Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 897 - 834: Who is Morocoy’s Masterpiece

"Heal the wounded! Use the magic potion! Don’t use the one with the skull mark!" Mr. Law was coordinating Liches to heal the wounded. The Mantis Monster attack was highly successful; the living armies were either dead or gravely injured. Those rescued by Carlos barely clung to life, struggling even to move their tongues. This afforded the undead a chance to supplement the lack of logistics and medical care. Healing the wounded was never a specialty of the Liches, and Mr. Law never dropped his guard, standing outside the barrier set by Mr. Jing, eyeing each stretcher-bearing Lich with suspicion.

"Put it down! They can’t regrow limbs!"

"You! Don’t pour the potion down their nasal cavity!"

"Get lost! Take your artificial heart and get out of here!"

Spiritual power nearly burned out, Carlos, supported by someone, approached Mr. Law, flashing a carefree smile and expressing gratitude to the Magic Research Society for their rescue efforts.

"Well done, my friend."

"The situation doesn’t look good, sir," Mr. Law replied, dragging a blood-spitting human out of the barrier and pouring Witch’s Potion onto his wounds. "The frontline reports suggest the Immunity response has already begun. These people must be treated and sent back to the battlefield immediately. They have no time to rest. And neither do you."

Carlos nodded, indicating he understood.

"Don’t worry, I’ll drink the Elf Secret Potion to recover my spiritual power. The army’s morale hasn’t shifted significantly; we can keep fighting. However..." Carlos glanced behind Mr. Law, at the overlapping shadows in the air surrounded by crystalline frames. "Is he okay handling this alone? Because of our mistakes, the Mantis Monsters have already evolved, and the swarm has become incredibly tricky. I know that feeling all too well—it’s like every joint in your body gets locked in crisis."

Recognizing familiar spellcasting techniques, Carlos easily identified that Mr. Jing shared the same origin as himself, knowing his father also taught at the Lich Academy. The warm camaraderie of former classmates compelled Carlos to worry about his junior who bore the immense workload alone. His other junior, Mr. Law, responded to this concern calmly.

"Mr. Carlos, we don’t mean to be rude. But please don’t judge us through the limitations of the living. We don’t need rest, we don’t experience confusion, and we have ample time to study all the knowledge and skills our scholar-teacher has imparted. What you cannot do doesn’t mean we can’t either." As one of the first students taught by the Blue Dragon Priest, Morocoy’s son, eldest disciple Carlos, inevitably found himself cited in professor-focused anecdotes. The strict standards set by the God of Magic easily shaped a reputation for Carlos among the Lich apprentices as a lazy and dimwitted spawn.

"You’ve already surpassed my son, Jing. You’re better than him. Oh, apologies—exceeding him isn’t exactly praiseworthy."

"Law, I wish my bloodline had half your diligence."

"Miracle! Your reckless personality will definitely cost you dearly—just like Carlos!"

"Inspiration... No, you’ve done well. I was just reminded of that idiot."

The scholar-teacher’s classic professorial demeanor and superb lecturing capability effortlessly cemented a Tiger-Father-Dog-Son image among his apprentices, which led to some bias against Carlos, the eldest brother of the group. The scholar noticed this but said nothing, for academically speaking, Carlos indeed fell short compared to his other disciples.

Mr. Law’s cold response briefly stunned Carlos; he quickly relaxed and laughed, waving his hand as he turned to leave.

"I’ll leave it to you all then!"

...

The sharp wing buzz reverberated between the luminous sky and water’s surface. The Mantis Monsters lunged ferociously at the Liches but only managed to shatter the reflective surfaces of mirrors. The hateful figure fragmented into more than a dozen pieces but still conversed casually as if unbothered.

"You might try spacetime jumping to escape this Mirror World." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

But it was futile; the Mantis Monsters had attempted it long ago. The vast, pristine Mirror World appeared fragile, easily breaking through spatial barriers. Yet behind every mirror lay another mirror. Two mirrors facing each other allowed countless identical reflections to stand parallel. This was the special, terrifying nature of mirrors. Infinite versions of oneself staring back, overwhelming thought processes with cognitive dissonance. Blurring self-perception, reality, and illusion.

