Chapter 535: Foolish Mage
Somewhere within the arena, atop his own pillar of earth. Marcus’ eyes widened, as his head snapped towards the massive holographic display.
"Jake Sandy."
"He’s out already..."
Marcus’s jaw tightened. His fingers clenched into fists around his sword hilt.
"Damn it."
The plan had collapsed in under five minutes.
He had paid the archer a good amount specifically to apply pressure on Moon throughout the entire second stage.
The point hadn’t been to eliminate Moon, but wear him down, degrade his pillar’s health, and push him out of the top ten rankings.
And now the archer was gone.
Marcus’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he looked at Moon’s side of the arena. Moon’s pillar was untouched, not even a little scratch on it. His pillar’s durability bar, displayed prominently on the arena’s overhead display, was still at a perfect one hundred percent.
With a few pillars in-between separating her from Marcus, Sarah – on top of her own pillar – watched the same screen without speaking. Her expression was as composed as ever, but her eyes flicked briefly to Marcus’s clenched fists, then back to the broadcast.
She said nothing, focused on the threats nearby.
♢♢♢♢
After eliminating his first Three-Star neighbour, Moon didn’t spend much longer before dispatching the second.
The second neighbour realising that he was next to be eliminated after the archer. Immediately tried to launch the first attack despite the fear in his heart.
As a mage with control of earth and fire, he sent a series of stone spikes followed by a wave of fire balls to try and overwhelm Moon.
The combination was tactically sound for most opponents. Unfortunately for him, Moon countered it with another Ignite, the blue fireball gathering even faster this time to deal with the approaching attacks.
Ignite destroyed most of the incoming projectiles and continued towards the target, leaving a few scurried projectiles that Moon handled without trouble.
The neighbour’s options were exhausted immediately. He went down the same way Jake Sandy had, his pillar scorched, his body engulfed in burning azure fire.
This time, it wasn’t Klein who arrived to enforce safety. A Surpasser healer cast a flash of golden light that travelled at rapid speed.
A wave of pure healing energy washed over the fallen competitor.
The blue fire was suppressed instantly. The burning effects of Moon’s flames were extracted from the wounds in a graceful pull of purifying mana.
Moon watched the spell unfold from his pillar, his eyes tracking every movement of the healer’s hands.
’That’s the power of a Surpasser. Truly mesmerizing.’
The skill control alone was a tier above his own healing skill. He knew this was a glimpse into what awaited him if he ever reached the same rank. Every Surpasser he had encountered so far had been nothing but a reminder of how much room he had left to grow.
"Second competitor, Jacob Deval, has been eliminated!"
The crowd cheered once again at the announcement. Moon was on fire, and so were his opponents. He had gotten the first two eliminations of the second stage.
After dealing with the mage, Moon turned his attention to his remaining neighbour.
The two Three-Star competitors closest to him were now gone. The next closest threat was the Four-Star earth mage Moon had identified previously.
His eyes drifted across the gap to meet hers.
She was already looking at him.
For a long moment, neither of them moved. Eye contact stretched between them across the open space between their pillars, both of them silently running the same calculation in the same instant.
She had watched him eliminate two competitors in less than a minute. And, although she believed she was much stronger than the previous two, Moon was still not an opponent to scoff at, he was dangerous, terribly so.
Four-Star or not, taking him on this early on would be costly.
Moon watched her hold her pillar without expending a single major spell yet. She was conservative, cautious and confident in her defensive setup. Trying to break her pillar would force him to commit mana he wanted to preserve.
Understanding flashed behind their eyes simultaneously.
They weren’t teaming up. The rules forbade that, and neither of them was foolish enough to risk disqualification. But they were entering into a silent treaty.
Don’t attack me. I won’t attack you.
She gave him the slightest nod.
He returned it.
Both of them turned their attention elsewhere, ready to defend against incoming attacks from competitors further across the grid.
Then Moon did something that drew gasps from across the spectator stands.
Moon reached into his pocket and pulled out a rune.
It was small, palm-sized rune etched with inscriptions that glowed gently. He placed it onto his pillar with a quick motion, and the rune burned into the earth beneath his feet, expanding into a wide protective array that pulsed once before turning invisible.
In the stands, the spectators were dumbstruck by his actions.
"He’s using a rune? Already?" A spectator with bright pink hair, cropped short and styled in a way that drew attention, leaned forward in his seat with disbelief crossing his face. "Like, he hasn’t even taken damage yet? Why would he waste a powerful rune this early on?"
He turned in his seat, looking for someone to validate his confusion. A mage using a rune was already a strange sight. Mages weren’t Runesmiths.
They could activate runes, but the mana cost was enormous, often equivalent to casting three or four major spells. Most mages only resorted to runes in worst-case scenarios when their own skills failed them.
Using one casually, in the opening minutes of a round, with a pristine pillar and full mana reserves?
It was something only a fool would do.
A voice behind him spoke up calmly.
"Either he spent a large portion of his mana on those two earlier eliminations, and is using the rune now to lock in his defenses. Or he’s playing the long game. After his display of power, very few competitors will dare attack him anyway. By using the rune now, he’s banking on a window of relative peace to refill his reserves naturally while the deterrent effect of his earlier eliminations keeps attackers at bay. Either way, it’s certainly calculated, not careless."
The pink-haired spectator turned around, his eyes widening, recognising the speaker immediately.
A young man with square glasses perched on his nose, a contemplative posture and an analytical tone.
"It’s you!" The pink-haired spectator pointed at him with a grin. "The same hyper-analysis guy from yesterday!"
The nerdy spectator grinned slightly. Simply, raising his middle finger to the bridge of his glasses, pushing them up his nose.
The pink-haired spectator laughed and turned his attention back to Moon.
Just in time to see him pull out a second rune. His eyes widened in disbelief, "H-He just used another one!"
The pink-haired spectator’s voice rose an octave. Using one rune was already pushing the limits of what most mages considered reasonable.
Using two? In the opening minutes of the round? With no damage taken? That was beyond strategic.
That was just foolish.
He turned back to the nerd, his eyes wide.
"What about now? Hyper-analysis. Explain this one."
The nerd’s face contorted slightly in contemplation.
’This was a tricky one to justify...’
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