Chapter 1377 Partings <TOC> Chapter 1379 The Perilous Mountain Giant
Translator: SumTLMan
After departing from the Bliss Pavilion, Angel found himself at Infinite Battle Tower.
His initial intention was to bid farewell to Shalem.
Yet to his surprise, when he arrived, the combat schedule revealed that Shalem was still engaged in a match.
Angel pondered, having spent some time in the Research Institute and then in the Bliss Pavilion, was Shalem’s sixth floor advancement match still underway?
Upon closer inspection, Angel realized that Shalem’s current battle wasn’t the sixth floor advancement match. He had reached the seventh floor of Sky Tower.
Curiosity piqued, Angel wondered if Shalem had been fighting consecutively. But what intrigued him more was the fact that this seventh floor match was open for spectators?!
Angel remembered that non-essential matches within Sky Tower were not typically open to viewers. An advancement match being public was understandable, but why was Shalem’s very first seventh floor match open to an audience?
With these questions swirling in his mind, Angel purchased a ticket and entered the spectator area.
By the time Angel entered, the match was already halfway through. He quickly noted that the venue was packed to the rafters with spectators.
Looking up at the stage, it was clear as day and night. On one side, Shalem was shrouded in darkness, his silhouette faintly visible.
On the contrasting side, a domain of ice existed, where a man in a silvery-white cloak stood, the frozen dragon beneath his feet. Snowflakes dotted his attire, fluttering as the chilly breeze brushed against them, giving him a regal and carefree appearance.
Taking a seat towards the back, Angel strained his ears to catch snippets of conversation, finally understanding why this particular match was a public spectacle.
In the annals of competitive advancement, Shalem’s tale is one for the ages.
Fortune smiled upon Shalem, especially during his advancement match in the sixth floor. His adversary, for reasons shrouded in mystery, failed to make a timely appearance, and thus, Shalem serendipitously ascended without breaking a sweat.
Basking in his effortless victory, Shalem’s ambition was piqued, tempting him to test the waters of the seventh floor.
Yet, perhaps his lucky streak had run its course during the advancement. In this subsequent match, he was pitted against a formidable opponent——
Sauriel, known by the moniker “Pure White Nightmare,” the cream of the crop amongst ice elemental apprentices!
A prestigious wizard faction under the Frost Moon Alliance, he hailed from——The Winter Academy.
The battle, albeit not for advancement, garnered a sea of spectators and even opened its gates for public viewing. The magnetism of this duel was primarily because of Sauriel, a prodigious talent spotlighted by Dietrich, the chief editor of —City Firefly’s Night Whisper— as a future star in the making!
A mere twenty-five years of age, Sauriel had rocketed to the zenith of apprenticeship in a decade. Dietrich prophesied that, given Sauriel’s prodigious talents, he could very likely be recognized as a formal wizard before his thirtieth birthday.
On the pages of certain tabloids, he even ranked twenty-first on the “Novastar Competition Potential List”!
Blessed with innate power, a future brimming with promise, and complemented by his striking appearance, Sauriel had no shortage of admirers.
For a duel of this magnitude, guaranteed to be a ticket-selling juggernaut, Sky Tower officials naturally opened their gates for spectators.
Upon discerning the intricacies of the matchup, Angel, with a burgeoning interest, tuned in to witness the clash.
A short while into the battle, he discerned that Sauriel indeed lived up to his reputation as a rising star. His mastery wasn’t limited to ice spells alone; he was adept in various other mysterious spells. His foundational strength was so profound that even Angel felt it might overshadow his own.
Each of his responses could be described as textbook-perfect in execution.
Angel couldn’t help but continuously sing his praises.
However, although Sauriel performed solidly, his fans in the stands seemed enveloped in a cloud of gloom. The main reason? They found it hard to fathom Sauriel’s opponent.
Hidden within the shadows, Shalem made it impossible for Sauriel to land any effective strikes. Sauriel could only await an attack from Shalem to find an opening to retaliate.
After yet another failed attempt to breach the darkness, Sauriel coldly remarked, “So you’ve become one with the shadows now?”
Laughter echoed from Shalem, concealed deep within the dark, making it impossible for anyone to pinpoint his exact location.
After repeated attempts and futile counters, Sauriel seemed to muster his resolve, channeling an immense surge of magical power.
Upon witnessing this, Angel instantly grasped Sauriel’s intention — to launch a large-scale magic attack, directly confronting Shalem’s shadow embodiment.
On reflection, Sauriel’s strategy made sense. As Shalem was only a second level apprentice, he was well aware that his magic power reserve was not as vast as Sauriel’s. If the battle wasn’t concluded quickly, Shalem’s primary tactic would be to drain Sauriel’s magic.
He had always adopted this approach in their previous battles.
However, once Sauriel unleashed his expansive magical barrage encompassing all of Shalem’s shadowy avatars, Shalem would be forced to directly face Sauriel’s onslaught.
Given a similar situation, any transcendent being not adept at countering dark spells would likely make a similar decision.
