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Chapter 541 Beatdown
🕑 Added 2020-08-13 10:47:27 +0000 UTCAuthor's note: Hello there. New chapter up :). We'll see when I post more and if the internet works fine where I'm going.
Cheers and thanks for reading!
PDF/EPUB: https://www.patreon.com/posts/32241245
Chapter Index: https://www.patreon.com/posts/37813894
Chapter 541 Beatdown
Ilea tested her newfound abilities a little longer, making sure that various grapples or touching meadow still allowed her to blink or displace herself. Everything seemed to work fine.
Her third tier of Phaseshift wasnt unlimited either. Her third tier healing didnt recover her health instantly. Near that but not instantly. Her sacrifices could be stacked and increased due to the third tiers nature but there was a point where it simply wasnt efficient anymore due to how much mana her recovery cost and the gradually less meaningful returns.
Ilea covered the ground in ash, activating phaseshift and keeping it active for a few seconds, all the while using her full health sacrifice to fuel Flare of Creation.
The spell deactivated and she burst into flame. Ilea kept Flare of Creations third tier active however, extending the flames to the ash already prepared.
By now the flames were bright and blazing, moving as Ilea moved the ash.
A few seconds passed and they dimmed noticeably. She stopped fueling it with additional health and watched the flames dim once more.
Double the power for a while, she thought and smirked. I need more health.
It would only get more expensive the higher Flare of Creation leveled.
A beautiful little flame, Meadow said.
Dont mock me. Im not a thousand years old. Im sure Ill be able to fight you by that time, she said.
Aw. Im sorry. I didnt mean to make fun of your achievement. I meant what I said. You simply dont have the resources to form something Id consider an actual flame, Meadow said and patted her back with some wood.
Still dont know if its being sarcastic, Ilea thought. She really had taught the tree too well. Or was it just a coincidence? The Ice Elemental was much less snarky, that much was true. It was asleep again. By now she was glad the creature hadnt eaten her for waking her up previously.
Petting her was still an impossible task, its defenses still quite potent despite its state. Whenever it twitched or moved in its dreams, the being destroyed a part of the hall, quickly repaired by Meadow.
It was an impractical pet but Ilea still liked the idea.
Her and the Trakorov would make a wonderful pair. They could cuddle up. Maybe the heat and cold thing might be an issue. Or a benefit.
Shes just so cute, isnt she? Ilea asked, looking at the absolutely massive wolf creature.
She is, Meadow agreed. Im proud to have helped her achieve more sapience.
Can she have children? Ilea asked.
I dont think so. She lacks any reproductive organs though Elementals are a mystery to me anyway. Perhaps she can split somehow or form a smaller version of herself? Maybe one that you could pet? Meadow suggested.
Now youre just teasing me, Ilea said and touched the tree absentmindedly.
About your gold magic resistance, you know I could just ask him, Meadow said.
I dont want him to know how close we are. But I appreciate it. Hes going to owe me after all this is over anyway. If I dont have it by then, thats when he wont be able to refuse, she said.
Youre too stubborn. You live to help others but refuse when help is presented to you, Meadow said.
I dont refuse help. Im just doing this to protect you, Ilea said.
Charming. But you forget that Im an incomprehensible magic god. That human is nothing to me, Meadow said.
Dont act so tough all the time, dear, Ilea said. I know that deep down youre just a warm ball of a thousand eyes.
Dont make me rip you apart again, Meadow said.
We could try you know, have an actual bout, she said with a smile.
No holding back? Ilea with all due respect, that wouldnt be good for you, Meadow said.
I cant feel pain and I can regenerate constantly. Ill let you know once I reach the end of my resources. Or I can just teleport away, she said.
You forget that Im a high level space magic practitioner. But if you really want it, perhaps you could put my mind at ease concerning your plan to stay here, it said.
Youre still worried? Really? Ilea asked. I even have a third tier drain resistance. What kind of levels are we talking about with the Daughters? Higher than Wolfie here?
No. Not those who would descend in two weeks. Theyre probably between one and two thousand, Meadow said.
