Chapter 258

Erosion-type Reality Marble——

Ability: "Crystal Valley"……Activate!

Merely a single instant.

A planetary-scale Anti-Magic Force Field abruptly rose up, rapidly spreading out like a wave.

The existence of a Magic User is akin to a super-powered amplifier; he directly absorbed the Anti-Magic essence of the Whispering Tree Flower, then amplified it through his own power, displaying it before the world.

No bizarre erosion of an alien landscape appeared.

No phenomenon of a Spider's Nest-like crystallized valley appeared, nor did the terrifying spectacle of all the world's plants transforming into Fantasy Trees occur.

Merely only the property of "Anti-Magic"——

In an instant, from the deep Underground World to the vast Surface World, from the Underdark to the Faerun Continent, and even to more distant, more expansive regions, influence was produced.

From the lowest layer towards the ground, confirming the replacement of physical laws!

………………

………………

Surface World, Emerald Plains.

The scorching sun burned, sunlight fierce.

Near the beach, close to a certain cliff face near the Nautiloid crash site.

A group of people were gathered there, presenting the roster of an adventuring party whose cooperation was not yet tacit.

A man wearing an exquisite blue robe was panting slightly, climbing up from the ground in a rather sorry state, patting the dust off his body.

This Wizard raised his head, revealing a face full of a full beard, yet not looking slovenly, but rather upright and handsome.

"Hello, I am Gale of Deepwater City……"

"Sorry, I'm usually not that clumsy……"

Probably feeling that the scene of just being stuck in the cliff was more or less a bit shameful, he revealed an embarrassed yet polite smile, adding a sentence.

"My name is Tafu…… Speaking of which, are you alright?"

The young man who had just lent a hand spoke, simultaneously scrutinizing Gale slightly, trying to discern something from the latter's appearance, clothing, and other details.

Gale also wore a smiling expression: "I've seen you…… You were on that Nautiloid too, right?"

The moment these words came out, the several people opposite all simultaneously had a slight change in their eyes.

The next moment, the young man smiled bitterly and nodded.

"Then I can only assume that an equally unwelcome thing was also placed in your eyeballs?"

Gale continued speaking with a smile, even when bringing up this hair-raising topic, still maintaining a carefree appearance.

"Don't know if you understand, after a torturous developmental period, this parasite will transform us all into Mind Flayers?"

"This process is called Transformation; believe me, we must avoid this situation."

Towards the end, the Wizard's words also gradually became serious.

Whether it was his expression, or his tone, both very clearly conveyed the exact same signal.

Actually, there wasn't even a need for such paving; this matter itself was already persuasive enough, and the other several people also knew the severity of the situation.

Escaping from that Nautiloid only counted as barely escaping a calamity for the time being.

Yet ultimately they had not shaken off that greatest nightmare——the parasites in their heads.

The problem everyone faced was the same, so there was no need to worry about someone slacking off or deliberately dragging their feet, unless they didn't want to live……

And since everyone had bugs in their heads, they could all understand each other, and wouldn't be hostile or fearful towards them like Other People……

Basically it can be said, this is both pressure and motivation.

The parasites in their heads forced them to huddle together for warmth, to work with one heart, because they were each other's fellow sufferers, and also allies.

Relying on a single person's strength was absolutely impossible to survive, and seeking help from outsiders wasn't necessarily a good idea either; if things went wrong, for the sake of eliminating future troubles, they might have their throats slit while sleeping.

Only natural allies who shared the same encounter could make them feel at ease in terms of stance.

Gale keenly perceived this point, and decisively requested to join, and quickly obtained this new team's acceptance.

Currently the several members who survived from the Nautiloid were respectively the Bard Tafu, the Cleric Shadowheart, the Rogue Astaldon……

Now adding a Gale, four people formed a relatively decent-looking small team.

Just still lacking a proper Warrior……

"Just as you think, that's right, I am a Wizard……"

Gale also began to demonstrate his value; he reached out and pressed a hand on his chest, introducing himself, indicating he would bring sufficient help to the team——

"Although the Spells I can use right now are still very few, I have confidence……"

Boom—!

Like a bolt from the blue, a sudden clap of thunder sprang from flat ground; a deafening huge sound interrupted the Wizard's words.

"……"

"……"

Tafu subconsciously frowned, wanting to look towards the direction the sound came from.

But immediately after, he suddenly realized he had no way to distinguish the specific direction; it was as if the World itself had suddenly let out a vibration.

Transmitted from the earth, transmitted from the Sky!

Immediately after came an abrupt halt; after the huge sound, Heaven and Earth instead quieted down.

Especially because of that contrast and disparity, there was quite a feeling of Heaven and Earth soundless, Ten Thousand Things stagnant, making one feel extremely uneasy.

——What exactly is the situation?

——What happened? Why does it seem like nothing changed?