In the depths of Angel’s thoughts, a curiosity lingered: Was Shalem already aware of what would unfold, expecting Sauriel’s grand display? Or was Shalem simply waiting for Sauriel to unveil his extensive tricks?
After all, Shalem’s strategy aimed at depleting Sauriel’s magic reserves, and grand-scale tricks would inevitably drain a significant chunk of magic.
If Sauriel kept up with such performances, his reservoir of magic would naturally run dry.
But the crux of this strategy rested upon Shalem’s ability to withstand these sweeping attacks.
As Angel pondered, the ice dragon beneath Sauriel shattered into countless fragments, raining down like a fierce storm upon the shadowy avatar.
Once, twice… five times in succession.
Shalem withstood each attack, yet the shadowy avatar began to falter. Observing this, Sauriel’s complexion grew pale, his magical prowess nearing its end.
“How can it be? Why can his dark avatar endure so much?” An astonished murmur echoed from the audience.
Angel too, was intrigued, but he sensed that the tide of this duel would soon turn. Would Sauriel prevail, or could Shalem endure till the end?
Grinding his teeth, Sauriel unleashed another wide-ranging assault.
As the myriad of icy shards plummeted, Shalem’s shadowy avatar finally shattered. A glint of triumph flashed in Sauriel’s eyes, but it quickly faded as the avatar dissipated, making his pupils contract.
The reason behind Shalem’s enduring resilience was finally revealed — intricate runes surfaced on Shalem’s skin, forming a translucent protective shield, holding off the icy barrage.
Upon witnessing the intricate runes, an astonished gleam overtook Sauriel’s eyes, “The Aegis of the Wise? Such symbols are the hallmark of a Sage Constitution. Are you truly gifted with the Sage Body?”
Sauriel’s revelation sent ripples of shock throughout the audience, all eyes now fixated on Shalem.
The Sage Body — a trait of extreme rarity, a diamond in the rough— had emerged in this Novastar Competition? Moreover, how had someone with this prodigious gift remained an enigma until now?
The air was thick with collective gasps.
Journalists who had come specifically to report on Sauriel’s match were particularly agog. What was meant to be a mere report on a budding talent had evolved into a revelation about a contestant with the coveted Sage’s Body!
Setting aside the audience’s reaction for a moment, the spotlight returned to the arena.
Despite his remarkable gifts, Shalem was a notch below Sauriel in terms of power. He might have held his ground, but he was now immobilized.
Sauriel stood, giving Shalem a complex gaze. He hadn’t anticipated being pushed to the brink by a mere second level apprentice. Nonetheless, he took solace in the fact that the tide had not turned against him.
Raising a finger, Sauriel prepared to unleash a devastating blow to ensure Shalem’s defeat. Yet, upon reflection, he retracted his hand. Shalem, after all, possessed the Sage Body, and who knew what powerful allies lurked in the shadows? Best not to burn bridges unnecessarily.
Instead, Sauriel transitioned from finger to palm, summoning a gentle breeze to usher Shalem out of the ring.
However, just as the zephyr began its work, a melodious female voice chimed from behind Sauriel, “Oh dear, seems I must be the key to victory.”
Sauriel whirled around, only to find a thick tome floating mysteriously behind him. The book’s pages began to flutter until settling on one particular page. Emerging partially from it was an elegant lady, who, without hesitation, thrust her hand directly towards Sauriel’s chest.
“The contest has drawn to its conclusion——”
A radiant flash of light!
The announcement of the contest’s end echoed right after the light.
With unwavering confidence, Black Canon believed victory was in his grasp. Yet, in the end, it was Sauriel who claimed triumph.
Why? Because at that pivotal moment, Sauriel deployed a Frost Prison spell, encasing himself securely on the platform.
That particular Frost Prison spell was Sauriel’s trump card, known for its instantaneous cast from his Spell Position.
Shalem, unfortunately, met his downfall as he was whisked off the stage by a relentless breeze.
Sauriel hadn’t expected that a spell he initially used for defense would become the linchpin of his success. However, having drained his magic reserves, he was momentarily trapped in his ice prison, subjected to the curious gazes of onlookers from atop the stage.
Though the duel lacked some flair, it brought to the fore an unheralded contender who now stood out as a promising dark horse.
One could anticipate that post this showdown, Shalem’s name would be on everyone’s lips.
Such Sage Body power is already a rarity, not to mention Shalem nearly unseating Sauriel from his pedestal.
From Shalem’s vantage, what was presumed to be an ill-fated match might be viewed as a boon in building his reputation.
Of course, that’s a tale for another day.
Post-match, Angel had intended to personally bid Shalem farewell. Yet, drained of his magical energy, Shalem slipped into a self-healing slumber as soon as the duel concluded.
According to the medical team, this rest might extend for a couple of days.
Left with no other choice, Angel conveyed his parting words to Black Canon, entrusting him to relay the message to Shalem once he awoke.
Chapter 1377 Partings <TOC> Chapter 1379 The Perilous Mountain Giant