And theyre much worse at magic than you, right? So lets try. Come at me with the intent to kill, she said with a bright grin, spreading her wings as she flew back.
I cant truly think of killing you but I suppose if were testing your resilience, we may as well try. Ill have to hold back to keep this place hidden but it should be enough, Meadow said.
Finally, Ilea thought and activated all her buffs, except her health sacrificing ones.
Then let me teach you a lesson, young human. First. I may be immobile but this, is my domain, Meadow said, a powerful wave of mana pushing outwards.
Ilea watched on as a pale white barrier thrummed to life around the whole hall, bending around the Ice Elemental to exclude it entirely. It didnt even wake up.
The mana waves that continuously flowed out from the center of the hall pushed her back physically, her wings working to counteract it. She felt herself tensing up, her ashen armor slightly shaved away with each pulse.
She felt an immense pressure that tried to hold her down. It was a familiar skill Meadow had used to keep her from moving. Ilea pushed against it, setting herself the goal of reaching the tree. Her wings flapped but she moved painfully slow.
She blinked but was pushed back by a barrier that formed where she had appeared. A front of solid rock formed around the tree when she was suddenly displaced back a few meters by one of Meadows spells.
Ilea started using her teleportation spells whenever they werent on cooldown, trying to get closer but always hitting solid stone, wood, or barriers that hadnt been there before. The solid wall continued to build around the tree.
Every time she teleported, the meadow pushed her back again, only split seconds allowing her to deliver some blows against the wall of defenses. Any damage she dealt had reformed already once she appeared again.
An arcane barrier formed around the defensive perimeter, growing thicker with each passing moment.
Her spells coupled with Flare of Creation burned into the dense barrier but despite her efforts, any weakness reformed faster than she could cause them. Meadow even had a way to put her flames out completely.
Barrier magic is versatile. I merely use it to protect but its offensive potential is quite staggering, Meadow said in a booming voice, pushing against Ileas ears and mind.
She saw hundreds of tiny barriers form around her, each thin as a razor and angled in a way to cut her.
Displacement worked on them but her efforts were countered partially. Even when it worked, she could only move less than a fourth.
The view her precognition provided wasnt promising.
Phaseshift was activated but the second it took to change the space of her body was too long.
She teleported but new barriers simply formed all around her, several hundred tiny magical blades cutting into her armor.
Her defenses resisted but were ultimately breached, her ashen armor cut deeply before her skin was reached. Phaseshift activated when blood started to show on dozens of cuts.
The barriers immediately moved through her, vanishing after they lost their purpose.
Ilea healed the damage, not that much thanks to her changed health calculation. Otherwise some of the cuts would have fucked up a few organs already, likely dealing more damage than a simple deep cut to her arms.
She started stacking her health sacrifice spells as a stone platform came into existence below her. Complex runes instantly formed, forcing her to teleport away.
The platform appeared right where she did, the runes coming to life just as two massive barriers formed in front and behind her.
They closed in, Ilea finding herself unable to teleport. Both of her abilities were stopped by whatever runic field Meadow had created.
Motherfucker.
The barriers stopped moving a few centimeters away from her phased body.
Ilea was sure shed be paste once her body returned to its physical form.
Will you survive it if I squash you? Meadow asked in a normal tone.
Have fun trying, Ilea said.
Her body returned to its physical form, Azarinth Awakening and Flare of Creation exploding in power and intensity, the white flames instantly igniting the thick barriers.
Ilea felt the pressure build as the barriers started to squash her, the power of her spells not enough to breach the thick constructs, nor enough to teleport out of the magic field below.
Her body groaned, blood cells exploding under the pressure. Her eyes popped as all the air was pushed out of her lungs. She felt her organs tremble, her whole form slowly flattened between the two barriers.
Wooden tendrils appeared next to her and started digging into her body. When they reached a certain depth, they ripped whole chunks out, ignoring the durability of her bones by simply cutting through the connecting tissue. Phaseshift was still on cooldown.
Reverse healing, Storm of Cinders, Heart of Cinder, Absolute Destruction, plain old ash, and all the strength she could muster pressed against the overwhelming power. All for nothing.
