Chapter 146: A Grand Witch’s Shadow

"They also have a regeneration function, so if you break them, they can slowly repair themselves over time," Titus gave further information. "It’s painfully slow, though, so try not to break them too often or too badly."

Magna was becoming more and more amazed and falling in love with the artifacts the more he heard about them.

He also couldn’t see any golden light when looking at them, which matched what he had learned before. Artifacts could really operate without needing mana.

It was quite strange, making Magna wonder if there was some different kind of energy or fuel that made them work, or if they were somehow living things.

Unfortunately, those kinds of details weren’t in the books Celeste had, so he could only learn more when he arrived at the Tower.

He put the miniature pistols into his pocket and looked at the man, saying sincerely, "Thank you."

It was definitely the best gift he had received from anyone so far. He didn’t even need to think about how expensive they must have been.

Titus put a hand on his shoulder and patted it a couple of times while laughing, "Just stay alive. That would be thanks enough for me."

His words sounded more like a curse than a good wish, but Magna understood what the man meant and nodded. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

He gave Celeste one last look in case she had anything to say, and when he saw her only nodding at him with a smile and slightly reddened eyes, he finally turned his attention to the man standing at the bottom of the crater.

’He’s waiting for me to jump down?’ The man didn’t seem to have any intention of coming out himself.

He also looked at him more carefully now and found it quite surprising that the man actually looked quite young, at most in his 30s, even younger than Titus.

Once again, he reminded himself that looks meant nothing in this world and that he should never judge someone’s power by their appearance.

With that silent thought, he jumped down beside him.

The crater was deep, but not deep enough to be a problem for Magna, and he landed quite skillfully.

He raised his head to look at the man’s face, about to ask how they were going to travel, when the man suddenly grabbed him by the collar and threw him over his shoulder like a sack.

It was exactly what Magna had feared.

The man turned around without a word and only slightly bent his legs.

Then, with a booming sound, the rocks and earth beneath his feet shattered and scattered in every direction while he shot into the sky like a rocket, tearing through the clouds on his way up.

Titus had to use his body to protect Celeste from the rocks and debris flying toward them, his eyes filled with slight worry, following the silhouette that had already become a small black dot in the sky.

He couldn’t help but worry whether Magna would be alright at all.

—

Magna felt incredible pressure forcing against his body while he continued rising through the air, cutting through it at an incredible speed.

Looking down, he could see the earth rapidly disappearing from view, the clouds soon entering his field of vision and making him realize just how high they had already climbed.

The temperature had also dropped considerably, making him feel cold, while breathing had become quite difficult because of the altitude. His lungs couldn’t find enough oxygen, forcing him to take deep breaths.

He was sure that if his Stamina stat wasn’t this high, he would have already lost consciousness.

Even Arthas seemed quite impressed by it as he spoke.

"What do you think? Can you endure like this until the sun sets?"

Magna felt quite panicked hearing his voice.

It wasn’t because his voice was like a sharp blade or because it was deep and terrifyingly calm, but because of his words.

It was still morning, and it hadn’t been long since the sun had risen, meaning there was still a very long time until sunset.

Still, not wanting to look weak, and thinking he could actually endure it, he answered.

Or at least, he tried to.

The moment he opened his mouth, they suddenly started falling, the air pressure surging from the opposite direction and filling his mouth, making his cheeks puff out like balloons.

They kept falling for a while, a long while, forcing Magna to hold his breath as the air rushing past them made it difficult to breathe, until they finally crashed into the earth with a loud bang, creating a deep crater beneath them.

Magna raised his hands to shield his face from the dirt and rocks rising into the air, but before they could even reach him, Arthas had already jumped again, shooting into the sky at an incredible speed.

Magna forced his eyes open, looking at the crater they had left behind, watching it gradually shrink on the earth below.

’Man... What kind of beast is this man?’

He already understood that Arthas was one of the strongest beings in this world, but seeing him travel by jumping from place to place, leaving huge craters behind and changing the shape of the earth every time he landed, still shocked him.

Hell, he was traveling even faster than the carriage that had come to take Faye.

The only problem with him was that he seemed to have bad humor as he spoke again.

"Do you know where we are going?"

The moment Magna once again tried to answer, they started falling again, the wind filling his mouth and puffing his cheeks out like balloons.

This time, they landed on the top of a small mountain, with Arthas kicking the ground once again and destroying a large chunk of the mountain’s peak, leaving a small landslide behind.

He didn’t even seem to care much about the catastrophe he had just caused for any animals that might have been living at the foot of the mountain.

On the bright side, he was mindful enough not to pass through human population areas, the only thing showing he was still not some kind of mass murderer or something.