<h4>Chapter 486 Chapter487-A Mad n </h4>


    Spells are a highly precise system; any interference might lead to unforeseen oues.


    Although teleportation spells are rtively stable and pose less risk, any disturbance could potentially alter the destination.


    A mere two-meter shift, and Howard could be spending the rest of his life with a wall.


    Howard carefully took note of N''s instructions, gesturing reassurance, "Don''t worry, I''ve got a sense of proportion."


    N took a deep breath and directly infused mana into the matrix to activate it.


    She was unaware of the situation at the matrix''s other end, whether the clown mask''s disappearance had caused any changes, or if the stronghold remained as she had left it.


    These unknown risks unnerved N.


    But there was no turning back now.


    With a flicker of white light, N vanished into the brightness.


    Watching N''s figure gradually dissolve, Howard''s gaze remained calm.


    Howard suddenly had a vague sensation, a sort of intuition on how to operate the matrix, how to pinpoint the destination.


    Filled with a touch of surprise, he followed this intuition to activate the matrix.


    The white light flickered.


    Attice of light arose, bringing with it a strong sense of dizziness.


    "Why does every teleportation make me so dizzy? I never had this issue before." Howard muttered to himself in annoyance, the white light dissipating with his breath.


    He found himself in apletely enclosed smallpartment, facing arge desk with bookshelves on one side and a slightly ajar door on the other.


    He spun around, scanning the surroundings, but found no windows.


    Pushing open the door to look into the inner room, he saw a setup as simple as a prison cell.


    Who would choose to live in such a confined space?


    Exiting the inner room, Howard saw N enter from outside.


    "I sensed a faint mana fluctuation and figured you must have arrived, so I came in to check." N lifted her hand, holding a palm-sized signage, its light color marked with awkwardly carved runes in ink, enveloping it in a sense of distortion.


    "This is our target. The Eternal me cult is meddling with these things, and it''s these items that are attracting the beast horde."


    "What is this?" Howard asked curiously.


    Apart from the unsettling distortion, the small signage seemed unremarkable.


    "It''s a foundational material for a ritual." N handed the rune signage to Howard, instructing, "Take a good look, then close your eyes and sense it with your mana."


    Howard nced at N and did as instructed.


    The closer he got, the stronger the sense of distortion from the rune signage became.


    After just a few nces, Howard felt difort in his eyes.


    Rubbing them, he saw nothing unusual.


    Then, he closed his eyes, extending his mana sensing to perceive the signage in his hand.


    This time, he made a discovery.


    In his mana sensing, the rune signage in his hand changed form, bing translucent.


    At its center, a faint golden light pulsed with his breathing, resembling a tiny heart.


    "What is that!" Howard opened his eyes, looking at N.


    His intuition told him that what he had sensed with his mana was far from ordinary.


    Though it was merely the aura of mana, he had never seen mana in such a state before.


    If it could change autonomously, could it possibly give birth to something else?


    What could be birthed entirely from mana in a world where gods, supernatural beings, exist?


    "It''s a foundational material. The Eternal me cult intends to use it to construct a massive ritual to create a god exclusive to them. But their n is doomed to fail, because that''s not how godse into existence. Their actions will only lead to Rodel''s destruction in a mana explosion."


    "How many people are here?" Howard skipped the details.


    Whether Rodel falls to the beast horde or is destroyed in a mana explosion was irrelevant; he was only concerned with how to resolve the issue, "What should we do?"


    "There are many people here; a frontal assault is not advisable." N unfolded a piece of paper, a simplified map of the stronghold.


    This was intelligence scavenged from the clown mask''s soul, which she then sketched out by hand.


    "Look here." N pointed at an area on the map, conspicuously circled in red.


    Several winding passages led to this region.


    "This is the heart of the stronghold, where they produce the rune signage. It concentrates over ny percent of the personnel, including almost all the mana sensitives and nearly a hundred magi!"


    A hundred magi, even if they were all at preparatory-level, could easily overpower a level 2 magi.


    Not to mention, the number of level 3 magi would undoubtedly not be small, and there might even be level 2 magi present.


    "I did a quick tally; there are eleven level 3 magi, all stationed as sentries, not much of a threat. But there are also two level 2 magi who are mobile patrols that we need to be cautious of."


    "We need to pass through this temple, then enter this passage to infiltrate where they store the rune signage, and take away all the signage!"


    "Although these signages are dangerous, they are essentially containers of mana, which can be harnessed and transformed into our own strength." N''s finger moved across the map, outlining the entire operation process.


    The n was straightforward, with the main difficulties focusing on sneaking into the rune signage storage and figuring out how to leave with the signage.


    "How do we exit at the end? They are bound to have set up surveince measures on the rune signage. The moment we take the signage, they will surely react, and that will be the most perilous moment!"


    N nodded.


    "Exactly, I''ve considered that."


    "We don''t need to leave!"


    "We will annihte all these cultists right here!" Howard fell silent.


    After a long pause, he finally asked, "How do you n to wipe them all out? There are only two of us."


    "With those rune signages!" N pointed to the area on the mapbeled "Warehouse,"


    "Those little things make excellent bombs!"


    "Just a slight provocation can trigger a chain reaction, mana transforming into mana, then erupting freely! Even a single signage, upon detonation, can unleash a force equivalent to a level 3 magus''s attack!"


    "We''ll grab the signage, then set traps in the corridors at top speed to copse the passageways!"


    "Then use a teleportation spell to return here, continue to copse the passageways!"


    "This stronghold only has two teleportation exits. If we destroy both exits, unless the people inside risk embedding themselves into stone by teleporting freely without knowing the exact coordinates, they simply cannot get out because they don''t even know where here is, let alone how they got in."


    "This is very peculiar because they clearlye from elsewhere, yet they also do not know their precise location, nor do they understand how they entered."


    N folded and put away the map, looking at Howard.


    "That''s my n."


    "Madman!"


    The corner of Howard''s eye twitched; every step of N''s n was fraught with danger, yet it efficiently maximized benefits.


    This meant they couldn''t afford a single mistake; it was a n with virtually no room for error.


    Even knowing it''s utterly reckless, Howard couldn''t suppress his excitement.


    Why did he forsake a king''s throne to be an adventurer?


    Wasn''t it for this heart-pounding thrill?


    "Indeed, it is a mad n," N nodded, then asked, "So, what''s your answer?"


    "Do I even have another choice?" Howard shrugged.


    "Guess I''ll join you in madness this time."


    "Rx, the n is dangerous, but I have contingencies in ce, don''t worry."


    N neatly folded the map, then yfully punched Howard in the shoulder.


    "Follow my lead, and stay calm."


    Howard nodded, and then... watched as N applied buffs on him for almost ten minutes.


    Is she that afraid of dying?


    Howard''s jaw nearly dropped, grateful he hadn''t crossed spells with a spell magus before.


    If every spell magus prepared with buffs beforebat, there''d hardly be a role for melee magi.


    In the end, both N and Howard, when they left the smallpartment, were wrapped in no less than tenyers of buffs.


    ...


    Walking under the cover of invisibility through the sealed corridors, Howard looked around and furrowed his brow.


    "There isn''t a single vent in sight. How does the air stay fresh?"


    "Mana," N answered nonchntly to Howard''s question.


    "By mixing mana with the air and controlling it with a matrix, the air can be kept circting slowly to prevent stagnation."


    "That matrix acts like a teleportation spell and is also one of our targets for destruction, but it''sst on the list."


    N finished speaking and raised a hand to signal silence, then pressed herself against the wall.


    Howard, startled, followed suit.


    Footsteps approached from afar.