Summoning an elemental spirit was not difficult. Set up a summoning circle and pour in some mana, and one would appear.
The magical bracers used to bind them were easy to make, too.
An entire supply chain had already developed around these things, with ready-made materials available for purchase.
Etch an Arcane Field restraint onto a magic crystal, add a magic array for relaying commands, and the magical bracer was complete.
Making this little thing posed no challenge to Herad.
But he did not make his binding device into a bracer.
Besides, the bracer design mages used was really nothing more than a set of shackles!
Herad made a hollow mithril cube that could be taken apart.
He set a purple magic crystal inside the cube, then etched intricate Arcane Runes onto it.
The finished product looked like a flashy puzzle cube.
Even after a discount, the mithril and magic crystal used to make this binding device cost six hundred gold coins.
In terms of material costs alone, it was more expensive than an arcane golem!
After all, an arcane golem only required a magic crystal and a small amount of enchanting materials.
Its main body was made of cheap granite.
Mages were certainly willing to spend money to bind elemental spirits as hired muscle!
Herad laid out an elemental summoning circle using powdered magical materials.
Then he placed the puzzle cube at the center of the circle.
All that remained was to summon an elemental spirit straight into the trap.
When the planet had first formed, elemental spirits had lived happily in this world of primordial chaos.
That lasted until the Titans, experts at reshaping planets, took an interest in this world with its extraordinary potential.
The Titans subdued all the elemental spirits, then imprisoned them in the Elemental Plane, which they had created specifically for them.
The environment of the Elemental Plane suited elemental spirits very well.
But these original inhabitants of the planet preferred to wander around on the planet itself.
Naturally, the Titans did not like these unruly brats running wild across the planet.
With their extraordinary wisdom, the Titans set up wards to prevent elemental spirits from escaping.
But every ward had its loopholes.
If someone on the planet summoned an elemental spirit, they could still pull it over.
If the Titans had seen Herad's summoning ritual, they would surely have slapped him into pulp.
Unfortunately, the Titans had left hundreds of thousands of years ago.
The keepers the Titans left behind had also become embroiled in infighting or defected to the enemy.
Naturally, no one was around to stop spellcasters from helping prisoners break out.
As the summoning ritual reached completion, arcs of electricity flickered within the summoning circle.
Then something intangible slipped into the puzzle cube, quickly becoming a whirlwind crackling with lightning.
This was an air elemental, something almost no mage would choose.
Even shamans, who specialized in summoning elemental creatures, rarely chose these odd-tempered fellows.
The fully formed air elemental stood less than two meters tall, making it one of the weaker types.
But this was a summoning target Herad had carefully selected after considering every factor.
If someone without sufficient strength forcibly summoned a powerful elemental spirit, they could die without even knowing what had hit them.
During the War of the Three Hammers several centuries ago, the king of the Dark Iron Dwarves had been blinded by hatred and forcibly summoned the Firelord to help him take revenge.
Then a chain of volcanoes erupted from underground, devastating an area of over a hundred thousand square kilometers.
Every human in that region died. Only the Dark Iron Dwarves, with their high resistance to fire, survived, enslaved by the Firelord for generations.
He had failed to take revenge on the other Dwarf clans and doomed innocent humans instead.
His own clan had also become slaves, with almost no chance of ever escaping their fate.
That was the price of recklessly summoning a powerful being!
Cautious as he was, Herad would never do anything so stupid.
He had not even chosen an elite air elemental, settling for an ordinary one.
He only needed some support, and an ordinary air elemental was enough.
Though it was only an ordinary air elemental, it was still a troublesome opponent.
Its body was composed of intangible wind, rendering physical attacks completely useless.
If it slowed its winds, suppressed the lightning energy within its body, and hid the puzzle cube behind a rock, no one could spot it with the naked eye.
Once an enemy approached, it could suddenly pounce, envelop them, and discharge electricity. The fight would end quickly.
Even against mages, it could fire lightning balls from a distance.
Lightning attacks were effective against every kind of spell shield.
That was the main reason Herad had chosen an air elemental.
Air elementals were wild and unruly by nature.
But after he gave this one a thorough dressing-down, it immediately became obedient.
The saying that a wise person knew when to yield was perfectly embodied by this air elemental!
Following the instructions Herad relayed to it, the whirlwind crackling with electrical arcs performed all sorts of tricks with wind and lightning.
In combat, it could create an updraft beneath an enemy's feet, send them flying, then administer a round of electrotherapy to cure their internet addiction.
That combination would surely leave any enemy thoroughly compliant!
Herad dismissed the air elemental's manifested form, leaving a puzzle cube imbued with powerful air elemental energy.
When he arrived at the arena after lunch, the quarterfinal matchups had already been announced.
His opponent this round was a beautiful woman considerably stronger than Kelson, reportedly on the verge of becoming an intermediate mage.
His opponent was nothing special, so Herad handed his freshly made puzzle cube to Sylvanas for safekeeping.
Sylvanas studied the gently hovering puzzle cube for quite a while before realizing what it was.
Isn't this just a magical bracer with a different appearance?
He only went home for lunch, and he's already prepared an elemental summon?
Several capable gamblers nearby saw the puzzle cube Herad handed to Sylvanas and hurried off to place bets in the little time remaining.
Summoning elemental spirits might seem simple, but it required an intermediate mage.
How could an Apprentice Mage fight an intermediate mage?
Thinking of how Herad had concealed his strength earlier, those gamblers seethed with anger.
But the next three rounds were their chance to make a fortune.
This fellow who was so good at putting on an act had a much better chance of winning the championship than that other contender!
In truth, concealing one's strength also required a cooperative opponent.
If someone faced a strong opponent early on, they could not hide their strength even if they wanted to.
When Herad stepped into the arena, the beauty opposite him looked him over coldly.
"So you're the one who beat Kelson? You don't look all that impressive!"
Most High Elves liked to pursue glamorous appearances.
Although Herad was good-looking, that did not count in her assessment.
After all, High Elves were generally attractive.
Handsome men and beautiful women were everywhere on the streets.
When judging others, High Elves paid more attention to the dazzling colors of their clothes.
Aside from rangers, whose need for camouflage meant their clothes were mostly green, other professions favored vivid reds and purples.
Herad's blue mage robes were clearly far too understated.
But he did not care in the slightest.
After glancing at the beautiful mage's flat chest, he gestured for her to attack first.
The beautiful mage thought their strength was fairly close.
Being allowed to strike first meant a better chance of victory.
As someone on the very brink of becoming an intermediate mage, her goal was to reach the semifinals, and ideally the final.
In her view, a place in the semifinals was practically guaranteed!
She had watched Herad's previous match and knew he was skilled with both fire and arcane magic.
So she activated a general-purpose spell shield.
As the pale blue spell shield rose around her, flames also flared in the beautiful mage's hands.
The beautiful mage was highly practiced at forming fireballs.
In the blink of an eye, her fireball had already taken shape.
Her casting speed was slightly faster than Kelson's, at roughly one and a half seconds.
After taking a fireball and gauging her casting speed, Herad calmly formed a fireball to retaliate.
He did not increase his casting speed any further.
He simply maintained a casting speed close to the beautiful mage's.
Compared with the fierce battle of annihilation in the neighboring arena, this deadlocked war of attrition was utterly unremarkable.
Yet the gamblers who knew a little of the inside story had only one thought at that moment.
This guy is downright devious. He's fleecing people again!
But I like it!
Before you continue