Idle Mage: Humanity's Strongest Backer

Thunk!

Boom!!

Thunk! Thunk!

Boom!! Boom!!

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!! DIE BITCHES!!!"

Mad laughter escaped from Ashton's mouth as he repeatedly launched grenade shells at Virtual Demons.

Aria would probably reconsider settling down with him if she saw this side of his, truth to be told. Because right now, Ashton's far scarier than demons were.

"POWER! MORE POWER! I NEED MORE POWER!!"

Howling in madness, he pumped more mana into the Grenade Launcher and shot larger shells of pure destruction.

The virtual land around him was filled with craters and smoke. Demons were shivering like a leaf in fear as they stared at the maddened human launching pure terror shells at them. Some ran away, others accepted their demise.

None were spared...

If Ashton was just blindly launching shells and praying that the impact and explosions will hit them, it would've been fine but no, Ashton was too good to stoop that low.

Remember, his 'Basic Firearm Proficiency' just reached 1-Star Phenomenon Realm, meaning that all of his attacks could potentially change the state of the environment around him.

That, on top of the sub-artifact itself allowing him to convert White Magic into ammunitions, makes this even scarier.

If someone ever wondered if Demons were capable of feeling fear, well this situation would probably tell them all that they need to know...

The difference the Grenade Launcher makes is that it requires a minimum of five spells to create a single shell. This automatically makes a shot of this stronger compared to the other forms of the sub-artifact.

Even as he howled and laughed in madness, Ashton's mind was clear and he was testing out numerous combinations, trying to pick which formula works best.

He wasn't just blindly shooting shells to the moon...

Due to the long list of spells he had in his arsenal, this will take some time. Additionally, even though Ashton's Mana Reserves expanded, he could still run out of it since he's using a lot of it in his tests.

Though, on a positive note, mobbing demons would never be a problem for him anymore with this form. With him launching grenade shells left and right, he didn't even need to spend that much effort in aiming unlike with the Sniper Rifle Form, he could just chuck the shell in the general area where the demons are clustered and it'd hit.

It's honestly satisfying to watch...

Right now, he's basically a one-man army. He simulated literal hoards of demons to come at him yet there wasn't a single scratch on him. Not only that, but he also terrified the demons themselves. It was the feeling ever.

In less than ten minutes since he began his blatant rampage, the hoard which consists of at least 500 demons was decimated. It didn't matter from which side they came from, the moment Ashton laid eyes on them, they'd get a grenade shell.

Every single one of the demons he simulated died with terror-stricken faces, forget about closing in, some of them didn't even know how they died.

Once the simulation was over, Ashton sighed in bliss. He could feel the adrenaline wearing off from his body. The mad glee he felt also disappeared. What's left is just a calm and relaxed grin.

'That was great...' he mused to himself, 'I'd probably do that again if I ever feel the need to decompress.'

That activity was a great stress reliever for him. He wouldn't mind doing that more often if he ever feel like everything was too much. Of course, it's also a good way for him to satisfy his darker side.

Now that he feels much lighter than before, it's time to check out the new aspects of his power that he had set aside from his month-long rest. This one pertains to the net effect of his Magical Artifact...

[Magical Artifact: Cursed Book of Infinity (Legendary)]

Unique Skills:

[Aspect of Infinity]

Removes the lock of Spell Proficiency Limits per Cultivation Rank. (Spells Level Infinitely)

[Memorize (New!)] (Unlocked at Archmage Realm)

Allows the user to imprint a total of 10 Spells in the magical artifact which could later then be used instantaneously with other spells.

Sub-Artifact: Mortal Reminder (Unlocked at Practitioner Realm)

Curse: [Hex of Mediocrity]

Forbids the user to learn any Intermediate Level Offensive Spells and above.

Ashton's Magical Artifact has a new Unique Skill: Memorize.

If he were, to be frank, this skill could easily become ridiculous if used correctly. Memorize has way too much potential to be ignored, which is why he decided to a lot a time slot on his daily schedule to test its limits.

Using the skill came naturally for him, it's like had known it in his entire life even though he just unlocked it not too long ago.

Casting a Spell and imprinting it to the Magical Artifact uses mana, which was to be expected so there are no surprises there. Once the imprint was successful, a page on the Cursed Book of Infinity will display the imprinted Spell which meant that it has it Memorized.

Once a spell was imprinted on the magical artifact, it needs to be used to free up the slot it took, it doesn't matter how much time passed since the imprint happened, the spell won't be removed from the artifact's memory if it wasn't used, though he could also choose to remove the spell without using it but the mana cost wouldn't be refunded.

Using the Memorized Spell is easy as he only needed a mental command to do so. This meant he could be in the middle of casting a spell while simultaneously releasing the memorized spell.

It's essentially dual-casting...

And he had 10 slots available for use. To top things off, he can memorize his ammunition formulas here as well and it'd only count as one spell. This meant that he could shoot twice in one action, which opens him up to a lot of possibilities. This could seriously change the way how he approached scenarios in the future.

Getting used to this new skill will take some time but it's worth it, Ashton could already say that much.

Things are starting to look up for Ashton. With the promotion of his strength, he's gaining more confidence to march towards his goals. Of course, there are still many things that could possibly make things worse for him but so long as he continues to grow stronger, he'd always have a basis for his confidence.

Speaking of things that could make everything worse...His next destination is already set.

Referencing the mapped records, Ashton should be heading towards a river that he has to cross to continue with his journey.

Said river, according to what the records say, is a river of what seems to be tar. Which doesn't sound fun if Ashton were to be completely honest.

The records say that the river was murky and hard to cross. A lot of demonic creatures were lurking underneath its surface. The expedition ground suffered greatly from their attacks, one of them was even severely injured from the relentless siege. Said injured persons had to have their left arm amputated since the corruption was starting to spread on their bodies.

Ashton doesn't have any other choices aside from that path. If he were to trust the records left by the expedition team, then the alternative routes are just completely impossible to cross, which made this path the only one they could take.

He could check out the alternative routes, yes. After all, he does have time and unlike the expedition team, he has numerous ways to keep himself safe.

Ashton might do it, but he's not leaning towards that...

The reason being is that he had surveyed this area before when he was still above the nest. He had already vaguely seen the alternative routes they were talking about.

One leads to a valley filled with bloody red spikes which also looks like another nest of demons. The other was a desolated plain which is crawling with Wyrm Demons - a huge worm-centipede demon hybrid that burrows itself underground and could shoot out freaking lightning from their maws.

Compared to those routes, the river seems tamer if he's being honest. So he might as well re-trace their steps.

Ashton doesn't really know what to expect. All he could really do is to prepare himself as best as he could before he goes there.

Thankfully, the mobile safehouse has an all-terrain function, meaning it could work as a boat, maybe a submarine? Who knows. He needs to test it out.

The durability of the safehouse should be high enough to endure some trauma from the encounters he'll have as he crossed the river. Plus, he could always come to the library if things go south. There he could repair the safehouse if it ever gets close to breaking.

He can't say how long it'll take for him to cross the river as there are a lot of variables in play.

All he could say is that he'll proceed with care and caution. If he could, then maybe he could purify this river and maybe that'll lead him to another discovery.

Only time could tell at this point...