Chapter 233: A Duel Between Master Magicians (Part 2)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
A person who had become a Master Magician by virtue of their own efforts was definitely someone to be feared. They would by no means be an easy opponent!
Blood Demon Talon was an old undead magician who had lived for hundreds of years. He had accumulated many battle experiences over the years. In the face of such a veteran combat Magician, Link dared not make even the slightest mistake. He might be defeated in the next second if he was careless!
Similarly, Blood Demon Talon was also wary of Link's actions.
The moment he showed hesitation in attacking Link, he knew that he had made the wrong move!
This guy is truly sinister. This is his real killer move!
Due to his slight hesitation, he had unconsciously lost a bit of his control over the Mana surging through his wand. This energy would then descend into a state of temporary stagnation. In the Magician world, this phenomenon was commonly termed as Mana Inertia.
He would then have to wait if he wanted to use this Mana again.
For a Master Magician, the time taken for the state of Mana Inertia to pass was merely less than a tenth of a second. However, in this one-tenth of a second where Talon was experiencing a delay, Link seized an opportunity to attack!
To be precise, this opportunity was created by Link himself.
The Glyph of Soul trembled slightly and resonated with Link's magic fluctuation. In an instant, the Titan's Hand appeared and charged towards Talon at full speed.
Talon gritted his teeth disdainfully as he knew that his hesitation had cost him his offensive advantage. He had now gone the defensive side of the battle.
However, he did not panic, he thought, Bruttan is close by. It will be less than ten seconds before he arrives. I can do this.
In the face of the merciless Level-6 spell, the Titan's Hand, Talon decided to make a swift retreat instead of fighting it headlong. At this moment, the perfect distance he had deliberately kept between the both of them since the beginning of the battle had shown its miraculous effect.
He was 300 feet away from Link, and a spell like the Titan's Hand was considered to be a long-distance controlled spell. Usually, a distance of 300 feet would be the limit of such spells. He merely took a few steps backwards and was safely out of the attacking range.
As Talon retreated, he had already recovered from his state of Mana Inertia. He still chose to fight with a conservative strategy. Instead of aggressively trying to destroy Link, he cast a defensive spell on himself.
As time was tight, the defensive spell he cast was not an exceptionally powerful one. It was only Level-4 in strength and was not meant to defend against Link's trademark spell, the Titan's Hand. It was merely to protect him from the magic shockwaves that would occur from the casting of a powerful Level-6 fire elemental spell.
Bruttan, you have to hurry!
Talon was looking at the tall and powerful demon from the corner of his eyes this whole time. It was clear that the other party had noticed the opportunity and was running at full speed. However, he was still too far away.
Talon continued to retreat while he started charging a spell in preparation for a counter attack. This was not meant to defeat the opponent, but to instill fear in him to buy him time until Bruttan arrived.
It could be said that Talon's reaction to Link's attack was flawless. It would be near impossible for any Magician to take him down quickly if he had this type of awareness in battle. They might even be defeated while thinking that they still had the advantage if they were not careful.
However, something out of the ordinary still happened.
At this moment, his opponent cast a spell that was completely out of his expectations.
"Dimensional Jump!"
Link multitasked and made use of the in-game system to activate the Legendary support spell while controlling the Titan's Hand.
One thousand and eight hundred of his precious Mana Points were instantly used up by the in-game system. With a light humming sound, a white light enveloped his body before he disappeared from his current spot.
Talon was slightly shocked at this action but rationalized Link's actions; this guy was not stupid after all. He knew that his situation was desperate and decisively escaped. However, how far can you go with this spell? You are still dead!
Another light humming sound could be heard, and a white light appeared once again. This time around, the white light did not appear in the distance as Talon predicted, but merely 90 feet behind from Talon, exactly at his blind spot.
Talon merely felt a slight magic fluctuation behind him and suddenly felt fear in his heart. He had not yet understood what just happened.
His instinctive reaction was to turn and look behind him. And it was this instinctive reaction that cost him his chance of escaping.
Link had lost all connections with his Titan's Hand spell while he was casting the Dimensional Jump spell. He knew that the Titan's Hand should be in the midst of disintegrating at this point. However, the disintegration process would take time as well. In an instant, after Link teleported himself, he would regain connection with the Titan's Hand. However, at this moment, the Titan's Hand had already completely disintegrated. It was impossible for Link to form it back up again.
But this was not what Link was aiming for all this while. It was not the spell he needed, but the fire elements that made up the spell. This would greatly reduce his spellcasting speed for the next Titan's Hand as he saved the time needed to accumulate elemental energy!
Glyph of Soul, magic resonance, Titan's Hand!
Within 0.1 seconds, a whole new Titan's Hand appeared in the air. From an outsider's perspective, it was as if the disintegrated Titan's Hand was immediately formed into a complete one again out of thin air.
Furthermore, Link was merely 90 feet away from Talon at this point. The question of spellcasting distance ceased to exist.
Not good! Talon did not expect such a resolute attack from Link—using a teleportation spell commonly used for escaping as an offensive one instead. Is he truly not intending to run away?
