"Wait!"
«Origin · Void Devouring (Tier 3)»
Whoosh!
The devouring void swept across the battlefield, instantly swallowing a large portion of Kanzaki Reiâs spells.
The opponent had cast it again, and the more Rei watched, the more he felt just how exquisite this magic was.
It could directly devour another mageâs spells and convert them into mana to replenish the caster.
An incredibly domineering spell.
But its weakness was obvious: it required continuous control. If the caster was interrupted midway, the spell would collapse.
The opponent was still strugglingâbarely.
Through Void Devouring, it managed to swallow most of Reiâs incoming spells, but this Origin spell was far too easy for Rei to disrupt.
"Wait!"
"You and I are both people who have grasped Origin. Why insist on deciding victory and defeat so soon?"
"Why donât we cease fighting here and exchange insights instead?"
Whoosh!
The beam of light that had been about to pierce through Xuzhou suddenly halted.
Popâ
Instant White Flash dissipated midair.
The other spells about to descend upon him also came to a temporary stop.
Discussing Origin together?
For a mage, that was indeed an appealing proposal. Compared to warriors, mages placed far less importance on fighting to the death.
What truly mattered was the pursuit of Origin.
What he said wasnât wrong.
It was currently extremely difficult to find another Origin Mage to exchange insights with.
Perhaps conversing with this one called Xuzhou might provide new inspiration.
Of course... the more important reason was that they had no grudge against each other. Killing him early would only grant Rei a +1 win streak.
And the reason Rei hadnât rushed to kill him earlier was precisely because he wanted to see what other tricks the opponent had.
Now that the other party had voluntarily proposed an exchange...
It almost felt like the perfect outcome.
Rei thought it over carefully. After a moment, he nodded.
"...Alright. We can."
Seeing Rei stop his attacks, Xuzhou finally let out a breath of relief.
That overwhelming barrage of spells had left him unable to breathe.
Three spells... against several hundred?
Was that a joke?
Rei didnât even mention the matter of victory or defeat. After all, if the other party later refused to concede, he could simply kill him then.
Xuzhou descended to the ground and sat down cross-legged directly on the arena floor.
Rei considered it for a moment but chose to remain standing.
Xuzhou possessed a strange spell that could attack inside shields. If Rei sat down carelessly, he might get ambushed.
Still, aside from the fifty-six layers of shields around him, he also had his pendant, rings, and mage robe, all of which had life-saving effects.
Even if the opponent attempted a sneak attack, Rei wasnât particularly worried.
"What race are you? And why can you blink around like that?" Rei asked immediately.
Xuzhouâs eyes twitched slightly, but he answered.
"We donât really have a racial name. Only a collective designation."
"Other species call us... Void Beings."
So it wasnât only mana that came from the Void.
Rei suddenly remembered something Iz had once said.
At the time, Iz hadnât explained much.
Yet now, Rei had already come into direct contact with the Void.
"The ability you seeâthis blinking movement through your worldâs spaceâis our racial nature. Or rather... our essence."
"We exist simultaneously in both the Material World and the Void. But our coordinates in the Void differ from yours."
As he spoke, Xuzhou placed two fingers on the ground and walked them forward like legs.
"The ground my fingertips touch represents your material world."
"But the actual movement of my fingers represents the path I walk in the Void."
"My fingers move through space, yet only the tips make contact with the ground... that projection is what you see."
Rei understood almost immediately.
It was similar to projecting a three-dimensional object into two dimensions. Their true bodies existed in a higher-dimensional space, and what he saw was merely a projection.
So that was the case.
Rei suddenly gained a deeper understanding of the Void.
At the same time, he realized why these creatures were so hard to kill.
His attacks werenât striking their full bodies.
They were only hitting something like a fingertip or the sole of a footâa projection.
Not the true body.
Thinking about it carefully, this race was actually terrifying.
Against normal species, wouldnât they essentially be fighting with a dimensional advantage?
"What about you?" Xuzhou asked."How are you able to cast so many spells simultaneously?"
Since the other party had shared information about the Void, Rei replied.
"Talent."
That answer made Xuzhouâs eye twitch again.
But indeed, there was no other explanation.
Rei continued,
"That spell of yoursâthe one that grows crystal spikes inside shieldsâwhat is it?"
"You want to learn it?"
"Yes."
That was quite the bold request.
"I could teach it," Xuzhou said, "but youâd have to trade one of your spells."
