Chapter 162

Тhе Iсе Strike launсhеd bу Аilеe and the dаrk Flаme Curtаin used by Кhаn.

Аs thе mаssivе Ice Sрike and thе dаrk Flamе Сurtаin соllided, а tremеndous roаr есhоed, and stеam sрread outwаrds.

[Usеd 2000 Mana to асtivate the skill ‘Flame Сurtаin’.]

[Used 1000 Mana to асtivate thе skill ‘Dark Flаmе’.]

Воth the Flame Curtаin and Dark Flаmе skills vаry in pоwеr dеpending оn how much Мana is used.

Thеrеfore, Кhаn used thе maximum аmount of Mаna fоr bоth, and fortunately, hе was аblе tо bloсk the Icе Strikе lаunched bу Ailее.

“I knеw Sir Кhаn would blосk it еasilу. Вut I’m not done here either!”

“……”

Damn it.

Just when he thought he had barely managed to block it, Ailee was spouting nonsense.

Simultaneously, as she chanted some incantation, the Ice Spike grew even larger, and its power seemed to multiply several times over.

Because of that, the Flame Curtain was on the verge of being pierced.

Khan immediately used a skill towards Ailee.

[Used the skill ‘Wind Drill’.]

[Used the skill ‘Dark Flame’.]

Combining the two skills created a ‘Dark Flame Drill’ around Khan.

The Dark Flame Drill flew straight towards Ailee.

“Even so, it’s usele… Kyaaak!!!”

Ailee had already cast a defensive spell beforehand, so she naturally thought she could easily block the incoming Dark Flame Drill.

But that was her grave mistake.

The barrier she had prepared in advance was pierced effortlessly.

Just before the Dark Flame Drill touched Ailee’s face.

Swoosh.

Khan withdrew his Mana.

Then, the massive Ice Spike that had been flying towards him, seemingly about to pierce his Dark Flame Curtain at any moment, gradually disappeared.

“Huff… I, I lost! As expected, Sir Khan is incredible… Even after using all my Mana, I couldn’t pierce through the thin Flame Curtain you created. It seems I still have a long way to go.”

“No. A little more, and my barrier would have been pierced. You are strong enough, so train harder from now on.”

“Hahaha, thank you for saying that. I had a feeling that Flame Curtain just now would absolutely not be pierced.”

“……”

Khan told Ailee the truth, but she didn’t seem to believe it.

Since there seemed to be no need to tell her again, Khan closed his mouth without saying anything more.

“Woooooah!!!”

“Crazy! The mage match was amazing! It’s my first time seeing such huge magic in my life!”

“A massive Ice Spike and a Flame Curtain… Wow, my eyes feasted!”

“Hahahaha!! Khan!! I believed in you!! I bet my entire fortune on you and became rich, man! I love you!!!”

The people in the spectator seats were feeling ecstasy watching the two fight.

“From the very first match of the round of 32, an incredible match unfolded! Both contestants were amazing, but the winner was contestant Khan!”

With the shout of the tournament host, Rodion, Khan’s victory was confirmed.

Simultaneously, a message appeared before Khan’s eyes.

[Cleared the Main Quest.]

[Acquired a certain amount of Experience Points as a reward.]

As expected, it was the Main Quest clear message, and as anticipated, no Level Up message seemed to appear.

‘I need to check exactly how much ‘a certain amount’ of Experience Points is.’

Khan opened his Status Window to check how much his Experience Points had increased.

◈ LV.89

◈ Khan (Lee Huseong)

◈ Mana: 15140/19140

◈ Talent: Magic

◈ Experience Points: 69.3%

◈ 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

His Experience Points had increased by exactly 10%.

‘If it continues to say a certain amount of Experience Points is given as a reward… I ultimately won’t be able to level up.’

It was the worst-case scenario Khan had imagined.

If a certain amount of Experience Points continues to be given as a reward like this, then through the remaining three matches—the round of 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals—he would only gain a maximum of 30% Experience Points.

‘If that happens, it becomes impossible to level up before the finals due to a 0.7% Experience Points difference.’

As if confirming Khan’s ominous thought, a Quest message appeared before his eyes.

• [Win in the round of 16 of the Underground Arena Tournament.]

• Will you accept the Main Quest?

• Refusal will make future Quest progression impossible.

• Reward: A certain amount of Experience Points, progression to the next Quest

Khan couldn’t help but fall into despair as he checked the new Main Quest message.

