Nick traveled for two days and met and encountered a few rank 1 and 2 magic beasts that he quickly killed using Sever. On the morning of the third day after he left Shelter Town, Nick came to a plateau that extended more than sixty meters above ground.
"So this is the plateau that is indicated on my map. I could go around the plateau but I don't see anything wrong with finding out what's at the top, plus a large, flat rocky surface is just what I need do something that I've wanted to do since leaving Shelter Town"
(Blink.)
Nick cast his spell and disappeared from the ground, reappearing nearly fifteen meters up the plateau's wall and standing on a piece of rock that jutted out from the wall. Just like this, Nick cast Blink six more times before reaching the top of the plateau, decreasing his magic energy reserves to less than half within a short period of time.
At the top of the plateau, the ground was relatively flat, dry and had no vegetation to speak of. Nick looked up at the sky and saw that there were no clouds in sight and so he remarked:
"Perfect."
Nick tapped onto his space band and five large bundles of rolled up canvas appeared on the ground. Nick spent the next two hours unrolling these canvases so that they would cover a large portion of the plateau.
"I needed a large space to create an interesting formation that's described in Slade's inheritance. The magic formation's details listed materials that I could find no information on so I had to buy materials that I think could be used instead so I'm basically flying half blind on this one."
Nick found that being a Magician was much like being a scientist where the results of all of his work was uncertain until he experimented. Nick tapped his space band again to summon various tools, soul path materials and a few formation path materials which were the five projection stones that he bought from the Main Tower. Nick got to work as he began drawing magical laws on the canvases using a pack of red permanent markers, creating the base of the formation.
The symbols had to be drawn precisely and in the correct patterns and the laws were a mixture of soul path and formation path laws. Nick took hours to complete the formation's base, only raising his head when he noticed that sun down had arrived. Nick did not intend to stop his progress so he continued working on the formation by placing the soul path materials at various points along the formation. When it became dark, Nick summoned a flashlight and a hard hat with a lamp attached to it from his space band and used them to continue working on the formation throughout the night.
"It's a good thing that there doesn't seem to be any magic beasts that come to this plateau. I think that I read that low level magic beasts hardly inhabit places where there are no prey or a suitable source of food. There are exceptions when an area is rich with a certain type of magic but this place is not one of them."
Nick worked until sunrise at which point the magic formation was complete. The formation covered a rectangular area and completely consisted of Valteesian symbols. It radiated a feint magical pressure that seemed like a good sign to Nick.
"This is the apprentice grade Soul Prison Formation. Next comes the easiest step in the whole process."
Nick placed all five projection stones at points around the magic formation and cast a spell that he had developed himself sometime ago:
(Formation Soul.)
Nick's soul radiated an imposing aura that washed over the formation and at the same time, the projection stones lit up with bright blue light that was almost blinding. As Nick maintained the spell, the laws and materials for the Soul Prison Formation were drawn towards all five projection stones in parts, somehow moving like animations and eventually fused with the projection stones until Nick's canvases became blank like they were at the start of his work.
Nick breathed roughly as Formation Soul was a fairly complex advanced apprentice grade soul path and formation path spell that required a tremendous amount of magic energy.
(Although, people commonly say 'formation path', unlike the other paths, there is no such thing as a formation path magic type because formation path is a path that encompasses all other paths so any kind of magic can be used along with formation path laws. Usually, you have to have a minute affinity for a certain type of magic to be able to even cast it, which most people do have for most types of magic, and in that case your dominant affinities would perform a certain type of conversion, allowing a non-related type of magic energy to be used in the spells of another path, or for spells that require multiple types of magic energy, this conversion could happen automatically if the spell was created correctly so long as the caster had the affinity of one of the required types of magic even if he absolutely doesn't have the affinities for the other required types.)
Nick sighed at this thought.
(Because I only have rule, soul, space and blade path affinities, I cannot use magic energy of other paths and that is why I took an interest in formation path. By using formations, in theory, it would definitely be possible to compensate for my lack of affinities with magic materials of other paths. It's actually a little similar to the principles involved in magic scroll making which is why I was able to gain such proficiency in only four years. My attainment in formation path is still only ordinary though, but my scholar attainment in soul path helps me greatly in creating soul path formations.)
