Chapter 33: Shadow Serpent Swarm

Chapter 33: Shadow Serpent Swarm

Louis shoved Stuart into the mirror and then covered the mirror with its curtain.

He planned to try out his new wand and also completely drain his Mana.

This place was large enough, spacious enough, and deep enough below ground. Spells wouldn’t be seen by anyone, allowing him to do whatever he wanted.

He picked up Grudge, ready to practice a Magic Spell. This spell was one he had seen earlier that morning from a certain Wizard who had ‘robbed’ Louis. In that Dream, Louis had observed it for a long time and had specifically learned it.

It was called ‘Flying Fangs’, a typical necromancy spell.

This Magic belonged to the Magic Missile category, but its trajectory was very strange; it could curve and spin.

Compared to Magic Missile, its Magic and physical penetration were extremely strong, comparable to a musket bullet. While it didn’t have the purifying effect of Foxfire, which was especially effective against evil spirits, this Magic could also harm malevolent spirits.

What was even more remarkable was that it not only had a very short casting cooldown but was also very suitable for multi-casting. In that Nightmare, Louis had seen the Wizard using it, shooting out seven or eight, then another seven or eight Flying Fangs simultaneously.

So it was perfect to use like a machine gun.

After recalling the Mana structure of this Magic Spell, Louis picked up Grudge and began familiarizing himself with this wand.

The cold touch of the wand’s handle made Louis feel it was like one of his own finger bones, connected to his Mana bloodline. Without a doubt, this was a partner that allowed a Wizard to unleash Mana freely. But it was also like an unbridled wild horse, difficult to tame.

The first several castings actually failed, which made Louis raise his eyebrows. He pondered for a moment, tried a few more times, and finally launched a black canine tooth the size of a pinky finger.

This small Flying Fang wobbled unsteadily towards an earthen wall. It looked weak and feeble, but it knocked off a small shower of dirt and rock.

This surprised Louis slightly. He had thought it would fizzle out halfway, but it actually hit the target and had the power of a hand cannon. It was just a bit slow.

The next few Flying Fangs were as fast as crossbow bolts. Later ones were as fast as musket balls, able to hit their target in the blink of an eye.

By now, the earthen wall was riddled with many holes, each about two feet deep. If a Gronn had been standing there, its bone marrow would surely have been pierced.

Louis put down the wand, raised his hand, and flicked his fingers towards the earthen wall. Instantly, seven or eight beams of black light, like snakes, left a winding trail in the air and shot into the earthen wall.

After sensing the result, Louis found the depth was only a little over one foot, which surprised him slightly.

‘It seems the difference between wearing equipment and not is still quite significant.’

Curious, Louis flicked his fingers towards the obsidian wall. This time, only seven or eight holes, five or six centimeters deep, were left.

Not far away, the curtain on the mirror trembled in fright twice.

The Magic Spell on that obsidian was cast by ‘Her Majesty Frankischko’! The enchanted obsidian wall was equivalent to several meters thick dragon armor!

But a Fire Dragon’s scales were actually only about two or three centimeters. The leather beneath, while tough, couldn’t compare to the scales. Being able to make holes five or six centimeters deep in the obsidian was enough to make a dragon bleed all over.

If it were a Knight, even fully armored, this small black fang could pierce their heavy shield and go straight through their armor and body.

Louis tried a regular wand. But before he could unleash much Mana, the wand snapped.

But with Grudge, he could fire off dozens in just a few seconds. This could be considered the Chicago Typewriter he imagined, but this still wasn’t Grudge’s true power.

“Hydra…” Louis closed his eyes, feeling the wand in his hand.

A moment later, he suddenly opened his eyes, grabbed the wand, and swung it fiercely in front of him towards the obsidian wall, violently unleashing the Mana from his body.

Immediately, well over a hundred Flying Fangs arranged themselves in several rows, forming a fan shape in front of him, and flew towards the wall in the blink of an eye.

The scene was like dense swarms of black snakes suddenly biting at their prey. The whooshing sounds rustled and echoed, like the hissing of a serpent swarm.

