Roach is a spellcaster at the Constellation Academy, and a rare melee Mage specializing in fire magic. He is tall and strong, with exaggeratedly bulging muscles that are barely concealed by his loose Mage robes, their outlines faintly visible.
Now, having once again overcome a difficult opponent and reached the 326th step, Roach faces a new adversary.
As golden clouds gathered, Roach focused his gaze and saw a tall, stern-faced young man with steel feathers wrapped around his fists slowly walking towards him amidst the swirling mist.
His body was surrounded by interwoven blue and purple light, like thunder and lightning, with immense power.
"Lancelot!" Roach's eyes widened. He really hadn't expected that he would randomly encounter Lancelot's energy projection.
After a moment of stunned silence, Roach's expression hardened.
"That's fine, let me see your strength."
Having reached this point, Roach fully understood the significance of the 409th step.
He had no hope of defeating Lancelot himself, but the energy projection was different.
On the Holy Sword Stairway, the combat power of Tier One is limited to a certain range, rarely exceeding it.
If I can't beat your real body, I can at least beat your projection?
The thought involuntarily surfaced in Roach's mind.
With that thought, he flicked his staff, and a half-meter-long blade shot out from the top, the fire patterns releasing a blazing red light.
The staff had transformed into a long spear engulfed in flames.
Buzz!!
The air rippled, and within the Golden Cloud Space, Roach took a deep breath and launched the first attack.
At the same time, Lancelot's projection also charged forward with a fist, and an invisible sense of oppression silently spread out.
Roach's eyelids twitched as he sensed a bone-chilling danger.
"The projection is this powerful?"
Roach gripped his flamethrower tightly, his eyes narrowed slightly, staring intently at Lancelot, while simultaneously unleashing his full sensory power.
The next moment, Roach's eyes showed even greater caution.
In his perception, the boy in front of him was no longer a person, but rather a violent and ferocious thunder beast, slowly reviving, opening its eyes, and indifferently looking down at him from the sky.
Majestic and domineering!
Boom!!
Thunder roared, Lancelot pounced swiftly. Roach's eyes lit up, igniting flames.
The two were now face to face; there was no other option but to attack!
Brush!
He thrust the flame gun forward, creating a vortex of flame Duomi in diameter centered on the tip. The fierce Berserk flames transformed into the shapes of various ferocious beasts, roaring and emitting dazzling Iridescent Light.
As Roach's spear flashed like a dragon, Lancelot's energy projection also unleashed Iron Fist.
In mid-air, figures crisscrossed, fists clashing with gun tips, sparks flying everywhere.
Clang!
A sudden explosion occurred, like layers upon layers of thunderstorms, with the shockwaves from the violent collision spreading outwards in layers.
The moment the weapons clashed, Roach's expression changed drastically.
Under that punch, his flamethrower was bent and broken. The burning flames were suppressed by some unimaginable force, flickering on and off. Furthermore, extremely sharp bolts of electricity climbed up the shaft of the spear, trying to penetrate the equipment and attack his body.
"Why are his close-combat and Energy Manipulation skills so strong?" Roach wondered.
But soon, he had no time to think. Lancelot's storm of attacks forced him to fight with all his might just to barely parry.
A dozen seconds later, Roach's clothes and hair were disheveled, blood was coming from the corner of his mouth, and he had serious injuries in many parts of his body.
"That's fucking amazing..."
Roach's lips curled into a bitter smile as he stared in a daze at the tall young man attacking him again.
Unexpectedly, I couldn't even beat someone else's projection.
Bang!
With a powerful punch, Roach's advance came to an end.
"Someone else has come out!"
More and more people gathered around the Holy Sword Stairway, causing Roach had just stepped out, to pause slightly in surprise.
"Roach, how's it going? What level are you on?" A fellow student from the Constellation Academy came up to ask.
"Step 326."
Roach responded in a muffled voice, feeling very bad after being defeated by Lancelot's projection.
Ignoring everyone else, he hugged his staff and went to an open space to rest with his eyes closed.
His aloof demeanor, clearly indicating he wanted to keep people at arm's length, deterred his companion from speaking further.
As time passed, students from the three major academies emerged from the Holy Sword Stairway, each with a grim expression.
The first thing many people did upon emerging was to look at Lancelot in the crowd, their eyes filled with admiration and deep shock.
Only those who have conquered the Holy Sword Stairway can truly understand the significance of step 409. To date, the best student to emerge from this challenge has only reached step 351 – the difference is enormous.
"Well!"
A familiar sigh came, and Roach opened his eyes. It was his good buddy William.
"William, what rank did you reach?" Roach asked.
"Step 332." William sighed again, his expression sorrowful.
"That's already pretty good; I'm only at level 326," Roach comforted him.
"I'm fine with everything else, but guess who defeated me?" William asked with a bitter face.
Upon seeing this, Roach felt a surge of familiarity and tentatively asked, "You weren't defeated by Lancelot's projection too, were you?"
""(º Д º*)?" William exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be that you are also...?"
Seeing this, Roach, for some reason, suddenly felt much better, his previously depressed mood brightened, and a smile appeared on his face.
As the saying goes, one's own failure is certainly frustrating, but one's brother's failure is something to be happy about.
William glanced at his best friend, instantly understanding his thoughts. He rolled his eyes, turned away, and didn't want to talk to this guy.
With his mood improving, Roach stopped remaining silent and began to actively inquire about the battle situation of the others.
But as he investigated more and more people, his expression began to become strange.
Because Roach discovered a problem.
That means there are probably quite a few people who were defeated by Lancelot's projection!