Serie's Suspicion

Serie had originally wanted Rhode to create all kinds of magic, then teach it to her, so that she could learn the magic of every race in this world.

She could even learn magic that didn't exist in this world.

But this idea was quickly dismissed by her.

Because by the time Rhode could skillfully use Ice Magic and teach it back to her, until she herself had barely learned it, half a year had already passed.

Time, it passed a little too fast.

That first meeting with Rhode felt like it was just yesterday.

It was at this moment that Serie understood she could not learn all the magic in the world from Rhode, because his lifespan was not long enough to allow her to do so.

For the first time, she felt a sense of helplessness toward a short-lived life.

Looking at Rhode, who was sparring with Erik not far away, Serie's gaze was somewhat complicated.

Naturally, the two who were sparring did not notice any of this.

"Hahaha! Rhode, take this!"

Erik, who had been continuously advancing on the path of magic, could now skillfully use the Light Arrow magic. Paired with his agile physique, even Rhode couldn't defeat him right away.

Erik released his magic, and three light arrows shot toward Rhode in a triangular formation.

Unlike Rhode and Serie, who favored a fighting style of overwhelming numbers, Erik seemed to prefer a brute-force approach of "more power, more punch."

The destructive force contained in these three light arrows was several times that of ordinary light arrows.

In response, Rhode calmly raised two layers of Magic Barrier. The light arrows collided with the barrier, exploding into brilliant colors. The first layer of Magic Barrier was quickly broken through.

Rhode was somewhat surprised by this.

Just how much magic power had this guy Erik poured into those light arrows?

Wasn't he afraid his own magic power wouldn't hold up?

Fortunately, the light arrows were blocked by the second layer of the Magic Barrier. Seeing this, Erik laughed loudly and leaped into the air, a spear of light condensing in his hand. "Try this!"

"What the hell, when did you learn that?" Rhode's pupils suddenly widened.

This kid had been hiding a trick up his sleeve!

The spear of light tore through the air, thrusting straight toward him.

Rhode didn't hesitate any longer. He tossed out an identical light spear with a backhand motion. The two spears collided, and adhering to the ancient rule that the left side always loses in a beam clash, Erik's light spear was quickly dispersed.

Meanwhile, Rhode's light spear continued charging toward him.

"Serie, remove his Magic Barrier!" Rhode even took the time to shout at Serie.

It seemed he was quite annoyed that Erik had hidden this move.

If he had been careless, there really was a chance of capsizing in a ditch—though by "capsizing," he meant losing the spar.

Both of them had Magic Barriers cast by Serie on them, which was also an important reason Erik dared to attack so recklessly.

Serie nodded after hearing this and removed Erik's Magic Barrier.

"Hey hey hey! That'll kill me!!!"

Erik quickly spoke up after raising his own Magic Barrier to block Rhode's light spear.

"This is the consequence of you hiding a trick from me! Now you'd better dodge well! Don't die."

Rhode raised his hand, and densely packed light arrows materialized out of thin air.

If he didn't teach this kid a lesson, he'd never know his place.

Erik looked at the sky full of light arrows, and his face instantly turned pale.

The next second, all the light arrows shot toward him.

He hurriedly rolled to dodge, but the light arrows poured down like a rainstorm, blasting a series of craters around him.

"Rhode! Are you serious?!" Erik scrambled to his feet, and seeing that the light arrows' power hadn't weakened at all, quickly spoke up.

"And you, kid, didn't you hold back on the power just now?!"

To be able to break through his own Magic Barrier, this guy Erik must have been going all out, without holding back at all.

"Cough, cough, I just thought that with your strength, Rhode, I couldn't possibly beat you without going all out." Erik explained with an awkward smile.

"Too late. Go talk it out with my light arrows!"

Rhode's voice was merciless, and the light arrows rained down again.

Erik immediately raised his Magic Barrier, barely managing to block this wave of light arrows. Just as he tried to get up, he realized that at some point, the corner of his robe had been pinned to the ground.

A single light arrow had precisely pierced through his Magic Barrier, fixing him in place and sending him collapsing to the ground.

"This is called tactics." Rhode walked over slowly. "In a real battle, you should pay attention to every single attack from your enemy. The slightest oversight can become an important reason for your defeat."

The Magic Circle in Rhode's hand showed no sign of stopping, clearly indicating he was preparing to attack again.

Erik swallowed hard. "Wait! I surren—"

Before he could finish, he suddenly noticed a layer of frost beginning to spread up his pant leg.

He suddenly felt as if his body had plunged into an icy abyss.

"There's more!?" Erik looked up in shock, meeting Rhode's sly gaze head-on.

"Double kill move!" Rhode snapped his fingers, and the frost instantly melted away.

His ice was still quite cold—if he ended up giving Erik a cold, that would be a loss.

In the distance, Serie quietly watched the scene unfold.

She noticed the fluid, effortless movements Rhode used when casting compound magic; the switch between the two elements was completely seamless.

"Can he already switch between two elemental magics so proficiently after just half a year?" she murmured to herself, her gaze somewhat complicated.

She felt that if this kept up, maybe she might not be able to beat Rhode anymore.

But that shouldn't be the case.

After all, she was an elf, while Rhode was merely a human, with a lifespan of only a hundred years. She would grow stronger with time, but he would not.

Yet why, why did she feel a pang of discomfort?

Serie didn't know what was wrong with her.

Perhaps she was sick.

Just then, Rhode's movement interrupted Serie's thoughts.

She saw a slight fluctuation in his mana—a sign of spellcasting—but for some reason, she couldn't tell what kind of magic he had used.

Was it her imagination?

Rhode reached out his hand to Erik, who was sitting on the ground: "Get up quickly!"

Erik didn't think much of it. He took Rhode's hand and was about to stand up, but for some reason, the moment their palms touched, a wave of weakness washed over his body.

It sent him back down to the ground.

"Strange? Why do I suddenly feel like my strength's been drained?"

The smile on Rhode's face froze, and a flicker of barely noticeable panic flashed in his eyes: "It's probably just that you used too much mana in the fight earlier. Rest a bit, and you'll be fine."

Erik found Rhode's reasoning plausible, so he didn't dwell on it. He simply stood up and strode over to Norn, who was preparing the food.

"Hey, Norn! What's for dinner?"

Only after Erik had left did Rhode drop his smile, but as he turned his head, he saw Serie staring at him.

"What's wrong?" Rhode forced another smile.

"Nothing."

Though she had her suspicions, Serie didn't voice them.