OBS Chapter 190 Shadow Blade and Metal Explosion
Chapter 190 Shadow Blade and Metal Explosion
Chapter 190 Shadow Blade and Metal Explosion
Blood flowed from where the dagger slashed, but it quickly scabbed over due to the immortality effect.
With the final cut, a completely new and more complex rune appeared on his skin.
Almost instantly, the [Shadow Blade (Temporary)] quietly appeared on the panel that only he could "see".
"Give it a try."
Kane's thoughts stirred slightly once more.
In the candlelight, the shadow beneath his feet suddenly seemed to writhe and stretch as if it were alive.
Several thick, shadowy figures rose from his feet, rapidly intertwining and entwining.
Finally, it coalesced into a perfectly curved shadow scimitar in his outstretched right palm.
The blade is not a solid object, but rather composed of constantly flowing dark shadows.
"Shadow Blade, Second Ring Spell,"
Kane muttered to himself.
He felt the subtle sensation coming from his palm.
"This spell is considered a simple melee weapon, with the three main characteristics of dexterity, lightness, and throwing."
Although classified as an illusion spell, it can inflict psychological damage on enemies.
His other hand slowly reached into his robe.
With a gentle pull, an ordinary iron dagger was firmly grasped in the palm of his left hand.
He stood firmly, his right hand hovering over the Shadow Scimitar, while his left hand gripped the iron dagger tightly.
With a slight adjustment of the wrist angle, the blades of the two weapons gently touched together.
Click.
A soft yet remarkably clear crackling sound rang out distinctly in the silent room.
At the point of contact between the Shadow Scimitar and the iron dagger, tiny black sparks flew out and vanished instantly.
Kane could clearly sense it.
The incredibly real sense of resistance that came through the moment the two came into contact.
However, no matter how much pressure he applied, the Shadow Scimitar could no longer cut into the iron dagger.
It seemed to be firmly blocked by a tenacious force, making it impossible to advance an inch.
Moreover, the shadowy substance on the Shadow Scimitar had visibly thinned out.
The entire curved blade also became slightly blurred, and the speed of its movement slowed down a bit.
Kane's gaze sharpened slightly.
He quietly sensed the changes in the Shadow Blade, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"The fundamental principles of this spell cannot be fully understood at this time."
However, tests show that it cannot completely replace physical weapons.
Furthermore, repeated head-on collisions with high-hardness objects can cause instability in the shadow energy that constitutes the blade.
This means there is a risk of premature dissipation.
With a flick of his wrist, the Shadow Scimitar left a smooth afterimage.
"Suitable for many special occasions where it is inconvenient to carry weapons in public, with sufficient concealment."
"And most importantly—"
He slowly raised his right hand, bringing the tip of the Shadow Scimitar to his left chest, stopping precisely above his heart.
Apply slight pressure to allow the blade tip to pierce in.
The moment the knife tip touched his skin, a bone-chilling coldness preceded any pain, making his chest numb.
At the same time, the skin was easily sliced open by this invisible sharpness.
A thin, neat wound appeared instantly, and bright red blood immediately seeped out from the wound.
Kane frowned deeply, but his face didn't show much pain.
This injury was nothing to him, who had been brought back to life multiple times.
What made him furrow his brow was the excruciating pain that pierced his very soul after the curved blade stabbed him.
"In addition to basic physical damage, the Shadow Blade also inflicts pure psychological damage that directly affects the mental entity —"
Kane exhaled slowly, and with a thought, instantly withdrew the Shadow Scimitar.
The curved blade formed from shadows immediately disintegrated, drifted away gently, and vanished without a trace in an instant.
The wound on his chest healed and scabbed over at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the deep pain in his mind quickly subsided and dissipated.
"Indeed, this is the key to this spell's ranking at the second level, rather than a simple illusion."
"Therefore, the original purpose of this spell was not for conventional physical melee combat."
Its true value lies in targeting those who are immune to or have high resistance to purely physical attacks.
Or, a bizarre creature with a special spiritual form, difficult to touch with physical weapons.
Kane's eyes flashed, and several demons related to the Abyss quickly flashed through his mind.
Most of the demons he has encountered so far have been dealt with by physical means.
However, he cannot rule out the possibility that he might encounter some special high-level demons or even more bizarre beings in the future.
Although there are protective demons to deal with it, the Shadow Blade is a second-level weapon, and its pure killing power is stronger.
"If I had fully mastered the Shadow Blade back in the dream," perhaps Risa would have become my experience points.
Kane smiled, dismissing the pointless assumption from his mind, and his gaze returned to focus and determination.
After quickly outlining several practical applications of this spell in his mind, he slowly turned around.
Turning his gaze to another spellbook on the stone platform, "Fragment Scattering".
A basic first-circle energy-conversion spell, which is also his focus.
He didn't stop, carefully reading through the spellbook word by word.
He gripped the dagger tightly again, held his breath, and began to inscribe the spell's runes, each stroke precise and accurate.
Soon, the new runes were completely completed.
A corresponding spell will appear on the panel.
