Chapter 123: Another Eye - XVIII

With [Absolute Awareness] constantly siphoning Aventine’s mana, he located four other Minotaurs and understood how he had been marked.

’Daimyuon should have a spell somewhere in his knowledge, right?’ He thought, delving into his own mind to locate a way to erase the markings on his body.

It only took him an instant to locate the information he needed, but unfortunately...

’They used an 8th-Circle Magic Spell to mark me...’

The minimum Aventine needed to break such a tracking spell was thus another 8th-Circle spell. If he wanted to make an attempt with a 7th-Circle spell, then he would need the help of a ritual.

Or... the help of someone whose mana had already undergone a qualitative change during Evolution.

S-Rank mana and above was starkly different from A-Rank mana and below. Although Aventine had around 10,000 points of mana at his disposal, he was still an A-Rank Human.

He was not an S-Rank High Human whose life essence had been elevated to accommodate the pursuit of Godhood.

—Swish!

Aventine brandished the <Sword of Light> by loading it with light-attributed mana, commanded and carved using <Manakinesis> and <Mana Manipulation>.

With a blinding flash of light, the Minotaur ceased to exist on this plane.

Its life was snuffed out, and its corpse was stored for future use.

Even while he killed, Aventine could not resist grabbing whatever he could—and these Minotaurs had a few shiny items each.

Understanding this, he would take the mana from the <Wyrm With No Name>.

—Swish! Swish, Swish!

Three other Minotaurs had swiftly converged on his position, allowing Aventine to slice them apart in the shortest amount of time.

Clearly, the disparity in his aura as an A-Rank and the sheer magnitude of his stats served as a momentary smokescreen for that damnable High Winged Lion King.

All the underlings he sent out were A-Rank. Nothing more, nothing less.

With this moment of respite, Aventine commanded the mana within the <Wyrm With No Name> and constructed the complex 8th-Circle Spell in midair.

[Manakinesis].

[Mana Manipulation].

[Perfect Estimate].

Despite the collaboration of three <Traits>, as well as Aventine’s own [Absolute Awareness]...

—BOOM!

The spell casting failed, flinging him backwards and into the corridor walls. This part of the Layers Beneath had walls of compacted sand and magical sandstone that hardened when subjected to external forces.

"Cough, cough..."

An 8th-Circle spell was nothing like the 6th-Circle <Warp> he used to move away from the destruction of the Living City. The lack of an appropriate life level was a nigh-insurmountable chasm for any mage out there.

Still, Aventine had to continue trying.

—BOOM!

An explosion of mana once again erupted from the shattered magic circle he had been trying to construct.

The mana rushed everywhere, and Aventine could only use the Third-Circle <Manakinesis> and 4th-Circle <Mana Manipulation> to offset the damage.

Thus, he was heavily wounded.

"Blergh..."

His lungs had collapsed from the force transmitted into his chest. Several ribs had shattered inwards, nearly puncturing his heart.

His organs were all heavily shaken.

Luckily...

—Swahhh!

A wave of mana, dyed with the light-attributed transformation from the SS-Rank <Blessing of Light>, washed over his wounds, mending what he could mend.

Furthermore...

[Heightened Regeneration].

[Great Heal].

[Swift Mend].

[Wound Reversal].

Several other Magic Spells, ranging from 4th-Circle to 6th-Circle, supplemented his light-attributed mana regeneration.

"That should be fine for now..."

But a few more A-Rank Minotaurs had located him due to his magic.

"Tsk." With a click of his tongue, Aventine couldn’t help but think about all the other mages who had successfully escaped the Living City through the 6th-Circle <Warp>.

He wasn’t the only one being pursued.

"Unfortunately, reading the minds of SSS-Rank existences contains risks greater than simply the mana expenditure."

There was a high chance that his senses would be noticed—and that there would be knowledge there that could permanently affect his mind.

Aventine learned his lesson with <Archmage> Daimyuon. Luckily, it was a beneficial situation at that time, allowing him to gain the <Archmage’s> entire archive of memorized Magic Spells.

Now, if he tried to do the same thing to, say, the Dragon Ballenvauch...

[Absolute Awareness] already warned him of the destruction of his mind and his physical brain.

Perhaps his entire body would pop like a balloon if he so chose to invade the Dragon’s mind.

The same applied to the Prince of the Underworld and the High Winged Lion King. Especially Arvishue’rre, whose nature was even more insidious than the Prince.

Thus.

"I can only fight, kill, and try to cast my magic."

Every Minotaur had to die before they reached Kuvie, Reazue, and Gron. Aventine still wanted those three to live.

Of course, fleeing on his own was easily possible... but that would render all his recent efforts null and void.

Having to cultivate relationships with others while also involving himself in their lives... It took time.

’For now, I’ll play along.’

With the sudden spike in entangled <Fate> threads around him, Aventine knew that this was all a part of <Fate’s> machinations. It would take a lot of effort to shake off the consequences of any kind of defiance.

—Swish!

There was another flash of blinding light in the dark corridors of compacted sand and enchanted sandstone. Another Minotaur’s head was severed and stored.

Its corpse received the same treatment.

—Swish!

Then another Minotaur died.

—Swish! Swish!

Aventine moved through the darkness, made invisible by the <Power of Death>, and aided by the winds of the <Power of the Sky>. Every time he struck, a blinding light would drown his surroundings, preventing his foes from reacting.

It worked for all of the Minotaurs so far.

After all, his attribute advantage was overwhelming. Not to mention the environmental advantage he gained through his various <Traits>.

The winds and darkness of the Layers Beneath were all fighting against the Minotaurs who were going after him.

—BOOM!

Of course, there was the occasional attempt to cast the 8th-Circle anti-tracking spell. So far, Aventine had failed more than seven times.

His injuries were horrendous, but he continued to heal himself as he killed Minotaur after Minotaur.

<Manakinesis> and <Mana Manipulation> rapidly drew in the ambient mana to sustain his current massive expenditure.

Aventine even downed several Mana Potions to bolster his regeneration.

"Ah..."

Suddenly, his face grew grim.

[Absolute Awareness] warned him.

The next Minotaur was the captain of this large squadron.

—Swish!

When Aventine swung the <Sword of Light> with its blinding flash...

—Clang!

An axe came to intercept it.