Scorching Orb

Take respawned inside the erected tent. The moment she stepped out, she saw the other players.

"Why are you still here?" Take was stunned. The boss had not even been defeated yet, and their equipment was still back in that awful place.

The female player with the Hunter class shook her head and pointed at the strange magic array on the ground. "That building is gone."

Take took one look and froze. The place was completely empty, with nothing but the magic array left. So this had been a one-time dungeon?

Amber City, Spire Bridge.

Li Wen used words even she did not believe to interfere with her opponent while considering her options.

To be honest, Li Wen had already determined the enemy's location. Other than his initial movement, he had not changed positions again. That meant either he had some reservations about Li Wen's claims, or he possessed absolute confidence.

There was another possibility as well. This was a trap, and the other party was waiting for Li Wen to step into it.

Naturally, Li Wen would not fall for it. Her Prayer Incantation was a targeted Divine Art that could only be used on targets within her line of sight or perception. Otherwise, they would not have been locked in this stalemate for so long.

The advantage of targeted spells was that they were difficult to evade. But if she could not even see so much as the enemy's shadow, there was naturally no chance of hitting him.

A Fire Mage was different. Aside from Elemental Shield, most of the spells he had cast were non-targeted area spells or projectile spells. The advantage was enormous. No wonder he had learned White Mist, an area spell that obscured vision. It really was useful.

But it was useless against Li Wen as well. She possessed the extraordinary trait Retrograde in Shadow. While within shadows, her sense of presence was reduced by 50%. Within this White Mist, the Fire Mage could forget about locating her precisely.

So it was hard to say whose advantage this White Mist truly was. But one thing was certain: if she wanted to break the deadlock, she had to make the Fire Mage dismiss the White Mist himself. Otherwise, she could only wait for it to disperse on its own.

Li Wen believed it would not take long. The mage had been struck by Poison Arrow and could not hold on much longer.

After waiting quietly for a moment, the Fire Mage finally responded. "You're right. We don't have any deep grudges, after all. But... how can you prove that you really can treat all this as though nothing happened? Well, of course I know you're a warlock skilled in curses. Naturally, you wouldn't care about a few lives."

The instant his words fell, Li Wen heard the sound of flames burning.

The next moment, the White Mist dispersed, revealing both the Fire Mage and Li Wen at once.

Li Wen instantly cast the Dark Word Curse she had prepared long ago, while the Fire Mage threw a Fireball the moment he confirmed Li Wen's position.

Both their skills struck their targets. The difference was that the Fire Mage was directly hit by the curse, while Li Wen threw herself to the ground the instant after casting it, avoiding the Fireball's direct impact.

Scorching, frenzied air exploded around her. Li Wen could even smell the charred stench of death. Fortunately, a shield lit up around her at that moment, blocking part of the damage and restoring her health.

Life remaining: 44%.

This was the result even after she had used Prayer Incantation in advance. Otherwise, even if Li Wen had not died, the intense heat would have left her unable to move.

The Fire Mage was not doing well either. The Dark Word Curse had struck him directly, and he could not dispel it again. The ring required at least three days between each use.

The curse and deadly poison worsened his already terrible condition. Though the curse had temporarily blinded him, he could still sense that his magic had failed to kill his enemy.

Was he really going to stop here? How could that be possible!

Pale black tainted blood flowed from the mage's nose, mouth, and pores, yet he merely revealed a slightly crazed smile.

Moonlight Potion was one of the prohibited drugs ranked near the top of the Kingdom Investigation Bureau's notice list. Its effect was this: after drinking it, the user's mana would rapidly recover for a period of time, and their spellcasting ability would rise by one tier.

As the price, a mage could only use Moonlight Potion once in their lifetime. Once its effects faded, they would lose their spellcasting ability for ten days.

Rapid mana recovery was a minor matter. What truly mattered was the increase in spellcasting tier. It meant a Stage One mage could cast second-tier magic without cost, or use rituals and scrolls to cast third-tier magic. Such an improvement was terrifying.

The Fire Mage felt unprecedented power surge through his body. The sensation it brought even overwhelmed the curse and poison. He felt that with a mere flick of his finger, he could kill any enemy—even those old fools from the Arcane Academy.

Moonlight Potion was highly addictive, but any mage who took it a second time would instantly explode and die. Thus, the Fire Mage forcibly suppressed his craving for power.

At that moment, the blindness effect finally wore off. The Fire Mage looked at Li Wen and coldly took out a scroll.

"To think I was forced to this point. What a humiliation!"

Flames took shape behind him as the Fire Mage felt his mana draining away like a tide.

Third-tier magic, Scorching Orb!

Restless, frenzied Fire Element surged into it madly. The flames condensed into a crimson sun, hanging high behind the Fire Mage as though it would burn everything to ash.

Li Wen merely watched calmly. That Dark Word Curse had exhausted the last of her mana. Faced with the mage's methods, she seemingly had no other means of countering him.

Was that really so?

Li Wen focused on the trait within her. Blood of Candlelight allowed her to forcibly substitute her life for mana when her mana was insufficient, allowing her to use Radiance Spectrum skills.

But that would not change the situation. The other party was casting third-tier magic, enough to blow this entire stone bridge apart. It seemed he had no intention of sparing anyone, while Li Wen currently knew only one skill: Prayer Incantation.

Interrupting his casting earlier had caught him off guard. Now, he would certainly be prepared and would not stop casting just because he was hit by a curse. Furthermore, he was using a large-scale destructive spell, so the idea of blinding him and making him lose his target was unrealistic. He had clearly considered that possibility, or why else would he cast magic of this level?

By the looks of it, Li Wen might have no choice but to abandon resistance and obediently accept death.

After all, she was still a player. Death would only mean starting over.

But if she truly had to submit like this, Li Wen would never accept it. She was a reincarnator and had made so many preparations, yet she could not even deal with a Stage One mage. No matter how she looked at it, that was unacceptable.