Weakness??

The lounges in the Duel Arena of Number Nine Floating City were packed early on. As soon as news of an opening in any lounge was released, it would be reserved within five minutes.

The Duel City lounge has another rule: rooms are reserved for highly skilled duelists as a special privilege.

These rooms are generally not used because there aren't enough powerful duelists. The Champion Mage Preliminary Tournament system clearly states that only duelists ranked within the top 200 are considered highly skilled duelists.

Today, one such duelist applied for a reserved rest area in the Duel Arena because he came from another Floating City.

Lynn, who had been easily defeated by Fran earlier, and his uncle Caleb were also here, as they had been specially invited by the people who had applied for the lounge today.

Lynn looked at the tall figure opposite him and couldn't help but swallow hard.

The other party was not wearing a mage's robe, but rather a silver soft armor similar to that of Adventurer, with a blue sword hilt protruding from his waist and the longsword sheathed, but one could feel a Cold Air just by getting close.

Lynn knew the other person's name was Wyatt Field, an unremarkable first and last name with no special background, but many people would suddenly recognize him if he mentioned his achievements in Magic Duel.

Wyatt's name has become incredibly well-known in recent years, as he has achieved excellent results in several recent Champion Mage Challenge.

Caleb once commented on Wyatt to Lynn, saying that Wyatt's strength was enough to secure the title of Champion Mage, and even surpassed it in some aspects; he just lacked a bit of luck.

It was precisely this lack of luck that led Wyatt to achieve a best result of runner-up and a worst result of semi-finals in recent Champion Mage Challenge.

With his worst result of reaching the semi-finals in three consecutive tournaments, many people believe that Wyatt might now be one of the strongest in the world of Magic Duel.

After all, many duelists who were runners-up in the previous Champion Mage Challenge fell short of the Top Thirty-Two or even the top 50 in the second and subsequent tournaments.

Such a consistent record across several Main Tournament is rare in the entire history of the Champion Mage Challenge, and all mages like Wyatt eventually became champions without exception.

"Could you tell me about that mage who achieved a 25-game winning streak, no, it should be 26? After securing a spot in the Main Tournament, I feel it's necessary to duel with a player like that."

Wyatt had already secured a spot in the Main Tournament; he currently Contribution Points 218 points and was ranked 54th in the Preliminaries rounds.

He reached this position a year ago and hasn't played any more Contribution Points since then. He figured that having such a large Contribution Points in points wouldn't make a Contribution Points in the final Main Tournament, so he figured it was better to play more practice matches to develop his tactics.

A year ago, he was ranked in the teens with this Contribution Points, but now he has dropped to fifty-fourth.

Regardless, this ranking is enough to qualify for the Main Tournament.

He wanted to understand Fran's situation and also wanted to spar with such an opponent in advance to learn about her combat methods and obtain some key information.

Secondly, there was a personal reason on his part. Fran's Contribution Points was actually quite easy to guess because every day, mages would try to challenge Fran. Just by looking at the Contribution Points differences between those duelists, one could roughly estimate Fran's current Contribution Points.

Now that Fran has won 26 consecutive games today, she should have 180 points. This score is still quite far from enough to face him, and she is even more than 20 points away from qualifying for the Main Tournament.

For other duelists aiming for the Main Tournament, scoring those twenty-odd points wouldn't be easy, as other mages also want a spot in the Main Tournament.

Everyone wants it, so it'll be a fight to the death, a battle to see who's stronger.

But Wyatt also knew that at this rate, it would be very easy for Fran to secure a spot in the Main Tournament.

After reaching this level, Fran's winning time in duels didn't increase much; every match was 3-0, which is enough to demonstrate Fran's strength.

But what if Fran lost a round, or even a duel, at this point?

If her opponent wins a game, Fran can only score 3 points, which will greatly delay Fran's arrival in the Main Tournament.

If Fran loses a duel, her chances of securing a spot in the Main Tournament will only become more slim.

If Wyatt can do anything to stop Fran before the Main Tournament, it will be a huge benefit for him.

Regardless, having broken the winning streak record to such a terrifying degree, even the most arrogant Wyatt has to admit that he might not be a match for him.

