Chapter 161

Nоw, with аbоut 10 minutеs left until the tоurnаmеnt rеsumеd.

Khan onсе again сheckеd thе Маin Quеst hе had reсeived еаrlier.

• [Win in thе Rоund оf 32 оf thе Undergrоund Arеna Tоurnаmеnt.]

• Will уou aсcеpt the Mаin Quеst?

• If refused, future quest рrоgression will be impossiblе.

• Rеward: A certain аmоunt of Eхpеriеnсе Points, progrеssion to thе nехt quest

Thе nеw Мain Quest Кhan reсeived this time was tо win in thе Round of 32 оf thе Undergrоund Arenа Tournamеnt.

In terms оf quеst difficulty alone, it wаsn’t that high а lеvеl.

‘But I dоn’t like that thе ехperiеncе роints hаvе suddenlу dесreаsеd.’

He needed to gain as much experience as possible from the Main Quest to level up and have even a slight chance of defeating Dramos.

‘Actually, even reaching Level 90 doesn’t guarantee a chance to win. In fact, even if I get the Job-Exclusive Random Skill Selection Ticket at Level 90, I’d need a skill related to dynamic visual acuity to come out.’

The probability of getting the exact type of skill he wanted from the Job-Exclusive Random Skill Selection Ticket was less than 0.1%.

Since <Geo Arc> had countless skills, even if he reached Level 90 and obtained the Job-Exclusive Random Skill Selection Ticket, a skill related to dynamic visual acuity likely wouldn’t appear.

‘Then how on earth can I defeat him?’

During the given rest time, Khan kept his eyes closed, lost in thought.

However, no matter how much he thought, no answer emerged.

Soon, Khan opened his eyes and accepted the quest for now.

[Main Quest accepted.]

First, he needed to check roughly how much experience the quest reward would provide.

‘So, who is my next opponent?’

A large screen floating in the air displayed the Round of 32 tournament bracket.

Khan was again in the first match, and his next opponent was Ailee, considered quite strong among the participants.

‘Ailee… This might be tricky. I’ll need to use a bit more mana this time.’

Ailee was a Mage at an impressive Level 108.

Since the adventurers from Ailee’s Party had a connection from the Three-Pronged Gate, he had hoped to face them as late as possible, but he ended up matched against Ailee in the Round of 32.

While Khan was checking the Round of 32 bracket, Ailee appeared and approached him.

“Hello, Sir Khan! It seems we’ll be facing each other next… I owe you my life, but I don’t intend to forfeit the match! Opportunities to face an exceptional Mage like you are rare, so I plan to do my best!”

“Do as you wish.”

“Yes! I’ll learn a lot from you! See you later!”

With those words, Ailee instantly returned to her seat.

Honestly, he felt a strong urge to tell Ailee to forfeit the match.

‘If I fight Ailee, I’ll consume a lot of mana. That would make it difficult later when fighting Dramos.’

So, he planned to use the minimum mana possible even when fighting Ailee.

Now, Khan’s level had risen sufficiently, and he had also obtained skills related to mana, so his mana recovery speed was much faster than before.

Khan opened his Status Window to check his current mana.

◈ LV.89

◈ Khan (Lee Huseong)

◈ Mana: 19140/19140

◈ Talent: Magic

◈ Experience Points: 59.3%

◈ Skills: (10★)Sage’s Heart, (8★)Growth Acceleration, (1★)Arrow, (1★)Barrier, (2★)Fire Boom, (2★)Fireball, (2★)Mirror Defense, (2★)Mana Enhancement, (1★)Wind Cutter, (3★)Dragon’s Breath, (4★)Mana Circulation, (4★)Power Amplification, (4★)Space-Time Leap, (5★)Dark Flame, (1★)Wind Drill, (4★)Flame Curtain

Khan’s mana was 19,140, completely full.

This was because the 1-star Arrow skill he possessed was not a normal skill but the ‘Arrow’ skill obtained as a Hidden Skill, which consumed no mana at all.

During the Round of 64 match, he had used about 1,000 mana, but over time, it had naturally fully recovered.

‘Using a little is fine. As long as I don’t use over ten thousand, it shouldn’t be a big problem.’

Of course, the less mana used, the better.

Since it was his first time facing a Mage over Level 100 in a one-on-one, Khan couldn’t be sure if he could control his mana usage, but he resolved to use as little as possible.

