Chapter 25: One Man Army (1)

Aidylan’s eyes went wide. ’Triple Cast!’

Jaxir’s abilities hadn’t leveled up on the entire way here. Ever since his Root Abilities reached Level 30, it wasn’t that they had slowed down, but instead that their strength had actually surpassed his understanding of them.

He only reached Level 30 in Cast, Charge, and Attune because his Twinkle Mana reached Kindled status, not because he actually understood them. Because of that, the power they could display versus the level of control he could exhibit over them was actually quite far apart.

However, the Golden Fleece Guild had done him a favor.

It threw so many enemies at him, at such a high volume, and in such great variety...

That he had no choice but to increase his comprehension step by step.

Though he wasn’t yet quite at a true Level 30 comprehension, he was a lot closer than he was before.

And because of that, while triple casting had made him feel like his head was exploding before...

It no longer did so.

"RANGED UNITS!" Aidylan roared, unsheathed his sword with a wild flare.

Bowstrings were tugged taut, their twang filling the air with crisp echoes as one arrow after another was loosed in a single direction.

"TANKS!"

A formation of five tank classes moved forward, their tower shields slamming into the soft earth. There was no doubt in their minds that Jaxir’s attacks would be worthless against them.

"FORWARD!" Aidylan roared once more before the arrows landed.

Everything pointed toward the fact that Jaxir was finished, but something about the light in the latter’s eye filled Aidylan with apprehension.

Jaxir wouldn’t fall so easily.

And that, for once, was something Aidylan was right about.

One of Jaxir’s three magic bullets shot forward. In a seamless motion, he plucked a card out of his deck holder, flooding his mana into its body.

The circuits lit his eyes. A roaring wave erupted out from the Vestigem Card and in that moment, Jaxir truly felt the weight of a Kindled Mana.

―

Name: Twinkle Anchor

Grade: Uncommon

MP Cost: 4

Description: Form an armor of twinkle mana, confusing mana that lands upon it to divert at improper and wrong angles

Recommended Classes: Magic; Tank; Melee; Ranged

―

A twinkling armor formed over Jaxir’s body. Colors of flickering copper and dusted pale gold swirled with the mysteries of the cosmos, layering over him before solidifying.

A pulsing wave came from it.

The card should have only been effective on mana alone, but in Jaxir’s hands, a twinkling armor bloomed in might, the winds and air around him twisting.

His Kindled Twinkle Mana and Roll of the Dice Divine Ability worked in tandem to power it up.

The arrows pelted down from above, only to divert at the last moments.

A moment later, Jaxir’s first magic bullet reached the line of tanks, but then it suddenly curved, slamming into a magic class on the end of the defensive line.

[-57]

They screamed out, falling to the ground, crippled.

Jaxir’s grin widened. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, he poured all 50 MP of mana from his staff into his armor. It bloomed brighter, more resplendent. The slight dimming that occurred from the first ray of attacks it had defeated completely reversed.

"Change of plans." Jaxir said, the mana radiating from his eyes becoming brighter.

Twinkle Anchor wasn’t a time-based ability. So long as he had mana and its energy wasn’t consumed in a single hit, he could keep Twinkle Anchor going indefinitely.

Jaxir raised his staff to the air.

"RANGED UNITS!" Aidylan roared again.

They fired in kind and Jaxir directly ignored the rain, releasing his last two remaining magic bullets.

One of the tanks glowed, but Jaxir already expected this.

There was no doubt in his mind, the most annoying of the enemies here would be the tanks. So long as they were here, they would eventually be able to grind him down until he truly did run out of MP.

He couldn’t allow that.

In which case, the only way to deal with this group was to wipe them all out first, and quickly.

But how was the question.

Even a Level 1 tank had 160 HP. That scaled by 20 every level they gained. All of these guys were at least Level 7, and two were even Level 9. That meant at the weakest, their HP was 300.

On top of a ridiculous HP, their Body Stats were defensive oriented. Meaning, while Jaxir could land a single strike to cripple a magic class, he would be lucky to do 30 damage against one of those Level 9’s.

All of this math rolled through Jaxir’s mind like he was already a veteran of the game, and in retaliation, he was already thinking of the best counters.

There were none. At least not in his situation. Not alone. Not facing so many enemies.

In that case, there was only one path.

All-out blitz.

One of the tanks cast Taunt, anchoring himself down to the ground heavily.

What he didn’t expect was for the magic bullets to turn toward him the instant Jaxir sensed the mana shift in the air.

They spiralled around one another, forming a tornado of whipping winds as they slammed right into his shield.

The tank grunted and was sent sliding back across the grass, his back slamming into the line of magic and melee classes right behind him.

[-22]

They were knocked over, but not by far, all while he managed to stay on his feet.

[-3]

[-3]

But he had been in the middle of the group of tanks, and with him sliding back like that, their group was suddenly split in two, destroying their line formation.

Three more magic bullets had already formed above Jaxir’s staff. Arrows fell around him, causing his armor to dim continuously. But they were all diverted and twisted away from him.

The arrows came more powerful, ripping more and more of his Twinkle Mana from his armor. It felt like one more volley would be enough to destroy Twinkle Anchor, and 10 seconds had yet to pass, so his staff had yet to replenish all 50 MP just yet.

But one would have thought that Jaxir couldn’t sense this at all.

His mana rolled, his Casts growing larger and larger until from the size of his head, they grew to the point they were half the size of his torso.

The rolling spheres of mana shone so bright, and clung together in such a tight formation that it was near impossible to see Jaxir. It was even more difficult with the quickly dimming light of dusk making the contrast blinding to the naked eye.

And then they shot forward.

"HOLD!" Aidylan roared, halting slow forward charge to brace for impact. "TANKS!"

Aidylan cursed beneath his breath. The formation of tanks was still compromised right now. They would definitely take some damage from this.

BOOM.

The three spheres of mana suddenly burst apart into a wild rain, the blinding flash making Aidylan squint as he immediately used a Vestigem Card on his hip for a defensive wall.

’Why does this look so much like Flare Burst...?’ Aidylan barely had the thought when his eyes opened wide in horror.

"WAIT―!"

It was too late. A sweeping line of mana erupted from the center of their formation.

Their tanks were ripped off their feet and sent flying off into the distance, tumbling several meters away. Even those who were at a decent distance found themselves tumbling back.

Aidylan still hadn’t laid eyes on him, but he knew without a doubt.

Jaxir was in their midst.