A Wizard’s Secret

Merlin left the arena merrily. Many Spell Casters were still rather stunned. From the first round, Merlin had always spent only a short time to finish his battles.

In the first round, Lania had cast Darkness Vortex. Upon seeing that it did not affect Merlin, he had surrendered immediately. Nonetheless, Lania was not considered powerful so it did not attract much attention.

It was different for this second round. Terra Fort was a medium-sized spell casters’ organization, and Bergs had formidable capabilities along with a unique battle style. There were many Spell Casters who had thought that Bergs would be able to enter the third round or even the fourth round. However, no one had thought that upon meeting Merlin who merely cast one spell, Bergs would admit defeat.

If they had not witnessed this themselves, no one would have believed this! Moreover, even if they had seen it with their own eyes, there were many who still had their doubts. Darkness Vortex was only a Third-level spell. Although Darkness spells were extraordinary, a Spell Caster like Bergs would surely have Mind Power that was far above his own level, reaching the standard of the Fourth-level or even the Fifth-level. Most Darkness spells would not worry Bergs.

However, Bergs had surrendered when Merlin had merely cast Darkness Vortex. The process of their battle appeared rather calm, and could not compare to the other loud, intense battles in the arena.

“What happened there? Why did Bergs suddenly admit defeat?”

“Bergs’ powers are formidable indeed. I can’t guarantee victory if I were to go up against him. I’ve seen Darkness Vortex before as well. How could it cause Bergs to surrender automatically?”

An expression of doubt had appeared on the faces of some Spell Casters from Miracle City. Only an extremely small percentage of onlookers were able to discern the mystery that had occurred in the battle between Merlin and Bergs.

“Pandora Demon Ability, Darkness Heart!”

Suddenly, the Miracle Child who had been resting his eyes, wearing a calm expression, spoke slowly, pointing out the marvel that had occurred.

“Darkness Heart? It’s the legendary Darkness Heart. This Merlin had cultivated Darkness Heart – it’s not surprising that Bergs is no match for him!”

Upon hearing what the Miracle Child had said, many Spell Casters of Miracle City suddenly caught on to what happened. They blindly worshiped the Miracle Child, so naturally, they would not doubt what he had said.

After he finished speaking, the Miracle Child gazed deeply at Merlin, following which he closed his eyes once more.

“Hmm?”

Merlin seemed to sense something and turned around abruptly. He stared into the distance. There, he saw the Miracle Child who had closed his eyes in rest.

“Have I caught his attention? Still, it’s a good thing. Sooner or later, I’ll have to face the Miracle Child!”

Merlin mumbled in a low voice. He was apprehensive about the Miracle Child. Even though his abilities had greatly improved, there was no guarantee that he could defeat the Miracle Child. His goal was to go up against the Miracle Child, and this summit was a good opportunity to do that.

Besides the Miracle Child, Bellach from Shadow Thorn had begun to notice Merlin as well. Merlin, who had cultivated Darkness Heart and constructed the Third-level Darkness spell, Darkness Vortex, was powerful enough for Bellach to take a good look at him.

“Darkness Heart – for Mind Power below the Sixth-level, he would be undefeatable!”

Bellach from Shadow Thorn seemed to understand Darkness Heart well, and his eyes flashed uneasily. Nonetheless, he remained rather calm at that moment. Merlin, who possessed Darkness Heart, was merely worthy of his attention for now. If one were to threaten Bellach, relying on just Darkness Heart would be insufficient!

Similar to Bellach, Bratu from Blacksand Fort looked toward Merlin, and his face grew solemn as well. During each summit, a few genius Spell Casters would appear out of the blue – after all, this was the purpose of the summit. Currently, it looked like Merlin was one of those geniuses.

The two Spell Casters from Blacksand Fort, who had anticipated that Bergs would teach Merlin a lesson, were now experiencing something different from the other Spell Casters’ bewilderment. Seeing that Bergs had surrendered, their jaws went slack, and they did not recover from their shock for a long time.

