Something Wasn’t Right

"Mm."

Avila’s answer was exceptionally simple. Just as when she had answered the referee’s question about whether she was ready, her tone remained as calm and indifferent as ever.

As though it were only natural, yet that attitude made Josh’s expression grow even more frustrated. He was basically certain now—he had been set up!

At that moment, an image suddenly popped into Josh’s mind—a rather comical-looking Baldy saying to an upright, righteous-looking man, "I thought only someone like me would betray us. Who would’ve thought a thick-browed, big-eyed guy like you would betray us too?"

Fine, the betrayal bit was nonsense, and Josh himself wasn’t Baldy. He was just wondering—wasn’t he supposed to be the one setting people up? How had he ended up getting set up instead? And by an elf, no less?

Josh’s expression became even more serious. There was nothing he could do about having been set up; after all, he was always thinking of ways to set others up himself.

Besides, this female elf probably hadn’t intended to set anyone up. She had merely been forced into a corner by him and had no choice but to reveal her other abilities, right?

Much like Josh, Avila had initially only used a single type of power. Josh had even deliberately kept his strength roughly equal to his opponent’s in order to mislead everyone else. It was only when he could no longer keep up the act that he had gradually revealed his true strength.

The ability Josh had revealed was that of an opposing dual-element mage. After all, he liked the phrase "ice and fire," and he knew just how rare and difficult to cultivate such mages were in this world. He had deliberately made himself one.

There was another type of person as extreme as Josh. Their path forward was no easier than that of an opposing dual-element mage—the people who cultivated both Battle Qi and magic at the same time!

There were actually quite a few such people on Muya Continent, far more than opposing dual-element mages.

Yet the number of them who could truly make it and continue growing was about the same as the number of opposing dual-element mages.

The reason was simple: it was too difficult! Magic and Battle Qi were not incapable of coexisting. In fact, it had been proven that their fundamental nature was ultimately the same.

Both were weapons capable of providing incomparably powerful energy, as well as medicine that elevated one’s level of life.

Cultivating just one was already an enormous boost to one’s life level. But what if one cultivated both at once? The answer really was one plus one equaled two!

It was already fortunate enough that the two did not conflict. Did anyone seriously expect the result to be greater than two?

But even equaling two was terrifying enough. A normal Third Tier professional could live for three hundred years, but someone who cultivated both Battle Qi and magic could live for six hundred. How unbelievable was that?

Note that it had to be simultaneous cultivation. Otherwise, there would be no effect at all; one’s life would only gravitate toward the higher of the two.

However, cultivating both simultaneously meant that they pulled against each other, making growth exceptionally slow. This was similar to opposing dual-element mages, but once they grew powerful, their strength was not so easily understood.

"Damn it, magic in the left hand and a sword in the right—wasn’t that the sort of thing only novel protagonists got with their plot armor? And I actually ran into one?"

Josh cursed inwardly. Worse still, his opponent was an elf ranger.

Josh had long experienced how terrifying an elf ranger’s speed could be. He could barely defend himself against it, but now this woman could not only use her speed and Battle Qi to ambush him, she could even blast him with a spell every so often. It was enough to make Josh want to cry without tears.

"Did I run into this world’s chosen one?"

Josh had no idea whether such a thing as a chosen one truly existed, but he felt that if nothing unexpected happened, this woman would most likely become one of the most formidable people on the continent in the future.

Just think about it. She was an elf, gifted and long-lived, and now she cultivated both magic and martial arts. At such a young age, she had already reached the Sixth Tier in both. If that wasn’t a protagonist, what was?

With a sigh, Josh stopped thinking about it.

If he seriously considered it, his luck was probably countless times better than this woman’s. Void Magic alone surpassed her by who knew how much, not to mention that he had found the ancient primordial god of this world in the Wizard World—Akathosh, the Sky Wing. No one could really compare to that kind of luck.

"Either way, I wasn’t planning to hold back. I’ll just fight seriously!"

As Josh thought while remaining on guard, he had already figured it out. Why care so much? He would do whatever he had to do. It was not as though he lacked ways to deal with her. If things truly went badly, then for the sake of those ten thousand gold coins, he could simply turn into an Iron Turtle. If she had the guts, she could try breaking through something protected by four elements!

Having made up his mind, Josh naturally had no intention of being polite. Magic power surged as he immediately cast Elemental Light Wings, gently lifting himself into the air. At the same time, the power of the four elements within the Elemental Light Wings continuously flowed into his body, and Josh launched an attack at Avila.

The next moment, the entire arena was filled with flames flickering like afterimages, with ice and floods intertwining.

Every spectator now stared blankly at the battle. It had completely exceeded their expectations. In their eyes, this match had even surpassed every previous tournament they had witnessed.

It was not as though Sixth Tier professionals had never participated in past tournaments, but never before had a battle been this intense!

An opposing dual-element mage and a ranger who cultivated both Battle Qi and magic—what a terrifying sight!

Josh’s status as an opposing dual-element mage was already shocking enough. Now an elf who cultivated both magic and martial arts had appeared as well. These spectators and the rulers of the other kingdoms could only marvel: were all members of the Four Great Empires’ royal families monsters?