Nick controlled his breathing and went to each projection stone to take a look at the results of his spell. As he examined them, Nick remarked:
"Just as expected, Formation Soul uses soul path to achieve the effects of formation path in that I was able to break up the magic formation and seal its parts within these formation path materials. Projection stones will allow me to make use of the formation without having to redraw it. I just have to activate the projection stones using Formation Soul again."
Nick created Formation Soul by trial and error after comprehending his formation path inheritance and the results did not disappoint. Nick stored the now empty canvases and the projection stones within his space band and then summoned his safe-house where he decided to rest before making any other moves.
Nick ate, showered and slept for a few hours and by midday, he returned outside.
"I would have preferred to do all that work in the safety of Shelter Town but there were too many prying eyes."
Nick did not want anyone to know too much about his progress as that would give him more advantages later on.
Nick stored his safe-house and summoned his projection stones, burying them at five points along the edge of the plateau. Nick clapped the dirt off of his hands and said:
"It's time for an experiment."
(Formation Soul.)
Nick's soul radiated a strong aura to which the projection stones responded, activating the Soul Prison Formation. Suddenly, many sounds coming from magic beasts erupted in the surroundings, near the plateau.
"It's starting."
(Clear Space.)
Nick quickly hid himself at the northern edge of the plateau and waited. The roars and grunts of magic beasts increased in frequency and intensity over the next hour until finally, a goat like magic beast with brown shaggy fur and three eyes jumped onto the top of the plateau. The magic beast grunted as it looked around and then sounded an angry cry as it saw that it was the only thing on the plateau which resulted in it thrashing around madly. One minute later, a magic beast that looked like a moose with antlers that looked like tree branches and spiky teeth protruding from its mouth appeared on the edge of the plateau opposite the goat.
The two noticed each other quickly and proceeded to fight each other. During the next minute, a bloody scene was played out before Nick with the moose magic beast coming out victorious and the goat magic beast lying on the ground, lifeless with various gashes in its flesh that bled profusely.
Not long after the goat like magic beast died, a translucent miasma emerged from its body and hovered in midair like a mist. Nick's eyes shone with excitement.
(The formation works! The core function of the formation is to withdraw and contain the soul of whatever dies within its bounds. Normally when a magic beast or a human dies, their soul either is destroyed, dissipates or if it is strong enough, leaves on its own. Well this formation prevents all three of those scenarios from happening and traps the soul here. The formation also has the added effect that it releases a pulse within a kilometer radius that irritates the souls of rank 2 and below magic beasts and draws them to it, hostile and bloodthirsty.)
Nick decided to sit still and wait for the rest of the show to begin. Twenty minutes later, three more magic beasts showed up and a slaughter began which had not concluded when ten more magic beasts including a few flying types appeared on the plateau and started attacking each other. This kept happening for hours, eventually resulting in the deaths of over six hundred magic beasts. Even Nick was a little sickened by the carnage.
(The formation is more effective that I thought.)
When the last magic beast died from blood loss as the sun was going down, Nick decided to act. He cancelled Clear space and summoned one of his soul capturing bottles from his space band. Each bottle could theoretically store thousands of magic beast souls and Nick was about to put that to the test.
He point the opening of the bottle in the direction of the thick miasma that now covered the top of the plateau like a fog. These were the souls of the magic beasts that had died, concentrated. A few moments later, the miasma was sucked into the bottle as the laws drawn on the bottle lit up. Soon the miasma was all sucked into the bottle, leaving only the scene of a bloody battlefield filled with the carcasses of many magic beasts. There was a thick smell of blood in the air and there was hardly any room to walk that did not involve stepping on rotting flesh.
"I wonder...could I sell all of these carcasses? Technically, these are all magic materials even if they are damaged."
While Nick was pondering and about to deactivate the formation, he heard the growl from one more magic beast as it jumped onto the top of the plateau. Nick turned around quickly as he could sense an intense amount of magic energy being radiated from this magic beast. The magic beast sniffed the air and then looked at Nick with its red eyes. This magic beast looked like a fox but its four legs were each about one meter long and it had no tail; the magic beast had dark brown fur, jagged teeth and drool continuously flowed from its mouth. Nick was taken aback.
