Mobile spellcasting and quick casting.It was the first time the two warriors had seen such a classic demonstration of battle mage metamagic techniques from an apprentice. The situation was dire, but their attack had already begun - even if they stopped now, their opponent wouldn't show mercy.
Under Charlie's deliberate positioning, the enemy's sword and dagger approached almost simultaneously from left and right. The longsword flickered with a faint white battle aura, while the dagger was ominously dark, seeming to possess light-devouring properties.
At that moment, Charlie thrust both hands forward, uttering the final syllable of the spell. The frost sphere erupted with a chilling radiance, and biting cold winds howled forth from his hands, carrying countless crystalline ice spikes!
Judging by experience, this was a level 3 Ice Spike spell.
"D*mn it!" both opponents cursed in unison.
In duels between mages and warriors, victory hinges on whether the warrior can defeat the mage before they complete their spell!
The swordsman shouted, grabbed his dagger-wielding companion's arm and pulled him back, shielding him with his broad shoulders. He stepped forward with his right foot, only managing to protect his head with his arms before being engulfed by the oncoming ice storm.
The howling ice blast lasted a full three seconds. Ice spikes of varying sizes continuously struck the swordsman - some clashing against weapons and apprentice armor with metallic clangs, some deflecting off tensed muscles, others embedding themselves in flesh.
After the Ice Spike spell finished, the swordsman's body was covered in a layer of white frost, with over a hundred ice spikes of different lengths piercing him. He had essentially lost all fighting capability. The dagger-wielder hiding behind him was shivering with frost-covered hair, his mobility reduced by at least half.
With 2 points of water element affinity, the Ice Spike spell showed some subtle changes - the ice shards had increased somewhat in both mass and volume. Fortunately it was only 2 points of affinity; if cast by an apprentice with water element affinity constitution, the ice shards would have evolved into even sharper ice spikes. Taking a full round of Ice Spike spell head-on would have been instantly fatal.
Charlie was moved by how the big guy had performed in that critical moment, using his body to block the strongest wave of the ice spike attack.
Charlie picked up the longsword and pressed the blade to the dagger-wielder's throat. "Anything else you want to say?"
"I'll bear the consequences of our offense. The items are yours - let my brother go." The dagger-wielder dropped his weapon.
"And how do you plan to bear them?"
"At most it'll cost me my life," he replied gruffly.
Behind his indifferent expression, there was a hidden desire to live.
Charlie couldn't help but feel puzzled. "Doesn't the academy have a no-kill rule for those who surrender? Why didn't you invoke it?"
Hope flickered in the dagger-wielder's eyes as he explained: "Rules only bind believers. For many people, whether to follow rules depends on the circumstances."
Charlie understood his meaning - some people only follow rules in public settings when forced by circumstances. In the current chaos of battle, with everyone focused on survival, who had time to care about others? The absence of witnesses might let some people exploit loopholes.
"The spoils are mine, but keep your life - I don't want it."
The dagger-wielder's face lit up with joy as he removed two packs from his back, then took his brother's pack as well, throwing them along with their weapons at Charlie's feet.
"Thank you! We Stanford brothers won't forget your honor in keeping your word today!"
So they really were brothers - that explained their behavior.
After a pause, he added: "I should warn you - don't be too merciful with other apprentices. Those chosen by the Arcane Ring have mostly had unusual experiences. They're cold-blooded, some even psychopathic, bloodthirsty killers who just hide it well normally.
The first season casualty rate in the annual new student point competition proves it - in the past decade it's never been below 30%. Those who survive are incredibly cautious and ruthless!"
Charlie nodded silently. At his signal, Erin gathered the spoils from the two surrendered opponents and the dead one - five bags total, along with a longsword, two daggers, and a bow with arrows.
Charlie left them one set of apprentice supplies and their weapons, saying, "It's too heavy - I can't carry it all. Keep these."
With that, he turned to leave.
"Thanks brother!" came a shout from behind.
But after Charlie disappeared from view, someone soon made a surprised sound.
The Stanford brothers were treating their wounds, having cleaned off the surface frost. After removing the ice spikes, they were left with wounds of varying depths, bleeding profusely as they attempted basic bandaging.
A moment later, the dagger-wielder's face showed an expression of surprise and pain. Looking down, he saw a metal object had pierced through his chest, its tip protruding from his front. The sharp blade split into two like a snake's head, twisting slightly to consume a drop of blood hanging from its point.
"You... you broke the rules!" The dagger-wielder only managed to get out these words before his face turned deathly pale. His body's vitality was instantly drained - his eyes went blank, his skin dulled, his muscles went slack, aging decades in moments.
The swordsman started in alarm and looked behind his brother, but saw no one - only a metal knife handle formed from two intertwined snake tails stuck in his back. Pale white mist continuously surged from his brother's body into a black gem at the handle's end.
