"Those three magical items are absolutely components of some higher-grade magical item—or even an arcane artifact!"
The Second-rank
"I think so too!" Leilin smiled and nodded, though his gaze subtly grew fervent.
Inside the secret realm.
Three figures clashed violently again and again, the magical items in their hands blazing with radiance, devastating the surrounding grassland beyond recognition.
"Kill!"
Ailin and Venas exchanged a glance and simultaneously channeled their maximum Spiritual Power. The silver hilt and central blade thrust toward Aosini.
"Chain of War!" At that moment, a strange expression flashed across Aosini's face, and a black iron chain covered in runes flew from his chest, wrapping around Ailin and Venas.
"Did you really think I was foolish enough to fight both of you alone?"
Seeing the chain shoot out, a look of triumph finally appeared on Aosini's face.
"That's a secret magical item from
Some of the wizards outside the secret realm recognized the magical item.
But then, they stared with their mouths agape in shock.
Venas smiled faintly and split another "Venas" from her body. The other Venas wore a look of determination as she lunged toward Ailin.
With a flash of light, Ailin—previously bound by the chain—appeared in midair, while Venas's clone had taken his place, bound by the chain.
"Now! While you can!" Both Venases spoke simultaneously. The ever-tightening chain shattered the defensive runes on Venas's body one after another.
"A clone! Using a clone to break free from the Chain of War's binding? Now that's a subject worth researching!" A white-bearded wizard stroked his beard.
Seeing Venas coughing blood, Ailin seemed to be triggered. He roared and charged straight at Aosini.
Aosini was clearly expending enormous amounts of Spiritual Power and magical energy to maintain the chain's restraint, leaving him somewhat caught off guard by Ailin's sudden assault.
After several exchanges, eyes bloodshot, Ailin deflected the blade tip and drove the hilt into Aosini's chest.
Aosini's expression was very strange—half-crying, half-laughing. He didn't even activate the escape rune on his body.
"What's going on? Is the escape rune malfunctioning? Activate external trigger!" a wizard immediately ordered.
But no milky-white light appeared.
"Cough… cough…" Aosini coughed, blood gushing from his mouth.
"You… you win!" Aosini struggled to speak.
"Why? Why didn't you escape?" Ailin looked utterly incredulous.
"Heh heh! Why would I escape?" Aosini's expression shifted rapidly, as if he'd instantly become a different person.
"No… don't kill me!" Then, a look of intense fear flooded Aosini's face.
But as the blood loss mounted, all these expressions gradually faded, returning to the initial state.
"Be… be careful of the mastermind behind the scenes… my brother… I saw…"
Aosini trembled, pressing the tip of the Meteor Sword and the black notebook into Ailin's hands. His eyes suddenly turned completely white, and before he could finish his final prophecy, all traces of life vanished.
Thud! Aosini's body crashed to the ground.
Crack! With Aosini's death, Ailin felt a mysterious force emerge from the body and flow into his own. The Sacred Candle Flame within him blazed to life, seemingly absorbing something.
Moments later, he broke through to the peak of semi-elementalization, reaching the apex of the First-rank Wizard level. But Ailin felt no joy whatsoever.
"Let's go!" He scooped up the gravely wounded Venas and vanished into the milky-white pillar of light.
Today's events had left him with far too many unanswered questions, to the point that he'd lost all interest in the final showdown between Willin and Lombarton.
Outside the secret realm, Leilin stroked his chin, a thoughtful look on his face.
"The dissociative symptoms are getting worse—multiple personalities have emerged, including a benevolent one, a malevolent one, and a cowardly one, plus strong suicidal tendencies! This test subject is ruined! Even if he's still alive, he's useless!"
A trace of regret crossed his face.
Then he turned to the final screen: "The fated first confrontation has begun!"
Inside the secret realm, most of the wizards had been eliminated. Only Willin and Lombarton remained, and over forty points were concentrated between them.
Moreover, the two were drawing ever closer, about to converge.
"If nothing unexpected happens, the champion this time will be one of these two wizards—let's wait and see!" the host wizard announced excitedly. The screens on the venue constantly merged and finally split into two massive displays, each showing the situation on Willin's and Lombarton's sides.
As the two wizards drew nearer, the screen edges began to merge, about to join into a single enormous display.
"So we meet again!"
Willin was covered in his Enhanced Armor, thirteen eyes exposed, forming bizarre cyclones around him that even seemed to be absorbing something.
