Chapter 230: Crisis
The crab, with its massive shell blazing in flames, ran across the rocky terrain, leaving a trail of scorched earth in its wake. The spider, on the other hand, moved with a grace that betrayed its colossal size, leaving a trail of frost.
As the two behemoths clashed against each other, it caused the very asteroid to tremble violently. The air around them cackled with mana, its energy waves so intense that it caused the surroundings to either incinerate or freeze.
Surprisingly enough, the purple flowers blooming underneath them weren't damaged in the least. This could only mean one thing: their control over mana was simply extraordinary!
The magic circles in front of the crab's pincers lit up with a fiery light and the next moment, a torrent of searing flames was unleashed, aiming to drown the spider completely.
However, the spider was not so easy to deal with. At the same time that the crab unleashed its flames, the magic circles in front of the spider's spinnerets glowed with an eerie blue light, following which, a barrier of frost was erected.
The two elements clashed against each other, resulting in a magnificent dance of fire and ice.
Adam was mesmerized when he witnessed this magical scene. The ease and fluidity with which these spirit creatures cast their spells was truly a sight to behold.
Just by watching them battle, the youth was able to learn a lot.
As the torrent of fire slowly melted the frost barrier, another magic circle lit up behind the spider. Out of this magic circle, countless ice spears materialized and flew toward the crab at an incomprehensible speed.
But how could the flaming crab be so easily defeated?
The fire covering the crab's shell lit up with such intensity that it turned blue! Before the ice spears could even touch the crab's shell, they were already incinerated by the flames.
As the battle raged on, each of the creatures unleashed the full extent of their elemental powers. Fire and ice clashed over and over again and the two sides gradually reached a stalemate.
Adam suddenly snapped out of his daze when he saw the two creatures slowly moving further and further away from the purple flowers. Seeing this, his eyes lit up.
It's now or never! He screamed inwardly and moved out of the crevice he was hiding in. He then hurriedly ran toward the field of flowers.
But suddenly...
His eyes widened yet again when a large magic circle appeared before the spider.
However, this time, the energy that slowly started to manifest out of this magic circle wasn't made of mana but something else entirely.
"Spiritual power!" Adam involuntarily blurted out in shock.
The mass of energy glowed with an ethereal white light and transformed into a dozen large, pointy shards that shot toward the crab.
Realizing the type of attack it was, the crab also expended its spiritual power and erected a dome of energy surrounding him.
BOOM!
The pointy shards collided against the dome, each getting destroyed into tiny pieces and then finally dissipating into tiny motes of energy.
Tumultuous waves were rising inside Adam's heart as he thought to himself in disbelief, They're casting spells using spiritual power and not mana! How can that even be possible?!
He knew for a fact that it was practically impossible for a Magus to use spiritual power as fuel to cast spells. However, the spirit creatures in front of him were doing it so effortlessly.
Suddenly, realization dawned on him.
Wait could it be because they are Spirit World creatures that they can use spiritual power to cast spells?
They would make sense since their physiology is fundamentally different from any species in the material world.
BOOM!
He was jolted out of his thoughts when the spirit creatures crashed with each other once again.
No time to waste! Adam's gaze turned solemn as he once again started dashing toward the flowers.
There were dozens of these purple-colored flowers on the ground, the bigger ones being at the center. But Adam didn't need the big ones. He doubted if he would even be able to withstand the potency of those big flowers.
He only needed the small ones growing at the periphery. If he could obtain just one then this trip to the Spirit World would have been extremely worthwhile.
He didn't even think of trying to acquire the big ones at the center.
Yes, he was greedy. But he wasn't that greedy.
Just when he was a few meters away from one of the flowers, the gigantic crab and spider sensed his presence!
SCREECH!!
They were enraged that a puny creature had the audacity to even think of taking something that they had been fighting over.
As if coming to an unopposed understanding, the spirit creatures stopped fighting with each other and jointly faced Adam. The next moment, two large magic circles—one red and the other blue—lit up in front of them.
And then...
A deluge of flame and frost gushed out of the magic circles and threatened to drown Adam!
Seeing the joint attacks of the spirit creatures, the youth was scared shitless. However, this wasn't the time to hesitate.
Danger and opportunity have always coexisted since time immemorial. Just as something fortuitous could turn into something life-threatening, a crisis could also turn into an opportunity.
Adam's eyes gleamed with great determination as he ran toward the purple flower closest to him. At the same time, he had already started weaving hand signs. He planned to grab the flower and immediately leave this place.
Just as he was a moment away from completing the physical component of the spell that would teleport him out to the material world, he leaped toward the flower and viciously bit its stalk, yanking it out of the ground with his mouth.
The flower had been acquired and the physical component of the spell had been completed.
However!
It was already too late.
By that time, the tidal wave of fire and ice had already arrived in front of him before drowning him entirely.
A few moments later, when the effects from the elemental spells subsided, the youth had vanished.
The crab and the spider only thought that the puny creature was annihilated by their combined attacks. The next moment, they glanced at each other and restarted their battle with even more ferocity.
...
In the material world, Adam's eyes snapped open. His dark, abyss-like pupils were filled with fear and panic thinking back to what had just transpired.
The next moment, his eyes rolled back as inhumane pain assaulted his mind.
"GAAAAAHHHH!!"
Blood streamed out of his eyes, nose, and ears as he writhed on the ground in excruciating agony. His mind felt like it was being bombarded by fire and ice. The dual sensation of opposing forces was too much for him to bear.
Although he had managed to successfully teleport out of the Spirit World, toward the end he was still struck by the attacks of those gigantic creatures.
Since he had received the attacks in his soul-body form, his mind upon returning to the material world was in absolute chaos.
His spirit sea, which had been calm and peaceful ever since its inception, was suddenly invaded by flames and frost.
Just as the twin elemental attacks threatened to decimate his mind, in the depths of his spirit sea, something astonishing happened.
The white lotus had awoken!