Chapter 27: The Scientist's Obsession

Chapter 27: The Scientist's Obsession

Shortly thereafter, a male and female acolyte emerged in the vicinity, the signs of a fierce confrontation and disturbed earth evidence of a recent battle. This time, the female acolyte's countenance darkened.

"I want to eliminate him! Then display his head on my carriage for a hundred days!" She clenched her teeth in fury.

"Your chance will come soon enough. We are getting closer to that bothersome acolyte," Silver-Clawed Saurun remarked, half-kneeling on the ground, a blade of grass with sludge dangling from his lips. "But I must admit, I admire his audacity to obstruct our acolytes."

"Enough chatter! Have you located him?" the female acolyte inquired.

"Over there!" Saurun pointed in a specific direction after a moment of concentration, grass blade still in his mouth. They promptly headed in that direction.

Meanwhile, underground, Leylin - now known as Ron - remained hidden amidst the bodies on the ground. With the assistance of his A.I. Chip, he skillfully fabricated false tracks and concealed his surroundings with an illusionary spell to avoid detection.

"Dusk is approaching," Ron muttered.

In this secret plane, devoid of sun, moon, and stars, a peculiar phenomenon prevailed. The bright sky would be bathed in white light, differentiating between day and night with the vanishing of these radiant rays at night.

"It seems there's a barrier blocking both the sun and moon," Ron pondered. "I should begin now. Tomorrow, I'll need to leave for Jayden's attack and Bicky's impending danger."

Sighing, he realized he had limited time to apply volatile theories that would yield swift results. Ron's expression turned solemn.

"A.I. Chip, maintain the detection area. Report any issues immediately." He entrusted the role of sentry to his A.I. Chip and immersed himself in his research.

...

After a day and night, the acolytes from the other two factions would undoubtedly gather and form a large army to surround the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy acolytes. In such dire circumstances, the students of Abyssal Bone Forest Academy were under immense pressure. However, Ron remained focused on his experiments.

Abyssal Bone Forest Academy had suffered heavy casualties in the previous war and did not have the luxury of time to train a new batch of elite forces to combat the other two factions.

The acolytes from all three academies had to remain inside the secret plane for three days and two nights. While physical fatigue could be managed with potions and techniques, mental fatigue was far more challenging to alleviate.

Fortunately, Ron had the A.I. Chip to act as an efficient sentry. It excelled in this role.

In the darkness, the secret plane was far from silent. Numerous battles unfolded, with acolytes casting captivating rank 0 spells, employing ambushes, counter-traps, and intricate strategies. Many young acolytes lost their lives in these secret plane skirmishes.

Yet, all of this was irrelevant to Ron.

On the second day, when the sky brightened with morning light, Ron emerged from a tree hollow. The natural forces had already started erasing the traces of the battle, and the various plants and animal tracks masked the intense battle marks on the ground.

Ron stretched lazily and glanced at the three bodies, their expressions contorted in pain.

"I'll be back to 'play' with you later, my friends. Don't die on me just yet; we have more 'games' to enjoy," Ron coldly declared.

[Warning! Warning! Extremely strong radiation detected 523 meters to the southeast. Likely acolytes using rank 0 spells!] the A.I. Chip alerted.

"Hmm, the time has come," Ron muttered. He tapped the solid pendant on his chest, concealed under his gray robes. "Perhaps it's time to test the power of the Fallen Star Pendant."

With a whip of his gray robes, Ron set off toward the battlefield, where a fierce confrontation was unfolding.

*Boom!*

As he approached, the intensity of the spell radiation became palpable. It could only be the work of a level 3 acolyte, and one of the stronger ones at that.

Suddenly, a male voice rang out, "Haha! Jayden, you've finally fallen into my hands!"

The battle had cleared a significant area in the middle of the forest, leaving destruction in its wake. Ron stealthily observed the fight.

In the center of the clearing, Jayden, donning hunter attire and protected by coiling vines, knelt on the ground. Opposite him, a black-robed male acolyte unleashed maniacal laughter.

This black-haired acolyte had a silver chain around his waist, and blue lightning sparks occasionally flickered between his hands, producing a crackling sound.

"Haha... Jayden, I told you that one day you'd be in my grasp!" the black-haired acolyte laughed manically. With a wave of his hand, a supersonic-speed blue lightning bolt struck Jayden's vine armor.

*Sssii!*

Jayden was sent flying, crashing into the ground with the force of a speeding train, creating a deep crater.

"How's it? Where's your arrogance now, the way it was when you stole my lightning core?" taunted the black-haired acolyte, casting another spell that created an opening in Jayden's protective vines.

Despite the taunts, Jayden maintained an icy gaze, refusing to speak a word.

"Good, it's going rather well for now," Ron thought.

"Look, there are people there!" a familiar female voice reached Ron's ears. Bicky and another female acolyte were approaching the battlefield.

"It's my time to be a knight in shining armor," Ron mused. He had some feelings for Bicky and decided to intervene.

"There are people fighting. Oh, Senior Jayden!" Bicky's companion recognized Jayden and rushed to his side. She seemed to hold an affection for him.

"Are you her friend?" the black-haired acolyte asked.

The black-haired acolyte clenched his fist, and blue lightning coiled around it, emitting sparks every now and then. 

The acolyte sent bolts of electricity into the ground, creating small explosions, but Ron remained undaunted, concealing himself under his acolyte robes.

Leylin, harboring an obsession with immortality, sighed and moved closer to the battlefield, gripping the cross blade in his hand. His eyes gleamed with a burning desire for battle, his heart surging with the thrill of combat.

*Shing!*

In an instant, a silver arc of light streaked through the air, manifesting into a cross-shaped blade with a heavy aura of death. The black-haired acolyte had a startled expression, quickly reacting with lightning-based runes to evade the attack.

The cross blade struck the ground, leaving a deep gash in its wake, and Ron appeared back in his original position, donning a carefree expression. 

Torash touched his face and felt a deep cut on it, the result of Ron's earlier attack. 

"Fast! If not for the hastening lightning rune my professor provided me, I might have been a corpse by now."

Though Torash was initially terrified, the fear was replaced by a contorted expression of rage.

"You dare to harm the mighty Lord