Rei thought for a moment.
"You canât learn my spells."
Xuzhouâs eyelids twitched again.
Arrogant.
This guy was unbelievably arrogant.
I canât learn it?
Is there a spell in this world that Xuzhou cannot learn?
Even Tier 3 spells usually took him no more than one meal or a cup of teaâs time to grasp.
Within half a week, he could refine them into no-chant mastery.
And this person claimed he couldnât learn them?
Xuzhou laughed angrily.
"How about this: I recently obtained a spellbook as a reward for 300 consecutive victories in the arena."
"I planned to read it tomorrow, but instead we can study it together."
"If you learn the spell in the book before I do, Iâll give you the bookâand also teach you the spell you want."
"But if I learn it first, Iâll take the book back, and you must teach me that instant flash spell of yours."
He had clearly set his sights on Reiâs Instant White Flash.
The speed was frightening, and the power wasnât bad either.
A 300-win reward was usually quite valuable. This spellbook was likely special.
Apparently, even among the same class, different races received different streak rewards.
"How do we study together?" Rei asked.
Xuzhou floated the book in midair.
"With our perception, reading the text wonât be difficult. You turn a page, I turn a pageâfair."
"How do I know you havenât studied it already?"
Xuzhou clenched his fist slightly.
I am an Origin Mage. My word carries weight. Why would I lie about something like this?
"I swear upon my Origin. If I lie, I shall never again glimpse the truth of Origin."
Rei asked calmly,
"Do oaths actually work?"
Xuzhou fell silent.
...What the hell.
Youâre impossible to reason with.
"The determination to pursue Origin is vital. If I break my oath, my conviction will waver. My path toward Origin will inevitably be obstructed."
Oh.
Rei understood.
Meaning: if someone was shameless enough, the oath wouldnât matter.
Well, whatever.
He decided to humor the game.
"I have one request. I flip the page first."
Even if the opponent cheated, Rei would still gain something.
At worst, he would learn the spell first.
Xuzhou replied,
"Since the book is in my hands, itâs only fair that you go first."
He opened the table of contents.
Rei glanced at it.
The incantation was on page 197.
Surprisingly complex.
The spellâs name was "Void Creation."
Table of Contents
What Shall Be Awakened?
Interpreting the Nature of the Void
How to Link Mana with the Void
Void, Life Construction, and Analysis
Reference and Reflection
Concerning Origin
Incantation
That Which Will Answer
Forbidden Taboos
Every Chapter title made him curious.
Still, Rei flipped directly to the incantation page.
"Void and nothingness, birth and origin, death and extinction.Things within mirrors, shadows upon water.Time has passed, yet none have seen.Illusions like bubblesâtruth unseen."
«Void Summoning Magic: Call of the Void (Tier 3) (LV:1)»
"...Learned."
Rei raised his hand.
Space cracked open.
An eye opened within the fissure.
This was a summoning spell.
«Awaken: Eye of the Void (Tier 3) (King-class)»
Learned...?
What?
Xuzhou couldnât even process what he had just heard.
He had mastered it... from a single glance?
The massive vertical eye emerged from the rift, dragging a tadpole-like tail behind it.
Seeing the creature floating in the sky, Xuzhouâs heart trembled violently.
Because the page also contained an explanation of the spell.
When first completed, this spell can awaken a Void-constructed lifeform: the Eye of the Void.
The illustration in the book matched exactly what Rei had summoned.
This wasnât an imitation.
This was the true manifestation of mastering the spell.
How...?
He just... read it... and that was it?
Xuzhouâs body began trembling.
Memories echoed through his mind.
"Xuzhou, youâre the most talented prodigy in our clan.""You mastered that spell in a single nap!""You comprehended Origin magic in just six monthsâperhaps the greatest genius of this era.""Xuzhou... our future may depend on you."
From the moment he changed classes, he had been hailed as a prodigy.
A genius of the arcane.
Every other "genius" seemed insignificant beside him.
But the person standing before him now...
What was he?
Just one glance...
And he had mastered it.
"According to our agreement," Rei said calmly,"you should teach me the other spell now."
At the same time, the giant eye in the sky dispersed.
Then Rei pointed upward again.
BOOMâ
The sky tore open with a massive rift.
«Void Summoning Magic â Awaken the Void (Tier 4) (LV:301)»
Thousands of eyes packed densely within the crack!
