Unlimited Power 02 - The Ranger's Domain

Ryan immediately used Draconic Transformation and equipped his armor. Alissa did the same. Still, then when they were about to attack, they saw themselves standing in a ring at the center of a very active volcano. Ryan felt the strength leaving his body because that heat was even stronger than when Hephaestus' Heat Field. Naturally, the extra defense that Frost Armor protected began to melt as well…

"I am not much of a fighter, but I understand that the terrain is a very important factor," Hypnos said, while still standing on his throne.

"Just offer me support, you two," Alissa said and then prepared to dash toward Hypnos. "I can do this."

Ryan summoned the double-headed club and decided to fight while using Telekinesis, which should save his energy in case something happens, but then when Alissa was about to attack. Two surprising creatures made of blue energy appeared in front of them. They seemed like ghosts, but Ryan and Femradiel recognized the ghosts… They were copies of themselves in their draconic forms.

Ryan's copy and Femradiel cast ThunderStorm, and instantly, the whole battlefield was being hit by lightning bolts. Ryan tried to protect them by using his gigantic weapons to block the attack, but he could only react so fast. Several lightning bolts ignored the steel weapons and fell toward them. However, Feramdiel blocked them with an ice wall.

Alissa opened her mouth to use her breath, but her copy did the same. In the end, the two attacks collided and caused an explosion that made both groups move backward a little.

"Using long-ranged attacks is a waste of time. The attacks will only be canceled by copies," Femradiel said. "If you want to win against the copies, use your own weaknesses against them."

Ryan was fully aware that he was weak in close combat, but that was only the case because he was impatient. Since the copy was just a concentration of mana, it couldn't become impatient or something like that. Regardless, Ryan had to come up with some to end the fight quickly, Hypnos still was watching, and he didn't like to show his skills to the enemy like that.

The copies even had a magical version of mithril armor on them, so Ryan assumed that using the steel weapons wouldn't do any good. While Ryan was thinking, his copy recovered and used Ice Breath against Alissa. While it wasn't at the same level of the Dark ice Breath, Alissa still saw her arms freezing due to it. As for her copy, it aimed its mouth toward Ryan and Femradiel.

Ryan blocked the breath by spinning the steel club in front of him, and thanks to that, he had another idea. He summoned the steel sword and spear and made them hit the copies from above, but they stopped the weapons with their hands. At the same time, Ryan smirked. In the next second, he used Thunder Storm and increased the power by using Mana Manipulation.

Femradiel's copy tried to move away from the weapons that were being used as conductors for the lightning bolts, but it didn't have time to do that. Alissa had enough time to concentrate and then use her breath. While being shocked and attacked from above, the creatures didn't stand a chance and suffered damage until they evaporated.

Congratulations! The skill Thunder Storm has leveled up.

Congratulations! The skill Thunder Storm has leveled up.

Congratulations! The skill Thunder Storm has leveled up.

…

"Well, that ended much faster than I expected," Hypnos said. "Still, I should have expected that magic copies wouldn't win against those that actually have brains."

"Thank you for the compliment, I guess," Ryan said. "What will be next? Considering what you showed us until now with the other illusions, I assume you have some other tricks in store for us."

"Indeed, I have," Hypnos said. "Still, I am feeling generous to offer you a second chance to give back my brother's soul. Do you want to change your mind? This second battle, will… well, how can I put this? It will mess with your head. After all, you are fighting to make Earth still a place humans can still live, right?"

"I also feel like giving you a second chance," Ryan said. "I won't ask for compensation for keeping us locked in a dream world for two months, but I will ask for compensation for your brother's actions."

"Well, then… Let's proceed to the next fight," Hypnos said, and then he changed the terrain again.

Ryan and the others saw themselves standing in the middle of a massive grassland. It seemed the perfect place for them to fight without having to hold back, still, considering that Hypnos also knew that, then something was definitely off… When Ryan prepared to attack, he suddenly stopped when some humans appeared between him and Hypnos. The number of humans increased at a fearsome pace until they became a pretty large army. Ryan didn't recognize anyone among that group. Still, their level of power seemed pretty equal to the guys in the underground shelter under Daniel's control now.

"What is the meaning of this?" Alissa asked.

"Who knows… before continuing, let me explain to all of you a few things," Hypnos said. "Most of you experienced seventy-one days worth of memories under my dream worlds. However, only seven days passed in the real world. That is pretty good, right? Despite my powers as the god of sleep, I can't control the flow of time here while so many of you are here. However, if some of you die or are freed from the spell, that will change."

"If that is true, why didn't you do that now?" Ryan asked. "Your target the whole time was me, right?"

"Yes, but I assumed that you have some friends among our ranks, and those friends would protect you once in some sort of way. That is why I destroyed the dungeons in that world and forced your group to return," Hypnos explained. "I also assumed that you, the human who defeated my brother, would reach this point. So that is why I am going to use these humans against you."