The Game of a Blood Mage

Chapter 102



***
Alex was tempted to have Julie help him get rid of the Beast Emperor. It would be a huge opportunity, as even with all his plans he wasn't too confident in being able to kill that monster.


Millions of players had swarmed the Beast Emperor and around ten thousand of them were at Legendary Rank. That was what was needed to tire out that monster, just so Legendary Ranks like Julie could kill him in the game.


It had been an endless struggle, and even now Alex wasn't sure just how good his plans would play out. Sure, he had calculated everything he could, but trying to predict things that you have never seen or comprehended before was impossible.


"No, there is no need for you to help me," said Alex with an emotionless face. In reality, though, he had to say that answer fast or he might have taken that offer. Instead, he wanted to use her for something else. "Camilla, do you know about the Astral Plane?"



The Vampire Queen chuckled nervously. "C'mon now, Alex… do you want me dead so bad?"



The Astral Plane wasn't something that she even at her level would carelessly traverse through. But on top of that, Immortal Rank creatures were roaming that place everywhere.




While Alex had a somewhat agreeable knowledge of the place and knew how to survive in it as long as he wasn't too unlucky. But Camilla was different, she barely had any information on the Astral Plane, and hadn't been there herself. Even her eyes that can see through the Multiverse couldn't see in the Astral Realm.



"No, I will guarantee that you won't die," Alex said resolutely. That immediately made Camilla even more suspicious. He wasn't someone who would guarantee something like that so casually.


Alex's lip twitched slightly and that was when Camilla noticed that he had been messing with her. She wanted to blast him a little, to teach him a lesson, but if she did that she knew that thousands of arrays would try to kill her as soon as she attacked Alex.


"Tch, can't you be a little less cautious? I kinda wanna punch you right now," she sighed but decided to drop the topic. Right now wasn't a good time to try and disturb him.


"By the way, why are you so obsessed with our love?" Alex's eyes suddenly turned sharp, and even Camilla felt a chill go down her spine at that. But the smile that he offered a couple of seconds later showed that he was just joking.



These were the games that people at their level played, neither wanted the other to know what they were feeling. Well, Camilla didn't care about it too much since she had the advantage on power, but Alex was going to keep himself hidden for as long as he possibly can.



While Camilla was showing her emotional weaknesses to him, he couldn't reciprocate and do the same. 


"The real reason why I am a little obsessed is that I went too far and looked at the lives of those people. I experienced their whole lives and how they fell in love. The emotions stayed with me." Camilla admitted she was someone who likes experimenting with her ability, and now she was stuck in a hard place.




Alex sighed, having guessed as much, but in the end, he just shook his head in disappointment. "So you are essentially saying that after reaching Immortal Rank you became reckless and tried to use your new ability without testing it?"


"There was no other way to test it though," Camilla retorted. It wasn't like she could have given someone else her ability and seen how it affects them.



"Well, you could have gone to a world closer to ours, one where your emotions wouldn't have been compromised. As you would have been very similar to that person. But you would have noticed the slight shift and fixed it." Alex clarified, staring at the childish-looking Camilla and crouching down so they could meet eye-to-eye. "But you probably found that specific scenario of us falling in love funny and went through that life carelessly and by the time you noticed it was too late."




Camilla's eyes turned from her usual casual demeanor to a cold gaze that would freeze even the coldest ice. Alex had been spot on. But the way he explained it made her seem stupid.


"Alex," she muttered, her gaze piercing him straight on. "Not everyone is as emotionless as you are. A mage is still a human with
emotions."


"Of course," he agreed. "I know about the theory of how Mages enter an emotionless state during their period of growth. But that would be a wrong assessment, it isn't emotionless, we aren't machines. Instead, it is more as not letting the emotions bother us while we think logically."


Camilla didn't say anything, she too had gone through that growth period where everything was completely logical. Her mind and Mana had expanded tremendously, but still, at heart, she was always that same office woman from Earth. She liked romance novels, games, being lazy, and loved gossip.



So once she got power… she became a little careless. But that was normal, the weird one here was Alex, he hadn't let his guard down even though he had achieved a good level of power. Yet it still felt like he was on guard at all times, the same way he used to be when he was Rank 1. Nothing had changed for him. 



The reason for it of course was that he knew what this world held and just what kind of monsters it possessed. To some beings out there, it didn't matter if he was a Rank 1 or Legendary Rank because they would kill him easily with the same effort both times.



Alex kept quiet and just stared at Camilla for a couple of seconds before he went back to working on the arrays. "One day, you will all understand what I mean by this."



She frowned but decided to let go of the subject. Arguing with him now would be useless, in her eyes, Alex had experienced a huge growth very quickly so his extremely logical phase would last longer.




***
While Alex and Camilla were having casual talks on the other side of the continent.  In the Holy Kingdom, many priests, paladins, clerics, holy warriors, etc were around the fields. Leading them were seven people in red cloaks with their faces covered. They were floating mid-air, standing on golden magic circles.



They were the Cardinals, only twelve of them existed and they were all Legendary Rank. The Cardinals were well-known figures within the church, and its strongest combatants, even though their names will never be known. As per tradition, they cover their faces and never show their real identity. Amongst them would be the future Pope once the current one died. This prevented people from killing the future Pope prematurely. Some people could look into the future, and the Holy Church had taken countermeasures against it.



Seven of the Cardinals were here, leading over forty thousand holy men and women. Opposite of them stood the army of the beasts.



Lamia, Werewolves, Orcs with the head of a pig, giant-sized Ogres, tigers who were covered in lightning, lions who spewed fire, and many more monsters littered the mountains and fields. 


On top of that, a giant nine-tailed fox with golden fur, as big as a mountain, was on the Beasts' side. The murderous intent it radiated would make even the most veteran warriors fall on their knees. 




"Do you think we can win this?" Asked one of the Cardinals calmly.


"As long as we believe in our goddess, then victory will be within our hands." Another Cardinal expressed a fanaticism belief in his goddess.



Booom!!!



Golden energy rippled out of the seven Cardinals and it seemed to reach the sky, purifying everything within its reach. 


The world itself seemed to become purer just due to the release of their aura. This no longer was just a simple battle of ideals, but one of survival.




****
A/N: I have a class in 5 minutes so I didn't have to time to edit it a lot. So if you see any mistakes, tell me.