"To escape from this realm, you will need to create a portal between the realm of living and the shadow realm," Malik told me.
Oh really genius, why didn't I think of that?
"Let me put it in simpler terms, destroy this castle. It is the portal linking you to this realm right now. Destroy the castle and you should teleport back to the realm of the living."
"Why didn't you say that the first time?"
"I thought a being like you would be able to understand without me telling you directly."
I'm not completely sure but I think my face started to turn red.
"Of course I knew."
" Oh really?" Malik says with a hint of arrogance in his voice.
"Then I guess there's no need for me to show you the rest. Good luck."
I had to open my mouth, didn't I?
Well, it's going to take me a while to destroy a whole castle. But I know the perfect way.
I bend down into a kneeling position and put my hands on the stone floor.
[ Void ]
Black colored mana wraps around the whole throne room, extending through the corridors and into other parts of the castle. A purple orb appears in front of me.
"Oh right, can't forget those."
I grab the cores from the previous bodies of Malik.
That solves the problem of the core I can sell, and the core the system wants me to use.
The tiles on the floor begin to rise, into the back sphere. Soon, the torches, thrones, and even the chandeliers hanging on top of the cellist began to be absorbed by the black orb.
The black orb had devoured the whole castle like a black hole leaving only the black space created.
The black orb started to become smaller, increasing in magic energy.
The orb started to glow a dark purple before finally releasing.
A huge wave of magic energy exploded from within the black orb, engulfing me within its light.
-----
[ Level up ]
[ Level up ]
[ Level up ]
[ Level up ]
[ Level up ]
[ Level up ]
[ Level up ]
[ Level up ]
[ Level up ]
Hmmm?
As I opened my eyes, I was met with a notification from the system.
[ Name: Abel MorningStar ]
[ Race: Human/? ]
[ Level: 26 ] [ 0.2% Of Original Power ]
[ Stat Points: 5 ]
[ Strength: 20 ] [ Agility: 15 ] [Intelligence: 10 ] [ Mana: 24 ] [ Luck: 7 ]
[ Class: None ]
[ Titles: None ]
[ Skills: Ghost, Void, Sonic Leap, Infinity's Domain, Replicate ]
[ Attributes: Wind, Fire, Earth, Water, shadow ]
[ Arcium: None]
That's good, looks like I managed to level up considerably.
When I entered the castle I started at [ Level: 5 ]
As I defeated the phantom wolves and void phoenix I came across, I leveled up to [ Level:10 ]
After defeating Malik I leveled up again, reaching [ Level: 17 ]
[ Void ] destroyed the castle including any other shadow creatures I may have missed.
There must have been a huge sum for me to have reached [ Level: 26 ]
The system closed.
I must have been lying on the ground this whole time.
Aside from the system the next thing I saw were the stars.
They twinkled brightly, illuminating the night along with the soft glow of moonlight.
I stand up to my feet.
"The fact that I have a full view of the stars must mean I'm out," I tell myself.
[ Void ], it works like a black hole, absorbing everything in its path. If you just activate the skill, it would absorb everything until the mana used to power the skill is drained dry. That's why I made sure to set it to absorb only the castle. The black mana that wrapped around the castle would tell the skill what it would need to absorb, leaving everything else that wasn't sheared in black mana. The explosion of light afterwards was the excess mana that the orb didn't need. Because of the skill's constitution, it ripped a hole in the fabric of space, transporting me back. If Malik hadn't told me how to escape, this is what I would have done.
Although there was a pretty good chance I may have ended up in a different realm altogether. Well, it worked out in the end, so, whatever.
I start to look around my surroundings.
I find myself in the middle of a huge crater. As if a meteorite had crashed into the forest.
Thump, Thump, Thump.
Hmm?
"Keep marching men, the sound of the blast came from this area of the forest."
That's my cue to run.
[ Ghost ]
My body starts to become transparent, fading away until I completely disappear.
-----
[ Ghost ] is supposed to allow me to just phase through objects, so this is the first time my body disappeared entirely.
This time, I truly was a ghost.
On my way to the mansion, I see some soldiers and other adventurers running to the crater.
I'm assuming it was caused by the explosion of magical energy from [ Void ].
When I transported back, the residual mana came along with me, destroying my surroundings, and leaving me in one piece.
Luckily, it seems that the explosion didn't reach the town.
I arrive at the mansion.
I phase through the mansion gates, passing through the courtyard and training hall, climbing up the stairs till I reach my room.
There were a few guards who managed to stay awake the whole time. But I got past them easily.
As I phase through my door, the bodysuit begins to disappear, changing back into my pajamas.
Guess that's the last of my mana.
I fall towards my bed face-first.
This little incident tells me I still don't have enough control over my powers.
At the very least, I'm glad it was only that small area that was destroyed.
-----
" The whole forest was destroyed." Said my sister, who had kicked open my door to tell me what she heard from our father.
" Oh really?" I respond, still tired from my little hunt last night.
" Uh-huh, the people who saw it were some mages who were going around the forest, trying to see if they could get a sample of a monster to study. When they reached the lake, they sensed a surge of magical energy. At first, they thought it was just the mana from the mana crystals around the lake, until they noticed a black sphere in the middle of the lake, and then-."
" Ok, ok. I get the point already, so can I please rest now?"
My sister turns from an excited little girl to an angry adult, scowling her face to make it obvious she's upset.
" WHAT DO YOU MEAN CAN YOU REST?"
Her voice is so loud that one of the maids came into my room asking what the problem was.
" Master Abel, is there something wrong?"
" Yes, yes, it's nothing."
The maid leaves.
" Gosh, you shouldn't just randomly scream you know."
" ABEL MORNINGSTAR. Do you know what time it is hmm?"
" Uhh, well-"
" It's already noon, you should be grateful I let you sleep for this long."
My sister stands up from my bed.
" I'm going to the training hall, I'm giving you ten minutes to get there or else."
She closes my door and leaves.
I get up from my bed, open my closet, pick out some clothes and change. I run to the training hall where I meet my sister."
" Good." She says, holding her sword.
I pick up one of the sword, and face my sister.
I want to get stronger no mater what so if I must go through with this, so be it, but I'm still so tired.