Rules, Resistance

Taking advantage of the darkness, the two flew swiftly close to the ground, gradually approaching the location from which the magical fluctuations were emanating.

From afar, one could see flames shooting into the sky from that location, the combined effect of various magical energies clashing illuminating half the sky as if it were daytime.

Some Goat-headed Monster ran and roared in the light, but all of them were drowned out by the sound of the spells.

In the bright sky, two groups of wizards in robes were fighting. The main battle group consisted of three level five wizards, one of whom was slightly stronger but was being suppressed by the other two. Judging from the style of their robes, they belonged to different factions.

Ronan stopped at a location quite far from the battle, and he and Hathaway watched the battle unfold from a distance.

This was the first time they had encountered a wizard who was also a trial participant since entering the Quivada Oasis.

It can only be said that the Quivada Oasis is too vast, and the number of people who can enter the second stage of the trial is not large.

"How did these guys start fighting?"

Hathaway muttered to herself, looking eager and ready to try, as if she was tired of fighting Magic Creature every day and desperately needed a change of pace, wanting to get involved.

Ronan also found it strange. During the battle between the two groups of wizards, the Magic Creature below were completely secondary. Only a very small number of wizards released their power on them, while most of them focused on the battle between themselves and their opponents.

However, judging from the actions and performance of the two groups, they did not seem to have any grudges against each other.

It's like a battle fought solely for the sake of fighting.

"Perhaps the second phase of the trial involves rules we are not yet aware of..."

Ronan spoke slowly.

A glint of light gathered in the corner of his eye, and words appeared. The "ghost" lingering among the ranks seemed to be responding to Ronan's earlier words.

However, at this moment, the Elemental Lifeform surrounding the two suddenly sent out a warning signal.

"Boom--"

Ronan's [Star Force Field] immediately emanated from his body.

The powerful force fields of several celestial bodies rapidly dispersed, and countless points of light emerged in Ronan's eyes. Wherever his gaze fell, dazzling beams of energy spontaneously condensed, raining down like spears of light, but they seemed to be blocked by something, emitting a series of crisp "clanging" sounds.

A muffled groan came faintly from the void, followed by a small, transparent, distorted object moving within the Star Force Field interwoven with countless energy beams, like an invisible giant fish frantically trying to escape the force field.

Damn it!

Hathaway reacted at this moment, waved her staff, and complex light patterns flashed in her eyes. In an instant, she established a wonderful connection with the Level Five Water Element around her and several Level Four Water Element.

As she pointed her staff, a magical fluctuation spread rapidly outwards, followed by surging waves on the desolate wilderness. A terrifying deep blue wall of water suddenly rose up, encircling and sweeping towards the invisible "giant fish."

However, Hathaway's magical water wall was easily passed through by the invisible "big fish".

Hathaway clicked her tongue in surprise, completely unprepared for her magic to be so easily defeated.

By the time she came to her senses and tried to follow up with another spell, it was too late. The invisible "big fish" had already darted away a long distance and was about to disappear into the darkness.

At this moment, Ronan's eyes flickered slightly.

He gazed in the direction the invisible "big fish" had vanished, and with a gentle flick of his long, slender fingers, some shimmering ice crystals drifted down from his fingernails, quickly condensing into a beautiful, twelve-sided snowflake.

These snowflakes possess a breathtaking beauty, suspended in mid-air, yet emitting not a trace of cold.

Ronan made a blowing motion, and the snowflakes were carried by the airflow and drifted forward quickly.

The next second, it silently disappeared into a shimmering silver mirror that appeared out of nowhere in front of it.

Almost at the very moment the snowflakes disappeared into the silver mirror, an endless stream of deep blue cold air suddenly burst forth from the darkness far ahead of the two, a terrifying magical fluctuation erupted, and a heavy snow began to fall inexplicably over the black wilderness.

Beneath the swirling, falling snowflakes, lies a magnificent, frozen ice flower.

"What a nice view."

Hathaway stopped waving her staff and stared at the enormous ice flower, momentarily stunned.

A girlish shyness suddenly appeared on her face as she looked at Ronan and whispered, "So Master is also skilled in Ice Magic. This is the first time I've heard of it. I know."

Ronan ignored her and flew straight towards the spot where his "Snow Country Flower" was blooming.

The spell he suddenly unleashed had already attracted the attention of the two groups of wizards in the distance, and even the original battle had subsided somewhat, with streams of spiritual energy rolling over to probe and scan.

