Chapter 418 The Gilded Spire of the Pyramid (Patreon)

Chapter 418 The Gilded Spire of the Pyramid

Richard couldn't quite understand why the Wizard before him was so confidently awaiting his arrival.

Though in his energy vision, Golin's body radiated a dazzling brilliance, this radiance—while intense—still paled in comparison to that of true veteran Third Circle Wizards.

Based on Richard's observations of other Third Circle Wizards, this one hadn't even reached the peak spiritual power of their rank.

This indicated that the Wizard before him hadn't been a Third Circle Wizard for very long.

Logically, when a Wizard like this saw another approaching with no outward energy leakage, they should have fled rather than brazenly standing their ground, ready for a one-on-one duel.

This truly baffled Richard.

Suddenly, Richard halted abruptly.

A violet thunderbolt crashed down with a deafening boom, striking the ground before him and erupting into a shower of white-purple sparks.

The sparks scattered across the earth, crackling like firecrackers in a series of sharp pops.

Richard glanced down—wherever the lightning had struck, charred craters the size of bowls now pockmarked the ground.

Had he not stopped, that bolt would have struck him instead.

"Ten thousand energy units, specialized in penetration," Richard mused, bracing his Magic Barrier. "No wonder he's so confident. He does have some skill."

To unleash a ten-thousand-unit thunderbolt so effortlessly, this Wizard must have mastered the rules of lightning.

With such rules at his disposal, the Wizard indeed had reason to be proud.

But alas, Richard smirked coldly. Rules? He had far more.

...

Golin's heart sank as his carefully prepared strike missed its mark.

Before he could summon a second bolt, the black-robed Wizard's body suddenly blazed with radiant light—as though energy, not blood, flowed through his veins.

In the next instant, Richard flashed toward Golin like lightning.

So fast!

The thought barely crossed Golin's mind before a glowing fist smashed into his Magic Barrier.

BANG! The barrier shattered.

Golin stared blankly at the remnants of his shield. If he recalled correctly, it could withstand attacks up to eight thousand units.

But he soon abandoned his thoughts—because that fist, bright as the North Star, slammed into him with devastating force.

BANG! Golin's body hurtled backward like a cannonball.

"Hmm?"

Richard watched Golin fly through the air, a flicker of confusion crossing his face.

Weren’t guiding sprites supposed to protect these Wizards? Had his punch not been enough to incapacitate him?

"Cough, cough... I admit, you're strong!"

Golin forced himself upright, his eyes, body, and even veins flickering with latent lightning.

"To push me this far—you're the strongest foe I've ever faced. But unfortunately!"

Golin suddenly raised his head, his eye sockets now devoid of pupils, filled only with blinding white thunder.

"You've met me—Golin, the Chosen One! Fate has decreed your defeat today!"

With that, Golin gripped his staff with both hands and thrust it violently toward Richard.

The once calm air suddenly became turbulent and violent. The staff in his hand seemed to transform into a spear piercing the heavens at this moment.

Blue-purple lightning, carrying destructive power as if born from the wrath of ancient deities, contained within every strand of light the force to tear all things apart. When they surged forth from the tip of the staff, the entire world seemed to be engulfed by this dazzling blue-purple radiance.

The power of this strike had astonishingly reached an incredible twenty thousand energy units! After the lightning, Golin lowered his staff and turned away with confidence.

A spell of twenty thousand energy units—Golin didn’t believe any Third Circle Wizard could withstand it.

But a voice froze him in place.

"Chosen One, where do you think you're going?"

Golin turned to see Richard, resembling a draconian, standing perfectly unharmed within a dark circle at his feet.

The twenty-thousand-energy-unit lightning had not inflicted the slightest harm on Richard!

Richard stretched slightly. Had this been an ordinary Elemental Spell, he might have needed to dodge.

But unfortunately, Golin had used a lightning spell.

The rule of radiation had granted Richard the ability to manipulate radiation, the essence of which was control over energy.

While lightning spells might sound similar to spells like Fireball or Ice Spike, supposedly falling under Elemental Spells, in reality, Elemental Spells only encompass the four primary elements.

All other spells that sound like Elemental Spells are, in essence, energy spells utilizing different energy properties.

This was also the fundamental reason why the School of Evocation wasn’t called the School of Elements.

Under the weakening effect of radiation manipulation, the lightning’s power was reduced by seven thousand energy units.

The remaining thirteen thousand energy units, further weakened by the Magic Barrier, left only five thousand.

A five-thousand-energy-unit spell might sting a little for Richard with his Myriad Transformation Battle Body activated, but that was all—just a slight sting.

With a light tap of his toe, Richard appeared right in front of Golin.

"Not bad with the lightning rule, but just not bad."

The next moment, Golin felt the world spin violently around him.

By the time he regained his senses, he was back in the palace where he had listened to the Great Wizard of the Bronze Spear before the match began.

"I... lost?"

Golin stared blankly at his surroundings, unable to believe that a Wizard had "killed" him so effortlessly.