(This thing looks incredibly creepy and the magic energy that it is emitting feels almost palpable. Hmmm...from what I can remember on what I've read about the magic beasts in the Never Ending Battlefield, this should be a 'savage hound'. Once they lock onto to a prey, they will usually follow it until they have killed it even at the risk of starving to death. Their battle strength is fairly decent among rank 2 magic beasts but this feeling that this savage hound is giving me makes me very uncomfortable. It's definitely stronger than 'fairly decent'.)
The savage hound looked at Nick as its mouth watered and unlike the other magic beasts that the formation attracted, it did not seem frenzied in the least. Nick eyed the magic beast for about half a minute as it did the same to him then he suddenly stepped over the carcasses on the ground to run towards it.
(I have to kill this thing or I can't stay out in the open.)
The savage hound responded to Nick's actions by breathing out a black mist from its mouth. Nick opened its eyes wide and cast:
(Blink.)
He disappeared from his position and reappeared at a position that was six meters out of the mist's path. Nick watched as the mist corroded the carcasses that it touched, turning them to black ash.
(That's darkness magic, I think.)
(Sever.)
(Sever.)
Nick flicked both his right and left index fingers, attacking the savage hound with his rule path spell. The savage hound stopped emitting its fog and used its long legs to skillfully dodge Sever's formless cutting power.
(This magic beast has great senses.)
Nick pointed his right index finger at the savage hound and cast:
(Expand Space.)
(Sever.)
Nick flicked his left index finger, sending another attack at the savage hound. The savage hound tried to quickly dodge the attack but found that it somehow miscalculated as it suddenly had to make greater efforts to move around; it's right side was therefore hit by Sever's power but only a clump of its fur fell from its body. Nick raised both his eyes in surprise.
(Sever is an intermediate rank 2 spell and it actually did so little damage. This dog is tough.)
Nick cast another spell:
(Soul Pressure.)
The savage hound grunted loudly but still ran on its four legs in the shape of an arc in order to approach Nick. As it closed the distance, it once again emitted the black mist from its mouth, this time in greater quantity than before. Nick summoned Pressure Piece from his space band and unsheathed it. Holding Pressure Piece in his right hand and its sheath in his left hand, Nick ran to meet the savage hound.
(Half A Kilometer.)
Nick ran through the black mist which was rendered impotent by the effect of Half A Kilometer that lengthened the distance that the mist would have to travel to get to him, wherever Nick went. The savage hound growled and lunged at Nick as he came close; Nick smiled while the color of his eyes became pitch black.
(Soul Pulse.)
The savage hound was sent flying about three meters away by the effects of Soul Pulse but got up almost immediately as it fell. The savage hound then opened its mouth towards the sky and spit out a ball of black, condensed mist about eight meters into the air before mist-ball dispersed, forming a thick, black fog that covered the entire plateau.
Nick became unable to see as black fog covered his entire vision in all directions.
"Hmph!"
(Soul Vision.)
Nick could now see the surroundings from the savage hounds perspective as the fog did not affect its vision. Nick now saw that the savage hound was coming straight at him and he cast his spell once again:
(Soul Pulse.)
The savage hound was sent flying another three feet and before it landed on the ground, Nick was already casting his next spell. A thick cloud of magic energy was exuded from Nick while the magic energy in the surroundings flowed in a frenzied pattern. Nick pointed Pressure Piece in the direction of the savage hound.
(Rumbling Pillar.)
A five meter radius space within the black fog warped and twisted violently, displacing much of the fog and tearing apart much of the rocky ground. Nick could only see from the savage dog's perspective at the moment which was blurry from the effect of Rumbling Pillar so he could not clearly see the damage that was being done but he could feel the power of his own spell reverberating throughout the plateau.
The savage hound howled in pain and anger in response to Nick's attack and amidst the twisting space, a dark mist emerged from and covered the entirety of the magic beast's body as it struggled to move out of Rumbling Pillar's area of effect. Knowing that the savage hound was still alive since he could still feel a connection to it via Soul Vision, Nick made his next moves:
(Reinforce With Soul.)
(Twice The Blade.)
(Cleave.)
