"Why are those two just sitting there instead of fighting?"
"What do you know... I heard when two Root Mages meet, they usually donât fight right away."
"They both want to learn the other personâs Root Magic."
"Damn... thatâs boring to watch."
"Whatâs there to learn? Wouldnât fighting tell you everything?"
"Fighting? Can you really understand someoneâs insight just by fighting? Magic grows through exchange and discussion."
"I thought that rumor about Root Mages sitting down to chat first was fake."
Kanzaki Rei and Duskveil sat there for three full hours.
The ideas Rei explained about Root were not actually the philosophy behind his own Root.
Insteadâ
They were theories about Devouring, concepts that Xu Zhou had once shared with him.
After returning from that encounter, Rei had thought extensively about the concept of Root Devouring. In fact, after refining and expanding the theory in his own mind, he suspected his understanding might already be even more complete than Xu Zhouâs original framework.
Howeverâ
Despite this deeper theoretical understanding, Rei still could not learn a second Root Magic.
Because he could not convince himself.
One of the most important aspects of Root Magic was personal conviction.
You had to truly believe:
This is the law of Root. This is the truth.
Only then could the magic exist.
Yet as Rei continued pushing Xu Zhouâs theory further in his own mindâ
He realized he could not truly believe in it.
Sigh.
Obtaining a second Root Magic was far more complicated than he had imagined.
Simply believing in another Root theory was already extremely difficult.
Believing in a system of laws completely opposite to your own Root Magic?
That was on another level entirely.
"Letâs end the discussion here," Duskveil said after glancing at the time.
From his perspective, Reiâs understanding of Root didnât seem particularly profound.
The spell "Void Reversal Devour" was indeed impressive.
But when Rei explained it, something about it seemed to lack a certain spiritual depth.
Stillâ
Rei could clearly use Void Reversal Devour, and he was able to articulate theories about Root Devouring.
Duskveil didnât believe Rei was lying.
Instead, he simply attributed the difference to Rei being only a Level-3 Mage.
Naturally, a Level-3 mageâs comprehension of Root couldnât match that of a Level-4 Root Mage.
"Letâs decide the outcome."
"This victory is very important to me."
"Iâll defeat Luluvi for both of us."
Rei shrugged slightly.
"Oh. Alright."
Pfft.
Before Duskveil could even prepareâ
A pale white beam pierced through his body.
ăInstant White Flashă Ă 8
Eight flashes in a single instant.
Duskveilâs eyes widened in disbelief.
He had watched Reiâs previous matches.
Every time Rei cast magic, there had been a brief chant beforehand.
But this timeâ
Rei had cast instantly, without any chanting at all.
The casting speed was so fast that Duskveil hadnât sensed even the slightest ripple of mana.
Noâ
It felt as though the mana had simply appeared out of thin air, forming magic and piercing his body directly.
There had been no warning whatsoever.
"No... this shouldnât..."
"This shouldnât be the outcome."
Duskveil clutched his chest.
But there was nothing there anymore.
A green glow flared in his hand as he desperately cast healing magic.
The Root Mage was also dual-classed as a Healer.
"Instant Flash of Light."
Rei recited the words in a flat, mechanical tone.
Swish!
The beam pierced straight through Duskveilâs head.
That was easy.
Ending the discussion had been his suggestion, after all.
If he said they should determine a winner, attacking immediately was perfectly reasonable.
Besidesâ
The man had been surprisingly careless.
Talking with someone in the arena without even activating a defensive shield first.
Though Rei could guess the reason.
Maintaining a shield for long periods consumed mana.
Most mages constantly struggled with mana limitations.
Remaining in a sustained casting state meant slowly draining yourself.
[Winner: Kanzaki Rei]
[Your opponent is ready]
"Oh?"
"That match is already finished?"
Rei checked the match board.
The turtle-style warrior had won his fight after two hours.
But when he faced Luluvi afterwardâ
Luluvi won in 0.5 seconds.
"Half a second."
She pierced through that fortress-like defense?
The corner of Reiâs mouth twitched slightly.
At that momentâ
Luluvi appeared lightly before him.
Her expression was cold.
Her eyes were sharp as blades.
[Countdown â 10]
"I heard youâve been arrogantly telling everyone youâre going to defeat me as a Level-3 Mage and knock me to the ground."
Rei shook his head.
"I never said that. Itâs probably just a rumor."
