Chapter Fifty: Dagger, Part One

An Ice Arrow coalesced and shot toward the vampire, who was devouring flesh and blood not far away.

The blue-robed mage knew that the vampire was the easiest target to kill right now. Since it was badly wounded, he had tried to kill it with an Ice Arrow earlier, but the shield had blocked the attack.

Now the blue-robed mage cast another spell at the vampire, but the distance was too great, and the alert vampire dodged the Ice Arrow.

Realizing that the blue-robed mage wouldn't let the vampire recover in peace, Rhode charged forward with his sword.

The blue-robed mage raised a hand and cast Great Slowing Spell, immediately reducing Rhode's speed. Then he tore open a scroll, and a horizontal wall of fire rose from the ground, blocking the way between Rhode and the blue-robed mage.

The distance was considerable, and the blue-robed mage was worried his enemies would dodge. He also wanted to conserve his mana, so he didn't cast a damaging spell.

The Fire Wall obstructed Rhode's view. Of course, he wasn't about to charge straight through it, so he planned to go around it.

Just as Rhode was about to emerge from beyond the Fire Wall, he suddenly thought of something and stopped in his tracks. Instead, he ran toward the other side of the flames. An Ice Arrow streaked past the spot where he had been about to cross.

If Rhode had tried to go around the Fire Wall directly, the Ice Arrow would have hit him.

There was still some distance between Rhode and the blue-robed mage. Rhode saw that the mage had turned his attention toward him, but he didn't rush to charge. Instead, he stayed behind the Fire Wall, taking advantage of the flames obstructing both sides' vision to give the vampire time to recover.

Through the Mental Mark, Rhode knew that the vampire couldn't even withstand a single Ice Arrow from the blue-robed mage. After dodging the mage's attack, the vampire followed Rhode's instructions and returned to the dead horse to keep devouring its flesh.

The blue-robed mage was at a loss. The vampire was too far away, and of all the spells he knew, only Ice Arrow and Magic Arrow could reach it. The others wouldn't be very effective at that distance. Besides, the vampire could dodge the spells he cast from so far away.

The blue-robed mage had no choice but to turn his attention to Rhode. He took another scroll from his pocket and tore it open.

Behind the Fire Wall, Rhode felt the solid ground beneath his feet suddenly soften, as though he had stepped on something. He looked down and saw, in the light of the flames, that the earth had turned into yellow sand.

Rhode immediately realized this was the effect of the second-tier spell Quicksand Trap. The spell could turn ordinary ground into quicksand, and anyone caught in it would be swallowed whole.

The sand had only just appeared beneath his feet, so Rhode twisted his body and used his momentum to roll several times across the ground, escaping the quicksand. His black robe was covered in yellow sand, but he clearly had no time to care.

Seeing the blue-robed mage prepare to tear open another spell scroll, Rhode gave the vampire in the distance an order. The vampire immediately charged at the mage.

When the blue-robed mage saw the vampire charging toward him, he decided to prioritize the badly wounded creature and leave Rhode alone for the moment.

By then, the Fire Wall's duration had ended. The ground had turned to quicksand, and once the flames had burned through the dead branches, they went out on their own, leaving only a faint glow.

Rhode realized that the scrolls the blue-robed mage was using had all been prepared by the merchant caravan. Since spell scrolls cost a considerable amount of gold, these scrolls were geared more toward fighting in a group.

The various spells contained in the scrolls, like Fire Wall and Quicksand Trap, were far more effective in a chaotic melee than against a single opponent.

That was why the blue-robed mage hadn't used these scrolls at the start of the battle, when the merchant caravan was facing only the vampire. If there was just one enemy, using these scrolls would only hinder the caravan members.

Now, with little mana left, the blue-robed mage couldn't afford to worry about the scrolls' value. He had to use them.

When he saw the vampire charging at him again, the blue-robed mage raised a hand, ready to cast a spell. But the vampire suddenly stopped short and prepared to dodge to either side.

Without a melee fighter to hold the enemy in place, it would be difficult for the blue-robed mage to hit an opponent who was intent on dodging with spells alone.

The blue-robed mage was helpless. At this distance, if the vampire focused on avoiding his spells, casting them would only waste his mana.

Realizing that his enemies were trying to exhaust his mana this way, the blue-robed mage understood that if his spells continued to have no effect, he would die once his mana ran out.

After thinking it over, the blue-robed mage made up his mind. He gave up on casting spells and instead took a dagger from his pocket. He would use it to deal with the vampire's close-range attacks, then look for an opportunity to cast a spell.

The blue-robed mage held the dagger in his right hand and gripped it with his left. The immense force drove it deep into his palm. Blood welled up, only to be absorbed by the dagger in an instant.

After absorbing the blood, the dagger began to radiate a vivid red glow. Whether from pain or some other cause, a fierce expression spread across the blue-robed mage's face in the crimson light.

Seeing the blue-robed mage stop casting spells, the vampire seized the opportunity and rushed forward, reaching out with its sharp claws.

The blue-robed mage yanked the dagger from his left hand. After absorbing the blood, it had become exceptionally sharp. And because he had gripped it so tightly, pulling it free sheared off the four fingers of his left hand at the base. The dagger's red glow burned brighter.

The vampire's claws clashed with the dagger and were instantly severed. As he swung the weapon, the blue-robed mage raised his left hand, which now had only a thumb remaining. An Ice Arrow coalesced in his palm and shot toward the vampire.

The vampire knew all too well how much damage a spell could inflict at close range. When it saw the Ice Arrow fly toward it, it didn't dare take the hit and chose to transform into a bat. Seeing this, the blue-robed mage raised his hand to cast Ice Magic Ring.

Suddenly, the dagger in the blue-robed mage's hand pulled hard, twisting his body and cutting through the sword that had come at him from the side. Rhode had seized an opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

As the sword was cut in two, Rhode saw the blue-robed mage's face. The pain and anger that had been there were gone, replaced by a fanatical grin.