173 Chapter 173 - Ice and Fire (1/2)

Gu Fei did not say another word. It was not because Brave Surge's rare magic staff had moved him, but because the opponent would fight him more seriously if there was something big at stake. That would make this PvP all the more meaningful! With that thought in mind, he drew a faint slash in the air with his sword, ”Don't be lenient. I don't care if you kill me; I'll still stand by my word.” Gu Fei knew from experience that showing leniency would hugely impact the actual strength that anyone could display in a fight.

Brave Surge smiled, ”Come, then!”

Few people were online this early in the morning, so the streets were pretty much devoid of any onlookers or passersby. The men accompanying Brave Surge retreated to the side as they quietly surveyed the two men's PvP.

Gu Fei inhaled deeply as his expression turned serious.

Brave Surge was ranked ninth on the Mage leaderboard and was considered as an expert Mage in Parallel World. Gu Fei did not dare treat such a gaming expert like Brave Surge so lightly, as there were many aspects in which he could not beat the latter.

The glow of Brave Surge's magic staff was very eye-catching. It was obviously a top-grade weapon, so his spells could probably insta-kill players, too.

”Fireball! Shoot!” Starting the fight by firing off a ball of fire toward his opponent, Gu Fei darted forward as well.

”Fireball! Shoot!” Brave Surge fired off a ball of fire as well before waving his magic staff once more, ”Frozen Ice Trail! Go!”

A soft rippling sound was heard before a one-meter layer of cracked ice formed on the ground. This ice crackled and flew toward Gu Fei's feet.

Gu Fei had never seen such a scene before, so he could not help but feel stunned about it. However, he quickly recovered himself and took two steps to the side. The ice path created by the spell swept past where Gu Fei had been standing moments ago as it reflected the morning sunlight.

”What is that?” Gu Fei curiously asked as he casually swung his sword on the Fireball closing in on him.

”He he... I learned this skill from a scroll. Fireball! Shoot!” Brave Surge answered and summoned another ball of fire. Fireball formed on his fingertips, just in time to block the Fireball Gu Fei had shot at him. The two balls of fire collided and dissipated upon contact.

”That's no easy feat!” Gu Fei praised. Casting Fireball to block another's Fireball required excellent eye-hand coordination, which was more difficult than merely dissipating it with a sword.

”I am flattered,” Brave Surge humbly said as he tapped his magic staff on the ground once more, ”Frozen Ice Trail! Go!”

Another one-meter length of cracked ice rushed over Gu Fei's direction and he smilingly dodged to the side, ”This spell is pretty nice looking, but it's a pity that its speed is too slow. How are you ever gonna hit me with it?”

”Arctic Whirlwind! Spin!” Brave Surge merely casted this spell after summoning Frozen Ice Trail.

Gu Fei turned his body to the side to evade this spell as well, yet Brave Surge directed Arctic Whirlwind to Gu Fei's new direction with a slight move of his magic staff. The caster could manipulate this spell's movement for a limited amount of time at the cost of mana.

The speed of Arctic Whirlwind was not slow, and even the speedster Svelte Dancer was just barely faster than it. Naturally, Gu Fei who was a lot slower than her could not extricate himself from this frigid gust.

Furthermore, Brave Surge had a good control of the spell. During their guilds' PvP match, he had flawlessly prevented Svelte Dancer from getting near Young Master Han with Arctic Whirlwind. Right now, it was hardly difficult for Brave Surge to hit Gu Fei with Arctic Whirlwind.

Seeing that he had no means to dodge the spell, Gu Fei decided to cleave the attack with his sword under Twin Incineration. In response, Brave Surge calmly raised his hand to cast Arctic Whirlwind once more and sent it toward Gu Fei.

Gu Fei could tell that things were looking bleak. Fighting mana with mana was a huge problem for him, as he could only cast Twin Incineration four times even with his full mana. Brave Surge must have seen through his weakness and was thus trying to intentionally waste Gu Fei's limited mana.

Arctic Whirlwind was already upon Gu Fei while he was still pondering about the matter at hand. Helpless, he could only cast Twin Incineration once more to take care of it. He then pointed the tip of his sword forward, ”Descending Wheel of Flames! Descend!”

”He he. You do know that your spell-casting time is very long, right?” Brave Surge asked.

”Of course, I do,” Gu Fei answered.

”You can't out-predict me; I guarantee that your spell won't hit me if I remain standing here. Still, I will take two steps forward just to be on the safe side!”

With that, Gu Fei saw the flame wheel appear and descend behind Brave Surge. Looking backward, Brave Surge smilingly remarked, ”Indeed, my two steps are unnecessary. Your spell release is very precise.”

”You're an expert alright,” Gu Fei sighed in awe. With his long casting time, anyone would be able to run away if the person saw him cast his spell. Therefore, he needed to predict the direction of movement of his opponent before attacking deceptively. Gu Fei had thought that Brave Surge would attempt to dodge his spell by retreating, so he had tossed the flame wheel to a position behind the latter to blast him off for good. Unexpectedly, Brave Surge saw through his ploy.

This had made him feel helpless. Gu Fei's attack was dependent on instinct, while Brave Surge actually considered everything from a logical perspective. Because the Mages' hands or weapons needed to point toward their targets when releasing spells or chanting, veteran Mages like Brave Surge could easily infer where the spells would hit just by looking at the directions the opposing Mages were pointing.

Using the terms in kung fu, Brave Surge's eyes were fast enough, while Gu Fei's hands were too slow. This caused him to miss Brave Surge entirely.

”Arctic Whirlwind! Spin!” Brave Surge once more summoned Arctic Whirlwind.