Chapter 177: Spell Duel

Over the next few days, Xia Duo holed up in his residence, devoting himself to studying 【Magic Alarm】, 【Magic Weapon】, and 【Mage Armor】. Among these, 【Mage Armor】 only required completing a few missing elements followed by more practice; Xia Duo temporarily set aside the production of a Scroll for this spell.

After all, 【Magic Alarm】 and 【Magic Weapon】 Scrolls were the items on the Mage Tower's designated procurement list, and they were also a shortcut for Xia Duo to complete his promotion task requirements.

None of these three spells were particularly complex; if one had a Learning Scroll, it was estimated that they could be learned in less than a day, with the rest of the time spent on practice.

Learning Magic through a Spellbook was almost a first for Xia Duo. During his Apprentice stage, he had exchanged for a large number of Learning Scrolls and subsequently studied the Principles of spells in depth, allowing him to research most Ring Spells on his own.

However, researching through the Mage Tower's books required a conversion process: one had to translate the other person's thoughts into one's own before research could begin.

At first, Xia Duo found it quite difficult when reading *Dasiruier's Maximized Armor*, but as he read more content and more books, he gained an increasingly deeper understanding of the author's ideas.

By the time Niya held her second class, Xia Duo had already learned these three spells and had even successfully cast them, albeit clumsily, in the Spell Laboratory.

During these three days, Xia Duo had also produced multiple 【Steam Ray】 Scrolls, though he had not yet sold them.

……

Niya's residence, Reception Room.

This time, Jianaer had contacted Xia Duo in advance, and they had agreed to come over together, but today, their mentor Niya seemed somewhat agitated.

She held several sheets of Parchment in her hand, flipping through them incessantly; the more she read, the deeper her frown became. Even though Xia Duo and Jianaer had been inside for a long time, she had yet to begin today's lesson.

Xia Duo and Jianaer exchanged a glance, neither of them taking the initiative to remind her, instead continuing to read the books or notes they had brought.

It wasn't until Xia Duo heard a "slap" that he looked up, just in time to see Niya slam the Parchment onto the small table to her left.

Her gaze swept from Xia Duo to Jianaer, and then from Jianaer back to Xia Duo, making Xia Duo's scalp tingle before she finally said, "We won't be discussing Arcane Geometry today. The rules for the Arcane Competition have been released. From now until the Arcane Competition in twenty days, you are to come here every morning for training."

Then, without waiting for Xia Duo or Jianaer to react, she warned them in a firm tone, "If the final result does not satisfy me, consider the consequences yourselves!"

If this had been said by a white-bearded old man or a stern-faced burly man, Xia Duo wouldn't have found it so incongruous.

But Niya was both young and beautiful, making it easy for people to overlook her status as a 7th-level Mage. Seeing her try so hard to keep a straight face while warning the two of them instantly gave Xia Duo a sense of contrast-induced cuteness.

Jianaer was also left stunned and at a loss, not knowing whether he was shocked by the news or by Niya herself.

Xia Duo reacted quickly and immediately expressed his agreement, "Don't worry, Mentor Niya, we will definitely train hard."

"Yes, yes, Mentor Niya, we will definitely train hard," Jianaer also hurriedly responded.

Niya nodded with satisfaction and began to introduce the rules for this Arcane Competition, "Since all participants are New Mages, this competition will limit the scope of spells that can be used, and it will be conducted in the form of an Arcane Duel."

Generally speaking, there are no spell restrictions in an Arcane Competition, with everything left to the participants' own abilities. An Arcane Duel, as the name implies, is a Spell Duel between two Spellcasters.

In terms of form, it is roughly divided into two types—

One is a close-range Spell Duel, which does not produce specific Magic Effects but instead involves competing for and countering each other's spells. It is highly competitive, but its watchability is average, or one might even say non-existent; two people just stand face-to-face for a while, and then it ends.

The other is a long-range Spell Duel, which compares the ability to resist, erase, and divert the Magic released by the other party. Because it produces specific Magic Effects, it has good watchability. To enhance competitiveness, it is generally stipulated that neither side may use Movement.

(The "long-range" here does not refer to the range of the spell, but rather to a distance beyond which one can prevent the other party from casting Magic.)

According to Niya's introduction, the Arcane Competition within the Territory this time would be a "long-range Spell Duel with limited spells." After all, the Savile Territory did not yet have enough influence to invite famous Mages or mid-to-Advanced Rank Mages to participate.

If it weren't for Niya being so serious with her training and warnings, Xia Duo would have thought this Arcane Competition was entirely a contest between novices.

Of course, it was also possible that Niya was just putting on pressure, and in reality, it was still a contest between novices.

However, Xia Duo would not relax, nor did he dare to. After all, Niya had even brought out Learning Scrolls; if the final result were not ideal, who could withstand an angry female Mage?

"Considering that the participants are all New Mages within their first year, Ring Spells are unlimited, but there are only two choices for st Circle Spells—【Mage Armor】 and 【Magic Missile】."

As she spoke, Niya used an invisible hand to pass the two Learning Scrolls to Xia Duo and Jianaer respectively.

Although Xia Duo had already learned 【Mage Armor】, he still wanted to see the difference between the 【Mage Armor】 he had researched and completed himself and the one on the Learning Scroll.

Jianaer also took the two Learning Scrolls, his face full of joy, rubbing the two scrolls in his hands from time to time, "Thank you, Mentor, I will definitely work hard."

"Use them right here; feel free to ask questions if you have any." After saying this, Niya became motionless, her eyes somewhat vacant.

"Xia Duo, shall we look at them together?" Jianaer suggested. Once a Scroll is unfolded, it is entirely possible for two people to observe all the details simultaneously at close range.

Jianaer thought that if the two of them shared one Scroll, they would have double the time, and if things went well, perhaps they could even save one Scroll.

Xia Duo thought about it and agreed. The two moved their chairs together and spread the Scroll out between them. At this moment, neither Jianaer nor Xia Duo chose to transcribe it immediately.

Instead, they observed, understood, and memorized it on the spot. Excluding the practice process, the two of them began to compete right there.

Before long, Jianaer suddenly said, "I've learned it!"

"……"

The two were currently looking at the 【Mage Armor】 Learning Scroll. Although this spell wasn't considered difficult, it shouldn't be that fast!

Xia Duo knew that this guy must have learned 【Mage Armor】 in advance just like him. Jianaer had become an Official Mage half a year earlier than him; it was really hard to predict how many st Circle spells he had mastered.

He looked at Jianaer speechlessly, unable to say a word. Jianaer also seemed to realize that his performance was too exaggerated and subconsciously glanced in Niya's direction. Seeing that there was still no movement from their mentor, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Xia Duo, you use this Scroll first. I'll research it on my own for a bit, and when you're done, we'll look at 【Magic Missile】 together."

"……" Xia Duo rolled his eyes, "No need, I've already learned this spell before. I just wanted to see what the differences were between the records on the Learning Scroll and those in the book."

Now it was Jianaer's turn to be embarrassed. He knew that Xia Duo hadn't been an Official Mage for long, but he hadn't expected Xia Duo to have already learned the spell.

Jianaer gave a sheepish laugh and unfolded the 【Magic Missile】 Learning Scroll.

(End of chapter)