1459 Test Part 1 (1/2)

The head warden looked at Saleen. He wasn't planning to kill the mage before leaving the place. He was just thinking that Saleen, at level-13, would then be the most powerful mage on Myers Mainland.

Saleen took a look at the head warden, who had taken the form of a monster yet stood like a human. Clutching a sword, the monster was immersed in thought.

He also appeared to be oblivious to his changed appearance and the power he wielded. The head warden seemed able to command that magic beast, which was heading toward higher ground, crushing everything in his path.

Saleen noticed that the fire element in the lava did not match the flames on the head warden's body. Those flames were absorbed then converted instead of being used as they were. What a relief. This conversion method might have been a higher-level skill, but it wouldn't have allowed the head warden to attain higher speeds when acquiring elemental powers in battle.

What Saleen feared most was the head warden being armed with something like his own—the Figure of Fate. If he failed to kill the head warden on the first try, it would be futile to waste a level-18 scroll on a second attempt.

Both parties spent less than 30 seconds checking each other out. That was long enough for Saleen to understand that he wouldn't be able to properly lock onto the head warden.

”Come up here yourself. It's too hot down there,” Saleen said as he lifted his left arm. The Thunder Dragon Bangle split up, and 24 thunder dragons shot to the clouds, releasing countless bolts of lightning and triggering a downpour.

The water element became frighteningly dense. Rafel, who was next to Saleen, lifted her Inferno Spear and aimed it at the head warden. She was fearless against a level 14-enemy. Though the power difference between them was wide, she still had a good chance of knocking him off.

The head warden smirked coldly. Do you think you can weaken my fire-elemental powers with that water element? He found the basic move Saleen decided to use disappointing.

His flames were not conjured with common fire element but imbued with powerful rules. If they could be easily overpowered by the water element, there would be no need for him to train so hard or to twist his form into that of a monster. All at once, fireballs lit up under his feet. Stepping on them, he rose into the air to approach Saleen.

Saleen cursed him under his breath. You sly old fox.

The head warden was moving at a snail's pace, and Saleen was powerless to do anything against him. His power of the soul didn't target the head warden not only because the head warden had a higher power of the soul but also because he had godly items that deflected attacks.

The best way for Saleen to target him was to move faster. That would allow him to predict his trajectories of movement and calculate where he would be before casting an attack.

That was easy to do. The head warden, however, chose to walk up one step at a time instead, messing up Saleen's judgment.

Boom!

The rumble of thunder was heard in the sky once again, only this time it was not unleashed by the thunder dragon. Not even level-13 thunder dragons could cast lightning and thunder of such strength. Still, the rumble made the head warden falter.

This faltering would have gone unnoticed by most people, but not Saleen. Armed with the Eye of Souls, he fired seven lightning icicles without hesitating.

By then he was shrouded in a thin mist that grew so thick in a blink of an eye that no one could see him. In response, Saleen cast Quickcloud at full force, engulfing over 100 metal angels.

The head warden twisted his body. The seven lightning icicles missed their target. At the same time, he lost track of Saleen.

Saleen's Quickcloud, which had risen to level-13, was no longer just a movement skill anymore. He managed to control the water element to intricate levels, causing the mist around him to merge seamlessly with the clouds during the downpour.

Saleen then cast 12-Thunder Phantasms shortly thereafter, a skill poor in killing but effective in ambushing.

It was especially so given how it was used in the clouds. Locating Saleen in them might not have required mental powers or power of the soul but if someone could distinguish illusions from a real body, it would have been impossible without using those powers.

Huffff!

Shhh...

The flames on the head warden's body suddenly expanded as if his body had expanded. A ten-meter stream of flames was launched. All mists around the head warden were evaporated.

He didn't even bother locating Saleen's, saying coldly instead, ”Saleen, if you keep running away from me, I'll just go after your soldiers. Is that what you want?”

”If you kill my troops, I'll kill your wardens,” Saleen answered, taking control of a Thunder Phantasm.

”Suit yourself. The lives of those wardens belong to me in the first place,” the head warden answered without mercy. Saleen then recalled how the head warden caused the volcano to shake and did nothing to control his powers. Saleen knew that the head warden wasn't joking or bluffing.

Saleen was still thinking when the head warden burst forth at a high speed, swinging his sword and cutting a Thunder Phantasm in half.

The beast sprayed blood as a flesh-and-blood person would have. Then it plopped to the ground, yelping.