However, while others were watching with curiosity or awe, Liam, on the other hand, had a sinking feeling in his gut, he had landed a strike—or so he thought, but only he knew the truth that his attack hadn’t connected with anything.There was no resistance, no sensation of his clawed strike piercing flesh, and that realization triggered his suspicions that something was wrong.Just as doubt clouded his mind, he noticed something chilling, the body he had struck was dissipating like mist.“How much longer are you going to stare at my afterimage?” Lucas’s voice came from behind him.Startled, Liam spun around and jumped back from both his current position and the direction of the voice.“How the hell did you do that?” he demanded, raising his arms as arcs of lightning sparked between his fingertips.“If I told you, I wouldn’t be able to use it against you again, now would I?” Lucas replied casually, as Liam froze, unsure of how to respond.In his heart, he wanted to believe it was just

Both mages dashed at each other as time seemed to slow to a crawl, Lucas gripped his glaive tightly with both hands, the blade arcing forward as he swung, behind him streaks of lightning trailed in the weapon’s path, slicing through the air with an electrifying roar.His expression had shifted, gone was the casual calm. Now, a wild grin stretched across his face as his muscles tensed, fuelled by his raw Qi energy that surged uncontrollably, thunder claps echoed across his half of the stage, where lightning and Qi collided in chaotic harmony.On Liam’s side, a different kind of power reigned, a temporal field wrapped around him, distorting time itself, everything outside his body moved sluggishly, slowed by the spell’s influence, everything but him.“Ahhh!” Both mages let out cries as they clashed and then passed each other in the blink of an eye, switching places on the battle ring, and the crowd held its breath, eyes straining to understand what had just occurred.Lucas’s body tre

Part of the light that surged out from Alec’s body swiftly filled the room, transforming it into a space bathed in radiant white with a faint blue hue, at the center, an astral figure took form, an elderly man with a long beard. Though he didn’t resemble a traditional forger, however, the moment he began working on the materials provided by the system, Alec was reminded again why questioning the system’s choices was futile.As usual, a system prompt appeared, requesting a blood essence sample from the future host of the Spirit Equipment Set, and Alec tossed a vial containing Knight’s blood toward the spectral figure, the elder summoned using part of Alec’s system points, as the air was also filled with different resources Alec was unaware of too.Prior to this, Alec had already answered several system queries needed when creating a specialised spirit equipment set, the intended realm of the host mage, his/her elemental affinities, and weapon preferences, everything necessary to prep

Alec and his golem trekked through the sandy expanse, the wind whipping grit into their faces until Alec finally wrapped a cloth over his mouth and nose. The swirling sand made every breath a chore.Though this desert-like region lacked the crushing environmental pressure that could hinder most elemental mages, except perhaps those without an earth affinity, however, it was still far from an ideal place for a leisurely stroll.However, that was about to change, Alec’s eyes were set on a distant, towering mountain range, a landscape starkly different from the endless dunes. He believed that if he could reach those peaks, he might encounter the earth-elemental demonic beasts he was searching for, and that was where he was heading for.But before he could get any closer, the ground beneath him began to shudder violently, the tremors grew so intense that Alec’s brow furrowed in alarm.“Master, something’s approaching at high speed,” Legion reported first, its heat scanner detecting a

Alec had only been able to notice a weakness thanks to Hunter’s strike that managed to pierce through its defence, with his Energy Eyes special active, Alec picked up details invisible to others. He observed that whenever the caterpillar prepared to attack or defend, its carapace shifted slightly to accumulate mana, creating a tiny gap in its impenetrable defence, that fleeting space and gaps that appeared just happened to be its weak spot.Though its carapace appeared impenetrable, Alec knew that someone far stronger and in a higher realm could shatter it with ease. However, he and his golems weren’t at that level yet, so he had to rely on the only option available, exploiting that momentary weakness. With his Energy Eyes active, Alec was confident he could land a strike far more effective than anything they had tried so far.He willed his limiters to release.Thud.The four limiters strapped across his body fell to the ground, one after another, as his aura surged, his realm ros