He didnât like unnecessary misunderstandings.
Although he normally avoided unnecessary conversation during battle, misunderstandings were different.
If they werenât resolved now, they could easily become trouble in the future.
Luluvi chuckled softly.
"Then do you think you can beat me?"
Rei replied calmly.
"I think I probably can."
Luluvi studied his eyes carefully.
Her perception was extremely sharp. Reiâs mask offered no real concealment to her senses.
There was no fear in his gaze.
Calm. Clear.
Like the surface of a perfectly still lake.
He truly believed he could win.
And yet he claimed it was a misunderstanding?
Wasnât he proving it through his actions?
Luluvi asked another question.
"Youâve already comprehended Root Magic. Youâve also created your own spells. So why havenât you advanced to Level-4 Mage yet?"
Rei thought for a moment.
He obviously couldnât reveal the truth about the Second Root requirement.
He sighed slightly.
"Because there are still things I must accomplish first."
Luluvi narrowed her eyes.
"Oh... is that so?"
Something you must accomplish...
Defeating me while still Level-3?
"Of course," Rei added quickly, realizing the misunderstanding, "that thing isnât defeating you."
That sentence only caused Luluviâs fists to tighten slightly.
"How arrogant."
[Countdown â 1]
Swish!
A staff appeared in Reiâs hand.
The Staff of Astral Ring of the Void Spirit.
He had never used this staff in previous matches.
Ultimate Sense immediately triggered a warning.
[Battle Start]
The instant the fight beganâ
Four massive beams of light erupted simultaneously!
They shot toward Luluvi in a deadly flash.
At nearly the exact same momentâ
A blazing white pillar of light roared toward Rei.
Fast!
She had been hiding her strength too!
In all her previous battles, Luluvi had calmly drawn her bow before firing that devastating beam.
But this timeâ
Rei hadnât even seen her raise her hand.
She had fired almost simultaneously with his Instant White Flash.
BOOM!
The beam struck.
Layers of multicolored shields appeared around Rei.
The arrow pierced through shield after shieldâ
Each one shattered, then regenerated instantly.
Ultimate Sense had already warned Rei about the attack.
He had also known beforehand that the shields could block it.
Ultimate Sense wasnât powerful merely because it predicted danger.
It also revealed how that danger could be neutralized.
As long as Rei possessed the means to resolve the threat, he would always avoid catastrophe.
There was no chance of making a fatal mistake.
"You really were hiding your strength..." Luluviâs voice echoed.
BOOM!
Magic surged like a tidal wave toward Luluvi.
Completely different from Reiâs previous fights.
No chanting.
Hundreds of spells activated simultaneously.
But when Rei looked toward the skyâ
Luluvi was already high above.
He calculated the distance instantly.
50 kilometers.
They had separated by fifty kilometers in an instant.
At that rangeâ
Most Level-4 mage spells simply couldnât reach.
Almost all of Reiâs attacks missed.
Meanwhile, Luluvi calmly drew another arrow.
ăBow Technique · Falling ShotăăBow Technique · Burst Shotă
Swish!
The moment she released the stringâ
The arrow appeared directly above Rei, plummeting downward.
BOOM!
It struck Reiâs shield.
Fifty layers shattered instantly.
"So you can block it."
Luluvi had already drawn her bow again.
This time, thousands of faint arrow-lights formed around the bowstring.
"Thousand Rainfall Barrage."
Reiâs instincts screamed.
He vanished instantly.
ăOrigin Body · Instant White Flashă
The very spot where he had stoodâ
Was instantly struck by thousands of beams of light.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOMâ
The explosion blasted a massive crater into the earth.
Rei counterattacked immediately.
ăOrigin · Shadow Weaving NetăăOrigin · Deep Frost Water SphereăăIllusionary Mist Seaă
The Shadow Net appeared directly around Luluvi, binding her instantly.
Then the freezing water sphere surged forward to trap her.
Swish!
But she vanished the instant the net formed.
Rei located her again through perception.
His detection range was now 160 kilometers.
His eyesight could reach farther, but locating a person visually was inconvenient.
When his perception found Luluvi againâ
It was accompanied by a terrifying warning.
Tens of thousands of arrows were falling toward him.
From 100 kilometers away.
How did she move that far instantly?
And she could still attack him from that distance?
Reiâs body streaked through the battlefield like flowing light, dodging the storm.
The arrows rained down onto the ground.
