Duel (II)

The Barren Island Five People saw Adam as well. Aside from Krystal, they were all astonished that Adam could walk together with a mentor.

Because of her outstanding aptitude for body refinement, Ophelia had already been taken into a body-refinement mentor's laboratory. Cultivating body-refinement techniques came with immense pain, and this path of magehood required experiments that challenged one's fundamental values—for instance, consuming the Body Tissue of various Magic Beasts, dissecting the Muscle Tissue of all kinds of creatures to search for superior genes, including humans. She had therefore become even more aloof. What occasionally surfaced in her eyes was deep exhaustion and doubt toward herself. She had not paid attention to her companions' circumstances for a long time, so naturally she had no time to notice Adam.

"What's this about?" Ophelia asked in confusion.

William said nothing. He was someone adept at navigating social situations. Although his status prevented him from gaining the others' recognition and acceptance, he was not as rejected as the rest. He roughly knew about Adam's situation, but he had not expected Adam to have reached this extent already.

Quentin, meanwhile, was filled with contempt and jealousy. He said sarcastically, "Heh, I thought he was so proud. Turns out he's nothing special. He must have gotten close to the mentor by making a spectacle of himself."

Upon hearing this, Krystal swallowed the explanation that had reached her lips. Once again, she felt disappointed by the stupidity of these "companions." They had no idea just how vast the gap was between themselves and the person they despised.

Perhaps it was because mage apprentices and mages tempered by the years would only speak as equals to those they considered their equals. Elliot, who had appeared gentle and amiable before Adam, seemed cold and unapproachable when facing the other apprentices. Elliot and Adam charged straight through the crowd and reached another area of the Duel Stage. Gathered here were all Senior Apprentices who had survived the Tower War, and most of them knew Adam.

After exchanging greetings, Elliot said, "It's only a Newbie duel, yet all of you came. Did you come to watch them stand there and construct magic Rune Arrays?" Elliot had immediately put Adam's words to use, using them to needle the others.

The Senior Apprentices could not help imagining that scene, and their interest immediately faded considerably. One of them, apparently quite familiar with Elliot, pointed at him and laughed as he cursed, "Not only is your smell irritating, even the way you talk has become irritating."

Someone shook his head indifferently. "The academy has been too quiet lately. It's rare to have something lively to watch."

"Yeah. Too many old friends have vanished without a trace. I wonder how many of these Newbies will remain."

Adam did not join their conversation. He was searching the crowd for James. As expected, he did not find him. James probably had no mood to join in this excitement. Looking at the noisy crowd below, Adam felt utterly bored. "What a waste of time." Then he simply left the Duel Arena in silence.

Elliot merely glanced at Adam without paying much attention, then turned back to chat with the others. He did not think highly of what Adam was doing now. James had strived for decades without succeeding; how could Adam possibly succeed in such a short time?

Suddenly, the Duel Arena fell silent. Sean and Randy each stepped forward. Without any unnecessary words, they raised their hands and activated the magic items in their hands. Two spells rapidly took shape, collided violently in midair, then dissipated into nothing at the same time.

The magic items in apprentices' hands could not be too advanced. Though the spells inscribed within them differed, according to the power index Black Mage had demonstrated, they were all at the same level. What was being tested now was the apprentices' accuracy with magic.

The two did fairly well in this regard. Two spells in succession accurately struck their intended locations, leaving neither side victorious.

The Senior Apprentices had already stopped focusing on the two of them, because it was simply too boring. Neither of them had even changed their position.

Sean grinned viciously at Randy. "Country bumpkin, how many more magic items do you have left?" Sean was brimming with confidence. Not only had he successfully constructed a second spell, his companions in the organization had also lent him five magic items. From the information he had gathered, those poor ghosts from Barren Island were absolutely not that wealthy.

Randy's face darkened. He had one final magic item left, inscribed with a flight spell. It was his last Life-Saving Trump Card, and he could not use it yet.

"Damn it!" Randy cursed inwardly and sprinted rapidly to one side.

Sean was overjoyed. He knew Randy was finished. All he had to do now was press the advantage and blast this idiot into scraps. Without hesitation, Sean activated his remaining three magic items. Two Fireballs and one Wind Blade sealed off every possible route of escape for Randy.

"Die! Die!" Seeing that Randy was about to die by his hand, Sean revealed a morbid ecstasy. This feeling intoxicated him.

At the brink of life and death, Randy stopped short and stomped heavily on the ground. Immediately afterward, an earth spike shot up in an instant. The spells struck the earth spike with dull thuds. Randy hid behind the earthen wall and let out a breath of relief. He had made it through this round.