Nick swung Pressure Piece while it was being covered in a translucent miasma and as it emitted a feint pressure; a wave of formless magic power quickly flowed in the direction of the savage hound that had not yet escaped Rumbling Pillar's area of effect. It sensed the attack but was helpless to dodge it and so Cleave's ferocious cutting power crashed into it, creating a deep wound from its shoulder to its midsection as a portion of the black mist that covered its body was cut away. As the savage hound spit out a mouthful of blood, the effects of Rumbling Pillar ceased, but before the savage hound could move any further, another wave of magic power slammed into it, identical to the one before, this time cutting away its left front leg which caused it to fall down.
Nick was still able to partly see the savage hound's state using Soul Vision and realizing that it was disabled, he ran straight towards it using its vision as a guide. Nick swung Pressure Piece again.
(Cleave.)
The savage hound growled madly as it bled on the ground and sensing the attack coming its way, its body erupted with magic energy and black mist that condensed a moment later to form a solid barrier, protecting it from Nick's attack. Cleave's power cut into the barrier, damaging it severely and almost breaking it apart, but the black fog in the surroundings quickly moved towards it to mend the damage, making the barrier stable once again.
Nick snorted and sheathed Pressure Piece, storing in within his space band.
(This stupid thing already prepared its grave site. Should I thank it?)
Nick pointed his right index and middle finger at the enclosed dark barrier and his body erupted with magic energy as he cast:
(Rumbling Pillar.)
Unlike last time, the savage hound was now trapped by its own barrier and severely injured; the space around the dark barrier shook and twisted madly, causing it to crack in several places; the fog in the surroundings moved towards the barrier in an attempt to mend it but the power of Rumbling Pillar dispersed most of the fog and kept on pressuring the dark barrier. The barrier crumbled with fifteen seconds of persistent pressure being applied to it and the now defenseless savage hound was twisted into meat paste by the constantly warping space. After the savage hound died, the black fog that covered the plateau quickly dispersed, revealing the damage done.
The top of the plateau was completely unrecognizable; in addition to being a bloody mess, there was a stench created by the carcasses that had now been completely rotted from the effects of the savage hound's magic.
Nick felt his heart ache at the loss of all the materials that could have been gained from those carcasses. Nick looked at the savage hound's own carcass and was even more disappointed to see that it was too crushed to be of any use.
"So after all that, I only gained the souls."
Nick sighed and stored the savage hound's soul within his soul capturing bottle. He then cast Formation Soul, deactivating the formation and then dug out the projection stones, storing them within his space band. Nightfall had already arrived and Nick did not want to stay here since the stench of blood and rot was thick. Nick readied himself to leave the plateau even though he felt very tired. As he was about to cast Blink, he heard a voice come from behind him:
"This sure is an interesting set up that you have here, what exactly happened?"
Nick turned around quickly to see five people that were around his age walking from the edge of the Plateau, three males and two females. The leading man took a good look at Nick when he turned around and spoke excitedly:
"Oh, aren't you Nick Capitol? We're in the same academy; my name is Gerard Fuller and this is my crew."
Nick didn't know why this guy was suddenly introducing himself to him but he didn't care and he also didn't care that they were from the same academy since Nick never forgot the rules of the exam. Nick spoke indifferently:
"Well Gerard, it was nice to meet you and your crew but you'll have to excuse me while I leave this place."
The other students frowned when they heard that and then looked around at the plateau. One of the women remarked:
"There was a huge battle here. There's no way that you received nothing good from it, right? Don't be a meanie, share the details with us."
Nick felt a sort of familiarity with this situation. It was the same kind of feeling he experienced when he was young and surrounded by bullies; it left a sickening feeling in the back of his throat. Nick visibly frowned and spoke indifferently:
"Fuck off."
Gerard smiled in a smug, angry manner and replied:
"Nick, don't be so rash, you look so tired, you're even breathing heavily. You don't seriously think that you can take on all four of us, right? Look, we don't want to bully a celebrity like you out in this dump so just pay us a tax and we'll let you leave here safely. Shelter Town is a few days away and it would be a shame if you had to travel all the way back here after being killed."
Gerard squinted his eyes as he said that last part. One of the men beside him who wore thick glasses and had long, black curly hair remarked:
"A wise man submits to circumstances and there are some rumors going around that you're loaded. How about you share some of your blessings with us."
