Surrounded by powerful space ruptures, it was impossible for Boko to escape by himself now.
Flora negotiated with Boko as if she was confident. However, she was not. Saving Boko in such a situation was a difficult task, and even if she succeeded, she might lose an arm or two in the process… not worth it.
They needed Sunders to actually save Boko. Sunders had been hiding nearby and waiting for Flora’s “bargaining”, and he showed up when the price was good enough, maintaining both his image and his profit.
When Boko’s death was imminent, Sunders moved. The man in gentleman wear suddenly widened his eyes and drew a strange trail in the air using his black walking cane. Mana unleashed from his fingers, and a spell quickly formed up in his hand.
The time a wizard needed to cast a spell depended on how well he or she understood the spell as well as proficiency. To cast a spell instantly, a wizard either needed to consolidate the spell onto the spirit model at the cost of one spell slot or possess a thorough knowledge of the spell’s nature. The first choice was extravagant while the other one required a deep knowledge base. Either one showed a wizard’s refined wisdom, and Sunders just proved himself by casting a random spell instantly.
The power of the spell flipped his black-golden cloak around which fluttered in the raging wind.
A monstrous equine covered in scales and black flame emerged from Sunders’ cane. It let out a long and distant neigh, stomped at the air, creating a spell array beneath its hooves. Next, the flaming horse turned into a black flash and dashed between the space ruptures while heading towards Boko.
In the next moment, Boko’s figure reappeared on the spell array created by the flaming horse while the horse replaced Boko by standing among the ruptures.
Boko was unsure of what just happened and looked left and right in panic. When he realized he was out of danger, he sighed in relief.
“A spell of the Phantom Master… Nightmare Substitute!” Boko looked at the flaming horse in his original position and exclaimed.
Nightmare Substitute was one of Sunders’ signature spells. He could use a nightmare substitute to escape any deadly situation. It was a unique skill even in the wizarding world.
Boko expressed his surprise for a moment and looked at Sunders.
Sunders reached out a hand and hooked his finger at Boko.
Boko quickly moved to the man with a joyful expression.
“Not you. Give me the Fragments of Eternity.”
Boko froze up. His expression was filled with pain and hesitation. He stuttered, “I—I, I think we can—”
“Hand. Them. Over.” Sunders was firm.
Boko was almost crying by now as he stuttered, “My—your—maybe we can talk this over—”
“Enough. We made a deal. I saved you and you will pay for it. Give me now or I’ll throw you back in there,” said Sunders. He was getting impatient. He simply summoned a nightmare to carry Boko on its back. Another order and the creature would immediately charge into the ruptures.
“Nononono! Put me down!” Boko was already exhausted dealing with the ruptures and since he was a Bloodline Wizard who used the blood of plants, his stamina was weaker than the other Bloodline Wizards. The fire was something he feared by nature. Now the black flame on the nightmare only made him want to faint.
“Okay! I’ll give them to you!” Boko screamed.
Sunders did not order the nightmare to release him. It was only when Boko took the applicator bottle from his space pouch that the nightmare finally let him climb off.
Sunders kept his deal. He took 16 drops from the 20 fragments and left four for Boko. Boko kept a sad face as if he was attending his family funeral during the exchange. Even though Sunders was someone way more powerful than him, he still did not hide his greed and hatred. The rumors about the stingy man were real.
Sunders smiled when he got what he asked. The 16 drops of Fragment of Eternity were worth the trip.
Great destiny could be found during a plane fusion. This was common knowledge among wizards. However, they still needed to be strong to find such destiny. Only legendary wizards were powerful enough to compete. The southern region had not witnessed any new legendary wizard for a thousand years. Whatever destiny there was, it could not be reached by ordinary people.
The weaker wizards could only collect leftovers around the edge and even leftovers had good and bad ones.
Fragment of Eternity was the major material used for Sorcerer’s Garden and could not be found normally. One only had the opportunity to acquire a few at the beginning of a plane fusion. It was one of the most valuable “leftovers”.
Sixteen drops of fragments were not enough to construct a full-sized Sorcerer’s Garden but should be enough to make a smaller one.
A Sorcerer’s Garden was a standard asset for major wizard organizations. Only a few selected individuals possessed them because the essential materials were hard to find. However, even a small Sorcerer’s Garden could greatly help a wizard improve his or her strength.
Sunders felt content, while Boko sulked in his own sorrow.
“Teacher. This way!” Flora called.
Boko wiped his tears away and looked at Flora. She somehow built a giant blood magic array in the air using a good amount of magic crystals and other materials.
Boko looked carefully. He realized that the magic array was used for protection and amplification… as well as teleportation within a small area.
Such teleportation could easily go wrong in the affected area of the plane fusion. He did not know why Flora put up such a magic array.
His doubt was answered soon.
Several kilometers away, between the gap of the water tornadoes, a group of wizards wearing green robes were hurrying to the scene. An old woman with white hair and cranberry ear charm was taking the lead.
Lady Danae from Gravity Forest!
Of course, Boko understood why one of the masters of his own organization had come. Why Flora set up a spell array in advance as well as why Sunders only asked for 80 percent of his fragments… Because Lady Danae was coming!
Perhaps Lady Danae could not defeat Sunders, but there were a lot of them! Flora’s magic array was to prevent them from ganging up against herself and Sunders.
Boko regretted his decision to the bones! It was only another dozen seconds and he would have been saved without having to hand over his Fragments of Eternity.
Boko gnashed his teeth at Sunders, who was not even looking at him. Only Flora caught the gesture and directed a sweet smile at Boko.
To Boko, the smile meant the worst taunt in the world. Yet, he could not do anything about it.
…
Lady Danae spent lots of resources to locate Boko’s position and traveled to the spot using a plane passageway. She hurried to the fusion spot only to see Boko wearing a sad face.
Lady Danae looked at Sunders and Flora floating not far and cringed.
The pair, combined with Boko’s condition… something was absolutely wrong.
“How many Fragments of Eternity have you gathered?” Lady Danae quickly asked.