True Magic

Chapter 41: True Magic

Yet Antinoa remained completely unmoved, as if she had not seen him swing his arm at all.

Zhao Xu knew something was wrong.

Antinoa had not even made the most basic evasive movement.

Refusing to move did not mean her Defense Class dropped to zero. She still had things like armor bonuses and Deflection Bonuses.

But without moving, Dexterity was treated as 0, making the modifier -5.

No one could afford to underestimate the impact of those five points on Defense Class.

But Zhao Xu was like a gambler who had reached the final hand. At this point, there was no way he could pull back that punch.

Just as he was about to touch Antinoa, much like when the Magic Missile spell had been about to trigger before—

Zhao Xu's eyes widened in disbelief.

A pair of huge, translucent wings unfurled behind Antinoa, making her look half-dragon and half-human.

Zhao Xu could only throw the punch regardless. Even if Antinoa had transformed entirely into a true dragon, he would still have swung it.

A Fighter's momentum had always been one of pressing forward without hesitation.

Faced with Zhao Xu's punch, into which he had poured all his strength, Antinoa's translucent wings were no mere decoration. They folded forward, forming an invisible force-field barrier shaped like dragon wings.

Zhao Xu immediately realized that his punch had vanished like a clay ox entering the sea, its force dissipating into nothingness.

The azure glow in his palm that represented Touch of Fatigue also vanished completely.

His attack had been neutralized, and his spell was gone.

"Second-level Spell, Aegis of the Wing. It grants immunity to one special attack. I'll dismiss this spell now. Continue."

After Zhao Xu barely steadied himself, Antinoa slowly spoke to him.

It was too difficult. Even with Zhao Xu's resilient mindset, he felt as though he had reached a complete dead end.

Walls stood in every direction. Tear one down, and another stood behind it, endless and inexhaustible.

Although that spell could naturally negate one attack and was incredibly powerful, it was only a Second-level Spell, which made it highly appealing to him.

Yet Zhao Xu felt no anger at all.

His eyes brimmed with fighting spirit as he looked at Antinoa, as though she were a whetstone.

Zhao Xu knew that casting only one spell per round was far too slow.

He wanted to cast two spells in one round as well.

At the very least, that would prevent Antinoa from handling him so easily.

But he had no solution, because the overwhelming majority of spells required "standard actions."

Spells of the "swift action" type that could be cast instantly were rare, and none were within his current grasp.

So Zhao Xu could only cast one spell per round, while Antinoa, as if playing chess, responded with one spell each turn.

At this point, he only had one final Zero-level Spell left.

Trying to cast two in a row was like asking a clever housewife to cook without rice.

"If you still don't move, you'll lose," Antinoa said with a smile as she watched him.

Zhao Xu had never been the sort to meekly endure humiliation, but he was very patient with taunts during battle.

In his Previous Life, he had seen too many people who charged ahead because they could not restrain themselves.

In the end, they failed to even reach the monster before being killed by a backhanded strike.

At a casino, those who gambled away everything were always the people who lost a big hand, lost their minds, and frantically raised the stakes.

If Zhao Xu lost his composure now and threw out his final spell—

Only for it to accomplish nothing, then Antinoa would truly have mocked him to death.

Zhao Xu continued pacing around Antinoa.

He did not like gambling.

But at this point, he had no other choice.

Antinoa had said she would not use a spell that had already taken effect again.

Wizards researching spells probably would not conduct the same research twice either, right?

If that held true, perhaps Antinoa had no means of becoming immune to ray attacks.

Zhao Xu's gaze turned resolute as he looked at Antinoa and began chanting a spell.

This time, his casting time was even longer than before.

At last, Zhao Xu's wizard robe began to stir despite the absence of wind.

Ray of Frost!

A ray of chill and icy fragments shot from Zhao Xu's hand, flying straight toward Antinoa.

It was extremely similar to Acid Splash, except it dealt cold damage.

Yet Antinoa let out a soft chuckle the instant Zhao Xu cast the spell.

The moment he heard that laugh, Zhao Xu knew he had failed again.

And his final spell had been spent as well.

His mind instantly entered an ethereal state.

Everything in heaven and earth seemed to be outside him, unable to disturb him any longer.

The last sliver of Zhao Xu's consciousness told him that he needed to be faster.

He needed to cast another spell immediately. Without two spells arriving at the same time, there was no way to break through the barrier Antinoa had set up.

But he had nothing!

He did not know any "swift action" spells.

And he had no Spell Slots left.

Unless he could compress a "standard action" into a "swift action."

Unless he could restore the Spell Slot he had just used.

Zhao Xu's pupils suddenly turned somewhat grayish-white, like those of a proud god looking down upon the world.

At that moment, the chill created by his Ray of Frost had reached Antinoa.

All tragedies in the world were alike.

It was as if Antinoa possessed an enormous repulsive force. Before the chill could even touch the hem of her robe, it was flung away on the spot.

An invisible power had always enveloped and protected Antinoa's entire body.

"Fourth-level spell, Friendly Fire, it can—"

Before Antinoa could finish speaking—

Ray of Frost appeared again!

A second Ray of Frost, formed from chill and condensed ice and snow, had appeared at some unknown moment and was closing in on Antinoa.

Zhao Xu had cast two Rays of Frost in succession!

Just now, Zhao Xu had only felt something surging through his mind, and even he had failed to notice it.

A line of text appeared on his Character Card panel:

Potential Points: 5

His Ray of Frost, which should have been utterly impossible to compress into a "swift action," had been cast instantly through sheer defiance of reason.

And so, the second Ray of Frost struck Antinoa directly.

It immediately melted, and several droplets of water fell to the ground.

Antinoa's defenses had blocked the ray.

But Zhao Xu had still struck her with a spell.

Zhao Xu had succeeded.

Everything about it defied common sense!

Not only had Zhao Xu already run out of Spell Slots!

He also did not possess the Metamagic Feat—Metamagic: Quicken Spell.

The reason the second Ray of Frost could arrive at the same time was precisely because it had been cast with Metamagic: Quicken Spell.

After applying Metamagic: Quicken Spell, spells with a "standard action" casting time could become "swift action" spells.

Chanting for several seconds became instant casting.

That was the strategic value of Metamagic: Quicken Spell.

So even though Metamagic: Quicken Spell required a Spell Slot four levels higher, people still flocked to it.

But Zhao Xu's Ray of Frost was a Zero-level Spell. To cast it with Metamagic: Quicken Spell, he would have needed to pay with a Fourth-level Spell Slot.

Even if all his Spell Slots had been intact, he only had First-level Spell Slots. How could he possibly leap three levels to cast it instantly?

Not to mention, he had not mastered the Metamagic Feat, Metamagic: Quicken Spell.

"How did he do that?"

From a shadowed corner of the arena, a black-robed Wizard stepped out. He looked at Zhao Xu, but his question was directed at Antinoa.

Why could Zhao Xu defy common sense like this?

Why?