Abandonment

At 3 p. m., the performance time for the finals finally came to an end, and next up was the real final.

Fran seemed unconcerned, draped in a red robe embroidered with gold thread that a staff member had specially given her. The robe trailed long on the ground, and the shoulders were covered with snow-white fur.

This is the decoration used when the finalists enter, a tradition of the Champion Mage Challenge over the years.

Fran even received this robe-like thing for her outstanding performance, while her opponent today, Ferdinand, wore a jet-black coat with exquisite patterns engraved on it in light white lines.

These two styles of clothing have been passed down through the years of the Champion Mage Challenge. If the committee determines before the competition that someone has a higher chance of winning, that person will receive this expensive, cape-like garment. The style changes every year.

After walking through the corridor for a while, Fran and Ferdinand finally arrived at the final Duel Arena.

There are two or three square, light gray obstacles here, with a texture like Marble, which are probably some special alchemical materials.

Fran took off her heavy robes and threw them aside, revealing a very simple Elemental School mage's robe.

Ferdinand did the same, except that because his clothes were light and small, he was able to toss his coat into the air with a flourish.

However, Fran did pay some attention to Ferdinand's decorations.

At this moment, Ferdinand was dressed like a successful Adventurer, in leather clothing suitable for movement, slightly reflective, as if made of some precious Magic Creature material.

What is even more noteworthy is Ferdinand's belt at this time, which has several bottles of powder and liquid of different colors hanging on it, as well as a small Short Sword on his side and a small spike tucked behind his waist.

You can even vaguely see a bright silver light under the clothes; the checkered pattern is raised, as if there is a piece of chainmail underneath.

"How strange, Ferdinand's outfit today looks like he's going to hunt a dragon, not like he's going to have Magic Duel..."

"And ' Philly ' is dressed the same as always, wearing the same Elemental School mage robes she never wore before. Who can stop her from taking off that red robe? She looks completely unrecognizable now."

The commentators on stage kept analyzing the match, but in terms of the result, there wasn't much to analyze, since ' Philly's' poor performance left them speechless.

So they could only offer brief comments on the clothing and other aspects to fill this rather boring period.

At this moment, Fran and Ferdinand stood together, less than three meters apart, a rare opportunity for the two athletes to talk.

However, neither Fran nor Ferdinand seemed to be in the mood for conversation, letting the time slowly pass until the Referee attached the Shield Device to both of them.

"I will win." Ferdinand finally couldn't hold back and said this at the last moment before the match was about to begin.

Fran raised an eyebrow slightly, but made no further move, continuing to distance herself from Ferdinand without turning her head.

His words went unanswered, but Ferdinand didn't show any embarrassment; he simply remained in his place.

If he had the strength of ' Philly ', he would also be just as disrespectful to his opponents. Even Fran simply didn't care, and Ferdinand probably wanted to humiliate his opponent.

But it didn't matter. Ferdinand gripped the bottles at his waist, the secret to victory that he had prepared overnight.

He believed that as long as he used the Anti-Magic Edict, he would definitely win, but he needed to make some preparations.

For spells like this that haven't been tested in actual combat, it's inevitable that the casting process is complicated. He can't even release this decree in one round; it will require several rounds of effort.

Although in the rules of Magic Duel, spells cast in the current round must wait until their effects wear off or are actively canceled before the next round can begin.

Sometimes, players can even request to postpone the match until midnight just to make the effect of a certain spell completely disappear, which means that they have to cast the Anti-Magic Edict at the start of each game.

This might seem like it would only allow him to win one match, but the spells of the Law School have their own unique characteristics.

Just like the Law School spells that Fran possesses, which need to be cast according to the current environment, different environments will affect the effect of the Law.

The same applies to this Anti-Magic Edict; it won't be released directly to immediately disable all magical attacks on the field.

The Fourth Order version of this spell was developed after discussions within the Alliance Council, which specifically granted the Law School an edict to ban all spells in a certain area, thus enabling it to prevent Fourth Order spells.

Magic Duel are a competition format recognized by the Alliance, so his direct entry into the arena and casting Anti-Magic Edict had absolutely no effect.

Therefore, he must make the match less legitimate. He will use some borderline methods to ensure that he is not forced to leave the Duel Arena, while also undermining the legitimacy of the match.

The bottles and jars he carried were for this purpose; none of the items inside were actually 'legal' in this context.

He might even be questioned by Investigator for two or three days after the match, but he would be willing to do so as long as he could win the final victory.

If he makes this match slightly less 'legal,' he can use the Anti-Magic Edict at the start of every subsequent match.

