Chapter 209 - Because I Am Going to Dupe Someone (1/2)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The guild hall was crowded with people. Everyone’s eyes fell on the huge crystal ball. The battle between the apprentice and mentor was clearly displayed in front of everyone through the huge crystal ball.

The battle had reached its climax; the young apprentice was getting fiercer with every attack, and the Elemental s.h.i.+eld on Macklin had become extremely dim. It was still a long way away from the end of the cooldown time for a few crucial spells. Everyone’s heart was suspended in the midst of dancing wind blades.

This battle had gone far beyond everyone’s imagination.

When Macklin had activated the Warlock’s Eyes and put the entire arena into the crystal ball, almost everyone thought it would be an actual combat practice.

In their imagination, Macklin might use several control spells to make the young apprentice understand the power of control, or he might erect an Elemental s.h.i.+eld and let the young apprentice bombard him until he ran out of mana before telling him how to distribute his mana rationally…

In short, no one had ever thought that the battle would be this intense.

The sparks in the battle in the crystal ball flashed, and everyone stood stupefied. There was not a sound in the whole guild hall. Whether it was the Archmages who had made a name for themselves for decades or the mage apprentices who had just come into contact with the mysterious knowledge, all of them were scared into silence at this moment.

The battle between the two men was too terrifying…

Macklin was indeed someone standing at the peak of the Archmage realm. Although his strength was suppressed to level-15, his spell-casting skills told everyone that he was indeed the most powerful of the Archmages in the guild. He had almost perfect mana control and a spell-casting duration that was nearing the limit. The spells released by him were almost as exquisite as fine works of art. In that almost hopeless impa.s.se, he could even take time to retaliate. Many times, people even thought that his spell-casting skills had subverted their common sense.

The crowd was even thankful that Macklin had suppressed his strength to level-15 and had fallen into leeward from the beginning. If not for that, they wouldn’t be able to witness such an exciting battle in their lifetime.

A figure like Macklin, who was at the peak of the Archmage realm, could often destroy everything with his strength alone, so he seldom did his best in a battle, not to mention fighting desperately for a respite with all his skills like now.

For the hundreds of mages in the hall, this was simply a stunning magic show.

Such opportunities were not always available.

Just seeing Macklin doing his best was enough to make them cry out for joy.

On top of that…

It was a young apprentice barely 20 years of age who had forced Macklin into putting in his best.

What this young apprentice brought them was a real shock.

Compared with Macklin’s fine art of casting, what the young apprentice demonstrated was another style. He was accurate and efficient, like a precise machine. His control of mana had reached a terrifying level—it was as if the mana was not an illusory magic power, but the most flexible finger. He had a complete and accurate control over it, and there was neither redundancy nor waste.

What made the scalps of the mages tingle the most was that this young apprentice seemed to have an instinctive sensitivity to time. Up to now, each side had released at least dozens of spells; the magnificent runes alone were enough to dazzle everyone’s eyes, but this young apprentice clearly remembered the order of each spell and accurately grasped their respective cooldown time.

The hundreds of mages in the guild hall had the same idea in their minds. It’s horrible…

A while ago, Macklin managed to pull through the cooldown time of the Elemental s.h.i.+eld, and was going to retaliate with this Elemental s.h.i.+eld when the young apprentice suddenly released a Mana Retroaction.

At that moment, almost everyone saw Macklin open his mouth.

That was a sign that he was about to recite a spell.

But no one knew what spell had been intending to recite, as the spell was taken by the throat by the young apprentice before it could even be uttered.

It was simply a hopeless feeling…

The trick was not complicated. Among the hundreds of mages present, those with good vision could see that it was nothing more than calculating the cooldown time of Macklin’s Elemental s.h.i.+eld, and then releasing the Mana Retroaction just after it. Only under the protection of the Elemental s.h.i.+eld could Macklin cast his spells boldly and confidently, and that also left an opportunity for the opponent to use the Mana Retroaction.

