Chapter 112 - Milestone Step (Patreon)

Arien was beginning to suspect that having more mana had only given him more ways to run out of it.

Adam's challenge wasn't helping. The boy had approached him a few days earlier with an offer to fight in the Arena, and Arien had accepted almost immediately. They were both in the Seventh Division, and he'd been curious about Adam's strength for quite some time.

Now, with the match only hours away, Arien had a little over a third of his mana left.

He had originally planned to save much more of it, especially since Adam seemed to be shaping his build almost entirely around combat. But the previous night, Arien had stayed up until three in the morning trying to reproduce the way Vizimir had made him cast Disruption, and he felt like he hadn’t improved at all.

The thought of showing up in Vizimir’s office after the weekend unprepared frightened him far more than the possibility of losing the duel. Besides, between Vizimir’s extra lessons and everything else, he barely had time to spend Arena points on outside specialists anyway.

It wasn't until around noon that day that he had finally managed to make the stupid pen fall apart without wrecking the artifact’s entire structure, and even then he knew Vizimir would call it sloppy work.

It would have to be enough. AMM was far from the only thing on his list. Serloy seemed to be the only Master who didn’t treat his subject as if it were the most important thing in the world.

The new levels he'd gained were the only consolation for the constant grind.

Name: Arien
Race: Human
Age: 13

Profession: Magic Explorer
Traits: Emissary of ▉, Avenger, Golden Child

Level: 24 → 25
Experience: 1720 / 5000 (+2832)

Stamina: 110 / 110
Mana: 589 / 995

Endurance: 11
Agility: 13
Strength: 11
Perception: 62.5 → 67.5
Intellect: 95.5 → 99.5
Wisdom: 15
Vitality: 63 → 69.5

Free Points: 0

Assigned Skills 9/10:

Mana Sense (Uncommon): lvl 42 → 45
First Specialization: Hawk Eye

Mana Manipulation (Rare): lvl 59 → 62
First Specialization: Magic Researcher
Second Specialization: Mana Weaver

Lightning Aspect (Rare): lvl 34
First Specialization: Lightning Mage

Fire Aspect (Uncommon): lvl 55 → 57
First Specialization: Fire Mage
Second Specialization: Pyromaniac

Unshakable Mind (Rare): lvl 41 → 43
First Specialization: Blissful Sleep

Life Aspect (Rare): lvl 57 → 59
First Specialization: Healer
Second Specialization: Guardian of Life

Earth Aspect (Uncommon): lvl 38 → 39
First Specialization: Earth Mage

Words of Magic (Rare): lvl 32
First Specialization: Inner Voice

Aspectless Magic (Rare): lvl 0 → 18 

Reaching level twenty-five through his explosive growth in Aspectless Magic should normally have given Arien plenty of reason to celebrate. It was an important milestone for everyone, from simple farmers to reality-bending mages, because level twenty-five was the first real wall. The easy levels and steady supply of free attributes were over, and whatever power they had accumulated so far would have to carry them through increasingly difficult progression.

Thanks to his unusually high number of Rare Skills and the twenty-percent experience bonus from Magic Explorer, he had reached that threshold a little earlier than most. The System had even rewarded him with another Trait.

Golden Child - The gifted are not meant to wait for the rest. One point of Vitality per level for reaching Level 25 before turning sixteen.

He certainly wasn't going to complain about that.

Arien had immediately invested all his free attribute points into Vitality. Originally, he'd intended to improve Agility, but right now he desperately needed faster mana regeneration. It irritated him beyond reason that even after a full night's sleep, his mana still wasn't fully restored.

“Whoa. Quite a crowd today.”

Will's voice pulled him from his thoughts as they entered the Arena together. He was right. The stands were noticeably fuller than during Arien's previous league matches.

“For the highest divisions, people actually reserve seats,” Arien replied.

He hadn't had time to watch most of the matches himself, but over the last few weeks he'd learned all sorts of things about the Arena, including the fact that students paid the Academy with points just to sit closer to the combatants.

“You ready?” Will asked. “I've heard Adam is pretty strong. Apparently, he crushed his last few opponents.”

“I should be fine.”

The short answer earned him a suspicious look.

“You trained today, didn't you? That's why you couldn't meet earlier? Arien...”

“What? It's only an Arena match. Even Lamaral gave me assignments for the weekend! If I fall behind now, it'll only get worse later.”

“How much mana do you have?”

“A little over half.”

“Don't you dare pull something like that during the tournament. We've got less than two weeks left.”

“Relax, Will. I'll be fully rested and overflowing with mana for the tournament.”

