A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 440 Super-Order Magic

Kano began chanting obscure incantations, and the gems he carried shimmered with iridescent light.

When an individual is accelerated to the extreme, from the caster's perspective, it is as if time around them stops. This is one of the pinnacles of the transformation system, the ninth-circle spell [Time Stop].

From Kano's perspective now, everything has come to a standstill, even the arcs of light released by the transmutation dust and the barrier consuming each other. He needs to move, to continue moving forward. The surrounding entities and illusions become viscous and blurred, the barrier, the etheric membrane, and spacetime merge, becoming one under the impetus of the transmutation dust.

Now, Kano is briefly separated from its original world and spacetime, as if it were encased in a soap bubble overflowing with iridescent light, sliding outside the spacetime where the prime material plane and the astral plane originally merged.

This process lasted only a moment, the shortest time Kano had ever activated [Time Stop], so brief that his brain couldn't fully grasp what happened. The magic power within his body, which was used to cast the spell, was still flowing and vibrating according to the predetermined spell model.

But everything was different. He had escaped from reality and returned, but now he had arrived in the Astral Plane, at the top of the Transmutation Dust Stream, where tiny crystals were spilling into the boundless void, and the trailing tail behind Cano was being dragged along. It mixed with the distorted spacetime and the remaining power of the Blue Barrier, transforming into a rainbow bridge spanning the earth and the stars.

The magical environment had returned to normal, no longer severely affected by the mixed divine power. Archmage Cano's form began to change; his features faded, and his body gradually became transparent, reflecting the stars. This was to adapt to the environment of the astral plane; he temporarily altered his form to avoid the negative effects of low gravity, lack of oxygen, and other factors.

Now, he finally has the leisure to look at his surroundings.

Before him were several bright and prominent planets, and behind them, the depth of field seemed compressed, with other celestial bodies reflected on top of him. It was said that this was the boundary of the prime material plane, the legendary crystal wall.

And on the crystal wall lies an even more vast and magnificent scene, with the brightest star clusters nestled among bands of dense celestial bodies, which, according to mythological epics, is "the end of the stars."

Behind Kano, he had moved far away from the first obstacle. From the front, the metamorphic dust flow had not changed the shape of the earth, and a beautiful planet could still be seen. However, the scene seemed to have suffered severe chromatic aberration. Only when Kano observed the edge could he see the colorful arcs outlined by the flow.

"Ah, what a beautiful cage."

However, this trip was not for admiring the scenery. The great sorcerer, who had transformed into a silhouette of a human-shaped starry sky, began to cast a spell again. The scene around him shifted and moved around the spellcaster. The starlight in the vicinity receded and moved away, and new brilliance gathered and rose. Distance lost its intuition, and dense galaxies passed through the crystal wall, revealing the true face of "the end of the stars".

The cold, white and black celestial bodies rotated silently, and beneath the matter and energy they exhaled, an upside-down tree emerged.

This was Kano's true "ambition"—to ascend to the Primal Layer. He admired the Tree of Law, his breathing becoming heavy.

The gods have vanished, and the former forbidden land and barrier to intelligent life are now only the strata of transformation. He has finally entered this place to witness the source of all laws and the place where many original texts are kept.

Today is just the beginning of something great. Kano has been thinking about how a loose magic guild can become a truly powerful multinational organization.

In the past, guilds were indeed powerful to the lords, but they were extremely loose and unrestrained for the spellcasters themselves. Therefore, when the situation changed, the guilds split up like they are now, and even faced the crisis of becoming mere shells of their former selves.

The answer to transforming it lies here.

If every trace of spellcasting can be observed, then although recent observations of the "National Assembly" have made Kano hesitant and doubtful about the establishment of the power structure, the existence of the Tree of Law and today's attempt to enter the Primal Layer provide a certain possibility and a certain foundation.

"Time is running out. Let's verify the records in the ancient books one last time." He activated his magic again, preparing to cast [Time Stop] for the second time.

Despite his weakened state, the Primal Layer had its own unique characteristics. Kano felt that his spellcasting process was perfect, and a strong premonition told him that once successful, the effect of the Ninth Ring spell would be perfect.

Initially, the main trunk and the nodes on the first few rings of the Upside-Down Tree of Magic were very active, reflecting spellcasters from all over the world activating their magic. Naturally, the spellcasting process corresponding to the Archmage could not be seen. However, as the spell progressed to higher levels, the number of lit nodes became increasingly scarce. As the preparation for [Time Stop] was about to be completed, the nodes lit up at each level became clearly identifiable.

If the spell is successfully cast, a perfect [Time Stop] will banish the caster, freeing them from their current timeline and spatial barrier.

As the spell neared completion, the information contained within the original text flooded Kano's mind, sending a chill down his spine. He hastily stopped the incantation and his actions. The flowing light on the Tree of Law node link then collapsed.

However, he had already achieved his goal, verifying the feasibility of the Observation Tree monitoring magic throughout the world.

"Hmm?" Suddenly, a very remote side branch caught Master Kano's attention. That branch was completely different from the other brilliant branches of the Tree of Law. Only two kinds of radiance and two kinds of aura were transforming into each other, decay and rebirth.

Nature type? No, it could be necromancy type, first or second tier. Kano's pupils dilated.

Eight, nine, ten, eleven. Starting with a zero-ring spell means it's a ten-ring spell.

A spell surpassing the ninth ring is about to be unleashed! It even appears to be necromancy-based!

A "ground station" converted from a secret testing ground on the outskirts of Valuana.

"Eleven minutes of loss of contact. Prepare to charge the teleportation array and forcibly recall Master Cano." Caroline issued the order in advance based on the teleportation array's preparation time.

Poincaré gazed at the instrument communicating with Carnot, the core of which was a twin crystal, one on Carnot's body and the other connected to an electric current. The crystal on Carnot's body oscillated periodically, and the defects in the crystal lattice of the ground station's crystal would jump synchronously under action at a distance, causing disturbance to the electric current.

The disturbance disappeared in the second minute after launch, returned at 2 minutes and 11 seconds, disappeared again at 2 minutes and 16 seconds, and has remained there ever since.

On the ground station, Snow, Poincaré, and the others were all focused on the instrument, while Caroline, who was in charge of the "command," was suddenly gently patted on the shoulder.

Shh, don't make a sound.

"Rorschach?"

The two used a [communication spell] supported by a "spell cloud".

"I told you, I can come find you after I've dealt with things over there," said Luo Xia, who was invisible under the [Mirror Flower Water Moon] spell. He continued, "If the master doesn't return, adjust the teleportation array's parameters and send me to the 'Border Area,' then I'll go find him."

"Okay. Be careful." Caroline placed the utmost trust in the young man at this moment.

As expected, the first "forced recall" failed.

Caroline, who was designated by her teacher to be in charge, proposed to personally adjust the parameters and try again.

After charging and releasing, the teleportation array remained unresponsive. "Still not working?" Poincaré frowned deeply. Snow had already drunk the fourth bottle of concentrated purple potion, but Cano still hadn't returned.

As soon as he finished speaking, a crack suddenly appeared above the teleportation array, and a fat old man who had not yet fully recovered from his Astral form rolled out.

His first words stunned everyone, including Rorschach, who had also quietly rolled out of the crack: "A necromancer is preparing a super-level spell!"

(End of this chapter)