Invalid and Immune

Antinoa's words caused Zhao Xu's expression to flicker with surprise.

Hit?

Easier said than done.

Zhao Xu was only a 1st-level Mage. How could he possibly hit Antinoa with a 1st-level spell?

He didn't act rashly. Instead, he raised his guard, appearing fully wary as he looked at her.

If there hadn't been no audience, anyone would have thought he was the one on the defensive.

Antinoa looked at Zhao Xu and nodded slightly. She was quite satisfied with his cautious demeanor.

"Don't worry. There's a condition: every time you attack me, the methods I employ won't be used again."

Antinoa's echo drifted throughout the circular arena.

I won't use them again.

"What about saving throws?" Zhao Xu pressed.

For negative status spells to take effect, the target usually had to fail a saving throw (Fortitude, Reflex, or Will). Antinoa, with her innate high-level stats, possessed high saving throws that a 1st-level novice like him couldn't possibly overcome.

"We're not betting on whether it takes effect. If you can make me need to make a saving throw, I'll consider that a hit."

Hearing this, Zhao Xu realized that Antinoa wasn't trying to show off her power by easily defeating him. Instead, she wanted him to experience the myriad of ways a high-level Mage could defend against an opponent's attacks.

With that thought, Zhao Xu's excitement and anxiety subsided.

Suddenly, Antinoa remembered something and said, "Also, you've already used one 1st-level spell, leaving you with only one more. For fairness, here, this is a scroll of Magic Missile, the spell you just used."

A scroll arced beautifully through the air, landing perfectly in Zhao Xu's palm.

After casually securing it, Zhao Xu took a deep breath.

He now possessed three 0-level spell slots, one 1st-level spell slot, and a scroll of Magic Missile.

Gradually, as his breathing evened out, Zhao Xu cast aside all emotions that could affect his thoughts. Any consideration of gain or loss seemed to vanish.

He simply stared at Antinoa, who was several meters away.

For a fleeting moment, Zhao Xu felt a sense of disorientation, as if Antinoa had begun casting a spell.

He blinked immediately, but saw nothing.

In the eight schools of magic – Abjuration, Conjuration, Evocation, Necromancy, Illusion, Transmutation, Enchantment, and Divination – Zhao Xu's 0-level spells covered all schools. As for his 1st-level spells, he only knew six.

The options for a spell that could hit Antinoa were limited.

Taking another deep breath, Zhao Xu reached into his material component pouch and grabbed a handful of powder mixed with red, yellow, and blue colors.

While holding the spell components, he raised his hand and began to chant.

Prismatic Spray!

A dazzling, multi-colored stream of light, shaped like a cone, spread out in front of Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu completed the casting of this spell, which only required a standard action, in an instant—faster than it took him to retrieve the components.

The cone-shaped area of effect, with a radius of nearly 5 meters, immediately enveloped Antinoa's body.

Although Antinoa was well over 20th level, meaning she had more than 20 Hit Dice, the reason Prismatic Spray remained a potent spell was that even creatures with 5 Hit Dice or more would be stunned for one round if the spell successfully affected them. Losing the ability to move for one round meant a significant loss of defensive capabilities, making the "stunned" negative status extremely powerful.

However, as the colorful light faded, Antinoa remained completely unfazed, showing no reaction whatsoever.

"Spell resistance directly blocked your spell. I'll drop my spell resistance next, you can continue."

Antinoa's voice was calm, as if nothing had just happened.

Zhao Xu shook his head, trying to snap himself back to reality.

Spell resistance and saving throws were the two twin pillars of magic in Arthur. Most spells designed to control or attack enemies required bypassing the target's spell resistance first, followed by their saving throws, before they could take effect.

Spell resistance was typically found in monsters and other races; humans did not possess innate spell resistance.

It seemed Antinoa had cast a spell on herself to gain spell resistance, or perhaps she had possessed it from the moment she appeared.

Zhao Xu did not pause his actions. He directly grabbed the scroll Antinoa had given him and began chanting the incantation.

A missile formed of magical energy reappeared in his hand and flew straight towards Antinoa.

He was already proficient with this casting process.

Magic Missile required overcoming spell resistance but ignored saving throws.

However, right under Zhao Xu's nose, the moment before the Magic Missile could get close to Antinoa.

As if an invisible giant wall had condensed before her, the Magic Missile dissipated in place, not even grazing the hem of Antinoa's clothes.

"A 4th-level spell, Minor Spell Immunity, it can block spells of levels one to three. I will dismiss this spell next, you continue."

Hearing this, Zhao Xu finally understood the oppressive power a high-level Mage held over low-level spells.

Wasn't it that Antinoa, protected by this spell, would be helpless until he reached level 7 and could cast 4th-level spells?

However, Zhao Xu wouldn't be discouraged and say something like "forget it."

He focused his attention, analyzing Antinoa again, thinking about what measures he could take.

After his previous spellcasting, he had used up all his 1st-level spells, including the scroll.

Now he only had three 0-level spells left.

This also meant he had 3 more chances.

With this thought, Zhao Xu immediately continued his spellcasting and chanting.

Acid Splash!

A small orb of acid condensed out of thin air from Zhao Xu's palm, then shot towards Antinoa.

This 0-level spell could hit creatures within a short distance. It could deal 1D3 acid damage, and required no saving throw or resistance.

It was just that spells with projectile trajectories like this required a ranged touch attack roll. It was equivalent to them being Zhao Xu's projectiles, meaning there was a possibility for the opponent to block them with their defense or dodge them.

However, Antinoa remained like a wooden statue. As the small acid orb was about to touch her, it suddenly veered off.

It smashed directly onto the ground, emitting a faint sizzling sound.

The arena floor had been reinforced, and the small pit corroded by the acid immediately returned to its original state.

And Antinoa acted as if she wasn't the target of the spell from the beginning.

"Impossible," Zhao Xu muttered to himself.

If the small acid orb had simply disappeared, he wouldn't have said another word.

But now it was deflected?

"Ray Deflection, a 4th-level spell, grants immunity to ranged touch attacks, including spell rays and creature ray attacks. I will dismiss this spell next, you continue."

Hearing Antinoa's words, Zhao Xu could only concede.

Others didn't even need to make a roll; they were directly immune.

The latter sentence was also a suggestion for him not to try using ray-based spells anymore.

At this moment, Zhao Xu noticed a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead, about to drip. Antinoa's stance, waiting for him to attack, put immense pressure on him.

Zhao Xu's mind suddenly sparked with inspiration.

He wiped a drop of sweat from his forehead, held it in his palm, and spread it evenly. He used it as a material component to cast the Touch of Fatigue spell.

After completing the spellcasting, a faint blue glow condensed in his palm.

Zhao Xu immediately charged forward. If he couldn't touch Antinoa within one round, the spell would fail.

As he rushed within reach of Antinoa, he swung his arm at her.

Antinoa was immune to ranged touch attacks.

What about this melee touch attack?