Observing the attack, Daniel narrowed his eyes. The mage who introduced himself as Thomas Anderson was proving to be more complex than he appeared. His mysterious ability wasn't simple teleportation. Daniel, as an Archmage, knew that teleportation would cause mana to interact with space, resulting in fluctuations, no matter how subtle. But there had been no such fluctuations.
Although not well-versed in all aspects of modern magic, Daniel was familiar with teleportation, an ancient spell within the Archmage's arsenal. He was certain this wasn't it.
Moreover, his Clockmaster profession alerted him to something amiss when the projectile seemingly teleported behind his mana construct's arm. It felt like watching a poorly edited video with a jarring cut, a noticeable flaw in the flow of time. It was as if the moment the projectile was blocked had been abruptly removed, or deleted.
"That move of yours..." Daniel began, looking at Thomas with suspicion. "Did you manipulate time when that projectile was blocked?"
"Oh... you noticed, did you?" Thomas chuckled, confirming Daniel's suspicions. "Very observant. You even figured out what I did. Perhaps you sensed a slight... displacement in time?" Thomas then looks at Daniel as if he's looking at a valuable treasure.
"Now... I want you even more..." Thomas said, licking his lips, sending a shiver down Daniel's spine and raising the hairs on his arms.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not interested in men," Daniel retorted flatly, as if he had just heard something absurd.
Thomas chuckled. "How witty. I mean…. not everyone can sense the displacement of time. That's a basic requirement for using time magic. I wonder how much my affinity for time magic would increase if I turned your Origin Element into an elixir and drank it?" He looked at Daniel as if he were a delectable treat.
"Oh... is that so..." Daniel muttered, letting out a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Albert was experiencing an inner turmoil. He knew the immense power of Archon-rank mages and the difficulty of mastering time-related spells. The revelation of Thomas's abilities and intentions left him reeling.
As Albert's mind raced, Jack contacted him through his phone, relaying the unsettling events in the lab.
After reading Jack's message, Albert was alarmed. Based on the conversation between Thomas and his lord, and Jack's report, it appeared this man's body was dead.
The entity inhabiting it was either summoned, created, or perhaps a victim of a bizarre coincidence, given its references to the world as if it weren't familiar. A quick check by Jack revealed that the body this entity used was also named Thomas Anderson.
There were three theories to explain this, considering the mage Jack killed (or supposedly killed) specialized in necromancy.
The first theory proposed that the soul within the body was the original, but with a hidden, powerful persona capable of using time magic. This seemed far-fetched, as time magic remained theoretical and was still being researched within the Hightower.
The second theory suggested that the soul was artificial. This held more promise for explaining the use of time magic, as artificial souls were considered more receptive to manipulating time than natural or sentient souls. However, research in this area was still in its early stages due to the lack of cooperation from the Beaumont family mages, who held expertise in soul manipulation.
The third theory posited that the soul came from a parallel dimension. This could easily explain the time magic, but Albert hesitated to believe it because of its implications.
If true, it would confirm the existence of parallel worlds, opening the door to interdimensional conflict. If this mage could cross dimensions, could others follow? This potential for interdimensional war was a frightening prospect that Albert didn't want to acknowledge.
"Hahaha you're quite interesting! The holder of the Ancient Titan bloodline, the sharp sense regarding time magic. You are the perfect candidate for me to turn you into an elixir!" The man laugh with mirth before his mana was running and his spell was being cast.
Suddenly, Thomas's instincts flared, warning him of imminent danger. A fire spell hurtled towards him, cast in the blink of an eye. Caught off guard, Thomas canceled his own spell mid-cast and narrowly dodged the incoming attack. The fire even managed to corrode part of his mana shield.
It had been a close call. Thomas quickly identified the source of the attack and saw Daniel, his hand still lowered from the throwing motion.
"What was that spell?" Thomas demanded, now taking Daniel seriously. He knew a normal fireball couldn't penetrate his mana shield.
In fact, it should have been impossible for the fireball to even come close. His outer defense layer was a time manipulation shield that slowed and weakened projectiles, eroding their power over time. No spell should have been able to reach him.
"Well... it was just a fireball. Why?" Daniel replied, lying through his teeth.
