Chapter 184: [184] Ark Has A PLAN

The attack came with the sound of a tsunami. It was turbulent, harrowing. An attack meant to leave behind no traces, an attack meant to not just rip apart flesh, but melt through bone.

And yet, even as Ark’s armour trembled just from being in the vicinity of the spell, even as he felt his body temperature rising from the sheer heat of its breath, Ark stood unshaken.

And then the attack came.

VWOOOOOOSH!

The rider laughed, screaming out curses as the attack rushed towards them. Clyeretha bowed her head low in defeat, expecting that any moment now, she would be wiped out.

But a few seconds passed. Nothing. She raised her head to stare at Ark, only for her heart to drop down to the pit of her stomach.

"By the gods..."

The large wave of wind had stopped right in front of Sir Ark’s hands, as though it had been frozen in time.

"I think you dropped this." Ark pointed his finger forward, and then everything went in reverse.

The wall that had crumbled moved back to its original position, the burned debris reformed, moving back to their place—

And then the wind was violently launched back.

"Accelerate."

Both the Wyvern and its rider stared in awe, unable to believe their eyes as their own attack slammed right into them, knocking them out of the sky.

Booom!

"Give or take, I only have a few seconds." Ark sprinted towards the mass of bodies that littered the floor.

He had to jump through holes that had been torn into the room by the attack, his eyes searching for a particular body.

"Yes, him!" His eyes landed on a particular corpse. Unlike the other corpses that were dressed up in steel armour, this one was wearing a mage’s robe.

Ark had seen him use a particular skill, and if he wanted to have any chance at fighting that monster, he needed it at all costs!

He placed his hands on the mage’s body.

[Harvest successful! You have successfully received C-Rank skill, Water Canon!]

"Useless Buffoon!" Ark tossed the corpse to the side like a bag of trash, his eyes searching for another mage.

Since they all wore similar cloaks, they likely received the same training, so there was a slim chance they had the spell he needed!

He found the next one under a pile of bodies and lowered his hand onto his head.

"Please!"

[Harvest successful! You have successfully received 2 mana points!]

"Damn it!"

He quickly found the next mage and prayed in his mind that he would finally find it!

[Harvest successful! You have successfully received A-Rank skill, Fly!]

— Fly

Icarus once admired the fowls of the air. He wished to one day be like them, he longed for the feeling of freedom.

And so he jumped off a high cliff and spread out his arms. Driven by pure faith, and unshakable will, he died.

The king forced the mages to create this spell in honour of his dead son.

Fly. Allows the player to manipulate wind around themselves to soar the skies.

__

’What the—?’

Ark had no time to react to the description.

The moment he saw the skill, he immediately sprinted back towards where his summons were, but just as he was about to pass Cleopathra’s body, he saw something that he had not noticed earlier—

’Is that??!’

"An indicator arrow!"

Indicator arrows were what appeared when a potential target was able to be summoned to his side!

It had been so long since he last saw one that Ark had completely forgotten about it. He immediately got to his knees and placed his hand on her chest.

"Wake up, Cleopathra—!"

Vwooooosh!

A burst of white light suddenly exploded outwards, accompanied by a gust of wind that cut past them.

And then out of the body, Cleopatra’s soul arose and went down to a knee before him.

[Cleopatra vows her undying loyalty to your cause!]

[Cleopatra has gone up by ten levels!]

[You have obtained a high grade summon!]

[Name: Cleopathra]

[Race: High Goblin]

[Class: Divine Knight]

[Level: 10]

[Attribute: Light]

Ark read through the details in shock. If anything, she should have hated him for taking her life. Why was she swearing her allegiance to him?

He stared at the bottom of the tab, and smiled internally when he saw her element, light. Since she was already at level ten, didn’t that mean she would be able to use it?

He also noticed that she was summoned as a named summon, which was likely because he had called out her name while using Endless Soul Reaper.

Ark quickly used Dark Harvest on her body.

[Harvest successful! You have successfully received S-Rank skill, Reality Slash!]

— Reality Slash

An attack that ignores all physical defences, causing damage on a near-dimensional level.

"Perfect, let’s go, Cleo!" Ark raced towards his people, just as the wyvern appeared at the shattered remains of the window.

"How pitiful. You can run, but you cannot run forever!"

Booom!

It unleashed another blast, one that Ark only barely managed to escape, and then—

Swooosh!

Jenna and the salamanders unleashed a combination spell, a stream of fire that streaked towards the wyvern.

"Filthy flies! Inferior beings! Cursed heretics! What do you think you can accomplish?!"

He raised his staff and a large shield appeared around them. The spell slammed right into the shield, rushing all over it, eating at it from all sides.

The shield sparked, but it held.

Still, their distraction was enough to allow Ark and Cleo to reach them.

Ark’s steel armour vanished, replaced by his black cloak, the symbol of a mage.

"Sumo, Kenny, Tai! Get the princess out of here!"

Sumo immediately grabbed her and placed her atop Kenny.

"Wait, what about you! Come with us, please, Sir Ark! I c-can’t... I can’t lose you too!" Tears flowed down her golden eyes.

The soul of her sister was right next to him, but the tower likely prevented her from realizing who it was.

Because she was just a character in the game...

"Don’t worry about me, princess." Ark heard himself speak involuntarily. "May we meet under a new sun. On a new day. A new season..."

"The gods be with you, my love."

’Damn... that was really cheesy...’ Ark mused.

Just as the voice stopped talking, the salamanders as well as Sumo raced down the hall, away from the ruckus.

The jet of fire ceased, and the wyvern rider laughed at their futile effort.

"Oh, you managed to send that heretic away? No matter, I will take my time with you, I will revel in hearing your screams—"

"Aw, shut up." Ark hissed. "For a final boss, you talk far too much!"

The goblin rider stared at him in disbelief. "You bastard," he growled, but Ark was no longer listening.

"[Transcend]."

"[Emperor’s Domination]."

"[Armament]."

"[Iron Body]."

"[Mana Defence]."

"[Spell Amplification]."

"[Heat Resistance]."

"[Fly]."

Ark’s blue eyes morphed into a sea of fiery gold, and strength flooded his body from the enchantments he had poured into himself.

He lifted his staff and pointed it at the wyvern—

A small ball of fire formed, then it multiplied several times over, up until it turned an incandescent white, and the floor underneath his feet began to melt...

"[Charge Fire]."

"I have never killed a wyvern before," Ark said in a cold, detached tone.

He cocked his head to the side. "Can you help me out?"