Thus, the given 20-minute rest period ended entirely, and Rodion, who had disappeared, revealed himself.

“Alright, everyone! I’m back! Finally, we will begin the long-awaited Round of 32 matches! The first match of the Round of 32 is between contestant Khan, who showed overwhelming magic in the Round of 64, and contestant Ailee, who similarly showed groundbreaking magic!”

“Wooooooah!!!”

“I bet on Khan!”

“Ailee is cute and strong, right?! Isn’t Ailee’s magic more spectacular and powerful?!”

With Rodion’s shout, cheers erupted from the spectator seats.

Those who bet on Khan and those who bet on Ailee were each asserting their own views.

“Now! Betting is closed! The betting odds for this match are really fierce?! It’s exactly 50-50, split right down the middle! Contestants Khan and Ailee, please come up to the arena!”

Once betting ended, Khan and Ailee stepped up onto the arena.

The two stood facing each other on the arena, maintaining quite a distance.

“The match between contestant Khan and contestant Ailee will now begin!”

With Rodion’s words, the countdown started.

Once the count ended, the match began immediately.

‘Sir Khan is my life’s savior… But I have no intention of holding back at all. Rather, this is an opportunity to test my limits!’

Ailee had almost died fighting the Wolf King at the Three-Pronged Gate but survived thanks to Khan.

‘If it’s Sir Khan, he should be able to handle it well even if I push my limits and use all my magic!’

Ailee’s specialty was Ice Type magic.

“I’ll go all out from the start!”

Ailee shouted loudly while looking at Khan.

Then, she immediately raised her staff and drew out her mana.

Simultaneously, the Circle in her heart spun rapidly.

An immense amount of blue mana erupted from Ailee’s body.

‘Ailee… Is she really planning to go all out? I never imagined she had this much mana…’

Because his talent for mana was almost zero, Khan had thought the mana he currently possessed was substantial.

However, in reality, compared to Mages overall, the mana Khan possessed was on the lower side.

The mana visible from Ailee seemed to be at least around a hundred thousand, even at a rough glance.

‘No, this seems to far exceed a hundred thousand. If things go wrong, I might even have to use Yata’s Mirror.’

As an ominous feeling crept up, Khan also began to move.

Khan drew out his mana and simultaneously used a skill.

[Skill ‘Arrow’ used.]

Hundreds of mana arrows materialized around Khan.

As Khan pointed his staff at Ailee, the hundreds of mana arrows flew toward her at tremendous speed.

Since Ailee was muttering an incantation, he needed to at least apply this minimal pressure.

However, the hundreds of arrows that seemed capable of piercing through everything vanished the moment they touched Ailee’s blue mana.

‘Did she block it with magic? Seems she prepared everything in advance.’

It appeared Ailee had used a defensive magic to protect herself before preparing a large-scale spell.

‘It seems her magic preparation is almost complete… I need to block the attack somehow.’

Even without Yata’s Mirror, Khan had the Flame Curtain skill.

So, if handled well, it might be possible to block her finishing blow.

The only slight concern was whether Flame Curtain alone could block it, given the overwhelming amount of mana emanating from her.

‘I hope I don’t end up dying from this…?’

A momentarily ominous thought crossed Khan’s mind, but as Sage’s Heart activated, such thoughts instantly disappeared.

And shortly after, mana exploded from around Ailee’s body as she finished her incantation.

She shouted the final spell name to activate it.

“Ice Strike!”

Then, a giant ice spike appeared above her head and surged toward Khan.

The ice spike was about fifty meters in diameter. Its size and the momentum with which it flew were so overwhelming it seemed capable of destroying the entire arena.

‘Ice Strike? That’s insane, it’s a 6-star skill.’

How on earth could a Mage only at Level 108 possess a 6-star skill?

Actually, that wasn’t important right now.

To win… No, to survive now, he had to block that Ice Strike.

‘If I use mana to its maximum, I should be able to block it sufficiently.’

Khan drew out his mana and rapidly spun the three Circles in his heart.

Simultaneously, he used two skills.

[Skill ‘Flame Curtain’ used.]

[Skill ‘Dark Flame’ used.]

A giant black flame curtain formed before Khan’s eyes, and moments later.

Kwaaaaaaaaang!!!!

The giant ice spike and the black flame curtain collided.