—
Card: Acidic Fire
Picture: The picture of a fire spell burning someone alive while the background has a naked dude running away.
Rarity: Uncommon
Type: Quick Spell
Mana Cost: 1 Fire, 1 Non Element
Description: Choose one : [Deal 3 Damage to target creature]/[Destroy target artifact]
Flavor text: This fire could make you naked or it could make you baked.
—
"Don't insult my intelligence," Thomas warned. "One way or another, I'll extract that information from your soul after you're dead." He began preparing his next spell, intensifying the time shield around him, determined not to be caught off guard again.
Thomas was unsure of Daniel's abilities, but he was confident his telekinetic spells wouldn't reach him while he remained within the titan mana construct. However, the construct couldn't harm Thomas either, as its mana would be corroded by the time shield, compromising its structural integrity.
Meanwhile, Daniel observed Thomas through his mindscape. He knew that Thomas had prepared multiple defensive spells even before emerging from the sinkhole.
Daniel had initiated conversation with Thomas as a ploy to analyze Thomas's abilities while secretly preparing his own countermeasures. He discreetly used enhancement magic and cast seemingly pointless spells to draw cards from his deck to his hand while the other was oblivious about his actions, and now he is ready.
—
Card: Disenchant
Picture: A mage using a spell to disenchant a magic wand from the hand of a mage student.
Rarity: Common
Type: Spell
Mana Cost: 2 Forest, 1 Non-element
Description:
Destroy target enchantment.
Flavor text: "What you hold in your hand is nothing more than a decoration."
—
Daniel launched the spell discreetly, and it struck Thomas's time shield. Thomas instantly realized his shield had been hit and was beginning to crack. The transparent temporal barrier fractured and faltered as he desperately tried to cancel his time spell and stabilize the shield.
But this time, luck wasn't on his side. Time magic was notoriously difficult due to the elusive nature of time itself. Scientifically considered the fourth dimension, time is intangible and only understood through theory and extensive experimentation.
Consequently, disruptions in time magic could have catastrophic consequences for the caster, as was happening now.
"Arrrrrrrgghhh!" Thomas cried out in agony as his hand visibly shriveled, rapidly aging until it became a decrepit, mummified appendage. Finally, it crumbled into ash and was blown away by the wind as his time shield, overwhelmed by Daniel's disenchantment, shattered completely.
"You! How... How could you destroy it!? It's impossible! Time shouldn't be so easily perceived! How did you do it!?" Thomas screamed, his mind filled with questions and fear creeping into his heart.
Daniel's figure grew more and more mysterious in his eyes.
Thomas never imagined that this seemingly less magically advanced parallel world would have a mage capable of effortlessly shattering his time shield.
Hearing Thomas scream, Daniel didn't answer. To be honest, he saw everything clearly through his mindscape, where the target of the time shield was highlighted. He saw it as a large globe with a radius of around 20 meters surrounding Thomas.
Now, in his mindscape, the shield was gone, and he could eliminate Thomas immediately. He quickly fired the large-caliber handgun in his hand toward Thomas, who was still clutching his injured, stump right wrist.
Bang! Bang!
The two shots slammed into Thomas's natural Mana shield, cracking it. This alarmed Thomas, and he decided to retreat. He couldn't waste his chance and die here! He needed to establish a more stable connection with his world! So that he could bring an army to decimate this damn world and make its resources his!
Seeing Thomas about to flee, Albert quickly cast a spell to try and slow him down. The entanglement chain was conjured but effortlessly blocked by Thomas's natural Mana shield.
"My lord! Don't let him escape!" Albert shouted to Daniel, who knew what he had to do. His mind sank into his mindscape once more.
Card: Soul Strip
Picture: A lich holding a green crystal emitting a dark green aura from the soul within, shining. In front of the lich, a knight lies on the ground, breathless.
Rarity: Common
Type: Spell
Mana Cost: 2 Dark, 1 Forest, 1 Non-element
Description:
Destroy a target creature. You gain an artifact token named "Soul Crystal" with "Tap: Get 1 mana of any element."
Flavor text:
"Soul is a kind of currency. Don't waste them by just killing the host."—Archlich Thalassar
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