‘If this continues, winning the championship becomes absolutely impossible…!’

[Skill ‘Sage’s Heart’ has been activated.]

Of course, the despair didn’t last long.

With Sage’s Heart activating on its own and instantly restoring his composure, Khan decided to think as positively as possible.

‘It’s a certain amount of Experience Points… but the Main Quests for the quarter-finals or semi-finals might give more Experience Points, so I shouldn’t give up hope just yet.’

He didn’t think things would go as his hopeful thinking suggested.

Still, since it wasn’t completely impossible yet, he decided to focus solely on clearing the Quest for now.

Khan approached Ailee, who was kneeling on one knee and panting, and extended his hand.

“Take my hand and stand up.”

“Ah, thank you!”

“You’re stronger than I thought. What I said earlier wasn’t empty words; it was sincere.”

“R-really?”

“Yes, a little more and my Flame Curtain would have been pierced. You are a talented mage, so train harder from now on.”

“Understood! Thank you for the guidance!”

“Alright, well done.”

Encouraging Ailee like that, Khan walked out of the arena with her.

When Khan and Ailee returned to the waiting area, Karel, her party member, ran towards Ailee and shouted.

“Ailee! Are you okay?!”

“Ah, yeah, this much is nothing! It’s all thanks to Sir Khan going easy on me, otherwise I would have collapsed long ago.”

“Ah, Sir Khan! I sincerely thank you! You gave her guidance! You saved our lives and even gave guidance like this… I will repay this debt in full when you come to Arcana later!”

“That’s enough, focus on your own match.”

“Ah, yes!”

Not only Ailee’s party members but also Byutek and Sharin ran towards Khan.

“Hahaha! As expected of Hyungnim! Overwhelming victory while going easy on your opponent! It was awesome! Seeing Hyungnim’s match properly right before my eyes, I still think Hyungnim is stronger than my Master no matter how I look at it!”

“It was totally awesome, Master! Especially that black flame… it was amazing. How on earth do you create black flame? Can’t you teach me too?”

Khan gave them brief answers and then sat down.

Perhaps because he used a lot of Mana at once, he felt a bit tired, so it seemed he needed to rest while other matches proceeded.

‘About ten minutes have passed, how much Mana has recovered?’

About ten minutes had passed since he checked his Status Window earlier.

To check how much Mana had recovered, Khan opened his Status Window.

◈ LV.89

◈ Khan (Lee Huseong)

◈ Mana: 15440/19140

◈ Talent: Magic

◈ Experience Points: 69.3%

◈ 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

His Mana had recovered by about 300.

At this rate, it seemed he could fully recover his Mana before the round of 16 match began.

* * *

The tournament administrator, Bellua, a mage of the Yellow Magic Tower.

She watched Khan’s match just now more intently than anyone else.

‘Unbelievable Mana Control. Using multiple spells simultaneously like that… Moreover, he didn’t chant any incantation when using magic.’

Because she possessed innate talent for magic, she knew very well how incredible Khan was.

The spells he used were at least 4th-grade or higher, and the fact that he used all of them without any incantation was inevitably astonishing from her perspective.

Similarly, Binsen beside her also wore a very surprised expression and slowly opened his mouth.

“Bellua, you seem quite flustered too. That guy, his name is Khan, right? This confirms it. That guy is either a Dark Mage or definitely an Archmage-Level Mage.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Why? Isn’t it obvious when he uses magic of that level without incantation?”

“Well, I think the same. What kind of person is he…?”

“I don’t know. Should I open the Magic Tower Information System again?”

Binsen opened the Magic Tower Information System, but as expected, it seemed the maintenance wasn’t finished yet, as the search didn’t work.

“Tsk, seems the maintenance still isn’t over. Well, it should finish soon anyway, so we can check after it’s done.”

Saying that, Binsen looked towards the next match.

Bellua also began watching the next match for now.

* * *

“Hoh, impressive. That level is comparable to a Royal Palace mage… no, even superior to a Royal Palace mage.”

Dramos, who had been watching Khan’s match from afar, muttered with an interested expression.

“It seems the finals will be against that guy, just as my disciple said. Kekeke, it’ll be fun for the first time in a while.”

Thinking about facing someone of equal skill to himself after a long time, a smile naturally formed on Dramos’s face.

He acknowledged Khan as a powerhouse on his own level.

Moreover, he thought he would have to go all out when facing him.