Sniper

Fran had already achieved a remarkable 3-0 winning streak in the Duel Arena, and by the ninth match, she clearly felt that her fighting style had become famous among Magic Duel.

Anyway, after the sixth match, almost everyone would wear First Order Shield Spell Ring to prevent her from being killed by a single Greater Fireball.

Some have even begun to counter her second wave of attacks, using movement to dodge, [Counter Shield] to close the distance, and tearing apart three scrolls simultaneously to cast a Greater Fireball spell...

Of course, thanks to her extremely fast casting speed, by the time those mages had cast two rounds of spells, she had already thrown out almost her fourth spell.

This difference in casting speed makes it almost impossible for the opponent to mount an effective counterattack.

Even during the confrontation, Fran did not use her flight ability, because she felt it was best not to reveal too much information.

She needs to win at least 30 matches with a 3-0 record. Although there is a Magic Duel to play almost every day now, she still thinks that if she can be matched with a mage, she can only play a maximum of 30 matches by the end.

Therefore, Fran must make the most of every duel, and she must try her best to win every duel in order to enter the Main Tournament.

Now, in addition to the urgency of time, there is also the pressure of battle.

Her numerical mechanics are indeed far superior to other mages, but other seasoned Magic Duel are not to be underestimated either.

As information about her combat abilities gradually leaked out, she could foresee that she would face increasing targeting in the future.

Magic Duel are different from real-world battles; otherwise, any mage could cast a dozen or so trigger spells on themselves, and Fran would have to grind for at least a minute to defeat her opponent.

This restricts the wearing of trigger-based equipment, allowing Fran to defeat her opponents quickly through rapid spellcasting.

Similarly, this also limits Fran's margin for error. Now, if Fran is hit by a single First Order spell from her opponent on the Battlefield, she will be defeated.

This is the enduring appeal of Magic Duel in the Alliance: the rules make the outcome of duels unpredictable and difficult to discern, allowing weaker opponents to secure victory through strategic planning.

This is why the final Champion Mage can advance to the third tier, rather than the winner of some unlimited mage battle.

The latter contestants didn't just put on a dozen or so layers of triggered shields, but over fifty, plus a bunch of rings with instant-cast spells... A single battle could result in the loss of tens or even hundreds of Gold Coin.

This setup is unlike anything a normal mage could achieve; in fact, it would be even more dangerous outside of the Alliance.

Because these trigger shields and instant-cast Spell Ring require additional Mental Power to maintain, like in a battle against an unrestricted mage, it's estimated that Mental Power would be exhausted after about two hours.

Getting back to the main point, there will be even more targeted attacks against Fran in future Magic Duel. She can already imagine many mages using her habits to constantly engage in targeted battles and eventually win a round against her.

Therefore, Fran needs to conceal her unrevealed combat methods as much as possible in order to prepare for the constant targeting by mages in the future.

Furthermore, in order to cope with Magic Duel, she must continue to improve her combat power to increase her margin for error.

She'll need to bring that baseball bat with her from now on, just in case the opponent tries to rush her in or tries to interfere with her spellcasting. Having a handy weapon will also increase her margin for error.

She also followed her opponent's example and wore three rings with First Order Enhanced Shield Spell trigger Spell Ring to prevent her opponent from blocking her First Order spells and then throwing another First Order spell at her.

"The Spell Crystal on the Floating City that can record First Order spells are too expensive, costing a full 40 Gold Coin, which is 7 Gold Coin more expensive than what I bought in the City of Apprentices."

She even discovered a loophole in the current rules of Magic Duel: while the use of many magical equipment is restricted, the use of rune weapons is very lenient.

The problem is that current rune weapons are really quite useless, and most mages don't value their effectiveness.

Fran, having mastered Ancient Rune, can create rune equipment with more functions, and is not limited to weapons.

"Find some time to work on the Lord of Shadows's runes, engrave them on the boots to enhance speed and stealth."

This was something she had planned to do, but because the Adventurers Guild's request was delayed, she had to put it on hold for the time being.

But things are different on the Floating City. Although the mages sell goods and transmit information in a more abstract way, relying on social interaction, they definitely have a lot of good goods.

Here, not only are there basic materials for Second Order Demonic Beast available, but even finished boots are sold by mages. If she spends a little more time, she should be able to find suitable ones.

"And the Elephant of Mountains rune... I'll find some time to buy a decent amount of special metal and then craft one myself..."

Just as Fran was engrossed in her ideas for upgrading weapons and equipment, a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Hello, duelist with ID XXXXXX, your duel request has been accepted."