He was somewhat doubtful, but when he withdrew his gaze, he keenly discovered that whether it was Gale, or Shadowheart, both had faces of shock, eyes wide, a look of disbelief.

"What's wrong?" Tafu hurriedly asked.

"..."

"..."

"N-no more..."

Half a moment later, Gale finally opened his mouth with a face full of confusion.

Before, there were very few usable spells...

Now there isn't a single usable spell...

He subconsciously covered his chest, as if sensing something, and immediately shivered.

That thing inside his body stopped operating!

Put that way... could it be that the entire Weave of the Outside World has also stopped operating?!

In this instant, this Wizard's face bore an expression as if he had seen the End of the World.

………………

………………

There was no earth-shattering cataclysm.

There was no change in the wind and clouds.

But a terrifying chain reaction followed close behind, arriving one after another.

Within the entire range of the Material Outer Planes——

One Mage Tower after another ceased operation, regardless of whether they were He You Ming or unknown...

One Magic Item after another lost its Spirit Light, regardless of whether they were held by adventurers or lay quietly in ancient Ruins...

One Spell after another was forcibly interrupted mid-casting, regardless of whether the Spellcaster was conducting an Experiment or in the midst of fierce battle...

Without any warning, everything just happened like this.

An impact invisible to the naked eye yet absolutely violent exploded from a certain point deep underground!

In a turn of an instant it crossed mountains and seas, traversed the Horizon and starry sky, reaching straight to the End of the Material Outer Planes!

Just like Spider-Man going all out, directly expanding from a Satellite-level Spirit Origin to a Stellar-level Spirit Origin, the Magic User also directly liberated a brilliant power like gods and devils from within a Mortal-like Mors Shell!

Under such terrifying output, his whole person was like a super Amplifier, the Planet-level Anti-Magic Field even expanding continuously, Fangfu without an Upper Limit to its growth.

In merely a moment, he completed a terrifying strike against the Faerun Continent and even larger areas!

It was also the first Greeting sent to this World.

"..."

"..."

"This..." Gray Wind also understood what had happened, hesitating for a moment, "Isn't this a bit too aggressive?"

"Not at all, our original plan was that once the Mithral Equipment coverage rate of our Subordinate Force reaches thirty percent, we can draw the Sword."

The Magic User replied:

"Right now it's merely a change of approach, at least able to Prohibit over seventy percent of magic Phenomena on the Material Outer Planes, do we still need to hesitate?"

——There is no absolute Garbage in the world.

——Only Resources placed in the wrong position.

On this point, Xia Zhi has always been rather in agreement.

Moreover, the Whispering Tree Flower, as a naturally anti-magic Plant in nature, counts as a Treasure no matter where it is placed.

It's just that in his hands, the value of this thing can leap several major grades, amplified to an extremely terrifying degree.

The anti-magic nature of the Tree Flower is ultimately not Complex...

Actually, it is simply able to directly Absorb large amounts of Original Magic Power, causing the surrounding Weave to become chaotic...

It sounds really simple, but as long as one delves deeper, one will Discover just how terrifying this Characteristic truly is, possessing the potential for Outer Planes Reduction Strike in a certain Meaning.

——Because this World is magical, all Existence is permeated with the power of magic.

——Original Magic Power is the raw material of creation, and also the still-silent Existence Consciousness, permeating every point of matter.

——Every stone, every stream, every Creature, even the air itself, contains undeveloped potential Original Magic Power.

These innate magics are difficult to Utilize directly, but can borrow power from a magical weaving structure, serving as a Bridge connecting the Spellcaster's Consciousness with the raw Original Magic Power materials.

That is the so-called "Weave".

This is a natural Phenomenon that makes Spellcasting possible; it can be said that precisely because of the existence of the Weave, Mortal Spellcasters and Magic Item Manufacturers can safely use Original Magic Power energy.

Actually, it goes beyond even this.

Because all magic is closely related to the Weave, merely different Spells contact the Weave in different ways.

So that is to say, whether it is Divine Magic or Arcane Spellcasting, both need to go through the Weave.

However——right now there exists a thing that can Absorb Original Magic Power and Disturb the surrounding Weave, causing the Weave to become chaotic...

Then its value is naturally astonishing.

It's just a pity that this Characteristic can only be more Intuitively manifested on the Tree Flower.

Regrettably, not every Tree has the opportunity to bloom, and even if the Tree Flower can Intuitively display this Characteristic, the range of its anti-magic Force Field remains extremely limited.

Besides——

It also bears a Curse of being unable to bloom wantonly under Sunlight; once it Comes into Contact with the Surface World it will wither bleakly.

This rarely seen anti-magic Plant in nature, despite possessing Unique potential, is subject to numerous Restrictions and bindings.

Until he encountered Xia Zhi.

The Gears of fate turned, bringing a new Chapter.

(Chapter End)