[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-sword-god-in-a-world-of-magic":3,"chapter-sword-god-in-a-world-of-magic-sword-god-in-a-world-of-magic-chapter-674":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Sword God in a World of Magic",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1492845,1940,"Chapter 674 - Master","sword-god-in-a-world-of-magic-chapter-674",674,"\u003Cp>The battle between contestant 12 and contestant 31 went as expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contestant 12 never stood a chance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After contestant 12's Mana Shield was deactivated, he only looked at the ground with an expression of melancholy and acceptance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It was a good fight,\" contestant 31 said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contestant 12 didn't immediately answer. \"You know, I've never been truly talented.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I've taken it easy during my earliest years. I couldn't imagine dedicating so much of my time to becoming more powerful as the truly outstanding people on my level.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I never gave it my all.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And then, my wife was killed by a beast that had been just a bit more powerful than me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If I had just put in a bit more effort, I could have protected her.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contestant 12 sighed again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's when I actually started trying, you know?\" he said as he looked at contestant 31.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But no matter how hard I tried, there were so many people that were much stronger and smarter than me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My hard work didn't matter.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know that this doesn't concern you,\" contestant 12 said, looking to the side. \"I think I just lost control. Forget what I said.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most people were bored of the sob story. There were so many people in the world with similar stories. It was basically normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How many people have you seen as superior to yourself?\" contestant 31 asked. \"More than 20?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Much more,\" contestant 12 answered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And yet, you are in the top four in this tournament,\" contestant 31 said. \"In my opinion, your self-pity is unjustified. Stop looking at your failures and look at your successes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that, contestant 31 walked to the side of the arena.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contestant 12 only sighed again before also walking to the side of the arena.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The match between him and contestant 31 had hit him on a fundamental level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Impose Stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was the Impose Stage truly better than the Weapon Variance Stage?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contestant 12 sighed once again. 'I thought increasing the overall power of warriors was my job,' he thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contestant 12's name was Oliver, and he was Shang's successor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sadly, Oliver hadn't been chosen by the God due to his outstanding talent but due to his mindset.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was an altruistic person that liked to help others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To him, the benefits for the greater collective outweighed the benefits for the individual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he had done quite a beautiful job.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had created the Weapon Variance Stage, an actually useful Fifth Stage for warriors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had done exactly what the God had wanted him to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he wasn't a genius.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was already a miracle that he reached the Fifth Realm, and he deserved every praise he could get for it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sadly, that was his maximum potential.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Sixth Realm wouldn't be possible for him to achieve in his lifetime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was already over 600 years old, and he was only at the Early Weapon Variance Stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Oliver was thinking about his life, the finals started.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contestant 1 was fighting contestant 31.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contestant 1 took the battle extremely seriously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn't allow himself to lose against a warrior three levels below him!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This would be the greatest humiliation of his entire life, and it would also humiliate every single warrior in the Lightning Manor's territory!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would fight with his life on the line!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his mind, if he lost, he would die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fight started, and contestant 1 immediately charged at contestant 31.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contestant 31 kept jumping away while firing arrows, but contestant 1's body was too powerful. He easily blocked and parried the arrows as he shot toward contestant 31.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contestant 1 was not playing around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was deadly serious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When contestant 31 noticed that her current strategy didn't work, she also got serious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>SHING!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her composite bow suddenly vanished, and a much larger bow appeared in her hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contestant 1's eyes narrowed while everyone else grew more excited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, she fired.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BANG!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time, contestant 1 was halted in his charge, but he also hadn't been injured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The arrows from the bigger bow flew faster and were much more powerful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When contestant 1 had been stopped, two smaller arrows shot at him, and he did his best to block them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right now, contestant 31 was switching between her two bows regularly. The bigger bow was more powerful but couldn't fire as many arrows, while the smaller bow was the opposite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By switching between them, her attacks became far more difficult to deal with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, after adjusting his strategy a bit, contestant 1 still managed to close the distance between the two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eventually, contestant 31 also used her arrows to create several Magic Runes and Magic Circles between her and her opponent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone was watching with bated breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contestant 31 was insanely talented and powerful!