Chapter 168

Аs thе mаtсh betweеn Shаrin аnd Silviа bеgan, an immensе аmount of mаna surged uр frоm thе аrеnа.

Having wаtched еаch оthеr’s mаtсhеs, theу roughlу knew eасh оthеr’s caрabilitiеs.

That’s why bоth wеre drawing out as muсh mаna as possible frоm thе very start, quickly.

‘I nееd to firmly sеize thе initiаtivе frоm the beginning. That girl’s fоrte is her аbundаnt mаna!’

Thе mаtсh Silvia had fоcused оn watching the most wаs Shаrin’s.

‘She surpаssеs me in mаna alоne. But that’s аll.’

It seеmеd the girl named Sharin was Кhan’s disсiрlе.

Pеrhaps bесаuse of thаt, Silvia’s соmреtitivе spirit burnеd еvеn fierсеr.

‘Khan, I may not be able to beat him… but I can defeat his disciple with my own power!’

In her view, Sharin didn’t seem to be on Khan’s level.

She looked young at a glance, but she wasn’t someone to underestimate just because of her age.

Her talent for mana seemed more outstanding than any mage Silvia had ever seen.

Yet, the reason Silvia could be confident she could defeat Sharin.

It was because the variety and grade of magic she could wield were far higher than Sharin’s.

Silvia muttered softly and recited the magic incantation as quickly as possible.

Judging by the movement of her lips, Sharin standing opposite seemed to be preparing her magic too.

Having fully prepared her magic in no time, Silvia cast first.

“Lightning Chain!”

A massive lightning bolt shot out from her staff in the form of chains.

Three chains surged towards Sharin at tremendous speed.

Sharin wasn’t idle either, immediately using defensive magic.

“Over Barrier!”

The magic Sharin used was Over Barrier.

The appearance of a transparent screen made it seem similar to a typical barrier skill, but its performance was vastly different.

A 5th-grade defensive magic, it consumed an enormous amount of mana with each use, but its performance was exceptional.

The three Lightning Chains that had flown to Sharin’s immediate vicinity vanished the moment they touched the Over Barrier.

“Wooooooah!!”

“She blocked that magic?!!!”

“Isn’t that insane? Look! I told you somehow Sharin might win, didn’t I?! I said we need to watch more?!”

The clash of spectacular magics made the spectators roar with cheers.

Ordinary people rarely got the chance to see magic in their lives, and especially such outstanding magic, many never saw even once before dying.

Moreover, the betting odds for this match were about 8 to 2.

80% of people had bet entirely on Silvia, but Sharin had also shown quite good performance, so there were some bets on her too.

‘Sharin, when on earth did she master such magic? She hasn’t even read magic tomes, how in the world…’

Khan, watching the two’s battle from the participants’ waiting area, was momentarily dumbfounded.

Who taught her the 5th-grade magic skill ‘Over Barrier’? How could she possibly use it?

‘Well, that must be why Sharin is called a genius.’

When playing <Geo Arc>, the modifier ‘genius’ was always attached before Sharin’s name.

The reason she was a genius might be due to her outstanding talent for mana, but apart from that, it was probably because she could easily learn various magics.

At the same moment, there was someone even more surprised than Khan.

“She used the 5th-grade magic Over Barrier? D-don’t lie! Until now, she only used 3rd-grade magic…?!”

Silvia shouted with a flustered expression.

But Sharin spoke nonchalantly, full of composure.

“The opponents were too weak, so I used lower-grade magic? Unni, you seem stronger than the opponents I’ve met so far, hehe. Ah, of course, you’re weaker than me though.”

Sharin seemed to have a knack for subtly provoking her opponent.

‘She really knows how to get under someone’s skin. In battles between mages of similar skill, usually the one who gets agitated first loses.’

Khan couldn’t help but inwardly praise Sharin highly.

In truth, combat wasn’t just about having excellent magic skills.

A sharp tongue like Sharin’s, subtly needling the opponent, could also have a positive effect in battle.

Like this.

“You insolent little brat…! I won’t hold back anymore!!”

“Ah… I’m sorry, Unni. Was I too honest?”

“Shut up, you bitch!”

The circle in Silvia’s heart began to spin rapidly.

Soon, explosive mana spread around her body.

