New Development, Growth (2)

So, why are there so few of these sprites in the universe, compared to magic beasts?

The main reason why there are a few sprites ever reaching Divine and Sage class is because once they step into the Demigod class, their origins became a valuable cultivation resource.

Even in the Galactic Council Empire, Sprites of such level were hunted by other stronger cultivators, making it hard to live. It changed 5,000,000 years ago, when a God class Life Sprite appeared, causing a stir in the empire.

When he joined the Council board, a new rule swept all over the empire: No one was allowed to hunt Sprites below the Sage rank. The sprite limited it to below Sage because only Sage cultivators would value the materials coming from Divine and Demigod class.

Once they reached Sage rank, they had to learn how to fend for themselves, and if they get killed by other Sage cultivators, it is their fault already since the playing field had been evened out.

At the same time, God class cultivators had no use for Sage sprites or below, since their focus of cultivation is different. Even Xander didn't know it yet, since he hasn't accessed or infiltrated the databases of the Galactic Council.

Another factor that made it difficult is that sprites take a long time to reach a fairly high level to defend themselves in the universe. Demigod sprites are a few times weaker compared to Demigod humanoid cultivators, and their true abilities only showed when they became Sage class sprites.

Although sprites can grow faster by taking in heavenly treasures like beasts and humanoids, they need to match their element. Devouring other creatures is not possible unless it was a pure elemental creature, which for them felt like cannibalism.

Lastly, they are formed naturally by the universe, never by reproductive functions. So compared to magic beasts who can reproduce magic beasts, they were really a low, low, population in the universe.

However, both of them were capable of growing in this pocket space, as the elemental and magic energy is completely enough for them to grow through the passage of time.

Since these Mythic-1 magic beasts and Sprites want to see the bigger world, who is he to stop them? He just needed them to sign a new and improved binding contract anyways to ensure their silence about this 'garden' and Xander's abilities, with his current abilities, he can now restrict even those in the Demigod class. He had managed to resolve the issue concerning the transcendence of their life essence dolls to a different dimension during the meeting earlier today.

He was talking so much because he wanted to delay time to identify where they were located, and trace the life essences they had to the dimension they were placed at, which he found out and visited just before entering the garden.

This dimension was a bit different Dimension-LEO; instead of an ocean, it was a barren, rocky mountain that seemed to breathe and change its shape every second. The force it contained was stronger than the one Xander had experienced in Dimension-LEO. He decided to call this dimension as Dimension-LIBRA, since he couldn't think of any apt terms for it.

Anyhow, using space-time elements combined with life-death elements, and causality elements under the life-death elements, the reinforced binding contract was reinforced up to the Demigod class, ensuring total wipeout of their existence and ejection to the Great Void if they failed the uphold the contract. Because of his improved comprehension of the origin elements, he able to handle the rebound effect from the universe from the removal of Demigod class beings. Not only that, if they managed to give out any information that would break the contract, space-time would reverse in the area after the removal of being from the universe, reversing all information leaked to null, so anyone who knew it would only sense a missing portion of their memories, as it was never there in the first place.

Xander looked at these mythic beings, roared up to fight and already in their "optimized" team set-ups. There were 8 trios, and 4 pairs.

He called for the first group. To make the fight more simple, and not to give anyone advantage, he accelerated the time in the small arena he created near the library, around 2.5 kilometers from it. 1 second in the outside world would be 60 minutes in the arena.

The fight began as soon as they entered. Xander would not retaliate, but he will, however, move to dodge and use only 1 spell: [Absolute Defense]. There was only 1 layer in place rather than the traditional multi-layered multi-dimensional barrier, and his body was currently located on the same dimension as the fighters. However, even though there was a thin layer protecting Xander's body and life essence doll at the same time, it shouldn't be underestimated.

That one layer is the combination of all the origin elements Xander currently has comprehended, all in stable structure. if he was to create an analogy, he basically created a thin, semi-independent pocket space film layer to surround him. However, the size inside was just around 1 kilometer in diameter, making it quite the stable space. It would take several tens, if not hundreds of thousands of attacks greater than a Mythic-1 powerhouse before they can start to disturb the elemental structure of the pocket space film. In fact, if he didn't structure it that way, it could even survive under the barrage of attacks done by Demigod-3 powerhouses. However, the purpose of the test was to ensure they can show their strength to be above their current cultivation level, allowing them to escape situations of being caught, killed or harvested.

