The Mage

Moonlight streamed through gaps in the trees, illuminating the two figures facing off. Rhode and the blue-robed mage exchanged a glance, each confirming a few things about the other.

Although Rhode had taken his weapon from his Space Ring, he made no further move. He didn't charge the blue-robed mage with his sword, but simply stood where he was, watching him.

Rhode knew it would be exceedingly difficult to defeat the blue-robed mage on his own. To kill him, Rhode still needed the vampire's help.

At Rhode's signal through the Mental Mark, the vampire had evaded the earlier attacks and returned to the dead horse, where it was quickly devouring the Flesh and Blood.

Watching the blue-robed mage across from him, Rhode understood that although the vampire had depleted some of the mage's mana, it had barely affected the damage his spells could inflict.

As long as a mage still had mana, their strength wouldn't diminish much. Even if injured, a mage could still fight at their full strength. Melee fighters, on the other hand, were hampered by bodily injuries, which impeded their movements and weakened them.

Mages had to learn a great many special skills, and their mana was limited. This made them seem somewhat weaker at lower tiers: they could unleash powerful attacks against their enemies, but couldn't sustain a fight.

At low tiers, melee fighters could rely on their own strength to kill mages of the same tier.

As they advanced, mages learned all kinds of special skills and spells with various effects, and their mana reserves grew. Together, these factors caused their overall strength to increase exponentially.

Once a mage reached the fourth tier and became a full-fledged mage, they could begin to show their might. At the same tier, ordinary melee fighters already struggled to deal with mages, and the gap between mages and warriors only grew more pronounced as they advanced.

As tiers rose further, nearly all non-hero melee fighters were unable to stand against mages of the same tier. Only a handful of elite fighters at the same tier, along with some who had acquired powerful treasures, could hold their own.

A mage's growth depended on having a large number of special skills to support them. Since there were only so many Skill Points to gain by advancing in class, players who wanted to build a powerful late-game mage had to calculate the use of every point carefully. They might even spend a great deal of time learning special skills on their own to save Skill Points.

Players had no special advantages when it came to learning skills on their own. Like the game's natives, they had to join a spell academy and study. Even basic special skills often took weeks or months to master.

Once such a mage reached the later stages, their overall strength became astonishing. They could unleash the full potential of every spell, from pure damage magic to battlefield control spells and those with special effects. They had no obvious weaknesses.

In his previous life, Rhode had been just such a mage, so he knew all too well how powerful mages became at higher tiers.

In this life, circumstances had forced Rhode to use his Skill Points as soon as he got them, rather than saving them.

He had carefully considered every Skill Point he spent, choosing skills that could effectively resolve the situation at hand. If he hadn't learned those skills at the time, he might not even have had the chance to stand here now.

Rhode knew that when he reached the higher tiers, he would be able to learn magic too. But without all the special skills, he wouldn't be as versatile as a traditional mage. Still, he could make up for that in other ways, and his overall strength would at least match that of a mage at the same tier.

Because he understood mages so well, Rhode had gauged the blue-robed mage's strength at the third tier based on the spells he had used earlier. So Rhode didn't plan to rush into battle himself. Instead, he waited for the vampire to recover.

Feeling the message the vampire sent through the Mental Mark, Rhode knew that although it had used Bat Form several times while holding off the blue-robed mage, it could still use it once more—but only once.

After raising his character level earlier, Rhode still had 2 Free Attribute Points left to spend. If the blue-robed mage's magic hit him during the fight, Rhode had only one way to quickly recover his health: use the points to increase his Constitution.

The blue-robed mage was watching Rhode. As he studied his enemy, he too noticed something.

Earlier, they had both been inside carriages in the merchant caravan, so the mage hadn't had a chance to see Rhode. Only now could he see what his enemy looked like.

Looking at him, the blue-robed mage knew the enemy wouldn't let him go. As long as he still had the merchant caravan's Space Ring, the enemy would pursue him relentlessly.

When Rhode drew his weapon, the blue-robed mage was clearly taken aback by his stance.

Generally speaking, except for some mages of noble birth who were skilled with swords, the weapons mages carried were either magical weapons with special properties or merely symbols of resistance. A mage's true strength lay in their spells.

The blue-robed mage studied the black-robed enemy. Though he was dressed like a necromancer, the way he held his sword and the aura he gave off made it clear that he didn't intend to wield it as a mere symbol. He meant to fight with the blade in his hand.

According to the information he had received from the caravan leader, the two travelers had sensed something subtle and immediately identified the caravan's true cargo. They clearly knew a great deal about necromancers.

And during the journey, the blue-robed mage had also sensed that one of them had entered deep meditation. In his view, a mage capable of entering deep meditation without fearing interruption had to be exceptionally powerful.

So, like Yusuf, the blue-robed mage had concluded that the two travelers in the caravan were a necromancer and an undead creature under his control. They were headed to Dya for the reason he had given: to take part in the war.

Now, seeing the enemy—who was supposed to be a necromancer—draw a sword at the first opportunity, the blue-robed mage could no longer be sure what their profession was. If he wasn't a necromancer, was he a fallen warrior or a spirit-summoning swordsman...?

A trace of regret began to stir in the blue-robed mage's heart. If he had known the man wasn't a pure necromancer, and wasn't as powerful as he'd imagined, then perhaps he and the other members of the caravan could have killed them together.

Sizing up the mana he had left, the blue-robed mage raised his hand first, preparing to cast a spell.