Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 93 Life and Death

"ha!"

Rivers scoffed, his tone dripping with sarcasm, "Even at this point, you're still playing these sycophantic tricks."

As he spoke, Rivers's face contorted with rage, and he gritted his teeth, "You used this same trick to suck up to Ira Smith of the Advanced Institute, which is how you got re-elected, isn't it?"

Upon hearing this, Antoine Hilton's expression grew even more unpleasant.

Today, he has suffered a huge setback and lost all face.

Rivers practically stripped him naked.

If Rivers continues, he'll probably lose every good impression he has in Paro Wizard's mind.

"If you're going to fight, then fight! Stop talking nonsense!"

Antoine Hilton interrupted Rivers' verbal sparring, getting a little impatient and losing his composure.

Peter Lionel stopped pretending to ask Paro the Wizard's opinion and gave a direct look to Soren Lucia, the male wizard whose appearance bore a resemblance to Sophie Lucia.

Soren Lucia understood and immediately notified the arena staff.

Besides the central arena where life-or-death duels are taking place, the Flesh and Blood Arena also has several smaller fighting rings for distinguished guests to settle their private disputes.

The arena was completely enclosed, with no spectators present. Only designated private boxes allowed viewers to watch the fight in real time.

Peter Lionel had been planning this for a long time and had booked one well in advance for the second thing today.

Two staff members arrived quickly and had a clear division of labor: one led Rivers and Antoine away, while the other adjusted the glass window into a large screen.

Soon after, the screen showed an empty battle arena.

Although it's called a small arena, it actually covers an area of ​​nearly 200 square meters.

While waiting, Link began to review the many things that had happened that day.

Judging from the current results, his hunch was both right and wrong.

The wizard Paro did have something for him to do, but it wasn't the horse race-like battle he expected; it was a bet about a competition between the two districts.

Perhaps it's because the "New Blood Mutual Aid Association" didn't develop any promising talents in the first year;

After all, Lanny Taylor, who was ranked first in both qualifications and grades, was a loner and did not join any apprenticeship organization;

Molly Kidman, who ranked sixth overall, joined the team but then left.

Five men with impressive qualifications and achievements not only quit the association after being brutally beaten, but also began targeting members of the "New Blood Mutual Aid Association" in various ways.

The other new recruits who ranked in the top ten each found their own affiliation and joined other apprenticeship organizations.

"Pureblood Will," an apprenticeship organization that focuses on developing among local wizarding apprentices in the North Campus, surpasses "New Blood Mutual Aid Association" not only in terms of the quality of its members but also in terms of resources.

In the past two regional competitions, the members of "Pureblood Will" have performed slightly better than the members of "New Blood Mutual Aid Association".

With the "New Blood Mutual Aid Association" operating poorly and lacking strong first-year members, Link became an indispensable outside helper.

This relieved Link's tension considerably.

He was going to participate in the competition between the two districts anyway, and having multiple betting agreements wouldn't affect him at all.

As long as it's not a battle against an unknown opponent, that's fine!

At this moment, Rivers and Antoine appeared on opposite sides of the ring on the screen.

There was no host, no referee, and no rules.

Battle is imminent.

We'll find out who lives and who dies soon!

On the arena.

Rivers launched a preemptive attack, gaining the upper hand.

The secondary explosive fireball was thrown out with a flick of the wrist.

A fireball the size of a human head, blazing with intense flames, hurtled toward Antoine Hilton.

It was a grand affair, and the speed was astounding.

During the flight, sparks scattered everywhere, covering the arena.

Antoine Hilton did not dodge; he stood still and, with a thought, summoned a thick earthen wall that stood in the path of the fireball.

Without rune items or magical artifacts that provide effects such as movement speed, levitation, or acceleration, even a third-tier wizard apprentice is lacking in evasion magic.

After all, not all witchcraft can be mastered to perfection and can be "cast instantly".

Rivers grinned maliciously, and suddenly flames erupted from his body. He tilted his head back slightly and opened his arms.

The fireball, which was about to hit the earthen wall, suddenly skipped across the top of the wall like a stone skipping across water, following a strange parabola.

The heatwave hit, and my hair got slightly charred.

Antoine Hilton faced the impending fireball head-on, remaining calm and collected, as a clay shield hidden behind him quickly flew to his front.

With a loud bang.

The fireball exploded, sparks flew everywhere, and fiery snakes were menacing.

The earthen shield shattered into seven or eight pieces and fell to the ground.

Antoine Hilton was pushed back two steps by the circular shockwave and repulsive force.

Several fiery snakes caught him off guard and quickly licked him.

Antoine Hilton quickly summoned a curtain of water to pour down from above, extinguishing the fire snake.

It's already a bit too late.

The same secondary explosive fireball, when cast by Rivers, is doubly enhanced by the super affinity of the fire element and the "Rage of Flames Meditation Technique," making it much more powerful.

Antoine Hilton's earth wall spell was bypassed, and his earth shield spell failed to completely defend against it.

Although he wasn't seriously injured, his hair was singed, his face was blackened, his clothes were burned with several holes, his arms were covered in blisters, and he was soaked to the bone.

