Chapter 235: Astral Carving

Words : 1222 Updated : Oct 7th, 2025

"[Astral Carving]!" The air shattered with light. Kaiden’s blade became a conduit of arcane destruction. As he spun in mid-air, he left a radiant arc of compressed mana that trailed behind. The empowered thralls lunging from behind were the first to feel it. The arc exploded outward in a spinning ring of devastation. Their limbs twisted from the force of the impact. Torsos ripped open. Mana-charged pressure tore skin from bone, and radiant slashes burned across their bodies, leaving searing marks behind. They staggered back, not dead but heavily wounded. Slowed. Disoriented. Their empowered selves were strong enough to tank such an assault. ’Not enough Magic stat!’ Kaiden cursed inwardly. However, even worse than that, the vampire lord did not fall. He had raised both clawed hands at the last instant, catching the edge of the arc between them. The blast collided against his defense with a thunderous crack. "Ghhrrgh!" A strained growl tore through his throat as his arms were pushed back a bit, but he held. Smoke curled from his fingers where the blade struck his skin. Kaiden landed as soon as the strike ended. His sword dimmed, [Astral Carving] was already spent. At the end of the day, sadly, they hadn’t yet surpassed the first bottleneck just yet. This meant that their spells were in their most basic forms. It’d only be uphill from here. Kaiden didn’t wait for the vampire and his thralls to react. With a single breath, he gathered mana once more. "[Glyph Barrage]!" Behind him, five radiant glyphs exploded into existence. They hovered, then fired. Each glyph-bolt screeched forward with spectral trails marking their chaotic descent. Their targets were not the vampire. Instead, they barreled toward the weakened thralls behind him. One bolt struck a thrall in the heart, detonating into a burst of energy. Another clipped a leg and sent the creature sprawling. A third pierced the skull clean through. The fourth and fifth struck in tandem, creating a blast zone that vaporized two crawling undead entirely. [You’ve slain Starved Thrall (Empowered – Level 24). Gained 2619 XP.] [You’ve slain Starved Thrall (Empowered – Level 25). Gained 2734 XP.] [You’ve slain Starved Thrall (Empowered – Level 23). Gained 2552 XP.] The vampire’s hand shot out to stop his casting, but it was all too late. He snarled and felt smoke hissing from his palms as the sigil tether still burned in his chest. "Useless filth..." he muttered, watching the mangled remains of his "empowered" minions collapse into piles. The invisible tokens of Kaiden’s [Harvest] always active Gluttony-stance spell moved toward him, giving him minor stat buffs. The vampire turned his eyes to Kaiden again. Studying. Intrigued. Scornful. "You fight with a greatsword... in melee... yet cast spells like a mage," he growled. "What are you? What kind of class wields a blade in one hand and the stars in the other?" As always, Kaiden didn’t respond, busy measuring his opponent up to decide on the best strategy. He had nothing to gain from idle chatter. In fact, he was rushing against the clock because his girls were fighting a desperate battle behind him. The noble continued. "You hold no mage’s staff. No tome. Yet your casting speed seems to be high, not impeded by a lack of proper equipment and obviously lacking Magic stat." He narrowed his eyes as a memory brushed across his ancient mind. "There is another who casts magic with that same ease despite a lack of focus tools... That brown-skinned creature in your harem..." He paused for a brief moment, as if trying to recall more: her solar flare, her aura, the heat of her presence. Then he scoffed. "But she is a mythical breed. A superior entity forged by ancient rites. You, however..." He sneered and slowly pointed one clawed digit toward Kaiden. "... are a human nobody. A little Dawnguard playing hybrid. You have no birthright. No legacy. No racial dominion over the arcane." His fangs flashed. "So I ask: What are you?" "The Paragon of Sin." "Stance: Wrath." Having spent enough time analyzing, Kaiden decided on his next set of moves. From slaying the thralls, he gained a new level, reaching 17. As these monsters were very strong but not truly outstanding, he gained 10 stats. 5 went into Strength and 5 into Agility. His Pride spells were on cooldown, so investing in them felt like a mistake. He needed power right this instant. The effect of the stance switch was instant. His glowing violet eyes bled into a burning red. The arcane shimmer that clung to his form twisted into something heavier, hotter. The crypt air thickened with pressure. Mana turned volatile. The shift wasn’t subtle. Even the vampire’s expression faltered. "You..." the noble whispered as realization dawned on him. "You are no mere mage." A sudden jolt of wariness pierced the ancient creature’s hunger-ridden haze. No scholar, no spell-slinger could radiate such fury. What stood before him now was no longer an oddity, but a warrior. Kaiden lunged. "[Doom Strike]!" With a brutal grip, he moved forward and brought Twilight Ripper down with violent intent. A blow primed for lethal damage. The vampire snarled, and his form exploded into a swarm of bats. But this time... It wasn’t clean. Kaiden’s [Sigil of Domination] still clung to his cursed flesh. Even though Kaiden had switched stances, the sigil remained, burning on the vampire’s chest. Its energy flared as the noble spent mana to activate his movement skill. The backlash hit. Hard. The bats swerved off-course mid-flight. Some even dispersed outright, disintegrating into arcane motes. The noble had fewer left to reform with. As a result, Kaiden’s blade clipped the edge of his form, drawing a red arc in the air. The vampire reformed on the far side of the room. He was staggering just a bit, and his fangs were bared with naked hatred. Kaiden moved instantly. "[Warpath]." His muscles exploded with power. The ground groaned under his feet as he launched forward, blade drawn and heart pounding. The vampire barely managed to process the words of what had just happened before Kaiden was nearly on him again. "Enough!!" he bellowed. A wave of corrupted crimson exploded outward. It was a spell. A dark burst of violent blood mana born from hunger and wrath. The energy slammed into Kaiden’s chest mid-dash like a battering ram. The Twilight Ripper’s lifesteal shield healed a bit of the damage, but it was not at all enough to sustain the whole blast. Kaiden was thrown backward, smashing into a pillar. The vampire stood tall now, though his shoulders were heaving, claws arcing with corrupted mana, and his expression twisted in pure fury. He hissed out between clenched fangs as he looked at the [Sigil of Domination]’s mark on his body. "WHEN. WILL. IT. END?!?" His gaze locked onto Kaiden’s slowly rising form. "You are beneath me, human. This duel was never yours to win." But Kaiden only lifted his blade again, bloodied and burned... yet smiling. Because despite the pain, despite being staggered and hurt, he’d drawn blood. He injured the monster with his blade. Which meant... he could kill this creature. He’d already invested his available attribute points, but there was one more thing within his arsenal that could give him an advantage. [Upgrade Points: 2]

Chapter 235: Astral Carving

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