Chapter 106: "I think you're right!"

The group’s ferocious assault did not last long before a massive shockwave interrupted their actions.

A deep, bone-shaking howl reverberated, threatening to burst their eardrums, as the giant black crystal revealed its current form.

Several shards split from its surface, joined by tendrils of black energy, shaping themselves into crude limbs. Rather than resembling a humanoid, it was more apt to call it a golem.

“A golem?!” Lando heard several exclamations of shock; clearly, he was not alone in his impression.

As the dust cleared, they saw that their opponent bore only shallow scratches, evidence that their earlier attacks, while not entirely ineffective, had barely made a mark. This realization sent a chill through their hearts.

Two orbs darker than the blackest night ignited where the crystal golem’s head should be, like eyes fixated on the intruders. After a brief flicker, the judgment complete, it launched its attack at Lando and his companions.

An invisible wave radiated outward—not a physical force, but one that struck directly at the mind. Each person felt their heart sink as a tide of negative emotion surged chaotically through their thoughts, clouding judgment and disrupting movement.

Lando swiftly expanded his mental space, forming a shield against the onslaught of despair. Then, with a subtle force, he jolted awake those hot-headed companions who nearly charged the golem for close combat.

Jens took the lead, guiding most of the group to their prearranged battleground, while Lando and Sterlan fought as they retreated, drawing the golem after them.

When they reached the designated abyssal stone wall, the crystal golem stepped onto the platform. At this signal, the team unleashed a merciless barrage.

Just as the tide of battle seemed to turn—everyone believing they could easily slay the boss and claim their spoils—the golem’s shadowy eyes flashed once more. With a sweeping gesture, the black liquid below surged up as if summoned, flooding the platform in the blink of an eye.

Five nearby teammates were unable to evade in time and were swallowed by the black tide.

Five pillars of light shot skyward, radiating immense energy. Inside each, the figures of the five could be seen, smiling wryly. In the instant before they were submerged, each used their arcanist power to ward off the liquid, signaling their elimination. Though they would miss out on the final prize, their core objective in coming to the Crystal World was fulfilled. Accepting their fate, they unleashed their mightiest attacks against the crystal golem before being teleported away. At last, the golem’s body was left riddled with cracks.

This both invigorated the survivors and made the ensuing fight somewhat bizarre. Everyone wanted to survive to the end and claim the ultimate reward, but their attacks barely harmed the golem; only their final desperate strikes truly left a mark.

The battle devolved—those who could fly appeared to fight earnestly, but in reality, they held back, while the grounded were inevitably eliminated, their parting attacks lacking any real force.

In the end, only Lando, Leia, Alice, Calvo, Sterlan, Jens, and Jam remained. Although Leia lacked the power of flight, she had always been under Lando’s protection. Calvo, through sheer will and his innate gifts, continuously raised stone platforms, managing to survive to the last.

Though the crystal golem appeared battered and cracked, its combat prowess remained formidable.

Sterlan said, “There’s only us left. If we can’t bring down the golem, all our previous efforts will be wasted. At this point, there’s no need to hold back.”

The others nodded in agreement, and the battle grew more intense. The golem, no longer invulnerable, soon found its fissures widening under their concerted assault, until at last, it collapsed.

At the very moment the crystal golem shattered and fell, the entire “Abyss of Nothingness” began to tremble violently.

In truth, it was not only the abyss; the whole Crystal World was shaken. All the large and medium-sized tribes watched in terror as cracks appeared in their sacred relics, the nodal crystals. The energies they contained began to churn wildly, as if on the verge of self-destruction.

“Hahaha!” Sterlan could no longer contain his laughter. “Thank you! Hahaha! Thank you all, my dear companions!”

Jens’ gaze sharpened as he spoke gravely: “This was a victory for all of us. Your thanks are unnecessary.”

The others fixed wary eyes on Sterlan, unsettled by his sudden outburst.

Tears of mirth streaming down his face, Sterlan said, “Of course I must thank you. Without your help, I could never have defeated the golem, let alone advance my companion crystal!”

“You want it all for yourself? So the sentience truly is enough only for one companion crystal to ascend?” Calvo said evenly.

“Whether it’s enough for one, I don’t know,” Sterlan replied, glancing around with a mischievous grin. “But I forgot to mention a prerequisite for merging sentience! You need a tenth-tier, non-elemental companion crystal to complete the final step! Hah!”

Without waiting for their reactions, a stream of milky white radiance flowed from his companion crystal, forming in mid-air a strange, luminous elemental life of pure light. His crystal now shone with flawless clarity—unmistakably a tenth-tier, non-elemental crystal.

Above the shattered golem, a cluster of energy had coalesced, clear as a newborn’s fist, yet shimmering with an otherworldly luster. This was the sentience, born of centuries of consuming the emotions of all life in the Crystal World.

In stark contrast to the oppressive black despair suffusing the place, the sentience shone with immaculate purity.

Jam and Calvo stepped forward to test it, but the sentience ignored their companion crystals.

Sterlan turned to Lando. “Sorry, Lando. Everything I told you was true, and in the end you chose to change your crystal’s attribute yourself.”

“So, I sincerely thank you all for your help. I owe you each a favor for this.”

With that, he strode confidently toward the floating sentience.

Lando narrowed his eyes, and with a flash, appeared before the crystal golem’s fragments, blocking Sterlan’s path, his expression cold.

Sterlan halted, his smile fading. “Lando, a loss is a loss. There’s no need to act like this.”

Before Lando could answer, Leia spoke up, anger in her voice. “If it weren’t for you misleading Lando—”

Sterlan cut her off, “To us arcanists, choices are as important as outcomes! Don’t you agree, Lando?”

Lando’s cold demeanor brightened with a sudden smile.

“I believe you’re absolutely right.”