Chapter 43: Mage’s gambit

"Mana?!"

"Mana!!"

Both the composed Sophia and the aggressive William exhibited visible changes in their expressions.

The shock was so big that it made the guild leader take a step back while sweat gathered on her forehead.

Not only was she now at the risk of losing her bet, but she also found herself unable to figure something out.

'Which kind of mage moves like that??'

It wasn't just her who wanted to know the answer to this question; William, whose attacks had been deftly evaded by Hans, had regarded the fellow as a skilled warrior, capable enough to force him to utilize his aura was also wondering the same.

And now, the fellow realized that his opponent was a mage.

"Judging from the mana emanating from him, he must be a medium-ranking mage, perhaps about Rank-C, no, maybe even a Rank-B," William muttered in disbelief.

"There are only two possibilities: either my senses are playing tricks on me, or there's something off about this kid."

Their reaction seemed excessive for merely sensing mana from someone they thought of as a warrior, and indeed it wasn't solely because of that.

Hans seized the perfect opportunity to gain the upper hand in the mental battle between him and his opponent by releasing not only his aura but also the passive skill {Fearsome}, granted by his overpowered equipment.

[The skill {Fearsome} has affected 1 person, inflicting upon him the status of {Slight Fear}.]

Under the effects of {Slight Fear}, William's stats were reduced by 10%, making him more vulnerable.

And thus, the real fight finally commenced.

Hans took the initiative and was the first one to launch an attack.

{Fire Burst}

A hot and fast flame was conjured on Hans's palm before being hurled flying towards his opponent, who had recovered from his daze and defended himself from the attack by slicing it with his long spear that was enveloped in earth aura.

Undeterred, Hans took it up a notch and cast the 2nd Tier spell {Fire Arena} followed by {Greater Fireball}, shooting it with the intention of repelling his sparring opponent.

Even if it wasn't as fast as the previous attack, this spell was many times stronger and potent, forcing William to dodge instead of taking it head-on or trying to slash it.

BAMMM!

As the spell reached the wall and broke, it unleashed all the heat and the fire within, creating a shockwave that was as strong as the one caused by William's spear, if not more.

The spell was so strong that the structure of the wall changed a bit, some of it began melting due to the effect.

William turned around to look at the wall that wasn't in its best state anymore and realized the peril he would face if he got hit by that spell himself, 'Sh*t, I've got to make sure to avoid that.'

The battle raged on, but Hans didn't stop casting {Fire Burst} and {Greater Fireball}, conjuring at least a spell or two every second. His opponent struggled to get close, preoccupied with identifying which one of the two spells was coming at him while trying his best to avoid the powerful one and cutting the rest in half.

Although a Tier 2 spell definitely wouldn't have been able to bring him down, the damage accumulated over time during the battle posed a significant threat.

The fight continued this way for another thirty seconds with the spearman exerting all his might to quicken his pace and close the distance. However, whenever William neared his opponent, Hans simply countered by casting more extra spells and sending them his way.

Hans, who was still casting countless spells and had almost used up a third of his mana due to the constant barrage so far, decided to stop the onslaught of the useless spells and unleashed a more formidable one– a spell that had proved its efficacy just a few moments after its creation, helping him battle and defend himself against the ice king that once dwelt in the glacier.

{Fire Javelin}

Seeing a fast spell, the vice guild master mistook it for a standard {Flame Burst} and braced himself to take it head-on, trying to intercept it with his spear from above.

One should know that the power of a normal Tier-3 spell was the same as one of the strongest attacks from a D-Rank knight. However, the spell Hans cast just now was far from being normal, it was cast with an enormous quantity of his mana that boosted the firepower and was also further upgraded thanks to his {Fire Arena} and under the effect of his ring.

In other words, the force behind it rivaled that of an ultimate move from a peak C-Rank warrior, if not a low B-Rank warrior.

Taking it head-on with a normal hit, William was sent flying off the stage.

Actually, it wasn't just that; he was effectively slammed against the wall that was more than a couple of meters away, somewhat cracking it a little.

Sophia, who had been watching the battle from the start, couldn't even manage to catch him; unfortunately, agility wasn't her strong suit and she remained frozen in shock.

Hans walked past her and remarked, "Pleasure betting with you. I expect you to honor your words and take my side in five days."

Even after Hans departed, Sophia remained motionless.

Meanwhile, William quickly got back on his feet; for someone with his endurance, the attack wasn't life-threatening.

Sophia was really surprised, more than being surprised by the fact that Hans was a fire mage or being surprised by the smart play he had pulled out in order to force William down from the sparring platform, she was surprised about something else.

For the first time in her life, she had lost a bet and she had lost to a kid at that.

She had let an artifact she coveted get away from her and didn't even manage to graze her fingers on it.

Meanwhile, William picked up his spear and walked beside Sophia before bowing apologetically.

"I apologize, I underestimated his strength as a mage; I should've dodged all those spells instead of trying to slash some to get close to him."

She looked at him for a moment before letting out a sigh.

"Haaa…. don't worry, it's not your fault, your opponent this time was a bit exceptional."

"Maybe, it's time for me to stop with these stupid bets"

While she was saying that, William pondered hard about what was about to happen.

'Damn it, someone ten years younger than me managed to overpower me in a head-on battle, which by the way should also have been disadvantageous for people with a mage class such as him.'

'What a shame, truly, what a shame. But still, he must be young and inexperienced, when he joins the guild, I'll be sure to serve as a proper senior and teach him everything I know about the gates, maybe I should also teach him my spearmanship; then I would become the master of a magic warrior.'

"Madam, when will he join our guild and what position will he hold? If it's not a problem, I would like to take him under myself and be his mentor," William asked.

However, all his hopes were shattered by the woman's response, who touched her forehead with her palm before saying, "Don't even dream about it, William. The guy you just sparred with will be crowned the association's branch leader of Chicago in a few days and his authority will be equivalent to if not superior to mine."

While she walked out, still reflecting on the duel she had just witnessed, the vice guild master remained stunned in place, his heavy spear dropping to the ground.

"An 18.. years-old… association.. branch leader…"

"And I just fought someone like thaaat????"

His head was set ablaze, save for a couple of degrees away from exploding.

Meanwhile, Hans made his way towards the bus stop, his body aching a bit and feeling a slight headache due to having exerted himself and used almost half of his mana in that small duration battle.

"Now I only need to convince the Asura Guild and then I will obtain all the smaller guild's guild masters' votes who will try to gain the favor of the three big clans and the new association branch leader, or in other words, me."

"But first, I need a break."