It was true that Link now had no chance of escaping. However, before he would meet his doom, Talon would very likely be killed first!
"Damn it! This crazy bastard!" Talon still had one triumph card left. This triumph card lay in the powerful wand he had in his hand. He shouted, "Scream of Fear!"
Scream of Fear
Level-6 Spell
Cost: 1950 Mana Points
Effect: Deals heavy psychological damage to all enemies within a 270 feet radius. The effect of this spell depends greatly on the willpower and mental strength of the targets.
(Note: Do not use this spell on opponents with extremely strong willpower.)
A dark purple light started spreading in all directions with Talon as its focal point. The Skeleton Warriors around Talon were naturally unable to withstand this strong psychological impact, and the Flame of Soul immediately extinguished from their eyes, rendering them into a pile of brittle bones.
Well, this was the unintended side effect of the spell. Not a big deal.
In Talon's mind, Link would at the very least be slightly affected by this spell and lose his concentration for a moment. This would likely lead to a rebound of his Mana or even the disintegration of his spell, giving him an opportunity to retaliate.
However, nothing went according to his plan.
Talon had once again made a mistake. In fact, he should not have used spells that targeted a person's mental well-being in these crucial circumstances. There were simply too many variables in these spells, especially when he did not know the exact mental strength of his opponent.
He had witnessed Link's perfect control over a Level-9 spell. If a Magician was able to control such a powerful spell just shy of Legendary status, naturally, they must have had a strong soul and willpower.
It was not that Talon did not remember this scene. The fact that Link had consecutively exceeded his expectations in this short battle had already completely destroyed his usual combat mentality.
That was the reason for all his mistakes.
When the dark purple light passed through Link's body, Link merely felt a slight impact on his brain as though he were hit on the head by a small object. There seemed to be no other effects as he continued focusing on his Titan's Hand spell.
Boom!
This attack hit Talon from a higher angle, smashing him right into the thick layer of snow on the ground. The snow was instantly melted by the Titan's Hand and crushed Talon's body all the way into the ground.
Talon was merely a Magician. Although his body was slightly more resilient than ordinary humans, it was hardly enough to withstand the full impact of a Level-6 spell. His body exploded like a bubble upon the heavy impact and was immediately roasted into a crisp by the heat of the Titan's Hand spell. Following which, Link saw a translucent light ball appear from Talon's body which quickly flew away in the opposite direction.
"Is this the physical manifestation of the soul?" Link frowned. The traveling speed of the soul was way too fast. Link was not fast enough, nor did he have the time to pursue it. This was because an extremely powerful demon was quickly closing in on him; Bruttan was now 600 feet away.
At this moment, Link had less than 1000 Mana Points left in his body. However, he still had 300 Omni Points, which would be more than enough to deal with this hideous demon.
He turned to face the demon as the tip of his wand glowed in a warm light. Link was waiting for his opponent to rush in before he made the first attack. However, something peculiar happened. This demon stopped in his tracks and started retreating. The ghouls and Dark Elf Scouts behind him followed as well, instinctively walking backwards.
It was a funny sight as they stared warily at Link while the retreated. They continued this way until they covered a distance of 300 feet, before turning their backs against Link and running for their lives.
The Dark Dragon Warrior was already defeated, and Blood Demon Talon had already become a pile of barbecued, minced meat. They were both defeated in an instant. They would only continue charging forward if they were masochists.
Link merely laughed and did not give chase to this group of jokers. He simply turned and looked at the Skeletal Fort.
"Auselia, you can't just ignore this. Am I right?" Link chuckled.
Auselia was the name of the wielder of the Dark Serpent in the game. Link believed that in the World of Firuman, it would be no different.
In the Skeletal Fort,Auselia seemed to have felt Link's gaze. She stared at Link from a distance and said, "The Demon Slayer...He is even more perfect than I have imagined."
She lowered her head as she caressed the whip in her hand, before gently whispering, "My darling, you should be very satisfied with his soul. Am I right?"
Ssssss. The whip in her hand gave a sinister hiss. It longed for such a delicious and powerful soul.
"Then, I will capture him personally!" Auselia smiled bewitchingly.
Upon saying those words, she stood up and walked towards the edge of the rooftop. She did not stop when she hit the edges. Instead, she merely continued walking and took gentle strides across the atmosphere.
She did not cast any spells in this whole process. She simply levitated gracefully in the air, seemingly taking a leisurely stroll through the park. However, she was, in fact, heading towards Link at an insane speed.
Compared to the Magician right in front of her eyes, the Dark Dragon Warrior, Blood Demon Talon, Demon Bruttan, and even the Dawn Swordsman paled in comparison. She would gladly give them up.
While she was in mid-air, Auselia turned to look at the Skeletal Fort. She could feel the presence of a few outsiders in her territory. She then sneered, "Magician, are you attracting my attention so that your companions can save the Dawn Swordsman? That is a pretty good idea, although it may be a tad too naive."