Of course, casting and maintaining such spells also consumes energy. After casting it in the third round, he would request a rest period, and Russell would try various means to extend his rest period.

Having come this far, he naturally doesn't want to accept defeat.

The first defeat happened almost instantly.

The Referee signaled the start of the match, and Fran, not one to mince words, immediately channeled two Greater Fireball in quick succession.

According to the rules of Magic Duel, if Shield Spell is triggered three times in a match, the mage is immediately declared the loser.

This was a aspect Fran hadn't considered before; she only figured it out right before the finals.

Although your opponent can wear two Shield Spell Ring, there's no way they could have a third, and they probably wouldn't even wear a third one.

Her single Greater Fireball can break through a First Order shield and activate the next one. Although it may not necessarily break through all three shields at once, she wins as soon as the third shield appears.

However, her timing was a bit too tight. After all, the time it took her to cast two Greater Fireball was just a little longer than the time it took to cast one spell wheel. If her opponent channeled a shield immediately, then she would lose the gamble.

Of course, most people who want to win wouldn't do that. Every mage who fought Fran believed that casting a shield on themselves while the Triggered Shield Spell was active was a waste of an opportunity.

No shield could withstand the Pyroblast after two Elemental Conversion; no one could cast it within ten seconds of entering the field, while Fran only needed five seconds to unleash the enhanced Pyroblast from the start of the Elemental Conversion.

Ferdinand did not channel a shield, nor a flight spell, nor an attack spell; he simply removed the bottles from his belt.

The bottle containing the red liquid was thrown directly to the ground. Upon contact with the ground, the color faded, turning into a dangerous dark purple.

With his other hand, he unscrewed the bottle of blue powder, leaned forward, and flicked it at Fran, scattering the blue powder in the air.

"What is Ferdinand doing? Isn't he Channeling Spell?"

"This tactic... He's not even a member of the Alchemy School, why would he use this tactic?"

Ferdinand's actions left the commentators and viewers, including Fran, somewhat puzzled, as it didn't seem like a normal play at all.

However, Fran didn't pay any attention, because the huge fireball had already rushed in front of Ferdinand, and the ring on his hand lit up with a pale yellow light.

The purple liquid on the ground seemed to react to the extremely high heat, inexplicably gathering together, but the amount was too small, and it eventually disappeared in the explosion, just like the blue powder.

Before Ferdinand's eyes, besides the sky filled with black smoke, there was also the purple mist produced by the intense heat burning the purple liquid on the ground, mixed in with the black mist, with only a few wisps visible.

He took a step back, avoiding the purple mist, and before the black smoke dissipated, he sniffed his sleeve, where there was some blue powder.

"According to the Alliance's regulations, no individual mage may possess the Mind Poison, not even a single drop; such possession will result in at least seven days of imprisonment..."

"I deliberately colored this highly toxic substance, and then used Greater Fireball to erase all traces."

"Psychic Enhancement Drug were banned by the Champion Mage Committee a long time ago, stipulating that a mage would be disqualified from the competition if ten grams were detected."

"I didn't ingest it directly; I sprinkled it in the air. However, some of it ended up on my sleeve, and the ones in the air were to make up the ten-gram amount."

These are all illegal acts, but since they are happening on the field, there is no direct evidence. They are all swallowed up by the Greater Fireball, and no one even notices them. However, the violation of the law is undeniable.

These will all help him use the Anti-Magic Edict.

Ferdinand's scheme wasn't over yet, because that wasn't enough. He still had a green solid jar on hand, and he needed to throw that away to complete the task.

But at that moment, Fran's second Greater Fireball had already hit his face. His shield couldn't hold, and finally, the dark green shield unfolded, and he lost the first match.

"My God... what am I watching? Ferdinand did absolutely nothing in this match..."

The commentator complained from above, but the audience continued to cheer. "Fran always wins like this anyway," one commentator remarked, "What difference does it make how her opponents lose?"

The second match started quickly, and this time the commentators understood Ferdinand's actions, but their shock came from a slightly different angle.

"My God! He splashed some potent Emerald Yellow Solution on them! That's a regulation the Alliance only recently introduced to control, and no tournament organizer would dare allow him to do that during a game."

"Has he lost his mind? Even if this won't affect his upcoming matches, he might face three days of detention after the competition..."

Ferdinand lost the match again, and his actions on the field prompted a brief questioning from the committee, to which he merely smiled and offered no response.

He had made all the preparations, and the entire duel was somehow illegitimate in every way.

He will go undefeated in the next five matches and win the Champion Mage.