Ruben

## [source]

**Celestial Sage Ruben** is a famous epic-being of Norland. Ruben had become an epic being centuries ago, renowned not for his strength but his deep understanding of planar systems. He might not be able to defeat Apeiron, but he was far better at exploring the myriad planes.

## Description

Just like Sharon, Ruben was also someone who preferred blue. He is surrounded by his signature rain of starlight. Starlight glittered all around his blue robes, while his long blue hair was one of his most distinctive features.

Given his centuries of experience, Ruben was a monstrous epic being. While he couldn’t compare to fighters like Philip or Apeiron, he wasn’t far off and definitely had a number of ways to hold his own.

## Plot

By the time Richard made it to Dragon Valley, the Celestial Sage was already walking back through the portal. The old man who had lived for untold centuries pulled a dragon through just like Sharon, and his first words upon seeing Richard were, “Kralkalor managed to escape again.” Richard actually had no idea who Kralkalor was, only managing to understand after a description.

The Celestial Sage was always elegant and wise. His blue robes hadn’t been seen torn in over a century, and this time was no exception. It was impossible to tell how intense the battle at the other side had been. However, Richard was certain that the Dragon Plane had to have set up a powerful guarding force if they didn’t destroy the other end of the portal; to be able to go through that and return peacefully with a dragon in tow definitely showed his experience and might.

### **Serious Injuries**

Angered the Dragon Goddess and was seriously injured. Seeing the Celestial Sage, Richard had no words to say. The veteran epic being no longer had an aura of power, just lying on his bed in a coma. He was much thinner than before, with his hair, eyebrows, and beard almost completely burnt away by dragonfire. Lifting the covers, Richard found that he had burns everywhere; the flesh was a complete mess, with many areas almost reaching putrefaction. Knowing the team of clerics that were still waiting outside, he knew that this wasn’t down to improper treatment. The lingering power in those wounds was preventing any cure.

As he reached out to one of the rotting wounds, he suddenly recoiled as a phantom dragon jumped out and bit at his finger. He paled at the pain from the attack, feeling everything as a small portion of his mana was taken away, and even though the amount was negligible it could never be recovered. He now understood why even Nasia was having a hard time; if this residual energy could even tear away at his own legendary mana, it had to be powered by strong laws. Just a brush against such a terrifying existence would be troublesome, especially when that being also contained terrifying brute strength.

The Celestial Sage was still unconscious, but even worse his soul had hidden away to avoid the lingering damage. Ruben had a powerful body, but it definitely wasn’t enough to contend against the Five-Coloured-Dragon’s rot. At this rate, the body would soon die.

Luckily, Richard was able to heal a part of him. It only took a few minutes for Richard to run out of moonforce, but he smiled in satisfaction at the results of his healing. The worst of the Celestial Sage’s injuries had taken a turn for the better, and if he kept at it for maybe a month the man would recover completely. Although it all meant nothing unless the soul returned, Ruben wouldn’t just abandon his body so easily.

### **Fighting Side-by-Side**

A team of Richard, Apeiron, Ruben, and Nasia was four epic beings breaking through into the Dragon Plane. The Five-Coloured Dragon was strong, but not that strong. Richard quickly agreed and headed back to Norland, asking Apeiron for assistance. This invitation turned out to go pretty smoothly, with the Empress lighting up the moment she heard about the enemy they would be fighting.

Nasia and Ruben were already waiting at Dragon Valley. The Celestial Sage’s eyes lit up when he saw Apeiron, and he took the initiative to greet her, “Your Majesty! It has been a long time since we met outside of Norland.”

“I have nothing to talk to you about, what’s the point of meeting?” Apeiron spat coldly, leaving an awkward Ruben to laugh it off before shutting up. He was a famed scholar, but he definitely couldn’t begin to compare to her in combat. The Empress was known as a lunatic who only cared about battle.

While each of those present had a strong personality, Richard naturally took the role of leader. Apeiron wasn’t good at strategy, while the Celestial Sage wasn’t good at combat. Nasia didn’t really care even if she was fairly good at both, so things fell to him.

