I have to be seeing things, right? There's no way this guy has a status like this. How was he even allowed in this category of the tournament when he's that high level? It's not incredibly high, but still...
If you're confused about what I'm referring to, I'm talking about Blaine. His appraisal results are insane, seriously. Just look for yourself.
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Name: Blaine Skia
Species: Human
Lv: 65
Class: Spellblade
Health: 92/92
Mp: 108/108
Strength: 76
Agility: 66
Vitality: 46
Defence: 48
Intelligence: 68
Wisdom: 44
Charm: 18
Skills: [Fury >LV 5<], {Mana Sense}, {Mana Absorbtion >LV 9<}, {Mana Operation >LV 8<}, {Duel Casting >LV 5<}, {Chantless Casting}, {True Slice >LV 3<}, {Expert Straight Sword Technique >LV 3<}, {Enchant Weapon >LV 3<}, {Triple Slash >LV 4}.
Affinities: {Fire}, {Trap}.
Spells: {Pitfall}, {Exploding Fireball}, {Flame Ensnare}, {Paralysing Trap}, {Surrounding Flames}, {Stored Spell Trap}, {Spell Reversal Trap}, {Shockwave Trap}, {Flaming Sword}, {Explosion Trap}.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
This guy is strong, really strong. I thought that was how it was before appraising him, but now I know it's true.
Out of every status I've seen before, this guy is the strongest. He's only fifteen levels above me, yet his stats are scarily much higher than mine. And, while he doesn't have as many skills as I do, he has just the same amount of spells that I do, and each one seems extremely troublesome.
This trap magic of his seems to be extremely versatile... he can even reverse a spell, can he? And he can even store one of his own spells in a trap, from the looks of it. There has to be some sort of weakness to his magic, right?
Before in the battle, he fought in, a bunch of traps triggered at once, giving him the advantage... Did he manage to cast all of those in secret? He is apparently able to cast magic without a chant, so it's possible.
No, each of those spells was just as powerful as any of his other ones. Casting a spell without chanting will usually cause the spell to be weakened a small bit.
Then how? How does this trap magic work...?
I can't come up with anything, for now, I'll have to find out by fighting him.
"Both of you be on guard, I'm not sure completely how he was able to have so many trap spells active before." I relayed the rest of the information I learned to Togeshi and Akane after warning both of them.
"Heh! You don't have to tell me twice! Just from looking at him, I can tell he's strong!" Togeshi yelled out, seemingly excited at the thought of fighting someone as strong as him. It makes sense how he can tell he's strong, his 'Warrior's Eye' skill allows him to get a general sense of the power his opponent or opponents wield.
"Yes... he does have quite a lot of mana. What's worse is that it seems he can use it quite well." Akane seemed to be cautious of Blaine, eyeing him up and down. Akane had a similar skill to Togeshi, while instead of sensing more physical power, it could sense the overall magical power one could use. Her skill was called 'Mage's Eye'
With that said, I quickly cast Holy Power in order to give us the slight edge in battle.
After that, I activate Physical Boost and Magic Boost, and while I'm at it, I cast a spell whilst running at him.
"Light Magic: Light Spears." Numerous spears created by concentrated light appear around me, shooting at him at astounding speed. This spell isn't just fast, but it's also powerful. Before, it managed to pierce the flesh of the cultist of which used metal magic. As well, he probably kept armour underneath his robes, meaning it can even pierce through possibly steel.
However, right now, I'm using this as just a distraction to give Akane and Togeshi a chance to attack.
Blaine managed to dodge each of the Light Spears, with impressive finesse, at that. He barely even had to move to dodge each one, even though each one is subtly attracted to a person's mana, however, not to the point it could completely change directions.
During this time, however, Togeshi was able to reach him using his 'Speed Acceleration' skill, landing a hard punch on Blaine. However, he blocked the blow from hitting a worse place with his arms.
The blow knocked him away a bit, but he managed to stay on his face.
"Hey, big guy, you pack quite the punch! And, you don't just rely on your stats, you exercise physically quite a lot, don't you?" Is he seriously trying to start with some small talk in the middle of a fight?
"You noticed? Yeah! It's how I keep up my great shape, after all!" Oh, of course, Togeshi responds like we aren't fighting this possible literal sociopath...
"Wind Magic: Wind Cutter!" Akane cast a spell from the side of Blaine, a slashing spell coming at him.
Seconds before he made contact with the spell, he dodged out of the way, while casting a spell himself.
"Fire Magic: Flaming Sword." Once he cast the spell, his sword went aflame, covering it in a vicious flame.
Hm...? But, how does that work? I feel a normal sword would usually melt when met with the temperature most fire spells pose. Perhaps it has something to do with that 'Enchant Weapon' skill he has. It could perhaps cover his sword with a layer of mana, and then lighting that mana on fire. The mana would protect against the fire, and it could allow for a cleaner cut. If that's true, this could be harder than I even thought before.
Akane cast the same spell as earlier, while Togeshi went to try and attack him again.
Blaine managed to dodge the several hits Togeshi sent at him, then dodged away while simply jumping over the Wind Cutter. Moments after, he rushed as Akane with impressive speed.
"Mages like you who just use spell after spell are seriously annoying." He spoke, attempting to attack Akane with a simple slash to the chest.
Alright, good, I managed to make it in time. I blocked the slash of his sword with my own, parrying it away while going for a kick to his stomach. However, he caught my leg, attempting to trip me up, getting me on the ground.
Before this eventually happened, I cast a spell. "Light Magic: Light Edge." This spell is similar to the one Akane cast earlier, however, as you can guess, it's created by light, meaning it's difficult to dodge or deflect.
It almost hits its target, but moments before it does, a circle appears in front of him in the air, one with strange runes etched into it. It seems to absorb my spell, glowing while more mana seemed to be added into it.
Before I could even react, my own spell came back at me, but seemingly much faster and bigger.
I dodge out of the way, but just barely. It managed to graze my shoulder, however. Was that his Spell Reversal Trap? But I never saw him cast it, nor did mana sense even sense him using a spell...
Damn it, this is going to be such a pain.
>Chapter Y.14, end.<