New barriers appeared where her arms would have reformed, preventing her healing from recovering the lost limbs.
Ilea activated her third tier Displacement, squeezing one end between her back and the barrier, the other outside of the hall itself. She used her ash to squeeze herself through but the wood and barriers kept her in place.
When she realized that the exit of her gateway was blocked by a barrier on the other side, she didnt know what to do anymore.
Meadow ripped her apart until only her head remained, barriers all around to physically prevent her from recovering the missing limbs and wood digging deep into her skull. Only her brain remained intact, left alone by the creature.
Do I win? Meadow asked.
This is barely a scratch, Ilea said and activated phaseshift again.
Do I really need to push you further? All youre doing is delaying the inevitable, Meadow said. I wont be using spells for you to absorb mana from. Ill just keep your brain from regenerating fully until you run out of either health or mana. Sounds lovely, doesnt it?
Alright. Alright, Ilea said, annoyed and disappointed.
The barriers vanished, as did the rock and wood.
Ilea reformed with a pout, her armor covering her again quickly. She crossed her arms in front of her.
Did I miss something? she asked.
You shouldnt have faced me in the first place, the Meadow said.
Besides that. Your barriers even prevented me from destroying the stone plates that stopped my teleportation. How did that work anyway? It formed damn near instantly, youre insane, she said.
Your offensive power is simply inconsequential to my creations. I admit that my knowledge of your skill set allowed me to pin you down quickly. Had I not known it, it may have taken me another five to six seconds. Enough for you to escape perhaps. Or enough to surprise me with either Phaseshift or your gate creation. It is unfortunate that Im a master of space magic, Meadow said.
Very unfortunate indeed. If you couldnt stop my teleportation, I couldve escaped. Right? she asked.
Of course. But the fact remains that I did. Your resistances are high but the sheer energy a creature like me can use to stop you will simply be overwhelming. Had you created burning ash below the barriers to damage the delicate runes, you may have gained a split second to teleport away, Meadow said.
I admit that I underestimated you. Anything else I missed? she asked.
The creature laughed, a sense of serenity returning with the fireflies that once again floated through the meadow. The sound of flowing water the only audible thing in the hall.
Underestimated. Said a level four hundred to one above two thousand. The first wave of mana should have vaporized you, Meadow said. The fact that you can even stand here without coughing up blood is impressive enough. Let alone demonstrating a real possibility of escaping the clutches of myself.
One, Im not at four hundred yet. Two, demonstrating a possibility isnt exactly the same as actually accomplishing said feat, Ilea said.
You power is entirely too high for an evolution at four hundred. But you should reach that conclusion soon enough, Meadow said. Perhaps once youve gained more power, you would wish to try again. I do hope I didnt traumatize you with this demonstration.
Ilea smiled. Oh no. Not at all. If anything, this proved that theres a chance.
A sigh went through the hall. A chance of what?
Me winning this fight, Ilea said.
Youre delusional, the Meadow said.
Ilea shrugged. Again?
She spent the next few hours trying the same thing but as she adapted, so did the Meadow.
When she started to focus entirely on the anti teleportation runes, the Meadow simply covered the entire hall. When she focused fully on defense and healing, the Meadow still overwhelmed her in time. It felt like playing chess with nothing but pawns against an ancient grandmaster.
While her defensive and evasive measures failed, her offensive ones did so spectacularly. Nothing got through the monsters defense even remotely. It even reformed the tiny cracks and scratches on the stone and wood it created. Not that it really had to.
After hundreds of attempts, she had managed to escape exactly zero times. If anything, she was getting worse.
Am I teaching this creature how to defeat me?
It didnt matter. Meadow could have finished her a thousand times over by now. Wood harder than her ash could bore into her immobilized skull without issue.
The creature did compliment her bones but proved even them to be useless against its creations.
Despite her insistence, the Meadow refused to destroy her brain even once. If anything it felt like a slap in the face to her. Like a parent not taking off the training wheels despite the childs insistence.
I think this is as far as Ill get, she admitted finally.
Your attempts did get better, Meadow said.