Simultaneously, Silvia used the magic she had prepared in advance.

“Lightning Overload!!”

Then, an immense amount of mana swirled along with massive dark clouds from the arena ceiling.

Seeing the magic Silvia used, Khan was so startled his voice almost leaped out, but thanks to the Sage’s Heart, that didn’t happen.

‘Lightning Overload? One of the strongest lightning magics among 5th-grade spells… To have already learned such magic at just around Level 120. This is getting dangerous.’

Even for Sharin, taking such a powerful offensive magic head-on was dangerous.

“H-hyungnim… Isn’t this a bit too dangerous? If she gets hit directly by such powerful magic, she might even die…!!”

Byutek, seemingly worried about Sharin, cautiously broached the subject to Khan.

“Just wait and see. If a dangerous moment comes, I will intervene.”

“Understood…!”

At Khan’s words, Byutek watched the match continue with a relieved expression.

Bellua and Binsen were also shouting with quite surprised expressions.

“Sir Binsen, look at this magic! It’s a difficult magic to master even among 5th-grade spells, how in the world did she…?”

“Just as I said, Silvia will win. Clearly, Silvia is more skilled. Unfortunately, it seems your feeling was wrong, Bellua.”

“I guess so… A powerful magic like Lightning Overload shouldn’t be blocked but avoided, but since it’s such a wide-area magic, avoiding is impossible too… And because they’re fighting inside the arena, they must block it, but blocking seems difficult as well…”

As Bellua spoke, she seemed to have thought of a method and shouted.

“Ah! Now that I think about it, there is exactly one method left!”

“Huh? You mean that girl Sharin has a way to block Lightning Overload?”

“Yes, if she pours as much mana as possible into the Over Barrier magic she’s using, wouldn’t it be possible?”

“Hahahaha! That doesn’t even sound like a proper statement. First of all, the same Lightning Overload is a magic that is absolutely impossible to block with 5th-grade magic. Bellua, you may be a genius, but your knowledge of magic theory is still lacking.”

“…Hmm, is that so…”

“Yes, watch carefully. I’ll teach you a bit about magic theory on this occasion. If you watch, it will turn out as I said.”

“Yes…”

Bellua was a bit hurt by Binsen’s words that her intuition was wrong, but she accepted it.

After all, Binsen was a Seonbae who had entered the Magic Tower much earlier than Bellua.

The age difference was almost twenty years, making him, in a way, a senior Seonbae.

‘Somehow, I think she can block it… Especially that girl Sharin, I feel she can definitely do it. Even now, an enormous amount of mana is gathering.’

Bellua kept watching the mana emanating from Sharin’s body.

In her view, if all that mana was transferred into the Over Barrier, it seemed possible to block the Lightning Overload.

In the arena ceiling, massive mana gathered and sparks began to fly.

A moment later, Silvia sneered and looked at Sharin.

“Insolent bitch, if you can’t block it, you’ll die, so try blocking it well.”

“Unni, your face isn’t great, and your way of speaking isn’t either. What my dad said fits perfectly. They say people act according to their looks.”

“What? You bitch!!!”

Hearing Sharin’s words, Silvia’s face flushed bright red and she swung her staff.

Then, a massive thunderbolt fell precisely where Sharin was standing.

It didn’t end there; thunderbolts began to fall continuously.

The spectators shouted in surprised voices as they watched the successive thunderbolts.

“Insane…!”

“Is it possible to bring down lightning like that with magic?”

“Wait a minute. Isn’t this going to kill someone?”

“It seems already over… Shouldn’t someone stop it…?”

“Ha, I bet on the underdog. My money…”

Some who had bet on Sharin spat out worries about their money rather than worrying about Sharin.

“Hyungnim, aren’t you planning to step in yet? This seems too dangerous! Sharin might really die like this!”

“It’s noisy, be quiet.”

“Yes…”

Byutek also made a fuss, but Khan knew the match’s outcome wasn’t decided yet.

‘She’s blocking it all.’

Due to the smoke from the aftermath of the falling thunderbolts, Sharin’s figure wasn’t clearly visible, but upon closer look, the Over Barrier spread above her was blocking all the thunderbolts.

And a moment later, an immense amount of mana spread from around Sharin, and the entire arena began to shake violently.