CHAPTER 216 - Nightmare Descends

As Li Lin regained consciousness amidst dizziness and disorientation, the scene before him suddenly changed.

Before he could carefully observe his surroundings, he was hit by a strong dizziness and a wave of nausea, almost causing him to vomit.

Fortunately, Li Lin, who usually paid attention to exercise, did not suffer from this discomfort for long.

"—Hiss! Professor Heimerdinger never mentioned this situation..."

Li Lin was relieved that he hadn't vomited inside the battle armor; otherwise, it would have been uncomfortable since there was no way to clean it up here.

After recovering his senses, he stood up straight again and observed his surroundings.

The spirit realm was different from the material realm, especially for creatures not belonging to this magical plane, who would feel a world of difference between the two.

The most obvious difference was in the senses.

In the spirit realm, Li Lin could clearly feel that his senses seemed to have been amplified several times, allowing him to easily see particles that would normally be difficult to see with the naked eye.

He even felt as if he had grown a pair of eyes on his back. Even without turning around, he could see everything behind him reflected in his mind.

In addition, Li Lin felt that his body was light and airy, with a feeling of his soul wanting to break free from the shackles of the flesh and roam freely in this warm and comfortable environment.

Of course, with Heimerdinger's reminder, he knew that besides enhanced senses, most of the other sensations were just illusions brought about by the magic realm.

Li Lin calmed his mind slightly and focused on observing his surroundings.

The spirit realm was a reflection of the material realm, with no significant changes in the overall environment or terrain, except for the absence of the academy's buildings; everything was back to its original state.

Li Lin found himself in a lush green wilderness, with countless massive vines rooted in the ground, forming various strange shapes.

A silver-white crescent moon hung high in the sky, with dazzling stars forming an endless Milky Way.

Looking around, many visible magical particles, shimmering with a faint blue light, dispersed in the air in particulate or misty forms, blending and mixing with other unknown colorful dots, illuminating this dim space together.

Wherever the line of sight reached, there was a vague sense of blur, clearly different from reality, like a dreamlike scene, giving the illusion of being in a fairyland.

With each breath, Li Lin could feel the surge of magic power within him.

Li Lin didn't stare blankly at the scene in front of him for too long.

He quickly checked the status of the Infinity Armor and weapon systems.

Everything was normal, and none of the functions were damaged due to the dimensional shuttle transformation.

Then, he checked the external equipment, especially the "Crystal Enhanced Tower."

Although summoning a demon's true name would expose its weaknesses, a battle was inevitable after all.

In the upcoming battle with Nocturne, this equipment would greatly enhance the power of the Infinity Armor.

Li Lin wasn't going to give Nocturne any chance to counterattack. As soon as he saw it, he would unleash all his firepower.

Heimerdinger had mentioned that the flow of time in the normal material realm and the spirit realm was basically the same, but Bandle City was a special place.

It was inevitable that Valentina would fall asleep, and Nocturne might arrive at that time.

Li Lin had discussed the plan with Heimerdinger and the others, letting them put Valentina to sleep half an hour after he entered the spirit realm.

He glanced at the holographic display showing the time, and there were less than 20 minutes left until the agreed time.

During this time, Li Lin quickly browsed the "Essence Store" and prepared to purchase another item that could immunize against magical attacks, just in case.

Unfortunately, most of the equipment with magical resistance in the store were warrior equipment like armor, which he couldn't wear with the Infinity Armor.

Some powerful magical items that can immunize against magic have legendary origins, starting at several thousand blue essences, which he cannot afford.

Under duress, Li Lin spent 2600 blue essences to purchase an epic-level item, albeit one that was much better than Sivir's "Verdant Barrier" final version, the "Banshee's Veil."

Seeing his wealth plummet to 258, even if he could earn it back through artifact-quality mechanical devices later, he couldn't help but feel a bit heartbroken.

Li Lin casually extended his right hand forward, revealing a pendant that was entirely dark silver, shaped like a cross, with a slender pink crystal embedded in the middle, appearing in his palm.

The name "Veil" didn't describe the item itself, but rather referred to the dark silver magical barrier that appeared around the body after wearing it.

Compared to the Verdant Barrier, although the Banshee's Veil couldn't completely immunize against magic, it provided a barrier that could resist magic, generated automatically, with a percentage of health, capable of withstanding multiple magical attacks.

Moreover, the barrier of the Banshee's Veil didn't need to be actively cast, but was generated periodically every 15 seconds, and could continuously accumulate the shield's health value, with a maximum upper limit that could exceed 100,000, but removing it would reset the shield.

Of course, it was only an epic-quality equipment, and its price was within the normal range, so its effect naturally couldn't be too exaggerated.

It could only resist damage of the magic type, and wearing it for too long would cause magical disturbances in the surrounding environment, so it could only be used at critical moments.

Li Lin unfolded the helmet of the battle armor and hung the pendant around his neck, level with the Ascension Talisman.

With these two life-saving items, he was not afraid of facing Nocturne at all.

Li Lin dispatched two unmanned reconnaissance drones to explore the surrounding terrain and input the data into the battle armor's system, generating a simulated map on the holographic display.

The magic in the Twin Cities area was not abundant, and there were no large natural spirits like the Lizard Elder or the Ancient Azure Golem; only some small spirits that could only act instinctively and had no physical form could be seen.

The surroundings were temporarily safe, so Li Lin retrieved the drones and stood still, quietly waiting.

More than ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

Suddenly, an inexplicable palpitation swept over Li Lin's heart, causing him to shiver involuntarily, and a layer of goosebumps appeared on his skin.

In the spirit realm, where magic was everywhere, he could no longer rely on the smell in his mouth to judge whether Nocturne was approaching.

Li Lin quickly activated the "Data Mind" and instructed the intelligent system of the battle armor to analyze the index of magical energy in the surrounding area.

After five or six seconds, he squinted at the holographic display screen, which was marked as the eastern direction.

A shadow that no light could penetrate broke the harmony of the natural realm, swallowing up all the scattered magical particles along the way, approaching at a speed that was difficult to capture with the naked eye.

It seemed to notice Li Lin, who did not belong to this plane, and the shadow paused slightly in mid-air, eventually stopping tens of meters away from him.

"You are... human?" A low, cold voice mixed with a hint of doubt emanated from the shadow, "Interesting."

This voice, seemingly from the realm of the underworld, something that humans could not simulate, was not loud, but each word felt like sharp knives, piercing Li Lin's eardrums with pain.

With a sound like a damp rush of air, the shape of the shadow changed drastically.

Almost instantaneously, it condensed into a magical entity somewhat resembling a human.

Its figure was elusive, clad in armor transformed by shadow magic. The lower half of its torso gradually turned into a line, like the tip of a blade.

Two arms were embedded with a pair of terrifying giant blades, and the dim crimson color had deeply engraved into the silver-white blade, soaked with blood.

Only a pair of cold blue eyes burning with ghostly light remained on its face, with a strong sense of hatred.

A bone-chilling coldness surged up Li Lin's spine, "Eternal Nightmare... Nocturne."

(End of this chapter)