"Can you stop me?" Lombarton, disguised as the green-robed Ger, laughed coldly.
"Regardless, I must defeat you today!" Willin steeled his resolve, his Cross Sword pointing straight at Lombarton.
"Heh heh! Willin, did you know? Back in Bert Town, I already found you insufferable!"
At that moment, Lombarton transmitted his voice directly to Willin: "Why did Leilin choose you back then instead of me? Why do you always get better things than me?"
"So you still care about that." Willin's expression darkened.
The wizards watching outside the screens looked on in puzzlement as the two figures went perfectly still—no energy fluctuations, as if they were communicating telepathically.
"Do these two wizards know each other?" Confusion appeared on several faces in the crowd.
Whoosh!
At that moment, the two figures on screen suddenly moved.
An energy particle storm like a hurricane burst forth from their bodies, the overwhelming pressure reversing the surrounding air currents.
A clash between two peak First-rank wizards was a rare sight even in the Dark Extreme Region.
And Leilin, who knew these two far better, understood that this was still nowhere near their true strength.
Boom! Bang!
One green, one red—the two figures collided repeatedly in midair, compressing the very air until it exploded.
"I didn't expect that you'd also reached the Second-rank level!" Amid the fierce exchanges, Lombarton continued transmitting to Willin.
Although the wizards outside couldn't detect anything through the screens, with each clash between Willin and Lombarton, while the outward energy fluctuations remained at the First-rank level, only they knew how terrifying the energy packed into each attack truly was at the moment of impact!
Moreover, to control all that power without the slightest leakage, maintaining the illusion of First-rank energy—this level of control was exceptional even among Second-rank wizards.
"Lombarton, stop!" Willin's willpower wavered.
He had never been a man of grand ambitions, and facing someone he'd known since childhood, he could barely muster the will to fight.
"Stop? I'll stop right now!!!"
Lombarton's expression turned vicious. Massive drops of corrosive green liquid formed beneath him, coalescing into an enormous green vortex.
"
Sizzle! But that wasn't all. As a scroll radiating dense energy particles was torn apart by Lombarton, the vortex expanded further still. A dangerous aura that could make even Second-rank wizards frown emanated from its edges.
"A Second-rank spell scroll!" Wizards outside the venue cried out in alarm.
Such things were exceedingly rare. Even for a Second-rank wizard to create one required tremendous time and effort, with no guarantee of success. They were virtually nonexistent on the market—yet Ger actually had one in his possession.
Moreover, was it truly worth using such a life-saving trump card in a mere competition?
"Using a Second-rank spell scroll as cover while unleashing his peak power in a single instant?" Outside the venue, Leilin smiled faintly.
"If nothing unexpected happens, the champion should be our western region's Ger!" The Second-rank wizard who had greeted Leilin earlier stroked his beard, looking quite smug.
"Not necessarily." Leilin shook his head. As the Child of Destiny, Willin wouldn't be defeated so easily.
"Oh? Then how about a bet?" the western Second-rank wizard immediately offered, apparently still hung up about losing his prediction regarding the fire scorpion last time.
"No thanks! I don't have anything good enough to wager against you, sir." Leilin smiled wryly and shook his head.
"That's fine—we won't set any stakes. Just a simple win-or-lose wager!" the western Second-rank wizard pressed.
Leilin nodded, understanding that these Second-rank wizards had reached their limits. With virtually no further progress possible on the path of wizardry, they had turned their energies elsewhere.
This particular western Second-rank wizard had lost a round to him before, and if he didn't win it back, he'd likely be uncomfortable for the next decade or more.
The vast and violent vortex continued to expand, like a gaping monster, immediately swallowing Willin whole.
Seeing this, a smile crept onto Lombarton's face.
"Die!" He plunged into the vortex, a green sword of light materializing in his hand.
Boom! All thirteen eyes on the armor covering Willin's body widened simultaneously. Dense runes poured from their pupils, swirling before Willin to form an eerie pattern.
The Enhanced Armor, now bearing the runic pattern, transformed entirely, blazing with dazzling radiance. The Death Vortex's ripples and corrosive energy struck the armor and were repelled almost instantly, failing to leave so much as a scratch.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Willin roared and charged straight through the vortex, arriving before the stunned Lombarton in an instant. His sword cleaved down onto Lombarton's body.