Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 330 Astral Barrier
Storms and thunder from the eternally flowing atmospheric plane flowed into the elemental pool within the prime plane tower via beacon channels extending from the mage tower.

This elemental power, which should have been specially processed and converted into the main tower's driving energy, was instead directly guided to another special device at the top of the tower. The straight trunk branched out at the top into five branches, one long and four short, arranged in a crown shape, piercing the sky like a lightning rod.

Primal elemental forces swirled and flowed at the top, connecting with the air currents of the clouds. Despite it being a clear winter day, the weather above the Arcane Tower suddenly changed.

The turbulent air currents propelled the clouds together, causing them to rub and collide. Restless charges and energy flows brewed and accumulated in this gloomy landscape, like silver snakes dancing in the sky as dark clouds gathered.

With the control hub in hand, Akram turned his gaze to the troublesome guests. He was waiting to observe the effects of the anti-magic beams before giving them a surprise attack once their protective spells broke and they fell into the Death Magic Zone.

The wind, thunder, and lightning descending from the clouds are not directly summoned or shaped by magic spells, so the resistance from anti-magic fields is quite limited. This violent, almost divine power is not so easy to resist.

The only concern is what other tricks the opponent might have up their sleeve, such as legendary items or even powerful and difficult-to-counter items like near-divine artifacts.

The anti-magic beam suddenly struck the site of the magic circle ceremony, its cold, deep, eerie light smearing everything—soil, stone, grass, and trees—as if to transform the place into a desolate and gloomy other world.

But when the light and shadow faded, Akram was astonished to find that the situation was not at all what he had thought.

All the chaos and deathly silence were repelled and isolated by a barrier. The transparent membrane, which emitted an unpredictable luster, was like a soap bubble that would burst at the slightest breeze. It was clear that Akram, who was equally knowledgeable, felt his heart sinking.

This soap bubble-like thing has a rather high-end and sophisticated name—the Astral Barrier.

That seemingly fragile membrane, which appears to be easily punctured, is actually the boundary between the astral plane and the material plane!
The astral plane, located in a higher dimension and serving as a passage connecting many planes, had a corner torn off and draped over the outer edge of the ritual array like a veil. No matter how intense the external erosion was, it could not penetrate even a little bit inward.

The group from Neverwinter Academy, shrouded within the Astral Barrier, seemed to be in another world, completely detached from the outside world.

The fraternity leader's face was so gloomy it looked like it was about to drip water. What appeared to be a fragile membrane was actually an extremely troublesome tortoise shell.

As a place where spirit and energy converge and flow, the astral plane has an immeasurable capacity to contain these non-physical entities. This astral barrier alone can absorb the vast majority of spells, energy, elemental, and even psionic attacks and transfer them to the vast astral plane.

As for physical entities, they can indeed pass through this barrier, but...

Putting aside the question of where to find a chosen one with the courage and qualifications to face a group of top spellcasters, even if they were to charge forward recklessly, the final result would inevitably be that they would be stuck in front of the barrier and become charging metal.

Any mortal that comes into contact with this astral veil will have its soul immediately sent to wander the astral plane, which is considered equivalent to traveling with the astral plane.

Being passively adrift in the boundless astral plane as a purely spiritual existence is no fun. If it's a spellcaster with relevant experience, it's fine, at least there's a coordinate anchor point to go back. But for those roughnecks, it's a real problem.

The most likely scenario is that they'll drift aimlessly through the timeless astral plane, until their lifespan in the prime material plane runs out, and they die peacefully upon their return. Of course, there are always some who know absolutely nothing but rely on their status as chosen ones, capable of traversing even the deepest abyss of hell multiple times—in that case, let's disregard that.

The Arcane Tower's device has projected the primordial power of the wind elemental plane into the sky, and the changes in the celestial phenomena and the churning of the clouds are becoming increasingly intense and obvious, indicating that the arrow is already on the bowstring and must be released.

Regardless of the outcome, there was no turning back now. Akram took a deep breath and manipulated the weather pointer at the top of the tower to begin influencing the changes in the cloud weather.

The friction and collision within the clouds, which had been brewing for a long time, suddenly intensified in an instant. Countless charges generated sparks, and thousands of lightning bolts intertwined and entangled. Then, the dark clouds exploded, like the Milky Way bursting its banks and pouring into the mortal world. Endless, dazzling light pierced the sky and struck the earth.

Its momentum was immense, as if the sky were collapsing. This represented one of the most violent and destructive forces in the natural order, which transformed into a continuous barrage of lightning that struck the ritual barrier. The small area was now as if it were submerged in a thunderous hell.

The Brotherhood mages, seeing this, were excited and encouraged, and even threw out all sorts of spells, such as Disintegrate, Isaac's Missile Storm, Ruby Reversal Ray, and so on, which added a lot of momentum to the scene.

Unlike the optimistic members, Akram was not optimistic about the effect of this attack, and the most likely outcome was that it would have no effect at all.

Good things don't come true, but bad things do!
Sometimes Akram felt helpless about his own premonitions and his tendency to jinx things.

The outcome completely confirmed his prediction. After the storm, the area within the opponent's barrier remained peaceful. The previous howling wind and thunder were like pebbles sinking into a lake, creating a few ripples before disappearing without a sound.

As for the spells cast by their own little brothers, the vast majority of them couldn't even penetrate the anti-magic field surrounding the astral barrier; they were merely "firing three shots to bolster their prestige."

He was feeling quite frustrated. As a dignified archmage, commanding a group of subordinates and holding sway over his own mage tower, he was powerless against the barrier thrown by the other party.

What's even more infuriating is that if this were some profound and unfathomable legendary magic that could subdue people with force, that would be one thing—if one's skills are inferior, one would simply admit defeat. The problem is that this thing actually injures people with its own power.

For spellcasters of his caliber, the Astral Barrier is not an obscure or difficult technique; the key is that its core is too rare and too difficult to acquire.

This magical barrier requires the purest and most brilliant essence of the astral plane to communicate with and guide the dimensional curvature of the astral plane, causing it to briefly overlap with a corner of the prime plane.

This primordial essence exists only on rare continents or large islands in an astral plane that is almost a void with occasional turbulent currents, boulders, and floating islands. It is a treasure buried deep within the astral plane—divine matter.

These continents or islands are essentially the corpses of gods. After their fall, the gods were dragged into the astral plane. As a unity of beliefs and rules, they can also take on a tangible existence in the astral plane, drifting in this graveyard of gods, waiting for an extremely slim chance of resurrection.

Thank you to Tian Tian Lin for the reward and monthly ticket support, and also thank you to Xiao Sheng You Cai Yi You De, Ye Bing Yuan, and Wan Liu Tong Yuan for the monthly ticket support. Thank you all!
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(End of this chapter)