This is bad news for Wyatt, because there can only be one Champion Mage, and there can't be a second one. The runner-up title is useless to Wyatt.

His best result this year, and the only one that can be considered good, was winning the championship and advancing to the third tier.

If Wyatt could use some means to keep Fran out of the Main Tournament, it would definitely be a good deal.

"Yes, Mage Wyatt, this might be a bit strange..."

Lynn began to recount his encounter with Fran and Fran ensuing battle. After listening, Wyatt looked utterly bewildered.

He frowned and began to compare the facts with the rumors circulating about Fran. To be honest, the facts Lynn told were relatively good compared to the increasingly exaggerated rumors.

Rumors are circulating that Fran can instantly cast second-tier spells without relying on any magical artifacts, thus eliminating her opponents.

Or perhaps Fran possesses three specially treated second-tier Spell Ring, which she uses in every duel to defeat her opponent in three rounds.

Or perhaps Fran possesses some special Talent that can interfere with a mage's spellcasting, causing a spell that normally takes three seconds to cast to take at least five seconds to succeed.

Compared to these rumors, the Fran that Lynn mentioned was only faster at casting spells, which was much more plausible, but in Wyatt's eyes, it was all a bunch of lies.

"What are you talking about? I've been fighting Magic Duel for so many years, and I've never seen a mage who can cast spells at a speed that other mages can't even use a shield for."

"I'm not like those mages outside, so easily fooled. In fact, those mages outside are probably just pretending to be ignorant."

Wyatt's tone was full of dissatisfaction, and he seemed to completely disbelieve Lynn's answer.

His serious expression put a lot of pressure on Lynn, almost as if he was about to bluntly ask if the mage had paid them to keep quiet.

Lynn's face froze. He didn't have much experience in situations where he spoke the truth but was misunderstood, and the person in front of him was a veteran in Magic Duel.

Caleb put his hand on Lynn's shoulder and then said to Wyatt:

"Master Wyatt, although I don't believe it either, my nephew's defeat and that guy's current 3-0 winning streak are enough to prove the point."

"You should put aside your previous prejudices and, like me, think carefully about how you would deal with your opponent if they really acted that way."

After hearing these words, Wyatt's expression changed, and a solemn look lingered on his face for a long time.

"If someone could actually cast spells at such a speed, even if they gained Talent in the Spirit Realm, it would be impossible, right?"

Caleb for Lynn to take a step back, shifting to the right to shield Lynn behind him, and then said:

"Who knows how she did it, but for you and me, isn't the really important thing to figure out why she was able to do it?"

Caleb paused for a moment before speaking the words he had been pondering for a long time.

"Master Wyatt, actually I've always wanted to cooperate with other mages, to test and find out that mage's true weakness."

"They were all too arrogant, believing they could win a game no matter what, but in the end, they accomplished nothing."

Caleb pointed to a table on the other side, where some freshly printed documents were displayed—all the information Caleb had found regarding the casting speed of Second Order Mage.

"According to the research on the maximum casting speed of Second Order Mage, a Second Order Mage with strong Mental Power and a deep understanding of spellcasting, with the blessing of relevant accelerated Spirit Realm Talent, the use of accelerated alchemical potions, and the coordinated casting of three mages, can only achieve a maximum casting time of 1.9 seconds for First Order spell."

"Based on Lynn's description, she used an absurd 1.8 seconds to Greater Fireball."

"This speed is simply against common sense; it's not a casting speed that a Second Order Mage could achieve."

"I even suspect that she used some illegal methods, but the screening of contestants only begins before the Main Tournament starts."

Caleb then changed the subject and continued.

"But I believe that there must be a corresponding price behind this bizarre casting speed."

"Although no one has yet discovered the exact price she paid, we can conduct targeted investigations."

"Those mages in the past didn't realize that if they could truly discover that mage's weakness, they could gain far more, so they refused to cooperate with me."

He looked at Wyatt and slowly made his suggestion.

"Master Wyatt, I imagine you're also struggling with this opponent. How about this: tomorrow, in your first two matches, use my method to gather some information about your opponent, and then do your best in the third match?"

Wyatt paused for a moment, then looked at Caleb and the documents on the table. It was clear that Caleb had some knowledge in this area.

"Can."