In an instant, the obsidian wall was full of holes, each over a foot deep.

Louis did it fiercely once more. This time, the obsidian wall couldn’t bear it; the Magic Spell on it was completely shattered. A large pile of rubble collapsed.

The Witch Queen’s spell on the wall crumbled, and the curtain on the mirror trembled violently a few more times.

Ignoring Stuart’s little antics, Louis wiped his sweat, rested for a moment, then consumed 1 point of Storybook Strength to comprehend a deeper level of Flying Fangs.

[You have comprehended ‘Forbidden. Shadow Serpent Swarm Lv5’]

Louis tried this new Magic.

For a moment, countless black serpents could be seen flying out from the swaying folds of Louis’s robe, quickly scattering densely everywhere.

They could move on their own, flying around following Louis’s will.

Those black snakes seemed alive, flying extremely fast, leaving only strange afterimages.

It seemed Flying Fangs were released one at a time; a skilled Wizard could release several at once.

But Shadow Serpent Swarm released a whole swarm at once. After getting used to it, one could release several swarms at once.

Originally, with Louis’s current total Mana, he could only release several hundred Flying Fangs. But with Shadow Serpent Swarm, he could release thousands of black snakes.

Inside the mirror, Stuart’s jaw dropped. If those black snakes were released in Blackhorn Alley, they would definitely cause a massacre.

After playing for a while, Louis made the black snakes fight and kill each other. Soon, all the snakes were gone.

Louis was quite satisfied with this Magic.

He picked up the Grudge wand, studied its Mana circuits for a bit, then used Four-Dimensional Inversion to shatter it into pieces, while reciting an Incantation Text.

As the Incantation Text was recited, tiny magical texts appeared on the mithril Mana circuits inside Grudge. Shortly after, Shadow Serpent Swarm was engraved onto the wand.

After doing this, the Magic on Louis’s body was completely refilled by the Energy Infusion.

This time, he began trying to block the released black snakes using Four-Dimensional Inversion.

After a few attempts, the trajectories of all the flying black snakes suddenly twisted mid-path. It looked as if that area of space had turned into a rotating cube.

Many black snakes passing through that spatial area suddenly vanished, reappearing in other areas.

Only a small number of black snakes successfully passed through, and these few were blocked by Louis’s Protective Charm.

‘Four-Dimensional Inversion really can be used to block certain Magic Spells, but something still feels missing.’ Louis closed his eyes in thought for a moment. Then he shook his head. He felt he lacked a bit of inspiration.

That Strength from the Storybook had already been used to comprehend Shadow Serpent Swarm Lv5. Both in number and penetrating power, it far surpassed ordinary Magic. Using a Protective Charm to block them would consume a huge amount of Mana.

But Four-Dimensional Inversion changed the ‘path’. As long as the Möbius ring was constructed perfectly, any targeted Magic Spell, regardless of its level or type, would find it difficult to pass through.

Combining Protective Charm with Four-Dimensional Inversion should be effective. Through Grudge’s Hydra trait, Louis could multi-cast, releasing a Protective Charm while simultaneously creating a spatial cube in front of the protective shield. This would protect him with the Protective Charm while also giving him a 90% dodge rate.

But this technique still needed practice.

He didn’t plan to practice here anymore.

Checking the time, it was already past ten. Louis noticed he still had about one-third of the Energy Infusion power left.

He planned to go out, wander around, and pick some Dark Wizards in Blackhorn Alley for practice.

He lifted the curtain on the Mirror and recited an Incantation Text.

Soon, the Mirror gradually became as transparent as glass. Inside, a drunk could be seen vomiting in front of a toilet in a restroom.

After the drunk wiped his mouth, he discovered a faceless man was quietly washing his hands in front of the Mirror.

The drunk slipped in fright and fell unconscious.

That night, the drunk first had a nightmare, then a pleasant dream. When he woke up, he forgot everything. He just didn’t understand why, ever since, every time he entered this restroom, he felt a creepy chill.