Chapter 179: Level Drop! Backup Plan: Seventh-Tier Magic
The iron sword swung!
Blood sprayed once more as the Gray-robed Mage died again.
「Gained Experience: 10003」
[Experience Bar: 75980/120000]
"*Raise Dead*!" Tang Zheng's eyes narrowed as he watched the Soul float up from the Gray-robed Mage's body yet again.
A bright blue light surged forth from the magic circle!
The magical aura from the fifth-tier spell made the air heavy once more.
"Ah—"
The Gray-robed Mage let out a shrill scream. The moment he regained consciousness, he frantically rolled backward and to his right, trying to put distance between himself and Tang Zheng.
Terror flooded his heart.
The Gray-robed Mage's confidence had always stemmed from the Alliance Leader's immense power and his own mastery of resurrection magic.
Even if he died, he could be revived by relying on the Alliance Leader's power. It would only cost him some of his strength, which he could regain with a little time.
However!
If his enemy also possessed resurrection magic, then for the Gray-robed Mage…
No!
For any of his opponent's enemies, this was a true nightmare.
The drop in his Life Level from two consecutive resurrections made the Gray-robed Mage feel a sense of weakness he had never experienced before. He scrambled away in a disheveled roll, all sense of dignity gone.
He had to do something before he completely lost his power. If he died one more time, he feared he wouldn't have even a shred of the ability to resist.
As a powerhouse of the Heroic-rank, he was someone who could make nobles in any kingdom show expressions of humility and flattery.
To think he would die in such a remote place.
Damn it!!
"I have a lot of money and precious magic items! You're a spellcaster too, you should know how difficult it is to obtain powerful magic," the Gray-robed Mage cried out, his voice sharp with desperation.
The fact that his opponent was using resurrection magic to revive and kill him repeatedly meant that he would not be spared.
Naturally, he didn't expect Tang Zheng to agree, but if he could make his opponent hesitate for even a second, it would be enough time for him to prepare a spell.
Thump.
A dull thud sounded. The Gray-robed Mage's vision went black, and he was knocked unconscious, collapsing limply to the ground.
"For a spellcaster, his movements are quite nimble," Tang Zheng commented admiringly, looking down at the Gray-robed Mage at his feet.
He pulled out his pocket watch.
Tang Zheng checked the time, made a quick mental calculation, and swung the iron sword in his hand again without a moment's hesitation.
A bead of blood slid down the blade.
This time, Tang Zheng did not use the class skill of [Mad Mage], choosing instead to use his own magic power to save a use of the *Mad Meditation* skill.
「Gained Experience: 4251」
[MP: 188→138]
"*Raise Dead*."
Hmm?
A glint flashed in Tang Zheng's eyes. The experience had dropped by so much, from over 10,000 just now to around 4,000.
"The Soul doesn't seem as distinct as it was at the beginning. It's become a bit more ethereal." Aided by the passive ability of his [Shaman Master] class, Tang Zheng could clearly observe the state of the Gray-robed Mage's Soul after each death.
Besides the superficial drop in Life Level, the Soul itself seemed to have sustained some damage.
"Or perhaps, for powerful individuals, strength isn't just an increase in their Life Level; their very Soul is also strengthened to some degree."
"As they lose levels, their body and Soul degrade in tandem, which would likely cause this."
Tang Zheng pondered this silently, but his hands didn't pause for a second.
Pfft!
「Gained Experience: 676」
[MP: 138→88]
"*Raise Dead*."
Pfft!
Tang Zheng swung his sword and killed the just-revived Gray-robed Mage once more. This time, however, he did not resurrect his foe again.
"The experience value has dropped to three digits. He should be below Level 20 now," Tang Zheng noted, gazing at the Gray-robed Mage's corpse as he calculated silently.
The level range for the Heroic-rank is "Level 29-35". Including this last one, he had now died five times.
Based on the levels lost, if the man were revived again, his level should be in the "9-15" range.
Click!
Tang Zheng took out his pocket watch again, checked the time, and his gaze sharpened. "Time to make the second preparation."
The next moment.
Taking a large barrel of Ogre blood from his item box, Tang Zheng began to carefully lay out the ritual for *Magic Ascension* on the ground.
Since the Gray-robed Mage was a member of Zuranon, the Alliance Leader should have already sensed his death.
Tang Zheng didn't know how long it took for the Alliance Leader to set up a ritual for a long-distance resurrection.
But he could make a rough estimate based on Khajiit, whom he had killed previously.
The reason Tang Zheng hadn't resurrected the Gray-robed Mage again was for an experiment.
