Nil used to say that even the greatest challenge became simple once the logic behind it was unraveled. At the time, the old echo was referring to awakening trials, but vortexes were surprisingly similar. Given enough resources and information, even life could be treated in the same fashion. Dallion had a while to go before reaching that level. The current vortex, though, was a different matter.

Creating potions wasn’t an easy experience. Aside from everything else, it required a good understanding of nymph magic methods and the ability to perform them. Thankfully, Dallion’s randomly esoteric interests had prepared him for such an eventuality.

After his protective layer of magic threads was complete, he approached the sea. Same as before, a dozen tendrils shot out in his direction. Summoning his thread splitter dagger, Dallion sliced the tips off, encasing the free elements in aether spheres of his own. That was another thing about magic—it always went towards those that were stronger. One careless move and even a high-level mage might have his magic stolen, by a creature, rival, or even the vortex environment itself. However, with enough skill and ingenuity, the opposite was also true.

One by one, the bubbles of captive magic were consumed, then released again, only this time forming an entirely new set of spells.

Swords? Onda asked. That’ll hardly work.

“Think of it as a meat grinder,” Dallion replied. All he needed was a makeshift drill to let him make his way through the sea. Having his own liquid spells fight the rest of the sea was only going to grant him a bit more time. Between that and the protective magic layer, it had to be enough.

No, I mean it won’t work. The moment you—

Let him learn his own mistakes, Harp interrupted. Her tone was calm, even pleasant, but it had the effect of lightning from a clear sky. It’s the only way he can progress.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Dallion kept collecting magic threads for a few more minutes, then did another point attack. The start of a tunnel opened up on the sea’s surface. Quickly, Dallion threw all of his liquid spells inside, then followed. Same as before, the mass of the sea attempted to fill in the void, but this time it was hindered by the liquid wall of swords.

VORTEX BREACH

Overall stability 99%

Spells clashed against each other, filling the air with hundreds of purple rectangles. The damage was minuscule, and still a constant reminder of the eternal struggle between invader and realm. It was no wonder that mages were so cutthroat: there was only one thing certain upon entering a vortex: someone was going to absorb the other. The Academy’s main role was to teach novices how to survive.

Just like hunting, Dallion thought. On the other hand, he had never been the typical hunter. When it came to vortexes, there could be no offer of draw or surrender.

Twisting around, Dallion performed another point attack, drilling further into the sea. The number of rectangles doubled. Meanwhile, the size of the hold was reduced by half. The amount of spells Dallion had poured in—seemingly cast initially—was now wearing thin.

Maybe you should have spent a bit more time fathering threads, the armadil shield said.

“It’s all a formula.” Dallion did another point attack. “If the stability of the tunnel is decreased, I just need to go faster.”

All of his instincts shouted for him to split into instances, or at the very least create a few echoes to help in. His wisdom told him not to. All he had to do was remain calm. The emblems and artifacts he was wearing ensured that he’d be ejected from the vortex. Of course, there was never a guarantee. The higher the vortex level, the greater the danger it posed.

Summoning his hammer, Dallion did a double point attack, up and down, to keep the tunnel collapsing above him. He had gone so deep that the opening was the size of a coin.

“I told you it’ll work, Onda,” he said with a touch of glee. “It’s all logic and magic principles.”

No sooner had he said that than a mass of magic pierced through Dallion’s wall of spells, ending up in the tunnel. Believing his wall of swords to have been breached, Dallion unsummoned both his weapons and cast a new series of spells to plug the hole. That proved to be a mistake.

MODERATE WOUND

Your health has been reduced by 20%

What the heck? Dallion pulled back, summoning his harpsisword again.

Five feet away, the mass of magic had changed into a creature.

VORTEX MINION

Species: AETHERCORN

Class: MAGIC

Health: 0% HP

Traits:

- BODY 20

- MIND 20

- PERCEPTION 20

- REACTION 20

- MAGIC 40

Skills:

- ATTACK

- GUARD

- SPELLCRAFT

- ENTANGLE (Species Unique)

- RAIN OF BLADES (Species Unique)

- CHARGE (Species Unique)

Weakness: HOOVES

A unicorn? Dallion deflected the creature’s next attack with his weapon.

Looking at it, the minion was no different from a bladicorn, only created entirely out of threads of magic.

Tried to warn you, old man, Onda said from his realm. Vortexes adapt. You make a counter, they counter your counter.

Dallion was too busy fighting the creature to respond. Magic adaptability was well known. Having loose threads spontaneously create a creature, that was something new. No doubt there was some tome describing the theoretical process in vast detail. Seeing it in practice, though, was a lot.

Without wasting any time, Dallion flew down, then infused his harpsisword with spark, as he did an upward strike. Knowing what such a creature was capable of, his only course of action was to kill it as before it could start casting spells. The difficulty was not destroying his own spells in the process. For all the power of point and line attacks, they were going to do as much damage to Dallion’s own spells, resulting in him winning the encounter, but losing the overall fight.

The aethercorn quickly caught on, moving away and to the side of the tunnel. As long as it increased the distance and remained close to Dallion’s wall of blades, it would have the upper hand.