Youre not helping, she said. Im going to hunt a spirit now.
Do greet them from me, the Meadow said, a spacial breeze flowing through the area.
Ilea looked at the sleeping wolf and to the tree, unsure which one would be more terrifying to face. From the wolf at least, she might be able to escape.
Probably has a way to freeze space itself, and me within, she thought and left the hall.
I really should have started testing these new abilities with the Astrals. Now my spirit is broken and my day is ruined.
Ilea decided it was time to break other spirits to reform her own.
First, she needed a target.
She flew out into the cold, now actually much warmer than Meadows hall.
Her charged wings brought her into a nearby desert quickly, one use of Monster Hunter enough to wake up some monsters.
[Spirit of Death lvl 459]
It looked a little like a scorpion but most of its form was melted and distorted, oozing with black slime.
Ripley would have a field day in Erendar.
The creature slammed its death magic enhanced stinger into her chest, the thing scratching past her ashen armor before it dug into the ground.
Flare of Creation activated as a mist of ash descended onto the creature. All of it ignited with the pale flame, reversed healing coupled with the fires quickly destroying the being both from within and without.
Five more creatures had appeared in the meantime, hundreds more running, flying, or slithering towards her location.
Three of them jumped her, Ilea nearly buckling under the weight. She managed to stabilize herself with a few ashen limbs. Space Awareness let her differentiate the flows of their mana, Ilea displacing herself upwards before Heart of Cinder fired from an extended ashen limb.
Much more manageable, she thought and took a deep breath. Its really quite nice that the Meadow doesnt like killing awakened creatures. And that it cant move on its own.
She had finally grown at least some confidence in escaping the Ascendeds clutches should they meet again. Now she wasnt quite as sure. Well Heart of Cinder already burned through its metal. I doubt it could pin me down even close to as easily as the Meadow.
The Ascended could create metal, meaning it too could form runes in the blink of an eye. Coupled with the space magic it wielded, she may still be in trouble.
Just kill more things. Evolve you damn shits, she thought, looking at her Classes.
Fighting the spirits was enjoyable but she definitely had to take a break for a day or two soon. Being among these incomprehensible monsters for extended periods of time wasnt good for her mental health, whether or not she used arcane healing.
In a way she understood how mortals thought of them as gods. Even her puny old self inspired songs and struck fear in peoples hearts.
Come on then, at least an Astral. Barely in their seven fucking hundreds and just a mindless arcane zombie, she murmured to herself, letting the flames of death flow through her phased form, the creatures left confused and searching until her body returned to their fabric of space.
Comments
L Pedersen
I have decided that saturday will not end until chapter 542 and 543 arrive. Everyone enjoy this nice long weekend.
Caanbo
Met be we will get 4 new chapter on Tuesday 😉
Valter Anunciação
Where the new chaps at?
MrrC
Sooo I guess no chapters today. Enjoy the vacation @rhaegar
The 3rd-tier Blink takes several minutes to cast. She simply doesn't have the time to do that. Leaving aside if it's even possible to move them against their will with it.
Dennis
it would be a horrible idea to do that before she knows she can kill one. Though why she doesn't just grab an Astral Spirit and teleport far away so she can kill it in peace I don't know.
Johannes Sauer
System is smart and doesn't like power leveling
Chopper
Wasn't she supposed to try using 3rd Stage Blink to bring a spirit across realms before trying it with the Meadow?
Yeah, I thought the whole point of keeping a spare point was to use it to buff a resistance against ???? beings.
Ivactheseeker
Hopefully now she'll get Astral Magic to the third tier as well. Fighting ???? beings with a 2nd tier resistance does not seem smart.
Ranzbart
less lazing about and more consolidating the foundation. growth in multiple dimensions gives more volume than growth only in class levels (think of it as power = area of (Class Level) X (Ability Level) for maximum power you want the resulting rectangle to be a square if possible.
foldedcorners
Maybe this will inspire her to start leveling again :P She has been lazing about these past 100 or so chapters during the human conflicts
sharkattack
If you can use core points to infinitely upgrade skills that calculation is skewed even more
Nate
Enjoy your vacation!