Magic, however, possessed an intriguing fundamental concept: believe and it exists, doubt and it doesn’t. Knowledge and concepts serve as channels of trust.

"Weak spellcaster, your tricks are useless against me." The hardened exoskeletal face of the Mantis Monster couldn’t display emotions, but its aggressive tone remained as it shouted at its reflection.

The swarm barked dire threats at the lurking enemy, yet when the compound eyes with enhanced vision scanned the mirror, they caught a chilling sight. The reflection behind it had changed actions. The mirrored version glared back with hatred and venom, lunging at itself.

Blades clashed, identical force driving each Mantis Monster backward. Warily watching its mirrored self, one fearsome name surfaced in the Mantis Monster’s mind.

Mirror Demon.

A creature bound within the mirror, yearning to replace its real-world counterpart. In the Mirror World, reality and illusion blurred further as monsters began crawling out from behind the mirrors.

Returning primal fear urged the Mantis Monsters to try yet another spatial jump, fleeing these creatures. But upon landing in another Mirror World, seeing yet another Mirror Demon emerge, the swarm experienced icy dread from the inescapable horror.

"With every leap, I craft a new Mirror World for you. You may be singular, but your Mirror Demon is not. Strive to survive, for this is the scholar-teacher’s assignment."

Every Mantis Monster faced the same predicament—hunted by multiples of themselves. Identical capabilities and strength made resistance futile; the eventual outcome seemed to be shredded by Mirror Demons. Yet under such duress, the Mantis Monsters evolved much faster. Still, the unfortunate consequence? Their upgrades were mirrored onto the Mirror Demons too.

The Queen Mantis Monster, her shell patterned beyond recognition, tightened her arms defensively against a Mirror Demon’s strike. Her visionary guidance led the swarm to develop sturdier defenses, unyielding even to herself—entering prolonged battle with Mirror Demons. Severed antennae and shattered mandibles issued triumphant cries nonetheless.

"Filthy Lich! Your scheming has been uncovered! The Mirror World is inescapable, and the Mirror Demons are indeed terrifying. But a true mirror reflects everything indiscriminately in its presence. If the Mirror World copies the sky and water’s surface, copies us Mantis Monsters, it surely must copy you too, hiding in the shadows. You, Spellcaster maintaining the Mirror World, are being hunted by countless versions of yourself as well."

"With each leap creating new Mirror Worlds, the swarm shall accelerate your death!" Withstanding attacks while jumping between mirrors, the swarm fully trusted their Queen to rapidly produce new Mirror Demons of themselves. Confident that their adaptive resilience during assault distinctly surpassed the Lich’s endurance.

And indeed, as the Mantis Monsters predicted.

Mr. Jing was surrounded by countless Mirror Demons of himself. Worse yet, each copied self wielded powers Jing did not possess—the magical abilities reflected from the people he’d mirrored in the past, now weapons of the Mirror Demons.

[You shouldn’t tamper with forces beyond your control.]

The voice of Apocalypse echoed in Jing’s mind.

Among the Mirror Demons, a distinct figure emerged, carrying a staff and donned with an ancient mask. Its dreadful magic suppressed all nearby Mirror Demons.

"Teacher." No, it was Jing’s fantasy of a more powerful self.

"I am superior to you, Jing. You should entrust everything to me."

Jing paused briefly, pulling out a glowing charm.

"Though I wear the mask of compliance in the classroom, I am no obedient student."

The charm activated, resonating with Mr. Law’s voice, creating a halo around Jing. It was Mr. Law’s Outlaw Extraction Charm—evading curses, escaping detection, dodging arrows, and nullifying consequences from contracts or enforced terms.

Including escape from Mirror Demon pursuits.

The Outlaw granted Jing an untouchable, untraceable space, eluding the Mirror Demons.

However, the Mirror Demons soon pulled out their own glowing charm.

"Outlaw removes the Outlaw’s privilege."

Mr. Jing’s face froze. His recent "bad student" declaration turned moot as he once again faced encirclement.

"We cheat too, Jing."

"Do you really believe you can deceive yourself?"