Chapter 47

Rhea and Keith stood some fifty feet away from each other as Keith said, “System, I challenge Rhea to a duel. The one who reaches 40% Health first loses.”

Dueling was a common practice, and the 40% Health threshold was the standard people used. The System prevented any killing blows during a duel, allowing both parties to go all out.

When Rhea accepted the challenge on her interface, the air around Keith seemed to solidify as his carefree attitude vanished. His posture shifted ever so slightly as he adjusted his mental state. Wearing a solemn expression, he stated, “Battle mage.”

Rhea’s instincts warned Keith posed a lethal threat, surprising her. It was hard to believe that the weak teenager she met a few years ago could now force her to take him seriously. Rhea could very well imagine how much effort Keith put in to reach this level based on her own experiences. It seemed the duel wouldn’t be as easy as she thought.

Rhea steadied her breathing as she replied, “Monster tamer. Don’t underestimate my pets.”

Keith nodded as the countdown timer began to tick, leaving them ten seconds to prepare. The first thing Keith did was activate two skills: Mind Division and Mind Enhancement. Both skills were the linchpin behind his fighting style and were now a little over level 400.

Next, he activated Mana Barrier and used half of his divided minds to employ the skill application he learned from Yara. The freshly summoned Mana Barrier split into countless scales the size of a fingernail before sticking to Keith’s skin, making him look like a dragon knight.

Yara named this skill application ‘Dragon Regalia.’ By manipulating Mana Barrier in such a way, the defensive properties of the skill skyrocketed. The downside was that it had high requirements on a person’s mind. Keith needed to focus half of his divided minds on it just to sustain the transformation, and he could only do so for a few minutes before getting a massive headache.

Lastly, Keith drained all his mana and cast over ten buffs on himself, though his Grimoire promptly pumped him back to full after paying a considerable fee. It only took him a few seconds to get into a combat-ready state from start to finish.

Rhea used a similar amount of time.

The first thing she did was summon two monster pets. The monster to Rhea’s right was a Legendary Rift Boss Grade Lizardkin Chieftain wearing leather armor and a pair of daggers. To her left was a blue jellyfish that floated in the air, with its size being even larger than Ska’dur. It was an Epic Grade monster called the Spellbane Jellyfish.

Keith immediately noticed that Rhea’s monster pets were different. Originally, a Lizardkin Chieftain was level 350 and a Spellbane Jellyfish level 200, but both of Rhea’s pets were over level 400. Not only that, the Lizardkin Chieftain was wearing a complete set of equipment. It was apparent Rhea’s innate gift allowed her to level monster pets and allow them to use items, drastically improving their capabilities.

The last few seconds passed quickly.

Three.

Two.

One.

Fight!

Rhea vanished on the spot as the Lizardkin Chieftain rushed forward. It crossed ten feet with every step, arriving before Keith in less than a second, its dagger honing in on Keith’s shoulder. His eyes calm, Keith took a step forward and slammed his palm into the Lizardkin’s chest, knocking it a few steps back.

The Lizardkin showed visible astonishment. It could instinctively tell Keith’s agility was lower than it by at least a thousand, yet Keith was able to react and counterattack. Growling, the Lizardkin closed in and unleashed a flurry of rapid strikes, trying to overwhelm Keith with its speed.

The two danced back and forth for a minute when an arrow suddenly arrived from Keith’s blindspot. The surprise attack struck true and sent Keith staggering into the Lizardkin’s dagger. Thinking quickly, Keith activated Void Shadowstep and phased through the Lizardkin’s body. Spinning around, he punched at the Lizardkin’s exposed back and cast Fireball simultaneously.

Boom!

The explosion sent the Lizardkin flying, though it quickly recovered and landed on its feet. Keith took this moment to inspect his back. There, he found an arrow wedged in between two scales. An arrow not backed by a skill couldn’t break his defenses.

Focusing back on the Lizardkin, Keith noticed its eyes glowed red – a telltale sign that it cast Enrage. Utterly silent, the Lizardkin Chieftain stepped forward, appearing in front of Keith in an instant. Buffed by Enrage, the Lizardkin attacked relentlessly, its daggers cutting deep into Keith’s Dragon Regalia. The Lizardkin completely eclipsed Keith in agility, leaving him helpless under its assault.