The rift burst open as a massive Void entity with countless eyeballs emerged.
«Thousand-Gaze Eye of Oblivion (Tier 4) (Nation-Destroyer)»
Rei nodded.
It seemed this spell could also be ascended and transcended.
Xuzhou inhaled deeply.
He could clearly feel that the creature in the sky shared the same origin as the earlier spell.
Within moments...
Rei had not only learned the spellâ
He had evolved it into Tier 4.
Not just a simple Tier 4 either.
This one was far more complex.
How?
How was this possible?
The strict rule was that Level 3 mages could not wield Tier 4 magic.
Yet this human shattered that rule.
"So?" Rei asked.
"Are you planning to go back on your word?"
Xuzhou finally snapped out of his shock.
His gaze contained countless complicated emotions.
"No. I will keep my promise."
"...But I still wish to learn your spell."
"May I trade something else for it?"
Rei thought for a moment and looked at the floating spellbook.
"Let me borrow that book."
"I canât guarantee I can teach you successfully. But I can guarantee I wonât lie."
Xuzhou glanced at the book.
Magic: Void Creation.
"...Alright."
Rei waved his hand. Wind carried the book to him.
The moment he took itâ
He suddenly remembered something.
Right...
You shouldnât casually learn other peopleâs spells.
If you accidentally learn something forbidden, that could cause trouble.
Too late now.
Still not cautious enough.
Next time he shouldnât be so reckless.
Xuzhou produced another spellbook and tossed it over.
Rei intercepted it midair.
Even during the exchange, Rei maintained full vigilance.
All his shields remained active.
After receiving Magic: Void Spike, he pulled out several scrolls.
Layers of light flashed across the book.
Then he took out a strange liquid and dripped a drop onto the cover.
Only then did he relax slightly.
Opening the book, he read the incantation once.
He instantly mastered the spell.
"Void magic... truly exquisite."
Incantation.Mastery.Ascension.Sacrifice.
The entire spell-learning process completed in one seamless sequence.
«Learned: Inner Crystal Spike (Tier 4) (LV:301)»
A Level 301 spell, completed instantly.
Rei skimmed through the rest of the book and found nothing hidden.
His understanding had already surpassed the contents of the text.
He returned the book.
"The spell you want to learn is called Instant White Flash."
"But its prototype is Concentrated Light Strike."
Concentrated Light Strike?
That was a Tier 2 light spell.
Xuzhou had seen it before.
It was mediocre at best.
Impossible to imagine it evolving into Reiâs terrifying instant beam.
"This is Concentrated Light Strike."
Rei pointed.
Light gathered at his fingertip and shot toward the ground.
But it was far slower than Instant White Flash.
"This is Light Beam Flash."
Whoosh!
The beam was noticeably faster.
"Then, determine the path of light first, use mana as a conductor, and guide the light along the entire pathâthis becomes Instant Beam Flash."
Shiiingâ
Xuzhou clearly saw it this time.
A thin strand of mana raced forward, converting every element along its path into light, instantly forming the spell.
A genius casting concept.
Yet executing it was far more complex than Rei made it sound.
"Then... well, itâs hard to explain."
"You circulate mana through specific pathways to create explosive output inside the body. That becomes Instant Flash."
Mana split into thousands of strands inside Reiâs body, flowing along thousands of pathways simultaneously.
FLASH!
A blinding burst erupted instantly.
"And after purifying the light element further and amplifying its explosive power... you get Instant White Flash."
"This involves the concept of Transcendent Magic. You probably wonât understand."
What Rei didnât say was that he didnât fully understand it either.
Even after discussing transcendent magic with Iz, the conclusion was clear:
Learning it was as difficult as comprehending Origin itself.
Normal Tier 3 spells involved at most ten mana pathways.
But this one used thousands.
That was why Rei couldnât explain it clearly.
Mastering a transcendent spell was as difficult as discovering a new Origin magic.
And that was before second transcendence or third transcendence.
After watching the demonstration, Xuzhou sighed.
"You mean... this spell was entirely created by you?"
"More or less."
"And those Tier 4 spells?"
"Talent."
Xuzhou sighed again.
After seeing Rei evolve Void Creation into Awaken the Void, he had already suspected the answer.
Looking at Rei now felt like gazing at a towering mountain.
While he himself was nothing more than an ant.
"I no longer feel any desire to compete with you," Xuzhou said quietly.
"Instead... letâs talk about Origin."
..
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