Spell Clash

Since they had already laid their cards on the table, Gao De had no need to keep hiding his hand.

This was a battle to the death. Whatever methods they had, they had to use them without holding anything back.

The ghostly green acid sphere flew extremely fast, and its destructive power was not to be underestimated.

Yet just as the acid sphere was about to touch Mage Seda, an invisible barrier stopped it, causing it to explode prematurely.

The highly corrosive substance scattered in every direction in an instant, forming a small area of acid rain.

But even so, not a single drop of acid could get close to Mage Seda.

"A magical alchemical item. It should be First-Ring." Gao De's expression darkened as he made his judgment.

To block his two attacks so easily, without Mage Seda making the slightest casting movement—then it was almost certainly not a cantrip Mage Seda had mastered himself, but something from a Mystic Item he had equipped.

Mage Seda was an Elixirist and a seasoned Mage Apprentice. It was only natural for him to possess one or two First-Ring magical alchemical items.

Gao De had considered this possibility during his prior simulations.

However, the world of spells was far too dazzling. With his shallow knowledge of magic, he had no way of determining what spell this was, what effects it possessed, or what flaws it had.

"Acid Splash."

Unlike Gao De, who knew nothing at all, Mage Seda was far more knowledgeable. At a glance, he recognized the spell Gao De had cast.

His deathly gray face took on a faint bluish tint. He drew a deep breath and clicked his tongue in admiration. "I truly underestimated you, my dear apprentice. Even I have not mastered this spell, yet you managed to learn it."

"I truly have no idea where you got the spell formula, or when you mastered it."

"But this is as far as you go."

As his words fell, Mage Seda finally made his move.

One should return courtesy with courtesy.

His anger toward this apprentice who dared defy his authority had already been compressed to its limit.

Mage Seda extended his right hand, dry as dead wood.

His index finger pointed at Gao De.

A tangible vortex appeared in his hand, transforming into a dazzling red-orange glow and radiating scorching heat.

An arrow formed from flames took shape.

Following the direction of Mage Seda's finger, the Flame Arrow tore through the air like a meteor, trailing a fiery tail as it shot toward Gao De.

The flames roared fiercely, and it was incredibly fast.

The distance between them was so short, and Gao De had not mastered any spell that increased agility.

It was easy to imagine that if even a Leyline Creature with a powerful body like a Wolf Rat could not evade this attack, Gao De would have nowhere to run.

And indeed, that was the case.

Yet Gao De remained exceptionally calm.

Facing the blazing Flame Arrow rushing toward him, his expression did not change. He did not even attempt to dodge—it would only waste precious combat time.

Mage Seda's Flame Arrow spell was information Gao De already knew.

There was no way he would not have prepared a response.

The next instant, a layer of faint light swirled around his body, spreading like ripples and enveloping him.

The faint light appeared at precisely the moment before the Flame Arrow was about to strike him.

Resistance Boost!

The barrier formed by the spell revealed its effect. After colliding with that barrier, the Flame Arrow that should have dealt Gao De fatal damage instantly lost most of its power.

By the time it landed on Gao De, it was merely a few flames that were not particularly intense.

They burned through Gao De's clothes and scalded the skin on his chest, but that was all. They did not inflict any further damage on him.

"Good boy!" Mage Seda was greatly startled by the sight. The contempt on his face had vanished. "You've hidden quite a few tricks!"

He was surprised both by the new spell Gao De had cast and by Gao De's skill.

The more powerful a mage was, the less casting time they needed to cast spells.

Logically speaking, Mage Seda's offensive spell should have been released before Gao De's spell.

Yet the magical glows of Flame Arrow and Resistance Boost had appeared almost simultaneously.

This was because although Gao De did not know what spells Mage Seda had mastered, he could be certain that after he cast Acid Splash+, Mage Seda would definitely retaliate.

Therefore, immediately after casting Acid Splash+, Gao De activated the Spell Model for Resistance Boost.

Thus, even though he required somewhat more casting time than Mage Seda, he had not waited to react after Mage Seda cast his spell. He had already begun activating the Spell Model before Mage Seda cast. Coupled with the travel time of the Flame Arrow, it resulted in the two of them casting their spells at nearly the same time.

In the fighting games of Gao De's previous life, there was a professional term for this.

Prediction.

This was a situation that only appeared in battles between Old Mages, yet it had occurred on a First-Order Apprentice whom he had never taken seriously. How could Mage Seda not be shocked?

Gao De's current situation was not good.

An unnatural flush had appeared on his face.

Even though Resistance Boost had blocked most of the Flame Arrow's power, its remaining might had still injured him badly.

More importantly, more than half his mana had already been depleted!

—Aside from the difference in the number of spells they had mastered and the difference in casting time, the greatest difference between Gao De and Mage Seda lay in the number of spells they could cast.

They might both appear to be Mage Apprentices, with seemingly little difference in their realms, but Gao De was merely a First-Order Apprentice while Mage Seda was a Third-Order Apprentice.

Gao De's current mana could only support five cantrips before it was completely exhausted.

As a Third-Order Apprentice, Mage Seda's mana could support more than twenty cantrips.

A mage without mana was worse than a super minion.

This was a truth recognized in every world.

And counting the Mage Hand he had cast at the beginning, Gao De now had only enough mana left for two cantrips.

Gao De let out a deep breath, keeping himself calm as he clenched his teeth and forced himself to temporarily ignore the burning pain continuously radiating from his chest.

Whoosh!

Another acid sphere appeared in his hand and shot toward Mage Seda with a swing of his arm.

When facing Mage Seda's Flame Arrow spell, he had not made any attempt to dodge.

Since he knew he could not evade it, he had simply placed all his hopes on Resistance Boost.

This had also been to buy time, so that he could still retain the initiative in the next exchange.

Gao De was betting that Mage Seda had absolute confidence in his Flame Arrow spell and believed it alone would be enough to bring him down, so he would not prepare his next spell immediately.

He had won the bet.

Therefore, in this round, Gao De still held the initiative!

Gao De's third spell was once again Acid Splash+.

"What the hell is this?" Mage Seda watched everything unfold, unable to stop himself from cursing inwardly.

His casting time was clearly much faster than his opponent's, yet over three rounds of spell exchanges, apart from the second round ending in a draw, Gao De had somehow seized the initiative in both of the others.

Who could he even complain to about that?