Raze had decided to sit down on the hard, cold surface of the cavern floor, right where the magic circle had been drawn. He thought that maybe if he did this, he could picture himself more in the shoes of the Dark Faction leader.
‘The magic circle most likely opens up a portal to the land of the crazies the Dark Faction leader was talking about. I still have no idea whether or not he was able to return or not either, so there is a chance that the place is an extremely dangerous one,’ Raze thought.
His legs were crossed, his eyes were closed, and he was in a meditative state. His wounds were still quite bad on his body, and although he had the body of a Pagna warrior, it wasn’t something that would just heal unless given a long period of time.
‘With my body in this state, if this is a portal to a dangerous dimension with strong beasts, then I’ll be in a lot of trouble. I’m someone who has taken many risks in my life, and although I feel like I should follow where the Dark Faction leader went, there is a much safer option.’
Pushing off with his two legs, Raze kicked off the ground and, without using his arms, got up from the floor. It was something he never imagined he could do as a mage or in his old body. With his broken arm, he would have been far more doomed before compared to now.
‘I guess that’s decided. If I stay here, then nothing will change. I have to do something about my body first, and then find ways to improve my strength.’
Raze moved from the circle that was underneath him, and just ahead, he was trying to find his own space to draw a circle of his own.
He looked back at the inscriptions on the walls. It was clear that they were all done with a finger, something that Raze couldn’t do as a stage 1 Pagna warrior.
It made him wonder if perhaps he would be able to do something like this at some point. It was clear the Dark Faction leader was skilled at being a warrior, and it made Raze wonder what his skills were like as a mage as well. 𝑂𝚟𝐋xt.𝗇𝓔t
Since he was unable to do the same thing, he needed to improvise. Off the wall, Raze picked up one of the glowing worms. It wriggled in his fingers; it was fat and juicy in size. Placing it on the floor, he crushed its body against the ground quickly to ensure it didn’t suffer a slow death and began to draw his magic circle.
‘My life is at stake, and who knows what will be happening to others. I can’t be worrying about the deaths of some bugs.’
It took more than one bug, as the green fluorescent liquid that would come out of it was small in amount. Eventually, the magic circle was complete.
‘I have two crystals on me, one for getting there,’ Raze thought, looking at the other circle that had been written on the cave wall, ‘and if that works, one for getting back here as well.’
Placing the power stone on the ground, Raze activated the magic circle, and the portal opened up. Taking a confident step in, Raze appeared on the other side, in a dimension of darkness. The portal then snapped shut behind him, leaving him in the dimension.
‘I’m in a different area compared to last time.’
The Dark mage was in unfamiliar territory, but he did have some idea of where he was. To his left and right, there were multiple square-shaped buildings. Most of them had been damaged with rubble falling from the top or side. They even had doors, but again, they were broken down or completely destroyed.
What it looked like he was on was a very wide street that was between the two rows of houses. These streets could be seen every so often between the houses. Trying to make a note of the area, he also noticed that there was a well behind him. Far ahead in front, though, there was a large, thick wall.
It had been torn down in multiple places, but what was amazing about it was how far it stretched along all of the houses. This was the familiar place Raze had noticed from before, the city he had seen on the other side of the building he was in with Dame.
‘I used the same formation that I did last time, but because I drew it in a different place, it’s taken me to a different location. Which is why I’m a bit skeptical about that circle in the cave.’
The magic circle in the cave had the makings of a teleportation circle, but there were markings that Raze himself didn’t understand, small numbers that were written.
It was a first for Raze. He had hoped that those small numbers meant that he would be sent to the same spot no matter where he was. Either way, he had chosen to travel to this dimension, the one where he had met Dame because he knew the level of beasts was low. It was a good place for him to get some crystals.
The first thing Raze had decided to do was get out of the open street. He had never been on this side of the wall, where the city was. There was a chance there could be more groups of beasts or beasts he had never encountered before.
The first thing he did was decide to enter one of the houses. Here he could see the usual furniture spread out, old toys that were rusted and broken apart.
‘These dimensions, sometimes they are a world full of nothing but sand, and at other times, it’s as if an entire civilization once lived here. Yet we have never found signs of the original inhabitants’ life. I guess Pagna would be a first, but no one on Alterian knows about that.
‘Why is Pagna so different? The question interests me, but I can’t look into it so much; I need to focus on my own doings. There is one thing that is different about me and the Dark Faction leader.
‘He had decided to make a life and settle down in Pagna. He was more concerned about taking what he had made in Pagna, whereas I have no intention of that.’
Raze went through the broken rubble of one of the doors and crossed over into the other house where the wall had broken down as well. In the corner, he could see red glowing eyes, and without hesitation, he pointed his one good arm outward.
“Dark Pulse!”
The attack left his hand and a small whimper followed before a thud. The mist went into his body, and going over, Raze could see that it was the same dog creatures as before. Before taking out the crystal from its body, Raze decided to check the rest of the house. The last thing he wanted was for a beast to jump out at him while he was hesitating.
When he went up the stairs, he saw two more, and he turned from one to the other using Dark Pulse on them again. They were easily dealt with. After checking the area a second time, Raze took the crystals out of the three beasts, and now he had three level 1 power stones to work with.
‘Before when I went to this dimension, I had a time limit of how long I could be here. I only had enough crystals to do what I needed, but this time I can do everything I need to.’
With the blood of the beasts, Raze drew out a magic circle and placed down a crystal along with the bottle. He activated it with his magic and decided to use his dark magic for what he wanted this time. The liquid filled the bottle, but rather than light blue, it came out red instead.
“That’s okay,” Raze thought. He picked up the bottle and, opening the lid, started to gulp it down. “With this body, I don’t just have to rely on my magic.”
Raze placed the bottle down again, along with another power stone on the ground. He could feel it working, as a tingling sensation was sent around his body. Some of the aches and pains were disappearing, but his arm was still in somewhat bad condition.
This was followed by his mana being somewhat drained. He could have made a normal potion, but Raze wanted his body back in the old shape it was.
“I have a lot more things I need to make, so I’m going to need a lot more crystals. It’s time for me to hunt.”