Sneaky bastard. Dallion cast several aether barriers.

Magic symbols covered the minion’s entire body. As they appeared, Dallion went through all the memorized spells in real time. Normally, he could tell easily what someone was casting once several of the major symbols had formed. In this case, the creature planned to create an aether explosion. In the real world, Dallion wouldn’t even bat an eye. Explosions were a lot less efficient against mages as one might think. Here, though, things were different; the minion wasn’t targeting him, but the wall of blades itself. If there were an explosion, the entire tunnel would collapse, leaving Dallion to rely on his “second skin”.

A new aether barrier appeared next to the aethecorn, then shoved it into the wall before the spell could be completed. The threads—representing aether blades in liquid form—mercilessly sliced into its body, causing the being to lose stability. The entire form burst like a popped balloon, spilling magic threads everywhere.

The moment Dallion saw that, he knew that his time was running out. Although inefficient, the vortex had found a way to breach his protective barrier. The only solution was to pass through the sea before the overall collapse.

Want a boost, boss? Lux asked. The firebird knew better than to assist uninvited.

“No!” Dallion said firmly, casting a new flight spell. “Return to my realm.”

Several more breaches occurred along the tunnel. Aethercorns emerged in front and behind Dallion. Some attacked him directly, others started casting spells to weaken the tunnel. At this point, dealing with them was an impossible task. Still, Dallion did several more point attacks, clearing out as many as possible. Unfortunately for him, that didn’t prove to be a lot. The minions were both fast and intelligent enough to keep to areas that were difficult to hit. Only the ones that attempted to outright block Dallion’s progress ended up being destroyed.

Gritting his teeth, Dallion started casting the flood spell. It was a move that verged to desperation, but the only thing that could help him right now. Within seconds, the portal emerged, then vanished behind Dallion. With a bit of luck, it was going to keep the minions occupied a bit longer.

Behind him, the top of the tunnel collapsed. The threads he had used to create his wall of swords was too thin to coat the entire space created by the point attacks. The purple sea splashed in, mixing with the water coming from Dallion’s portal.

MODERATE WOUND

Your health has been reduced by 20%

Another alicorn managed to stab Dallion’s leg with its horn as he flew by, effectively halving his health.

Leave the vortex, Harp said.

“I can do this.” Dallion had unsummoned the hammer, focusing on doing point attacks forward, while using his left hand to boost his speed. “I’m close to the end. I can feel it.”

You’re not ready for this vortex. You’re close, but you still aren’t there yet.

“I am.” Dallion insisted. It wasn’t that he had become complacent, but the last few months his progress had crawled to a stop. He might have learned a vast number of magic symbols and spells, but his magic trait remained at twenty-three. There was no way he was giving up a level four vortex, especially this one. “I am there,” he whispered.

Purple water kept seeping in. The top of the tunnel had completely collapsed. Spells created by vortex minions darted past him. Some even made contact, repelled by his protective layer of magic threads.

“Just a few seconds more,” Dallion said, more to himself than Harp.

He had been going through the sea for quite a while. As far as distance was concerned, it had to range in the dozens of miles, if not more. While space in any magic realm was an illusion, there was a limit to how much something could be stretched. Sooner or later, the sea had to come to an end.

“Ruby, create some wind,” he ordered.

Keeping firmly to Dallion’s shoulder, the shardfly flicked its wings, sending a flurry of wind slashes forward. This was by no means an elegant way to breach the tower, but as long as it worked Dallion had no intention of complaining.

Further and further down he went. His speed had increased to the point that he couldn’t see new aethercorns emerge. And yet, it all kept on going. It seemed that he had entered a bottomless pit. The sensation of doubt emerged. Was it a good move to keep persisting? If he quit now, would it all go to waste? There was no telling how long the vortex would remain. Maybe it would last for a few more hours. If he was lucky, it might appear again in another week or so.

No! Dallion told himself. If he couldn’t complete this, what chance did he stand against Grym and the traitorous battlemages? They had accumulated their magic for decades. If he didn’t take advantage of every opportunity presented to him, he might as well become a clerk at the Academy.

Point attacks kept pushing the tunnel further and further down until suddenly they didn’t. It only lasted a fraction of a second, but Dallion was able to catch it. The devastating amount of force had been effortlessly pushed to the sides, like water being poured on a mirror.

That was it—the end of the sea. Dallion had finally reached the solid barrier. At this point, he’d usually take the time to find a weakness, then slice through it and create a portal leading to the other side. With time being a luxury he didn’t have, Dallion resorted to the second best thing. Increasing the number of point attacks, he cast the magic depletion spell he had learned from Raven.

Lightning shot out in all directions, instantly ending Dallion’s flight spell as well as causing all magic threads to pull back.

“Shield!” Dallion summoned the armadil shield. “Cocoon me!” He performed one final point attack with his harpsisword.

The armadil shield expanded, becoming a metal sphere around Dallion. Half a second later, the impact tossed Dallion to the inside of it.

MINOR WOUND

Your health has been reduced by 5%

BREACH ENFORCER

(+2 Body)

Inertia and the force of will helped you breach into the tower’s core. You were lucky you didn’t go splat.