Chapter 59: Immersion
"Strike it in the eye! 'Tis the weakest point! Don't get too close!" Khalid shouted, his voice almost breaking from fear.
The Adalian's hand was curled in a fist, squeezing so hard it was bone white. "Thou should never have brought him here!" He growled at Guyan.
Guyan was about to respond when his voice caught in his throat.
The abomination rushed towards Goleil, the firm fat layers vibrating with each step.
Goleil watched it charge him, his eyes taking in every detail of its movements.
He narrowed his eyes. Something felt off.
The horrors momentum grew until it leaped into the air, a massive fist barreling towards Goleil like a freight train.
Sen exploded from Goleil's body, curling around him as he circulated his mana and further fueled his body with the Elder magic. As he felt the power of Adthun coursing through his veins, Goleil closed his eyes.
"No! What are you doing, you idiot?!" Guyan screamed as the abomination flew across the ring towards the stationary knight.
Fear swept through the spectators, chills down their spines.
Within the crowd, a certain black robed young lady, flanked by the red-plumed Praetorian City Guards, clenched her armrests as her anxiety grew.
The massive fist slammed through Goleil, but it didn't seem to effect him.
Goleil seemed to dissipate into thin air, reappearing behind the horrific monster, his glaive already screaming towards the lopsided body, avoiding the massive mouths.
Red energy blanketed the glaive as it sliced through one of the monsters arms, the worm-like limb crashing to the ground.
An afterimage!
The monster whipped around, it remaining arm racing down towards Goleil like a giant would crush an ant, the severed limb already starting to regenerate.
It's massive hand seemed to pass through Goleil as the golden knight dissipated like a cloud once more.
A massive tentacle of fat exploded from the monsters back, piercing where the knight would reappear behind it.
Or rather, where the monster thought he'd be.
Goleil was above the many mouthed abomination, his glaive plunging down from the heavens.
The blade was sheathed in a thick layer red energy, the sen concentrating around the tip of the weapon.
It trailed the sinister energy as it fell upon the abomination like the lightning bolt of an angry god's divine judgement.
An explosion rocked the ring, sending clouds of dust and shockwaves through the Colosseo.
The knights immediately around the ring were caught in the cloud of dust, sending them into a coughing fit.
The Lords and Ladies had a far better view away from the backlash of Goleil's technique.
Lady Tyria Colm rocketed up from her hiding spot within the crowd. "What magic was that?" She shouted.
"I've never seen anything like it!" Another Lord shouted, and soon a chorus of exclamations and cheers formed.
But some within the crowd had a better eye.
"What's happening in there, Lady Alnwick?!" An armored Lord Brentwood said, his mustache twitching.
The grey clad Lady Minerva Alnwick sighed and rubbed her eyes as she heard Lorcan's armor clink. He had the most guards in Redvale, rivaling even the City Guard. Why did he need armor?!
She glanced into the arena again, checking the fight again.
Every so often, shockwaves blasted through the Colosseo.
"He has reached an extremely formidable level, far stronger than we had estimated. He might even be stronger than Ocargon-"
"What?!" Brentwood roared, his mustache and eyebrows attempting to reach the heavens.
"Let me finish. His body is fueled by not only mana circulation, but also the projection of his magic. Even a moron like you would know that mana projection is extremely difficult, and extremely powerful."
Brentwood was silent, a hand held over his mouth. He glanced back into the dust covered arena. Every so often the fight was illuminated by waves of energy. It did not show any signs of stopping soon.
"Not just that, but he has reached an unprecedented level of control over the projected mana. He can fuel his body, form constructs, strengthen his weapons. And now, it seems he can blast pure magical power from his glaive as a form of attack. You must know what this means."
A particularly strong shockwave slammed into the stands, dark red energy curled around the nobles as if telling them to flee.
The proud aristocrats had to forcefully calm their nerves, or Goleil's bloodthirsty mana would sending them running from the Colosseo.
Lady Alnwick stood calmly and looked into the arena, lifting a small pair of binoculars to her eyes.
"It seems even now, he grows stronger. What a monster. You were right, Lorcan. I am enjoying this," She said with a slight smile.
Lord Brentwood grinned as he looked through the dust and into the arena once more. He knew the unspoken between them, that Goleil was a Mage Knight.
He had heard the legends and tales. He had once dreamed of being a mage knight.
'How enviable,' He thought as his face was plastered with an idiotic grin, his blood pumping. Combat always got him excited.
Back within the magical arena, Goleil couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Why was it so slow?
All it did was wave its massive fists around and extend spikes from its body, it had no skill, no finesse.
Everything seemed to be moving at a snails pace before him, his body forming afterimages as his speed grew.
Now that he had figured out how to strengthen his body, weapons, and armor with the sen he projected out of his body, he was far more powerful than he was merely a day ago.
Each battle it felt like he was gaining a deeper understanding of the mana he projected, and he could apply it to his body far more efficiently.
Before Goleil, the initially terrifying abomination was reduced to a kitten.
Suddenly, the formation itself shuddered.
A strange language resounded within his mind, but it's meaning was clear to him, somehow.
[Loss of Immersion Detected!]
[Initiating Construction of Immersive Environment!]
[All personnel be advised - this is an experimental build. Standby for emergency extraction...]
Goleil blinked, and he was no longer within the Colosseo. In fact, he was no where.
Dark fields of blackened grass stretched out around him for many leagues, sickly fog obscuring his vision. The abomination had disappeared, and he was alone.
"The Inbetween? Why am I here?"
The strange language resounded once more, it's ancient guttural tone grating in his ears.
[Preparations Complete!]
[Initiating Construction!]
It paused, silence reigning for a second.
[Prepare Yourself.]
He blinked again, and his stomachs was turned into knots.
When he opened his eyes, moonlight was all that illuminated the tall rocky crags that surrounded him.
A dark cave lay before him, the murky darkness covering the entrance.
Goleil's ears perked, he could hear quick footsteps.
They were light, too light for his adversary. He readied his weapon anyway, straining his eyes to see into the darkness.
A man with dirty features and a tears streaming down his eyes ran like a bat out hell from the entrance of the cave.
Goleil felt he recognized him, but couldn't place from where he knew the man.
"Turn away, young master! It approaches quic-"
A pale tentacle of flesh pierced the man's chest as he coughed up blood. As it emerged from his chest it wriggled as if it delighted in the sensation of blood covering its body.
A second tentacle pierced the man in the stomach, lifting his body into air.
Goleil rushed forward, but he was too late. The man was ripped in half, his organs spilling from his body.
[Immersion Successful]
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone