Chapter 644: Guardian
[5.0 Wisdom Points obtained]
[3.1 Wisdom Points obtained!]
[4.5 Wisdom Points obtained!]
[4.3 Wisdom Points obtained!]
[3.5 Wisdom Points obtained!]
[4.7 Wisdom Points obtained!]
[3.4 Wisdom Points obtained!]
As Charles looked at the notifications, a human-like being suddenly appeared at the entrance of the palace building and stood while holding a gold-hilted ancient sword in its grip.
As Charles looked deeply, he noticed the being had a similar facial structure to a woman and looked around 30 years old with ample curves.
She was pretty tall, around seven feet in height. Her skin had a unique deep-blue color that contrasted with her facial features. She had greenish orb-like eyes devoid of pupils and looked eerie. Her face was thin, with sharp lines and a determined expression. She also had long ears that gracefully extended from the sides of her head, giving it a mysterious appearance. Her forehead was broad, with a strange circular pattern at the center.
At that moment, she was dressed in flowing gown-like cloth, exposing no part. What caught Charles's attention was the necklace she wore around her neck. The necklace had a hexagonal symbol, which added an element of mystery and fascination to its appearance.
Even though the woman stood about 50 meters before Charles, he couldn't feel her presence. It seemed that she wasn't there and blended perfectly with her surroundings.
No, Charles realized that she was using dream essence to hide her true form, manipulating his mind!
His Rune Eye emitted a soft, bluish light, allowing him to see through the illusion and catch a glimpse of her true body!
Through his Rune Eye, Charles discovered that what he saw was just a lifelike illusion created by the hidden one standing two meters behind it.
Without delay, Charles released his 'wisdom power' to examine and understand the woman's true form. Within seconds, the Rune Eye skill provided him with detailed information, revealing her composition and attributes. Meanwhile, the illusionary woman continued down the staircase entrance with a casual stride.
As she moved, she opened her mouth and spoke in a completely unfamiliar language, filled with unintelligible sounds to Charles.
"I don't understand what you're saying," He responded calmly, keeping his composure while he looking at the information.
[Name: Azoth Somn
Race: Nightmare Numen
Gender: Female
Age: 450,958 Years
Title: Guardian of Reverie, True Blade.
Class: Dream Lord (Suppressed)
Attributes:
Strength: 49.9 (???)
Constitution: 49.9 (???)
Agility: 49.9 (???)
Wisdom Power: 506.00 (????)
Class Skills:
?????, ?????, ?????, ??????, ??????, ??????.
Unique Skills:
Grandmaster-Level Swordsmanship, ??????, ??????, ?????.]
Overwhelmed by Azoth's incredible strength, Charles took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the upcoming battle.
'To win this battle, I must first get closer to Azoth's true body. No, Can I even have a chance against this being? Should I retreat? No, I must try.'
He focused on the illusion of Azoth before him, determined to confront the challenge with courage.
With a surge of power, Charles's third eye, the source of his Chaos Eye spell, pulsed with energy. Suddenly, a powerful ray of chaotic fire burst forth from his eye, directed at the illusory Azoth.
As Azoth reached the landing, she swiftly halted her movement, sensing the imminent attack. Reacting quickly, she raised her sword, surrounded by a strange purplish aura. The surrounding space was distorted under the influence of her potent aura, heightening the tension in the confrontation.
Azoth gracefully and deliberately executed a sword technique, aiming to intercept the incoming chaotic fire ray. Her sword clashed with the fiery energy the next moment, resulting in a momentary clash of opposing forces.
In a surprising turn of events, Charles witnessed Azoth's sword skill prowess. Not only did her blade effortlessly cut through his Chaos Eye spell, shattering it into multiple essence fragments, but she also released an invisible blade that targeted Charles himself, a hidden threat concealed within the chaos of battle.
Charles's [Faceless Eye] showed a detailed vision of the upcoming attack. But instead of blocking it, Charles decided to face it head-on to confirm something.
A sharp and vertical cut appeared on Charles's body a moment later, dividing him into two halves. The sight of this wound was accompanied by an intense and unbearable pain that seemed to penetrate the depths of his soul. The next moment, Charles cast the Soul fire spell and forced his elemental body to fuse again.
Although he suffered no physical harm, the pain resonated deeply within him.
'It can cause injury to my soul.' He also realized that no sword intent was hidden behind the earlier attack and was just a pure dream power.
Realization struck Charles as he comprehended the true power of Azoth's Dream Illusion. But he ultimately realized that he was being studied by the opponent all this time and grew more cautious.
