The visual stuttered once, like a candle caught in a draft. Mara’s figure blurred for half a second, then snapped back into focus. Reidar frowned. Then it happened again. The image juddered, distorted, and broke apart into fragmented pixels of color and shadow. The room warped. Mara’s face stretched and twisted unnaturally, as if the very fabric of the vision was tearing at the seams.

The feed convulsed violently; the image broke down completely—flashing between Mara’s room and something else: a forest.

Mara was deep within a forest clearing and was working on building a magic circle on the forest floor.

The design of the circle was one that Reidar knew well.

It was a specific type of magic circle that had a singular purpose: it was designed and used to open a portal to another world.

In the distance, stretching out far beyond the cluster of trees that surrounded the clearing where Mara was working, Reidar could make out the outpost—the very same outpost where he, Jake, Lena, and Jorik were standing.

It was then that Reidar understood Mara had tricked him.

“An illusion?”

It was absolutely incredible and almost impossible to comprehend. First, she had made and used teleportation magic, and now she was using illusions as well.

Reidar’s mind raced as he tried to work through what he was seeing. How had Mara created such elaborate and convincing illusions in the first place? When could she have found the time to set up something this complex and intricate?

Of course, when he thought about it more carefully, it must have been something that she had prepared well before they had even met face-to-face in Ashwick.

<This complicates things…>

It did, because now Reidar wouldn’t even be able to know whether or not his spies provided him with false information. The implications were as grim as they were incredible.

If Mara could create illusions sophisticated enough to fool his creatures, then everything he thought he knew about her movements and activities were for sure fabricated. Every observation, every piece of intelligence he had gathered, was nothing more than a deception designed to lead him here, where she was preparing a portal.

“You got it,” Jorik said. “We are not stupid. We know how you fight, and the chance that you placed something on Mara to see where she went was very real. So, we took advantage of it.”

It was at that precise moment, while Reidar was trying to plan an appropriate response to the situation unfolding before him, that church members started to emerge and appear out of thin air.

It was at that point that Reidar realized they hadn’t actually left this place at all, not even for a moment; instead, they had been here all along, remaining hidden and waiting behind the cover of a massive and elaborate illusion that had hidden them from view.

On the ground beneath them was another magic circle, different from the ones Reidar knew.

<The church is starting to learn far too many tricks…>

The magic circle flashed and pulsed with intense light before it turned completely dark and inactive. That particular magic circle was the one that fueled the spell that Mara had most likely cast to hide the entire troop from him. It was again illusion magic, one meant to hide everyone.

The problem was that it hid thousands and thousands of people, with the vast majority of them all hovering around level 340. It still was not enough to pose a problem to him, but Reidar knew. He knew that if he killed these guys, all their mana would be funneled inside the magic circle Mara was creating.

The thin, barely perceptible mana that he had sensed since the moment he entered the outpost was proof of that. It was clear proof the outpost fell within the magic circle’s absorption range, and that was why the mana was so thin here. It was being absorbed by the circle.

Reidar hastily checked his status to see if he had enough mana to fight these people.

—[<<STATUS>>]—

Name: Reidar Miller

Level: 395

Health: 13900

Mana: 61680.70

C.L.A.S.P.: 715834 / 1759800

Available Attribute points: 0.00

Skills: Storm-Wyrm’s Ire, Summon: Mana-Forged Dreadmaw, Dreadmaw’s Corrosive Mist, Tetra-Lion’s Cataclysm, Sovereign’s Absolute Carapace, Overmind Consciousness, Apocalyptic Catalyst, Summon Vorathid Sky-Hunters, Summon Undying Legion, Summon Apex Menagerie, Summon Shadow Sovereigns, Summon Spectral Quadraginta, Summon Archon Rift-Lords, Touch of the Eternal Sovereign, Genesis Garden, Yggdrasil’s Grasp, Emperor’s Decree, Event Horizon Javelin, Chaos Storm, Presence of the Sovereign, Gaze of the Pariah, Sovereign’s Aegis, Wellspring of Vitality, Aura of Absolute Purity, Summon: Twin Obsidian Siege-Breakers, Summon: Verdant Sovereign, Summon: Avatar of Primal Convergence, Summon: Void-Claw Pack, Primal Resonance

Equipment: Void-Caller’s Baton, Diadem of the Overseer, Vestments of the Hive Mind, Breeches of Reality’s Edge, Grips of the Puppeteer, Sabatons of the Rift-Strider, Vambraces of Binding, Mantle of the Unseen Legion, Cincture of the Mana-Well, Torque of the Alpha, Signet of Expansion, Band of Eternal Servitude

Proficiencies: Velia’s Regional Map (64%), Velia’s Monster Compendium (72%), Intermediate Spellcraft Mastery (100%), Warrior’s Dominion (100%)

Attributes: (S.H.I.E.L.D.: 27.5 + 111.5), (A.C.U.M.E.N.: 142 + 200.5), (F.L.A.I.R. : 25 + 82), (F.L.I.P.: 17 + 95)

Minions: #N/A

Survival Points: 37,598,583

Trait: Skill Sharing

Perks: Efficient Scavenger (6/6), Arcane Potency (6/6), Mana Attunement (5/5), Mana Font (6/6), Focused Mind (5/5), Rapid Learning (5/5), Mana Regeneration (10/10), Arcane Resilience (4/4), Empowered Effects (5/5), Arcane Leech (5/5), Spell Control (5/5), Familiar Bond (10/10), Pack Tactics (5/5), Elemental Infusion (5/5), Resilient Constructs (6/6), Grave Calling (20), Boundless Legion (10/10), Legion’s Fortitude (5/5), Ethereal Anchor (5/5), Mana Siphon (10/10), Shared Resilience (1/1), Crushing Presence (9/9), Legion Commander (5/5), Unsleeping Sentinels (1/1), Coordinated Assault (5/5), Territorial Dominance (4/4), Adaptive Evolution (10/10), Symbiotic Regeneration (8/8), Soulforged Armor (10/10), Legion’s Onslaught (8/8), Inspired Creation (8/8), Master Gatherer (8/8), Systemic Salvage (10/10), Deft Hands (9/9), Blueprint Genius (1/9)

Perk Points: 12

Titles: The First Killer, The First Apprentice, The Pioneer, Creature Slayer IV, Rift-Sprite Hunter IV, The Exterminator, Guardian of the innocents, Adept Learner, Abyssal Caller, The Apex, Titan Breaker, Mana-Forged Will, Demi-God Slayer

Profession: Tailoring (LVL 270), Woodworking (LVL 235), Enchanting (LVL 293)

—[<<END>>]—

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep