Chapter 114: Meditation… Fantasy?

“You… are you alright? Why are you making so many Golems? Did some Noble offend you, and you’re planning to wipe out their family? You don’t need to go that far… Can your Mental Power handle it?” Constantine raised one eyebrow.

This actually wasn’t an unbelievable thing.

In the design of his Golems, Constantine mostly referenced weapon-type robots from his memories. Therefore, these things were fundamentally different in basic concept from the Golems used by ordinary Mages. Usually, the effect pursued by Golems was to assist Mages in combat. Spellcasters possessed the most powerful force in this Plane; as long as they could cast spells, that was enough. So often, the greatest strength of Golems was to become the Mages’ Shields and weapons. But in the Sorcerer’s design, the aggressiveness of Golems was greatly increased. While in Mage duels, one could also fight with the idea that the best defense is a good offense, there was no doubt the place where these fellows could be most effective had become the battlefield against ordinary people.

And as battlefield weapons, mass production was naturally necessary.

However, when making Golems, it was just like making Magic Items; it consumed Mental Power! Moreover, it was equivalent to each component being a Magic Item, plus the cost of the initial activation. Making one Golem would often completely exhaust all the Mental Power of a Formal Mage capable of using fifth-tier or higher Arcane Arts… Even if Christine was a genius Mage praised within the Nikolai Mage Tower, there was no way she could withstand the drain of making five Golems at once. The result of excessive Mental Power drain was Soul deficiency or even destruction. Constantine had quite an interest in the beautiful Sorceress before him.

“No need to worry. These Golems have their own masters. The parts I’m responsible for making are only a portion… There won’t be any danger.” The Sorceress was taken aback for a moment by the worry on the young Sorcerer’s face, then she replied with her usual Calm. “Just not having danger isn’t enough… Don’t forget, you are my lover. It’s not just about staying alive… If Soul power is excessively drained, a person will also become withered. I don’t want to hold a lover with a wrinkled face, dark circles, terrifying like a ghost… Not even a little bit.” Constantine looked her up and down, checking the curves hidden under the Robe of Magic. After confirming nothing was wrong, he responded irritably. Even though he didn’t see this girl often, she was at least one of his targets, and one he had already partially succeeded with. He naturally couldn’t allow any problems to arise.

“I… you… I’ll go get the design blueprints. Please help me consider what else can be modified…” The young man’s words clearly made the Sorceress’s body stiffen. Although it was just a casual flirtation, Christine, who had thrown all her energy into research, clearly had no experience dealing with such words. After a dazed pause, she hastily found an excuse, turned, and left. However, the blush blooming on her expressionless face couldn’t escape Constantine’s sharp gaze. That gorgeous color made a vortex curl at the corner of Constantine’s mouth.

“You really are quite leisurely…”

The Soul Amulet flickered with light, and the Lich suddenly teased… though its flat, hoarse tone also seemed like a kind of rebuke. So the headache-inducing matter surfaced in his mind, making the young man’s smile turn somewhat bitter. He could only sigh vaguely, “I can’t keep everything on my mind… That would be no different from suicide. Anyway, I have nothing to do now… Being composed and unhurried at all times is an essential quality for a Mage.”

Of course, this excuse couldn’t even convince himself. While Constantine basically had much experience fighting powerful enemies, this trouble was really big. It was a Silver Dragon!

Even before, when he knew he had inexplicably provoked that Vampire, Constantine hadn’t been worried to this extent. After all, Undead had natural foes, plus many restrictions like not being able to move during the day, and the whole Continent’s hostile attitude towards Undead was enough to give him conditions to fight. But now, his opponent had become a Dragon… a powerful creature hailed as the king of magical beasts in this Plane. In many legends, they were often responsible for numerous killings. A Dragon destroying a city or even a small country was commonplace.

One had to know that in many of those legends, many Emperors offered their own daughters to avoid disaster. So what about him, an unofficial son-in-law? Who knew if his Majesty the King would, under pressure or in a moment of passion, offer him up to appease that beast’s anger?

Although the probability was very small. If it really happened, his nominal father would probably cause enough chaos… Moreover, as the largest country on the Western Continent, Phoenix wouldn’t put a Silver Dragon in their eyes. His safety still had some guarantee. As one of the largest Mage Towers on the Continent, the Nikolai Mage Tower had at least dozens of High-Rank Mages stationed, plus countless magical weapons and defensive items. Even if ten Silver Dragons attacked together, they wouldn’t be able to do much.

And judging from the combat power his father had shown, if that Silver Dragon dared come to cause trouble, the most likely result probably wouldn’t be a monster siege but a hero slaying a dragon.

Regardless, offending such a big lizard was an annoying matter. Not only did they possess human-like thinking ability and wisdom, but their combat power far beyond normal imagination was deadly enough. Moreover, they were natural Spellcasters; there was a reason they were called the source of Sorcerers. Just by their innate bloodline abilities, they could wield several magic-like powers. And if a Dragon had the intention, becoming a Mage wouldn’t be difficult. Their natural affinity for the Weave of Magic and long lifespans even allowed them to grasp more than ordinary Mages.

For example, this one who had a grudge against Constantine, she had at least mastered Divination Magic of no low level… That little disc used for observation was not low-level either; at least, Constantine’s level could never produce it.

And another headache-inducing thing: Silver Dragons possessed a special power to transform into any animal or Humanoid Creature of medium size or smaller. And they could use this ability two or three times a day… There was probably no ability in the world more suited for assassination. Although Constantine could see through such disguises with the vision granted by the Demon God, detecting fluctuations of Magic Power, at least in most places within Hayton City, this big lizard could move unimpeded! This meant her attacks could come at any time, from anywhere!

Even if he relied on his closest kin, Duke Connalyvis’s power ultimately wasn’t Constantine’s own. He couldn’t follow behind his father his whole life… And even if he did, it might not protect him from all-around pursuit—couldn’t the Duke sleep? Couldn’t he be careless?

Of course, he still had that ring with the dragon-avoidance spell effect… But that wasn’t 100% safe either. Theoretically, the dragon-avoidance spell could blind all Dragonkin’s senses, making them ignore you. But think about it; the inventor of this spell couldn’t have actually caught a bunch of Dragons for experiments. So the actual effect was quite worrisome. Never mind that it was a Dragon who studied Divination Magic.

“Actually, dying wouldn’t be a big deal… Although you’re still very weak now, using the method from my memory, transforming you into a Lich isn’t an impossible thing. It’s just that the preparatory work is a bit more troublesome… And after the transformation, your power could increase greatly. It’s a method that kills two birds with one stone…” The Lich suggested. “Would you consider it? Of course, after choosing an undead body, you’d have much less enjoyment in life. But the pleasure in pursuing great power would be enough compensation.”

In this Plane filled with Deities, death wasn’t the end of everything. Actually, purely in terms of power, the Undead were a race with considerable advantages. The strength of a Lich was well-known, and the even stronger Demigod Lich was an existence even Deities didn’t fear. If death was truly unavoidable, simply assimilating with death was actually a good choice. It was said that a thousand years ago, during the era of prosperous Arcane Arts, Archmages would all eventually choose this path.

“Sorry, power, money, and beautiful women are still more tempting to me! For now, I don’t want to die!”

The young man’s answer was just as definite. For any mortal, immortal life was an incredibly tempting dream and pursuit, and Constantine was no exception. It’s just that Liches, Vampires—their so-called eternal life was actually “eternal death.” Feeling nothing, experiencing nothing, food equated to rot, a beauty’s body temperature unable to warm a cold Soul, plus facing endless human pursuit… Living forever like that would simply be an eternal torture worse than death.

Maybe mobilize the Archmages to directly kill that Dragon? It seemed like a feasible method, but the headache was that Dragonkin were famously narrow-minded and protective of their own. Who knew if killing this one would bring one or several even more powerful ones next time? Even Archmages probably wouldn’t want to annoy such a big nest of monsters, right? Actually, even this time, there was no guarantee that only this one Dragon would come cause trouble for him…

All sorts of solutions spun in his head. Each seemed feasible, but each also seemed to have some problems… The young man suddenly felt his head start to throb.

So he simply tossed them all to the back of his mind. Constantine was originally a person with flexible thinking. Stuff he really couldn’t figure out, no amount of headache had any meaning. But when he snapped back to reality, he discovered the huge laboratory only had himself and several Golems facing each other. Christine had gone somewhere. The young man circled around but couldn’t find that Sorceress’s shadow…

So the young man planned to leave, but then found the Teleportation Circle in the room was hidden in some corner. And the vast surrounding space was filled with countless objects; he couldn’t see any sign of a door!

With no other choice, Constantine simply found a comfy chair and sat down, slightly closing his eyes, beginning his Meditation.

Actually, as a Sorcerer, Meditation wasn’t necessary for Constantine. His spellcasting ability came from his bloodline, not communication with the Weave of Magic. But the young man discovered other benefits… Each time he Meditated, his body seemed to feel somewhat imbued with power, and even his physical reactions showed faint improvement. This feeling was especially obvious visually. The surrounding scenery became clearer and more profound. Even the originally blurry scenery at the far end of his vision became clear and distinguishable… It might just be a mental illusion, but it still greatly interested the young man. So from then on, whenever he had free time, he would try to Meditate.

