Assimilate All Talents-Chapter 382 - 381: A New Era (Part 4)

"The first wielder of the sword, I call upon thee, [Warrior]!"

As Princess Valerie completed her chant, the humanoid figure behind her fully took shape, becoming a tall entity clad in full body armor with a greatsword strapped to its back.

From outside the barrier, Aron commented to the rest of the squad, "So this is the Princess's ability? I didn't know she could summon people."

Rex shook his head and responded in a low voice, careful not to draw attention from the nobles watching. "That's not a person. Look closely."

Aron turned his gaze back to the Warrior and, upon a second look, noticed Rex was right. Though it looked humanoid, it resembled an extraordinary suit of armor. Within the small gaps in its plating, no man could be seen, only an orange light coursed through it, making its eyes and the crevices of its body glow faintly with life.

Unsure what to make of it, Aron asked, "Then what is it?"

"The manifestation of a concept," Duncan explained. "Princess Valerie's legendary talent is [Avatar Summoner]. It grants her the magic to summon avatars that represent certain professions: warriors, archers, mages, and the like. They appear humanoid with that metallic armor, but there's no flesh inside, and they don't think or feel like real people."

"What do you mean by 'concepts'? A warrior is a warrior, no?" Aron asked, confused.

Surprisingly, Lapis was the one to chime in. "What do you think of when you hear the word 'warrior'? Sure, we know it's a term for any melee combatant, but what about the average person? They probably imagine a strong man wielding a massive sword, charging fearlessly into battle. That's what she's summoning. Not some random fighter or a creation made out of mana like regular summons, but the very idea of a warrior, what it represents to the collective mind. That's also why it carries that oversized sword instead of a spear, axe or any other weapon."

"It's exactly as you said…" Duncan admitted, slightly taken aback since he had been about to explain the same thing.

Lazuli blinked in surprise at her sister's insight. "How do you know all this, Sis?"

"Sinara." Lapis replied flatly.

"Umm… Who?" Lazuli hadn't heard that name before. At first, she assumed it was someone the squad had met while she was dead, but judging by everyone else's equally blank expressions, that wasn't the case.

"Forget it. Pay attention to the fight." Lapis muttered, brushing aside the ethereal laughter echoing in the back of her mind.

Back inside the barrier, Valerie had already summoned two more avatars: the Mage, who wielded a large staff, and the Pugilist, equipped with a pair of spiked knuckles. The trio advanced toward Gladys, the Warrior leading the charge.

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Gladys, however, looked unimpressed and let out a sigh. "All that talk, and for this? [Icicle Rain]."

A single icicle materialized in the air and shot toward Valerie.

Before it could reach her, the Warrior avatar dashed forward, unsheathing its greatsword in a blur. With one clean, powerful swing, it cleaved the icicle in two, shattering it into a spray of glittering ice.

But another icicle formed in the air immediately after.

Then another.

Then five more.

Each one launched toward Valerie like bolts fired from ballistas.

The Warrior moved swiftly, slashing the incoming projectiles. Its orange glow flared brighter with each swing. For a time, it held the line. But the barrage didn't stop. Ten icicles turned into twenty, then dozens more. They rained down in every direction, not only targeting Valerie, but blanketing the chamber in crystalline death.

Seeing the sheer volume, Nataly gasped. "How is she casting this fast, and so many at once?! That's not possible, even with [Loop Casting]!"

[Loop Casting] merely allowed a mage to quickly recast the same spell by following the previous spells mana pathway, reducing the downtime between uses. But this was something else entirely. Each cast created more icicles than the last.

Gladys didn't move. She remained rooted in place, icicles firing endlessly from above, her expression bored as she exaggerated a yawn. "Don't expect this to let up, girl. It'll only get worse from here."

This was her Law Technique, [Recursive Casting]. The ascension of [Loop Casting], it allowed her to construct previously impossible mana pathways. Each cast didn't just bypass the need for chanting, but was capable of generated additional casting pathways. One cast became two. Two became four. And with every iteration, it grew. As long as she had mana, the number of spells she could cast would scale infinitely.

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The Mage avatar raised its staff and conjured a blazing wall of fire to melt the incoming icicles midair. The Pugilist leapt into the fray, fists glowing with mystic energy as it shattered projectiles with raw strength.

But it wasn't enough.

No matter how many they broke, more came.

Dozens turned into hundreds. A relentless storm of deadly ice.

The avatars began to falter under the pressure. The Warrior's fluid strikes slowed, its greatsword chipped and worn from constant impact. The Pugilist's arms grew stiff, shards of ice piercing its gauntlets and impairing its motion. The Mage's flames began to weaken, melting fewer and fewer icicles as the spell barrage intensified.

Wave after wave crashed down, until finally, a massive volley of icicles descended all at once.

The avatars were overwhelmed. Their forms collapsed beneath the storm, vanishing in bursts of orange light as the icicles buried them.

Several of the deadly spears slipped past, flying straight for Valerie.

But she didn't flinch.

"The first and last line of defense, I call upon thee, [Knight]!"

A fourth avatar manifested in front of her, a towering figure even broader than the Warrior. It bore a massive shield nearly as large as its body. Unlike the others, its armor was dense and heavy, built for endurance over mobility.

As the icicles neared, the Knight stepped in front of Valerie and raised its shield.

The icy spears slammed into it with deafening force.

But none passed.

Shards ricocheted harmlessly off the massive bulwark. The Knight stood firm, unmoving, its metal body absorbing the relentless assault with unshakable poise. The air shimmered with frigid magic, but Valerie remained untouched, her gaze calm and steady as it met her aunt's.

Gladys scoffed.

"Pathetic. All I did was cast a single intermediate spell, and all you can do is hide behind your summons. It's time to end this. Oh cold and frigid winds—"

The icicles continued to crash down toward Valerie and the Knight, keeping them pinned as Gladys began to chant a new spell. But unlike before, this one was being cast aloud.

For Gladys to resort to vocal casting meant only one thing:

This wasn't just any spell, it was an advanced spell. And on the high end of advanced spells at that.