Nick was confused about what was giving these people the confidence to try and rob him.
(Their numbers? No, any idiot would know that numbers don't mean much when it comes to Magician battles, power is what matters. Then why are these people so smug right now?...)
Before Nick could think more on the situation, he heard a loud popping sound.
POP!
Nick coughed out a mouthful of blood as a bullet penetrated the left side of his midsection. Nick held onto his bleeding wound and looked up towards the direction from where he heard the sound. He saw a black young woman who was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and who carried a sniper rifle and had a pair of bird wings attached to her back float in midair as she pointed the rifle at him. Nick was shocked.
(The fuck?)
At that moment, the four people beside Gerard moved quickly to approach Nick while Gerard screamed at the flying woman:
"Ruby, what the hell is wrong with you? Why didn't you shoot him in the head?"
Ruby who had already started aiming her rifle again shrugged her shoulders, thinking:
(It's dark out here, you moron. That's what you get for trying to ambush someone at night.)
Simone, Timera, Clark and Roger moved swiftly towards Nick, with Timera casting her spell:
(Glue Mucus)
The woman with short, light brown hair opened her mouth and spit a large amount of mucus at Nick.
(Blink.)
Nick tried to cast his spell in order to make a quick getaway but nothing happened and he remained in the same spot. Nick looked at his right shoulder that was now emitting a dark purple mist and then concentrated on the young man that was wearing thick glasses that now had his hands clasped.
(Movement Curse)
A flood of sticky mucus came towards Nick and attached itself to him, quickly hardening itself. Nick struggled but he was unable to move his body at the moment. The burly young man who was at the very front of the group quickened his pace as the yellow phantom of a hippo appeared above him.
(Hippo Strength)
Within moments, his running speed tripled and he bulldozed into the stationery Nick.
(Reinforce With Soul.)
A translucent miasma originating from Nick's soul covered his entire body, acting as a barrier as the burly young man crashed into him. Nick was thrown over five meters away, leaving a trail of blood behind as he fell and rolled on the ground like a rag doll. With his face filled with blood, Nick got up and pointed his right index finger at the flying woman.
(Still Space.)
Without the air resistance supporting her wings as she became surrounded by a vacuum, the woman began to fall to the ground. Gerard blurted out:
"Shit!"
(Rocket Feet)
A flurry of flames emerged from his two feet and propelled him into the air towards the woman who he grabbed, however, his spell could not guide him back to the top of the plateau so he and the woman fell to its base with Gerard using his spell to ease their landing. Nick tapped his space band, summoning Pressure Piece and unsheathed it; he swung the sword in a wide arc as he cast:
(Cleave.)
Cleave's power erupted from Pressure Piece, heading towards the burly man but immediately, a young woman with a chubby body jumped in front of the burly man and took the attack head on. Her skin glistened with a copper color as a formless cutting power bit into her, slicing through her abdomen with difficulty at which point her pink intestines and red blood flew out.
(Blood Organ Suture)
At that moment, threads made from her own blood quickly formed and drew her blood and intestines back into place, even closing the wound in her abdomen. Nick looked on with clear frustration. The young man wearing thick glasses released his Movement Curse before casting another spell:
(Injury Bond Curse)
A red mist emerged from the chubby woman's abdomen and only a moment later, an identical mist emerged from Nick's abdomen. Suddenly Nick felt his insides churn, stretch and spasm; he coughed out three mouthfuls of blood and went down on both knees, sticking Pressure Piece into the ground to maintain his balance. Nick gritted his teeth as he looked at the woman with brown hair that spat out the mucus earlier and then pointed at her with his sword's sheath.
(Exchange Space)
The brown haired woman suddenly appeared in Nick's position and Nick appeared in her previous position which was right beside the young man with thick glasses. Nick swung his sword to the right of himself.
(Cleave.)
The black haired young man did not expect Nick's move and was caught off-guard. A formless power crashed into him, cutting him in half without too much resistance; the young man turned into specks of light and disappeared. The brown haired woman screamed at seeing her companion die:
"You bitch, you're going to pay for that."
Nick ignored her and then focused on the burly young man who was rushing towards him with the hippo phantom still above is head.
