Chapter 162: Diary (1/2)

”Everyone keeps mentioning fate as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.” Arthur laughed lightly and shook his head. He looked at the screen and the countdown until the round begins and decided now wasn't the time for this. ”Sit, we'll have a different strategy.”

Yurirl nodded and sat down. When the countdown reached zero, the one-hour limit began. Arthur sat in front of the table and picked up his brush. He dispelled all of the thoughts from his head and focused on the competition.

Runic cards had a one-time usage. For runes like fire and other elemental runes, it was a short duration before the card disintegrates. After all, it was just a card and not an artificial artifact.

The existence of runic cards allowed for a more budget-friendly system to take place. Runes were essential for survival in the other world but not everyone could afford artifacts with different functions.

For the cards that Arthur creates, he had two choices. Ones with an open reality gate and others with a closed one. Their performance drastically differs. However, Arthur didn't hold back earlier. He created genuine protection and weaken runes because they were had a one-time usage and couldn't truly be perceived by outsiders.

The case was different for Fire, his only offensive rune. This rune was one of the few that didn't evolve but was a gate on its own. For example, the more mana Arthur used, the more fire he could produce. However, this fire's characteristic was different from artificial runes. It was noticeably hotter, destructive, and more flexible to control. That's why he inscribed and artificial fire rune earlier.

Now, he wouldn't. To break through an artificial rune, a genuine rune was necessary. He saw how Carlos's runes reflected damage but he knew there had to be a limit.

***

Yurirl walked toward the stage for the second time today. However, he wasn't as confident as before. He was a realistic person. He saw how Carlos's runes reflected the damage they sustained and eliminated the opponent easily.

'How would his plan work?' Yurirl thought that Arthur was a cautious person, but his plan was brute and overconfident. It was indeed simple, but simplicity isn't the best for the situation.

Carlos's partner walked onstage as well, carrying a smug expression of victory. Reflect was indeed a rune to be proud and assured with, so his confidence wasn't without basis.

”Just trust me,” Arthur told him after he had explained his plan. Yurirl decided to do just that since he doesn't have anything to lose. He placed his hand on the stack of cards strapped to his belt.

'15 cards. He's a monster.' Yurirl thought as the host stepped on the stage and the countdown started. 'However, where does his confidence stem from?' He wondered.

The crowd cheered and counted down until zero. The opponent threw the first card and a green barrier rose in front of him like before. He then took out another rune and used it as ice shards generated and flew toward Yurirl.

However, Yurirl didn't just stand Idly. To the crowd's amazement, Yurirl activated ten barriers at the same time. Yurirl's and strength and mana were capped at 300, so activating the cards almost used all of his mana. He had used 240 units of mana just to activate the ten runes.

8 percent of 300 was 24. Multiply that by ten and you get 240 mana units. Each barrier equaled 360 in strength.

'A true monster.' Yurirl's felt a shiver at such a notion. Even if he received an attack of over 360, he would be immune until the attack breaks through all of the barriers.

Yurirl didn't stop and took out the five fire runes. He had used this one before and knew his mana wasn't enough to handle five of them. However, he told Arthur he would trust him. With 60 units of mana left, Yurirl activated the five fire runes.

Light engulfed the world the moment that he poured all of his mana into the runes. In the last moment, before he directed the fire, he realized something fatal.

He had miscalculated.

It was a layman's mistake, but it was fatal. It was related to the way runes worked in general. The runic lines would simulate the reality gate to gather the fire essence from the air and create fire. That's why if multiple runes were activated at the same time with identical lines, a semi-runic-circle would be birthed.

The five fire runes strengthened each other and absorbed the mana he poured into them greedily. A pillar of fire that as wide as ten meters sprung into existence as it traveled toward the opponent.

”CEASE!” He could hear Jumana's roar but he was helpless as well. The fire burned everything in its path as it headed toward the pale-faced young man who was still throwing ice shards.

The green barrier around the young man did its job and reflected almost half of the elemental attack at Yurirl.

Yurirl watched with dismay as he tried to take off the Limiter, but it was too late. He braced himself as he watched the fire travel his way and break through his protective barriers.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of him. Yurirl thought it was Jumana but it turned out to be the back of someone he knew. For the briefest moment, Yurirl saw black light shine in front of him.

Arthur's hand descended on the incoming flames and cut them apart in half. The flames diverged and headed in two ways around Yurirl and Arthur.

Yurirl stared with shock at Arthur who had split apart the flame with his bare hand. However, his hand was just fine and Arthur turned to him with an apologetic expression.