Chapter 617: Iron Will

Oriole felt warmth despite the harsh and ominous words of the runemaster. She acted this way because she was worried and concerned, which are two things he rarely felt from others. Then, he pocketed the card close to his chest before nodding at Julia.

"This wind current will appear below this table, and it should be powerful enough to launch you toward the cloud. Of course, this is unsafe, but I promise to keep an even wind current so that it doesn't topple."

"I trust you," smiled Oriole before he jumped atop the table. "Cheers to this adventure. The next time we meet, I would have a vessel hunting me. So it is best if you activate the card from a distance."

"We know how to keep ourselves safe, unlike you," barked Maryam harshly as she waved her hand. "You should go already."

"Then, farewell," said Oriole before chugging down the potion. It left a cold trail down his threat before it pulsed with mana. Julia raised her hands toward the table as his stomach began to ingest the ingredients fueled with runes.

"Please save him, Oriole," said Julia before a great gust of wind left her body and gathered beneath the table. "I'm sorry for being a coward."

The wind began to twirl underneath the table, almost forming a mini-hurricane that made their clothes flutter. Then, a wind wall appeared beside Oriole, almost making a tunnel that aimed him toward the sky.

"Three!" shouted Julia beneath the roaring wind. Oriole readied himself as his vision began to blur. "Two!" the wind grew stronger until the table began to shake. Oriole stared at the cloud above as the runemaster's countdown was over. "One!"

His feet began to lose balance as the table rose, akin to a rocket. Then, the explosion of wind pushed the table toward the sky with Oriole on it, barely keeping himself from falling. He could feel his body turn into a human cannonball as his feet separated from the table. Then, Oriole soared.

"Don't die!" a voice shouted behind him, and Oriole couldn't help but smile. He formed a fist while darting toward the cloud and then raised it toward the side.

The wind howled in his ears as Oriole couldn't keep his eyes open. Then, with difficulty, he tried to open them to realize that the potion had taken effect on them and that the cloud had turned into a great burning sun.

'Julia was right,' thought Oriole as he rapidly approached the cloud. 'This is a frighting amount of mana. I guess this is no ordinary cloud, huh?'

Then, Oriole felt the blazing sun engulf him. His body began to spin, and a force began to stretch him, opening his wounds. A groan escaped his mouth as he felt himself push against a membrane that suddenly broke and allowed him entry.

The fall came suddenly, and it made his bones scream in pain. Oriole had no idea how he went from a vertical launch into a horizontal fall, but it meant he was inside the space. As he used his hand to push against the ground, Oriole could see nothing but currents of white streams.

"This is the mana that consists this space," muttered Oriole as he pushed himself up and stood. "A semi-organized distribution of mana forms the basic structure of this space."

This was his first time seeing an 'unlayered space' with no other natural phenomena. The scene explained how the space-locking arrays worked by freezing the elastic mana currents and letting no one manipulate them.

"And I guess that is the illusion," muttered Oriole as he stared at the giant violet pillar in the darkness. This might be a scene that he wouldn't be able to see without his potion. "Arthur must be inside."

Warmth trickled down his side, and Oriole's body suddenly felt the burning pain in his right side. The impact from earlier must have reopened his wounds, and Oriole could feel the sticky texture of blood as he touched it.

"This is my life force leaving my body," bitterly smiled Oriole as he looked at the blood. There was a mist of white leaking from the blood, making him realize that he might die here. "I need to hurry."

The twelve years the Oriole spent in Alka allowed him to harness an iron will that didn't fear death. It was a similar feeling to swimming for the first time, where you had to take a leap of faith and trust that the water would carry your body.

Life was the same. Oriole had to be brave to survive, and he had done so through this mindset countless times. There was no room for hesitation, only to break through whatever obstacle his path had.

"Breakthrough," muttered Oriole as he stared at the blood. He clenched his hand into a fist before taking a step forward. The pain in his right side made his mind blank out, but he took another step that turned into a sprint.

The blood was gushing through his wound as he sprinted toward the pillar of blinding light. His vision turned less hazy as time passed, even though blood loss made him lightheaded. Finally, however, he managed to spot where the space connected to the illusion.

"This looks to be the weakest spot," muttered Oriole as he approached it. "It should be the only way to get inside. After that, the mana should be distributed according to the illusionist's will."

This was the benefit of his Mana Vision. It would allow him to see what is real and hidden beneath the illusion. This way, he would be able to reach Arthur in time and activate the runic card.

The loophole in space looked like a water vortex, and it was barely big for Oriole to run through it. However, there was no time to wait as he directly jumped into the blinding light. There was a slight resistance, and Oriole gathered his mana on his fist before punching at the vortex.

Striking the weak point seemed to do the trick as the vortex grew bigger and the resistance grew less. Oriole could feel his body pushing through the boundaries of the illusion before he managed to enter.

The sudden release made him roll on the ground, and Oriole had to steady himself before jumping back on his feet. As he expected, the mana distribution was different inside the illusion. There was a floor beneath them filled with mana, and numerous violet figures rushed atop it.

The howls of monsters filled his ears, and the magnitude of their size left him breathless. Oriole could only see their outline, which was less concrete than tangible items, but it still terrified him. However, a bright flame of golden color was mixed within the violet figures.

The golden figure rushed between the monster, wielding unimaginable strength as he tore apart the illusions and dodged the attacks coming from the layers below. Oriole could see a less concrete figure and more violet as if he was walking under the violet mana that consisted this space.

A spear appeared in the violet walker's hand, and it stabbed toward the unaware golden figure. Oriole snapped out of his daze before realizing that Arthur's mana looked like a flame because it leaked from countless wounds on his body.

"Arthur, behind you!" roared Oriole as he ran forward. The golden figure seemed to hear him before rolling to the side, avoiding the sneak attack. Oriole might have saved him, but his outburst made the Omniscient Vessel realize his existence.

"You are finally here, dear friend," muttered the vessel, his voice spreading through the illusion. "I was expecting your arrival in my space. Are you here to save the outsider?"

"...Ori?" asked Arthur's tired voice coming from the golden figure as he turned toward the rushing Oriole. "What are you doing here? But, wait... why are you bleeding?"

"There is no time. Let's leave this place!" shouted Oriole as he rushed toward Arthur. However, before he realized it, a giant figure of purple ran toward him.

"I cannot allow that," said the vessel as he waved his hands and gripped his spear. "Despite knowing that you would arrive, I still have no idea how you can see through my illusions. Is this a talent... or knowledge? In either case, I must eliminate the unpredicted."

Oriole could feel a great gust of wind rush at him, but he knew it was the thinnest form of mana creating an illusion. However, even if it was an illusion, an impact from this mana could kill him in a single blow.

"I didn't come here to die," said Oriole as he gnashed his teeth together and leaped forward. "I can see through these illusions!"

The amount of mana required to make such an illusion was godlike. It was hard to imagine a human capable of using this amount of mana, but Oriole could see it. There was only one illusion at a time that could harm him.

As the sword descended, Oriole ran straight through the giant figure of violet. There was a slight resistance, but he managed to break through the thin mana and come out from the other side.

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