Sean stared in astonishment. He had not expected Randy to use an earth spike like this. "Idiot, do you think that can cancel them out?"

Earth-element magic possessed the strongest defense among Low-Level Magic, but it was not without limits. After barely blocking the two Fireballs, the Wind Blade broke through the earth spike. Randy panicked and desperately dodged to one side, but the Wind Blade grazed his arm and effortlessly sliced away nearly half his body.

"Ah!" Randy howled in agony. Blood poured from his wound like a flood, and the intense pain robbed him of any ability to resist.

Among the local apprentices below, some could not bear to watch and turned their eyes away, while others shouted for the trash to be killed. Sean threw back his head and laughed wildly. "Trash, trash, die!"

The Barren Island apprentices' expressions changed dramatically as they rushed toward the Duel Stage. No matter what, they could not watch a companion die before their eyes.

Sean's companions blocked them with savage grins. "Country bumpkins, don't you even understand the Rules?"

Quentin roared, "This isn't fair!"

One of them looked at them as though they were idiots, then said, "Fair? Hahaha! You really are adorable. Life and death are disregarded in the Duel Arena. If you want to avenge that piece of trash, why don't you duel me?"

William looked at him and said, "Howard, do me a favor. Spare Randy's life. I don't think the academy would want something like this to happen either."

Howard cast William a contemptuous glance, then said to his companions, "Look, did you hear that? They want me to do them a favor. Hahaha, a bunch of country bumpkins—do you even deserve it!?"

William's face alternated between green and white. He had not expected to suffer such humiliation, but Randy's life hung by a thread, so he could only bury this disgrace in his heart. Turning toward the Senior Apprentices, he shouted, "Mentors, are you really going to watch Randy die?"

The Senior Apprentices looked at him with amusement. Then a cold voice sounded. "What do you think a duel is? A friendly game?"

Seeing William and the others stopped, Sean relaxed. He walked toward Randy, who was rolling around on the ground. He intended to humiliate this idiot thoroughly before killing him.

"Look, no one can save you. You are destined to die by Lord Sean's hand. This is the price for daring to challenge Lord Sean. Don't worry. Next, your companions will go down one by one to keep you company. Country bumpkins all deserve to die. Just thinking about breathing the same air as you makes me sick!"

As Randy watched Sean draw closer and closer, his eyes filled with bone-deep hatred. He removed his hand from his wound and roared, "Die!" He used his final Fireball, wanting to send Sean to hell.

Sean activated the Water Screen and said, "Did you think I didn't know you still had one spell left? Go die obediently."

Randy despaired. He activated his final magic item and floated up unsteadily. Having lost an arm and exhausted his mental strength, he could not even maintain his balance.

Hope appeared on the Barren Island apprentices' faces. Perhaps Randy might survive after all.

Sean condensed a Fireball before him and said mockingly, "A pathetic performance. Goodbye, trash." With a bang, Randy was blasted to pieces in the sky, falling to the ground—and into the hearts of the Barren Island apprentices.

The duel had seemed long, but the result had actually come quickly—so quickly that Adam had not even returned to his dormitory before many excited apprentices had already passed by him. Having witnessed the power of magic and death, they had been stirred into abnormal excitement.

Adam was neither surprised nor concerned by Randy's death, but Elliot, like a lingering ghost, caught up with him and patted him on the shoulder. "That apprentice with curse affinity died."

"Oh."

"Tsk Tsk, how cold. Don't you care at all?" Elliot clicked his tongue.

"You don't care at all!? A companion has died!" A voice filled with grief and indignation rang out. Adam looked up and discovered that Quentin had spoken. The other Barren Island people were also looking at him with sorrow and anger.

"We came from the same place. Shouldn't we stand together? This time, Randy died. Next time, it could be you! They want to kill all of us—all of us, including you!" Quentin said excitedly.

Adam did not even stop walking, continuing toward the dormitory.

William quickened his pace and blocked his way. "Adam, come back. We need to stand together. We need you."

Elliot folded his arms and moved to the side, watching the scene with great interest. He wanted to know how this Little Friend he had just met would face such accusations.

"Heh." Adam gave a completely emotionless laugh.

"What is that attitude supposed to mean? Are you looking down on us?"

"Yes. I look down on you. In this world, every person's life belongs to themselves. You can live like an idiot, but don't do idiotic things. Otherwise, losing your life is nothing but your own doing," Adam said coldly.

Quentin's eyes nearly split apart. He was utterly enraged, and he swung his fist, losing all reason as he tried to teach Adam a lesson.