Ronan approached the location of the ice flower and, through the crystal-clear deep blue ice and snow, could see a figure in a chestnut-colored robe frozen solid at the very center of the ice flower, where the "stamen" was located.

He held in his hand something that looked like a crystal spindle, with some cracks on it. He remained motionless, his face filled with utter terror.

A trial wizard in the late stage of level four, approaching level five.

They had just been planning to use magical artifacts to ambush Ronan and his companion.

Ronan looked at the horror and terror in those eyes and was about to ask about the other person's intentions.

At that moment, he suddenly felt some mysterious power emanating from the other person and quickly merging into his own body.

Immediately afterwards, he felt a burning sensation on his wrist. When he raised his hand to look at it, he found that the Ring Mark on his wrist, which was still a little short of being completely perfect, was now just a hair's breadth away from being perfect.

—[Surprised? You can steal someone else's credit.]

On the deep blue ice, frost flowers quickly formed, condensing into small characters.

Ronan suddenly understood why the wizard in front of him had attacked him and Hathaway, and what the two groups of trial wizards fighting in the distance were fighting for.

It turns out that defeating competitors is also one of the behaviors encouraged in the second stage of the trial, and this method is much faster than honestly clearing Magic Creature to fill the rings.

Ronan shook his head and lightly tapped the ice flower in front of him with his finger.

The enormous deep blue ice flower instantly collapsed and disintegrated, turning into countless ice dust particles that scattered into the night with a regretful sigh from Hathaway.

As for the wizard who was frozen inside, he immediately activated the crystal spindle in his hand and fled without a trace the moment the spell dissipated.

Ronan glanced at the battle group that seemed to be slowly moving towards them in the distance, and felt a faint pulling sensation emanating from the Ring Mark in his hand. He muttered "Let's go," and then quickly left with Hathaway.

As dawn broke, the oasis sky, like a festering wound, regained its color.

Ronan sat among a patch of low, twisted, decaying plants, staring at the Ring Mark on his hand, lost in thought.

The ring was ordinary, but its center was almost completely filled with bright red.

During this time, he tirelessly cleared the monsters in the oasis, and with his mastery of Space Magic, he repaired several Spatial Rift, so the replenishment speed of the Ring Mark was still quite fast.

Ronan had previously felt that the faster the second phase of the trial was completed, the better.

The sooner it is completed, the faster it can enter the third stage and begin to establish an advantage ahead of time.

But now, Ronan's thoughts have changed again.

He was just one last bit of energy away from filling the Ring Mark, but he didn't really want to continue the trial.

—Because of that omniscient "voyeuristic" feeling!

It feels like being manipulated, every move you make is under someone's surveillance, and you feel constantly being schemed against.

"I hate this feeling."

Ronan began to speak to himself.

He looked in front of him and around him, but the persistent, insidious message had not appeared.

But Ronan knew that the person hiding behind the cue should be able to hear him.

"Clarity Snake"

"The Stone of Destiny. Destiny"

Ronan's eyes flickered, a strange sense of irritation rising within him.

On the one hand, he really wanted to win this trial in order to achieve his goal.

On the other hand, the process and form of this trial made him feel very uncomfortable, as it contradicted what he had always pursued, and he desperately wanted to get rid of it.

This [Harmony] contradiction left Ronan feeling incredibly conflicted.

"If Alazan were awake, we could ask him for his opinion."

Ronan couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

He thought for a moment, weighed his options, and then waved to Hathaway.

The latter obediently walked up.

As Hathaway approached, Ronan quickly grabbed her hand, and before she could react, the Ring Mark on Ronan's wrist burned with heat, containing a mysterious power related to the trial, which began to slowly flow into the ring on Hathaway's hand.

"Crackling and popping—"

Almost at the same moment, the sand on the ground in front of Ronan began to pulsate violently, as if trying to form some words, but it was erased again and again.

Ronan blinked and began to stare with interest at the restless sand and gravel.

In the darkness, he seemed to be making eye contact with a pair of eyes.

As the bright red Ring Mark on her hand gradually faded, Hathaway's ring became full.

Suddenly, the restless sand and gravel on the ground calmed down completely.

Ronan's eyes flickered slightly as he pondered, when a sharp whooshing sound suddenly came from above, rapidly approaching his current location.