Idle Mage: Humanity's Strongest Backer
Chapter 169 The Vein Awakens

[Who is this Mysterious White Mage?]

-- If you, my dear readers, hadn't been living under a rock this whole time, then you would know that the past few days had been especially hectic and dangerous inside the Last Bastion.

A terrorist group who called themselves the Cult of the Skydemon is a group of traitors who sided and worshipped the demons, sacrificing their very own kind to create replicas of said Skydemons to plunge the world into chaos.

As well all know, Demons are horrible creatures. They are strong and spread a deadly corruption that could consume all life it touches. While the products of the Cult might not be genuine Skydemons according to the authorities, it doesn't make them any less dangerous than real ones.

Fantasia had suffered in multiple areas because of Skydemons, people died and were sacrificed. Even with the abundance of Conferred Knights at our disposal, our forces are stretched thin which leads to more deaths and accidents.

Yesterday at Area 6, it was originally a calm and serene afternoon when all of a sudden, Skydemons appeared. They wreaked havoc and injured many civilians in their mad rampage.

The Federation responded by sending part of its forces to contain the Skydemons and eliminate them.

Yours truly, was at the same venue when this all happen as you can see from the photo below:

(OP selfie amidst the destroyed street, there's also a Skydemon in the background.jpg)

I'm fine, thank you for your concern but my well-being isn't the highlight of this article.

The responders arrived and engaged the Skydemons in a bitter battle. I hid amongst the rubble and watched from a distance, taking pictures here and there.

Many licensed cultivators came, including well-known ones, however, the Skydemons were far too difficult for them to take down.

Not only did they fail in minimizing the area of damage, but the responders themselves were also being beaten black and blue by the demons.

All was looking bleak and as such, I thought I was going to die. But then, someone arrived, and they made quite an entrance. Do watch the video below.

(Insert a two-minute video where Ashton came during the last 30 seconds to kick ass before leaving them all speechless.)

As you saw from the video (please ignore my bitchy whimpering, I thought I was legit gonna die so cut me some slack will you?) it didn't start all that great.

Everyone was struggling to fight against the Skydemons and it was obvious that reinforcements were needed. Just as we were about to die, that person came and dealt with everything in mere seconds.

All he did was to cast three spells as far as I know...

The spells were Smite, Purify and Heal. All of this points to the obvious sign that the person we saw was a White Mage.

Quite surprising isn't it? As far as I know, we're aware of a White Mage like that. I did my research after returning home but nothing came up!

What nearly killed other cultivators was killed by this guy in mere seconds. Hell, his speech was even longer than the time it took for him to not only kill the Skydemons but also Purify the vicinity, ridding it of corruption and healing everyone who needed medical attention!

Honestly, who is this person? Why have never heard about him before?

And please...I can already hear some of you saying 'He's not that impressive, he just took them by surprise nyeh, nyeh, nyeh...'

No. That person is strong. Period. Other people used the spell Smite in the clip yet it didn't do shit to the Skydemons at all. Bet it didn't even tickle them.

Plus, the Skydemons were aware of him, in fact before the cultivators sensed him, it was the Skydemons who noticed him first. Some of them even tried something but ultimately, all of them were struck down and were reduced to mere ashes.

Also, from what I gathered from the others after asking, they said that that person was a Warlock or a Sorcerer at best. There were at least ten of those who came earlier yet they didn't do shit yet when this person arrived, they dealt with everything once and for all.

If that isn't strong, then I don't know what is.

Anyway, towards the end of the video, he reprimanded the other cultivators there. Saying that the Federation's money was wasted on them since they failed at the simple thing they were tasked to do.

I'm not going to say anything about that. I'm just happy that I was saved.

Whoever you are, Mysterious White Mage, thank you for doing something and saving us. -- Fredbear

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'...I'm famous?'

Ashton stared blandly at the article that Aria showed him this morning. Apparently, someone recorded a short video of what happened yesterday and posted it on the internet, gaining many interactions as time went on.

Curiously, he read the replies on the post and was greeted by typical internet toxicity such as people downgrading his achievements, faking their identities to scam others, forging stories about him that weren't true, and so on.

He shrugged and ignored it after reading most of it. He somewhat exposed his identity but his privacy wasn't breached at all. His face was obscured by the fog, not even the camera was able to catch his true appearance so he had no worries here.

An important note is that the other cultivators in the video are now facing some serious heat after their disappointing display. Hell, Aria said that they were even discussing this on live television! Which is rather absurd.

Still, Ashton had no intentions of taking back his statements. First, because it was true. And the second was because nobody knows it was him anyways?

His friends shouldn't tie this up to him and even if they did, he could always just lie about it.

Ashton truly doesn't want to be disturbed now. He didn't want to be the focus of everybody's attention right now since there was a lot for him to do. In fact, if he could've avoided making a move yesterday, best believe that he wouldn't do anything at all.

Leaving the keyboard warriors to continue their Holy War, Ashton placed his attention elsewhere.

"West Two, what do you have for me?" He asked his doppelganger.

It's been roughly more than ten days for West Two inside the Grotto Heaven. Surely he has discovered many things at this point.

"This Grotto Heaven is blessed. It's just the perfect spot for your plans. No need for any terraforming, its current shape is perfect for us to continue."

"I've already laid down the groundwork. Give me a few more days and I can begin the construction."

"Great, then I'll leave you to it. Aria's working on another ARC Core so go ahead and do what needs to be done."

"Sure thing, Boss." West Two replied before cutting off the connection and returning to his work.

'...the materials needed for Aria's improvements are also prepared by now. I'm just going to wait for her to be ready and I'll probably receive some more rewards this time around.'

As Ashton was musing to himself though, he felt and heard a loud rumble from somewhere deep within his consciousness.

He hurriedly sank to his mind, just in time to search for and witness the source of this rumbling.

It was coming from the Dragon Vein...

Finally, after a month-long slumber, it has been healed and recovered to its peak. It's also about to wake up soon.

Hilda, or Acacia more accurately, was also rousing from her slumber as she and the Dragon Vein were connected.

Ashton waited patiently for it to happen but then something surprising occurred.

From the depths of Ashton's soul, a rainbow-colored gas started leaking. It flowed out of his orifices and was completely out of his control.

Said colored gas coagulated into a tiny fluffy cloud that flew above where the Dragon Vein and Acacia were.

It crackled and produced rain which doused them both. It even left a rainbow arc encircling the two of them as if it were a blessing of some sort.

Under his gaze, the Dragon Vein which took on the form of a Wooden Chinese Dragon uncoiled itself and raised its head.

It let out a piercing roar that causes a buzzing and ringing sensation in Ashton's ears. The Dragon Vein then flew with Acacia on top of its head and landed in front of him.

Ashton and the Dragon Vein ended up staring at each other, after that, the Dragon Vein closed its eyes and lowered its head, butting its head onto Ashton's palms.

Surprised by this, he held on. And that's when the light was produced at the point of contact which blinded him for quite a bit.

Images flashed past his eyes, making his vision cloudly for a brief moment there.

When his consciousness returned, the first thing he saw were several message windows, saying:

[Congratulations on making the Dragon Vein and Acacia your Beneficiaries!]

[You received: Fate Seizing Hand and Aether Soul Arts.]