Manu Sniter
While it was a "mere spar", against a 2K being she should've really gotten some kind of skill gain.
Ivactheseeker
"It would only get more expensive the higher Flare of Creation leveled" I thought it was the opposite. Wasn't it only 50 hp at 3-30?
I’m not sure I buy that we can extrapolate anything useful from the fight with Meadow when looking at previous four marks (other than Superfae which is still insanely out of her league). Power gains are exponential - just compare Illea at 200 to Illea now, it’s not a simple double or even quadruple. She could take on a practically infinite number of her previous selves. Even Illea at 300 isn’t much better. To Meadow at 2k+, fighting Illea probably wouldn’t be that much different to fighting the Ascended. The Ascended could have been playing with her, but it could also have been a relatively weak example of a four mark that was giving its all. Maybe a researcher that isn’t combat focused. With Illea’s 3rd class Space magic and additional resistances, she might be enough of a trump to counter it. Even if she can’t kill it, being able to drive it off or get away is still an amazing achievement at her level. But really we just lack info to say either way. We’ve already seen one example of a retcon in power level - Illea’s first encounter with the Basilisk was “revealed” to have been an illusion - so it’s possible that the author hasn’t even decided yet.
fbt
thanks for the chapter!
Liedral
Well.... at least Ilea has gotten some humility back. I hope. I feel that she's been far too gun-ho about impossible monsters lately.
Thanks for the chapter.
kyle ryan
No barrier magic resistance?
Meadow has a healing class as well, correct? Or do we think that's Wood?
Patrick Ralston
It seems to me that core points seem to come from accomplishments, and I can easily see why this wouldn’t count
lenkite
No consolation [Core Point] for repeatedly getting a [Beatdown] by a 4 mark ?
Thorsten Rapp
To bring back an old saying, there's always another drake. I enjoy that we got to see the true strength of Meadow, and can somewhat extrapolate that to the capabilities of a ????, though I'd bet that the Meadow is far more powerful than the average ???? around level 1000. Still, this just shows how much further Ilea has to go to be considered a real powerhouse in Elos, since I'd bet there's quite a number of beings capable of taking on Meadow in Elos.
MrrC
Actually - if meeting the ice elemental gave her 1 core point....Shouldn't being in a fight with Meadow give her at least 1 point as well? Would be interested to see how her wood magic, and other resistances increased after the fighting with Meadow
MrrC
I like this chapter - it puts her back psychologically where she was before - when first entering Elos (sp?) e.g. when she was killing drakes and spending time in the Riverwatch only to see the power of the elves that attacked..... now she's beginning to understand where she truly is power wise vs 4 mark entities (most of whom haven't too seriously tried to harm her - Ascended wasn't going all out, Sand Elemental was really figting the Trakonov while she healed, and the Basilisk was just warning her away.
Jack Trowell
"OK it's a draw"
Geoffrey
You reckon llea is going to become mentally unstable and become a threat to humanity?
Connor Bruha
Thanks for the chapter! Have fun on your vacation!
Arkeus
It's really nice to see the Meadow showing his chops... and for Ilea to see how someone could go around beating her in a definitive manner. It's always good to be proven where you are lacking.
Garbled Sounds
Four mark is a pretty wide classification. It is entirely possible he was not anywhere close enough to Meadow in power and/or was not a good match to contain Ilea. Besides, don't forget she only managed to get away thanks to her little friend Baron Violence.
Garbled Sounds
She's losing it.
28th00
I thought that The Fay was like level 4000+, and a hivemind with multitasking=Yes...
tibbish
Hrrrm starting to wonder if that Metal Mage was mostly just playing with her when she went up against him. Obviously her survival ability is impressive for her level but going up against 4 marks and surviving is looking like a stretch for her right now and probably for a good long while.
Tony Gilbert King
Nice to see shes still got more than just the fay to surpass
MountainFox
Ilea reduced to a single cell organism: "Tis but a scratch."
T.Tandstad
Thx
Relissi
Thanks for the chapter :D
Joshua Little
Thanks for the chapter.
