Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 459 - 421 Creeping

After flying over Silver King City, they arrived on the other side of City of Wandering, in the Dawn district.

Besides the warm-toned architectural colors, the citizens of Dawn district clearly had a deeper understanding of the word "celebration."

The residents on the orderly side barely impeded the contestants of the flying contest. They were completely immersed in their own festive atmosphere, welcoming the arrivals with lively performances from the various ethnic groups.

The Dwarves’ beer festival was nearing its end, and those sprawled, snoring dwarves on the ground perfectly depicted another post-war world. Overturned wooden beer cups, the liquid inside flowing on the ground like fresh blood. The high temperature of the furnace sent that intense aroma into the high altitudes, turning into the smog of alcohol. A few surviving drunken warriors "covered in wounds" swung their hammers at the apparitions in their vision, ultimately falling down unluckily.

As for the cow horn, which had served as a signal to charge, the dwarves had used it as a funnel. After enduring the beating from the mighty god of alcohol, the competent horn-blower kept the horn in his mouth, even in his fall, and could still make a sound. Every dwarf’s beard had turned into a filthy dark red, losing their usual toughness and resembling a wet rag, while some of the thicker-haired dwarves could easily pass for wild boars – especially today, when all the pigs in the Dwarf district had also fallen over drunk from the alcoholic feed. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Beatrice was taking deep breaths of air laced with alcohol high above, her cheeks flushed and a carefree smile on her face. Had it not been for the dwarves’ rowdy songs being too rough, Lyle might have heard Beatrice show off her singing voice. She originally had that intention, but later found she couldn’t keep pitch and had to settle for humming instead.

"Not even Alianna could sing the songs of the dwarves. Some have mistaken the Dwarven songs for the sounds of bears and wild boars mating, so stop looking at me like that!"

Annoyed by Lyle’s frank stare, Beatrice swung her arms in anger, shaking Lyle’s brain so hard that he felt the dizziness of being drunk.

"I get it, I get it!"

The tranquility of the Elf Zone, the noisy Gnome district... Lyle took it all in.

The final sprint of the flying contest had arrived, and just like Lyle, other contestants who had streaks of flames from the magic potions appeared in his vision. In the winged race’s Redwood Forest, the flying light startled beautiful feathers and kicked off the chase competition.

What started with one feather affected the whole body. Originally avid fliers, the winged race formed a flowing river of colorful feathers, following the contestants dancing in the sky, all the way to the edge of Redwood Forest. They flapped their wings and returned to their nest with satisfied chirps.

Lyle didn’t pay attention to those winged people with their full plumage, because the real competition of the flying contest had begun.

As someone being carried, Lyle still had to fulfill the tasks of both defense and attack.

Nia curled up in fluid form on top of Beatrice and Lyle, only extending her tentacles to block when others launched attacks. What used to be a consistently successful tentacle strike had now become a burden; it was Lyle’s curse attack that was effective.

Nia had never felt so aggrieved. Her usual fighting style involved fully extending her body, using intimidation as the first offensive move. And that was fun; Nia was quite pleased with her continually grow body.

But not this time, because when Nia fully unleashed herself into a terrifying Tentacle Monster, her slender and flat tentacles acted like a parachute, drastically slowing down Beatrice’s speed.

For the first time, Nia was scolded and felt heartbroken. The dear creature hung itself under Lyle’s chin, consoling herself by touching and corroding Lyle’s stubble with her tentacles.

The Arcane Eye, suspended at the very top of City of Wandering and replacing sun and moon, was getting larger and larger in their view.

Beatrice had returned to the leading group, challenging a few other exceptional flyers for the final push. Lyle was held tight in her arms – the most energy-efficient position. They were ascending, entering the brilliance of the Arcane Eye.

Almost everyone was moving up in parallel, and in the glare akin to Raymond’s brightness, Lyle couldn’t see the location of the Heart of Condensation.

"Where is it, and how do we get it?"

When their vision was completely swallowed by a vast whiteness, Lyle felt Beatrice’s lips against his ear.

"Remember to look down."

That was the last thing he heard before being thrown out.

Lyle was thrown straight into the Arcane Eye.

The wave of magic power countered the high-speed impact force, and Lyle felt himself slowly approaching the gleaming eye. The temperature rose steadily, and the viscous magic potion on his body kept turning into disintegrating gold leaf. Finally, with a pop, Lyle entered the light sphere, leaving behind only a shower of golden sparks in his place.

The witches’ district’s Magic Potion was indeed the pass to enter the Arcane Eye.

The interior space of the Arcane Eye.

Lyle blinked, his body floating in midair, surrounded by a milky halo dotted with tiny, twinkling stars that were not harsh on the eyes.

Comfortable, cozy, and a sense of satiation so intoxicating with abundant magic power. If this were a martial arts novel, then this place would undoubtedly be a treasured training ground, an outlet of the magic network node.

After a brief enjoyment, Lyle began to search for his target. That teardrop-shaped chaotic magic gem, the Heart of Condensation.

Then, Lyle realized a fact, he could not move.

It wasn’t that his body was bound and unable to move, but rather he was in a state akin to weightlessness, as if gravity had skipped class and wasn’t doing its job. Without anything to touch in the vicinity, Lyle just stayed suspended in air, flailing his limbs vainly, managing at best to slowly spin in place.

It was like the sensation in science fiction movies of being lost in space, becoming space debris.

Fortunately, Lyle wasn’t the only piece of ’debris’ in this situation.

Looking at the other contestants who were as panicked as he was, Lyle tucked away the despair in his heart.

Stepping stones were coming.

Nia’s tentacles stretched wantonly in this environment, and Lyle quickly grabbed onto other contestants. Now was the chance to experiment and see if Newton’s third law still applied in this time and space. There shouldn’t be a problem, I am a Spirit Summoner after all, capable of making Newton turn in his grave for sure.

Forces act mutually, and by swaying other contestants, Lyle soon completed the movement process, albeit slowly.

Moreover, Lyle noticed an anomaly.

William, that guy, was moving rapidly in this weightless environment, as agile as a fish.

Lyle let go of his ’tool,’ and started observing the surrounding halos. Worthy of being the magic prodigy, William must have found the rules of this space. Magic does not equate to space; there must be a way to move as swiftly as William.

Nia’s magical claws pounced towards William.

But William was slippery; Nia couldn’t grab him at all.

"Hahahaha, Lyle, I’m taking my leave first!" William bragged, escaping beyond the reach of Nia’s tentacles.

Lyle didn’t catch William, but he learned something from the attempt.

The tentacles found slight traces in the area where William moved.

Spiritual power marks, that is, the force of the soul.

Lyle understood, this magic space was modeled after the Land of Souls. Spiritual power, an essential ability for Spellcasters, was the only means of movement.

Soulology, alas, my soulology is very poor.

Lyle pinched his chin, comfortable in any posture in the weightless environment, as if lying down.

How could I, who needs Nia to perform even a Soul Screech, possibly control the force of the soul.

Lyle narrowed his eyes, thinking of something else.

No, soulology isn’t my weakness, soulology isn’t "Lyle’s" weakness.

He closed his eyes, and within the gentle milky halos, Lyle’s breathing became gradually longer.

The next moment, inky black substances like pools of ink emerged from Lyle’s body, streaming malice that formed a hazy shadow on his back.

The shadow emitted a sinister laugh, bearing the closed-eyed Lyle and beginning to slide away.