Kane gripped the iron dagger he had brought, his gaze fixed intently on the wooden practice target in the room.
He took a deep breath and threw it with a thud.
The instant the dagger flew from his hand, Kane uttered a clear and short syllable: "Fragmentation."
The iron dagger shuddered suddenly as it flew rapidly to within about one meter of the wooden target.
The blade vibrated violently, forcibly torn apart from the inside, and instantly disintegrated.
It shattered into more than a dozen unevenly sized metal fragments with extremely sharp edges.
With a sharp, piercing sound, the projectiles, in a more dispersed fan shape, slammed into the hard wooden target!
Duh! Duh! Duh! Duh!
A series of dull, rapid impacts rang out, and sharp fragments embedded themselves deeply into the hard oak target.
Wood chips flew everywhere and scattered all over the ground.
Its power is estimated to be comparable to that of arrows fired at close range from a small military crossbow.
But Kane's brow furrowed tightly the moment he saw the actual combat effect.
He stepped forward and carefully examined the metal fragments embedded in the wooden target, his eyes scrutinizing him.
The fragments ranged in size from a fingernail to shattered pieces of porcelain, scattered and disorderly.
"Its basic power is decent, but—"
He muttered to himself, but his tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction, "It's only comparable to the piercing effect of throwing a single dagger with all my might by a mage; there's no qualitative improvement in lethality."
For me right now, practical experience is offering very limited improvement.
His gaze remained fixed on the scattered fragments.
"The resulting fragments are still too large and extremely irregular in shape, making them difficult to ignite directly."
In his vision, the ideal "fragment scattering" effect should be achieved by scattering fragments onto metal or other brittle materials.
Under the influence of the spell, it instantly disintegrates into extremely fine, uniformly sized dust or tiny particles.
Combined with fire-based spells that generate high temperatures, such as "Burning Hand," it can be used for a secondary activation.
Moreover, the dust could precisely adhere to the enemy's body or clothing gaps before the explosion.
Enemies will be difficult to eliminate effectively or escape quickly in a short period of time, and will continue to cause damage.
Based on the current basic version of "Fragment Scattering," the generated fragments do possess basic destructive power.
However, if you want to use ignition, at most you can only let these iron pieces slowly heat up until they are red-hot and burn the enemy.
It is no longer able to firmly attach itself to the enemy and pose a sustained threat.
"It seems it's time to use that perfect meditation opportunity I've been saving up for so long; it'll be perfect for optimizing this spell."
Without the slightest hesitation, Kane sat down cross-legged, clearing his mind of all distractions.
He closed his eyes and stared at the panel deep within his consciousness:
[Fragment Scattering (Temporary)]
[Use a "Perfect Meditation" opportunity? Yes/No]
He was calm and composed, and without the slightest hesitation, he made his choice immediately.
【Yes. 】
As the words fell, the spell model for the first-circle spell "Fragment Scattering" was revealed.
A vast amount of knowledge was originally just fragments of mechanical memory or vague understanding.
It began to spin, collide, decompose, and recombine wildly.
All the vague knowledge points instantly became clear and thorough, and the core principles of the spell were fully revealed.
Time passed slowly, and no more simple confirmation text appeared on the panel.
Instead, entirely new options appeared:
Please select a direction for spell improvement.
[Option 1: Increase the kinetic energy of the scattering, while also accelerating the projectile velocity and improving physical penetration]
[Option 2: Increase the number of fragments; upon being hit or colliding, it splits into smaller secondary fragments, increasing coverage damage]
[Option 3: Change the mechanism of action; the ejected fragments will completely shatter into a fine metallic dust upon impact with the target]
[Option 4: Random improvement, which may result in multiple derivative forms; the effect is unknown]
Kane remained calm as he looked at the four new options that appeared on the panel.
He quickly analyzed the pros and cons and practical value of each option in his mind, without rushing to make a decision.
If he were just a mage who relied solely on spell damage, he would inevitably choose option 1 or 2.
1. Increase kinetic energy: It can simply increase kinetic energy and speed, directly increasing physical damage.
2. Split into secondary fragments; a sneaky yet effective tactic.
If an enemy uses their sword to block the first wave of fragments, the fragments will split again upon contact.
If the enemy is caught off guard or lacks sufficient defense, they may be hit by the sudden secondary fragments, catching them completely off guard.
"However, for me, the most important thing is not simply increasing the physical damage of the fragments."
Instead, this spell will serve as the core casting medium for the next combo spell.
Kane pondered silently in his mind, his thoughts crystal clear, and instantly determined the optimal solution.
Without further hesitation, he selected option 3.
As the intention was fully made, the original words "[Fragment Scattering (Temporary)]" on the panel slowly disappeared.
After a brief silence, a new line of spell names lit up again:
【Fragment Scattering (Modified) Iv1】.
Kane slowly opened his eyes, his gaze falling directly on the pure black stone pillar in the center of the room.
That was an obsidian target with extremely high hardness, specifically used for testing the power of evocation spells.