"I never expected little Avila to grow to this extent. It’s unbelievable. She actually succeeded."

Black sighed in heartfelt amazement. Just as Ilka understood Josh, he understood Avila. He knew exactly how difficult the path this girl had chosen was.

"Isn’t that brat Josh the same? His path is just as difficult, yet hasn’t he succeeded as well?"

Ilka smiled. He was proud of his daughter, but Josh was equally worthy of praise. Having been treated as trash for more than a decade and still managing to rise as one of the younger generation’s brightest talents—anyone would praise such a person.

"I say, why don’t you just let these two kids get together? Watching you two praise each other’s children is disgusting. It’s not even as interesting as that Magic Cinema Josh came up with."

Borot watched the two praise each other’s children, and it made her somewhat unhappy. After all, all of her sons had been eliminated.

Moreover, Borot felt there was nothing wrong with her idea. Wouldn’t it be better for two monsters to be together?

"Avila has her own ideas. I will not interfere with her choice." Ilka smiled faintly upon hearing Borot’s words.

Black also smiled and replied, "Josh is still young. We can talk about it later."

Borot rolled her eyes, too lazy to bother with those two tall fellows.

They turned their attention back to the arena and began watching the match intently. Although a competition like this truly meant little to them, watching the children fight their hardest was still a pleasant feeling—just like when their fathers had watched them from the stands in their youth.

Inside the arena, Josh and Avila could now be considered to be going all out.

Josh’s clever use of Fire element magic and Ice element magic was immensely powerful, but Avila was no pushover. Both her magic and Battle Qi were Sixth Tier, making Josh feel as though he were fighting two people.

It was like a warrior and a mage with exceptional coordination were beating him up together. Whenever Josh used Frost Magic to try to control Avila, she neutralized it with Battle Qi. Whenever he used Fire element magic, Avila blocked it with a Magic Shield.

That was not even the worst part. The key was that this woman’s speed, combined with her Battle Qi, constantly threatened Josh.

Several times, Josh cast a spell at Avila only for it to miss. She would slip behind him and directly shatter his Magic Shield. By the time Josh’s Ring of Frost spread over her, she had already retreated. Then, when Josh blasted her with Fire element magic and she had nowhere to dodge, Avila would use both Magic Shield and Battle Qi together.

After blocking Josh’s attack, she would casually send several water dragons charging at him, forcing Josh to gather another Magic Shield to defend himself.

This repeated back-and-forth was an extremely severe test of Josh’s magic power.

Fortunately, Josh had never intended to hold back and had activated his Elemental Light Wings long ago.

Otherwise, he simply could not compete with this woman who was born with "two mana bars." When her magic power ran out, she could use Battle Qi. When her Battle Qi ran out, she could use magic power. As long as she had stamina, Avila could keep fighting Josh indefinitely. And would a ranger ever lack stamina?

I used to think I was the one with cheats, but now I see my cheat functions are too weak. The other side spent more money than me.

After forcibly enduring another of Avila’s attacks, Josh’s Magic Shield shattered again.

He had no idea how many times that had happened already. Ever since he had become capable of properly using magic, this was the first time his Magic Shield had been broken so many times—and all by the same person.

It greatly annoyed Josh. When he could not use Void Shield, the strength of his Magic Shield truly disappointed him.

He could not help wondering what would happen if he used the Earth element. Shaking his head, Josh could not be bothered to think about such troublesome matters.

Since the battle had reached this point, Josh was basically certain that he would not be able to deal with this woman without using Seraph.

His magic simply could not lock onto her, and this woman ran faster than a flea. Josh truly had no good way to handle her. So he could only make it impossible for her to break through his defenses, then slowly think of something else.

"Seriously, why are women these days getting fiercer and fiercer?"

Josh flew through the air, dodging this woman’s attack once more, before descending.

There was no point staying in the air any longer. This woman always had some way to attack him. On top of that, she possessed the Wind element, so rushing into the air for a short time posed no problem for her and did not consume much power. Josh had no desire to make himself suffer further.

Besides, Josh’s Seraph had not evolved enough to be used together with Elemental Light Wings. Rather than fall from the sky, he might as well come down himself.

With a casual motion, he dispersed the Elemental Light Wings. He had already used up most of the magic power within them, and he had no intention of maintaining them with his own magic power.

His descent puzzled Avila. At first, she thought Josh intended to surrender, but when she saw him casually cast a Magic Shield around himself, Avila knew that the young prince of the Augustus Empire had no intention of giving up.

Battle Qi gathered. Although Avila had also expended a great deal of power through her relentless attacks, she possessed two equally potent and abundant sources of strength. She could continue fighting without issue.

Still, she had not expected this human prince to be so powerful as well. That made things rather interesting.

Like Josh, she had no habit of wasting words during battle. Better still, unlike Josh, she did not let her mind wander during a fight. Once she spotted an opening, she would not miss it!

In an instant, her Battle Qi finished gathering, and Avila launched another attack at Josh. Yet this time, she felt that something was not quite right.