickly and easily now, it surprises me...
In an instant, my sword has almost 600MP stored into it. By my 3rd step, there's already 1000. My blade glows brighter and brighter as I approach the metal soldier.
I clash blades with the silver suit of armor. This time around, there's an entirely different result than my previous fight. Its sword is sliced in two the second I make contact, and its metal body follows this fate soon after.
The MP from my attack hardly even leaves my blade before slicing my opponent in two. I fly by the Knight, air-stepping past with a grin across my face.
Its sword falls to the ground, and the upper half of its armor slides off its lower legs as it tries to stay on its feet. The metal parts hit the ground with a loud clang.
As I stare down the mutilated Knight, realizing my new strength, its falls parts begin to float up into the air. It reconnects and becomes a full silver suit of armor once again.
The lines where I cut are still there, but the Knight seems completely unharmed otherwise. It readies its sword and charges at me again.
I grit my teeth and run at it too. I slice right through it again with a swift swing of my sword. There isn't even a hint of resistance as I cut the Knight straight down the middle.
This time its two halves fall to the floor with a loud clang of metal on stone. It falls into 4 parts, but reforms back into a full suit moments later as expected.
This is exactly what happened last time when it fought Ember. The black-scaled Dragon tore the Knight to shreds, but it kept coming back.
I whisper under my breath.
"This is fun and all, but it's going nowhere. There must be some trick here...."
I grit my teeth and activate my All-Seeing Eye while air-stepping a safe distance away and drinking an MP potion to use my perception skill on full blast.
I let a gasp, as everything around me becomes crystal clear... I'm hit with the intense sensation of my newly upgraded mana control-powered perception skill.
It seems even my non-combat abilities have been significantly increased in proficiency from this past training session. I did double my MP consumption in a single month, but this is unreal....
I gulp, slowly turning my head to take in the dungeon around me.
The flowing lava below us, Ember patiently waiting behind me, the two dozen knights all standing guard, and most importantly, the impossibly dense mana reading inside the castle.
These stone walls act as miniature mana shields, blocking out some of the MP radiation. There's no stopping what's inside from seeping through, it's much stomper than these walls.
It's... definitely the Behemoth.
I shake my head, then focus my attention back on the silver suits of armored guards. The one I'm facing starts running at me again with its sword pointed straight ahead.
I focus, using up hundreds of MP on my All-Seeing Eye.
"There has to be something."
The fast-approaching guard gets close enough to be an actual threat, so I drink another potion and slash the metal warrior in half once air while air-stepping away.
The mana-infused fire magic seeps out from the edges of my sword. The excess mana looks like a tight bubble around my blade. It lets out energy into the air as my refined attack is released each time.
This is definitely a new phenomenon. With my charge time for a semi-powerful attack being near instant now, it seems excess mana is being wasted on every strike. Although is a minor amount, I'd like to figure out a way to conserve it at some point...
I bring my focus back to the armored Knight, still eyeing it up and down to find a weak point.
In my eyes, it just seems like normal armor. It's covered in a very dense mana shielding, but there's no being inside.
"This makes no sense... none at all..."
I clench my jaw as it turns, charging at me again.
At least I'm some sword training in.
Letting attack after attack fly I get much more used to this natural fighting style. Although it's a completely different attack, it feels like I'm actually fighting with a sword now.
Before, it felt like more of a mid-range weapon firing out shots. I seem to be doing more damage at close range too.
Unfortunately, It doesn't really matter how much damage I do on a Knight that can reform its metal body every time I cut it down...
It continues to charge at me, and I continue to chug MP potions while cutting it into more and more pieces.
My eyes dart across the courtyard as I push my perception skill's abilities to the limit. I reach far and wide for something to focus on while toying with the metal Knight. If I only knew what to look for, this would be a lot simpler.
I turn my vision to the line of Knights standing by near the iron door. All of their armor glows with mana shielding under my perception skill, but an odd detail catches my eye.
"This is new..."
Although the sensation of their glowing mana shields fills my vision, I get the clue of paper-thin strands of mana arching upwards from their exact location and drifting back over the Castle wall.
My opponent charges at me again, but I Dungeon Walk away completely uninterested with it at the moment.
This new discovery is all that's on my mind.
I drink another potion, pushing my All-Seeing Eye even further as I do a full in-depth scan of the area above each Knight's head.
The biggest smile creeps over my face as it hits me clear as day...
I was definitely not imagining it. There are microscopic threads of mana coming off the helmets of each Knight. The strands seem to be feeding them power from the incredibly dense source deep within the castle.
I turn back to the charging silver swordsman and focus on the area above its head.
At first, I can't see a thing.
Then, with enough concentration, it becomes very clear. A small thread of mana, feeding it power just like the others.
I run at the suit of armor with a new plan.
"I'll aim for the source of its power."
As we near each other, its heavy metal footsteps fill my ears and the single thread of mana is the only thing I lock my eyes on.
I jump in the air, propelled by wind magic, and concentrate on a full 1000MP charged slash right at the thread.
As my blade collides with the tiny strand, the Knight attempts to swing its sword up at me.
The loud twang of mana on mana rings out for a fraction of a second before the resistance gives way and my flaming blade releases a black fiery slash to snap the strand in two.
I watch the white and pink thread dissipate into thin air the moment it's cut.
The Knight's long sword stops moving mid-swing and the entire armor set falls to the ground.
I let out a laugh as I land to the floor on both feet with a thud, pointing my sword at the pile of metal fragments in front of me.
"One down, a whole lot more to go..."
I smirk, looking up at the line of Knights guarding the Castle door. The second words leave my mouth, 3 of them begin to charge at me without a moment of hesitation. The battle is on.