...

'I couldn't sense it. Is that the strength of a Penumbra Inquisitor? To completely avoid my detection—I underestimated those of the Penumbra Circle.'

​​

Employing his Enhanced Instantaneous Movement, Light Feather Footwork, and Flickering Steps, Izroth escaped Arkogis's Ordeal. He made his way out of the main castle; however, the sense of danger had yet to fade.

When that voice sounded into Izroth's ear, he escaped without hesitation. To get that close to him while avoiding his range of perception... Izroth was no fool. He understood the gap between his current strength and that of the Penumbra Inquisitor was not something that could be closed with a few skills. Not to mention, Salokin and Essirie, as well as the other Skounae, could not be overlooked.

'Strange, there is no one following after me.'

Izroth was confident in his speed; however, he only managed to smoothly escape from Salokin and Essirie last time due to the element of surprise. But, the fact that no one was on his trail felt off.

Izroth utilized his Energy Vision Sense to scan the surrounding 100 meters. He made sure to only keep it active for a brief period of time to reserve his Essence.

'Something's closing in fast. At this rate, it will catch up to me in less than fifteen seconds. Still, the biggest problem is my Essence. I have around 300 points remaining, so I can not afford to be too wasteful. After all, if I undergo Soul Weakness at this place, then my chances of survival will fall drastically.'

Izroth was unclear about what was pursuing him, but he grasped that it was not a person. Instead, it was a bizarre phenomenon, unlike anything he had ever witnessed with his Energy Vision Sense. Everywhere that thing passed, everything transformed into darkness and was obscured. It was as if his Energy Vision Sense was being led astray.

Izroth changed his direction multiple times, but the feeling of danger continued to linger. When he glanced behind his back, Izroth saw a black wisp. This black wisp brushed past one of the Hunter Skounae and lightly grazed their arm.

"Ah! What is this?! I can't get it-! Ahhhhhhh!" Starting from the small cut on their arm, the Hunter Skounae's flesh, blood, and everything began to crumble away, leaving behind only their bone. In less than two seconds, the only thing left of the Hunter Skounae was a lifeless skeleton. But, even that too, soon turned to dust that blew away with the wind.

This was not a one-time occurrence. The black wisp did not separate ally from foe. If one were in the way of its path, it would go forth without pause, bringing death and destruction to those it encountered.

'It doesn't seem like it will end until it makes contact with its intended target. Since that's the case, I should welcome it properly.'

Izroth suddenly shifted his course once again. This time he was headed to an area of Vostracane located in a far upper corner of the city.

Back when Izroth first swept Vostracane with his Energy Vision Sense, there were two areas that its power could not penetrate. One of these places was Arkogis's Ordeal that he had just escaped from moments ago. As for the second, if he was correct, it should be what he was initially searching for in Vostracane!

Woosh!

The black wisp sped up as though it had a mind of its own and sensed Izroth's abrupt change of direction. With his Flickering Steps and bonus passive movement speed, Izroth's agility was over 10,000 points. Despite this, the black wisp appeared to now be at least three times faster!

As the black wisp rapidly narrowed the distance, a purple lightning element could be seen encompassing Izroth.

The lightning began to expand over Izroth's body as a loose, deeply saturated purple flowing mantle started to form. The mantle had a damaged and torn appearance and was created solely from the lightning element as it covered Izroth from head to toe. Soon, a hood formed and fully covered Izroth's face in the process, leaving only a violet aura visible where his eyes would be located.

'Second State: Heavenly Cloak. Full Mantle.'

Izroth's figure began to warp and bend in an extraordinary way as a purple light flashed, and he could no longer be found.

Crrrccckle... Crrrckle! BOOOOM!

The place where Izroth was just positioned trembled as an implosive thunderclap sounded off and caused the neighboring earth to shatter. In the blink of an eye, Izroth had arrived a bit more than 100 meters away from his previous location by executing the Compressed Lightning Movement.

The black wisp was still on his trail; however, Izroth was able to considerably widen the distance in one step. Though immediately after utilizing the Compressed Lightning Movement, Izroth felt as if every muscle in his body was being torn asunder from the sheer strain the skill invoked. On top of the 7% HP drain per second generated by employing the Compressed Lightning Movement, Izroth lost an additional 15% from the burst movement itself.

'As I thought, using Compressed Lightning Movement with Flickering Steps active is still too much for my present body to handle. After only one burst, the side effects are already starting to show. However, I must reach that place at all costs.'

Izroth quickly scanned his new surroundings as his eyes locked onto a Hunter Skounae on his path.

NPC Name: Hunter Skounae(Normal)

NPC Level: 38

NPC HP: 42,329(100%)

Izroth then activated an effect called Life Reaping connected to one of his accessories, Ring of The Exiled One. Fortunately, there was still a couple of minutes left until its Soul Steal stacks were reset, and the ones he received back on the battlefield had not vanished. This granted Izroth an additional 100% lifesteal, boosting it to a total of 106%!

Swoosh!

Without halting his movement, Izroth unsheathed his Sword of The Storm and swept it past the neck of the Hunter Skounae. Although it looked as though he attacked one time, in reality, Izroth's blade made three swift strikes in that short time frame—one to its neck and the other two over the Skounae's head!

«Critical Hit»

-7,202

+7,634

«Critical Hit»

-7,202

+7,634

«Critical Hit»

-31,808

+33,716

Izroth's first two attacks were just normal attacks from his sword. As for the last blow, he used the First Baneful Sword: Destruction to finish off the Skounae. Then, instantly after it was eliminated, Izroth employed his Compressed Lightning Movement to advance another 100 meters, finally reaching his intended destination.

It was a small inconspicuous building that failed to catch one's eye; however, if Izroth's suspicions were correct, this place was the most crucial area in all of Vostracane!

At a glance, the building looked to be abandoned. But, since he had examined this area with his Energy Vision Sense long beforehand, Izroth knew that this was far from the case. In total, there were more than 30 Skounae hiding stealthily in the shadows that acted as the guardians of this building.

Woooosh...

"Hm? What's-" One of the Skounae felt a breeze rush past them. He saw a black mantle flutter before his eyes as everything around him fell silent.

Wooosh!!! Clap!!!

The sound and force finally caught up with Izroth's movements as a strong gale revolved around him and the noise of a thunderclap rung in the vicinity. This caught the Skounae off guard and even made a few of them nearest to Izroth fall over from the wind pressure.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

During the chaos, Izroth cleared away the two Skounae, who stood guard at the main entrance. He applied the same method he used not too long ago to dispose of the Hunter Skounae. The stress on his body made him feel twenty times heavier from the consecutive uses of the Compressed Lightning Movement. Still, he understood that delaying for even a second could be detrimental.

'It sped up again.'

Before his Compressed Lightning Movement went off just then, Izroth could see the black wisp less than 40 meters away despite having just relocated more than 100 meters from his previous position. The black wisp was getting faster by the second!

In the same breath that he finished off the two Skounae, Izroth's sword unleashed an overbearing and piercing aura as he slashed the door that blocked his path into the building.

Although it appeared defenseless, there was a thin barrier overlaying the door to hinder any potential intruders. However, Izroth shattered this barrier effortlessly, combining his First Baneful Sword: Destruction and Fissuring Point to execute the fusion skill First Baneful Sword: Destruction Point.

Smash!

Izroth crashed through the door in one smooth motion as he instantly received an alert from the system.

〈System Alert: You have discovered «Vostracane City Magic Grid»!〉