“Impossible, it’s impossible… Sheer luck, that fool must have lucked out.”

These two Spell Casters from Blacksand Fort muttered to themselves, but they did not even believe what they themselves were saying…

…

Soon enough, the third round began. Merlin started to look toward the arena. After all, those who were able to make it to the third round were generally Wizards from medium-sized spell casters’ organizations. They were the ones who were worthy of bearing the label of “genius”.

One must not judge these Spell Casters for being merely at the Third-level. These individuals suppressed their own ranks deliberately, delaying their construction of Fourth-level spells in order to cultivate more Pandora Demon Abilities. There were also some who were studying special forms of alchemy, and in the process of accumulating powers.

Nonetheless, these Spell Casters had one thing in common – if they were to go up against most Fourth-level or even Fifth-level or Sixth-level Spell Casters, they would win the battle. Once they became a Fourth-level Spell Caster, their abilities would be upgraded.

This small number of a few dozen individuals would become the most powerful Spell Casters of the future in the entire southern Spell Caster world!

If a Spell Caster’s strength could be evaluated according to factors such as the complexity of spells, the number of Elements, the Pandora Demon Abilities cultivated, the power of alchemy, and the depth of runology, Spell Casters who were able to break through to the third round were generally Four-Elemental Spell Casters at least.

Of course, some of them had constructed Pandora Demon Abilities, but Pandora Demon Abilities which could be fused with spells were rare. Even though these were prodigious Spell Casters, it was uncommon to cultivate Pandora Demon Abilities that could be fused into spells.

Thus, the current battles in the arena were clearly more sensational than the previous two rounds. Various spells, Pandora Demon Abilities, Runic Magic Circles, wondrous alchemy products, and so on, were displayed one after another in the arena.

Soon enough, it was Merlin’s turn once more. This time, his opponent was a Wizard from a medium-sized spell casters’ organization, who had also cultivated many Pandora Demon Abilities. Nevertheless, this Wizard was not even as powerful as Bergs for it was not Pandora Demon Abilities which could be fused with spells, but was instead like Merlin’s Glacial Finger. They were merely the simplest, weakest type of Pandora Demon Abilities.

It was easy for Merlin to make his move. He cast Darkness Vortex immediately, pulling his opponent into an illusion.

Once a Spell Caster was caught in an illusion, their hands were essentially tied. Therefore, Spell Casters who had no way of resisting Merlin’s Darkness Vortex could only surrender by default.

In the third round, Merlin won!

In the fourth round, Merlin won!

In the fifth round, Merlin won!

…

Merlin entered five rounds in succession. From the third round onward, his strategy was simple – he would cast Darkness Vortex. Still, no Spell Caster was able to withstand this straightforward spell.

Therefore, up until the fifth round, no Spell Caster was able to stop Merlin from progressing. Merlin defeated his opponents in a single move using only a short time, second only to the Miracle Child!

Even Bratu from Blacksand Fort and Bellach from Shadow Thorn – the two Spell Casters acknowledged to be able to challenge the Miracle Child, lost out to Merlin in terms of battle time alone.

Of course, the might of one’s power could not be determined solely by how long it took to defeat an opponent. Nonetheless, this was an indirect indication of Merlin’s strength. Back then, not even Kleis had made it to the fifth round all in one go.

“It’s already the fifth round. Wizard Merlin, you’re at the center of everyone’s attention!”

Wizard Sarah appeared overjoyed. The Dark Magic Region was only a small-sized spell casters’ organization and did not have much of a presence in a summit like this to begin with. Many Spell Casters had not even heard of the Dark Magic Region when it was first mentioned.

However, this time around, the name of the Dark Magic Region had circulated widely throughout the world of Spell Casters. Among them, large-sized, medium-sized, and in particular small-sized spell casters’ organizations were making discreet inquiries to learn about the Dark Magic Region and Merlin.

Since the past centuries, it was the first time someone like Merlin, a Wizard from a small spell casters’ organization, had made it to the fifth round of the summit. This was an exceptional honor! Those who were from the Dark Magic Region had faces glowing with the pride they felt.