Ruined buildings collapsed under the barrage.
Everywhere the arrows struck became dust and thunderous destruction.
When the dust settledâ
Only craters and flattened ruins remained.
"Youâre quite good at dodging."
"For a mage, your movement speed is impressive."
Luluviâs voice echoed again from afar.
Rei cast Void Reversal Devour near her position.
But in the next momentâ
Swish!
She disappeared again.
This time she reappeared even farther away.
150 kilometers.
That blink is absurdly fast.
She left the location the moment the spell formed.
Does she also have danger intuition?
Just as Iz Palut had warnedâ
She was a troublesome opponent.
Rei couldnât help thinking it might have been easier to poison her beforehand.
Her fighting style was the exact opposite of Kaigaâs.
Kaiga loved close combat.
Luluvi, meanwhile, wanted to be as far away as possible.
Two completely opposite extremes.
Swish!
If she ranâ
Rei would chase.
Spells flashed continuously around Luluvi.
ăOrigin · Soul Rending GraspăăOrigin · Flesh CurseăăOrigin · Shadow Weaving Netă
Running that fast?
Then Iâll use guaranteed-hit spells.
Soul Rending Grasp attempted to seize her directlyâ
A powerful tearing force appeared around her body.
But she flashed againâ
Leaving behind an afterimage.
The spell grabbed the afterimage instead.
The Flesh Curse, which had begun forming black curse patterns on her body, also remained behind on the afterimage.
The curse symbols floated uselessly in the air.
Even the Shadow Net captured nothing.
Rei frowned.
What kind of skill is that?
Even target-locked magic could be dodged?
BOOM!
His Thunderfield Zone detonatedâ
But Luluvi had already left the area.
Rei suddenly laughed.
He was actually laughing out of frustration.
"That escape skill is ridiculous."
"Everything can be dodged?"
"What are you usingâmy Death Exchange Technique or something?"
Rei chased forward at extreme speed using Instant White Flash.
The arrow storm grew denser and denser, like standing in the heart of a hurricane.
Yet not a single arrow struck Rei.
Under Ultimate Sense and the combat intent Unbeaten Heart, the arrows seemed to slow down.
Rei could easily predict every trajectory.
All of Luluviâs feints.
All of her predictions.
They were completely transparent to him.
Luluvi frowned slightly.
A mage... moving like a streak of light?
This was the first time she had encountered an enemy her arrows couldnât hit.
Every arrow she fired was carefully calculated.
Even the dense arrow rain wasnât random.
It sealed every possible escape route.
Every possible movement path.
Yet Rei always found some bizarre angle to slip through.
He even saw through her decoy shots designed to mislead him into lethal zones.
This kind of battle awareness...
Even warriors who had mastered Combat Intent shouldnât possess it.
Even enhanced senses couldnât easily distinguish the true attacks from traps among these arrows.
What a troublesome mage.
Why is he so hard to kill?
Originally, Luluvi had planned to end the fight quicklyâ
To demonstrate the overwhelming power of a true expert to this arrogant mage.
Yet Rei proved astonishingly difficult to eliminate.
"So your combat style is distance control..."
Distance:
300 kilometers.
At that range, Reiâs magic could no longer reach Luluvi at all.
Yet Luluviâs arrows still continued raining down on him.
Their battlefield had moved outside the city into a vast wilderness.
At this moment, Rei was essentially a living target.
Only Luluvi could attack.
He had no chance of hitting her.
If he couldnât close the distanceâ
The battle was effectively Luluviâs victory.
A completely one-sided slaughter.
"So this is the power... of an archer with 5,000 victories."
Rei expanded his shields while weaving through the chaotic storm of arrows.
"Your reputation really isnât exaggerated."
Perhaps he truly should maintain respect for the geniuses of this world.
They all had their own extraordinary strengths.
BOOM!
Rei blocked an arrow fired from 450 kilometers away.
A massive trench carved across the earth, stretching for an incredible distance.
Even after traveling hundreds of kilometers, the arrow still retained terrifying power.
This is getting absurd.
She had:
A nearly perfect escape movement skill
Attack range far beyond his spells
Movement speed even faster than his own
And devastating attack power
At this point, his magic couldnât even touch her.
Rei stared at the distant black speck in the sky.
While weaving through the arrow storm like a streak of lightâ
His mind sank into deep calculation.
Against an opponent this troublesome...
How should I deal with her?