(Soul Pressure.)
(Spirit Quake.)
The burly young man felt an almost suffocating force push down on his body and then felt his soul shake which resulted in his thoughts becoming a mess. Roger specialized in strength magic so there was not a large risk of him suffering a backlash from having his thoughts interrupted but since soul path and strength path greatly contradicted each other, he did not put any effort into cultivating his soul which made him easy prey for Nick's soul path methods.
Roger fell to the ground and was pushed forward by his own momentum as he coughed out several mouthfuls of blood and as he developed a severe headache, he was now completely unable to focus or even raise his head. Nick seized the opportunity and swung Pressure Piece's sheath at his head.
(Sever.)
Roger's head split in two like cutting open a water melon and the stump of his neck sprayed blood like a fountain before the corpse turned into specks of white light and disappeared. The chubby woman looked visibly frightened at seeing Roger die so horrifically and shouted:
"This guy's a fucking monster!"
Nick then pointed at the chubby woman with his sword, casting:
(Soul Attraction.)
An irresistible force seized the chubby woman and slightly lifted her off of the ground, pulling her to Nick. The brown haired woman screamed while running to intercept the two:
"Simone!"
Simone gritted her teeth, thinking:
(I won't let him have his way.)
Simone bit into her fleshy left fore arm and ripped off her flesh with her own teeth, at which point her blood emerged from her wound like a flood.
(My Blood Is A Torrent)
Nick cancelled Soul Attraction as a river of blood came his way, casting another spell as a quick follow up before the blood river washed over his position:
(Blink.)
Nick disappeared from his position and appeared kneeling behind the brown haired woman who was running toward Simone, unbeknownst to her. Simone saw this as she fell onto the ground and screamed:
"Timera, he's behind you!"
Her warning was too late, however, as Nick swung Pressure Piece in a horizontal arc with a translucent miasma wrapped around it.
(Reinforce With Soul.)
(Cleave.)
Timera felt a powerful magic power approach her from behind but she did not have enough time to turn around.
(Water Sphere: Defensive)
A stream of water flowed out of Timera's mouth and formed a rotating sphere of water around her but as Cleave's power crashed into the sphere, it splashed apart without much resistance and then reformed within the next moment. Suddenly, the sphere of rotating water became blood red and then specks of white light emerged from it; a moment later the blood red water fell to the ground with Timera no where to be seen.
Simone screamed at Nick as she raised her fat body off of the ground:
"I want you dead!"
Nick wiped the blood from his eyes and mouth as he stood up, storing his sword's sheath and scoffed.
(Blink.)
Nick disappeared and reappeared right in front of Simone and held her fat throat with his left hand; at about the same time, a sickening aura emerged from Nick that caused Simone's mind to go into disarray, preventing her from casting any spells. Nick was slightly confused at her inaction.
(What's wrong with her?)
He quickly dispelled the thought and attempted to finish the fight by looking Simone straight in the eyes, casting:
(Ghost Eyes.)
Not even two seconds passed before Simone's eyes became completely unfocused and blood flowed from her nose, ears and mouth continuously. Seeing Simone's condition, Nick let go of her throat and flicked his left index finger.
(Sever.)
Simone's head was promptly separated from the rest of her body, blood splattering on Nick's face. Her corpse then transformed into specks of white light and disappeared.
Nick raised his head and looked at the full moon that hung in the sky, panting as blood flew out with every breath.
(Just a motley crew.)
***********************************
Ten minutes later, Gerard and Ruby both arrived at the site of the battle and were confused at not seeing Timera, Roger, Clark or Simone. Gerard asked aloud:
"Did they already leave?"
Ruby shook her head, replying:
"That's not likely, Gerard. That Nick Capitol probably wasted them."
Gerard's eyebrows raised in half disbelief.
"Are you kidding me? He took on four people by himself, having already been tired from an earlier battle. I even saw Roger send him flying and bloodied."
Ruby responded:
"So what? In any case, there's no trail of blood that we can follow so assuming that he did not die, we have no way of finding his exact location. Do you want me to search by air?"
Gerard thought for a moment while looking at all the blood on the ground and then replied with worry on his face:
"No, just leave that monster alone."