In fact, Xander didn't have to dodge at all, he could just stand there and patiently wait for an hour to pass. The first group entered the arena and the fighting began. They only lasted for 30 minutes before being tired out. The next group, same result.

This continued on until the 3rd pair appeared. They were the 9th group to come up to the stage, they were Water and Fire sprites. Upon their entrance, they began their barrage of attacks, not holding back. At the same time, they began casting a Mythic-level magic array. Xander didn't bother moving because technically, the size of their magic array was the size of the arena area, so no point.

After a few more minutes of chanting, the whole magic array lighted up the arena area, and bombarded its target: Xander. Xander could feel the power present in the magic array; there was a raging force that emanated the power of water and fire that does not reject one another, but rather supplement and empower one another. The spell array was unique; although it was continuously absorbed by his layer of defense, it seemed like the energy supplying it was never-ending, almost as if it was the universe that was supplying the power. Xander's eyes widened before he began to notice that the elements of water and fire in the pocket space was rapidly multiplying and decreasing at the same time, as if pushed by some unseen force.

For the past 3 minutes, he calculated the attack capacity of his defense: it can only withstand 10 more minutes of the same level and amount of attacks currently being released by the Mythic magic spell array, before collapsing and imploding on itself, releasing its contained energy...wait damn it!

Xander cursed at himself. He made a huge error. If he reached the maximum tipping point in his defense, the pocket space film covering him will shatter and release the pent up energy inside, ravaging anyone within the radius. Xander sighed for a moment before casting [Void Rejection], forcing the elements in the area to disappear, destabilizing the runic writings of the magic array, as well as dispersing the time acceleration in the area.

Xander immediately processed the remaining raging, wild energy inside the pocket space film within an accelerated day, wherein a second just passed by for the others. He couldn't process the raging energy without his full 100% concentration to the matter; after all, he needed to control the origin elements to quell these raging elements under them.

The two sprites, however, thought they were still fighting, and even though they were injured by the spell backlash, they continued to chant their spells. Xander immediately forced their elemental energy in their bodies to circulate slower, almost to the point of stopping, causing the two to be pale, since their whole existence was based on their elemental energy flow and elemental particles in their origin and avatars.

Xander immediately fixed the situation and nodded proudly to the two sprites, who were already released from Xander's attacks.

"Sorry about that, I made a mistake in configuring my defenses. If I had persisted on until my defense broke, well the backlash and shock wave from the explosion would roughly decimate half the size of this garden." Xander said apologetically, and when the two sprites and spectators heard it, they chilled; that's how strong the defense their creator had? The sprites looked at each other confusedly, as they didn't realize their magic array had such a power.

"The way you attacked was that you weren't utilizing any of your personal magic reserves to maintain the spell; it was self-sustaining, and all you needed to do was direct it and continuously transform the elemental energy from the environment into the spell. Not only that, it had an effect of increasing the propagation of the said specific elements, making them quite formidable and undefeatable, unless the target has a way to remove or isolate the space from any elements! This ingenious way of attacking, this is a great method! I have to hand over this win to you two. If I'm not mistaken, you two are Mary and Marie, correct? May I know what the name of the spell is?" Xander praised the two, causing the two sprites to be elated. After all, the longer they survive, the better it is for him. He treated each and everyone of them as his child.

Mary and Marie were elated to have succeeded in the fight, and looked at each other, before Marie spoke up, talking to Xander.

"Master, the spell array is called [Ocean Purgatory], combining the torrential and unrelenting representations of water, and the burning and melting representations of fire. It was a spell Mary and I came up with 1,500 years ago, after breaking through to Mythic Class, and only managing to cast it properly 10 years ago." Xander nodded. It was as he had suspected. The specific representations of water and fire mentioned was the ones he had detected.

He thought for a moment before saying to the two, "Ok, Marie and Mary, you are the first group that passed the trial. You have 2 options: Follow me outside by signing a contract with me, or be free to do your own thing, but signing a secrecy contract about this place. I'll wait for your answer after all trial takers are done."

Xander looked at the other spectators, saying that the trial will continue. However, he decided to modify the rule.

"Show me the most creative attacks you have devised, and show your maximum power. For those that had already taken the trial, they can retake it again." Xander said, and everyone was elated. Xander established the time acceleration field again, and proceeded with the trials.