Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 328 Simulation
However, he could delay as long as possible and deal with the immediate crisis first. After all, he was a high-ranking member of the organization, and even if the sky fell, he would still have Archmages Akram and Quelta as pillars of support.

Blasca, a former defector, felt no qualms about making his boss take the blame.

Unfortunately, neither of the leaders on either side was willing to suffer in silence and accept a muddled account.

"What? Are you trying to live a long life like reptiles by hiding in your shell at such a young age? If you're always so timid, you won't see the little tricks of the people around you."

Only an old relic like the former dean, who is nearly a thousand years old, could call someone who is over a hundred years old a young person.

Akram, whose race had been completely changed, didn't care about the other party's taunts. Sensing the hidden meaning in their words, he seemed to retort:
"The Arcane Brotherhood is a group of like-minded spellcasters who share the same ideals. Do you think you can shake our resolve with a few baseless accusations?"

"Oh? Philosophy? That's interesting. Back in Waterdeep, you were stealing spell materials behind the academy's back, and now you're coming to our academy to steal people. Tsk tsk, you're right to say we're birds of a feather."

Upon hearing this, Akram immediately understood the problem. He glanced coldly at Blaska, only to see that Blaska's expression was calm and composed, as if the other party was not revealing his own secrets.

But Akram already had a conclusion in his mind about what really happened, but with a formidable enemy at hand, it was not the time to dwell on these trivial matters.

"You're spouting nonsense and talking rubbish. I think you've lived too long and become senile."

Impatient with continuing the argument, Akram raised his hand and made a few gestures. A beam of white light condensed from his fingertips, bursting out into a cone shape. By the time it reached Grimwald, it had become a circle the size of a house, enveloping all of them.

Advanced Dispel Illusion, a spell specifically designed to break illusion projections, was originally intended to affect only a single target. However, with the enhancements from the Mage Tower's supermagic feats such as Amplify, Increase, and Spread, it has become an area-of-effect spell.

After a flash of white light, all illusions vanished, leaving only one figure standing in the same spot.

Akram was somewhat disappointed. After all, a legend is a legend. Even with the support of the Mage Tower, there was no guarantee of victory in such a head-on confrontation.

There was no time to regret it, as the old dean's simulated spell had already taken shape under the cover of the radiance.

Pop pop~ Pop pop~
A bizarre and terrifying high wall made up of giant eyeballs appeared in front of the simulacrum, from which deadly rays of death shot out, striking the group of Luskan ahead.

The Wall of Eyes, a seventh-circle spell, summons a bunch of eyeball turrets that can shoot deadly beams like eye demons.

Even though the caster was merely a replica of the old dean, he still possessed a remarkably high level of spellcasting ability. The summoned eyeballs were far more than just child's play like scorching rays or weakening rays.

Blindness, shock, paralysis, instant death, etc.

These terrifying effects were immediately recognized by the Brotherhood's mages, and some of them looked quite alarmed.

It's not that they can't block it; they all go out with various protective spells, so blocking a few beams is no problem. The problem is that their spell slots are limited, while the Eye Wall's death ray attacks are endless.

Several high-ranking mages from the Brotherhood tried casting dispel or banish spells, but failed to even skip a step. In the end, it was Quel'Tathron, the second-in-command, who stepped in. "Mirror of Matter."

As the incantation faded, a wall that appeared to be made of crystal glass suddenly rose up in front of the onlookers.

Unaware of their surroundings, the giant eyeballs continued to frantically flirt with the mirror in front of them. However, as soon as the rays they shot out hit the mirror in front of them, they turned around as if looking in a mirror. The reflected rays then struck the eyeballs themselves and even the simulacrum behind them, destroying the wall of eyeballs in a matter of moments and almost completely obliterating the simulacrum as well.

Repay the other person with his own way.

After some deliberation, Quelta did not passively respond by simply parrying the attack, but instead chose this rather unusual spell.

The Mirror of Matter is only slightly more effective than a female technician's underwear against swords or general magical attacks; it's essentially just an ornament. However, when it comes to dealing with ranged projectile attacks, including rays and arrows, few spells can match its effectiveness.

In the hands of a high-ranking spellcaster, this can directly deflect or even reflect almost all ranged attacks. Moreover, due to its own spellcasting principle, it does not even require any over-check or saving throw prerequisites. For ranged classes, this thing is the Wailing Wall.

Although he managed to turn the tide, Quelta showed no sign of triumph. If a mere simulacrum was this troublesome, what other tricks might he have up his sleeve?
My eyes looked toward the fading image, but all I saw was a somewhat inexplicable smile on the other person's face.

And the final burst of red light from his hand.

Under the cover of the eye wall, it was impossible to identify the spell cast by the simulation, but the time wasted was enough for the opponent to come up with some tricks.

Quelta had barely recognized it as a hypnotic spell when a dazzling, incandescent light descended from the sky, striking down like the hammer of dawn.

While the Brotherhood mages' shields could withstand the overwhelming surge of positive energy, their bewildered expressions and instinctive aversion to it from their own faction made it difficult for them to take any action for the time being.

Fortunately, Akram's voice rang out at that moment:
"Return to the tower, all of you, and do not resist."

As soon as he finished speaking, circles of light lit up beneath everyone's feet, accompanied by bursts of spiritual light, and all their figures vanished in an instant.

After one exchange, Akram knew the newcomer meant no harm, so he didn't linger and let Quelta lead the other members to deal with the old headmaster's simulacrum, while he himself returned to the tower.

Compared to a mere simulation, the key lies in the opponent's true location and intentions. The previous probing made him realize that confronting the opponent head-on would be pointless. Since he was on home ground, there was no reason not to take advantage of the terrain.

However, even with the energy drawn from the Ocean of Swords, this enormous Arcane Tower is only sufficient for its normal operation. To fully activate this strategic weapon, the Elemental Pool must be running at full power.

Leaving Queltae behind to lead the others to risk their lives to meet the enemy was a last resort; someone had to buy time for the main tower to reach full capacity.

Fortunately, apart from the simulacrum causing some trouble, the other side didn't do anything else, and they managed to bring everyone back safely without any difficulty.

Thank you, Moho-chan, for the monthly pass!
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(End of this chapter)