Judging from the situation, they were indeed at a disadvantage.

However, Antoine Hilton is not one to simply stand there and take a beating.

As he took two steps back, the stone ring between him and Rivers Francis turned into a muddy swamp.

The combined effect of Lesser Mudstone Spell and Water Purification Spell.

This was done to prevent Rivers's fiery charge.

Just as Rivers took his first step, about to unleash his full power and charge at Antoine Hilton, he was forced to stop in his tracks.

"Change the terrain?"

Retracting his steps, Rivers glanced at Antoine, who was preparing a counterattack, and his sinister smile deepened.

Fire is never limited by terrain.

Witchcraft is not bound by rules!

He pushed off the ground with all his might, and all the flames in his body gathered at the soles of his feet, bursting forth in an instant. Rivers transformed into a rocket and soared into the air.

This is a variant application of the Fire Arrow technique, using flames as propulsion and the user as the arrow, charging forward relentlessly in a brutal, suicidal attack.

Drawing a parabola, the Rivers-brand humanoid eye-guided missile hurtled toward Antoine at breakneck speed.

Where he had been standing, sharp spikes of earth suddenly sprang up from the ground, just missing Rivers' feet.

Antoine's meticulously prepared earth spike attack was in vain, only managing to pierce the raging tail flames.

Suddenly, facing Rivers, who was determined to "die together" with him, Antoine finally used a spell other than earth magic, the light magic of level 0, Flash.

He raised his right hand high, and a burst of light appeared in his palm, which then exploded.

The intense flash of white light stimulated Rivers' eyes in a very short time, causing blindness.

Taking advantage of the flash of light, Antoine used the 0-ring sorcery Refraction Illusion to split his body into six.

The speed of light is the fastest thing in the world.

In an instant, six Antoines stood around the ring, one real and five illusions.

However, the phantom was incredibly lifelike.

The six Antoines look alike, have the same posture, and the same expression.

With the arrow already on the bowstring and ready to be released, Rivers had no time to react and crashed straight into Antoine.

With a flicker of light and shadow, Antoine's figure vanished.

Rivers rushed out of the ring and nearly crashed into the stone pillar supporting the dome.

Fortunately, Rivers reacted quickly; otherwise, he would have ended up killing himself instead of the enemy, a truly pathetic death.

After circling the stone pillar and just returning to the area above the arena, Antoine's attack arrived.

Three water balloons, each the size of a human head, were arranged in a "品" (pin) shape, waiting patiently on Rivers's usual route back to the ring.

Rivers had tried to change course several times, but now he had no choice but to crash into it.

The water sphere was huge, but it had little offensive power.

Antoine wasn't after the meager damage from the Water Ball spell.

He only wanted two things: to extinguish or at least reduce the flames burning on Rivers' body, and to remove the high-temperature water mist produced by the water balloon being scorched by the flames.

Rivers, aren't you just playing with fire and high temperatures?

Let's see if you can withstand the scorching heat of the water mist!

The super affinity for fire element comes with fire resistance, not high-temperature resistance.

When Rivers broke through the three water balloons, his entire body was covered in blisters from the burns, a truly pitiful sight.

Rivers was not angry but pleased. The last of his flames exploded and, following the water mist that covered most of the arena, landed on the remaining five Antoines.

Even the slightest attack will cause the illusory image of the refracting illusion to vanish without a trace.

Antoine's true identity was thus simply exposed to Rivers's eyes.

This is a perfect example of being trapped by one's own actions.

As soon as Rivers landed, he transformed into flames and disappeared from the spot. Using the sparks around Antoine's true form, he reappeared beside Antoine.

"Flame leaping?"

Antoine was so shocked that he cried out, instead of trying to dodge or build a defense.

This clearly demonstrates the impact Rivers' action had on him.

Flame Leap is a 1st-level sorcery spell!

Rivers has only been a third-class wizard apprentice for a short time. It's impossible for him to reach the critical point of becoming a full wizard so quickly, and it's impossible for him to master first-circle wizardry!

"Antoine, die."

Rivers wasn't about to miss such a good opportunity; he spread his arms and immediately hugged Antoine Hilton tightly, who had been momentarily stunned.

The raging flames reignited, engulfing Rivers and Antoine.

"Uh... Ah!"

Antoine was awakened by the excruciating pain of his burns and tried to break free from Rivers's hold, but it was too late; he could only wail in agony.

In the blink of an eye, the battle was about to end.

Knowing he had no way out, Antoine Hilton hardened his heart and, enduring the excruciating pain, unleashed two minor mudstone spells amidst the raging flames.

If we're going to die, we'll both die together!

The two of them sank deep into the swamp.

Before losing consciousness, Antoine desperately cast one last spell: the Earth-type, 0-ring spell, Falling Rocks.

A millstone-sized rock appeared above the heads of the two people who were stuck in the muddy swamp and crashed down in the blink of an eye.

The next second, blood, flesh, and bone fragments splattered across the arena.

Life and death are separated instantly.

Thank you for the donation from reader Mu Jiangyi!

(End of this chapter)