Next was an experiment to see where the Gray-robed Mage would be resurrected if he and the Alliance Leader of Zuranon used resurrection magic at the same time.
This point was crucial!
Because it concerned how he would deal with Quinn Esai next.
In this process, Tang Zheng naturally considered the worst-case scenario. If the resurrection magic cast by the Zuranon Alliance Leader through a ritual was of a higher strength than a normally cast resurrection spell...
It was very likely that the Gray-robed Mage would be revived at the Alliance Leader's location.
Although he felt this possibility was low, especially since he had the Gray-robed Mage's complete corpse here, he still had to be on guard.
In this world, even faith-based magic could be cast by mana-based spellcasters. It wouldn't be surprising if humans had developed other bizarre techniques.
Therefore, he had to prepare a backup plan.
"The modified *Raise Dead* consumes too much magic power. It's a shame that my current faith-based magic level isn't high enough."
Tang Zheng bent over, his movements careful and meticulous as he laid out the magic circle on the ground.
About an hour later!
The ritual was finally complete.
Tang Zheng first glanced at the Gray-robed Mage's corpse. Seeing no movement, he stood up and walked to the very center of the ritual circle.
Vwoom—
As Tang Zheng released his magic power, it immediately connected with the ritual on the ground. A circular formation, with motifs of stars and a tree, lit up beneath his feet.
An invisible current of air billowed out, causing the cleric robes Tang Zheng wore to puff up.
"*Magic Ascension: Seventh-Tier Magic*—"
Tang Zheng's eyes widened. In the originally pitch-black dense wetland forest, a dazzling white light appeared, instantly dispelling the darkness in the area.
Whoosh!
A magic circle, five meters in diameter and radiating a brilliant white light and holy aura, condensed in the air above Tang Zheng's head.
Immediately after.
Another, smaller magic circle, only three meters in diameter, formed above the larger one, creating a two-layered magic formation in the air.
A holy and powerful fluctuation of magic power surged and converged in midair. Motes of white light, like countless dazzling yet gentle flames, illuminated the entire area.
The scent of blood lingering in the air vanished completely. Even a large swath of the dense fog that perpetually shrouded the depths of the dense wetland forest was dispelled.
Seeing the two-layered magic circle that had formed above his head, Tang Zheng couldn't help but be taken aback.
Isn't this a bit much?
As the spellcaster, Tang Zheng could clearly feel the immense gap between fifth-tier magic and seventh-tier magic.
After a brief moment of shock, Tang Zheng felt his magic power being rapidly drained.
"*Mad Meditation*!"
Tang Zheng let out a low shout in his mind, activating the class skill.
The siphoning of his magic power paused, and the entire spellcasting process for the seventh-tier magic stabilized completely.
"*Resurrection*!"
This was the seventh-tier resurrection spell.
Having mastered fifth-tier resurrection magic, he was now casting it with the help of the *Magic Ascension* ability.
As the magic activated, immense power began to coalesce. But in that instant, Tang Zheng immediately used another passive ability from his [Mad Mage] class.
"*Prepare Magic*!"
The dazzling magical light in the sky vanished in a flash, as if it had never appeared, and the entire dense wetland forest was once again enveloped in darkness.
And the *Seventh-Tier Magic: Resurrection* was now stored in the *Prepare Magic* passive ability.
"It's done."
Tang Zheng let out a soft breath, a smile gracing his face.
This was his backup plan for the situation to come.
If the resurrection method used by the Zuranon Alliance Leader via a ritual had a greater strength than normal resurrection magic, he would release the prepared *Resurrection*.
Vwoom—
*Seventh-Tier Magic "Resurrection" discovered. Required Faith Caster Spellcasting Level (43-49). Current conditions not met.*
Information appeared on his status panel.
Tang Zheng glanced at it and then looked away with a helpless sigh.
He currently only had four faith-based caster classes, for a combined level of 40. Even with the levels of his newly acquired [Mad Mage] class, he still didn't meet the requirements.
"Now, we wait."
Tang Zheng looked toward the Gray-robed Mage's corpse and spoke softly.
Angelicisia Mountain Range.
Rabashleya Mountain.
As the massive mountain range that separates the Empire from the Kingdom, its peaks should have been covered in ice and snow year-round as the altitude increased. However, there was a unique region within the mountains that completely defied logic.
Scorching air, like an invisible fire, filled the entire space with an extremely high temperature. If an ordinary human were here, a single breath of the searing air would be enough to burn their lungs and kill them.
(end of chapter)