He stared at the chromatic barrier around the portal, “Your Excellency Ruben, you will be in charge of restricting the dragon’s barrier. I will teleport over to the Dragon Plane with Nasia in that time, and Apeiron will wait for ten seconds before entering. I should be able to take care of things after that, but do rush over if you feel the barrier wavering greatly. We will need your assistance to stop the escape.”

“My Nebular Chains are powerful, but they can’t lock a dragon down.” With the plan set in place, the party flew towards the portal. There were still a few dozen saints and legends strolling through the area in boredom, mostly because the valley had been split off from Faelor once it was attached to the special zone in Faust, but that gave them the unique opportunity to witness what was about to happen.

“Empress Apeiron, His Excellency Ruben!” a saint suddenly shouted, drawing attention to the four figures zooming through the sky. Many jaws dropped as the onlookers saw just who the four were, and they immediately flashed as close to the barrier as was safe. This was three proven epic beings and one whose power could frighten all legends. This was a party with frightening power, and if they were collaborating, the target of their assault was obvious.

Many saints and legends felt themselves itching for battle. If the Five-Coloured Dragon was beaten back or killed, they would be able to reverse the tides and flood into the Dragon Plane, looting it clean!

### **Battling The Five-Coloured Dragon**

When Richard and party reached the portal to the Dragon Plane, Ruben started his attack. Dozens of glittering chains shot out from his fingertips and wrapped around the chromatic barrier, even more shooting into the unknown void. An indistinct howl rang out as the Five-Coloured Dragon realised what was happening and reacted violently, but Richard and the others didn’t so much as flinch.

The Nebular Chains continued to destroy the barrier of light, forcing the Five-Coloured Dragon to send more and more of her power across the portal to keep it up. The two locked in a fierce battle, which in itself was proof of her power. Even crossing entire planes, she could still keep up with another epic being.
However, the battle had begun and Richard didn’t have the time to hesitate. He quickly ran towards the portal with Nasia in tow, the latter shooting a beam of radiant gold upon him with a wave of her hand.

The Celestial Sage tore an opening through on the other side, but it seemed a lot more strenuous for him than it was for Apeiron. He rushed into the five-coloured barrier, but started groaning shortly afterwards with his body starting to emit a black haze. He tried to disperse the mist even as his chains cut a path towards the dragon’s body. Watching her peer begin progress, Apeiron barked and waved her own shortsword. Purple energy tore open a passage that was more than ten metres long, prompting a roar of surprise from the Five-Coloured Dragon.

Apeiron suddenly flew down from above and punched into the dragon’s neck, forming a mangled crater that was covered in a purple glow. While still struggling against the mist, Ruben used his experience to target the wounds that were already opened up with his nebular chains, starting to suck out the Five-Coloured Dragon’s flesh and blood.

Apeiron and Ruben stared at Nasia with complicated expressions as well. Both of them had received moderate injuries themselves; the former had taken on two breath attacks while the latter was quite weak and had exhausted most of his power in the mist. This meant that three epic beings had been injured, but a legend at only level 21 had come out unscathed.

Ruben’s abilities were best suited to dealing with dragons, and this battlefield would soon grow more active as well. He would be able to withstand a counter-offensive if the Five-Coloured Dragon chose to return, which gave the saints and legends room to manoeuvre as well. The Celestial Sage was also an excellent tracker, and he would be able to catch wind of any ambush attempts and turn them against the enemy.

This would free him up from worrying about those two battlefields for two years, which would be more than enough time for the war against the reapers to conclude and the aftermath to be taken care of as well. None of his enemies in Norland would cause unnecessary trouble with Ruben in charge; even though he was weak for an epic being, he was still level 29 and strong enough to crush average legends with ease. Perhaps even more importantly, this offer also freed Nasia up to follow him into combat against the reapers, where her Projection of Ruin would be extremely useful.

## References

1. ↑ Book 7, Chapter 164
2. ↑ Book 8, Chapter 101
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Book 9, Chapter 41
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Book 9, Chapter 42
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Book 9, Chapter 43
6. ↑ Book 9, Chapter 44