Conversely, Merlin’s heart was calm and steady. It was already the fifth round, but he still had not encountered Bratu, Bellach or the Miracle Child.

These three individuals were Merlin’s current targets, especially the Miracle Child. He was the strongest among the younger generation of Spell Casters in the entire southern Spell Caster world. Merlin longed to battle against a truly genius Spell Caster like him.

Nevertheless, he must get past the sixth round first. After the sixth round, there would be only four Spell Casters left. At that point, Merlin would have a higher chance of going up against the Miracle Child and the other two.

“For the sixth round – Wizard Merlin from the Dark Magic Region and Wizard Ferradi from the Wind Region!”

As soon as the Host Wizard spoke, the crowd began their fervent discussions. It was unlike the previous few rounds when Merlin’s appearance in the arena was of no interest to anyone.

Having gone through the third, fourth, and fifth round, Merlin had only cast Darkness Vortex. There was no one who could withstand this attack. Therefore, as soon as Merlin appeared now, he would attract the attention and discussions of many Spell Casters.

Among them, there were many who wanted to see if there was anyone who could resist Merlin’s Darkness Vortex. In other words, was there anyone who could shatter Merlin’s Darkness Vortex?

“Whoosh.”

A light breeze passed by. There was a draft in the great hall – this was rather strange for the hall was sealed tight.

Merlin narrowed his eyes slightly. He had just felt a wave of Wind Elemental fluctuations. It had come from Ferradi from the Wind Region, his current opponent standing opposite him in the arena.

The Wind Region specialized in Wind-type spells, especially Wind-type Speed spells. The Wind Region could be considered as a distinguished group among all spell casters’ organizations.

The Wind Region itself had great strength with many Ninth-level Spell Casters, but because it had not produced any Great Wizard, it was presently considered a medium-sized spell casters’ organization.

However, the overall might of the Wind Region was superior to many large spell casters’ organizations, discounting the Great Wizards. Thus, even large spell casters’ organizations held the Wind Region in high regard.

Naturally, the Spell Caster prodigies from the Wind Region would be extremely powerful. Ferradi was outstanding even among the Spell Casters from the Wind Region.

“Whoosh.”

As soon as the Host Wizard gave the signal to begin, a gale appeared and began devastating the arena. It was like a tornado, whistling as it spun toward Merlin.

Furthermore, Ferradi was very quick. In the blink of an eye, he had sped forward and appeared before Merlin.

“I’ve watched a few battles of yours. I know you’ve cultivated Darkness Heart and can cast powerful Darkness spells. I’ll concede that I’ll be unable to resist your Darkness spells. However, with me around, you won’t have a chance to cast it!”

Ferradi appeared to be of utmost confidence. He had secretly observed Merlin for a long time, then combined that knowledge with his greatest strength. With him at his top speed, Merlin did not even have the time to cast his Darkness spell.

Without the Darkness spell, as far as Ferradi could tell, Merlin was simply just an ordinary Third-level Spell Caster who was easy to deal with!

“Oh no, Wizard Merlin has underestimated his opponent, allowing Ferradi to get close. With Ferradi’s speed, Wizard Merlin has no chance to cast his Darkness spell at all!”

“Indeed, Wizard Merlin’s strategy has been seen through. Without Darkness spells, he’s no match for Wizard Ferradi at all. Ferradi is able to take advantage of Wizard Merlin’s weakness, making a preemptive strike so that Merlin doesn’t even have the chance to cast Darkness spells. He was well prepared indeed. I’m afraid that Wizard Merlin will have to stop at the sixth round!”

Spell Casters who had made it to the fifth round were all impressive. If one fell a step behind, then one would lag behind at every step. Merlin, having lost his chance, was already halfway to defeat.

“Hoo hoo hoo…”

In Wizard Ferradi’s hand, gusts of windstorm gathered rapidly with greater speed and more terrifying force. They whistled as they whizzed toward Merlin, engulfing him in a violent windstorm in an instant.