Besides, during the battle earlier today, he had a feeling that he seemed to have vaguely touched deeper levels of power, though it was still separated by a hairline margin. But undoubtedly, that power had opened its door to him.

His thoughts gradually sank to the bottom of his consciousness. Silver threads formed one by one in the boundless starlight before his eyes… A cold feeling came from all directions…

Everything was no different from usual. But this was just the beginning…

Suddenly… Constantine felt a warm current!

The young man was startled in his heart. According to the Lich’s teachings, the dark ice abyss connected to the Weave of Magic in one’s consciousness absolutely would not have warm things. That coldness was a kind of pressure on Mental Power. After several sessions of Meditation, Constantine had gotten used to it. But he had never encountered this situation before… This wasn’t a wuxia novel, where a warm lower dantian would clear meridians and grant astonishing power. The only similarity was that Mental Power disorder was no less serious than martial arts Qi deviation: mild cases resulted in nervous disorders, and severe cases might lead to death!

The surprised young man immediately tried to withdraw from Meditation. But that warmth from nowhere wouldn’t let him go. A sudden dizziness made the young man’s head feel like it was splitting with pain!

Before his eyes suddenly brightened—Struggling, the young man trying to open his eyes felt a flash of joy. But then he discovered the scenery before his eyes was not familiar…

Amid shimmering light blue all around, countless points of light were mixed in… Constantine blinked, realizing it seemed like endless ice and snow. He didn’t know when he had ended up in a freezing, snowy land! And whether overhead or underfoot, there was that endless ice!

And even more terrifying was undoubtedly the thick metallic smell permeating the entire cavern. The Sorcerer inhaled deeply, somewhat unable to tell if this was a real smell or an illusion born of fear in his heart. Then, when he exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, through air distorted by heat and cold, he saw in horror that a massive figure appeared in his line of sight!

It was like a real statue, only this statue was cast from pure silver. Mirror-bright scales shimmered with gorgeous light in the reflection of the ice and snow, like a divine creation. In legends, the strongest creatures inherently had the dignity of kings. All who stood before them would naturally feel this invisible force. They would be frightened, tremble, lose strength, have no will to resist, even prostrate on the ground shivering.

“I don’t know what you Humans want to do, and I don’t want to know!”

Silver metal-ball-like pupils brimmed with anger. The silver creature, huge as a mountain, flapped its wings once, blowing surrounding ice fragments and rocks aside! A booming roar like muffled thunder echoed as if shaking the cavern, carrying waves of dust.

“Your goal may be my treasure, or something else, but that’s irrelevant… Get out of my home and promise never to set foot here again, and I can forgive your offense against me due to greed!”

The next moment, a loud incantation responded to the True Dragon’s goodwill…

Constantine watched in surprise as a pair of hands, obviously not his own, clad in Black Robe appeared before him, holding a beautiful black Crystal Staff radiating an incredibly mysterious aura.

Arcane Power gathered in the black Gemstone at the tip of the Staff with that trembling sound, then the Staff erupted with intense purple light. Then, a red mist began to gather in the air. Though in the silvery-white cavern, the mist was as faint as smoke, Constantine seemed to clearly know that it emitted heat comparable to lava. The surrounding temperature rose considerably, even carrying a faint burnt smell.

“Crack… Crackle.”

The statue-like giant beast began to move. Although as an ice-and-snow True Dragon, the rising temperature wouldn’t greatly affect the Silver Dragon, it instinctively caused discomfort. The dragon’s silver-ball-like eyes seemed to show a trace of surprise. Centuries of accumulated knowledge might be enough for it to understand Arcane Magic had twisted space. That rising red light was a symbol directly linking to the Elemental Plane of fire—a world full of flames, the home of fire elementals.

Fire elementals were simple creatures. These energy beings constantly releasing energy only wanted to set everything ablaze: buildings, people, stones, even water. So this simplicity undoubtedly made them a terrifying existence, but also the combat servants Spellcasters liked most. Though their intelligence only stayed at a child’s level, their formidable strength and sweeping energy were the best combat capital!

Constantine felt “his” incantation was nearing completion. With one gesture, the space gate would fully open… But for the dragon, this wasn’t anything too frightening.

But with a muffled grunt, in his field of vision, the muscles of “his” arm twitched. The usually simple action now felt like crossing the highest peak of the Feerls Mountains. A strange sensation exploded in his mind, as if a towering mountain collapsed before him, thousands of tons of mud and rocks crashing down on him with thunderous force.