Keith sighed, knowing that his understanding of martial arts was still too low to compete with someone who specialized in close combat. He still had a long way to go. With that said, it was time to change tactics.

Keith snapped his fingers and cast Cold Snap. A wave of chilly air brushed against the Lizardkin Chieftain, slowing its movement by a fraction. Smirking, Keith summoned an Ice Wall at its feet. As the Ice Wall rose, it sent the Lizardkin flying upward, making it an easy target.

Arching his back, Keith cast Holy Flame Lance, grabbed it with his hand, then threw it with all his might. A sonic boom rang out as the Holy Flame Lance pierced straight through the Lizardkin’s chest, leaving a gaping hole. Its Health dropped by 50%.

Before Keith could rejoice, a blinding light smacked into his right shoulder and sent him to the ground. Somewhat dazed, Keith held back a groan and ripped the arrow out of his shoulder. He jumped to his feet and found his right arm limp at his side. Glancing around warily, he found the Lizardkin Chieftain lying motionless on the ground some distance away when Rhea suddenly appeared at its side and unsummoned it before it could die.

Sighing in relief, she looked at Keith and complimented, “That was a good combo.”

“If it didn’t expose me to your attack, I’d agree,” Keith remarked as he glanced at the Spellbane Jellyfish hovering nearby. That monster prevented him from using weaker projectile spells like Mana Bolt, a real annoyance.

“How much Health do you have left?” Rhea asked as she switched her weapon to a shortsword.

Keith checked his status and grimaced. “65%.”

“What, really?” Rhea expressed her surprise. “I didn’t expect your Mana Barrier’s skill application to be so sophisticated. That’s amazing.”

As soon as she said that, Keith’s Dragon Regalia sputtered as the Mana Barrier returned to its natural state. Maintaining it for this long had given him a massive headache.

Rhea felt awkward. “Want to stop here?”

Keith considered it for a moment before shaking his head. “You should be low on Mana, right? Let’s continue.”

“Well, if you say so,” Rhea shrugged and used a skill, immediately shrinking the distance between the two. Keith quickly found himself on the defensive. Rhea’s combat sense was far beyond Keith’s, and she was just as fast as the Lizardkin Chieftain in its normal state. Keith tried to cast spells, but she simply stuck to him like glue and made his efforts futile. With no other options and no way to gain some distance, Keith’s Health eventually hit 40%, signaling the end of the duel.

Meanwhile, hidden in the sky, Markus and Ska’dur watched the duel between their children with rapt attention. Ska’dur felt mixed feelings even though Rhea won. “That brat grew to this extent in only three years? What a freak. The only thing he’s lacking is combat experience against people fighting in his face.” Ska’dur paused and looked at Markus. “Why didn’t he use Blink? He could have teleported to safety and found the time to cast spells.”

Markus withdrew his attention from below and answered, “We’ve banned him from using it precisely because he’s weak to melee fighters.”

Ska’durs expression crumpled. “So you’re saying that brat would’ve won otherwise?”

“Have you forgotten?” Markus chuckled. “Rhea’s equipment consists of Rare and Epic Grade while Keith uses Mythic. If you hadn’t taught her the way you had, would Keith have a chance?”

Seeing Ska’dur fall silent, Markus decided to bring up one of his worries, “Old friend, I know you started living as a barbarian because you were bored, but it’s all Rhea’s ever known. The Grandsky Realm isn’t so peaceful that you can rely solely on yourself. Have you talked to her about this?”

Ska’dur coughed. “Um, not yet.”

Markus had heard a lot about the Grandsky Realm from his mother, so he figured he’d go all the way. “By having Rhea learn all these unnecessary skills instead of improving her combat power, you’re lowering her chances of survival. Are you aware of that?”

Ska’dur was stunned and grew angry. “What did you say?!”

“I know you aren’t stupid,” Markus sighed. “Think it over for Rhea’s sake.”

Markus ran away before Ska’dur could respond, leaving him speechless.