Chapter 321: The Gamble

As Regis finished speaking, he activated Instant Regeneration.

In an instant, every injury across his body healed in the blink of an eye.

’This is the last time I can use it.’

Regis knew it instinctively.

If he used the Gift one more time, his body would immediately collapse from severe exhaustion.

’I can last about ten more minutes. I’ll put everything into this gamble.’

He had also ceased the use of Tranquility, devoting all his remaining mental power to Weakpoint Creation and maintaining Astrum Sanctuarium.

Regis steeled himself as he deflected the relentless assaults of the abomination’s three claws and bone sword.

The increasing injuries, along with the tremendous pain assaulting his mind, did not make him frown even a little.

On the contrary, a smug smile still tugged on the corner of his lips.

Regis also contacted Elysia via the telepathic connection they had established with him.

(I need you to tell me all their abilities.)

Inside the dome of starlight, Elysia regained control of herself as she calmly responded.

(Alright.)

After a brief pause, Regis added, (I only need their signature abilities. The aura arts they use the most from when they were still alive.

The reason he made such a request was quite simple.

He knew that although the abomination would slowly regain the abilities and memories of the individuals fused within it, along with the growth of its intelligence, it would still take time.

Regis only needed to identify their most prominent abilities for two reasons.

First, he had no intention of letting this battle drag on for much longer.

Second, he had no choice.

If the battle continued for too long, he would be the one to die first.

It did not take long before Elysia’s dignified voice resounded in Regis’s mind as he desperately fended off the attacks of the abomination.

(First of all, the male elf’s name is Elwood, and the other is Sylvanna.)

(I’ll start by telling you the racial abilities they had awakened.)

Hearing this, Regis could not help but feel surprised for a moment.

The racial abilities of a race was a taboo to ask about.

After all, it was the foundation of their power.

Even though there were studies made about them, the exact details would never be exposed.

But after he considered the situation they were in, the slight surprise in his mind disappeared as well.

Before he could continue thinking, Elysia’s voice sounded in his mind again.

(As the heads of two families within Edenelia’s High Council, Elwood and Sylvanna had each awakened three elven racial abilities.)

(Elwood awakened Spirit Shift, Nature Resonance, and Life Touch. The first ability lets him become invulnerable to physical attacks, the second enables him to talk to trees and reduce mana consumption, and finally, the third one lets him grant his life to others.)

(Out of his three racial abilities, only the first two could help him in this situation.)

(As for Sylvanna, she was a bit trickier. She had awakened the same first racial ability as Elwood. However, her second and third abilities were the real problem: Ancient Return and Magic Physique.)

(Ancient Return allowed her to exchange her lifespan for a continuous and drastic increase in overall power, while Magic Physique enabled her to use both aura arts and magic spells through the mana coursing through her body.)

’!!!’

Regis’s pupils dilated in shock, ’There’s something like that!?’

He still remembered how Pandora had experimented with using aura arts through mana, and how every attempt had been met with tremendous pain.

’This might give her some clues...’

In the next moment, Regis felt a headache coming his way, ’But this also meant that this monster...’

As if to confirm his guess, one of the abomination’s claws spread wide open as one of its heads— the one depicting that of a beautiful female elf— started chanting.

A huge amount of mana soon gathered in its claws, along with a chant.

Elysia’s voice sounded once again in Regis’s mind as she sensed the fluctuations of mana.

(Dodge!)

Her tone was fraught with tremendous anxiety and urgency, which bordered on panic.

[Grand Magic Radix Damnatio]

The abomination’s grating voice resounded alongside its chant as black thorny roots erupted from the ground, surging forward at lightning speed.

Regis’s eyes were not able to follow the roots.

Fortunately, Elysia’s earlier warning, along with his own instincts, drove his body to dodge to the side.

He was no different from an acrobat in a circus as his body twisted and turned, allowing him to evade the black roots by a hair’s breadth.

Regis felt his whole body ache as he did not dare to stop for even a second.

Alarm bells kept ringing in his very soul, which made him push himself further.

Elysia’s voice echoed in his mind, her tone noticeably relieved.

(This is one of Sylvanna’s favorite magic spells: Radix Damnatio. It’s a wide-area lethal spell. Even a single graze from those black roots would curse you. Once the curse takes hold, there is no known cure. The roots would burrow into both your body and soul, using your very being as sustenance.)

At her words, Regis could not help but feel shivers down his spine as his heart palpitated.

’Although I’m confident that my Perfect Adaptation could help me, I’m not willing to take the risk...’

Especially since he no longer had the stamina to fuel Instant Regeneration, he was not sure whether Perfect Adaptation or death would reach him first.

As Regis fought for his life, he listened to Elysia, who was telepathically relaying all the information she knew in as much detail as possible within the limited time they had.

Soon enough, a few minutes had already passed by.

The abomination had clearly changed as compared to its state when the battle first started.

Its expressions, though still frenzied and crazed, were no longer those of a mindless monster.

A growing intelligence had already begun to emerge beneath its madness.

Its actions and behavior had also become noticeably restrained.