But things in this world were always easier said than done.

How was it an easy thing to calculate the cooldown time of the Elemental s.h.i.+eld?

Not only did he have to remember when the Elemental s.h.i.+eld was put on Macklin, but also how many magic spells he had released during this period and how much they had weakened the s.h.i.+eld. In addition, he had to also take into account Macklin’s mana consumption and the pressure he put on him, which could even involve reading the opponent and other subtle factors.

The most important thing in the battle of mages was concentration. The recitation of complicated spells was enough to consume the whole focus of most mages. It could only be a rare magic genius that could think and work out exquisite tactics for himself in an intense battle. As for the young apprentice, he could even make complicated calculations when facing his mentor. Not to mention seeing, it was never even heard of. This was not the ability that human beings should possess.

The guild hall was so quiet that even a needle could be heard if it fell to the ground.

All eyes rested on the crystal ball; they stared in awe at the young apprentice who was reciting the spell.

He wasn’t reciting the spell swiftly. He seemed to be unhurried, but old mages with sharp eyes could see it at a glance—the young apprentice was reciting the spell as fast as Macklin!

Several old mages muttered quietly, “h.e.l.l…”

This was just too d.a.m.ned…

No matter how Macklin suppressed his strength to level-15, the spell-casting habit that had been incorporated into his blood would not change. For mages of his level, the spell-casting habit had become an instinct. Even if he’d suppressed his strength to level-1, the duration that a spell should be compressed would not have changed because of the level.

It seemed to everyone in the hall that Macklin’s compression of recitation time had reached the limit of human beings. They felt that even a legendary-mage could not do it better than Macklin.

But right under their noses, there was at present a young apprentice under the age of 20 who had done something only Macklin could do.

No one dared to believe that this young apprentice was barely 20.

Everyone began to speculate about the origins of this apprentice-looking fellow…

For a moment, whispers rose one after another in the guild hall.

Someone spoke from the crowd, “I remember, this fellow seems to be from Jarrosus!”

When this sentence was uttered, a voice of disapproval was immediately aroused, and an old Magic Shooter with white beard said agitatedly, “Nonsense, how can a place like the Jarrosus Guild of Magic produce such an impressive genius?”

“Exactly, it’s impossible!” Several colleagues around him looked at him and nodded in the same way.

This had to be a joke—a magic genius who could drive Macklin to the wall came from Jarrosus? Who didn’t know that place was a backwater of magic; it had had only one Archmage, Gerian, in decades. The most ridiculous thing was that people had said that the most powerful magic strength in that place was not the Guild of Magic, but a dozen of mage families from all over the place.

Such a genius came from Jarrosus? It’d be more straightforward to say that Macklin was a woman…

“If this kid really comes from Jarrosus, I’ll eat this crystal ball!” The white-bearded old Magic Shooter pointed excitedly at the crystal ball in front of him.

“…” The mage who’d told the truth became mum at once. Wouldn’t it be murder if the old man were to eat such a huge crystal ball?

Furthermore…

Although he had said that this kid came from Jarrosus, he was actually not certain of it. Everyone knew about that countryside place, Jarrosus. They’d long be celebrating if they could produce a Magic Shooter, let alone an Archmage less than 20 years of age.

Perhaps he mistook him for another… The only mage who’d spoken the truth began to doubt himself.

The battle was coming to an end when the crowd was talking and speculating about Lin Li’s origins.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!” Three Rings of Fire exploded beside Macklin in series, leaving behind only a thin layer of the crumbling Elemental s.h.i.+eld…

“Kid, you’ve got guts! The three Rings of Fire, which had been buried long ago, exploded at the most crucial moment and immediately pushed Macklin to the brink of despair. There was only a thin layer of Elemental s.h.i.+eld on his body, and perhaps only a wind blade was all it would take to break it. Moreover, it was only half past the cooldown time; it’d be like asking a rooster to lay eggs for Macklin to put up another Elemental s.h.i.+eld.