Ordinary spells below the third rank rarely leave a mark on it.
He slowly retreated to the stone chamber door, creating enough distance between himself and the door, and took out a brand new iron dagger from his waist.
He instantly activated the improved spell, exerted force on his wrist, and hurled the dagger out!
boom!
The iron dagger shattered instantly, first splitting into several small iron pieces.
Then it crashed hard into the hard black stone target!
The next second, all the iron pieces shattered into extremely fine iron powder.
The iron powder spread instantly, evenly covering the entire front of the obsidian target.
The next moment, Kane activated [Burning Hand] without pause.
Following his will, the high-temperature flames suddenly swept towards the obsidian covered with iron powder.
The instant the flame comes into contact with the iron powder.
With a muffled bang, flames instantly engulfed the entire stone target!
The fine iron powder rapidly collided and dispersed under the high temperature and airflow impact from the burning hand.
Immediately afterwards, a dazzling white light suddenly shone, and a cluster of intense flames erupted instantly, with high temperatures hitting us head-on.
boom! boom! boom!
Several muffled explosions followed in succession.
Accompanied by a series of soft, crackling sounds, the obsidian target was constantly accompanied by a series of delicate collision sounds.
The crackling sound of iron powder burning intensely was incessant.
At the same time, a wave of air spread outwards, blowing away the scattered debris and spells on the stone table next to it.
The fire on the obsidian quickly went out, and the high temperature vanished in an instant.
Only a faint smell of burning remained in the stone chamber.
On the obsidian target surface, a layer of marks from being instantly charred is visible, along with dense, extremely fine thermal cracks that appear throughout the target body.
The textured surface covers the entire target, and the obsidian target has lost its original smoothness and hardness.
Kane walked slowly to the obsidian target and examined the marks on the target.
"Metal explosions are created by burning iron powder at high temperatures, unlike explosions caused by organic dust from flour and grains."
The origins and principles are completely different, and their power is also worlds apart.
"On the downside, the range of a metal combustion explosion is indeed very small."
The amount of iron powder produced by the improved fragmentation and decomposition of a single dagger may be limited, and the effective range after the explosion and combustion is less than one meter.
Even the explosion wasn't very loud, making it unlikely to cause widespread casualties.
"But its advantages are equally outstanding."
Kane lightly brushed his fingertips across the blackened marks and fine cracks on the obsidian target, his eyes gleaming slightly.
"Obsidian is the hardest material for testing the power of spells, with a melting point of up to 1000 degrees."
Most of the usual Evocation spells below the third ring level cannot cause any substantial damage to it.
A basic first-level fire spell like Burning Hand probably couldn't even change its color.
"But now, by using the metal explosion caused by igniting iron powder, the surface of obsidian can be instantly blackened."
The entire structure was covered with countless tiny thermal cracks, demonstrating its immense power.
"Since even Black Stone cannot withstand such power."
This means that the elemental absorption shield and basic spell armor commonly used by first- and second-ring mages will probably not be able to withstand this wave of impact.
Unless a third-tier mage uses a genuine third-level protective spell, it's difficult to withstand this power head-on.
Kane tapped the obsidian lightly with his fingertips, continuing his deductions.
"Moreover, the power of this improved spell is not fixed."
"If other high-ignition-point, high-hardness metal materials are prepared in advance, such as aluminum and magnesium."
Then the explosive power could be further increased, and the kill radius could be expanded accordingly.
After analyzing all the pros and cons, Kane finally smiled with satisfaction.
In addition to carrying large amounts of flour for dust explosions, he now possesses a new trump card in his metal explosion technique, comparable to a third-circle spell.
Moreover, there is no need to bring a large amount of flour in advance, avoiding tedious pre-preparation.
All he needed to carry was an extra iron dagger, which was both lightweight and discreet.
"On another note, if the iron dagger can be successfully decomposed into dust..."
So, the gold coins and silver coins I carry with me should also work, right?
However, these two metals are difficult to burn and explode; it remains to be seen whether they can be combined with other spells later on.
Kane looked at the battered obsidian target and muttered to himself.
"Speaking of which, damaging expensive equipment at the mage academy should be enough to land me in the dungeon for two days, right?"
"It's time to meet the person who secretly passed on the message to me."
Perhaps we can get some clues from him.
With that thought in mind, Kane no longer hesitated and turned to walk towards the door.
I plan to first go to the magistrate on duty to report the damage to the obsidian target—or rather, to "confess" to it.
He gripped the doorknob and pulled it inward.
But to my surprise, a familiar face was standing not far from the door.
It was that female mage, Logan Susas.
She hadn't left yet; she was still standing quietly outside the door.
When Kane appeared at the door, her face lit up with surprise, as if she couldn't wait to say something.
However, her gaze went past Kane's shoulder.
I caught a glimpse of the obsidian target covered in scorch marks and cracks inside the open door behind him.
The words that were on the tip of her tongue were instantly swallowed back, her pupils contracted slightly, filled with disbelief and shock.
"Obsidian Target?! How is this possible! You—have mastered third-circle magic?!"