Chapter 147: The Mission
Unedited Chapter.
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The speed at which that meteorite was traveling and its mass meant that the power needed to deflect it had to be tremendous. Sometimes it is even impossible to deflect, due to the powerful magnetism beneath them.
But this time he deflected it with terrifying precision, showing strength far beyond what he should have and also an exquisite use of magic.
Hardrial also realized that this was not magic he had taught him, so it must have been magic created by him.
To be able to create such good magic and cast it with such precision, so that it had enough force to deflect the fall of a meteorite with magnetism, was something he had never witnessed before. This boy’s talent was too amazing.
Saying that he was born into the Habsburg family was no longer enough to explain this talent. Quite simply, the Habsburgs weren’t that good.
Only a family on the level of the Lockwards could produce that kind of genius. The question is, why isn’t he in the family?
There were many questions concerning Louis’s true identity, but Hardrial didn’t want to delve into it.
He only knew that right now he was his student, so he had to protect and teach him.
Louis smiled with slight embarrassment.
"The magic hit the nail on the head, so it turned out better than I expected." He smiled.
Meanwhile, Laura, the most stunned person there, looked at him in shock. "You..." She looked at the revolver in his hand, then at the meteorite in the river, and felt a sudden headache coming on.
Level 3 magic she had never seen before, clearly not part of the basic Level 3 spells. What’s more, it had such a strange formation and activated so suddenly while she was in midair that...
She couldn’t understand what the hell had happened. The only thing she understood was that this man had done something ridiculously dangerous, but astonishingly accurate. Very incredible.
Faced with such a situation, she turned around and went back to sleep. With such people out there, she didn’t think they needed her presence.
The beasts continued to watch them from below, so Hardrial remained alert while talking to Louis the rest of the time. No other meteorites fell nearby.
And since the mission specifically stated that he should attack any meteorites that attempted to fall on this mountain, he did not attack other meteorites, although he did run simulations in his mind to know what to do in case any of his attacks failed.
The next morning, he continued his training and looked up at the sky, clearly waiting for the next meteorite. It did not take long to arrive.
While they were both learning magic, Louis suddenly stood up and looked at the sky, seeing a meteorite approaching rapidly.
"I won’t deflect this one," Louis said when Hardrial came up to him.
"Are you planning to destroy it?" he asked.
"Not for now." He shook his head. "I’ll make it fall faster," he said.
"What for?" Hardrial looked at him, bewildered. What good would that do?
Louis smiled. He couldn’t answer him because it was simply what the mission said.
He said, "Make the meteorite fall faster."
"Take Laura downstairs to keep her safe. I’ll come down as soon as I’m done."
Hardrial frowned. "Leaving my student alone while he performs magical experiments is something I’ve never done, so just do it. I’ll support you in case you fail or when it falls," he said.
He took Laura downstairs, but he didn’t go down himself. He stayed near the tip of the mountain and physically prepared himself for anything.
His weapon, some powerful items, and more to resist the fire were on him.
He knew that Louis understood the danger of what he was doing. The fire brought by these meteorites is capable of pulverizing a person in a matter of seconds.
And the moment he hastens his fall, he would have to fly away from here or throw himself down the mountain to avoid that terrible fire. The question is, would he have time? And if he did, would he survive the fall?
Even though he had grown stronger, falling from such heights on a mountain strengthened by magic like this one was not wise. The trees here were like knives waiting for him below.
Furthermore, the sun had not yet set, which meant that the winds in the middle zone were still very strong.
That’s why he had to stay.
Meanwhile, Louis looked at the meteorite.
It was still far away, but it wouldn’t be long before it fell, so he needed to act quickly.
He had been thinking for several days about how he could speed up the fall of a meteorite. Was that even possible?
He had to run through many mental simulations and observe the meteorites falling in the distance to figure out how to do it.
In the end, he came to the conclusion that he needed to cast four spells and fire one physical shot. The spells would cause the bullet to ricochet off them and ultimately hit the meteorite from behind.
The problem is that doing this while the meteorite is in motion is not at all easy, and the choice of spell must be very careful.
It couldn’t be wind magic, because that would alter the direction of the meteorite and cause it to miss. Nor could it be water magic, because that would slow down the meteorite if it were hit.
Earth magic, on the other hand, would work much better because it has changes in density that can be programmed under certain movements.
Now, to do this, he would have to be prepared to fail several times.
But, unfortunately, the mission says that he only has one chance each time, and failing one would mean failing the mission.
The first was to deflect the meteorite.
The second was to make it fall faster.
The third was to destroy it.
And the reward was one he couldn’t refuse.
He looked at his system to cheer himself up and looked at the rewards.
First Reward: 500 system coins.
The most normal reward, to tell the truth, although it was a good amount of points, he wasn’t that excited about it.
Second Reward: Book of Magic of the Ancient Empire.
An amazing reward that brought the name of that Empire to the table once again. The first time he heard it was when he was passing the missions on Floor 10 and heard it from the mouths of beasts.
Seeing a magic book from that era would be interesting, so he was very interested in it.
But there was still a third reward, being the first mission that gave him so many rewards, and this one was the most impressive.
Third Reward: Unlocking the First Lock, out of three, to the Next Level of the System.
An upgrade to the system. Ever since he woke up, he knew that his system was not the same as that of the other Ascended. It was different and seemed to be linked to his class, so having an upgrade to the system surely meant something amazing for him.
He seemed to smile, excited.
Then he raised his revolver toward the incoming meteorite, determined to do it.
Without thinking too much about it, he fired the first spell, with measured power.
Immediately after, he fired the second, in the same way. Then a third and a fourth.
The firing speed even surprised Hardrial, but at that very moment, an additional shot was fired.
This one was much faster than the first ones, but given the distance the first four spells had covered, they overtook it and soon arrived right next to the meteorite.
Louis’s heart leapt into his throat and he clenched his teeth gently, eager to see what would happen.
The four earth spells were ones he had created himself. They were made of solid rock, where the bullet could bounce off.
Now, they were all level 3 spells and dense enough that the bullet couldn’t penetrate them, or so he thought.
That... he hoped.
At that moment, the spells surrounded the meteorite, without affecting its trajectory.
One was above it on the left. Another was just below it. Another was above it on the right, and finally, the fourth was above everything else. Together, they seemed to form a strange, misshapen rhombus around the meteorite.
Just the kind of shape Louis needed for the bullet to ricochet off.
But would he have time to get the bullet there before all that magic hit the meteorite?
’...’
Louis stared at it and soon witnessed the physical bullet arrive.
It struck the active rock magic in the left corner with astonishing precision. The power of the physical shot sent it flying away, but the peculiarity of that magic caused the bullet to bounce downwards.
In an instant, the magic below, also active, was hit by the bullet, which pushed it down with great force and bounced again, right in the direction of the next magic, the one at the top right.
The final bounce came when the bullet hit that active magic and went looking for the last magic that was supposed to bounce it down.
This magic had moved away from the meteorite a little, as they were both going in opposite directions, so Louis gritted his teeth.
’...Please, it works...’ he prayed in his mind.