'Azoth is checking my abilities and gathering all information about me using her illusion clone and dream clones.'
It was the first time Charles found himself in a genuinely life-threatening situation.
Frustration consumed him as he recognized the urgent need for information about Dream-class Mystic abilities. Recalling his past encounter with Eddie's clone, Charles contemplated his next move, seeking a solution to the present challenge.
'She possesses a total of six dream-related skills. Fortunately, she has already used one to summon shadows from her dreams. However, I must understand her remaining abilities before I find myself hopeless,' Charles pondered. At that moment, his Rune Eye flickered intensely, allowing him glimpses of something within his surroundings.
Although invisible to the naked eye, Charles's enhanced vision detected a peculiar, undulating energy in the air. Silently, he traced the source of this energy, discovering unique patterns of dream energy emanating from Azoth's true body, exerting a mysterious influence on the surroundings.
[It's a dream skill called 'Imaginary Control,' Host!] Genesis's voice echoed in Charles's mind, shedding light on the origin of his recent torment.
'So, that's how she managed to harm me earlier. Although the injuries were not physical, the pain reached deep into my soul,' Charles contemplated, frustrated by his lack of knowledge about countering this spell.
'Is there any way to break it?' He asked.
[The only way to break the spell is to defeat the 'imaginary being' before you, Host,] Genesis advised.
'Not the original body but the illusionary clone?'
[I advise you to be more careful of this clone's abilities, Host. After all, Clones can also borrow a part of the original owner's power and exhibit extraordinary feats.]
'I know-' Charles was about to nod but suddenly froze as he sensed a part of his memories disappeared.
'No good! She is stealing my memories.'
Reacting swiftly, he crouched down and propelled himself forward with newfound speed that surpassed Azoth. Understanding the urgency, he realized he had approximately three minutes left until the Rebirth Domain dissipated. So, he decided not to waste a single moment and acted swiftly.
As he sprinted toward the base of the staircase entrance, Charles cast another round of the Chaos Eye skill.
Once again, Azoth deflected his spell using her purplish sword aura. Simultaneously, she launched an invisible blade toward Charles, seemingly moving slowly.
However, Charles cast [Sphere of Invulnerability] spell and blocked it.
Simultaneously, he cast [False Blink] spell, disappeared from where he stood, and appeared before the illusionary Azoth.
Before Azoth could react, he cast the [Chaos Eye] spell again, sending a chaotic fire ray toward its eye.
At the same time, he cast the [Soul Shock] spell and attacked the soul shard hidden within the illusion.
Although an invisible power appeared out of nowhere and tried to protect the soul shard, the Soul Fire bypassed the barrier and gave some damage to it.
A moment later, the illusionary Azoth turned stiff and remained motionless.
At that moment, the chaotic ray had already reached Azoth's forehead and released all the chaotic fire essence, creating a small explosion from within.
A strange ripple appeared as the Illusionary Azoth's existence became pure dream power and disappeared from there.
At the same time, a loud clapping came from above, causing Charles to furrow.
Slowly, the real Azoth walked out of the building's shadow and revealed her face.
"Nice to meet you, Charles Nightwind." She spoke in Blen Language.
"You aren't bad as I thought." She said with a chuckle and turned around.
"Come in; you can take one treasure from my palace treasury as a gift and use the teleportation portal to move to the next level."
Upon hearing those words, Charles froze momentarily and furrowed while not letting his guard down.
Noticing his wariness, she giggled and waved her hand while walking ahead.
"I'm one of the twenty-fifth guardians of this Dungeon layer. Without my permission, you can't go to the next layer."
"What made you think that I will believe your words?" Charles still looked at her back with wariness and asked.
Azoth suddenly halted her footsteps and turned around, revealing her beautiful face.
"Tsk, why am I always getting the silly ones? If you force me to unsheath my sword, I'll give you my sword as a present and agree to form a contract with you. To be precise, you'll get a new 'Key of Celestial' to enter and exit this Dungeon once in a century. How is my proposal?"
Although Charles didn't understand if the being standing before him was the real Guardian or some monster, he decided to utilize his chance and kill it.
Azoth shook her head and spoke as if she had seen through his naive thoughts.
"Naive,"
A moment later, Charles's vision turned blurry and turned blank. When he opened his eyes again, he noticed that he was still standing in the middle of the courtyard; surrounding him were seven Nightmare Guardians!
Before him was another Nightmare Guardian raising its gigantic sword to split his head open.
A strange sense of déjà vu crept up into his mind.