That Wizard hadn’t even used a single spell—just two punches were enough to defeat him. And he had once believed himself to be the Chosen One, that this selection was held for him.

How laughable. How pitiful.

A bitter smile crossed Golin’s face as a sudden thought flashed through his mind:

Even if you’re one in ten thousand among genius Wizards, the Wizard World has hundreds of thousands of them.

You think you’re gold, but to reach the glittering pinnacle of this Pyramid called the Wizard World...

On the battlefield, Richard watched Golin’s abrupt disappearance, a flicker of contemplation crossing his face.

Spatial teleportation, coupled with enhanced protection.

Did that mean high-energy spells with spatial properties could break the guardian spirits’ defenses? Richard shook his head, dismissing the strange thoughts.

This was a Military Department Officer selection, not a battlefield. There was no need to constantly think about killing.

Richard snapped his fingers, and the guiding spirit appeared in response.

"You've been keeping track of my points, right?"

"I remember them."

"Good." Richard nodded. "Search for nearby Wizards. After just a bit of action, I’ve realized I’m actually quite strong."

"As you wish."

...

Meanwhile, across the Star River World, similar scenes played out with different individuals.

Though Third Circle Wizards were all geniuses among Wizards, even geniuses had their differences.

On the plains, a Wizard resembling a fire giant hurled a massive fireball—equivalent to ten thousand energy units—like a meteor toward a fleeing Wizard in the distance.

The fire giant scratched his head in frustration as he watched the escape.

"Why bother? It’s not like you’ll die. Handing over your points directly would be much more efficient for everyone."

As he spoke, several more terrifying fireballs materialized around him.

...

On the lake, a Wizard whose body gleamed like blue ice walked silently across the water’s surface.

Frost spread beneath her feet, threatening to freeze the entire lake.

Beneath the surface, a whale-like creature desperately evaded the encroaching ice.

Soon, with no escape left, the creature burst through the frozen water, ready for a final stand.

But the moment it emerged, chains of frost shot up from the lake, dragging it back down like a giant hand.

Before being sealed away, the creature reverted to its true form—a half-human, half-fish being covered in scales.

"Can you tell me the name of this spell?"

The ice-clad Wizard replied softly, "Aurel Frost Sealing Art."

With that, the sealing completed, and the fishman Wizard vanished without a trace.

...

In the dense forest, an Old Wizard in black robes pursued another Wizard at a leisurely pace.

The Old Wizard appeared unremarkable, his movements precise but devoid of any imposing aura.

Yet, despite his ordinary demeanor, the fleeing Wizard felt as if he’d been plunged into an icy abyss.

A Wizard could perform one action with perfect efficiency, or ten. But as the number increased, even the best would inevitably develop wasted motions.

But not this Old Wizard.

Like a machine, every movement was flawlessly economical, as if these techniques had become pure instinct.

Suddenly, the fleeing Wizard halted.

With a grimace, he prepared for a desperate attack—but before he could act, the Old Wizard flicked his staff, and a dark, corrosive energy pierced through his Magic Barrier, triggering the guiding sprite’s teleportation.

Watching the vanished Wizard, the Old Wizard murmured, "Seems the power of Corrosive Bolt can still be reduced. This was still a bit too strong."

...

Boom!

A hammer wreathed in lightning descended like divine punishment, shattering a Wizard’s Magic Barrier to pieces.

Thud.

The struck Wizard coughed up blood, his body twisting briefly before disappearing.

Seeing this, Stio—covered in blue blood—grinned.

"Heh, points secured."

Then he took out a bottle of Magic Potion from his pocket and tossed it into his mouth, chewing and swallowing it like a pill. After consuming the potion, he still felt it wasn't enough, so he pulled out a handful of metal granules from his pocket and ate them as if they were soybeans.

With the aid of the Magic Potion, his wounds began to heal rapidly.

Stio held his staff and sighed softly as he surveyed the battlefield. "Ah, the good days are over. Why are the opponents I’ve encountered these past few days all so tough?"

It was already the seventh day since the competition began, and a large number of Third Circle Wizards who lacked sufficient skill had been eliminated.

Now, none of those remaining were pushovers.

The early days when he could easily rack up points were long gone.

Soon, Stio felt his injuries had mostly recovered.

He summoned his guiding sprite and had it display the map.

Since the competition grounds were too vast, the Tower of Truth had divided the entire arena into five zones. When shrinking the battlefield, it was done by zone.

Each zone had a "safe area."

Now, seven days into the competition, the Tower of Truth had distributed the reduced competition zones to the guiding sprites.

Looking at the safe area on the map, Stio rubbed the back of his head.

"It’s pretty close, no need to rush... Who’s there?!"

Stio’s expression suddenly changed. With a fierce swing of his hammer-headed staff, a bolt of lightning with an energy level of 8,000 shot from the hammer and vanished into the nearby woods.

"Cough, cough... That’s not a good way to greet someone."

From the forest, a black-robed Wizard with a body resembling a Flame Giant slowly emerged. The terrifying aura made Stio’s face instantly pale.

"Solar Giant Beltor!"

(End of Chapter)