That was the plan, anyway. Arien made a mental note to take a day off before his first tournament match.

“Ugh. Good luck.”

Will headed toward the stands while Arien continued toward the field. Adam was already waiting on the packed earth of the Arena.

Fighting in the Seventh Division brought more than increased attention. The battlefield itself was larger as well. For their match, the Assistant expanded the protective barrier, leaving the long side unchanged while tripling the short side to roughly eighty feet. It gave close-combat mages a little less of an advantage.

Arien stepped through the barrier, took his position, and nodded to Adam. The boy looked as angry as ever and didn't return the greeting, but Arien wasn't there to make a new friend.

He signaled to the Assistant that he was ready.

A moment later, the trumpet sounded.

Two Fireballs crossed paths in midair and shattered against the earthen obstacles raised between them.

This is going to be an interesting fight. Adam controlled both Fire and Earth, just like him, but he also had Wind.

Arien launched another volley of Fire Bolts.

For the first minute, neither gained much ground. They probed each other's defenses, testing strengths and weaknesses, until Arien realized Adam could match both the power of his spells and his casting speed.

Arien smiled. These were the kinds of duels he enjoyed most.

He increased the pace of his attacks, hoping Adam would eventually fail to keep up. Unfortunately, Fireballs and Fire Bolts continued crashing harmlessly into Earthen Walls raised at exactly the right moment. The battlefield was beginning to look as though it had been attacked by an army of giant moles.

Adam seemed to have finished testing him as well. His next attacks came with noticeably more power, punching through the barricades and forcing Arien to catch several spells with his Half-Shield.

Arien almost abandoned offense entirely and focused on raising more Earthen Walls.

Maybe I should've saved a little more mana for this duel.

At least Adam was beginning to look tired. His spells remained powerful, but his quickened breathing and the sweat running down his face showed that the fight was taking its toll.

They continued like that for several more minutes. If neither of them changed tactics, whoever ran out of mana first would lose.

Still grinning at how evenly matched they were, Arien summoned two Fireballs and set them orbiting around himself. Maintaining both while continuing to fight would have been beyond him only a few weeks earlier, but Vizimir's training and his own experiments had pushed his control far enough to make it manageable.

Adam reacted immediately, erecting additional barriers in front of himself.

Arien lashed out with a Fire Whip from a range that had once been impossible for him, then sent three Fireballs close behind it. The whip tore through the first two barricades, opening a path for the projectiles.

Arien expected Adam to raise more earthen obstacles and catch whatever remained with his Half-Shield.

The instant the second barricade fell, an enormous Fireball erupted from behind it, wrapped in shrieking currents of wind.

Gods, I hate combined Aspects.

Arien's own projectiles were blown aside. He managed to raise two Earthen Walls, but the spell tore through those as well before crashing into his Mana Shield.

He clenched his teeth as the elemental force drained his mana. The barriers had weakened the attack enough for the Shield to hold, and after several long seconds, the Fireball finally dissipated.

Arien had barely let out a relieved breath when an Earth Spear slammed into his Shield hard enough for him to feel the impact through the spell.

Another was already flying toward him.

He poured more mana into his weakened Shield and, to his surprise, found nothing there.

Shit.

Adam’s projectile struck a moment later, shattering the barrier. The protective amulet activated as the impact threw Arien backward across the field.

He landed hard and stayed there for a few seconds, staring up at the evening sky as the chill of the ground seeped through his clothes.

He had lost, but surprisingly, he wasn't particularly upset about it. There were probably several things he could have done better, yet the duel had remained evenly matched until the end, and Adam had won fairly.

Arien got to his feet and brushed himself off. Across the field, Adam had dropped to his knees and was gulping down air while ignoring the Assistant's questions about whether he needed medical attention.

“Thanks for the fight,” Arien called as he headed toward the edge of the Arena.

Adam lifted his head, looking at him with a mixture of hostility and surprise.

The moment Arien stepped through the barrier, chanting erupted from the stands.

“Adam! Adam! Adam!”

Adam’s supporters were cheering as though he'd just won the King's Tournament itself. Arien shrugged and kept walking until he spotted Will coming toward him.

One look at his friend's expression made him wince.

A very long lecture was coming.

A new slot! What should he assign to it? Or maybe it's time for a new Skill?

Also, for those who might have missed them, I posted two bonus chapters from Book 1 over the weekend.

https://www.patreon.com/EmissaryofNothingness/posts/chapter-70-3-174675661

https://www.patreon.com/EmissaryofNothingness/posts/chapter-70-6-174727172