Fran looked up, a mixture of satisfaction and surprise on her face, and asked the familiar staff member:

"Why so fast this time?"

In the past, although her duel requests were usually accepted, they were often accepted closer to evening or the next morning.

She just submitted her new duel request, and it was accepted in less than ten minutes?

The staff member scratched his head and then explained to Fran:

"As long as a qualified mage comes here, I will issue a duel challenge to them... and just after you came out and submitted your duel challenge to me, a mage came up."

"According to the rules, I definitely have to grant the other party a duel invitation; it's my duty."

Fran frowned slightly. After listening to the staff member's words, she felt that something was definitely wrong.

How could someone arrive at the staff's office right after she submitted her application, and it just so happens that the person was a mage whose score was in the same range as hers?

This might be a coincidence, but calling it a coincidence doesn't quite make sense.

If it wasn't a coincidence, then the mage must have specifically come to challenge her to a Magic Duel.

Fran's eyes darted around, not quite understanding why the other person was doing this.

She's riding high right now; challenging her to Magic Duel is practically handing her a free win.

In the end, Fran decided that as long as she was prepared, it didn't matter why the mage had come to fight her in Magic Duel. As long as she could continue to defeat her opponent 3-0, it was not important.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Duel Arena, a mage excitedly knocked on the door of the lounge, and then, without waiting for permission, pushed the door open and went inside.

"Warren, what are you doing? What's wrong with you?"

Warren ignored the remark, sat down directly, and explained to his mage friend in the lounge:

"Everyone look over here, see what I got... a competition record."

Harvey, whom Fran had met at her first banquet, was also here. He narrowed his eyes, saw the contents of the match record, and said with some surprise:

"That must be that mage who's been making waves lately... Looks like she won her ninth match 3-0, and the next one will be her tenth."

Upon hearing Harvey's explanation, some mages in the lounge were shocked that there was a mage in the world who could achieve a nine-game winning streak in the Preliminaries, with each game being a 3-0 victory.

"Damn, nine consecutive wins! If I had nine consecutive wins, I could brag about it until I'm old, let alone all of them being 3-0."

"I remember the highest winning streak for Champion Mage across all competitions is sixteen, right? This nine-game winning streak is quite impressive even in the Preliminaries."

"Both are 3-0, this definitely breaks the record for the longest 3-0 winning streak. I remember the record is only six games..."

However, some mages realized that although the facts were undeniable and somewhat shocking, they wondered where this competition record came from.

"Warren, you didn't end up facing this guy, did you?"

Warren smiled and nodded, then said:

"Yes, I specifically waited until her duel was over before going to the front desk... I knew she submits her duel request for the next afternoon to the front desk immediately after her duel ends every day."

The lounge fell silent for a moment, until one of the monks couldn't hold back any longer and said:

"Warren, are you stupid? Do you think you can beat a mage who can achieve this? Don't tell me you want to become their tenth 3-0, or have some kind of fetish for collecting these kinds of achievements?"

"Exactly, even Harvey might not be able to beat her."

Harvey's ranking of 493rd was the highest among them, so the mage used Harvey as a comparison.

Harvey's lips curled slightly upward, but he said nothing.

Warren, still smiling, explained to his friends:

"You guys are only concerned with those short-term scores. What time is it now? Even if we lose ten points, it won't affect the final funding and subsidies we receive."

Warren paused for a moment, then continued:

"I know she is an extremely powerful Magic Duel. Even if I give it my all and use up all my Mental Power in a single match, I might not be able to defeat her."

"But my goal isn't to beat her, but to win as many games as possible and break her 3-0 winning streak."

"With her performance, she'll definitely be at the level of the Main Tournament. Even if she doesn't have time this time, she'll definitely make it to the next Preliminaries..."

"She might even win the championship."

"And what if, during her Preliminaries, a mage broke her 3-0 winning streak?"

"The mages will not only write down her name, but also the name of the one who interrupted her 3-0 lead."

"And I am prepared for this."

Silence fell again in the lounge. The mages who were sitting there abandoned their idea of mocking Warren. Some regretted not thinking of this sooner, while others began to look forward to Warren's defeat so that they could step in and help Warren seize this opportunity.

Although reputation is a somewhat abstract concept, it must be said that most famous Magic Duel receive relatively good financial support.

And most of the Magic Duel who achieved good results in the end were also famous Magic Duel.

Like a Black Horse, someone who was unknown beforehand but suddenly emerged in the Main Tournament is a situation that has rarely been seen in the entire history of the Champion Mage Challenge.