The name "Soul Stealer" flashed through his mind - any equipment with such properties would certainly be of exceptional quality or higher.
Why would dark forces despised by the academy enter the apprentice competition?
The swordsman barely had time for these questions before feeling something bite his heart. A gloomy, putrid sensation overcame him as his consciousness began to blur. He felt something like a bottomless black hole violently pulling at him from behind, twisting his body until it split apart and fell into the dark abyss.
Stolen souls cannot reach the divine realm, nor can they reincarnate - it is the end most feared by mortals.
Then, a figure shrouded in grey robes gradually materialized. Their hands danced as they muttered incantations. From their billowing sleeves could be seen withered, yellow hands covered in age spots. Several purple-red flames dropped from their fingers onto the three corpses, burning fiercely. The air filled with the smell of charred bone, and within moments, the three piles of fire rendered the bodies unrecognizable.
Soon after, the grey-robed figure gradually faded and disappeared.
In one day, Charlie had faced three battles and nearly depleted his magical power. Having reaped considerable rewards on the first day, Charlie decided to temporarily withdraw from fighting to recuperate. Star Meditation could increase Charlie's magic capacity by 12 points per hour and restore 19 points of magic - four hours would return him to peak condition.
The pair found a natural rock hollow in the boulder field that provided shelter from wind and rain. Its remote location made it an excellent hiding spot and suitable place to spend the night.
Charlie began taking inventory of their spoils. The Stanford brothers and the dead apprentice had provided them with five bags. Charlie kept one containing apprentice supplies, leaving four others.
Charlie first picked up the bow for careful examination. Black horn pieces were attached to the inner limbs, while the yellowish back gleamed with oil. The bowstring was taut yet elastic. Though he wasn't familiar with bows, he could tell this was a good one.
Charlie tried drawing the string halfway, which took considerable effort.
Erin couldn't help but laugh: "The mage's face is all red from straining, but at least he managed to draw it - how embarrassing if he couldn't!"
After one attempt, the chip provided its analysis:
Feathered arrows with fine steel heads; the shaft and fletching were also of good quality, using excellent materials.
Full draw weight was around 90 kilograms. Charlie lacked the arm strength for a full draw, but even half-draw had sufficient killing power. Against unarmored targets within 100 meters, it could cause penetrating wounds.
Only six arrows remained in the quiver, which matched Charlie's stamina well - after shooting six arrows, his arms would likely be exhausted anyway.
Charlie smiled and said, "Children don't understand - I'm not just a mage, I'm also an archer. I never miss!"
"Keep bragging!"
Charlie ignored her and opened the fullest pack. Green and orange light shone from within, making Charlie's jaw drop as he let out an "Oh!"
Erin curiously peered over to look and was also stunned.
The bag was mostly filled with magic gems, each about half the size of a fist, in various cuts - emerald, olive point, pear, teardrop, and other shapes. They came in various colors - fluorescent green, orange-red, light blue, pale white, and more - each emanating different elemental waves, breathtakingly beautiful.
"Charlie, you've struck it rich!" Erin finally exclaimed after a while.
Charlie could tell the origin of these gems - they weren't particularly precious, being manufactured magic crystals. The raw material was a type of chaos crystal that naturally contained various complex elements in a disordered mix, making it worthless on its own. However, its special property was the ability to contain various elemental energies. Mages typically process them by extracting the chaotic internal elements to create various magic crystals that can be repeatedly charged and used.
Charlie suddenly realized with a sigh: "So they knew about the loophole in the academy rules all along. The academy only allows you to bring one piece of equipment, but raw materials like these aren't restricted. With so many elemental gems, they wouldn't have to worry about running out of magic power!"
This fight had been worth it. Charlie's detection showed each gem had a magic capacity of around 300. This small bag contained 11 gems total: 3 water, 2 nature, 2 fire, 1 holy light, 2 earth, and 1 arcane. This temporarily solved Charlie's magic shortage concerns.
Charlie took out a fluorescent green gem and tossed it to Erin. "Here! This one's yours!"
Erin quickly refused: "No! No! This is from your efforts, don't give it to me! It's too valuable!"
Charlie laughed, "It's just a chaos crystal, don't worry about it."
"But it's not just any crystal! One chaos crystal sells for 5 points in the point system! This one's already infused with nature magic - it would definitely sell!"
Charlie barked, "Stop arguing and take it!"
"So bossy!" Erin mumbled, but her face glowed with happiness as she held the gem in both hands. Girls usually can't resist such shiny things, and Erin couldn't help murmuring that this was the first gem she'd ever received!
Their luck wasn't as good with the remaining items. The other three bags contained some herbs and plenty of food supplies, which could be exchanged for some points. As for the food, it was enough to last them until the end of the mission.
Charlie thought for a moment and said, "We have too much food. Let's each carry one portion and hide the rest - we should travel light."
"Alright!" Erin agreed.