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the Mages were shocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that power, wouldn't contestant 31 have a shot against an Archmage a level above her?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A warrior that could actually jump a level against a Mage?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was unreal!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One had to remember that contestant 1 could win against an Archmage two levels below him but not against one just one level below him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contestant 12, Oliver, could fight a Mage on his level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But contestant 31 could fight a Mage above her level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ability to win against a Mage one level above oneself was something that would give someone the opportunity to join an Empire when they reached the Sixth Realm, and only 1% of Ancestral Mages could join one!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contestant 31 was a true genius!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, contestant 1 used all of his power and experience to move forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As more time passed, contestant 1's power also seemingly increased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And eventually, contestant 1 completely closed the gap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the fight was over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had been far beyond difficult, but contestant 1 had won.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had done it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had defended the honor of all the warriors!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, only a minority of warriors shared his thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were three levels between the two opponents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, the warriors were still happy that contestant 1 had won, but it was a bitter victory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contestant 1 was panting violently, and his entire body was covered in sweat as his body shook.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In comparison to him, contestant 31 seemed rather relaxed. It was like she had just finished a nice workout.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lei is here to show everyone the power of an average Impose Stage warrior,\" contestant 31 suddenly said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contestant 1 looked up from the ground and looked contestant 31 in the eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have been sent here to show the potential of the Impose Stage,\" contestant 31 said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But this tournament is being held to find the strongest warrior in the world, and that is not me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And also not you,\" contestant 31 said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contestant 1 didn't show it, but he felt nervous and scared deep inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lei said that you will meet Master when you manage to defeat me. Originally, I expected to win against you, but I didn't.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It seems like I'm still not strong enough to take Master's place.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After she said all that, contestant 31 put her bow away and walked over to Lei, who leaned on the arena's wall with a smirk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, a small vibration went through the air, and only the Ancestral Mages took note of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ancestral Mages looked at the source of the small vibration, Lord Starsky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the moment, Lord Starsky was looking at the middle of the arena with an intense stare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vibration had appeared because Lord Starsky had been so shocked that he had lost his cool for just a tiny moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ancestral Mages looked at the place where Lord Starsky was looking, and their eyes widened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where did that guy come from?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Somehow, someone managed to appear in the middle of the arena without them noticing it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How did they do that?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contestant 1 took a while to notice that someone new had appeared relatively close to him, and his heart nearly stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn't noticed that guy at all!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was one of the cloaked people, the one wearing the white cloak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was this their Master?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was this the person that created the Impose Stage?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For some reason, contestant 1 immediately became intimidated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a unique pressure coming off the person in the white cloak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn't the typical pressure of an extremely talented person but the pressure of something unnatural.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For some reason, contestant 1 was reminded of someone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back when contestant 1 was just a teenager, he had insulted one of his new classmates for being a rich kid that got everything he ever wanted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, he went hunting with his friends, and that rich kid accompanied them as a guide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When that kid had become a True Path Stage warrior, contestant 1 saw him again, and the pressure he was feeling right now was very similar to the pressure he had felt back then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contestant 1's name was Elver, and he had once been in the same class as Shang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And right now, Elver realized who the person in front of him was, and he couldn't decide how he should feel about seeing that person again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But one thing was clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This explained where the Impose Stage came from.\u003C\u002Fp>",1551,"2026-06-06T04:07:21.422Z",1,"novelbin.me","f55e4e101d1b77f93fa79e26da3088436804a07fce7dbaba0016bd34e1cc85dd","sword-god-in-a-world-of-magic-chapter-817","sword-god-in-a-world-of-magic-chapter-816",1033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsword-god-in-a-world-of-magic-cover.jpg"]