Just as the thought crossed Aeos's mind, Owen's internal and external mana began to resonate.
Black specks of light appeared faintly on the surface of his skin, mostly where Emily had attacked him before. It was evident that the early stages of practicing Obsidify relied heavily on external pressure.
In the next moment, Owen took a deep breath. His mana surged wildly within him, penetrating his bones and flesh before spreading throughout his cells. An unprecedented feeling of power surged within him.
Owen threw a punch, and Aeos, who had just formed an earthen barrier, stood directly in front of him.
Bang!
However, it was futile. With a dull sound, Owen, like a human bulldozer, shattered the several-meter-thick earthen barrier with brute force. The shockwave from his fist rippled out like waves, each one stronger than the last, crashing heavily onto Aeos.
Thud!
Aeos's eyes widened as he watched Owen close in, spitting blood as he was sent flying, his face filled with disbelief. Everyone watching opened their mouths in astonishment. This... this was too fast!
Aeos was a silver-tier level 1 mage, yet he was sent flying with just one strike? It even seemed like Owen hadn't used any skills!
"It must be some kind of dark magic! Otherwise, his explosive power couldn't reach this level!"
"Definitely! To unleash such power with just his body, he must be at least a gold-tier mage. Owen must be using some body-strengthening dark magic!"
"Don't panic, everyone. No matter how strong he is, he's still human. He will get tired, and his stamina will run out."
"We'll challenge him in turns, not giving him a chance to recover!"
As they observed Owen's immense strength once again, the awe in the eyes of the crowd grew even stronger. However, with the Godslayer Staff right in front of them, none of them were willing to leave.
"You don't need to come at me one by one. All of you, come at me together!" Owen swept his gaze across the crowd, beckoning them with his hand.
From his earlier use of Obsidify, he realized it had started to take effect. However, Aeos's strength was too low to be of any real help to him. Since that was the case, he figured it would be best to have these small fry come at him all at once.
Owen's words made every mage present feel an immense sense of humiliation. There were at least a hundred mages here. Although their strengths varied and they couldn't fully utilize their staff due to earlier restrictions, they were still a formidable force.
And yet, Owen wanted to challenge all of them by himself! It was as if he didn't even see them as a threat!
Such arrogance!
Benedict and the others, upon hearing this, thought Owen had gone mad! Even Benedict, the strongest among the Wolf Guard, would have to consider retreating when faced with so many mages. After all, the combined magical attacks of so many mages were not to be taken lightly.
"Should we forcefully take Master Owen away from here?"
"I agree. We should get Master Owen out of here. This is no joke; if things go wrong, he could easily die here!"
The other Wolf Guards looked at Benedict, their eyes full of worry and urgency. Benedict sighed. Was Owen still too young and reckless? He should have been low-key, but he chose to be so ostentatious instead.
"Alright, we..."
Just as Benedict hesitated for a moment and decided to act together to protect Owen, Owen suddenly charged toward the crowd of mages.
"Good, good, come on!"
"He's coming to us on his own; we can't be blamed for what happens next!"
Many mages felt a surge of excitement, as if the Godslayer Staff was beckoning to them. They unleashed various magical attacks, all aimed directly at Owen. Their magic was densely packed.
Owen dodged some attacks and used his Obsidify-enhanced body to withstand others. Although the magical attacks caused him excruciating pain, they also made his body stronger, causing the black specks of light on his skin to become denser.
If this continued for a little longer, the domineering Obsidify technique would completely reach level 1. At that point, both his physical body and internal mana would undergo a qualitative transformation. Thinking of this, Owen became even more excited, and his attacks grew faster.
Bang! Bang!
Owen's fists and feet became his weapons. Any mage who got too close was sent flying before they could even defend themselves.
"So fierce!"
Benedict and the other Wolf Guards, who had initially planned to intervene, watched as Owen charged through the crowd of mages like a rampaging bull. They all had the same thought. Even though his tier wasn't high, he was like a tiger among sheep, gradually scattering the mages!
This was something they could never hope to achieve!
The mages attacking Owen began to realize that something was wrong. Their magical attacks seemed to hurt him, but with every hit, his body appeared to grow stronger.
The most critical part was that while the mages felt mentally exhausted and their mana was depleting from their continuous attacks, Owen looked as energetic as ever, seemingly unaffected.
"Monster!"
"He's simply a monster!"
Some mages began to feel a growing sense of fear.
Why was his combat power so terrifying? Not only was his combat power immense, but his recovery ability was astonishing, as if he were constantly under the effect of powerful healing magic!
What were they supposed to do against that?
Despair! Deep despair!
As a result, some mages with weaker resolve retreated in fear, fleeing from the nightmare that was this young man. With some mages retreating, the already shaken crowd fell apart, fighting and fleeing, unwilling to stay any longer.
With the support of the Order of Merlin, Owen felt increasingly invigorated as the battle progressed. Seeing that no one dared to step forward and attack, he stood firm and shouted, "Who else!"
This extremely arrogant voice echoed in everyone's ears. The already terrified mages did not dare to stay any longer and fled in panic.
This Owen was too frightening!
As the mages fled, a faint layer of black light enveloped Owen's skin. He had successfully cultivated Obsidify Level 1: Obsidian Skin!
In an instant, Owen's cells seemed to transform into black holes, wildly absorbing mana. His previously thin and malnourished body suddenly appeared robust, and his skin took on a hidden black sheen. His flesh was now filled with explosive power! He had a strong feeling that if he faced that group of mages again, he could gradually defeat them without even getting hurt!
...
After dealing with the numerous mages along the way, Owen continued onward with Benedict and the others toward Pharaoh's Tower.
After crossing the Gobi Desert, they entered an arid desert. Pharaoh's Tower lay at the center of this desert. As they ventured deeper, a deathly silence surrounded them. The corpses of numerous mages, buried beneath the yellow sand, were visible along the way.
Upon reaching this point, Benedict and the Wolf Guards became much more solemn, surrounding Owen protectively, like stars around the moon. With a serious expression, Benedict warned,
"Master Owen, be careful. Pharaoh's Tower is a cursed place. The monsters inside aren't particularly high-level, but they are extremely strange. Many cursed zombies roam here, and they can never truly be killed. There has never been an effective strategy to deal with them, which is why this place has been largely abandoned and few mages dare to come here anymore."
The cursed zombies surrounding Pharaoh's Tower were only bronze-tier, but their sheer numbers were overwhelming. They hid beneath the desert sands, making it impossible to eradicate them completely.
No one dared to fight on a large scale here; attracting a large number of cursed zombies would likely lead to being overwhelmed and surely perishing. The many mage skeletons scattered in the yellow sand served as a stark reminder of this danger.
"Cursed zombies?" Owen was taken aback. Weren't the creatures around Pharaoh's Tower supposed to be mummies? But he suddenly remembered that, according to the anime's setting, people in this world didn't know the term "mummy."
The Pharaoh's Tower was mentioned only in ancient texts. Based on his memory, the mummies here were indeed strange, but they had obvious weaknesses and should be easy to defeat.
While Owen pondered this, Benedict and the others grew more serious, their gazes fixed on the distance. Ahead of Pharaoh's Tower, amidst the yellow sands, sensing the approach of strangers, the mummies lying beneath the sand raised their hands and slowly emerged from the ground.